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This car was built in the US by Jim Webb and was based on a
Stockcar Products chassis. It was
imported to Australia by Graeme Whincup who sold it to Bob
Blacklaw after a few months. Bob Blacklaw owned and raced this
Monza from 1988 to 1996. Blacklaw and Bob Tindal prepared the car for the popular sports
sedan series. It features a 350 cu in Chevrolet small-block OHV
V-8, a Ford 9-inch rear differential and a Muncie 4-speed
gearbox. In full race trim it's capable of developing 600
horsepower. Paul Felsch was charged
with
developing and tuning the engine. It debuted in 1988 at Amaroo Park Raceway on Sydney's
north-western outskirts. The car also ran at Mount Panorama in
the Australian Sports Sedan Championship in 1992, and finished its career at
Amaroo in 1996. Time
constraints didn't allow enough development time, and the need for a new suspension configuration.
Blacklaw, a talented driver, didn't get the results he could
have otherwise gotten from the car. He only raced it sparingly,
but did win
some club events. The car has remained untouched since its
retirement
in 1996.
The Chevrolet Monza was the "weapon of choice" for a number of
Australia's best drivers, including Allan Moffat, Bob Jane, Allan
Grice and Bryan Thomson. When Ford of Australia scaled back its
racing involvement, Moffat, who had always been
a Ford man, needed a car to race. He looked to the US, as he had
done before. This time a couple of old friends (DeKon Engineering's
Lee Dykstra and Horst Kwech)
were developing a Monza. It became the perfect fit for Moffat, who
was one of Australia's most successful
full-time professional drivers. The Monza has been kindly loaned to the National Motor Racing Museum
in Bathurst by owner Bob Blacklaw.
From National Motor Racing Museum, Bathurst,
NSW, AU: https://nmrm.com.au/museum/visiting-cars/183-1976-chevrolet-monza-sports-sedan.html |
