BUILT TO BE DRIVEN
OWNERS AREN’T ALWAYS SEEKING INCH-PERFECT PANELS AND SHOWROOM PAINT JOBS; SOME JUST WANT A BRUTALLY FAST CAR THEY CAN THRASH ON A DAILY BASIS — JONATHAN HILL IS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE
BLOWN BLUE MEANIE UNLIKE ANY OTHER
The year was 1984 and the scene was a late Sunday afternoon at the usually sleepy Mount Panorama, in New South Wales, Australia. Only this day it was anything but, as roaring fans lined the race track in anticipation of the final laps of what is the greatest race in our neck of the woods — the Bathurst 1000. Holden was midway through a very dominant period in Australian motorsport, winning seven Bathurst events between 1980 and 1990, and today would be one of those days, as Peter Brock and co-pilot Larry Perkins would take the chequered flag in a heavily modified Group C specced Holden VK. Two years later, a Group A variant of the VK, which was based on an Executive model, would again take the top step with Allan Grice and Graeme Bailey. That year, half the top 10 were Group A VKs, which, in part, played a huge role in giving these homologation specials icon status. The best part is that you could buy a near-matching example right off the showroom floor.
For a much younger Jonathan Hill, witnessing such feats on TV during this dominant time was enough to sign his lifetime Holden sentence. He has owned more than 60 in his time, and as soon as he could afford one, a Group A machine could be found parked in the garage. Unfortunately, that is where it stayed for most of Jono’s ownership. A genuine Group A VL,
it was a unicorn machine and treated as such, basically never being enjoyed — which he kicks himself for now, as he explains: “As the saying goes, you should never keep a beast locked up.”
Eventually it was sold on, and when it came time to buy another ’80s Holden (around 10 years ago), the sins of the past were not going to be repeated — this one was going to be built to be driven. That mantra was put into action as soon as the ownership papers were signed. Flying down to Christchurch to pick it up, Jonathan drove all the way back , the straight to Redwood Panel and Paint for a tidy up, before, Riverlea Panel & Paint for some rust work. Thankfully, apart from the two floor pans that needed replacing, the ’87 VK was in good condition and already wore the Group A kit and coats of that most iconic of colours — Formula Blue.
Running a cog-swapping stroker 355 at the time, it was a tough streeter by most standards, but Jonathan had plans to take things to the next level, planning to mix its circuit racing DNA with some influence from both street machines and dirt track. Tim and the team at TTT Auto Engineering would be tasked with the bulk of the build — one that would require plenty of out-of-the-box solutions, which ex-aircraft engineer Tim’s known for. The reason being: the unorthodox engine choice. Jonathan had been shopping and had sinister plans to shoehorn a race engine that had once called a sprint car home between the VK’s struts. Based around an alloy Rodeck block with chromoly crank and a set of heavily modified heads, the engine that used to drink methanol and sing at high rpm had been retired from active duty, and brought down to a much more pump-gas-friendly compression ratio.
“YOU SHOULD NEVER KEEP A BEAST LOCKED UP”