01-01-04, 11:42 GMT+10#1
Kris' VL BT1 V8
This silver VL V8 BT1 was originally bought as a complete stocker. At the time they didn't even know it was a BT1, but it looked good and went alright too, so Kris handed over his hard earned dollars and picked it up. Back then it had 15" pursuit rims and was silver with gunmetal grey bumpers. It also came with FE2 suspension and ACL Flat top pistons, which was also police spec.
No longer had Kris bought the car that the mods started to come. First up was a K+N Filter to sit on top of the engine. Next was a half decent exhaust, because as everyone knows, it's just not the same driving a V8 if it doesn't sound like one! Extractors led a single 2.5" system for that V8 sound. A decent alarm was installed, as was a stereo by "Wil". 2x 12" subs were installed for the bass, splits, 6" mid range speakers in the rear, splits in the front with door mounted 6" speakers. V12 amps run the subbies.
Tint was installed on the windows at the early stage of the ownership and the car was lowered and upgraded with Koni adjustable's all round with Lovells super low springs. Kris was very happy with the car for a while, now looking much better, and made good sound both inside and out.
A little while later the first genuine mods started to happen. An Elderbrock inlet manifold was bolted up, the muffler was replaced with a Race Magnum and the carby was blueprinted. At the same time, the head received some minor work and a new cam was installed. Its best operating range was 2400-5500rpm. VL Group A induction in turn with a hornet scoop was also introduced for a bit more power.
To suit the new engine power the gearbox was rebuilt and strengthened and a 2400rpm Hi stall was used by Baileys Automatics in Balcatta. They have done all of the gearbox and diff work on the car. With this set-up the car made 169kW @ wheels. The car was never raced in this form, but perhaps a high 13 sec pass might have been possible with slicks.
About 9 months later big build number 2 was undertaken with mechanic Dion doing a lot of the work. New Yella Terra heads were used, which were ported to the max. Flow was increased to 440-460hp. Chrome Moly retainers were also used. The carby was modified again, and a hydraulic Crane Cam 286 with custom grind was installed. Its optimum rev range is now 3000-6500 rpm. Crane Hi 6 Ignition and coil were introduced for increased spark. The gearbox was once again modified, this time with a much bigger 3500rpm stall and 2x Davies Craig trans coolers, to keep the box from meltdown.
Roller Rockers with 1.65:1 ratio were used in the motor, while the original pistons were left. The LSD diff, which had in the past only received shimming, was now treated to some 3.45:1 ratios for increased acceleration. Dave @ Ozfit in Osborne Park upgraded the exhaust to twin 2.5" mandrel bent system into a single 3" system.
The last mods to the car have been a respray with all over silver (it's interesting to note that Kris chose acrylic as his choice of paint) as well as those 17" VT GTS copies, which now sit up real close to the guards. Unfortunately a bit of scraping is unavoidable, so rear seat passengers are kept to an absolute minimum! A 5" Autometer monster tacho helps hides the radar detector on the dash, to keep those pesky Multinova cameras at bay. The awful SL interior was thrown away and replaced with much nicer Berlina trim throughout the car. Kris did all the interior work. Snap-On Racing seat covers were also used to keep them nice and clean (and look cool at the same time).
The car was now pulling a much more healthy 193kW @ wheels, or 260bhp. With all those mods, it was time to race the car. Sure it wasn't fully set-up for the track, but with a fair bit of go, it was still likely to pull a respectable time. So far with below legal 15" 205 tyres (ie bald) Kris was able to pull a 13.6 @ 165kph. With slicks Kris is confident of making a 12 second pass, something that will make him very happy indeed.
Contact Kris:
Email : [email removed]
Message Board : silvervlv8
Some original photos have not been recovered yet.
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