1979 Repco Reliability Trial
Photos by Ray Berghouse, Chevron Group
These images appeared in the Chevron Group's Challenge book, a copy of which was provided to each crew after the event. The negatives of these images are lost, hence the reproductions displayed on this page were scanned from the book, Some of the smaller, lower light level images did not scan well. All effort has been made to restore them to the best possible quality.
The Renault 16TS of Birrell / Smith / Nixon at the end of Beechworth stage, finished in 27th position.
The Datsun P510 of Caudle / Drew / Elsden, in Tooborac, finished in 66th place.
The Café / Gurney / Dawson Mazda RX4, in Tooborac finished in 76th place
The Datsun P510 of Easton / Rayner / Bell, going through Narrogin, finished in 70th position.
The Boys / Vonthien Ford FIOO, in Tooborac, finished in 36th place.
The Darby / Clark / Stewart Holden HR in Tooborac, finished in 73rd place.
The Porsche 911 of Stockley / O'Neil, shown in Tooborac, finished in 52nd place.
The Heaton / Shepherd / Mann Holden HJ p/van. here completing Beechworth, finished in 46th place.
The Datsun 180B SSS of McDiarmid / Travis / Phegan, shown after Good Parla, finished in 21st position.
The Sheridan / Reid Datsun P5IO. here in Tooborac, finished in 40th position.
The Holden Torana of O'Donnell / Geissler / Gibson, shown in N.T., finished in 28th place.
The Mazda 323 of Parsons / Parsons, here in Tooborac, rolled near Bundaberg.
The Ford Fairmont of Caddey / Mulach / Hanrihan retired after Townsville.
The Quill / Quill / Ellis Holden Commodore, shown at Tooborac, later blew the motor at Kunnunurra .
The Peugeot 504 of Saville / Fyvie / Harris crashed in W.A., Fyvie and Harris died.
The Reynolds / Herbert / Herbert VW Beetle, going fine at Tooborac, later retired from the event.
The Johnston / Marsh Mazda ran out of late time at Kunnunurra.
The Mini GT of Cleworth / Ballestrin / Martin, shown in Tooborac, later retired at Perth.
The Datsun P510 of Kaitler / Kay / Harper, here in Tooborac, retired in Perth with a broken piston.
The Hunt / Barnes / Haynes Datsun 180B retired with a broken rear end.
The Fritter / Kelly / Fritter Datsun 180B, in Tooborac, retired near Cockelbiddy
The Datsun 120Y of Ellis / Wall, here in Tooborac, broke the rear end in W.A.
The Holden EH of Duyvestyn / Kirk/ Comley, shown in Tooborac, hit a kangaroo in W.A.
The Leyland Moke of Cleaves / Stone in Tooborac, retired at Nullabor.
The Stanley / Harrison Volvo 244DL heads into Tooborac. retired in W.A. with broken rear end.
The Japanese team of Ohta / Ohnuma / Kobayashi in the Toyota TE 61. in Tooborac, broke sump, ran out of late time in Perth.
The Murray / Myers Peugeot 504 in Tooborac, broke the rear end near Broken Hill.
The Ford Escort of Alexander / Sedgwick went well until it blew the motor
The Glass / Loftus/ Brittliff Holden Torana through Tooborac, ran out of late time by Adelaide.
Through Tooborac, the Coleman / Boot Honda Civic which retired in South Australia with broken suspension.
The first night of the event, the Austin 1800 of Kennett / Stewart / Nye, retired with transmission problems.
The Walsh / Whitby / Wunderlich "Grey Ghost" shown near Broken Hill, broke the crank near Newcastle.
The Ford Cortina of Fury / Bonhomme / Suffern passing the Penny / Kennard / Brown Torana near Good Parla, finished in 25th position
The Kipling/ Potticary HT Holden ute. blew the motor in Western Australia.
The VW Beetle of Mulholland / Mulholland at Tooborac, ran out of late time by Adelaide.
Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, fresh from opening the Sydney Motor Show, stopped off to survey the remaining cars at the Showground.
Barry Ferguson with Peter Brock and the crews of the first two Commodores, at the official presentation.
Brisbane gave the Repco competitors the biggest reception of all, at the Brookside shopping Centre.
The Townsville showgrounds, where thousands of people visited during the day to view the Repco entrants.
The Leyland P76 of Maloney / Vitnell / Daley, near Broken Hill, finished in 39th position.
The Peugeot 504 of Herdy / O'Kane / Gramenz, shown in S.A., finished in 38th place.
The Garner / Madden / Corban Holden Torana LX, in Tooborac, finished in 78th position.
The Hayden / Phillis / Hogan Mazda RX2, here in S.A., finished in 72nd position.
The Ford Escort of Hall / Smith / Lott, completing Beechworth, finished in 88th place.
The Ingerson / Wilson / MacCulloch Peugeot 404, in Tooborac, finished in 49th place.
The Mazda RX4 of Boaden / Atkins / Pritchard, plunging through the NT, finished in 51st position.
The Ferrier / Smith Honda Civic, out of the S.A. water, finished in 87th position, passing the FJ Holden of Webster / Jolly / McIntyre undertaking a dry out.
The Hurrey / Geddes Toyota Celica, shown near Broken Hill, finished in 18th position.
The Chrysler Lancer of Nicholson / Crawford, in Tooborac, finished in 48th place.
The Colless / Johnson / McCoy Datsun P510, on a causeway near Port Hedland, finished in 54th place.
The Toyota Corolla of Bird / McKinnon, entering Tooborac, finished in 82nd place.
The Foden / Baker / Young Leyland P76, completing Beechworth, finished in 43rd place.
The Peugeot 504 of Myers / Sinfield / Myers, in Tooborac, finished in 64th position.
The Datsun P510 of Minett / Chapple / Watson, here in N.T., finished in 57th position.
The Kahler / Partridge / Simeon Mazda RX4, near Rockhampton in this picture, finished in 41st place.
The Toyota Celica of Nalder / Richards / Boyd, shown near Mt. Isa, finished in 6th place
The Roberts / Waterson / Carroll Holden Commodore, near Broken Hill, finished in 14th position.
The 2.5 Riley of Jones / Jones / Webber, entering Tooborac, finished in 75th place.
The Holden Commodore of Goldsbrough / Flanagan / Grounds, in Tooborac, finished in 32nd position.
The Finlay / Sullivan / Macleod Holden Commodore, in a N.T. wash, finished in 17th place.
The Datsun 18OB SSS of Clarke / Davis / Burge, near Good Parla, finished in 16th place.
The McGubbin / Kelly / Guyatt Holden Monaro GTS, entering Geraldton control finished in 23rd position.
The Volvo 244 DL of Miettunen / Morgan / Suomine, near Broken Hill finished in 20th place.
The Beveridge / Heaney / Jarman Volvo 244 DL, here in S.A., finished in 19th position, first women's team.
The Potter / Bain Mazda RXJ Coupe, completing Beechworth, finished in 58th place.
The Holden Commodore of Lockhart / Dunstan / Finlayson, entering Tooborac, finished in 33rd place.
The de Vaus / Faulkner / Bateson Peugeot 504, near Broken Hill, finished in 24th place.
The Holden Monaro GTS of Meehan / Gifford/ Gardiner, negotiating Kuipto, finished in 53rd place.
The McArthur family in the Ford Falcon XY, entering Tooborac, finished in 83rd position.
The Datsun 180B SSS of Rowney / Wilson / Tyson, through Narrogin, finished in 15th place.
The Lloyd / Dick / Crockenberg Mitsubishi Colt, on a N. T. dirt road, finished in 31st place.
The Davis / Eather / Toner Datsun 180B, near Mt. Isa, finished in 10th place.
The Loader / Hill / Neale Mitsubishi Lancer, over a causeway near Port Hedland, finished in 7th place.
The Murray / D'Albora / Murray Holden Commodore, rearing from the S. A. waters, finished in 29th place.
The Holden Commodore of Jackson / West / Jackson, first Commodore privateers home, finished in 13th place, seen here near Good Parla.
The Ford Escort turbo of Bryson / Cable-Cumming, entering Tooborac, finished in 92nd place.
The O'Shanesy / Dean / O'Shanesy Fiat Mirrafiori, through Tooborac, finished in 60th place. 5
The Volvo 242 GT of Johnson / Vanderbyl, rushing through Maralinga, finished in 30th place.
The Taylor / Hunt Rover 3500, at Kuipto, finished in 59th place.
The Portman Stanza, at Sydney Showgrounds, limping home.
The Mizel / Hall / Fricker / Mortimor Chevy Blazer, outside of Mt. Isa, finished in 12th position.
The Ford pickup of Clyborne/Hayes, entering Tooborac, finished in 69th position.
The Datsun Stanza of Portman / Thompson / Hammond, in Narrogin, finished in 22nd place.
The Wilson / Baker / Freeze Mercedes-Benz 280S, through Tooborac, finished in 47th position.
The Tholstrup / Perry Chevy C20 pickup, entering Tooborac, finished in 67th position.
The Holden HQ panel van of McTighe / Sheridan / Wilson, at Sydney Showgrounds, finished in 89th position.
The Dunkerton / McKay / Jones Volvo 244. completing Beechworth, finished in fourth position.
The Carr/Morrow / Gocentas Ford Cortina, going through Narrogin, finished in 5th position.
The Porsche 924 of Barth / Kushmaul, in Beechworth, finished in 9th place.
The Koseki / Takaoka Suburu Leone, on the causeway near Port Hedland, finished in 44th position.
The Watson / Harrowfield Peugeot Diesel, completing Beechworth, finished in a creditable 11th position.
The winning Commodore on the dirt roads of northern S.A.
The winning Commodore during gatework near Broken Hill
The winning Commodore on the Narrogin special stage in W.A.
The Holden Commodore of Ferguson / Bell / Boddy, near Good Parla N.T., continues on it's crashingly successful run.
The Holden Commodore of Ferguson / Bell / Boddy, near Good Parla N.T., continues on it's crashingly successful run.
The winning Brock / Philip / Richards Holden Commodore, showing its preparation through S.A. waters.
The Brock / Philip / Richards Holden Commodore, near Mt. Isa, finished in 1st place.
The Aaltonen / Mehta / Lake Holden Commodore, completing Tooborac, finished in 3rd place.
The Penny / Kennard / Brown Torana LH shrugged off this dousing to finish in 34th place.
The Porsche 911 of Herrmann / Rainsford, completing Beechworth, finished in 8th place.
The Audi 1OO 5E of Behret / Schmidt / Schmidt, waterlogged in S.A., later hit a kangaroo and retired.
The Renault Rl2 of Walker / McCann, here in S.A., finished in 55th place.
Despite wet electrics in the S.A. washaway, the Holden FJ of Reinders / Lewis finished in 84th place.
The Moore / Sethna VW Beetle, at Townsville, finished in 86th position.
The Holden Monaro HT of the Fullagar family sweeps through a S.A. washaway and finished in 85th place.
The Sparkes / Clayton Ford Fairmont, completing Beechworth stage, finished in 90th position.
The Hillman HC of Barnes / Smith, at Kuipto, later retired from the event.
The Richardson / Daniel / Fullerton Falcon XD, at Beechworth, finished in 6th position.
The Webster / Jolly / McIntyre Holden FJ, in S.A., finished in 91st position.
The Holden Torana LJ of Gough / Hutton / Bishop. completing Beechworth, finished in 63rd place.
The Valiant Charger of Bray / McMahon / Smith, shown in S.A., finished in 68th place.
The Koch / Darling / Koch Holden Commodore, going through Beechworth, finished in 77th place.
The Rayner / Campbell / Loader Holden HT, completing Beechworth, finished in 71st place.
The Peugeot 504 of Lunney / Tyler / Tyler. shown in S.A. finished in 80th place, despite early damage.
The Holden Monaro HJ of Bolch ! Keane / Owen, here in S.A., finished in 74th place.
The Ford Escort of Roggenkamp / Adair / Eakin, shown in S.A,, finished in 56th place.
The Leyland P76 of Turner / Donohue / Sparrow, here in S.A,, finished in 37th place.
The Holden HR of Lahiff / Beath, which finished 50th, show the art of opening and closing gates.
The Datsun 200B of Giddings / Jones/ Seaman, near Good Parla, finished in 26th place.
The Neilson/Stewart/Tyrie Holden HQ, completing Beechworth, finished in 62nd place.
The Glover / Burkel / Hather VW Type I, completing Beech worth, finished in 65th position.
The Volvo 242 GT of Jensen / Johnson / Wellington, at Geraldton, rolled near Kempsey.
The Hilton / Bourke / Pattenden Toyota Celica, here in the Northern Territory, broke the suspension near Sydney.
The Mason / Hicks / Morley Holden Commodore, shown in Kuipto, retired after Darwin.
The Ford XY ute of Pittway / Boston, seen here in S.A., broke the oil pump after Darwin.
The Citroen CX 2400 of Cowan / Reddiex / Beaumont, shown near Port Hedland, broke a drive shaft near Good Parla.
The Bond / Riley l DawsonDamer Ford Cortina, shown at Narrogin, broke the engine near Mt. Goyder. Inset, the Cortina at Geraldton after rolling outside of Perth.
The Ford Falcon XB. of Sawyer / Halliday / Mortimor, seen storming through a S.A. creek crossing, later retired.
The Quill / Quill / Ellis Holden Commodore, shown at Tooborac, later blew the motor at Kunnunurra .
The Ford Cortina of Mitchell / Rowe / York blew the gearbox near Kunnunurra, but rejoined, seen here 'at Beechworth.
The Porsche 924 of Barth/ Kushmaul, here into the Nullabor, went on to finish 9th outright, while the VW Beetle of Suth/ Gros/ Suth was to run out of late time into Darwin.
The Ford Escort of Kuss/ Wraight/ Knight, here entering Tooborac stage, ran out of late time at Darwin.
The white Mazda RX2 of Hayden/ Phillis/ Hogan finished in 72nd place after having a soaked engine, while the yellow Holden Torana of Hargrave/ Hutton/ Trinks hit a bull in W.A. and retired.
The Ford of Haslam/ Bing, shown in S.A., ran out of late time in Darwin.
The Bolton/ Ebzery Dodge Kingsway, shown in South Australia, retired in Perth with a broken timing chain.
The Wallis/ Cochrane/ Davies Peugeot 404 s.v.i had problems at Buela, ran out of late time in Darwin.
The Glennie / Shawl / Amos Datsun Stanza, here near Broken Hill, retired at Perth.
The Mazda RX7 of Lundi / Elliott near Broken Hill, retired at Perth with rear end problems.
The Moore/ Belmont/ McCarthur Leyland P76, in Tooborac, broke suspension after Adelaide.
The SAAB Turbo of Corr/ McKimmie/ Johansson retired with transmission problems at Geraldton.
The Datsun P510 of Williams/Sutton/Brock, near Broken Hill, dropped engine in Kalgoorlie and retired.
The Stewart/ Parry Holden Commodore lost clutch in Sandfire, W.A.
The Ruyter/Ruyter Leyland Moke at Kuipto, retired in the first division.
The Ford Falcon of Hodgson / Houghton / Mitchel, shown near Broken Hill, broke rear end near Perth.
The Barkell / Breese Ford Escort, going through a creek in S.A. later retired at Broken Hill.
The Ford Falcon XT GT of Phillips/ Drew/ Prentice, in South Australia. Retired at Nullarbor.
The Holden Commodore of Kumuszko/Lillie/Jones. at Tooborac, blew clutch in W.A.
An early fate befell the Toyota Landcruiser of Goss/Moresi in S.A.
The Holden Torana of Cuthell / Harris. at a creek crossing in South Australia, ran out of late time.
The Citroen CX 2400 of Harris/Ross/Boyd hit a kangaroo and rolled in the Flinders Ranges.
The Mills/McDonald/McCulloch Holden EH in South Australia, ran out of late time.
Robin White & Phillip Hagarth Mazda Coupe and Jim Taylor, John McCulloch, Max Taylor Peugeot 504 (RB)
White / Austin / Hogarth, through a crossing in South Australia, ran out of late time in the Mazda Coupe.
The Datsun P510 of Leighton/Mason/ Cohn, in Kuipto, blew motor in South Australia.
The Stevenson/ Lincoln/ Eassie Austin 1800 negotiating a washaway in South Australia, ran out of late time.
Spectators at Kuipto special stage' assist the Mulligan/ Byrne/ Heaney Escort after it stalled and broke the starter motor.
The Blok/Thompson Falcon ute, a replacement vehicle, retired with a broken axle
The Perkins VW, at Kuipto, later, rolled in the Flinders Ranges
Barrelling along the Nullabor, the Ford F100 of Madgwick/Hanna hit a kangaroo in S.A.
The Falcon XC of Carter/Stephens/Draper ran under protest from Perth, failed to make the results. Photo: Ray Berghouse , Chevron Group
The Warmbold/Willemson/Schleuter Audi 100, at Tooborac, later retired in S.A. with broken suspension. Photo: Ray Berghouse , Chevron Group