ABC Torque Road Tests 1974 -1980

[Sprint XR8]

A selection of road tests excerpted from episodes of Torque, the ABCs ground-breaking motoring program that ran from 1974 to 1980 and was hosted by journalist and race car driver, Peter Wherrett.

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/retrof...IV1843H005S00\

[jaydee]

Good find.
...and he was a cross dresser (not that there's anything wrong with that).
I wonder if he had trouble parking?

[EBSXR6]

XC GXL best looking Falcon ever.

[Swordie]

Originally Posted by jaydee

Good find.
...and he was a cross dresser (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Why bring it up?

[Bushbasher]

Originally Posted by Swordie

Why bring it up?

Ummm...... that would be to give context to the joke,

[Ford17]

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

XC GXL best looking Falcon ever.

And he gave it a huge wrap too.

He loved the "cockpit", the 4W disc brakes, and thought the 351 + 4 speed was a great combination. All at the time/back in the day.

Everything we suspected was true.

[jaydee]

He slammed the HJ Premier, with good cause.
I had one back in the day, but it was an auto 6, fuel economy was... well let's just say there was no fuel economy.
Fortunately a drunk driver came through a stop sign and wrote it off for me.
With the insurance money I bought a much better Datsun 240K, 6 cylinder, economical and reliable.

[scott_motors]

Apparently Holden got very upset with that review and took Peter to task. Quite fun to look at these as they were from before my time.

I remember him best from the program Healthy Wealthy and Wise, on Ten in the 1990's. He road tested a VP Executive, one of the later builds with ABS and made the same complaint about the power steering pump being slow.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

XC GXL best looking Falcon ever.

I reckon it’s one of the worst. At least in stock form.

[scott_motors]

Found this segment from a 1990's Healthy Wealthy and Wise program, Peter Wherrett reporting on a LNG Daewoo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygXXQ_bKwWQ

[Aulpgute]

Thanks for posting this, very nostalgic and interesting to watch!

[sammo1]

Youtube has a few full episodes of Torque, but also the Marque programme he did as well...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F-4aHT4hno

[cheap]

The cars, some good, some bad and some just plain junk. But the clothing and hair...OMG

[arronm]

I remember watching this when it first aired on 2.

[whynot]

Thanks for sharing the link. I too remember watching this when it first aired on ABC. I cannot recall much of the details, only how much I liked watching it.

In the hard to believe category ... it was interesting seeing how Wherrett had to spend time arguing for a $10 brake proportioning valve on a Kingswood with a base price of $4500 and loaded with about $2000 worth of options. Also apparent was his dislike for the inertia reel seat belt in the Charger and his view that air-conditioning in a car (XD review) is an (unnecessary?) extravagance.

Rest in peace, Peter. You made a difference.

[jpd80]

1980 Corona Starfire 4 and XD Falcon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_N5BmKOgpY

[roddy1960]

I'm old enough to recall Torque .. Peter Wherrett has been gone a fair while now but I wish Cadogen would look at his vids and learn that you don't need to be a sensationalist git to be a good motoring journo . A lovely trip down memory lane to watch old episodes of the show.

Here's one from many years after Torque and something one or two of us will have an affinity for ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF7o5mevDdo ..

I think ol Pete had a soft spot for Fords too .

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I reckon it’s one of the worst. At least in stock form.

you're entitled to your opinion but there's a lot of us that might disagree I reckon , even in regard to the stock base car . Great 4.1 crossflow and V8 engines in their day too .

I 've watched this shannons TV episode a couple of times and reckon the last hardtop versions were one of the best looking Falcons of all .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJb04RSgjtg ..

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by roddy1960

you're entitled to your opinion but there's a lot of us that might disagree I reckon , even in regard to the stock base car . Great 4.1 crossflow and V8 engines in their day too .

I 've watched this shannons TV episode a couple of times and reckon the last hardtop versions were one of the best looking Falcons of all .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJb04RSgjtg ..

Thats it, its just my opinion.

XC was a thirsty pig though. Emissions really strangled them. Had a mate who had an XC GXL 250 that sucked nearly as much fuel as my XD 351.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Thats it, its just my opinion.

XC was a thirsty pig though. Emissions really strangled them. Had a mate who had an XC GXL 250 that sucked nearly as much fuel as my XD 351.

Definitely agree with you on that . Tacked on gear to keep the pollies happy wasn't very good and played havoc with the engine . I owned one of the last carby XE's built in 1984 with the 4.1 and by then they weren't so terrible in that regard . The EFI's from the XF onwards were much better though I believe.
. ADR27 played buggery with a lot of cars at the time . I bought a brand new Escort 1.6 in 1980 with the tacked on emission stuff and not only was she thirsty but gutless as well in reality .

Took it to a mob called Pride Auto's one Saturday after a few months and had the emission stuff "modified" . Difference was incredible .. Performed like the 1.6 should and fuel economy was much better . Illegal most probably yes but essential yes . Lots of people did it .

The old 4.1 was thirsty but oh so reliable and tough . Then again that reliable and tough carries over to pretty much every version of the Australian built inline 6 Falcon engines . The 4.0's fuel injected were also reasonably economical too driven sensibly given their displacement .

[roKWiz]

Yes, watched Torque as a teen growing up.
I remember when that darn ADR27/27A came out and strangled my 76' HX PV. First thing we all did was rip it all off or plug it up.
Roddy, March 93' XF PV I have was the last carb 4.1 model made, fuel econ is ok and is reliable.

[arronm]

Originally Posted by Sprint XR8

A selection of road tests excerpted from episodes of Torque, the ABCs ground-breaking motoring program that ran from 1974 to 1980 and was hosted by journalist and race car driver, Peter Wherrett.
image
https://iview.abc.net.au/show/retrof...IV1843H005S00\

Those tyres are uniroyal wildcat rd-202.

How the hell do I know that. Just jumped into my brain.....

[Blue Roo]

It's interesting to note that Peter Wherrett had raced at Bathurst in 1969 (Mazda), 1970 (Ford GTHO),1974 to 1976 in Alfa Romeo's.

As far as Motor Journalism is concern.
Peter Wherrett knew what he was talking about, when it came to Cars and the Automotive Industry. Now compared this to Evan Green, who wrote garbage (s**t!) and start the Super Car Scare of 1972. And as you know Green killed the GTHO Phase 4, XU2, and the 340 R/T Charger.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by Blue Roo

It's interesting to note that Peter Wherrett had raced at Bathurst in 1969 (Mazda), 1970 (Ford GTHO),1974 to 1976 in Alfa Romeo's.

As far as Motor Journalism is concern.
Peter Wherrett knew what he was talking about, when it came to Cars and the Automotive Industry. Now compared this to Evan Green, who wrote garbage (s**t!) and start the Super Car Scare of 1972. And as you know Green killed the GTHO Phase 4, XU2, and the 340 R/T Charger.

I remember watching Torque in the very late 1970's , just after I bought my very first pride and joy . A red 1969 Morris mini with the 1098 cc . engine , 4 speed on the floor and ROH mag wheels ..Even had a radio in it and the previous owner had pinched an 8 ball and made it into a gear knob .

I was car mad at the time , part of me still is so buying Wheels and Modern Motor (later renamed Motor) and watching Torque were musts .. Peter Wherrett was the guru , people actually respected his opinion.. Looked it up and he passed on in 2009 aged in his early seventies . I wonder what he'd think of John Cadogen now .
Another person I recall from that era was ABC's Norman May . There was just something about his cricket commentary that I liked so much . Remember as a teenager the 74/75 Ashes series . We'd just moved into the house I live in now and we were painting it . Cricket was on , Norman May commentating with the rest of the ABC team . Dad , one of my uncles and I were up the ladders painting the roof ..Mum and my sisters were sanding the weatherboards and every so often with the TV blaring we'd hear .

" Another one's gone " when Mum could hear that Lillee , Thommo or Max Walker or one of the spinners had got a wicket . We'd pile off the ladders and go and watch the replay ..Left over ham from Christmas for sandwiches and Mum's proper tea made in a proper tea pot as we toiled in the sun as the Aussies decimated the Poms ... Ah , those were the days .

The ABC News 7 pm with the clock on the screen with about a minute to go allowed Dad to sync and wind his watch too as the news started . You didn't bother Dad while watching the ABC News was on the TV. every night .

[arronm]

I got hooked last night and watched about 3 hours of Torque on You Tube. Watched it when I was a teenager, but back then and young probably didn't really watch and understand. Now I realise he really knew a great amount about the motoring industry and cars. Was also a good driver.

So funny in 1980 he wondered way electric cars and buses weren't being developed. 40 years and we haven't really come 40 years in development....

[whynot]

Originally Posted by arronm

I got hooked last night and watched about 3 hours of Torque on You Tube. Watched it when I was a teenager, but back then and young probably didn't really watch and understand. Now I realise he really knew a great amount about the motoring industry and cars. Was also a good driver.

So funny in 1980 he wondered way electric cars and buses weren't being developed. 40 years and we haven't really come 40 years in development....

Yeah, I have been doing the same thing, watching lots of old Torque episodes on You Tube. The opening guitar riff in the colour episodes certainly is earworm music. Amazing to think that this show is nearly 40 years old, and in many respects the driving tips are still relevant today. While Peter is the star, clearly it was a team effort with great camera work (mostly hand held and without the fancy toys of today), clear audio, and judicious editing.

Also fascinating is how technology has changed over time. In one episode, Peter absolutely pans the Subaru Leone 4WD as a pointless exercise. Too low to be a genuine 4WD and too rough to be a car. Yet, here were are 40 years later with a populous of SUV running permanent or part time AWD.

Another episode that brought back a lot of memories was the comparison between radial and cross-ply tyres. This alone caused hours of friction between my Dad and I, as the old man was firmly in the cross-ply tyre camp.