Victor Bray

I grew up on the family farm north of Brisbane feeding the stock and packing tomatoes. My first wheels were pushbikes then motorbikes. My first driving experience was tractors ploughing the fields when I was around 10. The very first car was a Ford Prefect which led to paddock thrashing over 40 cars with the neighbors on the family farm mostly FB FC and EK holdens also including a 55 Chev. Nothing cost over $50, wish I had them now. 

After spending a couple of years at Gatton Agricultural College, my first street car was an EJ wagon until I went halves with my Grandfather in a patch of pumpkins and bought myself a shiny new yellow Holden Sandman V8 4 speed. Put a lot of miles on that car until one day, while checking out performance cars at a performance car yard, spotted a HK 307 auto blood red, black trim Holden Monaro. Soon after the van was traded for the Monaro and I had my first small block Chev. 

Several Monaro’s followed by many 60’s Chevys, a 55 then a custom 1962 replica SS red with white trim. It was a great car except it had no top gear and I was too busy driving it to fix it even did a trip to Sydney in it to see Marie’s family. You know the deal, flat out in low gear then knock into neutral with the knife handled floor shift until the cars behind you get pissed, then do it all again. Sounds stupid now but at the time must have seemed OK. 

On the way home up the coast road about 2km’s north of Brunswick Heads a car coming the opposite direction come into our lane on a sweeping corner I turned hard left to miss him, but he hit a guide post, woke up and turned straight back in the front of the Chev.  

Marie was trapped in the car by the front wheel that had her legs pinned up against the seat and my daughter, Kelly emerged without a scratch (thankfully we had her between 2 pillows on the back drivers side floor as there was no seat belts in the car). 

I copped a steering wheel in the guts, head into the screen and a ring on my finger squashed stopping blood flow. Marie came out the worst with 4 fractured vertebrae and leg injuries and she was rushed to Lismore Hospital where she stayed for quite a while until she could travel home. We were all very fortunate we survived although Marie has had back issues since. 

The badly damaged Impala was towed to a holding yard in Brunswick Heads and a few weeks later I returned with a truck to pick it up. While inspecting the car a Chev pulls up out front and this guy walks in and introduces himself as Chic Henry. What a coincidence the most famous Chev guy in the country and president of the Brisbane Chev club just happened to be passing by.  

I joined the Chev club and after a few more Chevs I wanted an early model thinking 55. A local mate Russel Peters had bought this 57 Chev and decided to sell it so I went for a look. It was raining and the car was under a tarp. We walked up the back and he lifted the tarp and all I saw was the chrome rear fin and bumper, I said no that’s not what I am looking for as I wanted a 55. I couldn’t get the chrome off my mind for days when a local Chev dealer Wayne Barber advertised a 57 for sale running for $600 so I went and took a look – and that is the streetcar I still have today. Wasn’t sure how good a deal I got as the front wheel fell off on the first corner after leaving his house at least he helped me put it back on. I drove it with the 6 for a while and then it all started with the conversion to its first V8 and here we are. 

Of course, the Monaros saw some street action but no more than everyone was getting into and I was definitely more into cruising and other entertaining activities. The 6 cylinder in the Chev was swapped out for a mild 307 and a vertical gate shifted Saginaw transmission. There were street Races everywhere every weekend biggest being “FISHIES” (named after it was held on an unpatrolled road on the way to Fishermans Bend which is now a major port.)  

I was usually just a spectator there as the Chevy was fast enough although I had a couple of races but needed more power to avoid constant losses. I was fortunate enough to meet a Drag Racer who just happened to be a chemical engineer by the name BOB HAMILTON who was experimenting with a gas called Nitrous Oxide by mixing with extra fuel and injecting it into the engine. We came to an arrangement to fit a small kit to my near stock 307… Wow I was hooked and over the next year or so we had 5 kits connected through timer’s, pressure valve and steering wheel buttons. The perfect street race setup… power when it was needed. Won me plenty of Street races sometimes against cane farmers sons up the east coast and local hopefuls. 

Again a spectator at SPIR on the hill watching and betting on the outcomes with a group of 20 or 30. I got a few comments that I should be down there racing in the ‘street dash’ that was held as a filler for the bigger cars which I replied with a smirk whatever.

A little later a mate, John Parker comes running up the hill laughing and said get your car from the carpark I just entered you in the street dash. Although I had been enhancing my entertainment with a product from Bundaberg, I ran to the car park grabbed the Chev and to keep the story short I became a Drag Racer even though I needed some polishing. I loved the fact the xmas tree made it equal as I had put up with many when seeing me parked at the traffic lights would come past at 20 mph and then back off as I caught up then skite for the next few years, they had blown my doors off.

I loved being in the pits with my heroes like Jim Reed, Mick Atholwood, Kym Petterwood and many others and clearly remember the first time Les Winters actually spoke to me and I was like a kid in a lolly shop as I got to meet most Racers over time.

I entered many events from then on and had many clashes with the stewards and authority. One time I was being a smart ass at scrutineering and this giant steward with a cowboy hat grabbed the back of my head, with hands the size of dinner plates he smashed me into the front guard of the Chev. Probably deserved it but I remember saying to the crew and those in earshot with another smart ass comment “SHIT!!! THEY ARE A LOT STRICTER HERE THAN I THOUGHT THEY WERE”.

Another time there was a rule that cars had to be respectable and one colour was enforced. As the Chev was undercoat grey with a guide coat, I turned up at the next event flat black but this time I made sure I kept my distance from the giant steward and the front guard.

The Giant stewards name was Ron (everyone will know who I mean) and we became good friends and laughed about the times in scrutineering and in the long run he taught me pretty quick to respect safety and the authority of scrutineers and the sport… served me well!!

I eventually worked up the confidence to enter a major event, it was the Tin Top Titles and of course I didn’t expect much but a couple of runs against the big names would be fun. After a few rounds of eliminations, I found myself in the final against a red-hot HK Monaro driven by Allan who was always a tough contender. I actually won the event and was pretty overwhelmed and really had no idea what I was supposed to do so I went and hung out with my mates.

I was called up over the PA for trophy presentation then interviewed by The Courier Mail’s motorsport journalist Lex Swayne planting the seed in my mind that maybe I can do more of this – from there I was bitten by the proverbial bug pretty good.

It was only a small item in the newspaper but I cherished it for years and still have it today. It read ‘Unknown tomato farmer from Kallangur Victor Bray drove around faster and more fancied opposition to win the Australian Tin Top Titles at Surfers Paradise International Raceway”.

Feeling much more comfortable at the track, the Chev had numerous performance upgrades, the street racing was swapped for Street Meets along with Test and Tune Days. At the track no one could screw you on the start and the guard rails felt safer than people and cars lining the track. By this point I was also starting to get a bit well known by the constabulary and fines kept piling up.

By this time, I had met my mentor Mick Atholwood and within a few weeks he’d convinced me to ditch the nitrous (the old Chevy was powered by a supercharged small block, purchased off one of Mickey’s mates Graham Eason who had recently had a top end tumble in his dragster). Even though we ran the blown motor for quite a while the car was getting faster and faster, so I felt ‘old Bessy’ needed to go back to street cruising and we needed a safer car as we were getting way too fast.

Without any great budget I got together with a few mates and headed up to the local wreckers to find a suitable chassis as a base for the car. We settled on a HQ Holden one tonner chassis which my old mate Rex at Narangba Wreckers gave me for the project.

We built it over the next few months fitted the blown Chevy and headed out the track. Car drove great and had a steel roll cage, took bigger tyres, better front-end geometry BUT weight wasn’t one of our criteria and the new car was heavier than the streeter but Mickey had a solution… more power!

Sounded good so Mick set off to the States to find a Keith Black complete from one of his US based racing mates. He found one and the upside I was able to leave the blown small block in the streeter and have double the fun. I ran that car for many years up and down the Eastern seaboard with the wild bunch until I met a professional chassis builder from Melbourne Murray Andersen. He built me a chrome moly spaceframe chassis with a carbon fiber body and I couldn’t believe how smooth fast and comfortable it was to drive and come with all ANDRA safety features. All the Doorslammers Ben and I have raced since then have been Andersen Race Cars although Ben has driven many US built cars in Sports Compact, radial etc.