• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

242GT 1979 Group C Race Car

Thanks for the link and yes that is an article on the car and we have that magazine. There were a number of magazine articles at the time as the team owner/one of the drivers David McKay was a well known motoring journalistas well as a Ferrari/Volvo/Porsche motor vehicle dealer/owner who also owned race teams in 60's and 70's.

Yes running stock strut tops.

Exhaust details found on previous pages with pictures. Just stock exhaust (not extractors) into the shorter system with a single muffler as don't have to worry about legality for road use.
 
Last edited:
Another box ticked today. We received the CAMS historic log book and certificate of description (COD) for the car which is only issued to genuine cars that can prove their heritage and race history. The car is loaded up on trailer ready to go for its first race meeting this weekend. Will post a couple of pictures and a brief summary of its first outing next week but we are essentially done. We will continue to develop our car craft and set up of the car within the rules and enjoy the experience.
 
The first Race meet has been run and done. The Car performed very well and was reliable and predictable. The driver still very rusty after a few years out of the seat but managed to improve on qualifying time by 2 seconds a lap over the course of the weekend. I think there is still 3 seconds a lap or a little more in driver improvement before we start looking for mechanical upgrades within the rules. We had qualifying and 4 races over the weekend and we had only 1 dnf (did not finish) in race 1 due to the failure of a brand new slick which turned into an egg (not happy) and decided to come in which is just as well.

I will post some better pictures from professionals when I get them in next couple of weeks but here is one from a fellow Volvo tragic (Rob) who sent it to us from Sunday race 1 and a couple of video grabs from the grid form up.

All cars that race in this group are certified genuine race cars from The group C and group A periods from approximately 1972 to 1992 here in Australia with the front runners being Ford Sierras, Nissan GTR's,1992 specification Walkinshaw Commodores and BMW M3 in hands of professional drivers from the period. The competitor numbers were down due to some wild weather and flooding on the Friday leading into the weekend and there have been 2 big meets with 30 plus cars competing in each within last 8 weeks so not many southerners made the journey North this year.


Robs photo

DufC0nNl.jpg


Grid form up video race 3

Sorry lost due to Photobucket rip off scam

File out video race 3 - Bonus - 2 Volvos to be seen

Sorry lost due to Photobucket rip off scam

Thanks to my 50/50 partner K for pitting on weekend. I will be returning the favour in a couple of weeks
 
Last edited:
Current wheels are 20pos offset. Can get some made at 8 mm pos offset and we already have 8mm spacers to clear brake calipers. This would make rear Neutral (equivalent to a 20mm spacer with standard 20 mm offset) which we may do when funds allow or we think it makes sense in bang for buck.
 
Who makes the wheels, if you don't mind me asking? I've seen them on a bunch of classic Australian race cars. I have a 1980 242 GT as well, and this thread (And your car!) is a huge inspiration.

I know you guys are focused on competition and authenticity, not so much aesthetics, but +1 on the car looking even better with the rear wheels spaced out. Would be awesome if they matched the aggressive front end. I have a set of 25mm spacers from H&R on the rear of my DL coupe to push the stock steelies out, and the results are very subtle, but it makes the rear end of the car look way more 'substantial'. No rubbing either, even with unmolested fender lips.
 
Car looks great on track! Easily one of my favorite cars here at TB's now. So cool!

I think there is still 3 seconds a lap or a little more in driver improvement before we start looking for mechanical upgrades within the rules.

Only 1.5 car widths off correct line - Not sure what I was doing out there???
More than 3 seconds if you are that far offline! :-P
 
Thanks for support. Greatly appreciated.

No plans at present to change rear offset.

The wheels are made in Australia by performance wheels in South Australia. They are performance challenger and they replicate a brand globe from the 1970's and when globe made them they were called Bathurst globes. I may be wrong but they were designed and first supplied for the ford falcon phase 3 gtho which was designed to win Bathurst race in early 70's.

Performance wheels manufacture these in any pcd you want but I understand now only in 8mm positive offset which is the offset for the ford falcon in the day. We must have got them on a good day as they made ours positive 20 but we had to use the 8mm spacers to clear the standard Volvo brakes which means we are effectively running positive 12 front and back if my understanding of how this all works is correct. We bought 6 wheels but sorry we did not buy the full 2 sets at the same time. I think at current prices they are approx $200 AUD each which in the conversion to USD or Euro is way more attractive and they are excellent quality.

Here is a link - Update. I found out on weekend (July 2015) that this Company closed its doors which is a shame. Another Aussie Manufacturer bites the dust. We wont be able to produce a pencil at our current rate of manufacturing capability decline. Hold that thought. Good news 2016 Update - Someone bought the company and they have started to remanufacture the wheels


Hope this helps
 
Last edited:
I would not add spacers for looks.

I would consider more front spring rate, or a larger front sway bar. Looks like maybe the tyre grip is overpowering the suspension a bit. I bet it's pretty forgiving and easy to control? This setup might be great in the rain, but looks too soft for dry.
 
I wouldn't add spacers to the rear unless you have too much oversteer.

I haven't raced any 2 series, so could you tell me why it is "good" to have a narrower rear track with a solid axle (neutral camber)?
I don't think that even with spacers it would be anywhere near as an independent rear suspension with camber, if we talk about front-rear grip.
Is there a topic for this? Sorry for messing up your thread. :oops:
 
I haven't raced any 2 series, so could you tell me why it is "good" to have a narrower rear track with a solid axle (neutral camber)?
I don't think that even with spacers it would be anywhere near as an independent rear suspension with camber, if we talk about front-rear grip.
Is there a topic for this? Sorry for messing up your thread. :oops:

The wider you make the rear track relative to the front the more it will understeer. You are adding more rear grip by widening it. Most 240s with a decent suspension will have a better balance with the front track being wider then the rear. Most people never push their cars to the limit and just want "the look" so they space the rear out wide. If you are actually racing the car and want to maximize performance you will find that the front track to rear track ratio will be fairly similar to how these cars came from the factory.
 
Couple of last photos courtesy of Trapnell Creations Photography. Will update thread in future if we make any changes but expect the car to stay as it is for time being while we give the bank account a rest.

a>


a>
 
Last edited:
Every time this thread gets bumped with more pictures, i have a compulsion to improve my GT. I wish I could see this car in person, easily the nicest 240 on this forum in my eyes.

Sorry to derail the thread, but it was interesting to learn about the track width. Thanks for the info guys. I would have figured the handling differences would be marginal at most with a solid rear axel. I notice a lot of the Group A 240s seem to have a more even setup. Is that just an illusion? Some look like they have widened front fenders.
And thanks for the tip on the wheels. I really like the classic 8 spoke GTR.
 
Back
Top