Driven by Andre Razums, Lance Dickinson & Steven Mehes
Andre Razums, Lance Dickinson, Steven Mehes (Source: Andre Razums)
Car no.
11
Drivers
Andre Razums, Lance Dickinson, Steven Mehes
Vehicle
Ford ZF Fairlane (1972)
Colour
Black
Registration
IXA834 (VIC)
Result
25th – 39h 33m 33s
The car was owned by Andre Razums, owner and co-founder of Dairy Bell Ice Cream.
His co-drivers were Dr. Lance Dickinson, a chiropractor, and Steven Mehes, who owned a bodyshop.
Andre bought the 1972 Ford Fairlane second hand and had it totally rebuilt over seven months, including the motor, suspension and the body.
It also had improved safety features including a roll cage and safety harnesses.
The 351 cubic inch V8 engine was fitted with a supercharger and twin Holley carburetors, and ran a C6 automatic transmission built locally by Paul Munro.
The work on the car alone cost around $20,000.
The engine was built by K&D Engineering at Doncaster and the bodywork was done by Steven Mehes at Parkral Autos in Murrumbeena.
The Fairlane was repainted black and had a wild body kit, the main feature being a huge bonnet hump which was necessary to fit the carburetors and supercharger, and had gauges mounted on the rear.
The car was named "Trans Aust", and featured a large mural on the boot lid depicting it driving across Australia.
The car had a 28 gallon (106 litre) "Bathurst" tank for extra fuel range, and was fitted with a scanner and CB radio.
Prior to the race they did a test run from Essendon to Ballarat and back.
Andre recalls that Lance Dickinson said that the car was quicker than the Porsche he owned at the time.
The car would do 90 mph (145 km/h) at 2,800 rpm and was capable of cruising at 160 mph (260 km/h).
On board the trailer for the start (Source: John Hassard)
On race day, the team stood out for their professional appearance. The drivers and their support crew all wore t-shirts Andre had organised for the event.
The team was the eleventh car to start, but they were concerned that because the car wasn't quite road-legal – mostly due to the bonnet hump – police would stop them immediately.
The car was put on a trailer and started the race behind a tow truck.
It was towed to a quieter place where it could hit the road on its own wheels.
They had to stop at one point when the car overheated. The thermostat was found to be jammed so was removed.
After the quick fix they were able to continue but had been passed by other teams while stopped.
Second breakdown (Source: Andre Razums)
Their only other stop for repair was when they ran over a brick or rock on the road which caught the exhaust.
They drove the car up onto a kerb to get access underneath, and Steven was able to make repairs at the roadside.
They continued on having lost less than an hour.
At Port Augusta in South Australia, the team had heard through the radio that teams were being stopped at a roadblock.
Andre called up a nearby friend who brought a Ford F100 and trailer to tow the car through the roadblock.
Andre says that they enjoyed chicken and champagne in the back of the F100 as they passed through the roadblock without being stopped.
On the trailer at Port Augusta (Source: Andre Razums)
Once off the trailer, Andre recalls catching a group of six or seven teams on the Nullarbor and passing them at a high rate of speed.
They were able to avoid police on a few occasions but did get pulled up when crossing the desert.
The car was defected for the bonnet hump but they were allowed seven days to get that rectified, so could continue on with the race.
After 39.5 hours they arrived at the finish in 25th position.
Andre said after the race that they had been stopped nine times by police, but not booked.
At the end of the race the car was transported back to Melbourne.
The bonnet scoop was changed to make the car road legal and later Andre sold the car (for around $7,000!) because he didn't have space for it, but wished he still had it.
Lance Dickinson passed away in 2013.
Andre Razums was awarded a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in 2017 for services to business and commerce and passed away in 2018.
Where is the car now?
The car is currently owned by David Downie who purchased it in 2020 with plans to honour its Cannonball history.
(Source: David Downie)
Since purchasing Trans Aust Dave has undertaken substantial restoration work on the car.
There has been extensive body work including many rust repairs and some panels taken back to bare metal. The car has been resprayed by Stu's Rod & Custom in Deniliquin, who were able to save the original murals on the front guards. The boot mural was done by Andrew Kennedy in Stawell, and is a mix of the original and second style murals. The bonnet and rear "Trans Aust" decals were done by Mik Wallmeyer.
The interior was fully removed and the carpet replaced. The transmission shifter has been repaired and various other interior works.
The original Carter ignition system has been replaced with an MSD 6AL and modified billet distributor by Bob fisher at Fisher Superchargers, who also rebuilt the supercharger. The fuel pump has been replaced and hose arrangements redesigned with a new rear-mounted regulator. The fuel tank was cut open, sand blast internally then welded back together.
The bonnet-mounted gauges have been replaced and rewired, the cooling fan system rewired, and the grille and headlight arrangements repaired.
All front and rear brake components have been replaced.
An alloy radiator has been fitted, and the original 1850 Holley carburettors rebuilt and recoloured.
Dave drove the car 1,000 miles (1609 km) from Deniliquin to Summernats 36 in Canberra in January 2024. Plans are afoot for the car to take part in many more events in the future.
Dave has been uncovering more of the car's history. He met with Mark Williams from K&D Engineering, who did the wiring on the car back in 1984, and was gifted one of the original t-shirts which will stay with the car. The original finishing medal has also been reunited with the car thanks to Steve Mehes, who did the bodywork back in 1984 and also drove in the race.
