The 404 and the 1964 Ampol Rally Part1.

R

Russell Hall

Well-known member
1000+ Posts
Fellow Frogger
Joined
Dec 28, 2003
Messages
5,816
Location
Casterton
Peugeot had made its name in Australia by its Round Australia wins with both the 203 and 403. After the Mobil and Ampol Round Australia Trials of 1958 there had been a gap in long rallies. In 1964 Ampol announced a 7000 mile Round Australia Trial. Director was Carl Kennedy who had driven the lead 203 in the 1955 Redex Trial and had been provisional winner before being relegated to 5th place on appeal.
In 1963 the 404 had won the East African Safari and a 403 the long Argentine Rally. A 404 was used as route car and it was expected Peugeot would do well.
Peugeot really needed a win here. The Australian 404 launch had been mishandled. The car had not been released until late 1962 and it was over priced. Sales had slumped. So Continental and General Distributors entered a strong works team of three cars. Drivers were Jack Murray/Roy Denny, Bob Holden /Monty Love and Ron Green/ David Johnson.
Works teams were also entered for Ford, VW, Skoda and Toyota. All parts could be replaced except the engine so Ford, Toyota and VW had extensive ground support with vehicles and GMH dealers were told to assist their cars. The Ford Cortinas had an advantage of an extensive range of homologated rally options. There were two private Peugeot entries, including a 404 by Alan Crabbe of Ballarat. He was a used car dealer specialising in Peugeots and had driven a 203 to 55th place in the 1958 Ampol Trial.
 
Russell Hall said:
Drivers were Jack Murray/Roy Denny, Bob Holden /Monty Love and Ron Green/ David Johnson.
Click to expand...

I assume that was ‘Gelignite’ Jack Murray? I believe he got his name from using sticks of explosive to clear obstacles on outback roads, and sometimes used them for celebratory reasons or when leaving checkpoints. Certainly couldn’t do that today!
 
Part 2 - The Cars.
Toyota entered a works team of four Crowns, one with a Japanese crew. They got a lot of publicity because the Movietone News coverage of the Rally was the Toyota team driving through the bush for the cameras and getting bogged.
The Czech Motokov sent three Skoda 130 coupes to be driven by local crews. These cars were popular in European rallying with some class success but lacked local support crews.
Lanock Motors entered a well supported VW team of a 1200 and two 1500s.
There was no official GMH entry but the dealer network was to support private entries. The EH with the new 179 engine was a genuine 100 mph car, albeit a rather scary one with a chassis and brakes suited to an earlier generation.
The most professional entry was Ford. They actively set out to win rallying events and the Cortina was supported by a wide range of homologated options. They blitzed the East African Safari in 1964. Harry Firth was entered with a Cortina GT and there were two Falcons. Their support team was the best in the Rally.
Tubman had parted company with Peugeot after 1954 and was driving a Morris 1100.
Continental and General Distributors had a strong three car entry but lacked the experience and resources of other works teams.
While the 404 was expected to do well there were certain factors that worked against them. The 203 had given 10 mph away to early Holdens and more to American cars but had superior chassis dynamics. By 1964 general automotive design had improved and the competition was better. With a top speed of 90 mph the 404 was not slow but the extra 10 mph of the fuel injected cars was appreciated in the Safari. The right hand drive KF2 was not available until 1965. The front suspension of the 404 was considered less robust than the 403 but the 404 achieved a better result in the East African Safari. The exception was the Argentine Rally which was won in 1963 by a 403.
The biggest factor against Peugeot was that this was not a reliability trial. Any part except the block could be replaced. So a professional support team with crews keeping ahead of the Rally and with unlimited parts was a major advantage. The winning Cortina had an entire front suspension change at least once without penalty. The Ford technique was to carry the car across the line with top support.
 
Russell Hall said:
Part 2 - The Cars.
Toyota entered a works team of four Crowns, one with a Japanese crew. They got a lot of publicity because the Movietone News coverage of the Rally was the Toyota team driving through the bush for the cameras and getting bogged.
The Czech Motokov sent three Skoda 130 coupes to be driven by local crews. These cars were popular in European rallying with some class success but lacked local support crews.
Lanock Motors entered a well supported VW team of a 1200 and two 1500s.
There was no official GMH entry but the dealer network was to support private entries. The EH with the new 179 engine was a genuine 100 mph car, albeit a rather scary one with a chassis and brakes suited to an earlier generation.
The most professional entry was Ford. They actively set out to win rallying events and the Cortina was supported by a wide range of homologated options. They blitzed the East African Safari in 1964. Harry Firth was entered with a Cortina GT and there were two Falcons. Their support team was the best in the Rally.
Tubman had parted company with Peugeot after 1954 and was driving a Morris 1100.
Continental and General Distributors had a strong three car entry but lacked the experience and resources of other works teams.
While the 404 was expected to do well there were certain factors that worked against them. The 203 had given 10 mph away to early Holdens and more to American cars but had superior chassis dynamics. By 1964 general automotive design had improved and the competition was better. With a top speed of 90 mph the 404 was not slow but the extra 10 mph of the fuel injected cars was appreciated in the Safari. The right hand drive KF2 was not available until 1965. The front suspension of the 404 was considered less robust than the 403 but the 404 achieved a better result in the East African Safari. The exception was the Argentine Rally which was won in 1963 by a 403.
The biggest factor against Peugeot was that this was not a reliability trial. Any part except the block could be replaced. So a professional support team with crews keeping ahead of the Rally and with unlimited parts was a major advantage. The winning Cortina had an entire front suspension change at least once without penalty. The Ford technique was to carry the car across the line with top support.
Click to expand...

The biggest problem was that the entire Peugeot team missed a manned passage control on the old Pacific Highway, they all went by the new road which wasn't on the specified map. May just as well go home after that. Absolutely crazy to have the one piece of navigation on a long distance reliability trial, whose idea was that?
I've got my early 404 on the road, nice for cruising but handling not as good as a 403, the way to get a 404 to handle is to fit wagon/ Ute front springs and late model ARBs, although the jury is out on the rear one.
404s were better on really rough events as they had more ground clearance for the front cross member, even with a sump guard you can do a lot of damage to 403 sumps and front rails if you hit something hard enough. I did this twice in subsequent events, 1995 Mobil 1 Trial and 2008 Red Centre to Gold Coast.
 
You mean the 36 cars that missed Booral and copped a 250 point penalty? Ron Green and Alan Crabbe didn't, Murray and Holden did. But that's the failure of the works team, well run teams saw their cars through navigational difficulties.
 
Yes, I thought the whole team had missed it though. Up to the navigator I would have thought?
 
A 404 KF2 was run in the 1966 Southern Cross. Entered by Regans for Geoff Russell who was an excellent driver.
 
You can be certain the Ford team made sure Firth took the right road. And had someone at every difficult turn.
Shankland had used the KF2 in the 1965 Safari but had problems with dirty fuel and the difficult location of the fuel filter. Came fourth, won it next year. Liked the thermostable brakes and the way they worked in water. The Safari 404's were completely stripped down and meticulously prepared. They had the rally experience of Jimmy Feeney and Tanganyika Motors behind them. Shankland did his own preparation. In 1966 Shankland's winning car was the only Peugeot out of over 20 to finish because he properly waterproofed it. Having years of practical experience behind you must be a real plus for a rally team.
As for not making a route mistake, Kenyan Cortina driver Vic Preston once drove the Safari rally route nine times before the event.
 
Part 3 - The Rally. Based on Bill Tuckeys reporting.
The contestants were given an instruction book as they left, covering only the first 12 days of the route. Flooding caused immediate changes and some cars lost points. The Green and Holden Peugeots both clean sheeted the first special stage after Orange. From there on things went downhill for the Peugeot team. They seemed to move down through the placings. The Dubbo- Pandoras Pass special stage of 124 miles through tight mountain roads went to Stewart in a VW, Williams (Holden) and Garard ( Valiant.) Subsequently the Peugeots failed to rate in the special stages, even the old Redex horror stretch of Marlborough to Carmila.
The final results were disappointing for Peugeot and even more so for Continental and General who had mounted an expensive works backed entry and had nothing to show for it.
The winner was Harry Firth in his GT Cortina followed by Ferguson (VW 1500S) Garard (Holden 179M) and Stewart (1500S). VW took the team prize and class win. Ron Green was the first Peugeot at 18th, Bob Holden was 36 and Jack Murray 40. Above Green were two Volvo private entries and a number of Holdens and Falcons. This was a poor result for a works team. The privately entered Alan Crabbe 404 that ran in absolutely standard condition with no sponsors turned in a creditable 24th place. That car finished the rally in perfect, nearly showroom condition. Clearly either preparation, tactics or support were lacking as overseas rallies indicated a 404 was capable of a better result than this even in carby form.
This did affect sales in that they continued to languish and the advertising campaign C&G had prepared could not run. Unlike the 203 and 403 the 404 had not proven itself in an Australian rally, Holden could promote its dangerous 179M as proven for Australian conditions and future 404 advertising referenced African rally success.
Renault did not enter either a 404 or 504 in the 1970 Ampol but outspent any other maker in an attempt to win the rally with the R16. In a typically Renault Australia effort Tuckey tells the story they neglected to retighten the heads after the engine strip downs and blew head gaskets.
 
Russell Hall said:
Part 3 - The Rally. Based on Bill Tuckeys reporting.
The contestants were given an instruction book as they left, covering only the first 12 days of the route. Flooding caused immediate changes and some cars lost points. The Green and Holden Peugeots both clean sheeted the first special stage after Orange. From there on things went downhill for the Peugeot team. They seemed to move down through the placings. The Dubbo- Pandoras Pass special stage of 124 miles through tight mountain roads went to Stewart in a VW, Williams (Holden) and Garard ( Valiant.) Subsequently the Peugeots failed to rate in the special stages, even the old Redex horror stretch of Marlborough to Carmila.
The final results were disappointing for Peugeot and even more so for Continental and General who had mounted an expensive works backed entry and had nothing to show for it.
The winner was Harry Firth in his GT Cortina followed by Ferguson (VW 1500S) Garard (Holden 179M) and Stewart (1500S). VW took the team prize and class win. Ron Green was the first Peugeot at 18th, Bob Holden was 36 and Jack Murray 40. Above Green were two Volvo private entries and a number of Holdens and Falcons. This was a poor result for a works team. The privately entered Alan Crabbe 404 that ran in absolutely standard condition with no sponsors turned in a creditable 24th place. That car finished the rally in perfect, nearly showroom condition. Clearly either preparation, tactics or support were lacking as overseas rallies indicated a 404 was capable of a better result than this even in carby form.
This did affect sales in that they continued to languish and the advertising campaign C&G had prepared could not run. Unlike the 203 and 403 the 404 had not proven itself in an Australian rally, Holden could promote its dangerous 179M as proven for Australian conditions and future 404 advertising referenced African rally success.
Renault did not enter either a 404 or 504 in the 1970 Ampol but outspent any other maker in an attempt to win the rally with the R16. In a typically Renault Australia effort Tuckey tells the story they neglected to retighten the heads after the engine strip downs and blew head gaskets.
Click to expand...

In that wet year in which most of the 404s DNFd Shankland brought an extra container of oil. The oil slingers on the Peugeot engines kept the oil in but sucked in water! After going through a deep ford Shankland drained the sump and refilled with the fresh oil, the others ran their bearings.
Another reason for the 16 Fisaco in the 1970 event was that the works team had run modified cars (with Weber carbies) up to this point and hadn't known that the water heater hoses on the standard carby would wear through when the engine moved around on rough roads. The same thing happened to Bob Watson's replica 16TS recently.
 
The Renault rally people were very touchy after that and it was best not to mention it.
 
Russell Hall said:
Peugeot had made its name in Australia by its Round Australia wins with both the 203 and 403. After the Mobil and Ampol Round Australia Trials of 1958 there had been a gap in long rallies. In 1964 Ampol announced a 7000 mile Round Australia Trial. Director was Carl Kennedy who had driven the lead 203 in the 1955 Redex Trial and had been provisional winner before being relegated to 5th place on appeal.
In 1963 the 404 had won the East African Safari and a 403 the long Argentine Rally. A 404 was used as route car and it was expected Peugeot would do well.
Peugeot really needed a win here. The Australian 404 launch had been mishandled. The car had not been released until late 1962 and it was over priced. Sales had slumped. So Continental and General Distributors entered a strong works team of three cars. Drivers were Jack Murray/Roy Denny, Bob Holden /Monty Love and Ron Green/ David Johnson.
Works teams were also entered for Ford, VW, Skoda and Toyota. All parts could be replaced except the engine so Ford, Toyota and VW had extensive ground support with vehicles and GMH dealers were told to assist their cars. The Ford Cortinas had an advantage of an extensive range of homologated rally options. There were two private Peugeot entries, including a 404 by Alan Crabbe of Ballarat. He was a used car dealer specialising in Peugeots and had driven a 203 to 55th place in the 1958 Ampol Trial.
Click to expand...

I could contact Dave Johnson to find out why he and Ron Green weren't competitive, I seem to recall him telling me something about their run.
 
Would be interesting. I could never work out why Alan Crabbes's carefully driven private entry did so well compared to the works cars. That was his family car and I saw it on its return. It had not been pressed hard. The standard VW 1500 was not as fast as a 404, I don't remember the S, the Holden 179M was fast but had awful brakes and at 100mph I found it tenuous on the road, you wouldn't want to open a window or hit a pebble. The Falcons would roll at speed without much provocation. The Holdens that placed were 179M's, there was an S4 that didn't place. The C&G support team didn't seem to be in the right place giving the team navigation assistance, I wonder if the mechanical support was any better.
 
Dave was a top navigator with maps, would explain why he got the passage control the others missed.
 
Russell Hall said:
The Australian 404 launch had been mishandled, The car had not been released until late 1962, and it was overpriced
Click to expand...


This must have helped with sales??

And you could still get the 403 in 1965.
I knew the models overlapped a little but didn't think it was 3 years.

Decca
 

Attachments

  • Peugeot Lower Prices ad.PNG
    Peugeot Lower Prices ad.PNG
    229.1 KB · Views: 147
The 403 was sensibly kept in production in Australia alongside the 404. It actually outsold the 404 in 1964. Assembly of the 404 started in August 1962 and the last 403 was sold in April 1967 in NSW. The sales situation was so bad it threatened the assembly operation so the pricing arrangements with Peugeot were re-negotiated in 1965 and the prices dropped 12% to more realistic levels. The C&G bottom line took a big hit because they had nearly two years kits in stock. There were two mistakes in marketing the 404. The first was to delay production until late 1962, effectively 1963 for sales, initially because of the credit squeeze. In 1960 the 404 was breathtakingly modern, by 1963 everyone had their new modern designs out. Pricing was wrong. It was priced too high at 1450 pounds. Peugeot sales were always price sensitive and this was too far ahead of the Holden which was still 1050 pounds. At over 1400 pounds people were buying Toyota Crowns with gadgets or top range Holden Premiers. Was Peugeot or C&G to blame? Peugeot was absorbed by their unsuccessful foray into the American market where the cars were sold at low prices. They may have tired of Australia as a market that always promised much but delivered stagnant sales. In any case the price drop boosted 404 sales and they slowly built but it never achieved the sales of the 203 or 403. A great pity because the 404 was so right for Australia and if properly handled could have delivered real sales volumes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top