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94:09
Car
Hyundai i20
The Hyundai i20 is a small hatchback designed for practical driving, often in city conditions. In the podcast, it’s mentioned in connection with fuel-economy and endurance-style attempts. That’s why it’s being brought up in that conversation.
Term
walk away locking
Walk-away locking means the car locks itself when you leave with the key fob. It’s a convenience feature that prevents forgetting to lock the doors.
Brand
Blue Link
Blue Link is a phone app that connects to your car. It can help you check things like whether the car is locked when you’re away.
Car
Honda Zrv
The Honda ZR-V is a compact crossover SUV made for everyday driving. The podcast is talking about a feature called “Blue Link,” which is related to car connectivity. They’re comparing whether their current car has something similar to the ZR-V.
Car
Honda Hrv
The Honda HR-V is a small crossover SUV meant for normal daily driving. It’s designed to be practical and easy to live with. The podcast is checking whether a specific HR-V has a certain feature.
Term
Honda Connect
Honda Connect is Honda’s system that connects your car to your phone or the internet. It’s used for things like remote updates and alerts about the car.
Car
Honda insight
The Honda Insight is a Honda hybrid car. It uses both a gas engine and an electric motor to help save fuel. Here, they’re discussing what happened with that specific car.
Term
OBD2
OBD2 is the car’s built-in computer system for reporting problems. A mechanic can plug in a scanner to read codes that tell you what the car detected.
Term
codes
In OBD2 context, “codes” are fault codes stored by the vehicle’s computer when it detects a problem. Clearing codes can temporarily remove the warnings from the scanner, but the underlying issue may still be present if it triggers again.
Term
traction
Traction is how well the tires can grip the road. If you have “no traction,” the tires start slipping instead of grabbing and moving forward smoothly.
Car
Accord Euro
The Accord Euro is a Honda Accord variant sold in some markets (like Australia). They’re saying it’s been registered, so it’s ready to drive legally.
Part
knock sensor
A knock sensor helps the car detect harmful engine knocking. If it’s replaced, it usually means the car’s computer saw signs of knock and needed to correct or prevent damage.
Part
power steering pump
The power steering pump helps make the steering easier. If it was replaced, the car likely had steering problems like hard steering or noise.
Part
lower control arm bushes
These bushes are the flexible mounts that connect the suspension parts. If they wear out, the car can feel loose or make knocking noises, and the tires may wear unevenly.
Term
rubber hose
These are the flexible tubes that move fluids around the car. Over time, rubber can get brittle or start leaking, so replacing them helps keep everything working properly.
Term
round clamps
Those “round clamps” are the metal bands (or similar rings) that hold a hose tight onto a connection. They help stop leaks, even on lines that aren’t under extreme pressure.
Company
easy hoses in epping
This is a local shop the host recommends for making or redoing custom hoses. They’re saying the shop was helpful and the price was better than ordering from overseas.
Term
fuel pump
The fuel pump is what sends gas from the tank to the engine. If it starts failing, the car may struggle to start or run poorly because the engine isn’t getting enough fuel.
Brand
Mercedes
“Mercedes” is the car brand. Here, the speaker is saying they replaced parts on their Mercedes fuel system.
Car
1994 BMW 318is coupe
This is a BMW 3 Series coupe from 1994, and the “318is” is the sportier version of the 318. People like it because it’s a smaller, more driver-focused BMW that’s fun to modify and drive.
Car
Tesla 36 Model
Topic
coffee and cars
They’re talking about driving their cars to casual meetups, like a “coffee and cars” gathering. The point is that the car needs to be usable for real life, not just sitting in a garage.
Concept
recommissioning
Recommissioning means getting a car ready to drive again after it’s been sitting unused. It’s basically a careful “wake it up” checklist so you don’t find out something is wrong the first time you try to drive it.
Term
shocks
Shocks are the parts in the suspension that help the car settle after bumps. They keep the wheels from bouncing too much so the ride stays controlled.
Term
genuine parts
Genuine parts are the official replacement parts made for that car. They’re more likely to fit correctly and match the original design than cheaper alternatives.
Term
replacement part numbers
A part number is like an exact ID for a specific car part. Using the right one helps make sure you’re buying the correct suspension component for that exact vehicle.
Term
front struts
Struts are suspension parts up front that help control how the front wheels move. If they’re worn out, the car can feel bouncy or less stable, especially over rough roads.
Term
Bilsteins
Bilstein makes shock and strut parts for cars. If you’re replacing suspension, Bilstein is a well-known name people choose for better control and ride quality.
Term
idle pulley
An idle pulley is a small wheel that helps guide a belt and keep it tight. If it starts making noise, it can mean the pulley bearings are wearing out, especially after the car hasn’t been driven.
Topic
cars and coffee
“Cars and coffee” is a casual car meet where people bring their cars and hang out. It’s a common way for car people to show what they’re working on.
Term
LSD
An LSD is a special rear-axle differential that limits how much the wheels can spin at different speeds. It helps the car put power down better when traction is uneven.
Term
water pump impellers
The water pump impeller is the spinning part that pushes coolant around the engine. If it’s made from plastic and it wears out, the engine may not cool properly and can start running hot.
Term
run hot
“Run hot” means the engine operates at higher-than-normal temperatures for extended periods. That can accelerate cooling-system wear and contribute to failures like water pump issues, especially on engines already known to have impeller-related problems.
Term
m-tech
“M-tech” is a BMW option that gives the car a sportier look. It’s not the same thing as the exact seat/trim choice being described in this car.
Term
m-performance wheels
These are BMW “M-performance” wheels—an optional wheel style meant to give a sportier look. The important part is that the wheel size can be different depending on the exact BMW model.
Term
automatic
An automatic transmission shifts gears by itself. You don’t have to use a clutch or move a gear lever like you would in a manual car.
Term
manual gearbox
A manual gearbox is the kind where you choose the gears yourself. Usually you use a clutch pedal and a gear stick, and converting from automatic can be more complicated than it sounds.
Term
manual gear stick
A manual gear stick (shifter) is the lever used to select gears in a car with a manual gearbox. Its presence in a photo is a quick visual clue that the car may actually be configured for a manual drivetrain, even if the listing says otherwise.
Term
body kit
A body kit is an aftermarket set of exterior parts—typically bumpers, side skirts, and sometimes spoilers—that changes a car’s shape and styling. In this segment, the speaker says the body kit makes the car “look like an M3,” meaning the kit gives it a more aggressive BMW M-style appearance even if the underlying car isn’t an M3.
Term
VIN
VIN is the car’s unique ID number. It’s like a fingerprint for the vehicle, so authorities can confirm they’re registering the right car.
Term
engine number
The engine number is a stamped ID on the engine itself. Registration offices may check it to make sure the car you’re bringing in matches the records.
Term
historic inspection
A historic inspection is an assessment process for older vehicles, often tied to eligibility for historic/collector registration. The goal is to verify the car’s condition and authenticity before it’s approved under historic rules.
Term
quick ratio steering
Quick-ratio steering means you don’t have to turn the steering wheel as much to get the wheels to turn a lot. The result is usually quicker, more responsive steering when you’re driving hard or turning in tight spaces.
Term
quick rack
A “quick rack” is a steering setup that makes the wheels respond faster to steering-wheel movement. You turn the wheel a smaller amount to get the same steering angle at the tires.
Term
steering box
A steering box is part of the steering system that turns your steering-wheel input into the motion that steers the front wheels. Different designs can change how direct and “quick” the steering feels.
Term
boot
“Boot” just means the trunk—the storage space in the back of the car. They’re saying it’s nicely kept and organized.
Term
rattle
A “rattle” is a noise from something vibrating—often loose plastic trim or panels inside the car. They’re saying that if you take an older BMW apart, it’s easy to end up with rattles.
Car
328 i convertible
This is a BMW 3 Series “328i” convertible. The story is about how taking apart the dash and putting it back can lead to annoying noises like creaks and rattles.
Term
gurgled
“Gurgled” means the car made a weird bubbling or gurgling sound. That can be a sign something isn’t running quite right, but they don’t say exactly what caused it here.
Part
thermostat
The thermostat helps control how hot the engine runs by regulating coolant flow. If it’s not working right, the car can heat/feel strange and make unusual sounds.
Part
rear springs
Rear springs are what help your car ride smoothly and keep the rear at the right height. When you replace them, other parts nearby may need to be moved carefully so you don’t damage anything.
Part
drive shafts
Drive shafts are the parts that send power from the gearbox to the wheels. When you’re doing suspension work, moving them out of the way can prevent you from stressing or damaging related joints.
Term
CV
A CV joint is part of the drivetrain that helps the car keep power going to the wheels even when the suspension moves. If you pry or lever in the wrong place, you can damage the CV joint or its protective parts.
Term
coil over
A coilover is a suspension part that combines the spring and the shock into one assembly. People like it because it can make the car sit lower and handle better, and sometimes it’s adjustable.
Term
divorce shock
They’re describing a suspension where the spring and shock are separate parts. Instead of one combined unit, you have the spring doing one job and the shock doing another.
Term
barrel spring
A barrel spring is a spring shaped like a barrel. When the suspension compresses, it can fold inward, which can help fit the suspension in a smaller space.
Term
full droop
Full droop means the suspension is at its most extended position, with the wheel hanging down. That’s the point where parts are stretched out the most, which can change how you work on them.
Term
travel
“Travel” means how far the suspension parts can move. The speaker is saying there’s enough movement to adjust the spring without taking the whole setup apart.
Term
6 bolt
“6 bolt” means the connection uses six bolts. That’s important because it determines the exact mounting pattern for the driveshaft-to-differential connection.
Car
E36 compact
The BMW E36 Compact is a smaller E36-era BMW. The speaker is saying it used a rear setup similar to the E30, which can make parts swaps and repairs easier.
Term
diff
A “diff” is the part that helps the two wheels on the same axle turn at different speeds, especially when you’re cornering. They’re discussing how it comes apart and how many bolts hold it in place.
Term
spline
A spline is like a toothed connection between two parts that transfers power. They’re saying the job is easier because you don’t have to separate a splined connection from the differential.
Car
Datsun 180b SSS
The Datsun 180B SSS is a sportier version of the 180B model. In this clip, it’s used as a comparison to describe the vibe and character of the car they’re driving.
Term
1 to 1 5th gear
“1 to 1” means 5th gear is set up so the engine speed and drivetrain speed are closely matched. That often makes the car feel more direct and strong in that gear instead of needing big RPM changes to keep moving.
Term
final
“Final” here is the final drive ratio, which is a gearing step that multiplies the engine’s effort to the wheels. A higher number usually makes the car feel stronger off the line, while a lower number helps it go faster at a given RPM.
Term
close ratio
A “close ratio” gearbox means the gears are spaced closely together. When you shift, the engine speed doesn’t fall much, so the car keeps pulling instead of feeling like it loses momentum.
Term
rear wheel drive
Rear-wheel drive means the back wheels get the power. Many driving enthusiasts like it because the car can feel more “connected” when you steer and accelerate.
Term
interchangeable parts
Interchangeable parts are pieces that can be used in more than one car or version. That usually makes repairs and upgrades simpler and cheaper.
Car
M3
The BMW M3 is the high-performance, track-focused version of the 3 Series, and the E36-era M3 is a benchmark for analog driving feel. In this segment, the host is praising it as “god tier,” tying it to the E36 generation discussion.
Term
straight 6
A “straight 6” is an engine with six cylinders arranged in a single line. People like it because it tends to run smoothly and feel refined as it revs.
Term
interior is completely stripped
“Completely stripped” means taking out most of the inside parts of the car. People do this to save weight and to make it easier to work on the car for track or build projects.
Part
engine mounts
Engine mounts are the parts that hold the engine to the car and help reduce shaking. If an engine mount fails, the engine can shift, and that can crack nearby parts like covers during repairs.
Term
timing belt
The timing belt is a belt inside the engine that keeps the engine’s moving parts working in sync. When mechanics do timing-belt work, they usually have to open up the front of the engine and remove cover pieces.
Term
roof rails
Roof rails are the metal bars/tracks on top of a car. They’re used to mount things like a roof rack or cargo carrier.
Term
historic registration
Historic registration means an older car is officially registered under special rules. The idea is that it’s treated differently than a normal daily car, and the speaker mentions it affects how easily the car’s status is noticed.
Term
number plate recognition system
A number plate recognition system is basically cameras that can read a car’s license plate automatically. It helps authorities quickly check whether a car matches certain rules or records.
Car
Mercedes W124
The Mercedes W124 is an older Mercedes-Benz E-Class from the late 1980s through the 1990s. It’s known for being a solid, long-lasting daily car, and the host mentions it because he was driving it when police stopped him.
Term
logbook
A logbook is paperwork for a car that proves it’s registered and legally allowed to be driven. The police officer is checking that the driver has the required documents.
Car
Mitsubishi Galant VR4
The Mitsubishi Galant VR4 is a turbocharged Mitsubishi sedan that’s famous for being fast and having good grip. The “VR4” part is the performance version, and it’s the kind of car people used in rally-style driving because it could put power down well.
Concept
work your way up through the ranks
He’s talking about how rally drivers usually don’t start at the top. They begin with simpler, less expensive cars and improve step-by-step until they can move into better equipment.
Term
100,000 miles
“100,000 miles” just means the car has been driven a lot. On older cars, that kind of mileage can mean more wear, so it’s a notable detail when someone is talking about reliability.
Car
Mini Deluxe 998 CC
The Mini Deluxe is a classic small British car. “998 CC” means the engine is about 1.0 liter, which helps explain why it was known for being light and economical rather than fast.
Term
disc brakes
Disc brakes are the kind where pads squeeze a metal disc to slow the wheels down. They usually work more consistently than older drum brakes, especially when you’re braking hard for a long time.
Term
master cylinder
The master cylinder is the part that turns your foot on the brake pedal into hydraulic pressure. That pressure is what makes the brakes actually clamp down at the wheels.
Term
rear brake biasing thingies
Brake biasing is about deciding how hard the front brakes and rear brakes work relative to each other. Rally drivers tune it so the car stays controllable instead of the rear wheels locking up and sliding.
Term
rear wheel cylinders
Wheel cylinders are the parts that use brake fluid pressure to push the brake mechanism at each wheel. They’re commonly used with drum brakes to squeeze the braking surfaces.
Term
synchro's
Synchros help a manual transmission shift smoothly by matching the spinning speeds of the gears. If they’re worn out, shifting gets difficult, and you may have to use extra steps to avoid gear grinding.
Term
double to clutch
Double-clutching is a way to shift a manual gearbox smoothly when it’s not happy with normal shifting. It helps match speeds so the gears don’t grind.
Term
engine rebuild
An engine rebuild means taking the engine apart and fixing or replacing worn internal parts. It’s done to get the engine back to good health after it’s been stressed hard.
Term
ride height
Ride height is how high the car sits off the ground. More ride height usually means more clearance for rough roads so you don’t hit the bottom as easily.
Topic
rallies were rough back then
They’re describing how tough the old rally events were, with rough roads and long nights. That context explains why the car needed changes and repairs to survive the abuse.
Topic
mapping events
They’re describing an older way of preparing for rally stages—basically making your own route information ahead of time. That helps the co-driver guide the driver during the race.
Topic
modern era of rallying
They’re talking about how rallying has changed over time. The way teams plan and drive the stages today is different from how it was done in earlier decades.
Person
Andrew Hunter
Andrew Hunter is the co-driver—basically the person who reads the rally notes and helps the driver know what’s coming next. They’ve been partners for a long time, which matters in rallying.
Place
1968 London to Sydney marathon
This was a huge long-distance driving event from London to Sydney in 1968. The hosts are saying they met there, and it eventually led them into rallying.
Car
Toyota Corolla K10
This is a specific older Corolla (the “K10” version). The hosts are saying it had a suspension design that was different from what you’d normally see on other Toyotas, which can make it handle better on bumpy rally roads.
Term
transverse leaf
A leaf spring is a type of suspension made from layered metal strips. “Transverse” means it’s set up sideways across the car, which changes how the suspension supports the wheels and rides over rough roads.
Term
front leaf spring
This is a leaf spring at the front of the car. Leaf springs can be adjusted by changing how many spring leaves are in the pack, which can make the car sit higher and feel stiffer over bumps.
Car
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car built for performance. It has a very recognizable shape, with a low and wide look. The podcast is comparing another car’s profile to a Corvette’s overall appearance.
Term
McPherson struts
McPherson struts are a popular suspension design that uses one main unit to handle both damping (shock absorption) and support. It’s a different approach than leaf springs, so mentioning them helps explain how the car’s ride and handling are being controlled.
LIVE
This is a professional radio, gentlemen.
And it's front wheel drive.
Sorry, have you got anyone you want to thank?
Just myself.
And now we do the after hours.
Uh, gentlemen, what would you go for?
They see us in there.
Okay.
And because it's not a super car.
It's not.
Automated perfection comes in the form of two letters A and U.
Long live my LTD.
Welcome to Car Talk.
It's Tuesday night here on 90.9 Northwest FM.
It's me, Matty J, online with Mr. David Prince,
Mr. Scotty Doe Johnson, Mr. Jim Barlow,
and in studio with Chad DeBell.
How are you guys going?
Doing well, thanks.
Very good.
Good.
Thank you very much.
Good to see you guys.
We've also been joined by a very, very special guest for the show tonight.
I want to read you a bit of a CV and then we'll introduce the man himself.
So 28 rallies, nine rally wins, over 70 stage wins,
Australian rally champion 1990.
1995 Australia Trail winner.
It's around Australia Trail winner.
Mitsubishi driver, Hayundo I-20 hypermiler,
professional gentlemen,
and most importantly of all,
year five primary school teacher at Mission Primary School.
Please welcome Mr. Ed Ordsky, gentlemen.
Very good.
Well, thank you for holding the best until last.
The most important one.
Yes.
Good to be along.
Thank you for having me.
From meeting you all at Magna 40,
finally getting here to the studio to say hello properly.
I'm looking forward to it.
Mate, it's an absolute honour to have you here.
I think we've all been bloody excited to have you on.
It's been a long-winded process to get you here.
We had a false start a little while ago,
completely my fault of my own illness.
But good to have you in studio.
You've come all this way just to be,
well, obviously for a few things,
but you've come to see us on the podcast
and absolutely honoured to have you here, mate.
Thank you.
So hello to all our live listeners as well.
So yeah, big show tonight.
Lots to talk about.
But look, obviously we've got a very special guest,
Ed Ordsky and he also said to us specifically
that he wanted us to continue with our typical show
of our car updates.
Because he's got a car update of his own,
which we will get to.
But he did say, like,
because normally when we have a special guest on,
as you guys know,
we get into them and a little bit about them.
But we'll get into your car updates very shortly, Ed.
I didn't want to be left out.
And I left the film out of the show.
So I'm kind of, you know,
listening to quite a few.
So I'd be very confused and discombobulated
with something went off track.
I'm going to keep the format.
It's structured.
You know, I typed this program.
I typed the program into AI, right?
And it's, you know, I was like,
so tell us about this podcast.
And it says, well, it's an Australian podcast from Melbourne.
It does the following things, car updates.
That's the best it says.
It has a topic then the quiz at the end.
And I'm like, oh, so even AI knows that's what we do.
So Ed, you're not alone.
You're obviously very much, much more smarter than AI.
You're a teacher.
You want to, you to boss, you know,
Scotty teacher, Jim.
Yes, works in the school.
David and I are outnumbered here.
Yeah.
I think, I think David can, can,
can count as being part of the crew with calf.
I think so.
Oh, it's always just me.
So no,
my life goes by week of the term as well.
Don't, don't, don't get.
Week four, week.
This is week five.
Week five.
My kids are in exams in two weeks.
And they've been absolutely killing me today.
I actually, today was one of the days where I don't know,
we're talking in the car on the way.
You know, you need, you need to like what you do.
Today wasn't one of those days.
I had a real difficult day.
But, but no, look, you know, it's tomorrow.
Tomorrow is always a better day.
Let's get on with some car updates.
So I love this section of the show.
David Prince updates with you.
We'll still start on your end.
I got my son's VF Calais wagon.
Got that sorted the other day.
The tailgate was, has been playing up.
And when you've got a baby and a,
and a station wagon and lots of stuff to carry around,
it doesn't do to be climbing into the,
into the, into the luggage compartment through the
driver side, rear door and releasing the.
Not ideal.
Tailgate with a screwdriver.
So that was a relatively easy fix.
There's a few people have had it go and,
and I finally took it to a panel all be the guy.
Friend of the show who has got,
got a beautiful high lux.
It's been a classic Japan a few times.
Hi to Paul.
If you're listening from build,
build panel works.
So yeah, he got it sorted in,
in a day and a new lock and done.
So my son's in love with the car again,
which is good. I swapped him.
I took that back and bought home my
94 Accord VTIS.
It's now done.
485,000
KS I think.
It's a long,
just came down the freeway like it,
like a dream. It's such a cool car.
I saw you did that.
Paradreams.
That's right. Good work.
I've been on a steep learning curve,
trying to understand the operating
system that
the Hyundai
brand runs to.
Chad, I should have run you, shouldn't I?
You can probably help me out with a few.
I could have, potentially.
Yeah, it's just like a different operating system
to Honda's. That's for sure.
So I don't know if you've listened to the latest one,
Chad, because you went on.
I missed it.
But David and his wife bought a brand new Tucson.
Wow.
That is exciting.
It is exciting.
Yes.
Kat's car.
Not my car.
Oh, right. You're not claiming it.
The H is the wrong way around for David.
It's like it's been left out in the sun a bit long
and sort of
sideways.
Still an H-bed.
So yeah, it's just,
so many little things are just different
and it's just a matter of getting used to a different way
of operating it.
One thing it doesn't have, which I didn't realize
we'd miss as much,
is the walk away locking.
So the Honda's, as you
can see from them.
No, that's not a thing, evidently.
But I do have an app now
and it tells me if it's not locked,
if we're nowhere near the car.
Oh, so you've got Blue Link.
You don't have Blue Link.
I don't have Blue Link.
My car
was the first version
of it in Australia and then
the facelift
had Blue Link.
It was kind of around the time when they were bringing out Blue Link
but I think that car was
the infrastructure was already
in the old sort of
style. It's still
pretty recent but yeah, it doesn't have
Blue Link here.
That sounds a bit like the ZRV that we
still have that's going to our kids.
It was one of the first cars with Honda Connect.
And so I downloaded the app
and that was all fine.
It wasn't great
the early in car.
I don't think it's gotten much better to be fair, David
Prince.
So have you tested with your mom's car?
Yeah.
Really? Yeah.
I think my wife's HRV has that.
Yeah. I don't think it does
from what I can sort of
so I haven't experienced that on
Honda Connect.
Honda Connect, yeah.
Yeah.
I went into the guy, I know
in the service department, I do work in the service department
there as well and
I said now, Honda Connect
and he just put his head in his hands and just
it's not a good sign.
We won't worry about that.
This is three and a half years ago now
but actually it's thinking of
the dealership. I did a job in there
the other day and by total
and out of coincidence I happened to bump
into the CEO
and the
manager of brand for Honda Australia
at the dealership with the Honda Super
One. Out on the road
with a number plate that could be a personalized
number plate for me if I wanted it.
Did you see it? I didn't see the number plate.
Yeah. DVD
121 the number plate is. No way.
That's unreal. It's ridiculous.
And yeah, so I
completely
Brad rid my way into a driver
the Super One before it's ever been
released.
It was it's just such
a cracker a little car. You've got no idea.
When they announced that it was going to have
a mechanized engine
sound, you know, you think, oh, that's going to be
you know, pretty tweet but it's actually
really good
in sport mode with the paddle shift and stuff like
that. So interesting, really interesting
little car and I think if it's
marketed well, it will do
very well for Honda.
So that was exciting and
seeing we've got this fabulous forum of the podcast
I would like to dispel rumors. Someone
quite rudely commented on my Instagram that
because I said what a coincidence it was
to, you know, come across this they inferred
that it wasn't a coincidence and that I was in
fact stalking the car and that
I needed to mention or to put out
against me.
So there's no truth in that room whatsoever.
He's debunking but we all know
that's not the truth.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So no
truth in that room at all. It was literally
it was the funniest thing because I hadn't been into
that dealership for probably two months to do a job
and just the very day I
happened upon it was
yeah, it was a good day. Good day.
Very good day for Princeton. Awesome.
Yes, so
other than I think that's enough for me for this
week that we'll
move on to next week now.
Scotty.
Me, I guess my cars in general
nothing
I haven't really touched them. They're just sitting
there and getting rained on
and dirtied. So sorry Jim
they have not been washed.
I'll start
rocking your foot backwards and forwards.
It was on
Saturday. I was like
no, because I already knew it was going to rain the next
day.
So I didn't want to do that to myself.
Did finally sell the
insight though. Honda insight is
gone.
So that was good.
Guy came out with his friend that's been a mechanic
for I know he's had like 18
years or something like that, whatever.
They had their little OBD2
scanner and stuff and hooked that up and
as I knew
there was no errors, there was nothing wrong,
no dramas.
Little do they know Scotty cleared the codes
about two seconds before they got there
and just asked for more.
It was funny
there was already like some codes on there
and he goes oh did you know he's got some codes
like oh no it's my car
it's my wife's car and I don't
service it goes to Honda and gets serviced
he goes I'll just
I'll just delete them and I'll start the car again
and I'll say whatever fleets you might go for it
does that, starts it up
boom there's no codes at all
that's all good
what I tell you mate what I tell you
yeah
so sold that one without
roadworthy they seem to have some kind
of business where they
buy some cars and
put them into their company's
name and then get roadworthy
and sell them off or something so
that's fine that makes it easy for me
and on that exact same day boom
transferred money and off it goes
gone
very good
so that was good
I didn't have to wait around
or grab a deposit and then wondering
if they're gonna come back
I had a couple of others
that were interested as well
I had another odd one
that I think I probably
would have blocked
the person
just the questions
and the way it was written
was just not
not entirely
enticing
to kind of give them my address
on where I lived
just the way
he kind of said all of a sudden
well for starters he does the one that you saw
he sent it at 2am
yeah
he was really keen at that time
and then replied
again to the same message at like
2.15am and then
at 2.30am puts in a question mark
it's like mate I'm asleep
who's the only person at that time
that just hooks the point
I don't know I'll get to it in the morning
so
I was like I just reply and go
mate I'm asleep
and then I just replied
yeah it's available
but I go looking at it and then
he's like anything wrong with it
they all ask that same question
anything wrong with it
I love that question
I don't know
like I'm trustworthy all of a sudden
which I am
but
I can't trust everybody
yeah I just said no no
drives fine I still use it occasionally
just to quickly zip around if I need to
it's great car it's been handy
doesn't break down
kept on going
been awesome
and then I had the other guy out
he's having a look at the car and he sends me a message
and goes I live in somebody too
I come now
I was like what do you mean
all of a sudden you live in my area
all of a sudden
you want to come and get it now
and I was like no
yeah I was like
yeah I just didn't
you kind of get those feelings
and the other guy bought it anyway
so I just said no sorry
I just sold it to the other guy that got him first
and that was it, didn't hear back from him
probably gave me
one star
like Ed
from last week
you got the one star
it makes a massive difference
to your marketplace
rating
if you've only had a few
listings or whatever and you get one star
and you're like oh god
and you kind of dispute it
some people just do it as
an eventful thing to do
you're stuck with it
so last week
on the show
you listened to last week's episode
Ed Bunting was saying
the guy was in crime at a car
and he's like look I've got someone to come and look at it
but if it doesn't sell you more than welcome
and basically he's like sorry mate sold the car
he's like okay I can just give him a one star review
and it's like
I answer all your questions why are you giving me a one star
he's responsible
so it's just
the type of people you get
it's the caliber of people you get on the internet
and marketplace
so that's you Mr Scottie
pretty much
that's me wrapped up in a nutshell
very good Jim Marlowe
so in terms of
car updates
I guess first one
was that for a while
my brother had been wanting to go for
a passenger princess ride in the magna
and so on the weekend
we were going to go to Ikea
and then watch devil west prior to two
so that meant like a three hour trip
so because of course he had
spent a long time driving my grandfather's
KJ Varada
he was very impressed
especially when I put my foot down
and speaking of it was quite funny
trying to pull under the highway and having no traction in seconds
that was quite funny
because they didn't see the bridge never has that problem
so that was quite good
although I did joke I think on the way there
definitely a magna because I had to get petrol
but
the other good news
is that
the Accord Euro got registered today
so that's good
I don't have a driver there Jim
I think
I've been in many manual Accord Euros
but never driven one
so I'd like to have a driver one
oh yeah definitely
because originally I thought I hadn't had that much done to it
and I realised well it's had four new tyres
all new brakes
knock sensor, power steering pump
lower control arm bushes, windscreen
so it's had a fair bit
and then I feel as though there's just something
not quite
coached either so I'll get that looked into
at some point but the next car
on the list is definitely the ES Civic
so that I can get that out the way
and get some money
I was playing what I'm going to call
the driveway tango to get all the cars
into the driveway tonight
and then once that's gone
then I can put some more money into
the car that still won't be named by me
just yet
and yeah should be good
yes he should
yes of all the cars yes yes
well
good to hear that the Euro's on the road Jim
that's exciting
I'm keen to see that one
at some point
it'll get slimline black plates
but because that's a bit of like a frivolous purchase
I'll be down the track when I've got some spare cash
but yeah fair enough
well I think the plates on it looked okay
so
not the standard ones you get in Sydney
like well the New South Wales the yellow
they don't look good in anything
anyway
Chad updates with you
updates with me so yeah I missed last week
but since then
still being tinkering on the Magna a little bit
I've tried to readjust the pedal
to see if I can maybe get it to
you know
engage the clutch and go into gear
but still not able to
figure that part of it out so
I ended up ordering a clutch fork
and a pivot
ball thingy
do you still get it
supposedly from Japan
I found the Mitsubishi
number and you know sort of
looked it up and ordered it from a place called Impex
unfortunately it's also
it was golden week in Japan
so it's been
a bit of a
they've had a bit of downtime so
my order hasn't been processed but I did send an inquiry
today just to be like hey what's going on with it
because it's been in process for like nearly 20 days now
and they just said
yeah because of golden week it's a bit delayed
but hopefully it'll get fulfilled
in the next week or so
and then
it's going to get shipped out to their warehouse
and then they've got an organized freight
to get it here so find out how much
that will cost but the past themselves
won't expense it was like
$80 for the fork and
like $5 for the
pivot ball
so pretty reasonable pricing
yeah and then
today I had a
day off so I went around
and been meaning to get around to getting
the Mercedes fuel loan
redone so I
went around to a bunch of places
went to PerTech they said we don't do fuel hoses
it was like alright interesting
because everything that I've read on the Mercedes
owners pages they're like yeah just go to PerTech
and they'll hook it up for you
apparently the one I went to doesn't so interesting
so it doesn't matter
they recommended another place and I went and saw them
they said no we don't also don't
we just do hydraulic and brake lines
and whatnot so it was like fair enough
and then I just ended up
googling quickly
like fuel line
custom fuel lines Melbourne sort of thing
and this place popped up in Epping
so I gave them a call and it goes
look I really have to look at it to see if I can do it or not
because it's got these pressed fittings on either side
and it's got a thread on one end
that goes into the fuel tank and then the other side
is like got this
tee piece
like a brass tee piece
like a weird sort of setup
so I just
I took it around and it goes yeah it looks like
a bit of a mess around but I'm sure I can
make it work like we can't do those
like old school press fittings anymore
but they can do some other sort of stuff so
I just left it with them
I went and ran some other errands and then
I came back about 40 minutes later
and it goes yeah look
I've managed to like put all the new fittings on
and put brand new hose on
essentially all the rubber hose have been
redone it's got new fittings on it
it's got new like
I don't know what they're called but like these
they're like these round clamps that they like sort of
squeeze together I don't know
they called them something that I forgot now
but I mean it goes it's not really a high pressure
line so it's not it doesn't really need to be
like super you know like clamped down
or anything but it goes this should
probably see you through so
I've got the yes I've got all that
now it was less than
half the price of getting one from Germany
oh wow yeah who get that just redone
so shout out to
easy hoses in epping
anyone need custom hose stuff done
they're very switched on
and they seem to know what they're doing so
I've got a new fuel pump for the
Mercedes on auto
got a fuel filter
and spark plugs and leads all
coming through
shortly so yeah once I
arrived I'll slap it all in
and see if I can get it to
at least idle properly and
you know just try and fix it so it's a bit
drivable and then
yeah I'll sort out the paint on it
so that'll be the next thing
while I wait for the Magno
to the parts to arrive
to hopefully finish off that manual
conversion yeah so that's
that's been me for the last couple weeks
in a minute
hopefully
now guest of honor
Erudinsky well updates with you
my friend so for some
context he was telling us about this update yesterday
and he's like I'll hold off till the show
so I'm excited to hear it
yeah well now I feel like I've got to explain myself
so
well I'll get to the point straight off
I've bought a 1994 BMW
318is coupe
oh yes
36 model
and this is having in
November last year we downsized
my wife Kathy and I from
an equestrian property on Akridge with parking
for 13 cars I had to downsize
my fleet to
just room for five including the
roadies so down to two classics for me
embrace the minimalist lifestyle
thinking no more cars
ever and
we could all learn a thing or two
yeah yes you know
this is the reason I've got to explain myself isn't it
you guys are probably the only audience
that'll understand
Kathy said to me
one night we're sitting
in our little stone cottage
100 year old cottage on
800 square meters so it's a huge change
and she said are you enjoying it and I said
I love it you know I can walk into town
but I really missed not having something
to drive to coffee and cars in
two classics I took were my two
Datsun 1600s I've owned since the 70s
they haven't been driven since
the early 80s so they need recommissioning
and she said to me just go out and buy
something you know that you could go to coffee and cars
in and then sell it once you got
a Datsun going so I looked around
all my cars were 70s 60s 70s
cars and I thought
why not get something that's got you know some nice air
conditioning and we can both go
bruising etc so
you have to keep your wife happy
yeah yeah so I've
only had it maybe six weeks or so
I could tell you about the process of getting it
but the part I wanted to share with you is
I'm absolutely amazed that you can
get the parts for them
easily it's a lovely car
94,000 kilometers
but I you know from
when I looked at it its suspension is 30
odd years old you know you like
to have nice shocks and all that so I've been
collecting the parts for that
and trying to buy the genuine
parts or at least the sacks or
oh yeah replacement
part numbers yep and I've pretty well got everything
and Matty
I got the front struts
from super cheap
absolutely sacks
correct part number
everything if you
you probably know this
all these things
and your Bilsteins and everything
I've got them coming
you know from all over the place I've got
springs coming out from the UK and I was
making it more complex than it needed to be
and suddenly super cheap came up
and you know they were the first part that arrived
the front struts for a BMW
318R that's 30
years old
I'm not going to brag or anything
but you know we're pretty good
so I've got everything now
you know I've got the struts the rear shocks
the all the
the rubbers the mounts springs
etc but I've got to do the work yet not everything's
arrived also when I
looked at it was making some noise from the front
pulleys the car it sat around
it was deceased sale
and you know often when
they sit around for more than 12 months
things like that are noisy
so as an idle pulley
power steering pump was noisy etc
but I took it straight off to
a BMW specialist I didn't know
quite close by Mount Barker
a business called C.M.
Warehouse and they did the job
new belts new pulley
flushed out the power steering
it's quiet as a mouse
so I'm looking forward to having something
I can tinker with and use go to cars and coffee
and that's really cool what colour is it
it's white and really
highly specced so that's only a four cylinder
it's there so it's got
LSD in the back right no LSD
unless it was optioned up
it doesn't it's got some original
sales and it didn't order
the guy the owner didn't order
the LSD but he did tick the boxes
for the really plush
leather trim it was a
$4,000 option in
1994 December 94
I think he had about $12,000
worth of options it was
about $70,000 as a new car
it's a 318 IS
so it's twin cam
it's the hotter mode
M42
you guys know these guys
and I know they have problems
I'm aware
but
Cameron up there at the
BMW specialist I said well you're in there
do whatever you think needs to be done
and he said I'd rather leave this
well alone because it's not being mucked around with
some of them have got plastic
water pump impellers
and everything online says
take the water pump out and make sure you've got a metal one
in there but he said to me most of the ones
that have had problems they've done
in a couple of 100000 kilometers
at least they've been run hot
one that's got a lovely service history
etc which it does
you know it's probably just driving
enjoy particularly as I'm only going to cars and coffee
so far
nice air conditionings lovely and cold
are they m-tech seats
no they're not
the m-tech was another option
as well an inexpensive option
but you could specify this
leather trim
leather without the m-tech stuff
the seats wouldn't be out of place in a brand new car
they're a really plush big
deep kind of pleated
seat just beautiful
it's a charcoal interior
white or white
it's a nice combo
the original owner Greg he
specified the m-performance wheels
so they look like the m3 wheels
they're similar
the front and the ones for a 4-cylinder
are narrower
like 16 inches
but they're I think half an inch narrower
than the m3 so they kind of suit
the 4-cylinder
it's beautiful
everyone has seen it goes it's a beautiful car
I was fortunate
to find it
I looked at them
on car sales and there were maybe
a dozen or so 318is
but high case
modified etc
and this one the one that I bought
but was advertised as an automatic
and I particularly wanted to have a manual
and so I looked at the pictures and thought
a couple of the photos I thought it was beautiful but no automatic
and it was there for a few weeks
and I was showing a mate of mine
going I wonder how hard that is
to convert to a manual gearbox
how easy is that a magnet
and I was flipping the photos
and I saw the interior photo
it had a manual gear stick in it
I was just listed wrong
so I rang the number
straight away
and Emma the niece of her uncle
who passed away she was handling the sale
there was only her auntie and uncle
no children
he had passed away
if an undiagnosed heart attack in his sleep
bought the car as a
weekend car and a baby to
all his life there on beautiful property
in Victoria here
and I said to Emma
looks beautiful in the photos what's it like in real life
and she goes well if you're going to come
see I'm going to say this
honestly and I don't want to be
have you yelling at me if it's not correct
but I think it looks better in real life
and she sounded
lovely on the phone and it was delightful
and I said I'm going to get on the flight and come over
and she said I'll pick you up at the airport
and drove me there
to the property that they lived on
and the car was in the garage
it had always lived in
she took me down to see the guy who had done a road worthy
for it and some servicing on it
so I met him
he said no you can drive it home to Adelaide
so it was a lovely
really lovely purchasing experience
they're a beautiful family
and I feel like we're friends
and whoever
mentioned their personalised plates
just before too
it was registered in Victoria with the number
N-E-F-3-Double-5
which was the blue script
on a white background
and in South Australia we've got personal plates
with blue script on white background
and I got the same number plate
that's a lot
how good is that
it's a custom plate
and I've got photos
of it from Henry and so on
and it matches
it would be really cool to see for the family as well
I think so
they've been sending me things to radio
someone must have disconnected the battery
maybe at service or something
so I didn't have the code
I was wondering how I'm going to get that
but Emma found it at around his place
sent it to me and that's all going
now
so everything works
I was going to ask you
it is in drivable condition
but you drive it back to home
it's just the suspension is very soft
and I think
I kind of like them
because a friend of mine had one
new back in the 90s
I was always driving Mitsubishi of course
but I remember it being a very nice car
but I remember it was firm
but still lovely supple suspension
mine's just a bit too soft
so I think I'll treat it to everything already
give it a birthday
I bought it on condition thinking
if I've got to do mechanical stuff
the body and interior and everything is so
nice
do you think you've got a good deal
well I paid $19,000
for it
and that's up a range for those
but I think it's worth every cent
because you couldn't restore one
it's beautiful
I think that's bang on
I think it was fair for all of us
and I'm very happy with the purchase
because I can use it, I can go to coffee and cars
straight away
awesome car for that as well
so as I got the full
the body kit
looks like an M3
kit or more
only the wheels
the 318
the IS
the IS is still
it's kind of a rare car the IS
you don't see them off
do you see a lot of three
they used to be everywhere
and then they just disappeared
and the coupe is quite special
they were always a lot more expensive
than the equivalent sedan
because they have almost no panels in common
so
and they've got that lovely
European look
of the 70s, 80s, 90s
big glass area
it's kind of a factory
bluey tint in the glimpse
which goes really well with it
so no, we're using it quite a bit actually
I've got it on historic
of course
it's the price
so I'm going to keep offling on about
car stuff
but what's the process like getting a car
historically registered
in South Australia
I think we're pretty the same
Australia wide or very close
so I just had to
buy it in Victoria
I had to get an unregistered Victorian vehicle permit
to drive home
go to a police ID check
yeah they're just to make sure that the car
you're trying to register in SA
is the car
they have to cite the ID
the VIN, the engine number etc
they just
although they have the right to put it over the pits
they just took one look and said
this is a lovely car
and found the numbers
you can either go and register straight away
but the police there
said to me
something I didn't know
and that may be the same in Victoria
that if you go and do your historic
inspection first with your car club
and then
that can take you in a week
or so to get looked in for them to do
your log paperwork etc
and then take all that to motor reg
or whatever you call that here
then you don't pay stamp duty
on the historically
registered car which you would if you went
onto full reg you'd pay stamp duty
on the purchase price
yeah so I think that would have been
like $900 or something on this little car
so I waited
a week or so to see the club
register and got the paperwork done
and straight on to
historic? straight on to historic
the only thing I had to do was buy
number plates first
before going on to the premium
plate to get that NEF
$3.5 so I had to spend $60
to get a regular number plate
alright because the
the personalised plates take some weeks
to come through so you can have
personalised plates on historic registration
they can in SA? yes
I know right we don't want
a load of
is that not the case? no
well you need to get that changed
I wish we could because we're stuck
with the maroon and white
colours
on the historic plates
unfortunately
I'm not sure if anywhere else in Australia does that
no I don't SA
SA does it
they've been really good with that
you guys have got a really good system
there is for you 30 years
or 25 years?
it's 25 years
SA gets it
I thought it was 30
I thought it was 30 but no 25
I only just found that out actually
I could have looked for a newer BMW
could have got an E46
there's one on the
edge of my street actually
I walked out when he first got it done
late last year
the car was on full range
the next week it was on a club play
and I was like are these that old now
they're so old
I don't know
I don't think they were new
anyway
and those cars
those BMWs of that era
I haven't driven many BMWs
but they've still got
beautiful steering
it's immediately obvious
for its era
it's got to be
the ISS have
a quick ratio steering
or a quick rack
they've got a quicker rack
they do like a steering box
potentially
they're a rack
it's quite good
it's very fast response
off-center
and sometimes that can make cars feel a bit unstable
but it's really linear as well
so you're never in any doubt
straight ahead
off to rail-rating you to on-site
not at all
it's a well option
you said nice wheels
sunroof
the sunroof was an option
about $12,000 worth of options
it was made up of the leather trim
the wheels were an expensive option
the sunroof and
the CD stacker in the boot
I think that's pretty well
it's got BMW
still in beautiful condition
the interior is immaculate
I think probably only
Uncle Craig drove it
I think that's it
boot's beautiful all the toolkits
sounds like it's just well looked after
yeah really nice
credit to them
what advice would an E36 do not take it apart
because they will just rattle
David Prince would know
he's gonna test it
I've got a few friends
with some E36s
it's one lady
she had a 328
i convertible
and
her husband was helping fix the car
and take some parts of the dash
I put a stereo on it and things
and it just the whole thing creaked and rattled
and she's like I wish I never took the car apart
just leave it
there's some things you noticed too
and I was thinking it was old car
but it kind of gurgled through
the heater system you could hear noises
or the air conditioner made different
downs driving back and I think I hope that's not
some issue but since the
I took it to the BMW specialist and it's had
its flush out and new thermostat
and all those things that's all gone
you know so I was starting to think oh that might
be something I'm gonna have to get in there
and just be fiddling around up under the dash
which I'm loath to do
everything looks so untouched
don't do a heat matrix job
oh yeah
okay yeah well thank you for the warnings
yeah
I can ask you guys
a question that's seeing as you've had experience
when I do the rear springs
the workshop manual says to
drop the drive shafts and everything
on YouTube says you don't need to you can just use
a big lever but
the manual says to drop the drive shafts
because you can lever against the CV
joint and over
extended a view change rear springs
not on one of those
springs and other cars but
is it coil over
they like it that's on 1600
rear end it's part of my attractions
BMW is like
a separate spring
I think it's called a divorce shock
or divorce spring like it's like a
there's a special term for it where it's separate
it's not like a coil over
the spring
it's a very compact spring it's wound it's a barrel spring
so it collapses into itself
yeah I've only done
a rear spring replacement on a front wheel drive car
like that like my old Volvo
but
as soon as you drop
the
the shock
pretty much as soon as it's full droop
you can almost usually
move the spring out of place
because there's enough travel
given it but otherwise
you just take the bottom I think the drive shaft
is just a flange onto the diff
you can just pull one end
it's like a 6 bolt or something
throw it an easy enough job
I don't know why you wouldn't just undo that
and drop it down so you've got more leverage
on the bailing out
well there you go that's probably not going to be a very
very hard install
I'll give it a go
I think
because I know E30 rear ends
were very simple
and they kept them on the E36 compact
had the E30 rear end
and people really like those
because they were very simple
but yeah I just follow
what the manual would say and just
do that wouldn't be too much
of an issue plus it's one of those
just 6 bolts onto the diff
it's pretty easy right
instead of having to get the
spline out of the diff
won't have to do that
yeah I think it'd be fine front looks
just like a Datsun 1600
the whole car reminds me
of Datsun 1600
it reminds me of
the German Datsun 1600
yeah BMW did a good job of
copying Datsun
the car
kind of reminds me of what a Datsun 180b
SSS would have become
had they kept it going for 20 years
it's a similar
sort of size and feel
and engine size and this kind of
long legged sort of feel
I was surprised to learn that the
gearbox which I didn't realise
till driving it
from Melbourne to Adelaide
it's a 1 to 1 5th gear
oh 1 to 1 5th
so they run
a long differential
3.45 to 1 final
but 5th does not know the
drive so you've got
close ratio
but still
it's great it's revving
3000 revs is
110 or whatever
they're abouts
but it pulls quite hard in 5th gear
because 1 to 1
oh that's awesome
I did not know that
you've taught me something today
about those
well I can go now
thanks for listening everybody
thanks for watching
that's a cracking car update
that's Erdogan's updates
we've done an update
with Erdogan's gear that says pretty well
that's a 1st
so I was just telling
just
between us that's such an Erdogan's
gear car if you like the Ducson 600
I can see you in one
it's a nice car
it's funny how a different country
like automakers from different countries
almost have that same vision
small two door coupe
rear wheel drive manual
it's the combination
that works everywhere
and doesn't matter where you're from
everyone is sort of attracted to that
if you're into cars
that's really cool
and even that commonality that the 4 and the 6
you can build onto the back of the
interchangeable parts
yeah that's it
so I hear
people say the two sweet spots
in the E36 range
the M3 is obviously god tier
but like the
you know
was the 3 and 8 IS or the 3 and 2
8
because I've driven a few 3 and 2
8's and they're so sweet little straight 6
so
I'm a fan
good classy choice smart
that's the thinking man's M3
someone said
update to me real quick
I dropped the laser to get
the road with the work done
so I actually on Saturday
went to
to Ratner's to take some more bits off
my
my black laser so that pretty much the interior
is completely stripped in there I was gonna pull
the dash out and hit the fan and stuff out
so like that's the last couple things of the interior
because they mounted the carpet
when the fire is just chucked stuff in there
and just yeah
they chucked stuff in there
yeah they chucked all the
when they were stopping
the fuel
with the stand
although what do they use they use them
like the
like cutiliter or something
and after that they've just dumped it
in the car
and yeah in the footwells and everything so it's
mounted a lot of things
there was no fuel inside the car though
there was no fuel in the tank
I had a full tank of fuel
I think
we were talking last night Steph was like
she's like you know and you just feel the car
it's like it was worth a quarter of the car to be honest
we had the time but it's a fuel which is
better than it is
so
with a boot full of parts from Super Cheap
I dropped it off to
to mechanic
to stop the road actually
from my way he's my
guy Sebastian we know him he's a great guy
so he's doing everything
the only thing he's not doing are the front shocks
and from brakes
because quite literally
300km before my car got enough
I just changed the brakes
and the shocks were like
950,000k old so
I might just see how they are
the conditions are pretty good to do
swap them into the other car
because the spring rates are the same being in SR2
so yeah we'll see
I'll take him out I might just say
why am I being a cheap ass and just buy a set of brakes
because they're pretty cheap and stuff anyway
so I'll
just set the condition of them once I take those off
yeah
so then I'll
picking that up Thursday night
they're doing a timing belt water pump
rear brakes
I did the rear brakes on my car myself
I just have time
in the next few weeks all engine mounts
I managed to get
well so yeah
I was going to put out the engine
the timing belt covers
off my
off my old car because
because they were quite new
when I rebuilt the motor not too long ago
but as I was
trying to take them out I didn't realize that
the chassis had bent that much
it's actually cracked
it's hit the tower
it's hit the tower yeah
because when it's pushed it on the side
but it's also pushed it into three other cars
forward and on the
right side where the
timing belt is situated on the car
it's just crushed it
the engine mounts gone up and cracked the
covers and I was just like
I can't use these now can I
and I was spewing because I had planned
to use it on the car
they were doing the timing belt today
and I'm not going to be able to get
a set of
covers
I've got to get them online
I found a few places online and I was like
I might just put on one of the
Mazda 323 pages
and anyone got
anywhere like I said a set of second hand covers
and a guy was like I've got a brand new set
and I'm like how much do you want for him
where are you located he's like I'm located
in Werribee I'm like perfect
so he
so I went there 50 bucks I was like
whatever that's there it was pretty I was like
I'll take those
so that was on Sunday
then I just proceeded to go
to Jolly's in Jalong
and because when I was trying to find
a set of these covers I realized
I had an SR2 there that was marked as just a 1.6
so I was like
they didn't mark it correctly
and it's got mint roof rails
so I took the roof rails off
that and they'll be seeing
David Prince with the roof rails
that was marked in a laser SR2 roof rails cornered buddy
I think I'm sorted now
David Prince
he's absolutely
they were gone
so I took
those and they only charged me like 20 bucks
each for them so I was like
it was pretty good
bargain shopping
so I think it was with everything I got
it was like 60 bucks it wasn't really
it wasn't much at all
so
that's picking that up Thursday
so hopefully no more belt squeal
from the Alternator Belt and it'll be
taking on Friday afternoon to
my paint shop
so and they're gonna have it for a few months
they're gonna do the front bar, rear bar
roof bonnet, boiler
and just PDR a bit of the sides
because the paint on the sides is quite good
and then I think that car should be
ready for club plays, should be a cracker
so I'm really excited
when I drove it yesterday
because that was the second time I drove it
I haven't driven it since
I felt like home
you know what car you feel comfortable with
it's just like
you just feel like absolute home
and
I got a pair of slippers mate
so what was that David?
Optible pair of slippers
absolutely it is
it's the most
out of all the cars I've got and I've driven it over the years
it's the one car I can hop in
just brainless
you feel at home and just go
so yeah
so that's done
and I won't see that for probably 2 or 3 months
I said
take your time because I don't have to have the car
back plus it would be out of storage for a while
so it would be
free storage
I'm paying for it in the long run
but
storage included
so
they said it should be done in a few months
I said you can have it till the end of the year
not going to need it
until then
but they said it would be done in a few months
we'll just chip away at it
in between jobs
so yeah
so that's my car updates
gentlemen
now to the main
topic of this evening is
Ed Odinski obviously
he's the main attraction
sorry no
the whole idea of a club plate
I think is so that the police can see it's on
historic range
and then they can potentially pull you over and check your logbook
but
you don't need an ID
now that there's number plate recognition
so they can just be following
an old car with a person on its plate
and go I wonder if that's on club
and it tells them straight away
through the number plate recognition system
yeah like it's not a regular
permit it's a historic permit
or whatever yeah so the registration status
comes up on their screen of every car
right gotcha
and so straight off they go oh
he's on club historic let's be at BMW over
and check his logbook
yeah he filled it out today
which is really the only person
that's really the only reason for having a place
identifying
is so that they know which cars are and which aren't
interesting yeah I think
otherwise there's no purpose in having a club plate
yeah that's pretty cool
find out from
whatever the SA
road is
SA roads
yeah what are they called
you know if you were trying to get it changed in Victoria
maybe saying well have all the police cars got number plate
recognition on board
because it kind of negates the need to have a
yeah maybe an ID plate
yeah potentially
because you can only I'm kind of
that's only my thought but I'm thinking
the purpose of an
identifying plate is to
display that you've got historic
registration yeah so you
still have the sticker obviously like a little
no registration yeah
you can't even tell which ones are there
yeah that's pretty cool
that lots of people are getting pulled up
and checked through the number plate
recognition system sure yeah
so there's more of those probably than there is
and maybe Victoria yeah there are
potentially yeah
I will add to that I was
on Mount Alexander Road a road which we drove on this evening
at Odinsky and I was in my
old Mercedes W124 and
was coming back home from
a night out in the city and
Saturday night on Mount Road
it always used to be pretty busy there's a few clubs and bars
and stuff there and I'm just sitting
there and I get a knock at the window and I look
around as it got as a cop and high vis
and he's like he puts put you in there and I put my
high he's like you got your logbook and
this car was on the clock but I'm like yeah that was the most
random thing in the middle of the road he was just
walking up and down the what yeah yeah
that's wild mate I
never been like so like I saw my book
this day
he's like off you go I'm like okay
I held up traffic and everything as he was searching
it yeah that's great yeah wild like
at least it's weird
to do that on foot
like pull you over and be pulled sure fair enough
but like never had that happen
yeah that's strange yeah I reckon they
you know what they would be looking at people on their phones
100% yeah
yeah like in slow moving traffic
but that's a that's a common thing
I see that in Brunswick a lot actually
Brunswick Road
in Brunswick because there's a
there's a level crossing which is
still there yeah in the in the terms of
removing it now but there's
you know banks up there quite a lot
yeah and there's a lot of traffic
in the evening or in the morning in that rush
time and you know there's
people just scrolling on their phones
and I've seen police
on bikes and also on foot
just sort of walking around the traffic
like in the middle of traffic isn't that wild
yeah I mean like here well
yeah I guess you know they gotta
really hit those clothes
oh my goodness
well that's
yeah that's um that's wild Chad
anyway we're not hitting
on the cops we love the cops so
let's get into
a bit about you Ed so
obviously your motorsport
history has been well documented
you've been you've been
you've had many interviews you've had
many many many talks like this and
especially at your time at Mitsubishi
I think that's when people know you the best
yes yeah you know I guess that's how
we've become you know into
contact through through Mitsubishi well
through your history with Mitsubishi and I get
young people saying to me
you were so lucky that your dad
bought you a Mitsubishi Galant VR4
as your first rally car
because you know
they went around
all the years prior to that
so that's hard times getting there
that's the way it must have happened
out of out of
out of high school into a Galant VR4
yeah yeah
which kind of happens to some people
but
usually you're much better
off to work your way up through the the ranks
yeah and my very first rally
car was a K-10 Corolla
1968 to add a Corolla that
bought for $200
so that was your self-funded
rally car yes I was straight out of high school
first year uni and
the Corolla was $200
it had done a
so that would have been late 1973
and
already it had done
100,000 miles it was somebody
owned it from New and drove from Adelaide
to Broken Hill regularly for work
oh right yeah
so it was in 1973 yep and it was
a 1968 model so yeah
that'd be that'd be a late 60s car
that's wild I know and
then too like that's a lot of case for a car
that's 100,000 miles
oh yeah correct
that's an awful lot of driving
but Broken Hill is very far so
yes yeah yeah
but they were a remarkable little car
I'd come my road car was
a Mini Deluxe 998 CC
Mini and the Corolla was a huge
step up even one with a 100,000
miles on it and I spent
maybe I spent a total of $700
on it so more than three times the purchase price
that's the modified
into rally spec
yeah so I left the mechanicals
the same but I went to the wreckers
and got K20 disc brakes
and master cylinder and the
rear brake biasing thingies
and the rear wheel cylinders
the gearbox the synchro's were completely
gone so you double to clutch
everywhere yeah
which was great training
and I left the
the engine was I left the same
for a couple of minor events
but then had to do an engine rebuild on it
and we put
you know different springs and shocks on it
raised the ride height a lot
because the rallies were rough back then
they were all nighters out in the middle of nowhere
well navigation
so rallying changed a lot
my era we went from
mapping events through to the
modern era of rallying as you see nowadays
so yeah
my co-driver Andrew Hunter
I met in first year high school we're still best mates
nowadays
so we met
on the 1968 London to Sydney marathon
and you know
back we were saying then you know
we'll need to go rallying when we get out of high school
so that's what we did and you know
that little car was great it had
something very unusual be almost a quiz question
for you
that you know what was so unique
about the Toyota Corolla K10
suspension no other Toyota
to my knowledge not many cars at all
ooh that is a good question
David Prince will probably know this
because you own a K10
I was a bit newer
35 I think
no it's a transverse leaf
front spring
oh really
front leaf spring
and across
like one leaf spring turned upside down
and put across
like a Corvette exactly
it's kind of lifting the whole profile
of the car
can I just say it's probably the only thing
like a Corvette
so it still has
like McPherson struts
but the whole anti roll bar situation
and the roll of the car etc
and the stiffness is controlled by the leaf spring
so it was very easy to just put another leaf in that
to raise it
to raise it and to stiffen it
and you know
it made it like a weapon over rough roads
how
yeah I mean
look as we know like leaf springs
are very sort of a
tough ride
how did a small car that's probably
less than a thousand kilos
go with that sort of setup
on off-road
or like rally
I guess in reality
there was still quite a soft leaf spring
but it gave it because
it was multiple leaves
you know so it's got a staged effect
so rather than crashing out
and bottoming out it was good
in the rough stuff
I did still get passed by like old Peugeot 403s
in the really rough
stages
but it was
but no they were
an amazing little car that first model Corolla
really surprising
so I rallied that for three years
I met my second co-driver
who was competing
navigating in a Ford Escort Lotus
twin cam
up the front of the field and one night
we were on an outback track
like two cars wide
in South Australia warring long flat out
and there were lights in front and that little Corolla
you know you could I had a cylinder head
from a guy called Mel McEwan who
raced them and it would rev like crazy
and you could get it
you know probably coax it up close to 160
and
and we were gaining
on the Escort because they were so low gear
at those 40 reports you know they had like
a 5.1 diff or something
so they had a top speed of maybe
you know 150
and we kind of just inched past them
you know got through the dust
and that's how I met Lynn Wilson
my second co-driver
they went you boys in that Corolla
it was terrific
yeah so great time
so obviously
like when you rebuild the motor
you had it up a little bit like a camshaft
in there or obviously if you had done a headwork
you would have done a cam
so I didn't do that work myself
so I was at Flinders University first year
and there was a Flinders Uni car club which I joined
and there was a guy a year older than me
in the car club
called Dave Vaudry and
he lived at Wallunga in South Australia
and he had a mechanic working on his
Renault 10
who had just come out from England
and my little Corolla
dropped onto three cylinders
and he said bring it down to Mick
who was just out from the UK
went round to that workshop
and he took the head off
got it going so I could go in a rally
said to me it was only the third rally
I think I'd been in and
he said you know what
I'm going to load my trailer up
to my XP Falcon Station
wagon because you know
this isn't going to do a long rally
like the one I was next in
and from then on you know
I could take my car there
and work on it at his place
he was only 29 then
he's 83 now
I had lunch with him a few weeks ago
and Mick
from then on he basically
prepared all of my cars
right up to and including the first VR4s
and then Raleigh had him come on events
in my professional career
so he was at my very last rally as well
oh wow okay
you know it's just fantastic how
people who help you from the goodness of their heart
you know stay through
we had Mick working on my cars full time
when we went to Finland
and Sweden
all over the place
I'm kind of very proud that he worked on my KU10
yeah absolutely
that's a cracking story
did you obviously move that car on
yeah
can I tell you about it it's got a sport
absolutely
the deputy principal at the school I was working at
said he would buy it
if I stripped up the roll cage
sorry
I took the roll cage out
and Mick painted it back
to its original desert beige colour
because it had sponsors on it
and we sold it to the deputy principal
and he drove it for like two years
at the school I was teaching at
so I saw it every day
and then he sold it
back to me
and yeah
we got it back off him
and I used it again for just a little while
and then we gave it to
my wife Kathy's
sister-in-law to drive
and she taught her kids to drive in it
and then it finally cried enough and they took it to a wreckers
what a life it had
that's an incredible life
have you ever seen those of that car
I do yes
and I have it back in its desert beige
with the deputy principal too
oh this is great this is a bookhead
this is a book
it's I mean
I feel like you're the only guy that's interested
in this stuff
I mean
I mean I had just been to a guy
with you know
Scamp
R31 and a blade
Jim Barlow with his many many interesting
magners and
with Accords and Civics
Chad with everything
on the other side, Sylvia's
and I-30's
so you're speaking of magners
you're speaking of guy with eclectic cars
who appreciate the mundane
so
I guess with all the years that have passed
it feels pretty special talking about it
now enough years have gone
that I'm sure there's some people listening
who'd go I never thought of a KU-10
Corolla as a rally car
you know
was it quite competitive
like you know
I guess
I wouldn't know
I'm no Ed Odinski
but I guess a lighter car
on a stage would that be a lot easier
to just throw around and get it
or does it not have enough mass to kind of dig in
and get a bit of grip
it didn't have the performance
to drive proper rally style
that's fair to say but
it taught me many things
as a driver like how important it is to keep momentum up
you couldn't afford to scrub off speed
so you had to actually be
tidy with it you know if you backed it in
and slid it like an escort or something at the era
you came out of the corner much slower
you didn't have the torque to pull you out of the-
to carry as much speed in as you can
you know safely
and whatnot and try and
you know have that
once you've passed the apex of that corner
you just have the momentum to
just keep going to the next
because you always want to you know be leaving the apex
and picking up speed onto the next race
you really want to be on it before
I mean obviously it depends on the car
but yeah yeah absolutely
and that's the same way you're driving a K-10 Corolla
or a 650 Newton meter
6 speed X-Track
Group A rally car
it takes the same sort of principle
and I will say something about
I think a couple of you know that I've got
Toyota's nowadays you know
and that kind of affinity with Toyota
stays with me from back then
even though I'm a you know Mitsubishi guy for sure
with that Corolla
I finished fourth in the junior
rally series and you got promoted to the seniors
so you're now sort of outright
state championship contender
but bear in mind those rallies were matte
navigation and stuff so it was all about going
the right way and not getting bogged
and both sorts of things you know
there were tough trials rather than
rallies as we know them nowadays
so you could be competitive in a low-powered car
yeah so it was about
you have a start point
and an end point and you had to make your way
that's right but they'd give you the instructions
which were grid references
and they'd have to plot the course on a little outback
to wheel tracks and through farms
boggling my mind
you know we're sort of
old enough now to remember
having to use like malways and stuff like that
street directories
that's how rallying was
you know even when in the days when the Holden
dealer team came to South Australia in the
actually one to run us they got lost
because they came off the maps
and timing
was to the whole minute not to the second
so you could be
you know a long way behind fastest time
still get the same score
you got a 60 second
window
at least 59 seconds
and
and so what that meant was
as somebody I came from
a relatively poor family
you could afford
to compete because
those were the rules
really there were people in their road cars
competing
everyone could have a go
made it very easy to get started
so when I promoted to seniors
I put 13 inch wheels on it
to raise it even more because the rough stuff
not getting bogged was so important
so it had quite big wheels and tires
looked like it was going to go in the
the fire or something
but the diff ratio was too tall
it then lost so much performance
it had its owners manual in it
and there was an address in there
you could write to Toyota
in Japan
so I wrote to the customer service
thing in there to say you know I was rallying
this little KU10 Corolla
and did they have any performance parts
like a low ratio diff
and I had worked out I needed a 4.6
to 1 diff to go with the big 13 inch
and I received back this package
in one of those
all kind of very Japanese
brown envelopes with the string
that goes around to little things
and it had these
brochures in there
you know who knew that in the KU10s
they had a proper parts
competition catalog where I could get
for a twin canasket all these twin sole axes
and close ratio gearboxes
limited slip diffs
and a 4.6
sorry?
that's so awesome
and it came
you know now it's GR
it's the motorsports division
back then it was called
TOSCO
Toyota Sports Corner
and there were some TOSCO stickers
to put on the car
and the 4.6 to 1 final drive
was more than my whole
Corolla cost
because
the exchange rate was horrendous
in those days
so I wrote back to them saying
thank you really appreciate all information
but it's way too expensive
for me to buy that final drive
because I've only spent less than that
on building the whole car
and I'll keep you posted on how I'm going with it
and thanks for some of the stuff
and weeks went by and I came home from
teaching and there was a package
on the front doorstep and that sent me
the final drive
of charge
I know, it's incredible isn't it
that's
if that say Toyota or what
it tells you life doesn't it
I can see why you've continuously bought
Toyota since
I was astonished
that's never cool
it's like you're googling something
now and being like oh yeah whatever
and then a company just send you a package
because you've looked into their
parts
and Toyota was trying to break into the Australian market
in those days of course
but what a lovely thing to do
so those K10s they were sold locally
they were, yes they were
and the first 67, 68
they were all imports and then they were built
by AMI in Melbourne
so they were an Australian assembly
which became Toyota Australia
so yours 68 was yours
and Aussie built?
No, yours is German
and you know that book ends
with sorry to digress
it book ends with the end of my career
when Mitsubishi withdrew from motorsport globally
February 2005
and I was going to be turning 50
and had a wonderful career
and so they just announced the end of motorsport
globally at that time
that was sad
yeah, yeah, Neil Bates from Toyota Australia
was running their motorsport
and competing great competitor
he rang me up
I'd never had a lot to do with Neil
other than competing against him
and he said it was free from my contract
to come and do some testing in their cars
and they'd been struggling a bit
against the Mitsubishi and the Subaru's of that era
so I went and was doing testing
with Neil in Canberra, had Simon Evans as a driver
a really good competitor
and himself
and he was driving me home
to the airport to fly back to Adelaide
and he said are you missing, you know, not competing
and I said I'm only
I'm missing that I would have made
in July that year, 2005
would have been 30 years
in the Australian Rally Championship for me
and
you know, I've been looking forward to that in the Evo's
and he said
what did you start in 30 years
and I said I was in my Toyota Crane
he goes a Corolla, he goes oh
he just thought about it, he goes oh that's interesting
and he spoke to Toyota
and said, you know
would they put on a car for me to make 30 years
and he came
ran me up and said that they were
they would but they'd like to make it
Corolla to Corolla and forget everything in between
you know, in the 30 year story
which is pretty nice
Yeah, Corolla that they bookend
and you know
they put on a works car and
we've rounded up a K10
that was still a rally car
and we did a story for Network 10
where I rode the K10 with my
original co-driver Andrew and then
he's looking for a ride in the full spec
current Toyota
So it's a Corolla? No, it's a
Sportiva right? Yes, they were a fork
they were kind of
yeah, this was 2005 so they were
kind of a Corolla of that model
the Sportiva model but they had
Celica GT4 running gear with a lot of modification
Oh wow, yeah
they were allowed to build a car with
kind of parity to the EVO
and the Subaru and that's why they had
a little bit of trouble developing it
and I had been asked, Neil
had nominated me even when I was still driving the Mitsubishi
to do
some parity driving for
Cams you know, which was approving their
freedoms because they kind of
trusted me to do it and
it was done in a way that you couldn't really fudge it
they had us go to the test
roads before a real rally
and when we'd finished testing and setting up our cars
for the event they were sealed
as they were so we couldn't change
our cars and then I had a drive of
you know, did a run in my car
which was comparable
to the runs I'd been doing on the test road
and then I had to go in the Toyota to see how
far off it was and the first few
times it was slower for sure
but so I'd do a bit of the parity driving
so I kind of had a little drive of their
cars as well which was
kind of quite a privilege
albeit under controlled conditions
but you know, even then
Toyota stepped up there
30 odd years later
and Neil Bates of course
as a competitor to
open the door to that
again, I feel like you with your friends
buying you another
laser, laser
you just never expect those things
you asked me somewhere driving up today
what were the other people like in the sport
that kind of says it all
absolutely, yeah, that's unbelievable
gotta ask you
I was just
sticking with the car
what was it like 30 years later getting back
in the KE10
it was just like
it was terrifying
for Andrew and I to do that
together, my first year high school
mate, we were just laughing so much
driving it
it wasn't like just
awful but it was incredibly slow
slow, yeah
are we just misremembering or something
because we used to think we were rocketing along
we were awesome in it
it's a comparison of
what it was like then
and much newer car
it's kind of like
like
how much time has taken out of that car
too, right? and also
you compare
a rally car of that era
to essentially
a tin can
it's like
it's really
such a different world, right?
and those four-wheel drive turbo cars
doesn't matter how much time you spend in them
they still give you a rush
when you drop the clutch and side step
and you're just up through the dog box
and into top gear
in a really short
and the braking was unbelievable
by comparison
yeah
but it was a lovely thing to do
and Toyota had made
like a 30-year
birthday cake to cut
the Royal Corolla on it
they took it to heart
I've got a beautiful photo
they gave me
the Neil Bates car that I drove
which a privateer Martin Lintot
was using in the NSW championship
with an inset of my little K-10
isn't that cool?
yeah, really nice
that would have been just a
RRP021
that's the one, yes
I've just found a photo of it online
black and white photo, no doubt
yes, yes
is that the K-10?
we'll have to send that through David
we'll see that
I love that
it's stuff like that that makes
for example, car companies
like we were talking yesterday
about Subaru doing that
ad campaign
going from a Bromby
to working their way up
it shows that they still care
and it shows
that companies still have a say
to this person
let's do it for them
that to me just blows me away
and for sure
Mitsubishi were wonderful to me as well
I'm not saying Mitsubishi were not like that
in bucket loads
and certainly from knowing the Subaru guys
Cody Crocker in particular
Dean Herridge Possenborn
they've got wonderful stories there
with Nick Senior from Subaru
who for many years was at the top of the tree
but when I drove Subaru
in the 1980s the old RX Turbo
Nick was the guy getting Subaru into rallying
back then
so Subaru gave me a wonderful opportunity
to go from a privateer
to a full time level
with those very early Subaru's
it wasn't a factory drive with Subaru
but they provided these
because they were trying to get a foothold
in the market well before WRX
or Liberty RS
to get their cars recognised
in rallying they had a turbocharged four wheel drive
1.8 litre
Subaru and they brought
10 of them in the first batch
and another 10 subsequently
but they were predominantly offered to the first
and second place getters in each
state championship
Barry Lowe in South Australia got one
and I got one
and once you had a new car
in on the ground floor
with four wheel drives and turbos
I used mine in the state rally championship
and it won every single round of the state championship
because nothing could see which way it had gone
it actually wasn't terribly powerful
but the traction was
next level
and these were pretty much
factory cars
right like that
off the showroom floor
you were allowed to change the springs and shocks
and you put a cage in it
and yeah
all of that good suspension on it
and this is like factory cooling factory
absolutely 100%
even those cars those 1985
Subaru WRX turbos
there was a parts
like the K10 Corolla had
and so there was a proper
motorsport performance kit
for the engine was cylinder heads
cams changing it from
hydraulic lifters to solid lifters
so the revved
you know computer for the
the engine management system
the turbo stayed the same but there were different fuel injectors
the solid lifters
meant you had to shim the valves
and so you got a shim kit
so this whole engine performance
package arrived and you know they still
might have only made
look I don't even be guessing but it
you know it might have been 180 horsepower
something that weren't hugely powerful
but back then
it was produced turbo charged
engine so it was like
you know it was a
start of that sort of
revolution
and yeah sure they weren't
I mean you know GM was making
7.0L V8 that made
140 horsepower or whatever it was
so yeah
it was the start of it
yeah the gearbox was the weak link on them
so that's been a super
that has been
the jokes still
yeah they have lasted
but I fixed mine
with
fitting
not using low range
they were a dual range four wheel drive just like the station weapons
and so on so leave it in
in high range
and what none of us knew at the time
with a turbo engine of course is that by leaving
it in high range you've got a much wider
ratio gearbox and therefore you
stay on boost for longer
so the actual time
on the stage improved in high range
you know you just automatically went oh low range
would be better because it's like having a low ratio diff
but it was faster in high range
and it looked back at the gearbox
yeah the longevity of it too
right so those
low and high range the dual range
gearbox you could switch on the go
you don't have to stop
come to a stop to change them
no you had to stop oh you did okay so you had to select
low range and then you had your normal
fast speed gearbox
so you couldn't change it mid-stage
but you just leave it in high range the whole time
yeah yeah of course
after breaking a couple of gearboxes
you figure it out right yeah
with just Subaru
things just
but Subaru had you know the good thing was
you got the car and they had this incredible
parts support as well so
you were welcome to change gearboxes
often do you want to
so they were called legacies right
no before then
what were they
the only one
the only one turbo version
those kind of boxy
yes and they made a turbo
four-wheel drive one
that's cool that's 80's cool
yeah that check
like houndstooth seat upholstery
yeah absolutely
one of the coolest
so
back to Subaru
we keep getting like side track
poor Scotty and Jim just like
jump in by the way
but like prior to getting the driver
Subaru you had
your kind of foot in with Rotaries as well right
I did yes so that was
with the Corolla I thought I'd make the jump to
something really powerful
and I looked for what's the fastest
the deepest
car I could afford to buy
and you know it seems sacrilege to say
at these days but Rotaries were worth nothing
you know they had zero
resale value in the late 70's
what was that the case
because of the reliability
it was ruined by reputation
but you know they
people weren't educated
that they needed a proper warm up procedure
you know you shouldn't have to buy a car
we've got to think about warming it up properly
but that's what destroyed them so
in competition the engines were very reliable
and could produce enormous power
and the interchangeability of parts
you know you could I bought RX2's
because the resale value was so bad
so it's hard to think of an RX2 in cheap
yeah yeah yeah
yeah very young people on here
you know I buy cheap I mean
people couldn't trade them
in the dealerships didn't want them back
and even under any circumstances
because they couldn't resell them
because of the reputation and they would
that was because a lot of them the seals
failed you know after 18 months
or earlier
so you know I rang up
as you do you know you've got a fleet of cars
like the one you're running
there'd be you know an RX2 coupe
you know highly regarded nowadays
for say I remember the last one I bought
was $400 advertised
and I rang the guy and he said are you really coming
out to see it you know and I said yeah my god
that was immaculate
engine not running
and I explained to him I wanted it for rallying
and stuff and he goes look no one's ever going to buy this
of me just take it away just have it
if you're going to make use of it just take it
and it sounds
it's insane
it's so highly valuable now
I mean Matty you've had a couple cars given to you
I don't know when was that
Matty like that
yeah I was in the middle north of South Australia
had been in a farm shed
the paint work was beautiful
we used it as a body shell
and put a 13B out of an RX4
and you know they were great though
they were fast car
that's the reason we put it from the other side
I gave away an RX
no they were the cheapest car you could get
and they were fast cars
even with the 12A engine
but that 13B was a heck of an engine
and some
people think rotaries don't have much torque
because a lot of the race cars
were peripheral porting
which is all about high revs
but you can tune them with side
porting or extended port
which gives you big torque down low
so our rally engines would
they were dynoed by an engine builder
in Kapunda in South Australia
for Barry Lowe a driver I mentioned earlier
and myself
I was sponsored
engines from there
and on a reliable dyno
they were 250hp
naturally aspirated
big downdraft IDA
Weber carburetor
noisy as anything
they still had the brap brap brap
the buzzing
and then also the sound of the
that's a bit of you Scotty
yeah that's awesome
and you know Scotty I won my first
out right national champion
stages not rallies but
win one stage or two
but against the factory
BDA escorts and factory Nissan
710 triple S's and stanzas
and things of that era
in Rotary Master
is that so cool
it was let down by the rest of the car
but the engine
that's the story of my career I started
something really small and low powered
and then I went the exact
way possible
and then the car that
really lifted my career was the Datsun 1600
which was in between
nowhere near as powerful as the Rotary
but long travel
suspension beautiful engineering
great traction and reliable as
we're about to get to that because
you own two of them
and you've had them for quite a long time
yeah so when I moved
to Datsun 1600
I liked having
I got sport with the Rotaries
because you could buy them so cheaply
that I had them as road cars as well
and it's a real advantage earlier in your career
to be driving the car that you're rallying
as well on the road just from
it feeling like it fits you so well
so I bought a green
1968 model Datsun 1600
with the wipers that are crosshand
you know very early model
which the original owner
got arthritis
and it was
in beautiful condition I had that as my roadie
while school teaching still
and
then I started getting supplied
cars and things and it was just
they were worth more money than a Rotary
to sell but I thought it was too
nice a car to park with and I very fortunately
put it in the shed and I've still got it now
but it hasn't been driven since then
but I want to bring it out one of these
days because it's been shattered it's in lovely condition
I bought a twin of that
in the 80s thinking I might need spare parts
one day and that's the other one
yeah I think you did it
correct way just yeah you bought the parts
that you probably will need eventually
and you also got that too
and I've got something I must mention to you about Rotaries
yeah absolutely I'm an
I don't even know where we're going
I drove
quite recently something which
is pretty unique in the world to have a
drive of nowadays
an original with its original engine
NSU row 80
my goodness which is a Rotary
European car you know from
1967-68
it's the first one called Rotary engine
and I drove it in Canberra
with a guy called John
Waterhouse who's a
NSW ACT champion
rally driver but he's run a
Rotary engine workshop called Reliance Rotary
for many years and it was
a customer in Canberra brought it to him
for servicing
and really looked after it John
he's since he has rebuilt the original NSU
which is a peripheral port
engine and yeah he's
when that owner got too old
John bought it off him and he's kept
it immaculate and original
and there'll be very few on the road
still anyway in the world
yeah so I have to say
like if he's rebuilt it do you reckon
obviously all the
the upgrades and technology that's come along
with Mazda and I mean
Mazda made it reliable inverted commas
but I think the people
that made it reliable were the tuning
community so
I'm assuming that if he were to rebuild he probably
would have put different seals and like
modern apex seals and things
that would have helped its reliability
I think the issue with them was they had
a three piece seal on it and
in Colt's start the center one
I think used to wear really badly
and then they'd fall out and wreck the whole engine
but NSU
themselves you know fixed that largely
during this life it was built and sold
and like for at least another
six or seven years I think after it
first came out but he did say
he had to get some parts made
for the engine when he rebuilt it
but it's a three speed
it's a semi-automatic
or an automated manual it has a
you know when you touch the gear lever
there's an actuator that operates a claw
and
90
are you looking those up
I am yeah I really don't know anything about it
if you check out the speeds and gears
90 so when I drove at John
said to me first gear while
we're in the suburbs of Canberra that's all you need
like while you're under 60k's because it goes
90 and first
130 in second
and then whatever it does it yeah it can do
you don't need one gear
they rev to
six and a half or 7000
it's just like
you're only going 5000 rpm
in first gear in the speed limit
but you can't hear the engine because
it's so incredibly smooth they're only a one litre
ok right
but not much torque down low
rear engine no front engine
so the car looks like an Audi
100 or something
and
it's actually
Volkswagen bought NSU
and moved their cars into
the Audi division so that the fuller
runner of all the aerodynamic
Audi's
so very aerodynamic
still an incredible looking car
they're very interesting
shape thing
so I felt very privileged to have a
driver such a special car John was
pretty trusting
and
it was a hell of an experience
it probably meant more to someone I've mentioned
a few times my first co-driver Andrew Hunter
when I met him in first year high school which was
1968 I think the world
car of the year was this NSU
because it was so cutting edge
aerodynamic and long travel
suspension the engine
you know hangs out like those Audi's
so in front of the gearbox
so all of that kind of stuff forward
disc brakes
so inboard so not you know like
all right
drive shafts
so
and I think it was like
more than an e-type
Jaguar or something to buy
so an expensive car
is that correct?
yes
I didn't realize that
super expensive
so when I met Andrew in 1968
he's more of a car guy
than all of us put together
in terms of the obscure knowledge
he's a car guy
not a driving guy
and he will always
even currently
you know it doesn't matter what you say about a car
yeah but the 1967 model
had the orange indicator
he knows
all that stuff
and he would never
his dream car when we were in first year
high school was the NSU Row 80
and we've never talked about them since
never think it would even ever see one
you know
so when I was in Canberra I just took a photo of Johns
and just sent it to him going
I drove this today
you know
and he rang back straight away
you know
so I quickly told him
and he goes
it's got the wrong headlight
that's it
so I say to John
I'm just going to put him on speak out
he's saying your NSU's got the wrong headlights
this isn't my mate I'm sorry
he says it's got the wrong headlights
and Andrew I say yeah
they should have you know
rectangular headlights and he's got four round
headlights and John goes
can I speak to it so
how good is this you know there's John Waterhouse
he's 70 he's never met Andrew
I have my phone off they go
you know he's like 10 or 15 minutes
talking NSU's
somebody hasn't even met before
he's gone for a walk
it's incredible isn't it
and Andrew was delighted
they're talking NSU's for 15 minutes
they were the wrong
no John had changed them himself
he said these rectangular headlights
when he had had it out in the dark
was so bad
the US spec round
which is how Andrew picked it
he wanted to know how Andrew picked it
and he still had the rectangular one
somewhere
I love hearing that
do look up
those younger generation people here
do look up in NSU right
it was quite a significant car
in the whole VW Audi group
development from then on
it's an important car in history to be fair
it's the first
rotary, lots of tech
obviously it won
every of the year award
pretty much in
but it just had issues
it was fast and they used
but they used fuel like rotaries do
and then that whole
oil prices hit
in the early 70's as well
it's weird that you brought up NSU's
today because I've only
just learned about them today
I was watching a video earlier today about
there's a YouTube channel called Haggerty
they brought out a video
about the Audi TT
and he touched
and he touched on the NSU cars
because they were obviously acquired
by the Volkswagen group
and it's like
NSU, like that rings about
like I've heard it in the past but then I really
didn't really think about it and then now you started talking
about it
it's just a weird
because I think there's Auto Union as well
NSU and that's kind of
I think that's what it all comes from
DMAW and some other
obscure German company formed
Audi basically through Volkswagen
that's what the four rings equal
one of the four companies right
I've kind of got that right
I think David
yeah
so DKW NSU Auto Union
and there was another one
I can never remember
getting old
and this is
pre Volkswagen
owned it
sort of Volkswagen amalgamated them all
and created Audi
oh yeah
out of those sub brands
yeah
so cool
About this episode
Rally legend Ed Ordynski joins Matty J for a wide-ranging chat that starts with his rally résumé—“28 rallies, nine rally wins, over 70 stage wins,” plus titles like “Australian rally champion 1990.” The conversation then swings into practical car updates: a VF Calais tailgate fix, a 94 Accord VTIS with “485,000 KS I think,” and connected-car convenience like “walk away locking” via “Blue Link.” Later, Ed digs into rally-era technique and navigation, including how “timing was to the whole minute not to the second.”
100,000 miles
12A engine
13B
13-inch wheels
1.8 litre
1968 London to Sydney marathon
1 to 1 5th gear
60 second window
actuators
aerodynamics
Audi TT
BMW 3 Series
BMW M3
Chevrolet Corvette
Citroen AMI
Datsun 1600
Ford Escort
Ford Falcon
Honda Accord
Honda HR-V
Honda insight
Honda ZR-V
Hyundai i20
Hyundai i30
Jaguar E-Type
Mazda RX-4
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Mitsubishi Galant
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Subaru Justy
Subaru WRX
Tesla Model 3
Toyota Celica
Toyota Corolla
Original notes
On this episode of Car Torque, Matty, Chad, David, Scotty and Jim sit down with Australian rally legend Ed Ordynski for an unforgettable chat about life on and off the stages. From his early days carving through the rally scene to the incredible machines he’s driven throughout his career, Ed shares stories, insights and behind-the-scenes moments from a lifetime in motorsport.
The crew also dive into their latest updates, while Ed reveals news of a fresh addition to his ever-growing car collection. This is only the beginning — tune in next week as the conversation with Ed continues.
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David and Eds Podcast Autoretro
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Car Torque with Matty J
Matthew Janineh
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94:09