Have to agree about the 6 cyl Nissans, I remember a visiting U.K journalist in the pits commenting "now that's what a race car should sound like" when the Nissan went past changing up at about 7500 RPM, it sure did sound great, unlike the 4 cyl Nissan which sounded like a wet fart

Yes it was Phil Ward's merc, it IMHO was the best sounding 4 cyl touring car I have ever heard, for a couple of rounds he was running it just as it came from Europe, still with kevlar dash (and some penalty ballast) that he turned up at Bathurst 86 with, and still with a straight thru exhaust! I think it wasnt until Amaroo that he was forced to run a muffler because the EPA were there with their dreaded SPL meter, the bane of many that round. A friend who was in a teams pit crew said he heard the usually quite placid driver mumbling in the pits that round that he would like to stick that SPL meter where it deserved to be if he came their way again lol I was stunned because this particular person was considered the gentleman of Australian motorsport
Tony's car was immaculate, as you would expect for any car with Frank Gardner's magical touch, and it's straight line speed was equal to Dick Johnsons car 17. But if that car was considered immaculate, you should have seen the second unraced spare car TL had at Bathurst in 88, the standard of preparation for that car was second to none in the touring car world. I asked a member of TL's pit crew if they were going to roll out the new car and he said they hoped to, but alas it just sat in the garage for the whole week