Awakenings

It’s 40 years since A9X Toranas crushed the field at the 1979 Hardie-Ferodo 1000, sweeping the top eight places. Now, one of the hatchbacks involved in the A9X’s most famous result – the very car that finished sixth that day – has resurfaced. AMC blows away decades of dust to present the story of a racing relic once campaigned by a pair of perennial privateers and larrikin mates. Photoshoot: Chris Currie Archival Images: Chevron library, Autopics.com.au, Brier Thomas Additional research: Scott Mackay

Story: Luke West

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Next time you pass one of those ubiquitous self-storage facilities, with their rows of identical and nondescript roller-doors, ponder what vehicular treasure might lie within. Dilapidated sheds and garages in rural settings might be more readily connected with dream car finds, yet here’s proof these distinctly unromantic high-security suburban storage units are now more likely to house wonderful automotive finds.

As we learnt when invited along to document the retrieval and pick-up of an A9X Torana that had changed hands for the first time in 37 years, self-storage centres are the new ‘barns’. For here was an A9X hatchback that had been gathering dust unmoved in the same industrial ‘box’ in Sydney’s west for over 15 years.

And not just any A9X Torana. This one played a significant part in the revered nameplate’s most famous moment – the routing of the Bathurst field in 1979. This chassis was one of the Toranas that locked out the first eight positions.