Steve Holmes wrote:For 1972, Malcolm Gartlan Racing elected to run an RS2600 Capri for Muir. Gardner was back for a full campaign with the Adrian Chambers team, who’d now built a new ’70 shape Camaro. Dave Mathews was entered in a Broadspeed built BDA Escort run by Melton Racing, Dave Brodie was in another BDA Escort, and David Howes was armed with an AMC Javelin. Terry Sanger returned to the series, taking over the former Wiggins-Teape Camaro of Muir, while Martin Thomas was back with his similar car.
Meanwhile, Leech decided more power was needed, and through Hollman-Moody, imported a sledgehammer 429 Boss motor for the Mustang. To fit the big 429 into the engine bay, the suspension turrets had to be modified. Initially, Leech ran the motor still fitted with a single 4-barrel Holley, but then fit it with alloy Gurney-Weslake heads, with four valves per cylinder. Leech then manufactured a slide throttle fuel-injection system for it.
The Mustang, now sporting a crisp new metallic turquoise paint scheme, looked a million bucks, but this ambitious project would make for a very frustrating season. Having missed the opening round, Leech qualified 8th for Round 2, at Oulton Park, some 7sec off Muirs pole time in the Capri. But he worked his way through the field to be 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] at the finish, behind Muir and Gardner. At Thruxton, for Round 3, the Mustang again lined up in 8[SUP]th[/SUP] on the grid, and was still running at the finish, behind Gardner, Mathews, and Sanger. At Silverstone, Round 4, Leech finished a lap down, in 9[SUP]th[/SUP] place, but at least he finished. He didn’t make the start in Round 5, at Crystal Palace.
For Round 6, at Brands Hatch, the Mustang qualified 9[SUP]th[/SUP], and finished one lap down, in 7[SUP]th[/SUP]. A dnf at Oulton Park ended a good run that began with a 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] place on the grid, while more disappointment followed at the Silverstone TT, after he qualified 6[SUP]th[/SUP] in a quality field which doubled as Round 8 of the European Touring Car Championship. He didn’t enter the next round at Mallory Park, and another dnf rounded out what had been a difficult season for Leech and his ambitious Mustang project.
After the frustrations of the 1972 season, Leech ran only a limited campaign in 1973, the last year in which the BSCC was run under Group 2 rules. Muir had switched to a BMW GB backed 3.0 CSL, although this car struggled against Gardners SCA Freight Camaro, which for 1973 was fitted with the alloy 7.0 litre motor used by fellow countryman Bob Jane to win the 1971 Australian Touring Car Championship, in another Camaro. Leech made his first appearance in Round 5 at Silverstone, finishing 14[SUP]th[/SUP], two laps down, after engine issues.
The last BSCC race for the Mustang was at the penultimate round, at Silverstone, for the Tourist Trophy, where Leech was involved in an accident in the first heat, and unable to start the second heat.
With nowhere for the Mustang to race other than in the Special Saloons category for heavily modified sedans, the Mustang took the usual nose-dive in desirability as old race cars tend to do, and ended up doing a bit of ASCAR club racing, driven by Roy Pierpoint.
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In the mid-1980s, Eric Walker purchased the Leech Mustang, complete with 429 motor and a spare 429 in bits (but missing the Leech built fuel-injection system) and added it to his growing collection of ‘60s and ‘70s American sedans to have competed in the BSCC, including the Terry Sanger Falcon Sprint, and Martin Birrane ’70 Mustang. All three vehicles were in original condition, as last raced, and showing the stresses brought about by years of being pounded upon. With nowhere to race them, Erics plan was to hold on to the cars until their values rose once again, then sell one of the Mustangs to pay for the restoration of the other. Unfortunately a divorce in 1987 forced him to sell the cars. The Falcon went to Sweden, while the two Mustangs eventually ended up back in the US.
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Although not a genuine Boss 429, the Dennis Leech Mustang is perhaps the only road race Mustang to have competed with a Boss 429 motor. Ultimately, the concept failed, but anyone fortunate enough to have seen this car race, will never forget it.
The Dennis Leech Mustang is currently undergoing restoration in the US.
My thanks to:
Wolfgang Kohrn at
www.ponysite.de
Frank de Jong at
www.touringcarracing.net
Mike Hayward at
www.mikehaywardcollection.com
Eric Walker
The original race photos in this article were kindly Mike Hayward. The later photos were supplied by Eric Walker.
