The all-new VN model Commodore, which first hit the streets back in the late 80s, brought with it a turning point for the General's Aussie V8. For the first time (doesn't the VL Walky count? - Ed) the mighty five-o came with electronic fuel injection as standard. And - hooray! - it was about time. This change (along with numerous others) lifted the power output to 165kW and over. Then Holden's tuning branch - HSV - stepped in and really helped out in the power struggle - which was really starting to hot up at the time. But it took until the GTS-R banana-mobile before we saw the somewhat crude factory answer to the Aussie V8's future - more cubes. Of course, we're talking about the worshipped 350ci bent eight here - five point seven litres of truck-like torque. Grrr!
So if cube count can be considered a measure of power - or, at least power potential - Clint Subichin's '94 VR Calais must surely go one better than the Chev. By a whole five cubic inches, that is! But don't think the two would be evenly matched, coz this stroked and worked 5.8 litre Lion motor would make absolute mincemeat of the stock Chev product...
Clint's decision to inflate the internals of the Holden engine came about because he was keen to stay with an atmo engine and he liked the idea of "having something a little different". His entrusted engine builder, SpeedTech, was given the job of building up the engine - hoped to be in the vicinity of 500 horses. No problems there. A monster 355ci stroker was created using a long throw Harrop crankshaft and a 30 thou over bore, while the rest of the bottom end uses Group A con-rods, ARP bolts and studs and an arm full of 11.8:1 Wiesco forgies. Of course, a big cube high quality bottom end such as this is perfect for making reliable power.
The two 2 valve per cylinder heads are ported and polished for extra flow (a flow bench tested 527hp, in fact) and are built up using stainless steel valves and heavy duty valve springs - which are a necessity for venturing up towards 8000 rpm! And with such huge breathing potential, the camshaft was stepped up a couple of levels to a custom roller jobbie delivering 630 thou lift. It's nothing too wild in duration, but enough to see some chunky power gains.
The injection system is an interesting one. Knowing how restrictive the factory intake manifold is, this was set free to make space for a Harrop single plane item. Combined with the 4-barrel throttle body (which is rated at 1050 cfm) you would almost pick it as a carby set-up with a remote filter! Clint tells us lots of people do...That is, until they see the telltale Bosch 803 injectors and Bosch fuel pressure regulator. Rather than splurging out on an aftermarket programmable computer, the job of modifying the existing factory engine management system was palmed off to the experts - ChipTorque. There, the standard AC-Delco management system was re-mapped to suit the vastly different fuel and ignition requirements, and the rev limit was also lifted.
Wrapping the fuel and spark side of things up, a pair of parallel VL Turbo pumps draw their blood from a 12-litre in-boot surge tank, while the ignition is arced up with a Crane Hi-6 booster with 10mm Top Gun leads and "fancy fangled" plugs.
A Turbo 350 trans was then hooked up to the back of the mill, due to fears that the stock TH700 4-speed wouldn't be able to cope very well. The Turbo 350 (3-speed) was prepared with a manual valve body before it was introduced to a 3800 rpm Dominator converter. That relatively high stall converter does just the trick because, as Clint says, the motor makes most of its torque between 4000 and about 7200. So that means you just nail it and BANG - you're instantly on peak torque and your head hits the restraint. This big serving of grunt is then put through a Holden diff that's been revised with lower 4.11:1 gears and a locked centre. And yet, despite the locker, the quest for traction goes on - as you'll read later...
We'd guess that one reason the car has some dramas getting its power down is because it still runs standard suspension. However, you'll be pleased to hear the brakes are far from stock though. The front sees a set of drilled and slotted DBA VT Commodore 330mm discs and calipers, while there's also a set of VT rears soon to go on as well. For now, the backs are standard discs however.
While all the mechanical hoo-haa was going on, Clint wasn't sitting back drinking tequila sunrises. With the motor out, it was the perfect opportunity to scrap the factory paint and individualise. Total Custom applied a custom silver with a dash of lilac pearl, and sprayed the lower section of the two-tone scheme in "god knows what" colour. We really like the subtlety of the paint - it doesn't scream for attention or give away the magnitude of what lies under the lid. Which - for the majority of the time - is a good thing.
The sun shines (don't jump in too early!) through tinted windows onto the near-standard Holden interior. At the time of our photos, the only changes were an array of Autometer gauges (for oil pressure, gearbox, water and fuel oil temperature) and a shift light. The Autronic air/fuel ratio meter you can see was fitted purely for tuning purposes. However, just after our snaps, Clint also installed some kick-arse Recaro leather front seats. "Either I spend the money on the car or the missus," Clint laughs...
And another area that's getting a lot of attention is the back end (we're back to talking about the car now!). Under each wheel arch are the ol' favourite 15 inch steel police rims, simply coz "they're nice an cheap". Here, the car's wearing widened 15 x 8 rears clad in beefy 265mm rubber - a move that required the inner guards to be sunk in. But even that size of tyre wasn't enough to hold all that the 355ci-er could deliver - "it was all over the place". However, Clint's now in the throes of widening the rear rims to 10 inches and marking out where a pair of tubs will fit. Hey, hey - now we're getting serious...
And if you though that was pretty extreme, how about the plans to install a full cage and push the car into the predicted 10s!? With Clint's guess of at least 500 horses and some ProStock style traction, this sure isn't a shrinking violet that's gonna fade into the background...
Contact:
ChipTorque
+61 7 5596 4204
www.chiptorque.com.au
SpeedTech
+61 7 5594 0233
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