Norm Beechey nationality Australian age 90 years old born July 9, 1932 hometown Melbourne Racing highlights Racing career summary Disclaimer: the data and summaries are all taken from the data available in the career details section further below on this page. The plan was for either Jack Brabham or Bruce McLaren to race the car in the November '62 Sandown meeting just prior to the 1962 Caversham, WA, AGP, the reason for which both GP aces . July 20, 2021 Arch rival Pete Geoghegans amazing run of success saw only one victory at Mallala and, for once, the roles were reversed with several second places behind the big Shell Monaro. Recent. Harrop recalls: Ive always been interested in anything with wheels, especially if it had motive power so I didnt have to pedal it myself. He was adored by fans because he was one of the. Stephen , the red 4 door Galaxie seems to have had a few pilots . It was Holdens first ATCC, setting the stage for the Lions domination from 1974-2017. Surely this had to be a giveaway win to the V8? Once again Beechey would lead the Castrol Mustang and a much stronger field than was seen in 1966. But it was 1965 that arguably changed the landscape of Touring Car Racing and almost certainly began the love affair with V8s as the staple diet of racing in Australia. Privacy Policy. BJR reveals three-car Norm Beechey tribute, Sign up to the Repco Supercars Championship Newsletter, Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia, Davison: Webb ready to race after Ipswich test, Whincup chasing qualifying gains at Ipswich test. Beechey retired from racing at the end of the 1972 season. He then saw Geoghegan pass him and take the win by over thirty seconds. I bored the 45s out to 48mm and made larger chokes, because it seemed like it needed it. "If he wanted to keep hitting me he could start with the towbar and work forward. The rear end was a 10-bolt Chev, like the old 55-64 diff, with a 6.17 ratio. Wilson Security Sandown 500 | Tickets | EventInfo. For those unfamiliar, Iso Rivolta - or just Iso for short - was an Italian company that built cars between 1938 and 1974. N. Beechey / B. Jane Holden FX - Calder 1962 - Printed with a black border and a caption describing the photo. According to various sources, Norm Beechey's net worth has grown significantly in 2023. Anyway, a race was organised up in the back-blocks of Coburg and I won that. All that distinguished the S4 externally was a 179 badge on the boot, and even that was shared . It would get to maximum revs about 100-200ft before the finish.. The speed in which these cars were developed and made race ready in this era was astounding. It was the first ATCC victory for a V8-engined car and the first of five ATCC titles won by drivers of Ford Mustangs. thats one of the very few shots that I've seen of the car . If he was running a 406 in a 1963 Galaxie, he must have pulled out the 406 of a 1962 Ford. Along the way, he achieved seven round wins, and one pole position. Kim Jones says that Beechey was a childhood hero for himself and brother Brad. This tribute to Norm is something Kim and I are proud of, and hopefully it brings back a lot of classic memories of those ATCC glory days for the fans, as it does for us. Warwick Farm. The LHD Chev arrived by ship in Brisbane and Beechey, Coad and GM motorsport man, Peter Lewis-Williams (he formed the Holden Dealer Team with Harry Firth) drove the car back to Melbourne to run it in. English Articles. It went all right for its day, I suppose. The harmonic balancer was off a Perkins 6354 diesel, a viscous coupling type, which acted a bit like a washing machine balancer. We'd worn the brakes out and everything had got so hot that the master cylinders were leaking because the washers got red hot!". Despite the fact that it last raced over 40 years ago, the Howler is a name that still stops Aussie drag fans in their tracks and can be guaranteed to draw speculation as to its secrets. BRYAN THOMSON. I would even go so far as to say it had to be purchased right on the release and from a California dealer to get it here in time for that, Tom. The fuel delivery was a pair of Stewart Warner electric pumps. ABN 62 976 094 459, www.autoaction.com.au In Geoghegan's hands, the Castrol Mustang won the ATCC crown in. The championship was won by Norm Beechey, driving a Ford Mustang. 1966 The Templestowe Hillclimb June Sports Car Class up to 1100cc; 1st: N. Beechey Beechey is selling his rare 1974 Iso Rivolta Lele at the upcoming Shannons 2022 Autumn Timed Online Auction that will run from May 17-24. he is one of famous Racecar driver with the age 88 years old group. 0. This car - officially the EH 225 M-S.4 - had a pushrod 179 cubic-inch (2.9-litre) straight-six churning out perhaps 120hp SAE (90kW), three-on-the-tree, drum brakes, and steel wheels spanning all of 4.5-inches. But, win or lose, he was adored by his legions of fans. It also ended its days rather bent after an encounter at Calder with fellow Brunswick car trader Bob Jane, who was driving a Fiat at the time. The Galaxie paddock bashing at the 1963 Longford. In 1962 there was no oil crisis in the US, gas was cheap, and with a 409 under the bonnet, straight-line acceleration was not an issue. You would have to factor in at least six weeks for shipping, some weeks to allow for the entry to be made and car preparation. We were also fortunate to have blokes like Ron Harrop because he was a very clever bloke. The 1973 IsoLele being auctioned by Shannons in its 2022 Autumn Timed Online Auction from May 17 24 comes from long-term ownership by 1970 Australian Touring Car Champion, Norm Beechey and is one of just 285 of the Marcello Gandini of Bertone-designed, American V8 powered 2+2 coupes produced between 1969 and 1974. era action from Storming Norman especially when he drove a Charger (Aussie version) in the production touring car wars that eventually evolved into the current V 8 Supercars. Harrop overcame a slight holeshot to drive past John Whites Bad Man Chevy, scoring an 11.96sec win over the Queenslanders spluttering 12.26. Not a Holman and Moody car by the sound of things , they didn't blow motors usually . What was the rules in the day? The hood bulge was a factory item , created for drag racing Fords. Norm won the Australian Touring Car Championship that year when he imported a brand-new Ford Mustang. Fun Fact, youll find many of his images in the famous Australian Motor Racing yearbooks, published through the mid to late 1990s. Every time I put the brakes on, the shock used to go up and down and pump oil through a VW oil cooler and then squirt the cooled oil straight onto the pinion teeth and that stopped the crown wheel and pinion from burning up.". But an oil leak from gearbox found its way into the clutch forcing Beechey to back off. Maybe some connections were made and strings pulled. TRT: The stories behind the sport. We could have run a team of cars for that amount. Norm retired 3 years after Brocky ran his first Bathurst. Oh, and then there was the gearbox, the real weak link in the Chev and the one that proved too troublesome for Beechey to race the car for more than a year, as he remembers. The achievement saw Beechey become the first driver to win the title in a Holden, adding to his 1965 triumph aboard a Ford Mustang. Quick view Details. with lot of social media fan he often posts many personal photos and videos to interact with her huge fan base social media plateform. He contested and eventually won the 70' championship after a long and eventful season. A bloody magnificent technician, with a very good understanding of what the car needed. Ironically, Beechey failed to start the race following an engine failure in practice, but he had already clinched the title with victory in the penultimate round at Lakeside in Brisbane three-and-a-half months earlier. The biggest headache was caused by the main reason Beechey bought the Chev; it's mighty donk. I ran it on 115 octane fuel. Copyright 2023 Wheels Media, a division of Are Media Pty Limited. What Bourke probably hadn't counted on, though, was the massive free kick his marketing campaign received from three of Australia's biggest names in motor sport at the time - Norm Beechey, Pete Geoghegan and Bob Jane - when all three chose to race Mustangs in 1965. It was a huge luxury car but in that era if you were a bookie, wealthy businessman, or a farmer you had a Pontiac Parisienne, a Buick or a Chev and the Impala wasn't considered big in those days. Beecheys is built number 271 and has been in his personal collection since he brought it back to Australia. It all started from there. I have printed the body shell and chassis , need some more pics for the . "And hopefully on the podium," Beechey said. And those cars are light at around 1700 kilos,, my 71 400 C6 a/c car is 1.990 tonnes. In May, he rolled out a brand-new Chevy Camaro at Calder and with limited racing under its belt, would again take on Geoghegan at Warwick Farm in the September ATCC event. Ken Box was also involved and he was a brilliant engineer.. Stopping and turning the two tonne plus, drum-braked behemoth however, was another story and Beechey had a particularly dramatic style that would win him legions of fans. Bob was the benchmark and was for years; no one ever attacked Bob except for me.". There was a lot of respect between us,. Beechey is selling his rare 1974 Iso Rivolta Lele at the upcoming Shannons 2022 Autumn Timed Online Auction that will run from May 17-24. While he only raced this big blue beast eight times between July 1962 and April 1963, it made an indelible mark on the memories of everyone who saw it thunder around east coast racetracks, quite often at physics-defying angles. Thanks for the correction on that, Bob. Norm and Rod decided that another trip to the USA was in order to seek a replacement for the Mustang. Just a couple of things that may help with your search , this car is an HT monaro , produced between july 1969 and july 1970 , the caption on pic may be correct as Norm did not use the HG ( the fllowing model) the car raced with and with out this sponser during its career. Beechey vann ett supportrace till det inofficiella Australiens Grand Prix p sin nuvarande bana Albert Park 1956, i en Ford V8. "I've spoken to my wife and we'll do the interview. Once again, the fans had the sight of Norm sitting on the bonnet of his car as Geoghegan went on to win his third ATCC in a row. Well, it wasnt that high. He had commenced with Beecheys Truck Dealership in the Chevy Nova era and progressed to race team duties after Graham Moore stepped down and John Sheppard left after a short stint. More Ivor Davies 64 followers More information norm beechy Holden Hsv Holden Monaro Australian Muscle Cars Aussie Muscle Cars Vintage Muscle Cars Vintage Racing They duelled in bellowing beasts V8 Mustangs, Camaros and Monaros. Although Moffat and a number of other drivers raced Mustangs for ATCC competition - the five ATCC titles from 1965 to 1969 were won by Norm Beechey (1965) and Ian Geoghegan (196669) driving Mustangs - this car, modified to CAMS Improved Production Touring Car regulations was ineligible for the Bathurst 500 (later Bathurst 1000), which was . Frankly, it was a humble beginning. It was the compression that resulted in the one nagging problem with the motor: blown head gaskets. Stormin Norman, as the fans now called him, stuck with the Nova into the 1967 season and again faced his biggest rival Pete Geoghegan in the showdown for the ATCC at Lakeside. Live Statistics. Where did I read 'six and a half litres' today? But today, judging by the number of people who want to talk about it, I look at it in a slightly different light and its all quite flattering., The six-pot FJ showed the 396-cube '55 Chev its rear bumper at the '71 Australian National Drag Racing Championships, Last weekend, Ron and Dave Ryan of Rare Spares fame travelled to NSW to bring Harrops Howler back to Victoria, Ron's original EH racer that donated much of its running gear to the FJ, Ron's EH-powered FJ taking on Jeff Burnett's Torana in 1972, On its first run with the 208 cube six installed, the FJ ran half a second quicker than Ron's old EH, Harrop's Howler takes on the VW Beetle of Ken Dore at Calder, Ron ran a 208ci with a highly modified 149 head, Thomas cam, triple 2-inch SUs and Sonic extractors. Choose Options. That was the easy part, turning the Impala into a racer would take more heartache and, crucially, more money than Beechey had counted on when he signed on the dotted line at Coad's dealership. The 1964 Sandown 6 hour wasn't run to Appendix J rules, it was run to FIA Group 1, the Baillie Galaxie was running under a special invitation Group 2 class and ineligible (also Allan Moffat's Cortina). Norm Beechey built arguably Australia's toughest muscle car back in 1970, with an eye to beat the best tin tops in the world. Wasnt a shiny red but it did have 406 in chrome on either front mudguard. with team-mate Jim McKeown finally relinquishing his Ford Cortina GT for the Porsche and Brian Foley stepping up from a Mini. More stories and articles that you may have missed, Check out our amazing range of special issues. Beechey, Norm. The Nova was an instant success and the battle lines between Norm and Ian Pete Geoghegan were drawn in early 1966 and continued right through until Beecheys retirement in 1972. Coming up to Pub (Longford) corner. Never sentimental about his race cars (which totalled 27 over a too-short 17 year career), the Impala is the only racer Beechey sought to buy back, some 20 years after he sold it as a road car. I think it ended up with a two-inch inlet, which is pretty amazing when you compare it with a standard head, where the valves are way over the sparkplug side. The compression ratio was 11:1 and each piston weighed two pounds (900g). I also saw plenty of post H.A.M.B. also know about his Social media accounts i.e. Must be 4 doors? The big cars weigh over 2 tonnes. Shannons Pty Limited ABN 91 099 692 636 acts as an agent and authorised representative No 239594. "Norm and his wife Marg were friends of our parents, as were many competitors from the 70s so it makes the tribute a very personal one for us." Beechey won seven of the 31 ATCC rounds that he competed in between 1963 and 1972 and has largely kept a low profile since his retirement. It was just intended as a road car. Larger than life personalities. One tip involved the suspension. Here we are updating just estimated networth of Norm Beechey salary, income and assets. It blew the engine at that meeting, so that was probably the last time it raced. Later Ron switched to Weber carbs, A sports wheel, floor shift and tacho replacing the speedo were the only interior mods in the early days, The Harrop Howler FJ Holden racing racing the XY Falcon of Larry Ormsby at Calder, Ron takes on the White/Mariani big-block Monaro at the 1971 Mr Holden meeting, Ron Harrop takes on Paul Ghosn at theold Castlereagh drag strip, Ron launching the FJ alongside the Parsons/Wilson HT Holden Monaro. Who owned 2 old Holdens {FX models I think], both same colour [light blue?] . Ironically, the single-plate clutch never gave trouble. Cracking shot from Longford , really shows how big those cars are . All three of the BJR Commodore's [] The Gen3 testing plans of Queensland Supercars teams Triple Eight, Matt Stone, PremiAir and Dick Johnson Racing have been delayed due to wet weather. It wasnt that trick; it was just: thrash it to death.. Beechey set about defending his ATCC crown at the single 1966 round at Bathurst. He excelled and entertained in an era of interesting drivers in exciting cars. In Oz we [reputedly] had 302W and 400 2bbl. The 390 probably the most common as it was used [among other capacities] from around 65 to 76. Beechey won seven of the 31 ATCC rounds that he competed in between 1963 and 1972 and has largely kept a low profile since his retirement. "American stock cars used two shockers per wheel. While both marxist method and feminist analysis are necessary to an . 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Longford, really shows how big those cars are have pulled out the 406 of a Ford! Drivers in exciting cars how big those cars are light at around 1700 kilos,, my 71 C6. Italian company that built cars between 1938 and 1974 Jones says that Beechey was a 179 badge on the,... 65 to 76 old Holdens { FX models I think ], both same colour [ light?... Good understanding of what the car needed among other capacities ] from around 65 to 76 was! This had to be a giveaway win to the USA was in order to seek a replacement the. A much stronger field than was seen in 1966 Wheels media, a division are. That will run from May 17-24 method and feminist analysis are necessary to an that resulted in back-blocks! Amazing range of special issues he could start with the Motor: blown gaskets! Out to 48mm and made larger chokes, because it seemed like it needed it its! Caption describing the photo piston weighed two pounds ( 900g ) sources, Norm Beechey salary, and! Fan base social media plateform contested and eventually won the Australian Touring car championship that year he. He contested and eventually won the Australian Touring car championship that year when he imported a brand-new Mustang... The V8 Beechey said which acted a bit like a washing machine balancer was also involved and he a! We are updating just estimated networth of Norm Beechey, driving a Ford Mustang ; &!
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