Mossgreen - Important Collectors' Cars (#15SG) - Selected items... Cars... 1977 ex Bob Morris Holden A9X Hatchback Torana. One of ten bare shells supplied by the Holden factory to be prepared for racing, this Torana A9X was campaigned for three years by the Ron Hodgson Team in the Australian Touring Car Championship. Bob Morris in this car finished second only to the great Peter Brock, and in 1979 helped Morris win the ATCC, the first time ever that a private team had beaten a factory team of the same cars. Holdens have competed in competitive events for many years, but probably the best well known are those models which featured in the Bathurst Hardie-Ferodo 500 and 1000. The first Toranas that contested the Hardie-Ferodo were the GTR XUI with the potent six-cylinder, triple carburetted engines built by whiz Melbourne engineer, Ian Tate. In 1974 the SLR5000 V8s were introduced, and then in 1976, the L34, with which Bob Morris won with John Fitzpatrick. This particular car, a Torana A9X, was the a further development of that car and was built by Ron Missen for the Ron Hodgson Team to be driven in the 1977 Bathurst race by the American Johnny Rutherford (who had won the Indianapolis 500 in 1974 and ‘76), partnered by the first woman ever to race at Indianapolis, Janet Guthrie. The bare body shell was provided from the Holden spare parts division with all non-essential parts deleted and no sound deadening. The Rutherford/Guthrie partnership was, however, slower in practice than their local Australian team-mates. During the race worse was to come when Rutherford collided with another having to retire before Janet Guthrie even had a turn at the wheel. Officially they completed lap 13 and were ranked 57th at the finish. The car’s offside guard, doors and steering were damaged, whilst Allan Moffat and Jackie Ickx won in a Ford Falcon GT ahead of team-mates Colin Bond and Alan Hamilton in one of the great races. In order to meet homologation requirements to enable the A9X Toranas to race at Bathurst, it is thought that a total of 500 units (in two and four door form) were built. The ‘A9X’ code covered, four-wheel disc brakes; Salisbury rear-axle; re-worked front and rear suspension geometry; Borg-Warner T10 gearbox; 5 litre L31 V8 power unit generating 400 hp; larger radiator with an electric fan. The cost to the public was around A$11,000. Of the ten bare shells supplied by Holden, Bob Morris is quoted as saying that, “These shells were built as race cars and had all the non-essential items such as rear seat belt mounts, exhaust brackets and sound deadening deleted.” At Bill Patterson Motors, the race-cars then had added wheel-arch flares, air dams and a real bonnet scoop. At the time, even the road going A9Xs were dubbed, “The fastest accelerating cars sold in Australia, and the quickest” by the motoring magazines. On 5th February 1978 the first race back after repairs took place at the Sandown track in the Hang Ten Challenge. Peter Brock won both of the two races with Bob Morris driving this Torana to second place in the second race over eight laps. Other results in 1978 were as follows: Australian Touring Car Championship Round 1, Symmons Plains, 5th March: 2nd Australian Touring Car Championship Round 4, Sandown, 16th April: 2nd Australian Touring Car Championship Round 5, Wanneroo 7th May: 4th in heat 2 Australian Touring Car Championship Round 6, Calder Park, 28th May: 1st Rothmans 500, Oran Park, 4th June: Retired Australian Touring Car Championship Round 7, Lakeside 25th June: 2nd Better Brakes 10,000 Sprints, Amaroo Park 9th July: result not recorded Australian Championship of Makes Round 1, Oran Park, 30th July: Retired Australian Touring Car Championship Round 8, Adelaide International Raceway, 8th August: Retired. At the 1978 Bathurst Hardie-Ferodo, the car was driven by Morris, again partnered by John Fitzpatrick with a sister car driven by Derek Bell and Dieter Quester. Bell is a very well known racing driver and five time Le Mans 24 Hour winner, winner of the Daytona 24 Hours three times and twice the World Sportscar Champion. He also raced in Formula One for the Ferrari, Wheatcroft, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams. Quester, from Austria was the current European Touring Car Champion who had also competed in a single F1 race. On the first day’s practice, Morris was fastest with a lap of 2.17.7, followed by Peter Moffatt in a Cobra with 2.22.3. The final official practice in the rain saw Peter Brock in a Torana fastest with 2.20.065 and Morris in fourth on 2.21.776. Then in the race, the Bell/Quester car slammed into a fence on lap five after a tyre failed. Unfortunately, the Morris/Fitzpatrick car was also forced to retire after 73 laps with a suspected broken camshaft drive after running in third place. Interestingly the CAMS logbook, however, has the damage to the Bell/Quester car listed thus, “Extensive damage O/S/F sub frame upper & lower wishbone upright & caliper.” Perhaps this suggests that Derek Bell and Dieter Quester were actually driving this car and not the sister car. The 1978 results meant that Bob Morris finished second by just two points in the ATCC behind Peter Brock driving the Holden Dealer Team Toranas. At the end of the that year Peter Molloy was appointed as team manager. An accomplished race engine builder, Molloy initiated a comprehensive development plan to challenge the Holden Dealer Team in 1979 and achieved immediate success with Morris in the Torana. The Australian Racing Drivers Club ran its AMSCAR sprint series in parallel with the ATCC. Bob Morris won the 1979 series in the Torana, winning at Oran Park on 25th February and at Amaroo Park on 11th March and 14th April. He raced this car to win again at the ATCC Round 3 at Oran Park on 25th March. For the remainder of the season he used the other team car, being crowned the Australian Touring Car Champion at the end of the 1979 season and beating the Holden Factory team. According to its CAMS log book, the AMSTAR race was its last outing for Bob Morris and the Ron Hodgson Racing Team. The car was then purchased by West Australian Touring Car Champion, Peter Briggs. The car was raced at Wanneroo by Briggs on 6th July 1980 finishing in fifth place in the five lap Street Cars race and in fourth place in the second event, the Twin State Challenge. The car’s final two races were on 10th August and 7th September 1980 after which it was placed in the York Motor Museum. It was also placed on display at the Fremantle Motor Museum before returning to the York Motor Museum where it has remained until now being recommissioned and offered at auction.