Chevy Monza Histories And Photos

[thunder427]

Yeah, I need Rowan to chime in here, he is the expert on the Aussie raced Monza's. I have a copy somewhere of an Aussie motor racing annual for 1983, and in it is a very short article of a red Monza that had been built to take to the US and that a couple of high profile Aus drivers would race. I thought it was Peter Brock and Alan Jones, though could be wrong about that. Anyway, for some reason the whole deal fell through and the Monza ended up being raced in Aus as a sports sedan. And I believe this is the car the commentators are referring to at the start of the video in post #71, driven here by Mike Imrie.

The Bob Jane/ Bryan Thomson Monza did end up as a Supra Sports Sedan, which I think Des Wall still owns, though I think there is some talk it may be reverted back to the Monza.

......OK!!!..said 'MONZA' was built by John Reardon (of Whincup/Monza fame!) for Daryl Sydal, whom fluctuated between the USA and Australia on business (we all thought he might have been an FBI agent??!!!) and yes, it was to be driven by 'Named' Aussie drivers inc those already mentioned,.....Yes, the enterprise did flounder and eventually the Monza arrived back in Aust.where it was sold to somebody in Queensland (ever noticed they walk funny in Qld!!!?)....now we need Camaroz for 'names and places'

...Daryl Sydal was one of the early importers of 'Muscle' cars from the USA (we didnt think of them in those days as such!!) Daryl lives on the 'Gold Coast' these days and is close friends with 'Winky' (Graeme Whincup) along with Ron the Harrop (The Musketeers/No money then but heaps of 'Get It Done!!)those three had some major foresight when it came to building these 'Sports Sedan' type cars,John Reardon then went on to work for Williams F1,where I believe he is still employed to this day...not bad for a kid selling train tickets with a dream......I've spent many hours working with John/'the ferret',consuming 'Fish-n-chips and Beer (weren't fussy what brand as long as it was 'FREE!!)....I was also rather privlaged by both Bob Jane Racing's Pat Purcell and Graeme Whincup likewise,that I could work at 'BJR' and 'Moonlight' at 'AAR (All Australian Racers) and not get the 'demon tweeks' mixed up!!!!!!.......you would be 'Sacked' into days world!!!!.........regards thunder427/MJ

[Steve Holmes]

Hey Myles, you're awesome! Thats great info.

[thunder427]

Hey Myles, you're awesome! Thats great info.

......Steve,your inspiration brings many Great memories back for so many of us that have no one to tell, (A)... they are not interested!!,(B)...they don't believe you could of had that much fun with your pants on!!!......reminds me,must tell you the story of 'Big Pete setting the lake on fire!!!!.........I know, I know, your all going....'BULLSHIT'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and your all going to tell me, that water doesn't Burn??????????????????.......Oh!! side bar, the Monza of Sydal, I'm imformed has now 'Morphed' into a SAAB,according to 'Winky',possibly some body named Goulay/NSW? or such.....come on you Detectives,we want Bloody results !!!!!!.......regards thunder427/MJ

[Rod Grimwood]

Tell the stories thunder427, as some of us believe as we have witnessed all sorts over the years, (not involved) just seen as i was the quite one.
Yep tell the stories it is all good, no names needed, the old rule "The van went well and it rained on Sunday"

[Steve Holmes]

OK, I have managed to unearth my 1983 Australian Raceyear annual. Towards the back of the book is a small b/w photo of a Monza and a caption next to it which reads: "January's highlight was the announcement that this Monza would be driven by Alan Jones and Peter Brock in America during the year, but nothing came of it. Ron Harrop raced the car at Calder in February and failed to finish a race".

Whats confusing is that the bodywork on the car looks more like that of Graeme Whincups as pictured here rather than the car of Imrie which appears in the above video clip, and which the commentators say is the car that was to race in the US. Its still quite different to the Whincup car, but has the square rear box guards similar to this.

[BMCBOY]

Here are a couple of shots from Baypark that may be of interest

[Steve Holmes]

Ross, these are sensational! Thanks for posting them. Typically for me, I wrote a magazine article on this very event and couldn't find colour photos for love nor money!

These are beautiful and really enjoyable to see. And those are some pretty significant cars too.

[rogered]

The chris cord car at Harrahs Reno around 15 years ago

[OCTARD-USA]

Great pic, Rogered. This photo is better than I have from back in this car's days in the National Auto Museum (ex Harrahs collection, Reno, Nevada). When I was in my teens, I'd have my parents drop me off at this museum for the afternoon, while they went and enjoyed "Hot August Nights."

As you probably already know, where others might not... This is the Chris Cord DeKon Monza that Doane Spencer modified even more than the other team chassis seen here (in vintage competition, owned and driven by Ken Epsman):

http://cdn-4.motorsport.com/static/i...45744/s1_1.jpg

With the chassis in your picture, Doane converted the car to into an IRS and played with a bit more ground effects.

Great stuff, and perhaps my all time favorite car.

[rogered]

Great stuff, and perhaps my all time favorite car.

Yip it would rank high on my list as well.
Has all the right ingredients

[rogered]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXs2nG3MP8Y
Just found this , so this is the same chassis i assume

[OCTARD-USA]

The video link you've posted, Rogered, is of the chassis that Ken Epsman now owns and runs in vintage racing here in the USA.

The chassis in your picture from the museum is the other Chris Cord DeKon Monza. The chassis pictured in your museum image is not presently being raced.

[rogered]

Cheers Octard
So is the cord car still in the in Reno or has somebody got it?

[OCTARD-USA]

Cheers Octard
So is the cord car still in the in Reno or has somebody got it?

Hello Rogered,

To be clear, there were two DeKon Monzas fielded by Chris Cord. They are DeKon Monza chassis numbers 1011 and 1012. There is some question about which chassis is which, and I'll not go into my take on the proper chassis identification in this thread.

The chassis that you pictured in the Reno museum 15 years ago, is no longer there. This chassis is in private hands, and not presently being raced. Doane Spencer modified this chassis from live axle to IRS, and has additional ground effects added/tested.

The other chassis (never in the Reno Museum) is owned and driven by Ken Epsman, and can be seen in both your video link and this photo link.

[Steve Holmes]

Just out of interest Chad, what sort of ground effects work did Doane Spencer do on this car?

He was a very clever guy, Doane. Those of us with an interest in hot rodding history will know of his beautiful '32 Ford roadster, which is one of the most celebrated hot rods of all time, and one of the most emulated. He used it as his daily driver from 1944 when he first purchased it off his classmate Jack Dorn, and raced it on the dry lakes with a 243ci Mercury flathead, hitting 126mph. His love for road racing was evident quite early, as he tore the '32 apart and began rebuilding it to race in La Carrera Panamericana, and made some significant modifications such as running the exhausts through the frame rails to provide better ground clearance. Unfortunately he never got the chance to race it, as the Mexican road race was cancelled before he completed the '32. This car is now owned by Bruce Meyer, and was restored by Pete Chapouris, who now owns Co-Cal Speed Shop.

Interestingly, Spencer also built a fantastic looking and very successful Sunbeam Tiger in the '60s, and also ran the exhausts out through the rocker panels. His cars were quick, but boy they looked great too!

[OCTARD-USA]

Just out of interest Chad, what sort of ground effects work did Doane Spencer do on this car?

Doane put a belly pan on the car, and the rear section had a cavity/tunnel at the back, but this is all detail received from word of mouth. The car was roped off at the Reno Auto Museum, and I could never look underneath.

When and if I ever get to see the thing in person, I have about a thousand other things to inspect.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Chad. Would be great to find out more about this. I take it the belly pan was full length? Looking at the front of the car, I assume air must have been directed through either the centre hole or the two smaller holes either side of it and ducted beneath the car but kept separate from the air going to the radiator and travelling around the engine bay? Were the ground effects effective?

[OCTARD-USA]

Regarding the ground effects on the ex-Chris Cord DeKon Monza that once resided at the Reno Auto Museum... yes, a full length belly pan. Split into a front and rear section, as I'm told.

As I haven't seen it, I don't have the detail needed to comment any further.

[Steve Holmes]

Kiwi motorsport photographer Warwick Clayton has sent me a few really neat Monza photos from the late 70s and early 80s, kicking off with the NZ debut of the Red Dawson DeKon 1001 and Allan Moffat DeKon 1005 at Bay Park in late 1975.

[Steve Holmes]

The Moffat car continued on to Australia after its NZ races, while Dawson straightened his car out after shunting it a couple of times during the 1975/76 season (adding to the shunts it'd recieved in the US before he'd purchased it), fitted fuel injection, and headed into the 1976/77 season with high hopes. But his season, and his racing career came to a violent end when he spun into the infield at Manfeild at the start of the new season, slammed into a drain, and rolled.