ffi* re ffi - Brock Commodore Owners Association of Australia, Inc.

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It was a mean beast of a car that VK
GroupA Commodore.Of all the Brock
inspiredCommodorespecials,that blue
blasterwas a pinnacle.Releasedin
1985, it had takenHoldenDealerTeam
SpecialVehiclesvirtuallyfive years to
come up with the machinethat still
remainsone of the rarestand most
coveted of the breed.
Only 500 were ever built,so today a
good examplefetches up to $5000
MOREthan it cost new - if you can find
one!
'85 GroupA wasn't a
Oddly enoughthe
pure Brock specialbecauseit was
developedjointlywith Holden's.lt was
basedon the CommodoreSL in SS form.
and was unashamedlya thinlydisguised
racer.
To those who are not of the HDT faith
it's pretty hard to find a way throughthe
jungleof HDTmodelswhich havebeen
producedover the years. There have
been plentyof them. Even before the
'1985 GroupA, HDT SpecialVehicleshad
built more than 1000 cars.
'1
The first was 980 VC Commodore
SUE based.lt arose out of Peter Brock's
need to homologatenumerousracing
partsfor the MarlboroHoldenDealer
Team:s198'l Group C racingeffort. At
that time Brock had just taken over
leadershipof the HDT from John
Sheppard.
Availablein red. black or white - HDT's
colors- the car had the 308 V 8 engine
and M 21 four speed gearbox.A turbo
Hydramaticauto transmissionwas
optional.The cylinderheadswere
machinedand fitted'withbiggervalves.
Therewas cold air box for the carburettor
intakeand the inlet manifoldwas
considerablymodified.This also calledfor
to the fuel pump and fuel
improvements
supply system.
Chromedrocker covers and a chromed
air cleanergave the enginebay plentyof
style.
Other modificationsincludeda bigger
mastercylinderfor the improvedfour
wheel disc bakes.and revised
It wasa nistake to basethe first Broc( Conplentyot
modoreon the SL/E, necessitating
excessweightto be caniedin racing.
resultantrace car had to competeat the
same standardkerb weight. That meant
the Group C modelwas forced to carry
aroundsuch uselessadditionsas the air
suspensionwith new springsand Bilstein conditioning
equipment.Therewas no
gas pressureshock absorbers.German
other choice however,as the engine'sbig
lrmscheralloywheels fitted with Uniroyal valveheadswere only eligiblein the one
6O seriesWildcatswere the only bits that pacKage.
touchedthe ground.
It was a mistakeHDT was not to make
A front air dam and rear spoiler,
again!
togetherwith wheelarchflaresto cover
By 1982 the VC had given way to the
the wider wheels,completedthe exterior VH modelCommodore.Needlessto say,
of the car.
plentyof thoughtwent into the creationof
Insidetherewas SLiE red trim,a Momo a homologation
specialon this basis.
steeringwheel and a wooden gearshift
Indeed,Holden'sitself launchedthe base
knob. There was also a driver'sleft side
modelas the SS, pickingup where the
foot rest.
old Monaroshad left off.
Brockbuilt413 of thesecars
As a sporty special the VH SS was
eventually,but they were nothinglike as
fairlyunpretentious.Keepingweight to a
successfulas some laterexamples.
bareminimum,the A 9K fleet
Furthermorethey causedquite a ruckus
specificationmodelwas chosen, its
in racingcircles,the argumentgoing on
relativelyspartaninteriorremaining
for some time.
unmodified.Underthe hood thoughthe
You see by homologating
a developed
standardversioncame with Holden's4.2
versionof the CommodoreSL/E, the
litre V8, but with a dual exhaust.As is
well known, HoldenV 8s are amenableto
GMHbuift SS Connodoresarrive at the old
exhausttuning.The 308 inch enginewas
ChetwyndEtreetHDT SpecialVehiclestacility.
an option,againwith dual exhaust
system.
Standardwas the M 21 lour speed
manualgearbox,takingdrive to the 3.O8
limitedslip diff'. Therewere four wheel
disc brakesof course.while the whole
thing was set off by AungerQuattroalloy
wheels,fitted with UniroyalER 7OH
Wildcats.Exteriorfinishon all SS decalled
models was Maranellored.
Whilethe basicSS was made and sold
by tlolden's and its dealers,Holden
DealerTeam SpecialVehiclesproduced
three derivationsof the theme. For the
price of the SS, plus an additional
$1250, you couldbuy the HDTGroup
One version.
This had Brock modifiedsuspension
with his favoriteBilsteingas pressure
shock absorbers.There was still the
choice ol 4.2 litre or five litre V8 engines,
but these were modifiedto some degree,
woTsHoT31
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the carburettbrbeing fed by an HDT 125
fuel pump. A Biggerone inch master
cylinder was fitted also.
Insidethere was sports steeringwheel
and HDT gearshiftknob, plus of course,
the driver'sleft foot rest. The Maranello
red exteriorfinish carried"Group One
Tuned" decals to completethe job.
All of the above, plus a fully blueprinted
HDT five litre engine,fitted with chrome
rocker covers and a gas flowed inlet
manifold,made up the GroupTwo kit. In
additionthere was an air dam, boot lid
spoilerand "aero fences" on top of the
front guards.Completewith "GroupTwo
Tuned" decals.the cost was a further
$2500.
It was the GroupThree which was the
daddyof the lot, beingthe true
homologationspecialfor the racing
season.
ln additionto all the items includedin
the Group One and Two modifications,
the GrouoThree had extractorsand a low
restrictionsports exhaustsystem,plus a
Scorcher electronicignitionset-up.
There were the same lrmscheralloy
wheels previouslyseen on the first Brock
Commodore,fitted with 60 seriestyres.
Still finishedin Maranellored, the body
carriedthe "Group ThreeTuned" decals,
and was equippedwith a more effective
front air dam, side skirts and a rear wing.
Also the enginehood was bulged.
Whilea fair few standardSS models
were sold, demandfor GroupOne and
Two cars was light to say the least.The
GroupThree thoughreallywowed them!
The final cost of a Commodorewith the
works was $7500 abovethe base cost
of the A 9K sedan,addingits $3750 to
the $2500 and $1250 respectively
of
the GrouoOne and Two versions.
However,there were plentyof people
who were happyto spend much more.
They were the ones who orderedthe full
Grouo Three treatmenton an SUE base.
It was no problemto buildtheir cars so
long as sufficientnumbersof the
homologationmodels were produced.
Accordingto HDT expert Mike Oliver,
of DenisOliverHDT, the VH SS Group
Three was a real winner,and one that is
a popularbuy today - again,if you can
find one.
As so often happens,there were plenty
of other peoplewho wantedthe
performanceof a GroupThree, but didn't
want the banglesand baublesthat went
with it. As a result a numberof stocK
lookingCommodoreswith GroupThree
innardshit the streets. Up until the aqrival
of the VK Commodore,1250 SS models
of all types were built by HDT Specid
Vehicles.
Untilnow Holden'shad put up with:the
complicationswraughtby the HDT cars
on th productionlines.By 1984 however,
wilh the VK comingalong,it was decided
to do thingsdifferently.Priorto the VK,
and with Holden'sdifficulties
firmlyin
mind,PeterBrockhad been looking
seriouslyat Opel's Monzacoupe as a
possiblebasisfor an HDT specialvehicle.
A basicprototypewas actuallybuilt, but
nothinglurther came of the projectas
easier alternativespresentedthemselves.
Policespecialshad to be toleratedin
production,so to overcomethe Brock
problems,a proportionof these went to
SpecialVehiclesfor completionas SS
version.Firstof them was the LM 5OOO,
a stop gap modelbuiltin smallnumbers.
It had the police pack, includingthe
Brock engine,M 21 four speed gearbox,
togetherwith a 3.08 diff ratio. In addition
there was the sports heavyduty
suspensionwith Bilsteingas shocks. HDT
SpecialVehiclesaddedchromerocker
coversand air cleaner,replacingthe steel
wheels with lrmschers.
Body additionsincludea rear spoiler,
side skirts,aero strakeson top of the
front guardsand color coded front and
rear bumpers.Insidethere was a Momo
steeringwheel and all the other usual
Brock additions.Numerousoptions
includedScheelseats, largeralloy wheels
and a few other things.
After only a short while the HDT Special
Vehiclesoperationseriouslybegan
bulidingtwo basic lineson the VK - an
SS and a new Group Three.
The SS was fitted with the GroupThree
engine,sports suspensionand HDT
wheels,alongwith an upgradedinterior
featuringan up marketsound system.
The GroupThree properwas given the
completeaerodynamictreatment,
includingthe new slottedair intakefront
end.Therewere alsobigger16 inch
wheelswith lower profiletyres. The
GroupThreewas availableonly in either
silver or white.
It was in 1984 that the first HDT
SpecialVehiclesluxuryofferingappeared.
This was the CalaisDirector,a machine
that sufferedfrom beinga little too
expensivefor its time. Nevertheless,
Still the mostsoughtaftet nodel is the blue
- the
GroupA basedon the VKComnodore
tirst with the true tive litre engine.
it was the equalof many
equipment-wise,
other more expensivecars.
It was also in 1984 that HDT Special
Vehiclesmade its fourth move since
1980. Thistime it was to the extensive
Port Melbourneaddressin BertieStreet.
It was there that the best of all Brock
yet, the 1985 GroupA
Commodores
"Blue Meanie"was created.
As alreadynoted,the '85 SS Group A
was the resultof a joint effort by Brock
and Holden's.lt had to be becauseof the
relativelyradicalrevisionsto the engine.
The car was aimedat homologatingthe
HoldenDealerTeam's1986 racecars
which had to complywith international
Group A rules for the first time. One of
the featuresof the rules is that minimum
all up weightsare tied to enginecapacity
classes.Thus,with the Holden308
enginemeasuring5o44cc, it was
destinedto run in the over 5000 cc
class,coppinga minimumweightof 1400
kilograms.lf the enginecould be reduced
to below that five litre markthe car could
- a valuable
run at 1325 kilograms
saving in anyone'slanguage.
Thus,in conjunction
with Holden's
engineers,the 308 was revised,a 1 mm
shorterstroke givingit a capacityof
4987 cc. Insteadof the expensiveCarillo
connectingrods used on the GroupC
cars, L 34 rods were fitted. Surprisingly,
insteadof resultingin a loss of
performance,power output actuallyrose
trom 177 kW at 4500 rpm to 196 kW at
5 2 O Or p m .
Headswere reworkedby Dave
Bennett'sPerfectuneorganisation,
with
compression
ratiodown from 9.2:1 to
8.8:1, whilea new Cranecam gavea .3
inch lift. There were Cranerollerrockers
and a biggerinlet manifoldmatchedto the
ports. On the exhaustside there were
tubularheadersto replacethe cast iron
manifold.These were developedby HM
Headers.A doublerow timingchain
replacedthe old singlechain,whilea
lighterflywheelhelpedwith engine
response.
woTsHoT33
Power steeringwas standardon the
Group A, which also had the M 21
gearbox,togetherwith the originalGroup
Three Bilsteinshocked suspension.
Sixteeninch wheels wore Bridgestone
2251sORPotenzas.
All these Group As were finishedin
"FormulaBlue", but bodyworkwas
nothinglike as radicalas the previouscar.
The air dam was half way betweena
Group C Racerand the GroupThreeroad
car, while th rear spoilerlookedas though
it was meantto be there. No side skirts
or bulgedwheelarchesmarredthe VK's
lines however.
lnsidethere was a mixtureof bits from
variousCommodoremodelsbut, as
alwaysthere was the Momo steering
wheel, Scheelseats and driver'sfoot
rest.
Cars were orderedlong beforethey
were built,and they spent the minimum
amountof time at dealerships.Now, three
years later,if you can find an example
you'll pay up to $26,000 for the pleasure
of owningone in top condition.When
originallysold, the "Blue Meanie"cost
$21.950!
An upgradingof the VK GroupThreein
1986 becamethe SeriesTwo. This was
a more civilisedversionof the line.
orientated more towards high speed
touring than to racing. For this reason it
was given a more compliantsuspension,
ironingout the fairlyfirm ride of its sire. lt
was also givena higherlevelof trim to
highlightits more civilisedintendeduse.
In 1986 the VL seriesreplacethe VK,
resultingin HDT SpecialVehicles'last real
associationwith Holden's. From the start
there were rows between Brock and
Holdenmanagementover equipment,this
ultimatelyincludingthe imfamousEnergy
Polariser.Brock stood his ground,
refusingto allow an HDT buildnumberto
be appliedto those cars sold by dealers
which did not emanatefrom HDTSpecial
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An interin nodel basedon the Holdenpolice
specialswas the LM 5000,basedon the VK
Connodores.
Vehicles.
In fact, the '86/87 VL GroupA is a
very good car which alreadycommandsa
$4000 premiumfor second hand
examplesin good condition.lt's available
only in the one dark red finish.
It was created to meet fuel regulations
regardingULP, being poweredby the 4.9
litre V 8 engine,now drivingthrougha
Borg WarnerT 5 five speed manual
gearbox.lt was the last homologation
exercisefor the Mobil HoldenDealer
Team.In road going guise however,there
was nothinglike the same numberof
uncomprosedfeatures as on the blue
GroupAs built in 1985. Suspensionwas
more compliantfor a start. And yet the
racing image was still there.
Becauseof the row betweenHolden
and Brock, the VL offeringwound up as
two cars ratherthan one. Those sold
withoutthe specialBrock equipment- in
which was includedthe oolariser- were
minusthe Brock signaturewhich graces
all HDT SpecialVehiclesbuilt cars. Where
Brock was satisfiedthat thingswere
being done his way, the signaturewas
appliedand the car was referred to as a
Group A Plus.
In practicalterms there was very little
differencebetweenthe GroupA and
GroupA Plus,althoughthe latterhad a
few extra enginetweaks. lt causedquite
a deal of head scratchingin the HDT
OwnersClub however.For a while only
GroupA Plus modelswere eligiblefor
membership.Now the normalGroup A is
accepted.
The story of the famousBrock Director,
that dramaticallyrestyled car with its Opel
Senatorderived independentrear
suspension,is well known. lt was the last
straw which finallysaw the severingof
connectionsbetweenHDT Secial
Anongst Peter Brock's last ofterings as
Holden'soflicial SpecialVehiclesbosswere
the CalaisDirector(left) and the Commodore
SSGrouplll.
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Vehiclesand Holden's.lt did not,
however,see the end of Brock's
CommodoreSpecials.
Holden'sestablishedits HoldenMotor
SportsGroup underJohn Lindell,with
inputfrom Britain'sTom Walkinshawand
his TWR organisation.Developmentof the
fuel injectedversionof the 4.9 litre
enginewas aimedat fitmentto a new
CommodoreSS Group A modelin early
1988. That car has now appearedand is
featuredelsewherein this edition.
Brock had plansfor his own fuel
injectedGroupA car also, but in the
interim,for 1987 HDTSpecialVehicles
offered four modelsfrom which loyal
customerscould choose. Basedon the
Berlina,the GroupThree SignatureSeries
was the high performancetouring
machinewith specificationas near as
dammitto the Group A, but with a little
more road going refinement.Finishedin
white, buyers could choose betweenthe
T 5 manualor three speed automatic
transmision.
The GroupThreeSignaturemodel's4.9
litre V 8 had a 9.3:1 compressionratio,
even in unleadedform. The carburettor
was blueprintedand the manifolds
matchedto the cylinderhead ports. A
Wade 242 camshaftwas used, this
providingsmoothrunningat high engine
speeds, but a rough idle. As on the
earlierGroupA, transmissionwas through
a T 5 five speed manual.HDT'salloy
Aero wheelswere fitted with 225150 VR
16 Bridggstones,so there was always
plenty of rubberon the road, even at
Brock's recommended22 psi tyre
pressures!
Standing4OOmetre times of well under
15 secondwere commonwith the '87
GroupThree, makingit a far stronger
runnerthan the Group A. For Brock
though,it was hard going withoutthe
benefitof a close relationshipwith
Holden's,'somuch store was put on less
radicalconversionsas HDT Special
Vehicles'bread and butter.
First of these was the Sports Pack
suitedto all SL, Executiveand Berlina
models,as well as the Calais.Turbo
enginedcars were given improvedco[d
air inductionand a largerdiameter
exhaust,while V8s were blueprintedwith
variousinductionand exhaust
modifications."SystemOne" springs,gas
pressure shock absorbers and alloy
wheelswere fitted. Momo alloywheels
were optional.
As an economicalway of gettinginto
HDT gear there was the HDT Designer
Series.A CalaisSport rear spoiler,
revisedgrille,deeper front air dam and
HDT Aero wheels made up the kit. There
was also body color finishfor the front
and rear bumpers,togetherwith the side
moundings.Insidea Momo steering
wheel was included.
Finallythere was the famousHDT
Directorwith two choicesof enginetune
(V 8 only), five speed manualor three
speed auto transmission,Momoalloy
wheels and the fairlyradicalbody kit. Far
too radicalfor Holden'shad been the
Director'sOpel Senatorderived
independentrear suspension.A whole
host of luxuryoptionsmadea standard
price for the car impossibleto pin down.
At least one very comprehensively
optioned version is said to have cost well
over $80,00O, makingit the most
expensive Australianmade car ever.
Like so many marqueswhich cameto
life over the years, these Commodore
specialscommandan incredibledevotion
from their adherents.This is clearly
proved by the vigorousactivitiesof the
HDT OwnersClub. The Club holds
competitionsevery coupleof months,
with a highlightof the year being a
nationalmeeting.This year it's at Oran
Parkfrom the 1st Apriluntil the 4th. In
additionthere's the regularday out held
at Calder. lt attracts literallyhundredsof
owners with their superblyturnedout
Commodores.
To his credit, Mike Oliverof Denis
Oliver HDT was one of the first to
With the introduction of the lead-free VB
enginecane the VL Connodore$S AroupA,
all versionsbeingtinishedin deepred.
recognisethe widespreadenthusiasmfor
Brock Commodores,and the factory
specials.lt was three years ago that he
opened his businessas a dealer in the
marque.In his secondyear, 1986, he
sold 176 of them. Last year the totalrose
to 300. Up to January2Oth this year he
had alreadysold no less than 16!
"All Brock Commodoresappreciate,,'
says Mike, ':but they're gettingmore
difficultto find."
Denis Oliver HDT has buyers all over
the countryscoutingfor good used Brock
models.The companyis also kept busy
puttingvalueson examplesstockedby
other dealersalmosteverywhere.,,We
valueanythingup to 20 a week,"
commentsMike.
He has a strong involvementwith the
HDT Owners Club, and until recenflykept
in close contactwith Peter Brock's
current organisation.lt would seem
however,that the writingis on the wall in
that area now that the Brock racing effort
is concentratedon BMWs.
The VL GroupThree SignatureSeries
cars were Oliver'sidea. Laterthis year, in
conjuctionwith race preparationace Les
Small,he intendsbuildinghalf a dozen or
so of his own specialsbasedon the VL.
Mike says it will be a high performance
GroupA type of vehicle,but it will be
luxuryorientatedin the fashionof
Euopeanmodels.
It is intendedthat the cars will be
completerebuildsbasedon new vehicles.
They will be gutted before total seam
weldingto obviatethe rattleswhich
always seem to develop in the factory
built versions.They will be fitted with an
unobtrusive,but effective roll bar system
before being retrimmedwith all new
materialsand carpets.There will be a
choiceof cloth or leatherfor seat trim,
while a completelynew dashboardwill be
featured.
Powerwill come from the latestfactory
GroupA's five litre fuel injectedV 8,
drivingthrougha Borg WarnerT 5 five
speed manualtransmission.
Mike says the car will look nothinglike
a Commodore,and will have a new name.
As yet however,he hasn'tcome up with
the latter.Builtto the higheststandards
with the best equipmentavailable,the
DenisOliverHDT Commodorewill cost
around$50,000.
Therewill be a higherprofilefor the
companyin motor racingtoo. Again,with
help from Les Small,two VL Commodores
are being readiedfor the AUSCARseries
on Calder'shigh bankedsuper speedway.
MikeOliverhimselfwill driveone, while
his servicemanager,Mike Freeman,will
handlethe other.CustomerAUSCAR
racerswill also be built to order, all of
them fitted with Les Smallengines.
Whateverelse happens,Commodores
are going to figure as both race cars and
collectors'itemsfor a numberof years to
come.To find the pick of them though,
DenisOliverHDT would seem to be a
reasonableplace to start!
WOTSHOT 35
Speal<to theenfhusiasfs
-DenisOliverPertomtance
Calsj
DennisOliverPerformonce
No,enthusiosts.
Andtheystock
CorsoreH.D.T.Commodorespeciolists.
themoll.. . from'theoriginolVCBrockmodels,to theVK&VL Directors
ondGroupAs.Andremember,
you'llstillgetthefre H.D.T.Owners
witheveryH.D.T.vehicle
sold.
Clubmembershrp
Alongwithfull partsondservice
modificotion
whether
bockup,theyconhandleonyperformonce
preporotion
T-5Gurboxswops,Multi-Weber
Strokers,
Carbs&Manifolds.RoceCorTuningond
includingSuspension,
Brokes,
etc. You'll
want
theexcitement
too.Afterall,that\what
heselb,
' H.DT.Owners
Clubmembenhip
withevery
H.D.T.
carsold.
dboutyournextHfficar:
- l,C.VH,VK.V[ r H.D.L
. FULL
. SBIRE
. PERF0RMANCE
.
VEHICIES
NEW
&USED
PAF|IS
MiIGE0FH.DJ.
M0DlFlClTlONS
SERIIICE
1593-1599
(0315693055
DAl{DEil0l{G
R0ADmKLEIGH
3166,pH01{E
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