Ford ZF Fairlane
Driven by Ron Reid, Robert Pollit and Chris Ohlin
Ron Reid entered the race with friends, Robert (Bob) Pollit and Chris Ohlin, all from South Australia.
Entering was Ron's idea... As he says they were "young and stupid".
Ron owned a XA Falcon 308 which he didn't think was suitable for the race, and Bob had a Phase II GTHO which he didn't want to use. Unsure of what car to use in the race, Chris, who was a mechanic, suggested using his Ford ZF Fairlane.
For the race the car was rebuilt from the ground up and fitted with a 351ci engine from a Ford Bronco with a 750 cfm double pumper carburettor. They removed any unnecessary parts to reduce the car's weight. New suspension was fitted and five very expensive VR speed rated tyres brought in from Europe that cost $200 each.
The Fairlane, which they called "the little blue duck", had the standard 36 gallon (135 litre) fuel tank and they carried extra fuel in two 20 litre drums which were hooked up to the fuel system and controlled by a tap by the front seat. Ron also procured a Motor Charge card for purchasing fuel.
Ron says that there wasn't much room in the car, with the boot fool of fuel and the back seat full of their personal essential items.
The team started mid-field and chose to take a different route than most competitors to avoid the police attention. Their route took them through Castlemaine and Birchip.
During the race they were booked by police three times, at Burra South Australia, Port Augusta and again on the Nullarbor.
The Fairlane was reliable throughout the race except for one problem when the distributor wound itself out.
Ron says their average speed was around 115 mph (185 km/h) and as a result they were the seventh fastest team, officially sixth place and just an hour behind the winning team.
