Opel Monza Rally Car - Request for help......

[bstardchild]

Hi All
This is a bit of a long story but I'll keep it brief Several people have been involved in this project so far so this is just a summary of all the efforts combined
Barn Find - Fire damaged barn - slightly toasted car





It looks a right state doesn't it?
Thing is it's a seam welded shell, it's got a full rally spec roll cage in it, Manta 400 diff', foam filled petrol tank, Getrag (albeit slightly damaged!) box, that Swindon engine and various other goodies with the car and there's another alloy cage and a cylinder head that Bill Blydenstein built with his own hands.

[bstardchild]

So the detective work started - the paintwork looked familar.....
I'd found these images on the internet years ago


looks like the same car and it would have been daft to pass up the chance to buy it so


Bit more detective work
Found out that It transpires that the car under the tarp' on the trailer in front of my house is, in fact, Ausin McHale's old rally car!!!! Not only that, the engine currently in it came from Tony Lanfranchi's track car!!! 8)
It seems that way back when, having bought McHales car off him a chap called Ken Lark had both of the cars in his posession. for reasons that weren't entirely clear during the brief phone call, he broke Lanfranchi's car and put the repaired engine in the ex-McHale car. The rest of Lanfranchi's car was sold.
Lark told me that although it was blisteringly fast in a straight line, due to it being so heavy and originally being set up for rallying, it was terrible for understeer and he never quite got to grips with setting the thing up properly.
Anyway, he then sold it to someone else who started to dismantle and sell the parts on, (hence the reason it doesn't have any brakes!!), which I assume is where the guy I bought the car from comes in.
So the plan is to "restore" as best as I can to original Austin McHale livery and thats where this post comes to a conclusion/point

[bstardchild]

These are the only pictures I have of Austin McHales car when co-driven by Christy Farrell in the 1987 Circuit of Ireland Rally - the quality is very poor as they have been extracted from low quality video footage
In Action.....



And after Day one of the Rally....

[bstardchild]

Hmmm.... Near the end of Day three! :



Thats where I'd like some help if possible - finding some more pictures of the car so I can get as much detail right as possible
Any help gratefully recieved

[bstardchild]

Apologies in advance for

- Splitting the thread into 4 due to image restrictions on this forum
- Posting in the wrong section (if I have)
- Looking for information on a forum that I don't contribute to in other ways

Anything else that may offend or cause problems that I don't know about

[LotusElise]

There is an owners' club for Monzas and other high-powered Vauxhall/Opels of the era called Autobahn Stormers. I think they have a website.
Someone there might be able to help.

[bstardchild]

There is an owners' club for Monzas and other high-powered Vauxhall/Opels of the era called Autobahn Stormers. I think they have a website.
Someone there might be able to help.

Thanks for that - it's a good point and in order to keep this thread short I didn't mention I have been a member of the ABS for 16 years

www.autobahnstormers.co.uk

A lot of guys on there have been a great help too on aspects of the detective work but there is not a huge knowledge of rallying on there so I thought I'd cast my net wider

[bstardchild]

I guess the big problems are time.....

Opel Monza's were used in rallying for a short time in the early to mid 80's

Digital cameras weren't used/invented back then

I've got an article from Car & Car Conversions on Austin Mchale on the Circuit of Ireland Rally but thats it

Opel Dealer team were quite thrifty and it is likely that the cars were recirculated amongst the motorsports activities

Gerry Marshall drove an Opel Monza in circuit racing but I thing that one got comprehensivcely destroyed at Snetterton

John Cleland and Tony Lafranchi both also campaigned Opel Monzas in the touring car series - this car is definately not TL's car as at one stage a previous owner of this car owned that one as well

Gavin Cox campaigned Opel Monza over several years in the Lombard Rally of GB not sure where that one came from or even where it went

So I guess I am just hoping that someone who has been a long standing keen rally fan will have maybe some pictures, old programmes or maybe even magazine articles that can help me to get the detail right

It a big ask I know but if I don't ask I get nothing - I really want to do this right first time

[bstardchild]

I suppose I'd better also clarify that scans of pictures, programe info, magazine articles or anything would be fine I'm not requiring the originals but the more information I can gather the better

Once again sorry for a historical thread in current forum

[LotusElise]

Your best bet is to find a mechanic or engineer who worked on the original project. Do you know who ran McHale's team at the time and have you contacted them? In the very least, they might have some good-quality pictures and it's likely someone still has the technical docs.