The 1962 Armstrong 500 was an endurance race for Australian built production cars. The race was held at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia on 21 October 1962 over 167 laps of the 3.0 mile circuit, a total of 501 miles. Cars competed in four classes based on the retail price of each model. Officially, only class placings were awarded but the No 21 Ford Falcon driven by Harry Firth and Bob Jane was recognised as "First across the line". This was the third and last Armstrong 500 to be held at Phillip Island prior to the race being moved to the Mount Panorama Circuit at Bathurst in New South Wales where it later became known as the Bathurst 1000.

Class structure

For the 1962 race the division of classes was changed from engine capacity, used in the previous two Armstrong 500s, to the purchase price (in Australian pounds, the currency of the era) of the vehicle on the Australian market, with the intent to allow members of the public to make comparisons between cars which they could personally afford. An upper limit of £2000 was established to prevent the race from being dominated by purpose-built sports cars. These changes saw the Renault Gordinis move up from Class D to Class C, while the Volkswagens dropped from C to D. Volkswagen would break through for their first class victory this year.

Class A Class A was for cars with a purchase price of between £1251 and £2000. The class featured Chrysler Valiant, Citroën ID19, Ford Zephyr, Studebaker Lark and Vauxhall Velox.

Class B Class B was for cars with a purchase price of between £1051 and £1250. The class was dominated by the new Ford Falcon XL but also feature Austin Freeway and Holden EJ.

Class C Class C was for cars with a purchase price of between £901 and £1050. The class featured Hillman Minx, Morris Major, Renault Gordini and Simca Aronde.

Class D Class D was for cars with a purchase price of less than £900. The class featured Ford Anglia, Morris 850, Triumph Herald and Volkswagen.

Race The race was dominated by the XL series Ford Falcon, three of which were amongst the first four finishers, led by the factory-supported car of defending winners Harry Firth and Bob Jane. On the same lap as Firth and Jane was the Class A winning Studebaker of Fred Sutherland and Bill Graetz, who won the class by four laps, defeating the factory-supported Ford Zephyr being driven by Geoff Russell and David Anderson, denying them a third consecutive class victory. This was as close as a Studebaker would get to an outright victory in the history of the event.

In Class C a Renault Gordini won despite being moved up from Class D with Rex Emmett, John Connolly and 1975 winner Brian Sampson winning by four laps. The Renault Gordini driven by Emmett, Connolly and Sampson which covered the most laps in Class C was initially disqualified after the race along with the Morris 850 driven by Allen and Hooker which crossed the line in second place in Class D.Ford Triumphs in rugged '500', Australian Motor Sports, December 1962, pages 25 to 29 and page 49 Appeals were lodged in both cases. Later published results show the cars as first in Class C and second in Class D respectively.W. P. Tuckey, The Book of Australian Motor Racing, 1965?, page 158John Smailes, The first 15 Years, Hardie-Ferodo 1000 - A Pictorial History 1960–1975, page 55Bill Tuckey and David Greenhalgh, Australia's Greatest Motor Race - The first 30 years, page 293

Jim McKeown, an emerging star in small capacity touring cars, and George Reynolds took their Volkswagen to the Class D victory, beating the leading Mini by a lap. Reynolds too had an outright victory in store in just two years time in 1964.

Aftermath The toil placed on the cold mix bitumen surface by the race, with the largest entry the race had seen, overwhelmed the Phillip Island racetrack. Dangerous potholes formed all around the circuit, leaving a hefty repair bill, and an ominous threat to the future growth of the race. Staying at Phillip Island, as attractive as other factors presented, was plainly impossible and the search began by the promoters for a new home for the increasingly popular endurance production car race. Earlier the same year the Bathurst Six Hour Classic had been held at the Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst (won by a Daimler not eligible to run in the Armstrong), and that circuit immediately entered speculation.

Results

Pos NoOfficial Programme, The 1962 Armstrong 500, Sunday, 21st October 1962 Entrant Drivers Car Laps Class A 1 2 Canada Cycle & Motor Co. Fred Sutherland Bill Graetz Studebaker Lark 167 2 10 Ford Motor Co. of Australia Geoff Russell David Anderson Ford Zephyr Mk III 163 3 7 Continental & General Distributors Pty. Ltd. Norm Beechey Greg Cusack Citroën ID19 160 4 5 Hawthorn Auto Wreckers Vic Croft Wal Gillespie Chrysler Valiant 160 5 8 Scuderia Veloce Bill Buckle Brian Foley Citroën ID19 156 6 9 Wallace Auto Racing Stable Bill Wilson Mike Ide Citroën ID19 155 7 6 Calder Motor Raceway Pat Hawthorn G Hibberd Chrysler Valiant 153 8 3 Hospital Hill Motors Service Station Don Algie Kingsley Hibbard Studebaker Lark 127 DNF 4 Auburn Garage Peter White Peter Boyd-Squires Chrysler Valiant 118 DNF 1 S.A. Cheney Pty. Ltd. Frank Coad John Roxburgh Vauxhall Velox 64 Class B 1 21 Ford Motor Co. of Australia Harry Firth Bob Jane Ford Falcon XL 167 2 20 Ford Motor Co. of Australia Ken Harper John Raeburn Syd Fisher Ford Falcon XL 166 3 25 Broon's Motors Pty. Ltd. Alan Caelli J Edwards John Bodinnar Ford Falcon XL 165 4 26 L.J. Callaway John Callaway Frank Porter Jim Smith Ford Falcon XL 161 5 22 Molybond Laboritories Pty. Ltd. Barry Foster Bob Brown David Catlin Holden EJ 160 6 24 Hilltop Autos Lex Davison John Brindley Phil TruemanGraham Howard, Lex Davison - Larger Than Life, 2004, page 175 Austin Freeway 159 7 23 C. Smith Charlie Smith Brucer Maher Austin Freeway 145 8 27 New Oakleigh Motors and New St. Kilda Motors Kevin Lott Tom Roddy Brian Devlin Ford Falcon XL 134 Class C 1 30 Rex Emmett Rex Emmett John Connolly Brian Sampson Renault Gordini 162 2 34 Edney's Garage Alan Edney Greg Fayers Morris Major Elite 158 3 33 Eiffel Tower Group Pty. Ltd. Diane Leighton Anne Bennett Pam Murison Simca Aronde 157 4 37 Clemens Sporting Car Service Ian Wells Don Dunoon Hillman Minx 151 5 36 W. Nalder Wes Nalder John Fish Hillman Minx 145 DNF 31 Eiffel Tower Group Pty. Ltd. Jack EiffeltowerJack Eiffeltower was a pseudonym used by Jack Nougher Lionel Marsh Vern Curtin Simca Aronde 121 DNF 32 Eiffel Tower Group Pty. Ltd. Bill Roberts J Hume W Murison Simca Aronde 63 DNF 35 Carburettor Centre, Belvedere Motors Pty. Ltd. Les Darcy Don Castaldi Simca Aronde 60 Class D 1 48 H.G. McLean Motors Pty. Ltd. George Reynolds Jim McKeown Volkswagen 162 2 43Image of Allen / Hooker Morris 850, Armstrong 500 1962, autopics.com.au, as archived at web.archive.orgThe Allen / Hooker Morris 850 was not listed in the Official Programme D Hooker Terry Allen Morris 850 161 3 41 Ace Motors Pty. Ltd. Geoffrey Waite Peter Macrow Rocky Tresise Morris 850 160 4 50 Spencer Motors Tony Theiler Bob Foreman Reg Lunn Volkswagen 160 5 40 Jack Hunnam Jack Hunnam John Hartnett Morris 850 160 6 42 Head Brothers George Huse Clarrie Head Morris 850 159 7 51 G.A. Gibson Hoot Gibson Paul England Jack Madden Triumph Herald 157 8 44 S.D. Hughes Graham Hoinville Kevin Burns Ford Anglia 157 9 47 S.C. Martin Stan Martin Les Park Triumph Herald 154 10 53 Sydney Grevett Syd Grevett Cliff van Praag Morris 850 150 11 45 McLure's Restaurants Pty. Ltd. George Poulton R Poulton M Watson Triumph Herald 150 DNF 49 E. Whiteford Motors Pty. Ltd. Doug Whiteford Lou Molina Volkswagen 148 DNF 52 A.G. Reynolds Tony Reynolds A Humphries Frank McEnroe Morris 850 101 DNF 46 High Road Auto Port Jack Anderson J Binning Bob Bullock Triumph Herald 13

Statistics Fastest Lap - #3 Algie/Hibbard - 2:42 Race Time - 8:15:16.0

References

Sources Australian Motor Sports, December 1962

Australia's Greatest Motor Race, The First 30 Years, © 1989 The Age, Monday, 22 October 1962 Wheels, January 1963

External links 1962 Armstrong 500 (race results), www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au 1962 Armstrong 500 images, autopics.com.au