The full story of the very versatile ex-Brian Ovenden Hot Mustard VH was outlined in AMC #68. It told of current and long-time owner Peter Scales purchasing the car in 1992, none the wiser to its race and rally adventures. When Peter started investigating the car’s history, he discovered it finished 11th in the 1973 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 in the hands of Ovenden and Max McGinley. The next revelation came as a bit of a shock.
“I was told by an ex-crew member of Brian’s that after he finished circuit racing he painted the car black, went rallying, had a major smash and sold it,” Scales outlines. “This fits, because I saw evidence of black paint during the resto.”
Members of the Historic Rally Association were able to confirm Ovenden’s outings on gravel, including in the 1975 Alpine Rally, the final round of that year’s ARC.
We were able to illustrate much of this remarkable car’s competition life in our five-page issue #68 story, except we couldn’t put our hands on a photo of the car during its rally days. Now we have, courtesy of Peter and his cousin Robert Bethune, a shot of it in the Holden Dealers International Rally in 1976, in Victoria’s Gippsland, when the car wore a VJ nose and was painted Limelight in colour. The car is also shown at the Morwell Hillclimb.
Love it when we can fill in a gap from a previous story. Jigsaw now complete.
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