Australian Muscle Car – July 01, 2019

F

ellowBCOAAmember

AshleySteershas

takena verydifferent

approachtoPhil

Walmsleyforthe 2019

RepcoRoundAustralia

Retrial,withthebuildof

a tributetothe‘Silver

Mule’whichwasthe

rstcarbuiltbytheHDTin preparationfor

the 1979 event.Thetheorywastobuildit,

testit toseewhatbroke,thenbuildthethree

Marlborocarsapplyingthelessonslearnt.

It wasalsousedforreconnaissanceonthe

eventbytheHDT.

Thename‘Steers’maysoundfamiliar,and

it washisuncleGrant‘Spear’Steerswhowas

a closefriendto Brockandanintegralpartof

theHDTandtheRepcopreparations.Withthe

assistanceof hisfather,Phil,thetributecaris

beingbuiltto ascloselyaspossiblereplicate

theoriginal,

includingthe

XU-1-spec

engineand

carburettors.

It evenhasa setof drivinglightsfromoneof the

’79HDTcars.

TheoriginalMulecompetedin the 1979 Bega

Rallyaspartof itstestingregime,drivenby

WayneBell,whowentonto nishsecondin the

RepcowithDaveBoddyandBarryFerguson.

Barryis returningfortheRetrial.PW

D

avidClementmadevestartsin the

Bathurst 1000 between 1973 and1988,

alongwithcountlessotherracesovera

20-plusyearcareerin touringcarsand

productioncars.If hisnameisn’tringingbells,

youmightknowhimastheblokewhohad

sponsorshipfromAussierockbandINXSfor

manyyears.Sponsorsdon’tcomemuchmore

glamorous,especiallythosethatactually,

erm,kickedthetin.NotonlydidClements

receivegenuinesponsorshipmoneyfromthe

band,hegottotagalongwiththemontour,

receivingthesamerockstartreatment.

Incredibly,INXS’sbackinggrewoutof the

supporthegavetheunknownsix-memberoutt

backin thelate1970sonSydney’sNorthern

Beaches.Clementprovidedthebandwith

rehearsalspaceat hisautomotivebusinessfor

a peppercornamount.It wasa leg-upthatthe

bandneverforgot.

LandlordClementdetailshisracingand

therelationshiphehadwiththeAustralian

phenomenonin hisself-publishedbookAlong

ForTheRide:FastCars& RockStars. Whatit

mightlackin polish,comparedto,say,a John

Smailesbook,it morethanmakesupforin

entertainingtalesof sex,drugsandrock‘n’roll.

Theyounggrouphonedtheirsongsmanship,

playingability,andchemistryin hisworkshop,

goingfromhumblebeginningsto international

success.Davidstayedwiththemfortheride.

Andtheystayedwithhim.

OneofAMC’s favouriteyarnsfromthebook

detailshowhescoreda freeAUSCARrace

drivein a XFFalconat theThunderdome,

partof a bidbyBobJaneto wooINXSfora

concertat theThunderdome.Theconcertnever

happened,butClementwas

therecipientof a once-in-a-

lifetimeexperiencecourtesy

of Jane’slargess.

Clement’sSuzukiSwift

wasa familiarsightat Amaroo

Parkin thelateeighties,

bearingsignagepromoting

INXS’sKICKalbum.

Sometimesyoukick,

sometimesyougetkicked.For

theClementit wastheformer.

“Otherbiographiesand

storiesonthebandhavebeen

writtenbymusicjournalists

andaregenerallylookingfrom

theoutsidein,”saysClement.

“Mystoryis writtenfromtheperspectiveof

beingrightthere,ontheinside,virtuallyfrom

theirbeginningasTheFarrissBrothersandthe

changeto INXS,beforemanagerChrisMurphy

beganto wavehismagicwandoverthem.

“It’sa storyI’vewantedto tellfor 20 yearsor

so,aboutthisgroupof schoolkidswhoworked

hardandendedupconqueringtheworld.”

Thebookcanpurchasedfrom

http://www.alongfortheride.com.au

Anotherof Clement’sracingescapadesis

detailedin thisissue’sWhaddayaknowsection.

Sometimes you kick...

The Silver Mule tribute