ISSUE 10
CIRCLEWORK FEATURE CARS SECOND EDITION
NINE MONTHS OF COOL CRUISERS INTERESTED IN HAVING YOUR CAR FEATURED IN PERFORMANCE STREET CAR MAGAZINE? If it’s something special Circlework would love to hear from you. Email your details and a few photos to brian@circlework.com.au
Story : Owner Photos : Brian White
NIGHT STALKER. After being obsessed with wagons for a few years Blake finally bit the bullet and picked up a V6 VT Commodore off Ebay for a cheap $3,000. This started as his first ever project car and away he went.
Blake flew to Adelaide on the following Monday morning. It was love at first site so he fired it up and drove the 2,800 kms back to Perth by the Wednesday afternoon.
ENGINE TYPE: 5.7L LS1 ENGINE MODS: LS6 intake manifold, Higgins Racing OTR, MAFLESS Tune Power: 240RWKW (330rwhp)
DIFFERENTIAL: 3.7:1 Diff Gears, LSD BRAKES: VX HSV R8 brake package; 330mm front and 315mm rear rotors with HSV engraved calipers, Bendix pads, all detailed
Having since tinkered away with the It ended up with a full suspension mods, with most of it already had been setup, shortened KYB shocks, super done by John (the previous owner) low King Springs, an all round four back in Adelaide, he got stuck in to point camber kit, link pin kit and a replacing the headlights and tail lights, full nolathane bush upgrade package. detailing the engine bay and adding a He also dumped it on a set of VZ SS / chrome OTR, red-walling the tyres and giving the paint some serious TLC to Monaro five spoke rims. bring it back to an ‘as new’ look. Next a full stereo was installed, a full Type-R setup rattling the old girls... The car seriously turns heads, pulling but the V6 got boring and the thirst for up to a V8 they tend to glance across horsepower kicked in and Blake decided with confusion when they realise it’s a it was time to sell it and move on. The V8 and how punchy she moves along hunt for a new wagon got underway the roads. and he decided to only settle for a V8. Lucky for him he had become a It has yet to see the Motorplex quarter regular on the www.streetwagons.com mile but Blake’s currently in the website, so finding a new ride was at process of finding a workshop to do all the future mods and tuning. He’d be the touch of his fingerstips. stoked with a high 12 or low 13 as it’s He searched high and low for a wagon specs to date. Future mods include a in Perth, at one point almost giving up cam, timing chain, valve springs, Hiand opting for an engine conversion for Stall, trans cooler, KAAZ etc. the VT. Thankfully he started looking interstate and finally came across this When he’s running 400rwhp all day every day and seeing 11’s he will call it Berlina a day with the engine mods and finish After seeing it online on the Thursday the car to show room conditions.
Car Details / Specifications OWNER: Blake Proud PLATES: WAGO (Wagon without the N) MODEL: 99 VT HBD Berlina COLOUR: Phantom Mica BODY WORK: genuine V2 Monaro front bar and fog lights, Genuine Monaro V2 Bonnet, Genuine Monaro V 2 headlights, Genuine VY SS Sideskirts, Genuine VY SS Rear Bumper, Genuine VY SS S2 Tail lights
EXHAUST Advance tri-y extractors, stainless x-pipe, twin 2.5” system with centre mufflers, twin hotdogs at rear, dual outlets with stainless oval tips GEARBOX Standard Auto with mechanical shift kit
SUSPENSION: King heavy duty springs, KYB shocks/struts, 4-point rear camber kit, VY strut brace WHEELS/TYRES: 19” ROH Furys painted in phantom mica, 245/35 Marshalls with Redwalls
Sunday 12th July saw Fuel TV’s (FOX) muscle car building Sash Ninovoc land his 900HP XYGT at Midland Shopping Centre carpark. Sash and co-pilot’s Roy Velardi (Street Fords magazine editor) and computer guru Paul Spyrou piloted the supercharged Ford all the way from Sydney to Perth to raise funds for the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
The boys had a blast and checked out all the sights and tourist spots along the way before arriving safe and sound in WA. And they ran the mega horsepower car on pump fuel the entire journey.
collection at Gidgegannup. Here’s a few photos of the morning’s festivities and we wish well to the boys as they turned around the following day and headed back to the east coast again.
Local Ford car clubs and onlookers caught up with Sash and his crew at Midland on Sunday morning before To make donations visit www.starlight. the whole circus of roughly a hundred org.au and read all about the adventure vehicles cruised out to a private Ford through www.anracing.com.au
FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THE MORNING VISIT WWW.CIRCLEWORK.COM.AU
HARD EARNED. Most people would recognize Michael Cox from Big Brother (though he was called Ashley for the show), however Big Brother had very little to do with his ute. This was not one of those builds were the bloke wins a bunch of cash and builds a car just for the sake of blowing some newly acquired cash. It was planned out and performed with an overall goal that Michael had to work hard to accomplish. See Michael started the ute before BB and since he didn’t win any prizes everything has been paid for thanks to Michael’s hard earned dough.
Story : Owner Photos : Brian White
plate brass-button clutch, short-shifter and 3.9-geared diff have the duty of transmitting all those ponies to the black stuff when Michael’s right foot gets heavy.
How many ponies you ask? Well once Pro Auto had installed an OTR coldair intake and an 85mm throttle body connected to a Professional Products intake this LS1 was able to produce a very stout 402rwhp. So with the get up Michael started the build wanting to and go side of things taken care of it do something different with his VU SS. was time to attack the rest of the car. This is an incredibly hard task with the amount of modified Holden ute’s that Now it is almost a law these days that occupy WA, let alone Australia. Michael a Commodore has to be dumped into decided that the ute would be built as the weeds or it just isn’t a Commodore. a good overall package, with a Chevy Michaels ute certainly hailes to this theme behind it while wanting to fit as standard with a stance that would make an F1 look tall. This was accomplished much polished metal as possibly. using a set of Lovell Ultra Lows springs This all started with the engine bay, “I fitted front and back, while Brad from put as much chrome in the engine bay West Coast Wheels also fitted the as possible, with the biggest oil catch obligatory camber kit before fitting can” Michael laughs. What an engine those monstrous Vault Deville 20 inch bay too, with everything polished to rims. within an inch of its life. This is no show pony either; Formula Tech firstly Wanting a tougher look for the SS installed the lumpiest custom ground Michael fitted a VU Maloo body kit, this camshaft they could with all the gives the ute a look that matches the appropriate gear, and an under-drive exhaust note without looking out of place. The door handles were swapped pulley kit. out for a set of polished units, with A set of Pacemaker extractors were the headlights being swapped out for bolted up to expel the exhaust gases Monaro items. Michael also went threw into a twin 2.5-inch stainless steel three different sets of taillights before system, entering the atmosphere via settling on a Blackened set from Altezz. a pair of Chevy Bowtie tips. “When I To finish off the exterior Michael had a was in BB I traveled around Aus and rather large chuck of the roof cut out I never saw a ute with Chevy Bowtie so a tinted sunroof could be installed, tips” Michael recalls. An Extreme triple which leads us to the interior.
The ute then found itself at Trimcare receiving a set of custom fiberglass side pods, embossed with the now mandatory Chevy Bowtie logo. The factory sound system found its way into the bin now that an Alpine head unit controls the Alpine subs, speakers and amplifiers that reside in the cabin. Keeping passengers entertained is a Pioneer seven inch dvd player residing in the dash and there is a PS2 in the
glove box too just incase they get sick of watching Running On Empty. Autometer gauges, also featuring Bowties, were put in charge of monitoring what was going on under the bonnet, with a HSV dash keeping an eye on everything else. The scuff plates have been upgraded to a set of polished items with Bowtie logo’s, with polished plates on the sun visors and
Michael now looking into a billet Bowtie mirror when viewing what he h,as just lefts behind at the lights.
car out there, or the loudest or the fastest down the quarter, that’s not what this ute is about. It’s about the overall package. With a ute that makes For when Michael hits the shows at good power, looks the part and doesn’t the flick of a switch the car turns into require a pit crew to start; I think an instant show piece with red LED’s Michael has accomplished his goal of lighting up the underside of the car building a ute that is a good overall and Black lights in the cabin. package with a strong Chevy theme and lots of polished metal, though Overall while it is not the most powerful there is room for more!
Steven Jones blew away the competition for a second year running in his monster Nissan Skyline R35 GTR. Photo by Brian White /Circlework
NISSAN DOMINATES TARGA WEST Steven Jones and Ruari Souter-Dawson have taken back to back titles in the Modern Competition class of QUIT Targa West in Perth today.
honest big time, but that’s what it’s all (Datsun 240Z) in second and Gary about you’ve got to have competition Tierney/David Carra (Porsche 911 like that.” Carrera RS) in third.
South Australian Kevin Weeks has Jones who became the youngest taken his first QUIT Targa West title winner of the event in 2008, took the winning the Classic Competition class win ahead of Dean Herridge (WA)/ by 3 minutes 11 seconds. Chris Murphy (QLD). Weeks and co-driver Rebecca Competing in a Nissan GTR 35 Jones Crunkhorn made the switch from a had an early lead snatched by Tony modern Lamborghini Superleggera Quinn, also in a Nissan GTR 35, during in QUIT Targa West 2008 to a 1975 Leg 1 on Friday before re-taking the Porsche 911 RSR in order to compete lead during Leg 2 on Saturday. in the new Australian Classic Tarmac Competition. Heading into Leg 3 this morning Jones had a 22 second lead and didn’t look “It was challenging this weekend, back, taking the win and his second weather wise but we had a great time QUIT Targa West title by 58 seconds. out there,” Weeks said. “There’s no way to explain this victory, it’s just hard work,” Jones said at the finish.
“We’ve had a few goes at Targa West and we’ve been close a couple of times so we’re really pleased that we got one.”
Mark Conacher (Nissan GTR 35) flew his brother Andrew in from Texas to compete in the Modern Challenge and it paid off with the pairing winning the class by 3 minutes 35 seconds in a Nissan GTR 35. Robert Darrington/ David Abetz (Audi S4) finished the event in second (for the second time) and husband with husband and wife team, Razvan and Ioana Vlad, (Hyundia i30 SX CRDi Turbo Diesel) third. Rohan Green and Andrew Cutten (Porsche 911) took outright honours in the Classic Challenge class, winning by 11 minutes. Luke Reymond/John Reymond (Volkswagen Golf) and Martin Eyer/Sharon Eyer (Triumph Stag).
A record ninety-nine (99) crews contested QUIT Targa West which “Those Queenslander’s (Quinn) they’re celebrated its fifth birthday in 2009. The just like a dog with a bone, they don’t Rounding out the top three in the event was held in the City of Perth and give up. We just had to keep out foot Competition Classic class were husband the surrounding shires of Kalamunda, down all weekend and he kept us and wife team David Moir/Vicki Moir Chittering and Toodyay.
TARGA WEST HIGHLIGHT PHOTOS. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND IMAGES PLEASE VISIT: targawest.com.au or www.circlework.com.au
Peter Rullo found the going a little slippery even for his Mitsubishi Evo 9. Photo by Steve Winter /Circlework
Albany locals Davyd and Angela Hooper drove the wheels off their Honda all weekend.
Lucky Anthony Clarke’s LC Torana is sponsored by Yunderup Panel and Paint shop.. Photo by Steve Winter / Circlework
TJ Motorsport’s Todd Zani and his four car team were real crown pleasers again in 2009. Photo by Steve Oswald /Circlework
Classic Comp winner Kevin Weeks swam their Porsche to good times at last Thursdays wet prologue at Perth Motorplex. Photo by Brian White/Circlework
A 1974 Toyota Levin was another classic piece of motoring history that entered Targa West. And Andy van Kann drove it hard all weekend. Photo by Merv French /Circlework
BRAKE FADES AND BRAIN FREEZE
As motoring photographers we get to witness some classic ‘mishaps’ while out on assignment. This month’s is a cracker and it belongs to Geoff Stenton who put on quite a display at the recent rain soaked ‘Spices Cup’ at Barbagallo Raceway.
Geoff found himself sliding sideways into the sandtrap and rolling his GT. Luckily no-one was inured and despite how nasty the rollover looks, the Ford came away with only minor damage After some increasing brake fade issues a few small panel and ego dents, and
some broken glass. Other than that the muscle car is completely fine. They don’t build em like they used to!
Photos by Steve Oswald.
John O’Dowd from TJ Motorsport powering through the Motorplex Prologue stage. Photo by Brian White /Circlework. Words by Bill Buys
Wet Weather No Obstacle to O’Dowd and Team The wet weather which dampened the efforts of most of the Targa West competitors had little effect on Team Holden’s John O’Dowd in his HSV GTO, He and his co-driver Greg Allen again won their class in the HSV and ran a very impressive 13th outright in the 99 strong field.
“Having driven in similar conditions in Targa New Zealand and Targa Tasmania, I was very comfortable and we were able to match and sometimes better the times of most of the fourwheel-drives,” John said.
As far as Team Holden goes, all cars finished the event except for the old This was even more impressive VH of Miller/Marsland which broke considering John and Greg got a 30 a differential on the Western Range second penalty for speeding on day stage early on Sunday morning. This two and still managed to be 96 seconds included the mighty 7.0 litre HTD of ahead of its nearest class rival, Matt Paul Davies and Dave Henderson which Waters in a 2002 Monaro. finished in 33rd place. The immaculately prepared HSV GTO has been campaigned in Targa New Zealand, Targa Tasmania and the Bathurst 12 Hour earlier this year and together with his team mate Todd Zani and co driver Mike Kennedy in their 2002 HSV Maloo, they are fastly becoming very familiar to others on the targa calendar. Todd and Mike finished 20th in the Targa West rally after winning their class in the Maloo in Targa Tasmania.
To keep in our Performance Street Car ‘Ute’ theme this month, here’s Todd Zani’s for you! Photo by Brian White /Circlework.
The V8 Supercar Championship Series is headed for a record early start and a nine week mid-season break in 2010 following the release of the official calendar for next year. The season will have a distinctive autumn and spring phase to it. Executive Chairman Tony Cochrane unveiled the calendar at the L&H 500 at Phillip Island today after last week announcing the season would start with a ground breaking Middle East double-header in February at both Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.
18-20 and the Desert 400 at the BIC on February 25-27 was an enormous result for the sport and its international footprint. “To add Abu Dhabi and the incredible Yas Marina Circuit is just tremendous. We can’t wait to get to one of the world’s most rapidly expanding regions and economies,” he said. “That they have been able to work alongside our great friends at BIC to establish this partnership has been wonderful. It’s a brilliant place, amazing circuit and sensational organisation.”
The earlier start has compacted the two-half season with ten events up until mid-June, a nine week break and six events to finish the season, culminating again with the massive Sydney Telstra 500 in December.
Mr Cochrane announced that a potential replacement for the BIC event, scheduled for November 5-7, would be announced in the coming week following some ongoing negotiations.
“The earlier start gave us a great opportunity to tighten up the regularity in which we race but also give our teams an all-important rest in the middle of the year,” Mr Cochrane said.
“As we have received our sanction fee for this year’s Bahrain event, we are looking to use the replacement round as a charity fund raiser.
“It gives our TV viewers a much needed, more regular viewing pattern. “The Board and I are extremely happy with the outcome and ecstatic that we have expanded the calendar to 16 events including the nonChampionship Australian Grand Prix. We look forward to some further announcements concerning the AGP in the future months. “It’s great news for the sport and for our teams and with more racing than ever – for our fans!” Mr Cochrane said the news of starting in the Gulf region at Yas Marina Circuit on February
“At this stage, until we can confirm our future requirements, both Perth and Queensland Raceway are provisional dates on the 2010 calendar.” In other calendar movements the Falken Tasmania Challenge has been moved to November from this year’s May date while the Norton 360 Challenge at Sandown has also been shifted to the more weather friendly date of November 19-21, slotting the BigPond Perth 300 to a more workable June date. It also enables a top end loop for teams to curve around the country from Perth to Darwin, Darwin to Townsville in one movement, if they choose to take that option.
The 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series: 18 – 20 February Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi 25 – 27 February Desert 400, Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain 11 – 14 March Clipsal 500, Adelaide Parklands, SA# 26 – 28 March Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park, VIC 16 – 18 April ITM Hamilton 400, Hamilton, NZ * 30 April – 2 May Queensland Raceway, QLD# 14 – 16 May Winton, VICTORIA # * 4 – 6 June BigPond 300, Barbagallo, WA 18 – 20 June SKYCITY Triple Crown, Hidden Valley, NT 9 – 11 July Dunlop Townsville 400, Townsville, QLD# MID SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP BREAK 10 – 12 Sept L&H 500, Phillip Island, VIC 7 – 10 Oct Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Mt Panorama, NSW# 21- 24 Oct SuperGP, Surfers Paradise, QLD 5 – 7 Nov Falken Tasmania Challenge, Symmons Plains, TAS 19 – 21 Nov Norton 360 Sandown
Challenge, Sandown, VIC# 3 – 5 Dec Sydney Telstra 500, Homebush, NSW# * Denotes provisional # Denotes Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series
For four days Barbagallo Raceway was over-run with an abundance of over-powered, excessively loud and incredibly detailed street cars. While cars do not have to be registered, they do have to be street car orientated. From tidy streeters, to heavily modiďŹ ed show cars, to drifters, to muscle cars, there was no one genre of vehicle to be had. Turbo engines seemed to be the theme of the event, though not to
say there was a shortage of naturally aspirated and supercharged cars prowling the track.
greatly enjoyed the new burnout pad located inďŹ eld of turn one, being over twice the size of the old pad. With no walls around the pad drivers enjoyed The weather seemed to go through all zero risk of damaging there pride and four seasons at once over the course joy, other than a few engine failures, and of the weekend, going from warm with very cool ambient temperatures sunshine to pouring rain within ten few cars struggled to stay cool. minutes. This did not lower the spirits Story : Jon Grove of the entrants with many drivers still Photos : Brian White going out in the rain cruising. Fans also
CUTTING LAPS
BURNOUTS AND CRAZY BUGGERS Drifting, cruising, skidding, or just hanging out - everyone had a great time as usual. The main attraction for the drivers deďŹ nitly seemed to be the cruising with the queue being constantly full, however the Powerskids seemed to be the crowd favourite. The Powerskid involves smoking the tyres for the longest distance possible from a
standing start without using the brakes. While this does not sound complicated it is a true test of a drivers skill and the horsepower output of the engine. Competitive entrants in this event can have anywhere between 500rwhp to 1000rwhp, sometimes more.
Overall if you’re a bit of rev-head, you like seeing cars doing 200m burnouts, think putting a car sideways at 140km/h sounds like fun, or just plan like loud noises, PowerCruise is for you...
Miss Powercruise
FOR MORE POWERCRUISE PHOTOS - TAKE A VISIT TO
www.circlework.com.au
ISSUE 29
SPEED RACERS
TURNING JAPANESE RICERS INTO WEEKEND WARRIORS
circleworkmag.com.au
• Getting it off the back streets and into organised racing are the buzz words for 2010. Don’t miss out on legally thrashing! * Interested in having YOUR car featured in Auto Trader? If it’s something special we’d love to hear from you. Email your details and a few photos to brian@bwmedia.com.au
SPEED RACER. Taking Toyota stock streeters and turning them into fire-breathing circuit breakers, then giving cars many times their value a bit of a fright. What’s not to love?
Story : Owner Photos : Brian White
Words by Owner: Andy van Kann Photos from Circlework.com.au
Both my Levin’s have an interesting history. To be precise, they are actually Levin copies based on Australian 1200cc KE25 Corolla’s and converted to Japanese specification 1600cc TE27 Levin’s. If either were genuine TE27 Levin’s I doubt I’d risk them in rallies! The white Levin “1000LAKES” was first built by Greg and Tony Flood of Tony Flood Motorsport way back in the early 1990’s. The car was first log booked in 1992. Greg won several gravel championships in the car and then sold it to persons unknown. It then fell into disrepair until my brother Tom found it back in 2000. It was in a pretty sad state but the combination of some TLC from me and the brilliance of Tony’s Toyota skills, we soon had the car developed into a very competitive under 2 litre tarmac club car. We always had Quit Targa West in our plans so Tony used only homologated components including the 2TG 8 valve twin cam which came as standard fit in the Japanese TE27. I campaigned the car in tarmac sprint events for 8 years. In 2008 I came up with the idea of running in the Classic Challenge category of Targa West with rookie co-drivers from Camp Quality. The programme worked well. We raised over $13,000 for Camp Quality and I found myself a ‘rising star’ codriver in young James Marquet.
James comes from a motorsport family and immediately excelled in the job. He approaches his co-driving with dedication and professionalism. Much to our delight [and surprise] we won the Classic Challenge Category. Its a great class for newcomers to tarmac rallying because it is speed restricted to 130 kph which means you only need a basic competition licence.. so James only needed to fill in a few forms and we were in! For me the Targa win in 2008 represented the highlight so far for my 1000LAKES Levin. Even though it’s a speed restricted class [all cars have a GPS speed tracker] it’s actually a very technical class to win as it’s all about late braking, high corner speeds, acceleration and very precise note calling by the co-driver. By the way.... I got the ‘1000LAKES’ number plate because the 1975 1000 Lakes rally in Finland was the first time Toyota won a round of the World Rally Championship – it was in a TE27 Levin. The car was built by the late Ove Anderson and driven by Hannu Mikkola. My car is sign written in exactly the same livery as this 1975 car right down to every detail. My blue Levin also has an interesting history albeit a much shorter one. The car was meticulously built by Simon Lowther and his dad in 2001 and first
log booked in 2002, exactly 10 years to the month after 1000LAKES was log booked. The best word to describe the build of the car is ‘exquisite’. Fortunately for me, Simon only ran the car in a few gravel events before he decided to get into 4WD rallying. The car was then purchased by Brian Smallwood whom I had co-driven for way back in 1978 in the famous Automotive Tuning Centre yellow Datsun P510; the car that really
introduced a new level of professionals to rallying in Western Australia. Anyway, again fortunately for me Brian and his son Matt did not get the time to use the car much until eventually I purchased it again through Flood Motorsport in 2008. Although 7 years since built, it was essentially a new rally car. As part of the deal, Tony Flood built a new engine. To his great pride it ended up being the highest horse power 2TG 8 valve engine he has ever built! So much so that the TRD close ratio gearbox lasted only a few laps at Collie raceway. It now has a heavy duty Albans T50 gearbox! After our success in 2008 Quit Targa West, James and I decided to move up to the unrestricted Classic Competition category for 2009. This meant James had to study for his National Rally Licence and also save up and purchase a full set of FIA clothing. Tony recommended we use the blue Levin for two reasons. Firstly, it is a bullet. As quick as 1000LAKES is, the blue Levin just does everything that little bit better. Secondly, its roll cage is 10 years later specification; a very important consideration for the speeds in Classic Competition. James and I knew that we would have no chance at repeating a category win as we were up against a gaggle of super quick Porsches, 2 litre Escorts and a few very quick 240Z’s. Our target was 15th and we managed 16th. As we crossed the Flying Finish on the last stage, we both agreed that we felt more proud of our 16th in the competition class than we did winning the challenge class in ‘08. The difference in speed is enormous. That poor little 1860cc engine spent much of the rally at 8000RPM in 5th gear. The
in-car video footage shows
me constantly dropping my left hand looking for a 6th gear! So what now for both cars? ‘Bluey’ first: it’s such a fantastic tarmac weapon, I’m developing it further for Quit Targa West 2010. We lost time against the Escorts in top speed. Because the Levin is only 1860 cc we need to gear it very low for acceleration particularly out of the slaloms and chicanes in Targa West. This limits our top speed due to RPM. So, Tony Flood is developing a new hi RPM ‘bottom end’ using Guggi components from North America. Hopefully it will be finished and tested in time for the 2010 Targa West. And for 1000LAKES? Having co-driven for my mate Peter Flood in gravel rallies for the last 4 years (Pete got me out of retirement!), I’ve fallen back in love with the sport I started in way back in 1971. So, I’m converting 1000LAKES back to her original gravel specification in time to drive in the 2010 gravel clubman series. For me, gravel remains the pinnacle of rallying. I don’t expect to be competitive because I’ve spent many years co-driving for names like the late Clive Slater, my bother Tom, Doug Stewart, Brian Smallwood and more recently Peter Flood. Really quick gravel drivers remain in a league of their own... and I’m not in that league!! Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to actually driving on gravel for the first time in my 38 years of motorsport! See you all out in the bush in 2010.
ENTRIES ARE NOW OPEN for the 2010 Miss Motorvation competition to be held at Perth Motorplex in January. The finals held in front of a few thousand people on the infamous burnout ‘Snake Pit’, and with winnings in the form of $1000 and trophies galore plus lots of cash for minor placings, entries are in high demand.
Check us out on Facebook and we’ll give you regular updates each month in the Performance Street Car magazine - see you there! To grab yourself an entry form, head on over to www.motorvation. com.au or email brian@bwmedia.com.au
ISSUE 30
ICONIC MUSCLE
IS THIS PERTH’S BEST WALKINSHAW COMMODORE?
circleworkmag.com.au
• Merry Christmas to all of our readers. Have a safe holiday period and we’ll see you back again in the Auto Trader in 2010! * Interested in having YOUR car featured in Auto Trader? If it’s something special we’d love to hear from you. Email your details and a few photos to brian@circlework.com.au
ICONIC MUSCLE. This Holden Commodore based on Tom Walkinshaw’s radical design is one of the best examples we think we’ve ever seen! Words by Owner: Craig Wall Photos from Leith Cowan - Circlework.com.au
Ever since I first saw a Walkinshaw model Holden Commodore, I wanted one. Some people love them, others hate them, but I always loved the look of them. The colour, body kit, wheels everything.
but there was always something else going on and I couldn’t afford it. Fast forward to 2006 and one day sitting at my desk at work, I thought to myself that if I didn’t buy a Walkinshaw now, then I never would be able to afford one. I knew that they would go up in value. I rang my bank manager, and applied for a loan for $40k on the phone, and it was approved right then! My limit was $45k, which at the time would see me in a 40,000-50,000km Walkinshaw.
I bought a VL in 1998 and then upgraded that to a Calais Turbo manual in 2000 (which I still have). The plan was to put a full Walkinshaw kit on the Calais, but after a while, I decided against that. I started www.walkinshaw.net in 2002 & did the right thing, and bought a house during the boom in 2003. I always intended to buy a Walkinshaw, I started to look around, and put up a
post on www.walkinshaw.net, looking for a Walkinshaw to buy. It had to be original, with no mods, log books, good kms etc. I went and looked at a few, and there was one that I was close to buying (#368 funnily enough), until one day I received a phone call from a guy in Sydney named Jason. Jason was a member of my website, and he had seen my post looking for a Walkinshaw. He informed me that one of his mates had an extremely rare Walkinshaw, and he was thinking of selling it. Jason said that his mate Chester who owned the car, was very fussy with who he would sell it to, and would want to
make sure that I would look after the car, and wasn’t out to just do a buy-sell and make some quick $$$. Jason then told me about all the factory options that #369 had, such as leather interior throughout, rear headrests, sunroof, filled in C pillar moulds, Momo star wheels, Larry Perkins enhanced engine, etc. He explained that the car had won Top Factory Performance Muscle Car at Summernats, and the best VL at the HSV / HDT nationals.
Chester could tell that I was very excited about the prospect of possibly owning this rare Walkinshaw. I had heard of the car, but never seen any pictures. Chester said he would email me some photos. I was going to be in Sydney in 3 weeks, and Chester said he would hold the car for me until I got here, and decided if I wanted to buy it. We talked about price, and his bottom line was more than I had to spend, but I said I should be able to scrape enough cash up to buy it. I got off the phone Jason gave me Chester’s number, and was like a kid in a candy shop! and I said I would call him. As soon as the call with Jason finished, I The next 3 weeks seemed like 3 months! called Chester, and we had about an I was so worried that Chester would hour long conversation about the change his mind about selling it, want car. Chester said that he ran into the more money, or even worse – sell it to original owner at a car show in Sydney, someone else. I kept in contact with and the original owner explained that Chester, and finally the day arrived. the car was a special order for him, as I went to Chester’s mechanic, where his company did all the trade stands the car was, and when I saw it, it was and merchandising for HSV in 1988. up on a hoist. I could tell from the He then told Chester that the car came undercarriage, that the car was very with Momo star wheels (which weren’t well looked after, as it was so clean on the car when Chester purchased under there, that you could eat off it! it) and may have been one of the prototype Walkinshaws. He had all the The car came down from the hoist, paperwork and log books that Chester and I was amazed and fell in love with hadn’t received when he bought the the car right there and then. It was car, and told Chester that he would sell everything I wanted in a Walkinshaw, and much much more! Chester pulled them to him for $2000!
out the log books, and the paperwork from 1988, which verified that the leather, rear headrests, sunroof, etc were all factory. We went for a test drive and the sound of the exhaust was awesome, not overly loud, but it had a very nice note that you knew something nice was coming. The car was so smooth, and didn’t have any of the dash rattles that VL’s have. We agreed on the deal, shook hands and the rest is history! I had the car shipped back to Perth, and that took a few weeks. I didn’t get the Momo star wheels with the car, but I did get standard Walkinshaw wheels with the original Bridgestone RE71 tyres on them (The spare has never seen the road, and still has the green and orange stripes). The first thing I did was put on the WALLKY plates, which reflect the car, but also my last name – Wall. I then
found a set of Momo star wheels, and had Simon at Wheelgleem fix any imperfections and re-paint the wheels. Once that was done, I had the RE71’s taken off the Walky wheels, and put onto the Momos. I really love the look of the Walky with the Momos. HSV couldn’t tell me if it was one of the original prototypes, but seeing that the paperwork states the work wasn’t carried out until June of 1988, and the Wheels mag was published in March 1988, it’s possible. The filled in C pillar moulds & Momo’s give the car a completely different look. Many people come up to me and ask if it is a real Walkinshaw, as they can’t put their fingers on why it looks different! The motor has been rebuilt to factory specs, apart from the
heads which were given a light port and polish. Practically every part has been either rebuilt or replaced, but only with original parts. The air con compressor and alternator have both been rebuilt, but at huge expense and time, as Chester couldn’t find replacement units, and wanted it all to be original! Chester had a no expense spared attitude about the car, and it shows. The suspension is original Bilstien, and has been rebuilt. The car isn’t perfect and has its imperfections, but it is regularly driven. The majority of paint is original, apart from the front bumper, driver’s side skirts, front passenger guard. While the engine was out being rebuilt, the engine bay was resprayed, but all the factory drip marks were left in place.
No other changes were made to the car. Everything that has been done to the car has been done trying to keep originality in mind. I have no plans to sell it and if I do, Chester has the first option to buy it back, which was a condition of sale. I was lucky to buy it when I did, as the value has more than doubled for what I paid for it. Chester regretted selling it to me, but I was lucky enough to be able to put him in touch with the owner of Walkinshaw #001, and he now owns that, so it all worked out for the best in the end. I wish I could take the credit for all the work done on the car, but Chester is the one who brought the car to the standard that you see now.
I put it on the dyno at Motorvation on Active Automotives dyno, and it made a healthy 241.7rwhp, about 60rwhp up on a standard Walkinshaw. The computer hasn’t been remapped for the exhaust and port and polished heads, so it might even get a few more hp, but I’m not worried about the extra horsepower. I’ve taken it to the last few Motorvation events, and it was in the elite pavilion this year. All I intend to do with it is enjoy it! I don’t drive it as much as I did when I first got it, but I try and take it out once a month, even if it’s just for a small drive.
ISSUE 31
MOTORVATION 24
PHOTO ANNUAL
circleworkmag.com.au • Motorvation - Scorching heat and utter madness. It’s like having 40,000 raving lunatics pop around for a barbeque. * Interested in having YOUR car featured in Auto Trader? If it’s something special we’d love to hear from you. Email your details and a few photos to brian@bwmedia.com.au
MOTORVATION 24 A car show at Kwinana Beach. Anyone who had never before attended might picture a group of elderly chaps polishing their Triumphs and Mercedes while the ladies sit on the sand and discussed Mrs Forsworths new hairstyle. Instead they get a few thousand people, all seemingly effected by a mental disorder, cheering on blokes setting fire
to things. That’s the Aussie way!
January 16th and 17th was a scorcher in Perth but it never stopped significant numbers of local car nuts pouring through the gates. It was a little quieter on the Sunday but that was due to the event seemingly being held on the surface of the sun. I can
Want more photos? Visit www.circlework.com.au imagine aloe vera sales skyrocketed on Monday morning as most went to work resembling lobsters. All in all is was another fantastic year with quality cars and tonnes of fun. Prepare yourselves for next year’s quarter century anniversary. I bet it’ll be too big to miss.
Motorvation 24 Grand Champion Carlo Cocciolone manouvres his 1955 Chevrolet Belair around the slalom course.
Burnout Winner James Calway
Editor’s Choice: Sewerside. Only because I also drive a van!
Congratulations to SAMANTHA SCHOERS for taking out Miss Motorvation for 2010. Results: WINNER - Samantha Schoers RUNNER-UP: Karissa Gilham THIRD: Vanessa Lackner FOURTH: Jacinta Rokich FIFTH: Samantha Lee SIXTH: Victoria Benn
ISSUE 32
SILVER BULLET
PLUS ONE MAD HILUX...
LT1 LJ TORRIE
circleworkmag.com.au
• Coming Up Next Month: Old School Hotrod Special. * Interested in having YOUR car featured in Auto Trader? If it’s something special we’d love to hear from you. Email your details and a few photos to brian@bwmedia.com.au
SILVER BULLET There is something about building a car yourself that makes the build that little bit more special. Knowing that it was your blood, sweat and tears that went into the car to make it what it is. Darren Kerr’s 1972 four-door Torana is the perfect example of what can be accomplished yourself. Now Darren will be the first to you he couldn’t have done it without the help of some of the best in business but Darren tackled the bodywork, assembly of the engine, the wiring, fabricating suspension components and custom fabricated an aluminum dash. Before becoming a Managing Director at a mining supply company Darren was a welder/machinist, which made things a bit easier. Darren the filled dash with Auto Meter Phantom gauges, with the interior the finding a Billet Specialties steering wheel mounted to a Flaming River steering column and a B&M Stealth Pro Ratchet shifter. The interior was then re-trimmed by GK Trimmers and Johns Motor Trimmers in a mixture
Story by Jon Grove Photos by Brian White
of black and silver with modified Hilux Transgo Stage 2 shift kit and fronted Surf seats replacing the factory units. by a 3500rpm lock-up torque converter. With the gearbox all done and ready for Not very popular in Australia is the some strip action the final piece in the Chevrolet LT1 engine that now resides puzzle was the diff. Phil at Final Drive in the engine bay. “Anyone contem- was commissioned to build a shortplating using it must know that get- ened nine-inch to suit, with Moser 31ting performance parts in Australia is spline billet axles, a steel hat LSD and almost impossible” heavy duty clutches. Helping slow the Stretched out to 383ci thanks to a Scat back wheels is a set of VZ HSV single forged crank and H-beam rods with piston calipers clamping onto 315mm Lunati forged pistons finishing of the rotors, while up front StubTech twoassembly. The heads were modified to inch drop spindles hold 330mm rotors handle a bigger Comp Cams roller cam being clamped by VZ HSV twin-piston with a BBK 1000cfm twin 58mm throt- calipers. tlebody finishing of the intake system. The interesting part of these engines is, While we are on the exterior, looklike a Ford, the dizzy is in the front of ing down the side of those stunningly the engine, which makes for something straight panels is what really puts this a bit different. The ignition system was Torana on a different playing field. With swapped for a full MSD Optispark dizzy, help from Sam and Cassie Rhodes from Digital 6 controller, coil and leads. Vulcan Panel and Paint the body was prepped to a show quality before beTo handle all that new found horse- ing covered in Mercury Silver by Nick power the 4L60E needed to be heav- Sassi. The colour suits chrome pieces ily modified. With Alto HD clutches, perfectly, partically those 17-inch Boyd Beast sun gear shell, Kevlar bands, a Magneto rims. Measuring 17x7 up front
and 17x10 in the rear all wrapped in Federal tyres. With the Torana seeing a few trips down the quarter with a little bit of giggle gas thrown in, a set of 90/10 race shocks have been fitted under the front of the car, with QA1 adjustable coil overs in the rear. With only a 75hp shot of nitrous Darren has already run a 11.08 but not really wanting to fit a cage the full potential is still unknown. “A mention to Sam and Cass Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes, Nick Sassi, Garry at GK Trimmers, Danny at Performance Modifications, Phil at Final Drive, Keith at W.A Transmissions John at Johns Motor Trimmers. Last but not least is Steph who regardless of the money or my many moods throughout the build gave me constant support and encouragement which without the LJ may never reached where it is today” So with more than few awards on the shelf at home and a garage holding one of the best Torana’s in WA you think Darren would be more than satisfied. However next on the agenda is a HKT-G ute with late model HSV running gear, “A car you could jump into and drive to Albany in”
Darren Kerr 1972 LJ Four Door Engine 383ci LT1 BBK 1000cfm twin 58mm throttlebody Modified LT1 heads Comp cams hydraulic roller Scat 5.7in H-beams Comp cams pro Magnum roller Lunati forged racing pistons Scat forged crank Comp cams beehive springs 2.00in, 1.55ex Castle Auto extractors, magnaflow mufflers MSD digital 6 controller, leads and coil Optispark dizzy Tranny 4L60E electronic 4-speed 3500rpm lock-up torque converter Diff - Shortened 9in, 31-spline billet axles, LSD Suspension HD V8 springs 90/10 race shocks(f), QA1 adjustable coil overs (r) StubTech 2in drop spindles Brakes VZ HSV twin-piston calipers with 330mm rotors (f), VZ HSV single piston calipers with 315mm rotors (r) Master cylinder Wilwood Wheel & Tyres Federal 205/40/17 (f), 275/40/17 (r) Boyd Magnetos 17x7, 17x10
OH WHAT A FEELING The latest model Hilux has become incredibly popular and with more and more getting modified, the old label of just being a work car is gone. Jordan Roche’s 2007 dual-cab turbo-diesel is a perfect of example of what can be accomplished. Having never owned a turbo-diesel before it was new territory for Jordan but after driving the petrol model, it seemed the diesel had just as much power yet managed almost double the mileage per tank. Initially the Hilux received a set of 24inch chrome wheel, a two-inch lift thanks to Brett at Wilkinsons Suspension, clear taillights, chrome Altezza headlights and a bling front grill. However this only lasted six months before Jordan had a sudden change of heart and something a little tougher came to mind. After going to see James at Creative Works
the Hilux was now wearing some tough candy green flames and this was just the start to a big change.
Words by Jon Grove Pics by Leith Cowan
match its newfound look Jordan went a see another mate Shaun from Grapnell Mufflers in Balcatta. Shaun fitted a three-inch system from the turbo back All the bar work was then removed with high-flow mufflers allowing the and sent to B&D Powder Coaters who turbo the breathe a little easier. Jordan acid dipped everything before coating then fitted a K&N filter and a DP chip, everything in matt black. “I sold off which really brought the turbo-diesel the chrome bling wheels, headlights to life “best money spent recommend and taillights and bought 24-inch it to anyone with a turbo diesel”. black Phang wheels, which the chrome inserts can be taken off for an all black With the exterior and the horsepower look” all thanks to Jordan’s mate John all sorted Jordan then turned his at Tempe Tyres. The headlights and attention to the interior. The seats taillights were replaced with black units and doors were re-trimmed in black with the windows receiving some new and grey, with Jordan fitting chrome black tint. Rally 4000 spotties are now surrounds on the factory gauges as found on the bull bar, painted in black well the heater fan dials. Next up was of coarse with Monster stickers on the a set of Toyota genuine racing pedals covers helping to tie in the flames. that he had to get from Thailand, since they don’t sell them here. A custom Now in need of a bit more grunt to audio system was fitted starting with
a Pioneer DVD stereo with four-inch yellow splits in the front and four-inch splits in the back. A custom box was made up to fit the Pioneer 10-inch slim subs behind the back seat with two Alpine amps under the front seat to run it all. Two Sony Playstations found there way into the glovebox, that are connected to the two screens in the back of the headrests, which Jordan says is for the “screaming children”. With so much going on you think this Hilux wouldn’t get driven very much, but you would be wrong. Jordan takes the family out to Wedge Island fairly regularly for some four-wheel driving and Jordan’s wife Alisha also takes the kids to school every day in the black beast, though they call it the hotwheels truck. Not to get bored Jordan has already started thinking about the next project, a 200 series Landcruiser with a twinturbo V8, candy apple red paint, billet grill and a set of 26-inch rims. In order to start that project though the Hilux will have to depart, so if you interested in a one of a kind Hilux call Jordan on 0409 849 841
COMING SOON:
WICKED WILLYS There is something about old school cars that will never die. The criteria for Pro Street is constantly changing, no one really knows what defines a ‘rat rod’ and everyone has a different opinion on what can be classified as a ‘street car’; but old school will always be old school. Looking at Tony Mattioli’s 1941 Willys it just oozes old school cool from the steelies with whitewalls to the checkered firewall and the Moon tank that sits in front of the huge Hemi engine. The ironic thing though is that Tony is actually a Chev man, previously building an exceptionally nice 1957 Chevy Sports Coupe that now lives in someone else’s garage.
When it comes to old school engines it is hard to go past 392 cubic inches of Hemi if you are after a badass motor. While the 392 is mostly stock inside you will find a set of Venoila pistons swinging off stock rods with ARP bolts, an Iskenderian mechanical cam with Crane springs operating larger valves. The centrepiece to this mountain of metal is the Offenhauser intake manifold holding six Stromberg 97 carbies. It is that which lies beneath those carbs that makes this Hemi that little bit more special. Mounted on the inside of the intake manifold are eight injectors being operated by a Delco 808 computer, thanks to Dan Collins from Chipmaster
Story by Jon Grove Photos by Brian White and Phil Pavicich, which makes tuning and driving that little bit nicer. Tony made up his own extractors, which then run into a twin 2½ inch exhaust system exiting just in front of the rear wheels. This is where the Moon tank comes in, as opposed to being used as a fuel tank it is actually the header tank for the cooling system. Ron from Leo’s Radiators modified a Commodore 4-row radiator to fit the front of the Willy’s and added a set of AU Falcon thermo fans just to make sure nothing gets to hot; though with a system that holds that much water you would struggle to
see how it could ever get hot.
Panel and Paint to cover the Willy’s in the liquid smooth Protech Jett Black, Dealing with all that torque is a Muncie the car found its way into the capable wide ratio four-speed gearbox that hands of Peter ‘Chip Foose’ Scampoli Tony believes came out of an Old- to get the fiberglass body to a mirror smobile due to the engraved markings smooth finish. found on the Hurst shifter. Thankfully the Muncie box came with a full 360- Keeping to the theme of the car Tony degree scatter shield which meant that went with a red vinyl tuck and roll inTony could simply use a Hemi-to-GM terior, that was carried throughout the adaptor; though he had Phil turn down car, with the roof lining, carpet, boot the flywheel to match the ring gear so and even the seat belts being done the starter could remain in its original in matching red. Tony gets the car to location. An Exedy semi-button clutch point in the right direction thanks to a allows Tony to have a bit of a compro- $5 dollar steering wheel from a swap mise between just a standard clutch meet, requiring only the skin to be and a full race button clutch, but ac- redone and a quick polish. The dash cording to Tony the semi-button has received one of the most recognizable got plenty of bite. hot rodding feature, pin striping. Done by Tony “Von Kustard” Gatani in white Out back you find the for ever popular and red, the pin striping helps to acFord nine-inch while up front Jaguar centuate the black-faced Moon gauges suspension takes control of the front amongst the black painted dash. wheels; this all mounts to a custom 4x2-inch RHS chassis built by Tony So at the end of the day a Chev man himself. The braking system is once managed to build a really awesome again taken care of by Ford with a Ford Willy’s running an angry injected 1974 LTD four-wheel disc system be- Chrysler Hemi, strange. But it doesn’t ing used, though Tony did opt to fit matter who you support when it comes HQ calipers up front since they bolted to building an awesome car, it’s the passtraight to the Jag mounting points. sion for why we petrol heads do what Before going to George Donnis at GC we do that awesome cars get built.
Paint - Protech Jett Black Engine - Hemi 392 - EFI hidden under six Stromberg 97 carbs manifold: Offenhauser - Stock with large valves - Iskenderian mechanical cam - Stock with ARP bolts con-rods - Venolia pistons - Stock crank - Crane valve springs - 340 Chrysler oil pump - Commodore 4-row crossflow - Custom built extractors, 2.5in stainless exhaust Transmission - Muncie wide ratio box - 9-inch with 4.11 - Exedy semi-button clutch - Scattershield with adaptor bellhousing Suspension and brakes - Jag front end with 57 chev leafs - LC Torana front shocks, Commodore Wagon - Jag steering - Ford disc (f&r) - HQ calipers - Ford master cylinder Wheels and Tyres - 165/75 (f), 285/70(r) - Steel 15x5.5 (f), steel 15x8 (r)
CHROME AND CURVES Twenty years is a long time in anyones book. That’s the number of years since Graeme John has hot-rodded a car. Looking at his 1950 Cadillac series 62 Coupe however, you would have never guessed it. When you first look at the car you think “Holy cow that’s a big car!” but you get over that fact and then you can start to appreciate the subtle modifications. Only an expert eye
could pick the 2-1/2 inch chop the roof received, with Graeme also shaving a few unnecessary decals for a bit of a tidy up. Not very common these days is a technique called ‘decking’, which involves removing some of the hump out of panel. With the roofline now a bit lower the hump in the boot seemed excessive so Graeme attempted to ‘deck’ it. While this is actually a huge job on such a large piece Graeme eventually conquered the job, resulting in a new sexy smooth bum.
Words by Jon Grove Pics by Brian White
Graeme then smoothed out the rear guards by blending them into the body, where the two panels meet just behind the doors. Graeme made new rear wheel spats to bring the wheel arch line down to meet the lower bodyline of the car. While he was at it Graeme also made covers to hide the brake booster, the battery and an extension on the inner fender to hide the washer bottle. The exterior was finished with the extension and frenching of the headlights, as well as making new door openers in a more hidden location. All this results in a very smooth, sleek and sexy body that’s now covered in a custom mix of Spartan Supacryl metallic blue, being painted by Graeme himself. Being the big heavy Cadillac that it is and not wanting to rev the nuts off the
old Cadillac motor, Graeme decided to swap it out for 454 big block Chevy. The 454 is fairly standard but with a bit of tickle upstairs with ported and polished heads, mild cam, and a Carter 600cfm on top of Edelbrook manifold. Igniting all 454 cubic inches of Chev power is a HDI ignition system, while giving the necessary old school V8 gurgle is a twin 2.5inch stainless steel system. Though looking at the Cadillac’s engine bay you would think the big block would be an easy fit but Graeme does admit “That was not an easy job, it is a lot tighter then it looks.” Being a trimmer by trade Graeme was never going to settle for the 50-year old factory interior. Finding its way into the Cadillac is a mixture of silver vinyl, light blue cloth and mid blue suede with a light blue plush cut pile house carpet covering the floor. Keeping everything subtle and cool is a 1965 Chev steering wheel being covered to match the interior, while a more modern VDO gauges keep an eye on everything important going on under the bonnet. While doing the chop on the roof Graeme made a fibreglass mould to fit in the underside of the new roof. This made life a bit easier when Graeme came to do the surprisingly comfy looking roof lining. Graeme custom made a centre console to house a Torana T-bar shifter and a Kenwood stereo system, which is perfect in the classic American cruiser. However unlike a classic American cruiser, Graeme’s Cadillac handles substantially better thanks to the XJ6 Jaguar suspension now found under the front and rear of the car. Graeme has a fair bit of experience with Jaguar suspension, as he was actually one of the first people in WA to modify a hot rod with a Jag set-up. The Jag suspension allows for the perfect stance, no longer looking the factory Cadillac 4WD high but not so low that you have to turn around and take a different route if you come up to a speed bump. Graeme fitted 15x7 steel rims with 215/65-15 BF Goodrich whitewall tyres, though due to the size of the tyres and the some-what low diff gears the 454 does do a few more revs cruising than Graeme would like, “It does about 3,000rpm at 100km/h but it gives it plenty of grunt for a big heavy car.” So overall Graeme went 20 years without hot rodding his own car and still managed to build what can only be described as Cadillac perfection. Though to build perfection is no job to be done without some patience. This Cadillac took a cool ten years to build and as you can tell from all the parts that were built by Graeme, it took plenty of hard work from the owner. Though, after a ten year build I don’t think Graeme will be building another car any time soon.