Programs, movies and memories. (USA version )

[khyndart in CA]

John Morton drove a Datsun 510 in the 1971 and 1972 SCCA 2.5 Challenge Series which ran their races at the same day and track as the Trans- Am races. The under 2.0 litre limit on engine size had been raised in 1971 to 2.5 litre with the SCCA hoping it would lure more manufacturers back to the series as the Trans_Am fields were diminishing due to the lack of factory supported teams. They hoped that Chevrolet would race a 2287 cc Vega or BMW a 2500 sedan, even Triumph with a 2.5 P.I. As it turned out not a single car raced in the 2.5 Challenge Series that could not have raced under the 2.0 litre rules.
John's car was entered by Pete Brock as part of a two car team known as the BRE Team. (Brock Racing Enterprises) They were 2-door sedans with 1622 cc engines with twin Solex carbs. They had 5-speed transmissions from the 240 Z plus all the other modifications to the engine, body and suspension tricks that the SCCA would allow. This gave them about 175 BHP with a redline of 9000 rpm.
John had a winning season with great competition from Horst Kwech in a Alfa Romeo GTV.

The Class of the 1971 2.5 Challenge Series. L To R.
Don Pike. (BMW 2002 ) Horst Kwech (Alfa Romeo GTV) and John Morton (Datsun 510 ) (SCI Archives photo )

The races were exciting with large fields. John Morton leading at Mid-Ohio. (Dave Arnold photo )

I know this has an earlier thread on TRS but that was 3 years ago and I hope you can once again get to enjoy this movie starring John Morton in his Datsun 510 number 46 during the 1971 2.5 Challenge Series. ("Against All Odds ")

[video=youtube;U5XAP4pCRps]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5XAP4pCRps[/video]





(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

1971. 2.5 Challenge Series. USA. Some more photos.

Bert Everett's Alfa Romeo GTA trying very hard at Mid-Ohio. Note it is a RHD car. I wonder why ? ( Dave Arnold photo )

Morton's Datsun 510 waits in the paddock at the Road America course.

Once again Horst Kwech and John Morton go at it with the Alfa Romeo leading the Datsun at the beautiful Road America course at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (SCI Archive photos )


( Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

1971. 2.5 Challenge Series.

With a win at Riverside on October 3rd, John Morton was set up for all the drama that took place two weeks later at Laguna Seca !





(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

As the two teams of Datsun and Alfa Romeo were tied on points entering the final race at Laguna Seca it meant that the winner would win the 1971 Challenge Series. The race would end being greatly disputed, frayed tempers and comments about the SCCA incompetence !
First the Alfa Romeo's were not allowed to refuel as the filler was on the right rear area and the officials did not want refueling from the track side for safety reasons so the Alfa fillers were taped over. The team thought to heck with that and installed a flexible fuel cell that expanded to hold more than the 15 gallon tank limit as per the rules..
When the race started John Morton and Horst Kwech were soon battling for the lead once again with several passes being made. Kwech even tapped Morton at the infamous Corkscrew Corner which caused Morton to do a full 360 * spin but he soon gained back the lost ground and Kwech almost tapped him again so Pete Brock had Morton pit for a quick topping of fuel so he could get away from Kwech and then take the lead when the Alfa Romeo pitted. The Kwech Alfa did not pit and went onto win the race and then appeared to run out of gas on the far side of the track after the finish. Immediately the Brock Datsun team protested and when the officials drained almost 4 gallons from the Alfa tank it was then disqualified and Brock became the winner. So the Alfa Romeo team and fans were upset as they felt it was unnecessary to have the fuel filler sealed but as it was they would have won as they used less than the allowed 15 gallons ! So that is how the final race ended but as the drivers said back then that they fought on the track but they would all socialize together off the track.

Horst Kwech tapping the back of John Morton's Datsun 510 that led to a complete spin coming through the Laguna Seca Corkscrew.
(Bob Tronolone photo)




(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

A time to look back for the BRE Team.
In the Fall of 2008, BRE (Brock Racing Enterprise) team members reconnected in mass for the first time since the end of the 1972 race season. The BRE team changed the perception of Japanese cars as they won the SCCA D Production Pacific Coast Championship in 1969.
[video=youtube;IpVWFI5yuh8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpVWFI5yuh8[/video]

[khyndart in CA]

1980 Watkins Glen.
John Morton has not always had the best of luck.

[video=youtube;Y9uGR_4XsEM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9uGR_4XsEM[/video]

[khyndart in CA]

1988.IMSA GTP.
What a difference in 8 years when Geoff Brabham and John Morton are on the same team !

[video=youtube;PB5rp9en4RY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB5rp9en4RY[/video]


(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

Laguna Seca. 2010.
This was the last time I had seen John Morton driving when he came around on the warm-up lap in this beautiful 1958 Scarab.
John was lucky to escape this crash which was not his fault at all and the car was wrecked.

[video=youtube;rRD_bXnYCq0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRD_bXnYCq0[/video]




You can read the latest on John Morton at this SCCA site.

http://www.sportscarmag-digital.com/sportscar/march_2016?pg=1#pg1





(Ken Hyndman )

[Spgeti]

As the two teams of Datsun and Alfa Romeo were tied on points entering the final race at Laguna Seca it meant that the winner would win the 1971 Challenge Series. The race would end being greatly disputed, frayed tempers and comments about the SCCA incompetence !
First the Alfa Romeo's were not allowed to refuel as the filler was on the right rear area and the officials did not want refueling from the track side for safety reasons so the Alfa fillers were taped over. The team thought to heck with that and installed a flexible fuel cell that expanded to hold more than the 15 gallon tank limit as per the rules..
When the race started John Morton and Horst Kwech were soon battling for the lead once again with several passes being made. Kwech even tapped Morton at the infamous Corkscrew Corner which caused Morton to do a full 360 * spin but he soon gained back the lost ground and Kwech almost tapped him again so Pete Brock had Morton pit for a quick topping of fuel so he could get away from Kwech and then take the lead when the Alfa Romeo pitted. The Kwech Alfa did not pit and went onto win the race and then appeared to run out of gas on the far side of the track after the finish. Immediately the Brock Datsun team protested and when the officials drained almost 4 gallons from the Alfa tank it was then disqualified and Brock became the winner. So the Alfa Romeo team and fans were upset as they felt it was unnecessary to have the fuel filler sealed but as it was they would have won as they used less than the allowed 15 gallons ! So that is how the final race ended but as the drivers said back then that they fought on the track but they would all socialize together off the track.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]33566[/ATTACH]
Horst Kwech tapping the back of John Morton's Datsun 510 that led to a complete spin coming through the Laguna Seca Corkscrew.
(Bob Tronolone photo)




(Ken Hyndman )

Great photos Ken and a great read.

[Grant Sprague]

Thank you Ken great stuff

[khyndart in CA]

1971 Trans-Am Series.
Is anyone interested in the stories about this car. The "Gray Ghost" ?
A 1964 Pontiac Tempest raced in 1971 by Bob Tullius who went on to greater fame with Jaguar etc.

(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

This is a hint about the story to come.

(This looks a lot like being at Spinner Black's house in Morrinsville ! )



( Ken Hyndman )

[tweaks]

Would be most interested in some more on The Pontiac and Bob Tullius...notice the cantilever tyres on front ...something different than the old Ford and Chevy....Yawn !!!

Thanks Ken

[khyndart in CA]

I will attempt to do the story about the "Gray Ghost".
In 1971 Pontiac had abandoned it's Trans-Am program after their driver, Jerry Titus, was killed during the 1970 season. Herb Adams and several other Pontiac engineers decided to put their skills together and volunteered their time after hours and build a racer. Herb's wife wanted to trade in her 1964 Pontiac Tempest for a new car but Herb figured he could make something out of the 80,000 mile "grocery getter" and so he and his friends at GM Engineering went to work. They worked out of the Adam's home garage and paid for the parts themselves.

(1971 Motor Trend )



(Ken Hyndman..to be continued )

[khyndart in CA]

The 64 Tempest was now a 7 year old car when the team went to work on it. They had access to many left over Pontiac Race Division parts "at the right price". The 303 engine was based on a 389 HO block with a Moldex short stroke (2.84 ") crankshaft and Carillo connecting rods. TRW extruded pistons gave it a 11.5:1 compression ratio. With Ramair IV -type heads with TRW valves and a big Holley carb. this beast could produce 450-480 HP which made it very quick at the time. Early oil issues were solved when it went to a dry-sump oiling system at mid-season.
The engine and Muncie M-22 four speed gearbox were mounted 4 inches back from stock and the car was lowered 4 inches and used special steering knuckles to achieve suitable front camber. The fenders were flared out to allow all 4 tires of the same size to be mounted front and back. Minilite wheels with Goodyear tires. Rear axle with a limited slip diff along with special modifications to give one degree negative camber at the rear. Plus it had two batteries in the trunk to aid traction !
The Corvette disc brakes all round were activated by a Ford truck master cylinder !

Bob Tullius's "War Room". (Note the custom seat and collapsible steering from a later Pontiac )

(1971 Motor Trend )


(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

Along with his driving skills, Bob Tullius also brought some much needed sponsorship money from Quaker State and Classic Car Wax.
He laughs now how it was raining at the first race at Lime Rock and the car was brought on an open trailer and the quick silver paint job was starting to wash off and other parts were rusting !. Bob had a great drive in the rain and moved up from the back of the field enjoying how the "Gray Ghost" handled in the rain. He had passed everyone except Mark Donohue in his factory AMC Javelin and then had to slow when the engine started to overheat a few laps from the end.
Bob and the Tempest were the big heroes of the day. Lime Rock. May 8. 1971.

(Peterson Publishing Co. photo )




(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

More photos of the " Gray Ghost" in action in 1971 Trans-Am races.

Fun in the rain at Lime Rock.

In one of the races the Tempest was challenging Donohue for the lead when both cars came in for a tire change.
The Donohue team had the car out again in about 40 seconds whereas the "Gray Ghost" amateur team with one floor jack took over 4 minutes to get the car back out on the track !
( I really enjoyed reading about these guys. )
They sure kept the big boy teams on their toes.

(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

Rounding out my tribute to the "Gray Ghost " with some coloured photos.

Coming through the corner in need of a headlight alignment !

Time to put her away for a well earned rest.




(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

I had mentioned Jerry Titus in post # 113. He was a popular and talented driver and headed the Pontiac racing team in 1970.
He died from injuries after his Pontiac Trans-Am Firebird hit the abutment to the Mitchell Bridge at the Road America Course at Elkhart Lake in July 1970. I found this piece that he had written at the start of the season.

(Excerpts from the 1970 Laguna Seca Trans-Am Program. Jerry Titus had his best finish of the season here when he came in 7th.)



(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

I think Jerry Titus looked a lot like a certain very well known New Zealand race driver.

(Ken Hyndman )