"The Lexadore" - "Second time lucky?"

Following on the apparent failure of the Datsun, we acquired a Holden VC Commodore in January 2000.  This was a class winning car, and we expected to be able to simply fix up a few minor maintenance issues and be running at the pointy end of the field.  However things were not to go entirely to plan...

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This is the car as purchased.  Specifications were as follows:

4cyl Holden VC Commodore Full steel roll-cage, with strut brace 308 with high compression heads Distributed electronic ignition Standard cooling with additional rear radiator plumbed off the heater circuit Ford power steering rack Dual spring/shock front Macpherson struts Dual shock rear axle Front and rear anti-rollbars M21 (4 speed) gearbox Standard v8 drive shaft Standard v8 solid rear axle with cone type LSD and 3.33:1 ratio 235x75R15 BF Goodrich All Terrains Custom offset 15" steel rims v8 disc front and rear end Hydraulic handbrake Rear brake bias valve Front and rear glass, no side windows Steel battery box base with aluminium cover Fibreglass race seats and 5-point harnesses

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This is the car as of the end of 2005.  Specifications were as follows:

4cyl Holden VC Commodore Full steel roll-cage, with strut brace Lexus 4L quad-cam v8 with Link engine management system Cooling bypass system (Eco trans) with relocated thermostat and hi-flow pump Holden power steering rack Eibach springs on Proflex custom front Macpherson struts with limiters Quad shock Rancho RS-9000 rear Toploader (4 speed) gearbox Custom drive shaft Braced HQ solid rear axle (28 spline) with 4.44:1 ratio and full-spool centre 235x75R15 BF Goodrich All/Mud Terrains on 15" alloy rims VT discs/calipers front and rear Hydraulic handbrake Rear brake bias valve Front glass, no side or rear windows Fibreglass race seats and 5-point harnesses Custom alloy fuel tank with foam inserts Custom oil cooler Custom brake pedal box Custom alloy sump guard and nudge bar UHF radio, Terratrip and Terraphone