Whatever you do, don't think I'm picking on Steve Hamilton's 'middle' age, cause I'm not. The way I see it is that a little bit of maturity often goes a long way, and when you're a rev head by nature it usually results in a car of calibre: a combination of incalculable contentment. A collection of contents to match it with the best.
Thing is, here we're talking about a work ute!
Yep, Steve's been involved in 'the game' for longer than most of our readers have been on terra firma, and he's waded his way through a plethora of cool cars. Ford pretty much ruled the roost at the Hamilton home, fast Fords at that. The stable has seen many changes along the way including every GT from XT to XY, and even today the home garage plays host to two restoration projects - a ZA Fairlane and an XT Fairmont.
And let's face it, with FoMoCo turning the performance corner, a current run-of-the-mill Windsor inspired Falcon has the berries to keep pace with all of yesteryear's GT's apart from the HO. Of course over the years brand choice has strayed once in a while to include an exotic or two, however as far as Steve's concerned, there's nothing like an improved homegrown muscle car. Then again, mid to high 14 second quarter mile potential still isn't what you'd call mind-boggling, which I guess is why Steve has fiddled with the hip pocket nerve - in a big way. It's also probably worth noting that one of the reasons for his buying a new Ford was that, apart from its usefulness as a work hack, the ankle biters had grown up and Steve reckoned two seats were all that were needed.
Now to his mean machine! What left the local Ford dealer's showroom was your everyday basic XR8 utility - if you can call an XR8 basic! Brand spankers, Steve drove the ute directly from the dealer to Herrod Automotive in Thomastown for some serious surgery of the cosmetic and performance kind.
Little it seems, except perhaps for the brakes, would be left unscathed.
Wheels and Suspension
It was mid October 2000 when Herrod's received the glistening black ute, and another four weeks before Steve would again see his latest addition to the family fleet.
"I told Rob Herrod that he was to do whatever it took for the car to give the WRX's and Commodore's a run for their money," said Steve who it sure seems is happy with the end result. But hey, we're getting a little ahead of ourselves!
Keen to kick off with the underpinnings, Rob and Steve immediately ran into a brick wall. That the car's appearance was up there on the priority list, and given that Steve wasn't interested in stuffing around with body kits and strange add-ons, he was a little perplexed as to what to do. So it would had to be a case of keeping it subtle but with enough spice to create interest.
Wheels were the biggest single decision, and I have to say the result is simply sensational. They're 19 x 8 and 9 inch AME's wrapped in 245/35 and monster 275/30 Goodyear Ducaro rubber. Of course for rims 'n rubber to look the goods, stance has also to be attended to. Now for Rob Herrod there must always be a good reason behind a modification - so in other words the suspension also had to work! With Herrod Automotive working hand in glove with Ford and Tickford on the development of some serious hardware, it should then come as no surprise that the chosen suspension came only after considerable research and development.
Having spent some time in the ute's passenger seat, I have to attest to its road holding abilities. Transforming the handling is a full set of custom-valved Koni shocks, while the directional end is further improved with a K-Mac camber/caster kit and custom King springs. The rear is equipped with uprated leaf springs.
Hidden From View
The word 'impressive' is often used and abused when describing a feature, however in this case there's no disputing that the ute's little 5-litre Windsor engine is just that. For starters, you may be surprised to learn that even with just 14 kilometres on the clock, it was treated to a full rebuild.
Bottom end tolerances were checked and - where needed - modified to ensure integrity and reliability, or in other words, the bottom end was fully blueprinted. To this the boys installed several performance enhancing components like a Ford Motorsport cam (very noticeable thanks to an idle befitting a killer combo). Yep, it sounds like the choke's on, but it sure as hell doesn't go like it!
Coinciding with the new cam, Herrod fitted a new Rollmaster timing chain set, appropriate anti-pump up lifters, custom valve springs and retainers. Another major contributor is the heads. We're talking alloy Trickflow items that are ported and machined for an oh-so-slight compression increase, and fitted with stud girdles and roller rockers.
The induction side benefits from machining to accept a Motorsport 75mm throttle body and custom cold air intake. HPC coated (inside and out) Herrod extractors lead to a sophisticated twin cat exhaust system of stainless tube and mandrel bends. Advantages include that it not only sounds great but also frees up a few ponies. Ignition and fuel maps are heavily modified via a Unichip for a final result of 178 Dyno Dynamics rear wheel kilowatts or - in round figures - 230 to 235 flywheel kilowatts (or between 308 and 315 horsepower).
Okay, we're not talking Ferrari poke here, however I can assure you that 300 genuine horsepower is more than 95 per cent of road cars!
Some subtle sign-writing combines to ensure the ute stands out, as does the interior package of full Herrod Motorsport leather trim. Yep, it covers the seats (which also feature modified padding), the door trims and several other neat items.
On the Road
Steve's rightfully proud of his ride and has even gone to the extent of entering it in a couple of shows. The first was a local country get-together in which the ute stole the Best Utility trophy from over 30 open backed models.
But Steve's since been thinking. For starters he intends giving his blue oval a spurt over the quarter. However if the time isn't exactly what he is hoping for, chances are a little forced induction will see its place - along with perhaps another 100 or so horsepower!
Contact:
Herrod Engineering
03 9464 5100
|