17 replies to this topic

[Beagleboy]

Hi all joined up a few weeks ago and been following some of the topics and they are a good read anyway i have a L34 torana which i have owned for around 21 years which people have told me it has been raced at some time but i have never really bothered to find out more till now. A few years ago i started a new job and a guy i work with told me he new of a previous owner of the car upon meeting him he had a few pictures of the car with a aluminium roll cage installed which he removed but he thinks he still might have stashed somewhere and he also had  the cams log book for the car but all the inside pages have been ripped out ,race history missing but chassis number etc was still in there . Anyway when he bought the car it was just plain white in colour which is not the original colour it still has most of its  race bits on car, he also told me that it was raced by Paul De lacy at wanneroo in 1978 but did not know anything other than that .I know Paul was pretty big in speedway but finding any info or photos has been fruitless and i have been trying to track the man down himself to ask him of the cars past previous to him owning it. So if anyone can help with some photos or info it would be great never know who had the car from 1974 till 1978 thanks Peter

[Librules]

Hi.  If you haven't already you may want to put this question up on specialist sites such as     gmh-torana.com.,au  although you do need to be wary of some of the people on there.  TNF is is a much nicer place.......

[Lee Nicolle]

Quite a few L34 Touring Cars etc ended up in Perth as they became out of date. Though I suspect quite a few road cars had cages too to do some sprints or hillclimbs. Which is the way GMH tried to market those cars initially. Many road L34 and A9Xs were used as such and a few ended up as grid fillers in the Touring Car Championship too. As did some Falcons too. With 1 or 2 starts in sprint races. You could do that in those days.

Unlike now you need a multi million dolaar operation to get a start

[Beagleboy]

Thought about putting this topic up on the GMH Torana site but i thought that the torana site dealt more with the history of the cars when they were road cars , this site could be better with the motor sport background and the possibility of some one who knows Paul De Lacy.

[cooper997]

Peter,

There's a few West Australian enthusiasts who visit here, but you might also get a lucky break on www.speedwest.net

Stephen

[Terry Walker]

Speedwest is always a good bet for info like this. There was an enquiry on Speedwest a week ago about a specific XU-1 and within a day or os the details of just about every XU-1 that ever raced at Wanneroo was posted.

 

I had a look at my Race Results section on my website, terrywalkersplace.com, for 1978, and although almost all races that year are reported, I can't find Paul deLacey, He may have co-driven in the For-Life 300 Enduro that year, for which I do not have the results, unfortunately, nor a programme.  (The enduro race results were often kept seperate from the main results files by the WA Sporting Car Club and some are still missing.)

[Lola5000]

You could try www.ferrarichat.com    the Australian section,as there is a number of W.Aust old racing drivers on that,who raced L34s ect.

[Beagleboy]

Hi Terry Walker thanks for your response did a google search some time ago and on your site page 18 of the 1978 State Championship on the 16th July race 1 Paul De Lacy was entered in a V8 Torana and had a DNF this is the only result i  can find of him .

[Lee Nicolle]

Hi Terry Walker thanks for your response did a google search some time ago and on your site page 18 of the 1978 State Championship on the 16th July race 1 Paul De Lacy was entered in a V8 Torana and had a DNF this is the only result i  can find of him .

Does the results show the entrant? DeLacey could have been driving someone elses car, or the meeting could have been a one off for the car.

[Terry Walker]

Results don't show the entrant, usually found only in the programmes. And I don't have a programme.

 

I had a hunt through 1978 to see if anyone else drove a Torana No 8, but no luck.

[275 GTB-4]

It appears that "a" Torana did Speedway...


QUOTE
dirtymacca said:

Many moons ago, Paul DeLacey from W.A. turned up at Liverpool with a front tube stub on his Torana, at the time all the local where still running full production sedan style cars. The year would have been about 1970-71....A bit like try the 50% before going all the way!

I have heard stories of that car, though it wasn't a full space frame as such, it did pave the way though. I thought a more than a few would have known who produced the first full chassis. It didn't quite have a full fibreglass body as the rear quarter panels & roof were gutted steel panels fitted over the frame. The door skins, front guards, boot & bonnet were all fibreglass.....

scabit, Jun 28, 2008

[giffo]

Results Forlife 300 - 16/17 Sept 1978

I have 3 L34 Torana's that ran

#87 Rick Rossiter / Tim Bonnifant -  finished 3rd and

#99 Bob Shepperd - finished 8th

#18  Owen Ogilvie - finished 18th

 

Terry I have a handful of results sheets & programs from the 70's courtesy of Ray Hadlow you are welcome to take a look at them & copy if you are missing any

 

Giffo

Edited by giffo, 20 July 2014 - 10:21.

[275 GTB-4]

#87 Rossiter/Bonnifant - finished 3rd...B. Rossiter?

[giffo]

Are you asking me to go back out to my shed & dig these out again?

 

I edited the previous thread  - Rick Rossiter

 

I remember a mate (Shane Rowden?) had one of these back in the early 90's. Cage was still in the car and the car was off track and re-licensed for the road and re-painted white. He felt (thought he was?) safer since he was burning up the roads & boy did he burn up those roads in and around Collie W.A. The burnout that 'thing' could do would wow any petrol head. I distinctly remember him winning the burnout comp at Bunbury Speedway one night as they did this during the track grades during each evening. It had all the race gear still on the car. I sometimes wonder what happened to it all those years ago.

Edited by giffo, 20 July 2014 - 10:31.

[275 GTB-4]

Are you asking me to go back out to my shed & dig these out again?
 
I edited the previous thread  - Rick Rossiter

No thanks Giffo...not until it gets a bit warmer! Hmmm R could look like a B...tah muchly

[Beagleboy]

Hi do you guys think that this car could be the Rick Rossiter car is there any pictures of this car sounds like a lead to me is this Shane Rowden still around he may have a picture of the car when he had it , I have a picture here a previous owner gave me the car had a full cage made of ally with cams stickers on it ,bonnet clips ,A9X bonnet scoop ,oil cooler behind grill and other bits and pieces on car . I will post a pic when i work out how to do it.

[giffo]

Beagleboy

 

Based on what you have written I think you could trow a dart and hit any A9X there ever was in W.A.

 

It may be time for you to write down a owner list that you can verify, then post it here and then I'm sure some one here will be able to assist further. I'm also sure that noting the chassis number will also be of assistance to those who have spent their lives living these cars. You also might have to spend your time on a Holden forum to get further.

 

I only write this as you seemed to have gone from DeLacey & to linked Rossiter & Rowden and I don't know how? The story I wrote about Shane is real as I knew him & raced with him back in the early 80's.

I'm not saying you're wrong and it all may link up however you might like to add some verified info to assist yourself in getting an answer to what you are looking for. 

Edited by giffo, 22 July 2014 - 11:50.

[Beagleboy]

Sorry Giffo

 

I mis read your post i apoligise  the latest owner i have traced the car to was Garry Chapman he dragged the car at Ravenswood  about 1985 they purchased the car from a guy named Abdul who said he bought the car from a guy named Paul De Lacy . That is the info that Garry gave me . cheers Pete