Classics by The Beach: August, 2025

 

This WB Holden Statesman Magnum is a bit like Daniel Craig's portrayal of James Bond, sitting somewhere between that of a well-toned gentleman who's more than capable of taking care of himself and a thug in a well-cut suit.  Sort of elegant and slightly menacing all at once.    

According to Unique Cars Magazine, the Magnum was Aussie motor racing legend Peter Brock's “take on a high performance luxo-tourer.”  They also reckon that when it came to go-faster options, would-be owners had free range to choose pretty much anything that the Holden Dealer Team had at their disposal, including some serious engine and suspension upgrades (https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/1984-hdt-magnum-buyers-guide/, accessed 03 AUG25).  This means that almost no two Magnums are the same, which at an educated guess is what this car’s rego plates allude to.

This included mods to the standard 5.0 litre V8 to Group 3 spec, boosting power by near enough to 50%, from 169 to 252 hp.  The gearbox - a Trimatic - was suitably beefed up, there was an optional transmission oil cooler and a 3.08 ratio limited slip differential was available, too (ibid.). 

That wasn’t the end of it, either. Unique Cars goes on to explain that Magnums - which were either De Ville- or, in the case of this black beauty from 1984, the more up-market Caprice-based - sat on lowered suspension with re-worked geometry, upgraded springs, Bilstein shocks and thicker sway bars.  16 x 8” alloys shod with Pirelli P7s could also be had.   

The Magnum wasn’t the only fabulous machine at August, 2025’s, Classics by The Beach.   Far from it, in fact, the fine, mild weather seemingly attracting a particularly large contingent of classic, sports and performances cars to Hobart’s regular first Sunday of the month cars ‘n’ coffee.

This very, very nice Mk2 Escort looked particularly clean and tidy.  It was ostensibly stock, save for a set of Hot Wire alloys that filled the car’s arches perfectly.  

Stedi LED upgrade.

Porsche-style wheels. 

Tastefully appointed cabin. 

Funky cargo / passenger area. 

The Raptor-coated roof has a texture like vinyl and looks great, too.

This is Drew's fabulous 1966 Saab 96 Monte Carlo, which is the only example in Australia and one of only a handful of right-hand-drive survivors anywhere in the world.  This isn't surprising, really; of the 1,000 ever built, only 100 were right-hookers, and many either died valiantly whilst rallying or succumbed to rust.

The car's powered by a "north / south" orientated, three cylinder, two stroke engine of approximately 850 cc with oil injection and triple carburettors.  It's rarity is further boosted by being a matching numbers car.  As a rally-spec Monte Carlo edition, Drew's example also features a Nardi steering wheel and full sports instrumentation.  

Interestingly, the capacity of a two-stroke engine is effectively doubled because the exhaust and compression, and the ignition and combustion cycles are combined so that every second cycle produces power - by burning fuel - rather than the one-in-four power-producing cycles of a four stroke engine.  This means that every two cycles of a two-stroke engine results in one full revolution of the crank, compared to a four-stroke's four cycles per combustion event and two crank revolutions.  In the case of Drew's 850 cc Saab, the effective engine capacity is therefore about 1,700 cc.  (Confused?  Me, too, for a while.  This might help: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-stroke_engine).*

And the upshot of this doubling of engine capacity is?  First places to the Saab 96 Monte Carlo 850 in the 1962 and 1963 Monte Carlo rallies, as well as firsts in the RAC Rally between 1960 and 1962, and a second place in the East African Safari Rally of 1964.  They're still a not uncommon sight in European historic rallies to this day.

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(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

* Thanks for the explanation, Mike C.