Rally RX2 Project - Page 4 - Brindabella Motor Sport Club

Dazz · 23-06-2010, 11:53 AM

I don't believe the car was destroyed between when Leon and Peter raced it as a club car and Derrick bought it.

It was simply stripped of it's road racing driveline and returned to rally spec by Leon Prgomet in the early 1990's.

Leon navigated for Derrick a couple of times I think, and the car was then crashed at some point.

Dazz · 24-06-2010, 09:06 AM

I have been speaking with Leon Prgomet who originally built this RX-2 Coupe, and he has said that he will write out a history of the car. In the mean time a couple of things from Leon to put everything in place.

"The OME car was a different shell, bought it in 1971. Ozy was purchased in 1976 and I started work on it in 1977 after I left OME Equipt. Totally different shell.

And yes, Ozzy was never severely damaged in Road Reg trim. However once back in rally trim, Derek had several major "offs" in Ozzy putting it on its roof once, and another time on its side, and damaged the car on quite a few other occasions.

Once was when he drove the thing under brakes into a creek crossing and hit a "kettle hole" and punched the LH front strut up through the tower & phuqued the strut & the shock. The second time, he managed to clout a rock wall with the LH front, this time up near Taree/Wauchope.

Eventually he sold Ozzy, and got a Gemini (Ozy was just too fast he
said!!!!). Anyway, needless to say, he wrote the Gemini off in his first
rally."

I appreciate that this contradicts a lot of things, but I'm sure that you'd rather know the facts so that the true history of the car is known, and hopefully soon very well documented.

Kaptainballistik · 24-06-2010, 04:41 PM

What makes it more intersting is the yellow overspray on the front chassis rails of the car ..... OMP yellow to be precise. So Im thinking the car is a partial reshell......

Secondly, We know there was 2 "OZY's"...... (Ive seen the other in my past , all white...) Allegedly there was a replacement car built but it got damaged. ( re... dead)

We had the white doors and the bent front arm in the spares.... The rear 1/4's were the last "New" ones in Australia. The old pic was up on the Import place that used to sponsor it... They confirmed the 1/4 panel story.

That underside floor pic just explained some of the bracing ... But the place the equal length top arms went is now off a red Coupe.... and unmodefied except for some bracing... The replacement job was GOOD!!!

Rear of car has the Road and rotary paintjob under some bits...

Not saying anyone's story's wrong.... Its Just what Ive found on the car.....

Dazz · 25-09-2010, 04:47 PM

Hi Guys

I've got a lot of info about this car from Leon Prgomet who built it over the past few days. I know it goes against what you guys think about the cars past, but I thought you'd like to know in any case.

Leon wrote:

"I can put the owner of OZY in contact with the last owner of the OME car. His name was John Freeland, *and he used to do my wiring at Road & Rotary when I was at Beverly Hills. *FWIW, *John was the guy who helped me wire OZY.

I've been in contact with John recently, *so I'll ask him if he would care to contact the owner of OZY. *So get the guy's email address and I'll pass it on to John. *I'm sure he'll contact the guy.

I can tell you categorically that OZY and the OME car were two totally different cars. I owned both of them at the same time, *so I ought to know!!!! *I bought OZY (can't remember the original number plate) from Ray Brydon in 1977, *and Brian Hope of ColtSpeed did all the seam welding, *and the strengthening. *The plan was to run it in the Round Australia Trial, but I ran out of money. *We ran it in the 1979 Southern Cross instead.

The engine bay in BOTH cars were always white. *When John Chapman ponied up the reddies for the paintjob, *it was external only.

The OZY paintwork was done in several shades of blue Urethane (LOTS of pix of this car!!), *and overpainted with acrylic by that Bob (blue Celica) Pesic character to freshen it all up when Godden & I began circuit racing. Derek re-painted it in an overall light blue after I stopped navigating for him.

So how the yellow paint got there, I don't have a clue, *but it is NOT part of the OME paint job, *because Ray Brydon owned what became OZY at the time I was working at OME. *We took BOTH cars as photographic transport on the 1976 Southern Cross!!

I still had my original RX-2 (the OME car), *which I bought in November 1971 from West End. *I sold it to John Freeland once OZY was operational. *He rallied it for a while, *eventually phuqued it (it was literally falling apart at the seams it was so fatigued), *and as far as I know, *the shell ended up as land fill on John Street's parents' property at Canyonleigh.

Both John Freeland, *and John Street will confirm all this as the three of us were building OZY at the time, *and I was still driving around in the OME car while OZY was being prepared. *There's that pic in the "Rocks in his Head" RCN article that shows Streetie welding up the window aperture! FWIW, *The OME car had an alloy roll cage, *OZY had a Cr/Mo cage.

Here’s an interesting thing. Nigel Williams WAS also one of my clients,* and I did a lot of work on his car as well.* It was white as I remember it.* I did that while I was with Alan Woods and Phil Oxley at Charles St.*Redfern in the early 1990’s,* and then for some time at Alex’s at Brookvale after that.* BUT,* it had NOTHING to do with OZY.
*
One other distinguishing feature of OZY was that the interior was painted SILVER!* OZY was called OZY because of his number plate.* There WASN’T two OZYs.* The boot of OZY had triangulated rods both sides to prevent the car breaking it’s back over “Yumps”.* The bloody thing was that strong that when Godden clouted the fence after a lurid loose and subsequent spin in the “Tunnel of Love” at Catalina,* that it went arse backwards into the fence and split the hardwood fencing!* If the boot floor was replaced,* that would mean that Derek or someone else backed it into a tree after I lost track of it.

What has to be realised is that Derek had pranged OZY that many times that we are lucky that there is ANYTHING left of the original shell.* (He was worse than Stevie Annabell,* but nowhere NEAR as fast).* But there is the console with all the relays,* and the overhead console with the switches and LEDs,* all earth switched and divided into left and right,* just like the pix that I ran in my RCN adverts, and as both you & I remember it.* Whatever has been glued on either end,* this emphatically identified it as OZY.
*
There will even be traces of melting where my apprentice set the bloody interior on fire in the late 80’s.* THAT is OZY,* the car that ran in the 1979 Southern Cross,* the 1980 Castrol Rally in Canberra,* and subsequently spent several years as a mobile billboard out the front of Road & Rotary before we turned it into a track car.* I subsequently sold it to Derek Bayliss,* and navigated for him for over 2 years.

FWIW,* I NEVER had ANYTHING to do with George Kahler or his car either.* I couldn’t even tell you what his car was like,* I don’t remember.
*
I can tell you that OZY and the OME cars were as different as chalk & cheese.* ONLY the front end of the OME car was stitch welded.* OZY was built like a battleship for the Round Australia Trial. **What this guy has is the remains of OZY as rallied by Gary Mecak in the 1979 Southern Cross and 1980 Castrol Rally,* raced in Club Cars and the State Speed Event Series by Godden and my good self,* and finally rallied for two years by Derek Bayliss and navigated again by my good self.* What happened after that I do not know.*

OZY and the OME car were two different cars, *and BOTH were drivable at the same time, *and at one time, *I owned BOTH of them at the same time, AND they both went on the 1976 Southern Cross as photographic cars - I drove one, *and Brydon drove the other.

As for the holders in the boot, *they were jerry can holders that were universally available just about everywhere at nearly all motor parts stores. *Yes, *both OZY and the OME car both had them, *and OZY and the OME car both had Toilota Collora KE10 fuel tanks between the slut towers at the back. *So that stuff doesn't identify the individual car. *No doubt the Rev George Kahler had similar thningys. *So what?? *Maybe the owner in between had a whopper of a prang, *and maybe it was he who got hold of both Nigel Williams' and Gearge Kahlers cars and played "mix and match, *this goes with that goes with Suzanne"!

Interestingly, *I just remembered that after Mecak "yumped" OZY at Amir Park and bent the diff, *we cannibalised Freeland's RX2 (the OME car complete with red tyre tracks!!) at Stroud Showground during a service break. *We swapped the banjos as Mecak had put about 5 degrees of neg camber on OZY's banjo. *The OME car was taken along as a cannibal car just in case!"

Marcus · 26-09-2010, 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dazz

Hi Guys

I've got a lot of info about this car from Leon Prgomet who built it over the past few days. I know it goes against what you guys think about the cars past, but I thought you'd like to know in any case.

There is much that id's this one as OZY (OZY-865 - I have the plates still) and there is more than enough to id Kahler. I know for a fact there has been at least one accident left out of everyone's histories and the final one was huge. The floor pan and firewall / boot are the same car, this has the Kahler id markings and descriptions of what is supposed to be there.

I'm very certain there has been three cars used to rebuild the Kahler shell and it bears accurate items from OZY and we are also certain there's bits of OME in there too, unless someone has a better explaination why there's a yellow car in there.

The fuel tank is not a Toyota one - but it has been subject to the rear shock towers beign belted hard into it, there are two very big dents either side suggesting the final big hit that has never been found out about and it appears no one knows about and why there is contradictory information.

Kaptainballistik · 26-09-2010, 11:25 AM

The "Phantom" white car defenetley ISNT the Williams Coupe... It Never got rallied.

Originally Marcus brought a while pile of new suspension / brake parts that went onto the Misson Brown RX2.....

..This came from when Nigel brought OZY and sold the Coupe shell.

Which alot of ended in the CHU!!! ( The rear shocks and springs are still in it )

It also came with a pile (and I REALLY mean a PILE!!!!) of parts that obviously had come from another Rallycar, Including the sumpguard I now use!! This was a well used Item when I got it!

We also know OZY had a very different Oilcooler setup than the current , My old motor guy worked on it as an Apprentice!

Dazz · 26-09-2010, 01:42 PM

What makes you think the firewall, floor pan and boot (and thus 90% of the car) are from the Kahler car?

The cage, dash, roof console, dash wiring, triangular bracing in the boot etc are all as per the car Leon purchased in 1976 and built as a rally car in 1977/78, as per the Feb 1980 RCN article.

Are you saying that all of this stuff was removed from OZY and put into the Kahler shell? If so where did the Kahler shell come from to have the majority of another (OZY) car slipped in behind the front rails? From the pics of the car the floor looks to be silver as Leon said OZY was painted as well.

Here's a pic from the Feb 1980 RCN mag with a pic of the dash of OZY and the car you now have. You'd have to agree this is all as per it was built in 1977/78 by Leon which means that either all of this was transplanted from OZY into the Kahler shell, or this is not the Kahler shell.

Was this triangular bracing also removed from OZY and put into what you believe to the the Kahler shell?

I'm just trying to figure out which parts of the car you think are what, because from what I know of Leon's OZY (I was around during it's rebuild into circuit racing spec in the late 1980's and used to help push it in and out of the workshop before it was going) and from the pics it looks like what you have is indeed most of OZY simply because transplanting all of the dash, cage, rear bracing etc into another shell would be almost impossible.

Kaptainballistik · 26-09-2010, 01:57 PM

Marcus and I have differing views on what was what...... The rear floor ( under the rear passenger bums...) is certainly different from the article ( it's also red underneath!!!)

we certainly aren't saying you aren't correct ( matter of fact it's making the whole car more puzzling!!!!) but yes, the boot floor HAS been swapped!!

Whoever did the work on the car was a master craftsman.

The other unknown is who changed the rear bodywork to Group 3-4 spec????

HunterDevourer · 29-09-2010, 06:14 PM

Good read, thanks for providing all the information and starting all new and exciting debates!

Next lot of work on the thing will hopefully happen soon.

HunterDevourer · 07-10-2010, 11:15 PM

There was work done to it last weekend. KB has pictures on his phone somewhere.
It now has replacement patches over the cut out bits in the pan and some painted things! Need to paint more and grind the welds down though.