The 1964 Armstrong 500 was a production car race held on 4 October 1964 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. The 500 mile race was open to Australian built production sedans of which 100 examples had been registered.[1] It was the fifth Armstrong 500 and the second to be held at Bathurst although it is commonly referred to as the fifth "Bathurst 500".
Official results reflected only class placings, with no outright winner recognized by the organizing body, the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club. The first car to complete the full 130 lap distance race was a factory backed Ford Cortina GT driven by Bob Jane and George Reynolds, the 1964 event being the fourth consecutive Armstrong 500 in which Jane had achieved an unofficial "line honours" victory.
Cars competed in four classes based on the purchase price of the vehicle in Australian pounds. There was little change from the 1963 race. Class A entries proliferated, taking up space on the grid from a shrinking Class B. Ford Australia had a strong presence in Class C with three factory entered Cortina GTs.
The up to £900 class was composed of Hillman Imp, Morris 850, NSU Prinz, Vauxhall Viva and Volkswagen Beetle.
The £901 to £1,000 class featured Ford Cortina 1500, Morris Cooper, Renault R8 and Simca Aronde.
The £1,001 to £1,200 class included only Ford Cortina GT and Holden EH entries.
The £1,201 to £2,000 class featured Chrysler Valiant, Citroën ID19, Ford Zephyr, Humber Vogue Sports, Holden EH Premier, Studebaker Lark, Triumph 2000 and Vauxhall Velox.
While the V8 powered Studebaker Larks again led early, fragile brakes saw them overtaken by the leading Cortinas as the race wore on. The Cortina driven by the Geoghegan brothers fell from the mid-race lead after a generator bracket broke, allowing teammates Jane and Reynolds into the race lead they would not relinquish. Barry Seton and Herb Taylor finished second ahead of Jane's former partner Harry Firth co-driving the third factory Ford with John Reaburn. In the other three classes, the early leaders each retained their leads throughout the day. Bert Needham and Warren Weldon brought their Class D winning Studebaker home as fourth car across the line, two laps down on Jane/Reynolds and a lap behind Firth/Reaburn. Charlie Smith and Bruce Maher won Class B, leading home a 1-2-3-4 for Morris Cooper ahead of four Renault R8s. Smith/Maher finished just six laps behind the Cortina GTs. Class A was dominated by Vauxhall, with the Viva of Spencer Martin and Bill Brown leading home five other examples. Seven cars failed to finish the event, with another being disqualified.[2]
| Pos | No | Entrant[5] | Drivers | Car | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class A | |||||
| 1 | 46 | Boyded Pty. Ltd. |  Spencer Martin Bill Brown | Vauxhall HA Viva | 116 |
| 2 | 55 | Boyded Pty. Ltd. | Ron Clarke Brian Muir | Vauxhall HA Viva | 115 |
| 3 | 58 | Clinton Motors Pty. Ltd. | John Marchiori Arnold Ahrenfeld | Vauxhall HA Viva | 114 |
| 4 | 56 | Boyded Pty. Ltd. | Tony Simmons Mike Champion | Vauxhall HA Viva | 114 |
| 5 | 54 | Apex Autos (Newcastle) | Jack Gates Mike Nedelko | Vauxhall HA Viva | 114 |
| 6 | 44 | Bill Warren Austin Spares | C. McLean George Murray | Vauxhall HA Viva | 112 |
| 7 | 40 | Lennox Motors Pty. Ltd. | Brian Milton David Walker | Volkswagen 1200 | 112 |
| 8 | 47 | Peter Williamson Pty. Ltd. | Midge Bosworth Peter Williamson | Hillman Imp | 112 |
| 9 | 41 | Wal Truscott & Co. Pty. Ltd. | Chris McSorley Phil West | Hillman Imp | 110 |
| 10 | 59 | Stradbroke Motors | Lionel Ayers Dennis Geary | Hillman Imp | 110 |
| 11 | 43 | Denlo Motors Pty. Ltd. | Bernie Haehnle Neil McKay | Volkswagen 1200 | 110 |
| 12 | 38 | Lanock Motors Ltd. | Barry Ferguson Bill Ford | Volkswagen 1200 | 109 |
| 13 | 49 | Buckle Motors Pty. Ltd. | Brian Reed Lorraine Hill | Hillman Imp | 108 |
| 14 | 51 | Wal Truscott & Co. Pty. Ltd. | Paul Bolton John Schroder | Hillman Imp | 107 |
| 15 | 42 | Kinsley Pty. Ltd. | George Forrest Frank Hann | Volkswagen 1200 | 105 |
| 16 | 50 | Scuderia Octagon | Matt Daddo Keith Russell | Morris 850 | 104 |
| DNF | 39 | Ryan Equipment Coy. | Bryan Thomson Bruce Wilson | NSU Prinz | 94 |
| DNF | 52 | Vaughan & Lane Pty. Ltd. | Peter Cray Phil Barnes | Morris 850 | |
| DNF | 53 | White Nicholson BMC | Bill Stanley Steve Harvey | Morris 850 | |
| DNF | 57 | Vaughan & Lane Pty. Ltd. | Eric Lane Stan Pomroy | Morris 850 | 15 |
| DNF | 45 | W. G. Orr | Lex Bailey Bill Orr | Hillman Imp | 0 |
| DNS | 48 | Fairfield Motors Pty. Ltd. | Kennedy Stewart | Ford Anglia | - |
| Class B | |||||
| 1 | 26 | Ron Ward Pty. Ltd. | Bruce Maher Charlie Smith | Morris Cooper | 124 |
| 2 | 36 | P. & R. Williams Pty. Ltd. | Don Holland Laurie Stewart | Morris Cooper | 123 |
| 3 | 23 | College Auto Port | Ray Kaleda Barry Thiele | Morris Cooper | 121 |
| 4 | 33 | W. Blomfield | Warren Blomfield Jerry Trevor-Jones | Morris Cooper | 120 |
| 5 | 34 | W. March | Bill March John White | Renault R8 | 120 |
| 6 | 35 | R. Emmett | John Connolly Rex Emmett | Renault R8 | 120 |
| 7 | 28 | Killara Motor Garage | Bob Holden Keith Pascall | Renault R8 | 119 |
| 8 | 29 | G.P. Cars | Brian Fleming Bill Gates | Renault R8 | 119 |
| 9 | 32 | P. Brown | Peter Brown Ray Gulson | Morris Cooper | 118 |
| 10 | 37 | L. Park Tyre Service Pty. Ltd. | Les Park John Roxburgh | Renault R8 | 117 |
| 11 | 30 | Ira L. & A. C. Berk Pty. Ltd. | Jim Bonthorne John Dando | Ford Cortina Mk.I 1500 | 116 |
| 12 | 27 | M. Martin | Mike Martin John Prisk | Morris Cooper | 114 |
| 13 | 25 | Alton Boddenberg | Alton Boddenberg Digby Cooke | Simca Aronde | 112 |
| 14 | 31 | Sentinel Motors | David Burton Brian McGrath | Renault R8 | 103 |
| DNS | 24 | Dennis Summers Conversions | Doug Chivas unknown | Morris Cooper | - |
| Class C | |||||
| 1 | 15 | Ford Motor Coy. of Aust. Pty. Ltd. | Bob Jane George Reynolds | Ford Cortina Mk.I GT | 130 |
| 2 | 18 | Fairfield Motors Pty. Ltd. | Barry Seton Herb Taylor | Ford Cortina Mk.I GT | 130 |
| 3 | 19 | Ford Motor Coy. of Aust. Pty. Ltd. | Harry Firth John Reaburn | Ford Cortina Mk.I GT | 129 |
| 4 | 22 | Ron Hodgson Motors Pty. Ltd. | Ron Hodgson John French | Ford Cortina Mk.I GT | 127 |
| 5 | 21 | Ford Motor Coy. of Aust. Pty. Ltd. | Ian Geoghegan Leo Geoghegan | Ford Cortina Mk.I GT | 127 |
| 6 | 20 | Frank Delandro Pty. Ltd. | Bruce McPhee Barry Mulholland | Ford Cortina Mk.I GT | 126 |
| 7 | 16 | W. H. Lober & Co. Pty. Ltd. | Phil Ismay Bob Skelton | Holden EH 179 | 101 |
| DNF | 14 | Beautihome (Australia) Constructions Co. | Anthony Cooper Joe Hills | Ford Cortina Mk.I GT | |
| DSQ | 13 | J. Turner & Sons Pty. Ltd. | Ian Grant Peter Mitchell[6] | Holden EH 179 | 10 |
| DNS | 17 | H. Budd | Budda Smith | Holden EH S4 | - |
| Class D | |||||
| 1 | 11 | Needham's Motors Pty. Ltd. | Warren Weldon Bert Needham | Studebaker Lark | 128 |
| 2 | 8 | Canada Cycle & Motor Co. (Sales) Pty. Ltd. | Fred Sutherland Allan Mottram | Studebaker Lark | 126 |
| 3 | 9 | Buckle Motors | Brian Foley Bill Buckle | Citroën ID19 | 124 |
| 4 | 2 | Jubilee Motors Pty. Ltd. | Bill Burns Brian Lawler | Ford Zephyr Mk III | 123 |
| 5 | 1 | British & Continental Cars Pty. Ltd. | Arthur Davis Paul Mander | Triumph 2000 | 123 |
| 6 | 4 | Selke Motors | Bob Cook Alwyn Rose | Chrysler SV1 Valiant | 123 |
| 7 | 7 | Alex Strachan Motors | Bill Barnett Don Johnston | Humber Vogue Sports | 119 |
| 8 | 10 | Ecurie Australie | Lex Davison Rocky Tresise | Triumph 2000 | 117 |
| 9 | 3 | Reg Smith Motors Pty. Ltd. | Tony Allen Tony Reynolds | Triumph 2000 | 116 |
| 10 | 5 | M. C. Stewart | Bob Salter Max Stewart | Triumph 2000 | 105 |
| 11 | 6 | Stack & Coy. Ltd. | Lyndon McLeod Lionel Williams | Holden EH Premier | 95 |
| DNF | 12 | Alec Mildren Racing Pty. Ltd. | Ralph Sach Max Brunninghausen | Vauxhall Velox | |
The Team Prize was won by the three Ford Motor Co. entered Ford Cortina GTs driven by Jane/Reynolds, Seton/Taylor and Firth/Raeburn.[7]