Historic Brock 48-215 Holden racer for sale. Sept 08
This is the first time the racecar created by Phil Munday has been offered for sale, and it's testimony to the standing of JUST CARS that vendors acting for Munday chose this publication to do it in.
The history of this iconic FX has already been well documented, but if you're not familiar with it, this vehicle's origins date back to early 2006. . . . .
Being well known and respected in UK racing circles (including being voted #2 in the Top 20 touring car drivers of all time), Peter Brock had been invited to participate in the 2006 Goodwood Revival, an event that showcased classic cars and drivers in a number of competitive races over a two-day meet.
The organisers had wanted Peter to campaign his first real racer, the Austin A30, in the St. Mary's Trophy race for touring cars, but somehow Brock convinced them that an early model Holden would be more appropriate!
Munday had already been working with Brock on the Daytona Coupe that he campaigned in the 2006 Targa Tasmania when the Goodwood Revivial offer came up. Being a collector, restorer and aficionado of 48-215 and FJ Holdens, Munday suggested an FX-based racer, not only to have an Aussie presence at the event, but also to honour the 'Humpy Holdens' that were synonymous with Australian racing in the late 1950 and 60s.
With Brock convinced, the team set to work, turning a relatively solid, but tired 1953 FX into a racing machine in three months. Munday and Anthony Dove took care of the body, while Ian Tate was given the task of creating a race-winning engine based on Holden's reliable, but fairly stodgy grey motor.
Under Revival rules, engine capacity can be increased up to 20%, along with other modifications. So Tate got creative, adding Torana, Vauxhall and even Mitsubishi parts to create a donk capable of matching the big Jaguars and V8-engined BMWs the FX was going up against.
While the finished machine ultimately failed to win at Goodwood, the performance of the little FX - and Brock - made enough of an impression him to win the event's "Spirit of Goodwood" trophy.
Since then, the 'Goodwood' FX has appeared at a number of car shows and historic race meets, and has earned its own measure of fame as the last racecar to be campaigned by Brock in circuit competition.
However, with the need to focus on other projects, Munday has reluctantly decided to offer this one-off vehicle for sale.
The asking price of $500,000+ aside, this represents a genuine opportunity for the devoted Brock fan to pick up a genuine piece of Australian racing history.
Under the Bonnet
As befitting a car built for circuit competition, there's no ordinary grey motor residing in the engine bay of this vehicle!
The creation of Ian Tate, the man behind more race winning Holden engines than you could imagine, the FX racer has had the engine bored out to 2.4litre capacity (from the original 2.2), with 44mm triple SU carbies, a Vauxhall crankshaft and Wade Cams-style camshaft added.
The high compression (11:5.1) engine makes 140kW, with the addition of Facey extractors and a straight-through exhaust.
Power is delivered through a Muncie 4-speed transmission, XU1 Torana hydraulic clutch and locked diff with a 3.9:1 ratio.
