Jim's Javelin - Shannons sharp new TCM tool
- Richards debuts Shannons Javelin at Clipsal - 30-month project to develop new TCM front-runner - TCM newcomer generates huge interest with enthusiasts It has taken 30 months to complete, but Jim Richards says the Shannons 1972 AMC Javelin sedan he will debut at Adelaide's Clipsal 500 opening round of 2012 Touring Car Masters on March 4 is the finest racing car he has even built. As an ardent admirer of Penske Racing and champion American driver Mark Donohue, who together dominated Trans Am racing with Javelins in the early 1970s, the distinctively styled AMC 'Pony Car' was Richards' first choice as a potential successor to his very successful Shannons Falcon Sprint "We wanted something different that would interest spectators, but would also be in the Shannons mould," said Richards. "The Javelin ticked all the boxes." As only 178 Javelins were sold in Australia by then-distributors AMI, Richards began his search in mid-2008 by looking at US cars on the Internet. "However it turned out that the uncle of one of my team members was an enthusiast with four or five of them and I picked this car up almost around the corner in North Melbourne!" he said. The exhaustive process of turning the former road car into a TCM front runner began mid-2009 and involved stripping the Javelin of every nut and bolt and then rebuilding it methodically to the TCM regulations, employing proven racecar technology. Richards said the project had taken him and former Gibson Motorsport Crew Chief Bruce Tyson some time to complete because his small team had been focussed on getting the most out of the Shannons Falcon Sprint, which rewarded them when Richards became the 2010 Touring Car Masters champion. "We believe it has been worth taking our time,"said Richards after the car's first shakedown at Melbourne's Calder Raceway. "The Javelin is a step up from the Falcon in every way and all the lessons we have learned from four decades of racing touring cars have gone into it." To comply with TCM regulations, the Shannons Javelin runs a 360-ci AMC V8 producing "in excess of 600HP"Â and weighs a mandatory 1,580kg, plus an additional seeded driver penalty of 30kg. This will make it 180kg heavier, but more powerful than the 289-ci V8-engined Falcon Sprint and on par with its Mustang and Camaro TCM rivals. "Being more aerodynamic, wider and with a slightly better brake package, it should also handle and stop a little better than the Sprint, but we can't guarantee that it will be faster out of the blocks. We'll have to wait until Clipsal for that!", said Richards. Shannons National Sales Manager Paul Gates said interest in Richards' new Javelin by Australian enthusiasts had been "phenomenal". "I have never known the arrival of a new racing car to be so eagerly anticipated," he said. "Its debut at Clipsal will be huge!"
Comments
cme2c
I remember "BP Pick a Box" on TV. Bob Dyer enthusiastically spruiking the major prize. The Chrysler Valiant Hemi Pacer!
carnut_73
G'day guys. Awesome video. Call me naive, but I didn't know that the Hemi was available on six cylinder Chryslers. Here in the USA, when one mentions Hemi, one usually thinks of a 5.7 litre or larger V8 engine.
RockerBob
My VG Pacer Hardtop, bought new in 1971 for $3165 and used by me as a reps car for 4 years
hemipower
Hi Guys in your Shannos club. I own a Vg coupe with a full spec E34 make up 245 [250} with the 40# boring. The coupes were based on the rear of a Dart and the Front of a Australian vg witch meant the the rails and skirts were a touch longer than the Dart ,+ a 130mm was added in the rear floor pan to make up that massive 111" wheel base. This totalled the car to 5060mm in length but very narrow at 1760mm. My car has all the original panels including the floor pans and were they joined them. I spent well over a 100hrs making every panel on my car whishing that valiant would have wonted them to look like perfect alignment and no factory kinks in the panels. Even to the f and r bars. all the factory drilled holes for the badges are original never been redrilled Incredible when you see how straight this car is. The car is 100% original regal bar the colour. I call it my Regal Sport running all regal moulds and badges plus the luxury 6 seater bench buckets and power dic brakes witch was all slandered for the regal.
Love your show and passion for cars put on this site by Glenn Everitt thanks guys for taken the time to read this car can be seen in your club pics.
Motown1
Great episode on the Pacer. I reckon that Chrysler followed the US approach - basic engine and low entry level price - that was used for the Plymouth Roadrunner model - albeit without the thumping V8