HAUL OF FAME

A late-model, elite-level street machine that’s been rebuilt from the ground up with bulk grunt in mind

WITH A TURBO 403CI STROKER LS UP FRONT, RACE CAR UNDERPINNINGS AND A SUMMERNATS ELITE-WINNING FINISH, PETER ROBSON’S VE UTE IS ONE OF QUEENSLAND’S COOLEST STREETERS

HAVING a killer ride to cruise your beaches, pubs and cafes is one of the foundations of the street machining hobby. But the path from boring stocker to something that rattles the windows at the local RSL is often fraught with setbacks and project scope-creep. The Sunshine Coast’s Peter Robson knows this all too well, having not actually intended to build his VE ute into the stunning beast that won Top Elite Ute and Top Elite Engine Bay at Street Machine Summernats 32.

“I always wanted a clean street car,” says Peter. “I bought the VE in 2009 with 30,000km on it and drove it for 500km stockstandard. I said to myself that I’d keep it standard for a year, but that lasted two weeks before I pulled the engine out to cam it and do the head work. Then I did the TH400 because I killed the stock auto, and it really went from there. It wasn’t meant to get out of hand!”

We should be glad Peter’s build did get out of hand though, as UDLO5E blends tough engineering with classic street machine styling tricks, wrapped in a tasty modern package. However, the first six years were lost to a shop that Peter reckons shouldn’t be let loose with Lego, let alone someone’s pride and joy.

“I’d received the car back from the previous so-called fabrication, paint and panel shop in what was apparently finished condition, and I realised it was actually embarrassing,” he sighs. “So, two

years ago I decided to completely strip every nut and bolt out of the car, even going to the point of cutting the rear guards off, as they had been badly warped and heat-affected by the last shop. Luckily there was light through the tunnel and things turned around after going to Chris and Brian at CS Engineering, who fixed all the bad fab work.”

This included setting up the suicide doors and shaved handles, a smooth sheet-metal tray and hidden fuel cell, smoothed engine bay, reverse cowl-equipped bonnet, new rear wheel tubs to fit the 24x12-inch Intro billet rears, and a Pro9 four-link rear end with a sheet-metal live-axle diff replacing the stock IRS. Luke Kestle from Motor Fab on the Gold Coast then built a weld-in rollcage that tucks tightly against the ute’s cabin.

“I dressed the car up with the HSV body parts so it didn’t just look like an ordinary Commodore,” Peter explains. “The suicide doors and reverse-cowl give it a unique look, and I wanted the wow factor, like the hidden fuel cell in the tray.”

Matt Jones from Dr Jones Bodyworks sorted the panels, ready for Dean Lewis to lay down the creamy custom bronze Glasurit two-pack. This bodywork even included cutting the heat-warped rear guards off and replacing them with new items.

So, with the bodywork sorted to trophy-winning condition, Peter’s attention turned to the motor. While he had been happy with his cam-and-heads-combo alloy six-litre, the scope of the

THE UTE BLENDS TOUGH ENGINEERING WITH CLASSIC STREET MACHINE STYLING TRICKS, WRAPPED IN A TASTY MODERN PACKAGE

A: Peter had Ash Mason from Wiring & Tuning Solutions tweak the Haltech Elite 2500 for run-in, and UDLO5E will have headed back to Ash by the time you read this to go for a big number. With up to 25psi blowing through the iron LY6, Peter is hoping to see around 1000rwhp B: As Peter looked to smooth the engine bay out, the stock LS coil packs had to be relocated off the rocker covers and out of eyesight. They now live under the front end, tucked up out of the way near the stock radiator

“I was going to run an LSX block, but Nick from NJCLSX explained my options and so we went with an LY6 truck block,” Peter explains. “I told the NJCLSX Performance guys from day dot that I wanted to drive this car on the street and not overheat, and the LY6 has everything an LSX block has”