The Roaring Season

zombie289 wrote:I believe so steve, as it had custom made valve covers with "Bob Jane Racing" or something similar cast into them... The 302 TP was a pretty good engine, it just was 'built' poorly by FoMoCo, who wouldn't let Shelby touch them, at the end of the season, SA built their own engines (behind Fords back) and Horst Kwech won pretty much the only race of the season for the team...

Thanks Pauly, and yeah you're right, Ford needed to just let the race teams do what they did best. The same thing happened with the original GT40.

Thanks Ellis, yes I refer to that excellent site quite regularly, including for the article on the Dennis Leech Mustang I'm just finishing off. Wolfgang is a member on here, and pops up from time to time.

Steve Holmes wrote:Ellis, what were the other Kar-Kraft '69 Mustangs?

M codes mainly
Have read on here....lotsa good stuff and you will find the Jane ex Shelby as well

http://www.ponysite.de/transam.htm

Steve Holmes wrote:Yeah I don't know if he stuck with the tunnel port heads, they were a bit of a disaster. But it would be good to know. I wonder if he might have even had engines built by his team in Australia, as was done with his previous cars. Pauly, the engine bay shot you saw, was it of the car when Jane owned it?

I believe so steve, as it had custom made valve covers with "Bob Jane Racing" or something similar cast into them... The 302 TP was a pretty good engine, it just was 'built' poorly by FoMoCo, who wouldn't let Shelby touch them, at the end of the season, SA built their own engines (behind Fords back) and Horst Kwech won pretty much the only race of the season for the team...

[quote="Steve Holmes"]Pauly, the engine bay shot you saw, was it of the car when Jane owned it? [quote]
I believe so steve, as it had custom made valve covers with "Bob Jane Racing" or something similar cast into them... The 302 TP was a pretty good engine, it just was 'built' poorly by FoMoCo, who wouldn't let Shelby touch them, at the end of the season, SA built their own engines (behind Fords back) and Horst Kwech won pretty much the only race of the season for the team...

This 1970 footage shows the nasty Lakeside shunt that destroyed Bob Janes previous Mustang, and ended owner Chris Brauer's racing career:

[video=youtube;L4G_HzxaoLs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4G_HzxaoLs&feature=player_embedded[/video]

Ellis, what were the other Kar-Kraft '69 Mustangs?

Steve Holmes wrote:Y
Incidentally, when Allan Moffat imported his Kar-Kraft '69 Boss Mustang into Australia it was supplied with one of the '68 tunnel port motors. There was a shortage of the new Boss motors. Moffat didn't complain because he was being given a free race car. He won with the car first time out, at Sandown, and Jacque Passino was so pleased he organised to have a Boss motor flown out to Aus.

Moffats car wasnt a Boss...It started life as an M Code (=390)
A Boss 302 is a G Code
I'll settle for it to be called a 69 Transam Mustang tho with a Boss 302 engine.....lol

I'd forgotten about these from the Monaro thread:

Ellis wrote:I seem to recall (read somewhere, maybe Moffats Book) ) that Moffat arranged the car purchase in USA for Jane and was supposed to drive it for him in OZ.
Moffat would have known what was for sale etc as he was there driving and testing TA Mustangs and others.
Jane renigged on the driving deal and Moffat returned to US and got his own current model TA Mustang.
The rest as they say is history.

Yeah I read that Moffat had helped Jane get the car, using his contacts.

Yeah I don't know if he stuck with the tunnel port heads, they were a bit of a disaster. But it would be good to know. I wonder if he might have even had engines built by his team in Australia, as was done with his previous cars. Pauly, the engine bay shot you saw, was it of the car when Jane owned it?

Incidentally, when Allan Moffat imported his Kar-Kraft '69 Boss Mustang into Australia it was supplied with one of the '68 tunnel port motors. There was a shortage of the new Boss motors. Moffat didn't complain because he was being given a free race car. He won with the car first time out, at Sandown, and Jacque Passino was so pleased he organised to have a Boss motor flown out to Aus.

I wonder if Jane stuck with the tunnel port 302 in this car, as I have seen a pic of the engine bay showing mech. fuel injection, which would have possibly been custom made for the TP heads??

I seem to recall (read somewhere, maybe Moffats Book) ) that Moffat arranged the car purchase in USA for Jane and was supposed to drive it for him in OZ.
Moffat would have known what was for sale etc as he was there driving and testing TA Mustangs and others.
Jane renigged on the driving deal and Moffat returned to US and got his own current model TA Mustang.
The rest as they say is history.

Steve Holmes wrote:That was my first guess too, but I can't think of anywhere at Bathurst where the spectators are on the inside of the track, as in that first image. Also, I have a photo of the car from Bathurst, and it raced as #9. Most of the big events attracted large crowds at that time.

I've been doing some more digging and the background in the first photo looks a little like Warwick Farm in this shot:
http://www.motorsportarchive.com/Alan%20Moffat%20Trans-Am%20Mustang%20Warwick%20Farm%201970.jpg

GD66 wrote:Looks more like Bathurst. I doubt they've ever had a crowd that sizeable at Mallala.

That was my first guess too, but I can't think of anywhere at Bathurst where the spectators are on the inside of the track, as in that first image. Also, I have a photo of the car from Bathurst, and it raced as #9. Most of the big events attracted large crowds at that time.

Thanks Ellis, those are excellent pics. Does anyone have a set of Improved Production regulations? I'd love to read these. I assume front and rear bumpers were compulsory under Improved Production rules? Janes car raced in the '68 Trans-Am, and 1968 was the last year in which teams removed the bumpers in the Trans-Am before they became compulsory from 1969 onwards. So I assume Jane was forced to fit these? He surely wouldn't have fit them by choice.

Also, he surely would have had to fit a full interior trim, which was also required under the Improved Production rules. Allan Moffat, when interviewed by Australian Muscle Car magazine about his '69 Kar-Kraft Boss Mustang said of the interior: "Before we left Bud Moores, we grabbed all of the interior parts knowing that CAMS demanded that you had to run with the back seat and all the interior trim fitted. It was just packed into the car when it left the US and we fitted it in Australia. When you think about that, its frightening what we had to go through (with those Improved Production rules). The Mustang had what you would call variable room temperature. As the steel floor heated up with the big exhaust dump pipes going out each side, I got a variety of smells coming up through the carpet - you wonder why I was a nut-case by the end of a race! (laughs). It drove you mad at times. I won't say it had the ash-tray fitted but it certainly had everything in the standard interior that was required to be there".

From my 8mm movies at Symmons Plains Tas




In museum in USA before being painted Shelby Colours

Looks more like Bathurst. I doubt they've ever had a crowd that sizeable at Mallala.

Malcolm, great pics! Thanks for posting. I've not seen these before. I can't figure out the track though. Could it be Mallala?