Australian Muscle Car 2020-02

Sometimes it can be hard to evaluate
how good a driver was in his/her career.
Did the quality of their machinery flatter
their ability? Or was the competition
below par? In the days where there
were few fulltime
fessionals and
nty of aspiring
ateurs or
ekend warriors
s even harder.
ne indicator is
ow you are rated
y your peers,
eing asked back
o drive – without
aving to bring
money – is one
way of gauging a driver’s ability.
David Seldon certainly fits into that category.
In a career that spanned twenty years he raced
at Bathurst twelve times in someone else’s car,
albeit some were entered by dealerships that he
had a financial interest in. He was always quick
and often unlucky. He never shied away from a
stoush and sometimes came off second best,
with the scars to prove it!
Seldon sold cars for a living and saw value in
the ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ mantra. It
certainly was the guiding light when racing Volvos
in Improved Production in the 1960s and was still
relevant through the Group C era with various
European marques and then Group E Series
Production in the 1980s. There were diversions,
such as two successful seasons racing in the
clubman series and even a sports sedan.
He was always
there, or there
abouts, punching
above his weight
in class cars,
but there was
one ‘wouldacoulda-shoulda’
moment, where
he felt he was
on the cusp of moving
to the next level. That was Bathurst 1972,
where he believed that he had the fastest
Torana GTR XU-1 on the day only to crash
out late in the race. The jury may be out on
Seldon’s racing skill, but that is not the case
with his ability to tell a great story. Read on to
learn more about ‘Seldo.’
Paul Newby
Early days
David Seldon was born in Sydney, the son
of a keen motorcyclist who had done a
bit of racing before the War. His family moved
to Tamworth when he was six. A mate built a
dirt race track on his parent’s property and
he and Seldon raced his father’s FB Holden
and mother’s Fiat 500 around. Educated at
Huntingtower School in Melbourne, Seldon
returned home to Sydney and at the age of
17 got a job at British and Continental Cars,
the NSW Volvo agent on William Street in
the City, as an office boy. He also joined the
North Shore Sporting Car Club (NSSCC), as a
stepping stone to obtaining his racing licence,
but faced parental objection, as he explains.
“My old man said there was no way he would
allow me to get a licence until I was 21. One
night having dinner at home I was running late
to get to a NSSCC meeting. My old man said if
you leave without washing the dishes then don’t
come home. So I didn’t! I left home aged 17.
“The competition licence form required my old
man’s signature and he refused to sign it. I said
if you don’t sign it then I will sign it myself, which
I did and sent it in. My old man, being stubborn,
contacted CAMS and told them his signature
was a forgery. I got summoned before a CAMS
State Council Meeting. NSSCC President John
McKittrick met my old man on the steps and
warned if you go through with this your son will
be banned for life. So he recanted on the steps
of the court, as it were,
and I got my licence.”
At British and
Continental Cars, Seldon was soon selling
Volvos, so it made sense to race them. A 1963
122S was modified for his first race at Towac
(Orange) in 1965 and this car and similar models
were raced up until the late ‘60’s at the Sydney
circuits, Easter Bathurst (in 1967) and at Surfers
Paradise in the 12 Hour with fellow British and
Continental manager Gerry Lister. In the 1967
race the duo finished a respectable seventh
outright but the next year things went pear
shaped, as Seldon explains.
“I had damaged my own car at Amaroo when
it broke an axle and lost a wheel. We took off
the cylinder head (with Weber carbs) and
wheels and put them on another 122S for
he 6 Hour. That car broke an axle and lost
a wheel at full bore under the Dunlop Bridge
and did three barrel rolls and five end for
nds with me in it. There was no roll cage,
nly a genuine Volvo rally seat and a three
oint seat belt. I was uninjured. In any other
ar, well…”
Seldon sold his own 122S in 1968,
ansferring all the good bits to a new 142S
odel, that raced around Sydney, at (Easter)
athurst and then the Surfers Paradise 6
ur with Digby Cooke, who blew a tyre
ring the race and rolled the Volvo into a
le ball. Unfortunately the 142S was on hire
purchase with three years’ worth of payments still
owing! As a result, Seldon’s racing career came
to a full stop (though there were Bathurst 500
appearances – see breakout.)
Above left: Seldon’s Volvo 122S at Warwick Farm,
before it met its maker at Surfers Paradise (inset).
Below: The replacement 142S (which would also be
written off), seen here at the ‘69 Easter Bathurst meet.
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