Photos: The Perry Drury Collection

[Ray Bell]

Hmmm...

Yes, I had an idea someone else had it between Janey and Bob Stevens. It was owned by Ron Marsden (Marsden Real Estate) and driven by Barry Sharp IIRC.

[Ray Bell]

It was niggling at me so I checked...

Marsden bought it and had Bob Stevens drive it, their first meeting being November 11, 1972. Which is a long time after Bob Jane last ran the car.

I'm sure that Barry Sharp also raced it for Marsden at some time, then Bob bought it for himself before selling it to Joe McInnes.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks so much for this Ray, fantastic info! The the Jane racing team use the car at all after the Camaro was built? Perhaps for John Harvey?

[Ray Bell]

I don't think so but I could check...

I'm not able to do that at this time.

[Steve Holmes]

Thats OK Ray, I was just curious. Bob Jane seemed to run two sedans for a number of years there.

[Ray Bell]

The Camaro's first outing was at Calder on January 17, 1971...

Harvey did drive the Mustang at that meeting, Jane retired by the end of the day with a broken gearbox. Harvey had also driven the Mustang at the Warwick Farm meeting a month earlier, but Jane wasn't present. Perhaps he was entered in the Camaro and it wasn't ready, so his entry was withdrawn and Harvey remained in the event?

Jane then appeared the next week at Phillip Island in the Mustang for a couple of unchallenged wins. Of interest, the previous year Jane had run the Mustang at this meeting, but as a Sports Car to help build the field in the ASCC Rd 1.

There was no Bob Jane Racing Touring Car entry was Warwick Farm on February, but at Sandown on February 21 the Camaro came out for two wins. No Mustang.

The main game for the Camaro was the Touring Car Championship, of course, and this began at Symmons Plains where, in a wet race, Jane did have Harvey there to back him up but the Mustang siezed its engine.

Round 2 at Calder saw no Mustang present, nor was it at Sandown though it was apparently entered and didn't turn out.

By this time the team had the V8 Repco Torana on stream, it appeared at Hume Weir at Easter but wasn't right, comments along the lines of 'a lot of work was needed to get it right' indicates that the Mustang, which probably still hadn't had its engine fixed, was pushed to the back of the workshop.

Right through to the end of the year it never appeared again, I'd say it didn't ever run again in Jane's colours.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Ray, terrific info. Also, I guess, at some point probably late in 1971 planning must have begun for the Improved Production HQ Monaro that would eventually succeed the Camaro.

[Ray Bell]

Probably...

I don't know exactly when Bob became a Holden dealer (Southern Motors), but that would have had something to do with it. The car never emerged until mid-way through '72, did it?

[Steve Holmes]

I think it made its race debut in July 1972, but in a magazine interview on the car, Bob Jane said the decision was made to build the car when CAMS introduced a 6 litre engine cap for the 1972 ATCC. I'd assume they made this decision in late 1971. The fact he and his brother ran a Holden dealership was what sealed the deal to go this route, as they didn't sell Camaros.

[Steve Holmes]

Pete Geoghegan's Super Falcon, at what looks to be Symmons Plains, in 1972. This is likely the opening round of the '72 ATCC.

In behind is Robin Bessant's Mustang, the car formerly driven by Robin Pare and owned by Don Elliott. Interesting car this, in right hand drive. Where is it now?

[Steve Holmes]

[font=&]A continuation in a way, of the photo postedearlier featuring Pete Geoghegan's Super Falcon, and Robin Bessant's Mustang.
[/font]
[font=&]Here is Bessant's Mustang once more, while tucked in behind isClive Green's Mustang. This is, of course, the GTA used to great effect byGeoghegan to win the ATCC in 1967, '68, and '69. Now with the Wall family.

[/font]

[Steve Holmes]

[font=&]Bob Jane and his second Mustang, purchasedin 1967 to replace the Mustang destroyed at Catalina Park.[/font]
[font=&]
I believe this is one of the 26 A/Sedan Mustangs built by Shelbyin 1967, with the plan to sell the majority to privateer teams to help Ford winthe SCCA Trans-Am series. There was only a manufacturers championship at thetime, with only the highest place car from each manufacturer awarded points.Should the Shelby factory cars fail, the idea was that there would be a gang of privateer Mustangs waiting in the wings to score pointsfor Ford. The plan worked, Ford won the championship.[/font]
[font=&]
Amazingly, of the 26 Mustangs built byShelby, 4 ended up down-under.

[/font]

[Ray Bell]

Was it a '67, Steve?

Wasn't his crash at Catalina in '65? I'd have thought he was back into a Mustang within six or eight months of that.

And that Lotus Cortina on the left, I wonder whose that might be?

[John McKechnie]

1967 Mustangs are identified by 2 vents, one above the other on the rear quarter in front of the wheel arch, and also do not have the oblong, horizontal side indicators on lower rear quarters at the back-only 1968 has them

[Steve Holmes]

Was it a '67, Steve?

Wasn't his crash at Catalina in '65? I'd have thought he was back into a Mustang within six or eight months of that.

And that Lotus Cortina on the left, I wonder whose that might be?

Hi Ray, I believe the Catalina crash was late 1965, circa November, that destroyed his first Mustang. He then had another shunt in early 1966 in his Elfin, in which he sustained some injuries and which put him out of racing for a time. I know he didn't contest the 1966 ATCC, which was held at Bathurst. There were really only two contenders at that event; Geoghegan and Beechey.

The Mustang pictured above is a '67, but this photo would be from 1968, after it'd undergone several modifications, including the front and rear spoilers, flared wheel arches, and quite severe lowering of the ride height. It sat significantly lower than most other sedans in 1968.

[Terry S]

[font=&]Bob Jane and his second Mustang, purchasedin 1967 to replace the Mustang destroyed at Catalina Park.[/font]
[font=&]
I believe this is one of the 26 A/Sedan Mustangs built by Shelbyin 1967, with the plan to sell the majority to privateer teams to help Ford winthe SCCA Trans-Am series. There was only a manufacturers championship at thetime, with only the highest place car from each manufacturer awarded points.Should the Shelby factory cars fail, the idea was that there would be a gang of privateer Mustangs waiting in the wings to score pointsfor Ford. The plan worked, Ford won the championship.[/font]
[font=&]
Amazingly, of the 26 Mustangs built byShelby, 4 ended up down-under.

[/font][ATTACH=CONFIG]30815[/ATTACH]

This is the 2nd Jane Mustang, but is not the Shelby car. That was his 3rd Mustang.
This 2nd one was locally built and eventually written off by Chris Brauer.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks for the info Terry. You are right in that Bob's third Mustang was the Shelby built 1968 Trans-Am car. I thought someone had told me this second car as pictured above was also a Shelby built car, albeit, not a factory car, but one of the 26 turn-key cars they built for the 1967 season. Perhaps it was one of the Bowden's who told me, as they own what remains of it.

Terry, if it was built locally, do you know by who?

[Terry S]

I'd say they built it themselves as they were very well equipped at that time. Also they had experience from building the first Mustang.

Did the wreck go to Bowdens? i thought it went to someone in Geelong. i recall Miles mentioning that on some thread.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Terry, the remains ended up on the speedway, and were later acquired by the Bowden's. They still have it.

[Rikko]

The 4-door Monaro didn't appear until either the HX or HZ model, the latter I feel sure, so there was no 4-door Chevy option there. Though a 307 Chev was used in the HK sedans.

The 4 door Monaro existed in HQ form, but only with the 253 and 308. Only the GTS Coupe had the 350.