11 minute read
WHAT’S HAPPENING News, views and things of interest
Got something to say? Send it to paul@pscmag.com.au or message us from the Performance Street Car Facebook page. WILL WE SEE ANY EVENTS TOWARDS THE END OF 2021?
Hi Paul, Everyday, there seems to be more and more events getting cancelled. It’s a trend we are expecting due to the uncertainty surrounding Covid. My car is sitting idle in the garage and I’m hanging to get it out – whether that is going to a show, cars and coffee or cruise night. It seems that NSW is the state where very little is happening. It’s annoying seeing how the car owners in Qld and SA are still enjoying getting out and about. Damn you NSW Government… Trent G Via Messenger
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G’day Trent, I know first-hand how hard it is to plan any event in NSW, I’ve had to cancel two this year. Going from having something on every weekend in Sydney and the surrounding area’s to not being able to leave our homes. We were very lucky to be able to get the Sydney Hot Rod & Custom Auto Expo in before the lockdowns kicked in. Hopefully, things will get back to some sort of normality soon and 2022 can be a year where events return to the calender. Keep everything crossed…
G’day Paul,
I think you made the right move by doing the special issues during the lockdowns.
The Tough Street theme is a winner and the group you have in this issue is awesome!
I look forward to seeing what you come with next and hope that things get back to normal sooner rather than later in regards to the lockdowns. Keep the mag coming mate, it’s a godsend during these tough times.
Simon J Via Messenger
G’day Simon, Thanks for the continued support. With restrictions on how and where we can move around, obtaining regular feature material is not always available to me. So to keep the momentum of the magazine moving, the decision to do some theme issues was an easy one to make. Hope you enjoy this “Forced Induction” issue. Good things to come… BUILDING FOR THE ROAD TRIP
Hi Paul, I can’t wait for October next year when the PSC Road Trip kicks off. I’m currently trying to fast track the build on my HG wagon to make sure it’s ready for the six-day cruise, including the haul up the Hume Highway to get to Wollongong to start with. I’ve been talking to my “car mates” about taking part in this too and hope to have a large convoy of cars heading up from all parts of Victoria. This is going to be a great week away for all concerned. Looking forward to more updates. Gordon W Via Email
G’day Gordon, As this issue is coming together, I am watching all the updates from the USA on the Hot Rod Power Tour. Being the first one, there’s so much to think of, but I am confident that the plans I have in place will ensure a relatively smooth event. Lets just hope the weather plays fairly… Good luck with the build of your wagon and keep on to your mates! The more the merrier…
PRO-STREET OR PRO-TOURING?
G’day Paul, First up, love the magazine. It’s great that I can log on to the website any time and check out each issue. These days where we are advised not to go out, having this at our finger tips just makes sense. With that said, I am contemplating a new build but am unsure which way to go. I love the whole Pro-Street deal but also love the Pro-Touring theme as well. Stuart B Via Messenger
G’day Stuart, thanks for your support mate. In regards to the build style, I guess it all comes down to how far you’d like to go. If you go down the Pro-Street road, keep in mind that when you modify the rear chassis, you may not get “legal” rego, the same goes for any protruding engine hardware. A Pro-Touring build is more rego friendly for sure, and when done right, will allow you to drive the Camaro without any hassles at all. Good luck.
GARRY ROSSER - WB HOLDEN ONE-TONNER WORDS - PAUL BECK PICS - BEN ZELUKOVIC WORKSHOP - ZELUKOVIC SMASH REPAIRS
TONNER GRUNT
Most people would have walked straight passed the bent and broken WB tonner sitting wasting away in a wrecking yard. Not Garry Rosser though, he saw a much bigger picture…
FABRICATED INNER GUARDS FLAT FIRE WALL ENCLOSED RADIATOR BLOWN 308 STROKER
There’s no doubt that older cars are commanding crazy prices these days, so when you find a suitable project and have access to one of the top panel shops in the country, you’re making an investment, no matter how much you initially drop into resurrecting that particular car. One tonner Holden’s have always been popular, so when Garry came across a well-worn WB sitting amongst some other wrecks, he just couldn’t help himself and whipped out his wallet. The offer was right and Garry dragged his new project home.
WB STATESMAN FRONT GTS GUARDS FLUSH DOOR HANDLES FABRICATED TILT TRAY WITH FENDERS ALLOY FUEL CELL
KWC BILLET WHEELS 9-INCH DIFF 4-LINK SMOOTHED CHASSIS
Fast forward a bunch of time and the Tonner has been subjected to plenty of work inside John Zelukovic Smash Repairs in Orange. Not wanting to change the basic look of the tonner’s factory style too much, the body upgrades have been limited to a much more stylish Statesman front end, GTS guards, Kindig flush door handles, smoothed drip rails and lots of small custom pieces to hide certain details. Lifting the bonnet reveals a smooth firewall and fabricated inner guards. Rear of the cabin, the custom tilt tray is the main feature of the build, and when lifted reveals the alloy fuel cell.
The chassis itself has been subjected to plenty of work too, with the rails and crossmembers being smoothed whilst the front end has been fitted with tubular control arms and Viking coil-over shocks, whilst the rear end see’s a McDonald Bros 4-link installed along with Viking coil overs. The wheels of choice a big diametre three-piece KWC billets.
Sitting in the reworked engine bay is a built 308 stroker that not only features all of the good gear inside, but has some of the coolest gear available on the outside too – in particular the billet Blower Shop supercharger and dual Holley blower-spec carbs. Though there’s no trim to speak of at the moment, the Tonner will spend time in Street Trim when that time comes. No doubt the interior fit-out will be as spectacular as the rest of the build.
To date, all work performed on the Tonner has been performed in house at John Zelukovic Smash Repairs, with the exception of the engine and gearbox. There’s still plenty to do, but once its complete, Garry’s WB is certainly going to be a standout. Stay tuned…
WHITE NOISE!
When you’re a member of one of Australia’s wildest car clubs, the Thirlmere Fryers, there’s three rules to abide by. Your car must be tough; you must have bulk horsepower and you must be able to destroy rear tyres at will. Mission accomplished!
Danny DeBono is a proud member of the Thirlmere Fryers and is the first to admit that when he’s behind the wheel of his blown Falcon, he struggles to keep his right foot from being planted hard against the floor sending the tacho needle into the fun zone and the tyres into smoke. He does however, know there’s a time and place and does his best to keep it that way. Honestly. No, really, he does… When he swapped a moderate amount of cash for the XT Falcon in 2011, it was a clean and tidy stocker – the perfect platform for Danny to transfer into a tyre-melting monster. Providing the power to make that happen is a Westend Performance-built Cleveland small block punching out 393ci and over 900hp! Starting with an Arrow block, Sam added an Eagle crank, H-Beam rods, JE forged pistons and a wildly-idling blowerspec cam. A Mellings oil pump spreads the lubricant around the engine from the ASR sump. CHi 2V heads soon joined the bottom end, but not before being fitted with Pac springs wrapping around much bigger valves. But it’s the induction system that is the absolute hero of this engine combo. The polished 8/71 Blower Shop supercharger is attached to the engine via a Newby intake and gets fed plenty of E85 fuel via a pair of blower-referenced 750cfm Holley carbs and is most of the reason for the neck-snapping power. After the MSD 6AL ignition fires the engine into life, the custom headers send the gases outwards through the Gonzo-built 3.5-inch exhaust system.
Danny doesn’t get to use the Falcon as much as he would like to. But when he does, he gives it everything it was built to handle - and then some!
Not wanting to take any chances with the transmission, Danny had Al’s Race Glides build a bulletproof trans-braked C4 auto box featuring a Dominator converter and B&M Shifter. The box has no problems in getting those 900 rampaging ponies through to the 9-inch locker rear-end housing 3.5-gears and 35-spline Moser axles. Built Ford Tough? You’d better believe it! Whilst the underside was getting all of the attention, Danny fitted the rear end with 8-leaf springs with a reverse leaf to get the car much lower in the rear. Drum brakes hide inside the black 15x8.5-inch Centerlines. Up front, the wheels measure just 5-inches wide and hide XY disc brakes and 3-inch lowered coil springs. An RTS master cylinder and brake booster is mounted under the dash, cleaning up the engine bay considerably.
The driveline sits inside the almost stock, original body. Whilst now modelled of the GT of the era, the Falcon’s sheet metal is minus a big chuck of bonnet steel to let the blower and carbs grab all the attention. The original paint has been removed from the Falcon’s body and replaced with a fresh coat of PPG White with blackouts courtesy of the team at TSR Smash Repairs. While the Falcon looks the part in this colour, Danny did hint at a change of colour in the not so distant future. Like the body, the interior retains some of its original components, but has been given a “tough car” look with the addition of the RCI front seats with harness belts, AutoMeter gauges and 6-point roll cage. The back seat is standard and plays host to a baby seat for Danny’s son Rocky to join him when cruising the Falcon. Like the paint, the interior will get a make-over when Danny pulls the car down for a freshen up some time soon.
