Holden Commodore 1982 News

The Gold Coast will be the home of a new shrine to race legend Peter Brock.

Want to be a crash test dummy and live to tell the tale? A temporary showroom in Sydney's CBD is giving people the chance to get behind the wheel and crash a car -and then go back in time to crash one from the 1980s to compare the difference.One of the active displays invites people to wear a 3D mask and get behind the wheel of a brand-new Holden Commodore which crashes - virtually - into a barrier at the same speed crash tests are conducted. The system then resets and the same stunt is done in a 1982 Commodore, with catastrophic results.The Crashed Car Showroom by NRMA Insurance in York Street Sydney is open free to the public for the next 10 days.The project is designed to demonstrate the significant improvements in car safety over the past three decades, in addition to airbags and stronger body structures. A study by NRMA Insurance found most drivers don't know the type of safety features in their cars."A lot of people say safety is important when choosing a car, but in reality only 1 in 10 know what safety features are available and what they actually do," said Robert McDonald, the research manager for NRMA Insurance.The survey found most people could only name seatbelts and brakes as the safety features on their car.Most new cars sold today have at least six airbags and stability control (a system which temporarily cuts engine power and applies the brakes if it detects a skid in a corner) while an increasing number of family cars are equipped with rear-view cameras, parking sensors and radars that warn of cross-traffic when you're reversing.One of the safest cars in the world, the Volvo V40 hatch, even has an airbag to protect pedestrians, which automatically pops up between the bonnet and the windscreen.The latest Census figures show the average age of cars in Australia has fallen to below 10 years (to 9.9 years) for the first time since records were kept, however this figure is still higher than other developed countries. The average age of motor vehicles in Japan, the UK, and North America is between six and eight years.Newer cars with more safety features are believed to be one of the hidden contributors to Australia recording the lowest road toll in 89 years in 2013.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

The tiny device that led to Peter Brock's sacking from Holden in the 1980s is back on a Commodore and heading for the road. An Energy Polarizer identical to the eighties originals - and built once again by Bev Brock - is part of the package on a new homage car from HDT Special Vehicles. The VL Retro Plus Pack Commodore is unveiled this week and company owner Peter Champion, a personal friend of the late race ace and owner of 45 Brock cars, says he has plans to build up to 250 cars in the series. The unveiling at Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney includes a side-by- side display of the 2011 car and the HDT Director that triggered the split between Brock and Holden. The carmaker demanded that Brock remove the Energy Polarizer or it would not sanction the car while Brock said he would not build the car without a Polarizer. Brock was out in the cold for more than a decade, even racing BMWs and Fords during his exile, before being reconciled with Holden for the final phase of his motorsport career and his final Bathurst starts including his final event at Mount Panorama with the Holden Racing Team. The VL Retro is the latest in a series of homage models from HDT Special Vehicles, a company that Champion bought originally to close but then rebuilt under a new business model. It has created three previous retro models and even builds hotrod Commodores with supercharged 7.0-litre V8 engines and pricetags topping $150,000. "The VL retro is the fourth car in the series. We've had the VC, VH, the Blue Meanie and now we have this one," says Champion. "This car marks 25 years since Peter got the bullet. It is great to have it alongside the Director. A total of nine directors were built and mine is the one he actually unveiled." Champion says the Polarizer-equipped VL Retro is his idea and he always planned to have it with the device, which Brock said harnessed Orgone Energy to align the molecules in a vehicle. "The VL SS is probably the the most popular HDT car that Brock built,"  he says. "The Polarizer was my idea. The reason for that is that I couldn't do a VL Group A without it being a Plus Pack. And you have to do it with a Polarizer for it to be a Plus Pack car." The project has backing from Bev Brock, who retains a few original Polarizers and is happy to make new ones for the Champion cars. The VL Retro is based on a current VE Commodore, like the other models in the HDT Special Vehicles lineup, and owners must first buy a donor SS from Holden before it is converted. The work includes everything from a special body kit and mechanical upgrades to a re-spray in the Retro red colour. Champion says the VL Retro is the end of the road for the current HDT lineup, but not the finish for the company. "We've come a long way in three years," he tells Carsguide. "This is the last of the Brock Heritage series. Then we're going to start on our new ones, the Champion series."

Married with a daughter (who is also a Ford fan), Mr Watson currently has an FPV GT 335 sedan, the latest in a long line of Ford products."We have had around 20 Fords - various models, not just Falcons - after some Holdens. We have had many Fords, one has followed the other ever since and we have no plans to change camps," he says.Mr Watson looks at the red versus blue rivalry as something that is now generational. "When it started it was Moffat versus Brock and has grown since then to have people either red or blue, now we're talking second and third generation fans as children follow their parents," he says.The family has had an FPV GT since April - the supercharged 335kW version - and now wouldn't have anything else. "I absolutely love it, the supercharged V8 has plenty of power - we use it for normal road work, not track days, we don't push it that hard, but it has plenty of poke for overtaking," he says."We're also restoring an old XB Falcon - a full bare-metal restoration - with 393 stroker V8, that will sit proudly next to the new GT," he says.A big shed and a tolerant wife are two key ingredients to Daryl Leaker's impressive stable of Holden product. The 1998 HSV Senator Signature 220i shares garage space with a number of Holden, HSV and HDT machines."I've got a very big shed for them all, I've always liked Holdens because my father was a Holden salesman so it is in the blood I guess," he says.Mr Leaker hasn't always just owned Holdens - a Mitsubishi Pajero replaced a Ford Territory recently, but there balance of power has always been to the General, harking back to his formative years with a Holden salesman for a father."It was great when Dad was selling Holdens, I got to drive GTR XU-1s and 327 Monaros when they were brand new," he says. "When I turned 21 I bought myself an HQ GTS coupe and got some discount through my father, I wish I still had that car as well."The HSV shares shed space with a VN SS Group A and an HSV Statesman, as well as a HDT VK Brock Commodore SS in silver and an HJ Monaro four-door."I'll always be a Holden fan - I think I'd die of shock if the missus came home in an FPV GT," he says.

The Holden hero known as Peter Perfect is being commemorated in a new hero colour for the company's top selling Commodore. Perfect Blue is a fresh take on a colour used by Brock in the 1980s when his HDT Special Vehicles operation was at the peak of its powers and he was still a regular winner at Mount Panorama. It was sprayed on the HDT SS Commodore in 1984 and has been reworked for 2011 with metallic highlights as part of a limited-run colour program that began with a bright gold called Tiger. "We've been doing hero colours, particularly on sports models, for a number of years. They're obviously attractive to customers that want something different, something a bit more extroverted," Holden's colour expert Sharon Gauci says. "We designed Perfect Blue around Peter Brock's colour. We went back to the archives and this was perfect." Brock was killed on September 8, 2006 when he lost control of his car during a road rally nearly Perth in Western Australia. But the Holden salute is not the only tribute as HDT Special Vehicles, a Queensland company owned by one of Brock's close friends, Peter Champion, also announced yesterday that it is building a VE Commodore with a 'plus pack' inspired by Brock's work in the 1980s. HDT is already building small numbers of current-model Commodores tweaked with retro styling that recalls Brock's work on the VC and VH Commodores, and now there is a hint that it will even include a born- again Energy Polariser as part of the upgrade.

Instead his fire-breathing 1982 Brock VH Commodore SS Group 3 beast is among the elite in the local muscle car world.  Micallef bought the car near-new in 1983. The VH had done just 3000km and was snapped up by a fan keen on high-performance machinery."I always wanted a performance car," he says. "My dream was an XU-1 or an A9X Torana but I happened to be in the right place at the right time and I bought it."Since then the car has undergone major improvements while still retaining its original exterior looks.  As built, the red SS Group 3 came with its stand-out black wind-splitters on the mud-guards and its long, sleek bonnet scoop.  Out the back it boasts a subtle wing and distinctive black bumper lining.The car was built at the height of Peter Brock's customised Holden Dealer Team Special Vehicles road car business.  He started it to provide road-going specials to the Holden dealers who were supporting his racing activities.Brock started with the earlier VC model and those HDT Commodores, like Vince's VH model and the later Group A VK models, have become collector's items. Brock's team's conversion of the hottest Commodore into an even more special beast as sold was a pretty hot item in its day.But Micallef sought to go a step further.  "I have customised it to my liking." he said. "There's nothing that I haven't improved on the car."  Underneath the skin his work included bumping the engine output to more than 500hp, installing an American high-performance Tremec TKO gearbox and adding racing-standard brakes and suspension set-ups.And the car has also been re-sprayed to improve its lustre."I just want it to be perfect all the time."  And it has all proved worthwhile.  Micallef paid $20,000 for the car and with the modifications it is now nudging $100,000. Over the past few years he has entered the VH in shows, where it has excelled.At the last Holden v Ford day show in Sydney in 2006, Micallef's machine won the best HDT and best model of its year and made the top 10 finalists.  And the whole project has been a family bonding exercise as his sons have become involved with the car.  "My wife used to use it as a daily shopping car. She was careful where she parked it though," he says.One of his sons  took it to the Eastern Creek dragway where it achieved an 11-second pass over the old quarter-mile (400m).  "It keeps the family together, it keeps the boys together," he says.  Micallef now uses it only for shows and occasional club runs.He has now owned it for 26 years and it has been his only performance machine.  Which is unlike many owners whose cars we feature  who have swapped and shuffled their collections around over the years.

There's nothing like good, friendly Aussie rivalry. And since the 1960s, the one played out on the racetrack, which has in turn spread to suburban driveways, has attracted some very passionate and dedicated fans on either side of the fence. It's none other than the Holden v Ford debate, pitching mate against mate, car against car.From a young age, many car fans choose a side and stick with it. Most wear their team insignia advertising their choice from head to toe.But then there are those who are best referred to as the 'more extreme' fans.Take Dave Kahila and Bob Pupovac, for example. Both have spent about $100,000 and endless hours transforming an average car from their favourite brand into a masterpiece.And both will put their cars on display at next weekend's MotorEx for the first time.For Kahila, not only did he know where his loyalties lie from a young age, he also knew exactly what car he wanted and needed to show off this allegiance.As a teenager, Kahila was full of envy when his cousin bought his dream car, a VK Commodore. Kahila continued to pester his cousin for more than 10 years, making his intentions well known.“I said one day, `I'm going to own that car'; he would say, `Yeah, yeah, whatever'. And now I've ended up owning it,” Kahila says. “He wanted to build it himself, but kept putting it off.“It sat in the garage for about five years. Over coffee, I said, `Sell me the car'. He said, `All right'. I think he just got sick of me asking,” he says.And with the car finally in his possession, Kahila then enlisted the help of his younger brother, Paul, and the pair got to work.“We stripped every nut and bolt, every panel, every door, paint stripped it, supercharged it, put a nine-inch diff on it, tubbed the back ... it was a full custom restoration,” he says.“Ever since I was a kid that was my dream to have a blue VK Commodore.”This is the third car Kahila has restored, and the one he lists as the best. While he bought the brown car on his own for $5000, he has now given half of the ownership to his brother for all his help on the project. He estimates the car would be worth between $50,000 to $60,000, despite the extra money he spent restoring it.But to him, it's priceless.And when examining the extravagant nature of it, it's clear this isn't your daily driver.Kahila says he mainly takes it out on the weekends and is often greeted with some fairly scared responses, especially from the noise.“They freak out, it turns heads big time.They really get scared, it's so loud.”And it's not just kids with this reaction. Kahila says it's “kids, dogs, grown-ups, everyone, all the time”. Kahila may be proud of his car, but that doesn't mean he'll be embarking on another one any time soon.“I'm not allowed to do anymore,” he says, mentioning the house he is in the process of building. "I have got two kids, I've married recently, there's just no time for them (the cars). My wife hates it.”Kahila also says that he's not prepared to spend the huge amount of money that is needed with a new project.However, that doesn't mean he has completely finished this one yet. “Once I've finished the house, I'm planning to strip it and do the underneath, make it a full proper showroom car. I want to go that little bit extra.”While he's a Holden man, Kahila is one of those rare fans who doesn't mind Fords as well. But when it comes to V8 Supercars and the car he loves to own, he always has his Holden hat on.Over in the other corner is Bob Pupovac.There's no sitting on the fence at any time for this self-described “Ford freak”.“I've always loved them, always, the shape of them, and they're quicker,” he says.Pupovac became a Ford fan at a young age, and says it's a bit of a mystery as to why he fell in love with the blue oval. “One of my uncles has always been into drag racing,” he says.However, Pupovac says his father always drove a Ford, although wasn't really a big car enthusiast. And like Kahila, he's turned his dream car into a reality. His is in the guise of a 1981 Ford Fairmont XE ESP — the very first car he purchased 11 years ago, at just 18 years old.He says he paid $5500 for it and spent the first five years cruising around in it as his daily driver.But Pupovac knew it had a lot more potential.“About seven, eight years ago I pulled the car down to a bare shell,” he says. “I've added a supercharger, fuel injection, airbags, suspension, a roll cage, 20-inch wheels, I could keep going on forever but that's probably the main ones.”Pupovac, who co-owns a Bridgestone Tyre Centre, completed the restoration in stages with his business partner. He still plans to spend another $10,000 on brakes and suspension.“I love doing it, it's like a hobby,” Pupovac says.He gets a similar reaction to Kahila when he takes the car out. “People freak out, they can't believe the size of the engine and wheels.“I plan to drive it a bit more about and I'm going to race it as well,” he adds. FAST FACTS1986 VK COMMODOREEngine: 355 cubic inch with supercharger, 500kW at the motor 328kW at rear wheelsValue: $50,000-$60,000 1981 FORD FAIRMONT XE ESPOwner: Bob PupovacEngine: 408 cubic-inch Cleveland, 395kW at the wheelsValue: $60,000-$80,000 WHERE TO SEE THEMWhere:  MotorExWhen: next weekend June 30 - July 1Where: Sydney Olympic Park, HomebushMore than 50 Ford and Holdens, plus more than 500 hot rods, street machines, performance and classic cars, exceeding $60 million in value.  

Racing legend Peter Brock drove many race cars in his long and successful career. And with his passing late last year, the value of his classics increased dramatically. So it's not surprising that what could be the most important car of his life, where he first began his racing passion, has been valued at a massive $400,000. Or is it surprising?It's not a vehicle from the muscle car family and there's no V8 power under the bonnet. The only race track it's been on was a self-made dirt course on the Brock family farm.It has no brakes and has been sitting in pieces for more than 50 years.But now, the 1929 Austin 7, the car where the racing legend learned to drive at the age of 12, is driveable once again.After six months of hard work, restorer Peter Denman has returned the car from Brock's childhood to its original form.As a friend of Brock's and with his wife as the director of the Peter Brock Foundation, Denman put his hand up for the job.He used four photographs that were taken at the time by Brock's older brother Neil, to help in the restoration process.The photographs of the engine, chassis and rear end allowed him to recreate the car as closely as possible.“The car was remarkably complete except for a few items,” he says.“The original engine was on it and the chassis was the original. It needed quite a bit of cutting rust out and so forth.”Denman says that despite its small size, there was considerable work involved, including a rebuild on the front and rear ends, the gearbox and repairing the engine.The engine was in a poor state and was split in half, so Denman had to call on the Austin 7 club to help weld it together so the original engine could remain in the car.Another obstacle Denman faced was the flooring. As the original had rotted away, he used wood Peter had collected to make his own furniture in recent years.Brock's younger brother, Lewis Brock, last weekend re-enacted the image of Brock racing around the family farm in his first car.He says the image of Peter and his dad working on the car is etched in his memory.“I won't forget it, all the boys were involved in varying degrees, but it was Peter's car. He did the work on it,” he says.Lewis fondly recalls Peter getting into trouble from their mother for cutting the body of the car with an axe. He says she was more concerned about the damage to the axe.Lewis believes he and Peter were the only two to have driven the car as youngsters and the one time he got behind the wheel, he ended up in a palm tree.“I was struggling to get my legs down to the pedals,” he says.Lewis says his brother had to fine-tune his skills of going down through the gears and putting it into a slide in order to stop.Brock drove the car until he was 16. Although many decades have passed, Lewis says the noise of the engine is still identical from their childhood.“It's fabulous,” he says. “When we started the engine, my uncle Sandy was there ... we looked at each other when the car fired up and said that's the same noise.”Both Lewis and Denman describe it as interesting to drive, Denman claiming it feels like a “rocket ship”. “It only weighs probably 200kg.“It's very, very low to the ground, it's something that you couldn't describe,” he says.Lewis is concerned over the lack of brakes and says he won't be driving it again until brakes are installed.The previous owner bought the car from Sandy Brock 45 years ago and had it sitting in the roof of his factory for most of that time. About 10 years ago he discovered it was Brock's first car.Lewis says Brock knew about the car, but didn't have any plans to reclaim it. But after Brock's death last year, the owner decided to sell it and it was purchased and donated to the Peter Brock Foundation by a supporter.“Peter would be rapt,” Lewis says. “He would think it was a hoot and he was probably sitting on the back axle watching me drive it. That's what it felt like.”If Brock's history was taken out of the picture, Denman says the car would be worth a lot less.“The car itself is probably worth $2000 if you wanted to buy one, for the chassis, the engine, that's what you'd pay,” he says. “It's the history of the car, the car is complete.”The Peter Brock Foundation will now display the car at different shows and racetracks around the country and it's likely to end up in a museum.“When Peter signed signatures he'd put on posters `follow your dreams',” Lewis says.“That's where it started for him, he turned it into something to hone his skills in.”And Lewis says Peter would want everyone to see it. While this might have been his first, there are many more cars where Brock mastered his driving skills. According to the fans and collectors, Brock would have raced more than 100 cars during his time on the track. The most valued and important of those would have been his victories at Bathurst.Queenslander Peter Champion has a collection of 32 Brock cars, both ones he raced and road registered models.He's collected the cars over the past 15 years and believes they would be worth between $6 million and $7 million.The collection includes a replica of the Austin A30 Brock raced in 1967, a project Brock's step-son James Brock completed for Champion. The first Bathurst car Brock raced, the 1969 Monaro is also in the collection, as well as the 1974 L34 Torana and the 1982, 1983 and 1984 Bathurst-winning Commodores.He also has the Ford Sierra and the 2002 Motorola-sponsored Commodore that he raced at Bathurst. And Champion this week said he and his team are currently rebuilding the car that claimed Brock's life.“I'm guessing they're worth from half a million to a million each, that's what people say. I don't get involved, they're not for sale.”As Brock's friend, navigator and competitor, Champion wants to share his collection from Brock's career with the public.“I'm building a museum which I have been doing for a number of years. Peter was involved in with me for quite a few years. A lot of the personal stuff, he gave to it,” Champion says.“The reason he was an icon was because he always had time for people, he always stood there and signed autographs, he stayed well after dark.”Champion says the museum should be opened in Queensland by the end of the year.Fellow Queenslander, David Bowden, has his own slice of Brock history. He owns the Bathurst-winning A9X Torana's from 1978 and 1979, as well as Brock's 1987 VL Commodore. He says that although the value of the cars has increased with Brock's passing, Bowden's not comfortable talking about what they're worth.“It's so hard, he was such a good mate to everyone, that I hate talking about things like that,” he says.The value is not important, Bowden says, as he wouldn't consider selling them at this stage. He says he's spent too much money building up his collection to sell them.“I don't expect to jump on for a quick profit,” says Bowden, who often sends his cars to Bathurst so the public can see them.“Brocky” did his last hot lap at Bathurst in the 1979 A9X Torana. Where are they now? Brock's classic cars 1967 Austin A30 original lost, replica owned by Peter Champion1969 Monaro (Bathurst third place) owned by Peter Champion1972 XU-1 Torana (Bathurst winner) owned by Glen Amos1973-74 XU-1 Torana sold last year for $500,000 to an anonymous Melbourne buyer1974 L34 Torana owned by Peter Champion1975 Torana (Bathurst winner) lost1978 A9X Torana (Bathurst winner) owned by David Bowden1979 A9X Torana (Bathurst winner) owned by David Bowden1979 Commodore (Round Australia trial winner) owned by Holden1980 Commodore (Bathurst winner) claimed to be owned by Rowan Harmon1982-83 VH Commodore (Bathurst winner) owned by Peter Champion1983 VH Commodore (Bathurst car) owned by Peter Champion1984 VK Commodores (Bathurst winner and third) owned by Peter Champion and the Bathurst Museum1986 Commodore Spa 24-Hour Race owned by Peter Champion1987 VL Commodore (Bathurst winner) owned by David Bowden1988 BMW (Bathurst car) unknown1989-1990 Ford Sierra owned by Peter Champion2003 Monaro 24-hour race winner owned by Rob Sherrard2006 Daytona Coupe owned by Peter Champion 

As a friend and fan of Brock, Len Pennisi not only owns and treasures his three Brock Commodores, he's also keeping the Brock memory alive through Brock's former company, HDT Special Vehicles based at Revesby.Pennisi and his brother Sid bought the HDT Special Vehicles company in 1994.“It always was a legacy to keep the cars going the same way he did it, exactly the way he ran it, with enthusiasm and passion. And to make sure people have the parts to keep these cars on the road,” he says.Not only does he own the company, he also raced VC Commodores himself and currently owns three Brock Commodores; a white VK group III model, a red VH and a white VC.He says through HDT — where they fix, provide spare parts and build and sell Brock Commodores — they've seen the cars recently boom in popularity.“Unfortunately with Peter Brock's demise last year, cars quadrupled in value ... everybody wants a piece of that era,” he says.“Collectors are buying them, not selling them again and they're not getting driven.“A lot of people are buying them to make money, like buying a house.”Pennisi says Brock's first VC Commodore model was worth around $12,000 to $15,000 just 18 months ago. They're now selling for around $35,000 to $40,000. “ I sold a good VH a couple of days after Brock's death for $24,000 and it sold recently for $46,000. I can't see them going down ... we have more people wanting to buy than we have cars to sell,” he says.Pennisi says it's not only the death of Brock that has contributed to the increase in value, but also the astronomical amounts being paid for other older cars such as Holden Monaros, Valiant Chargers and Ford Falcons.As they become less accessible, people turn elsewhere to cars such as the Commodores, he says. Pennisi says about 5000 cars were officially built, with perhaps 3000 surviving .He says there are still some owners who enjoy their Brock Commodores as daily drivers, but a lot of care has to be taken as they are easy targets for thieves. And while the older, more sought-after cars may have taken muscle to drive, Pennisi says the Brock Commodores have no such problem.“They have airconditioning and power steering, disc brakes, plush interiors and they are comfortable to drive. They have everything — power, handling and room to put five people in them,” he says.And the other appealing factor is the cars served a dual purpose; they could hold their own on the track or the road.Most Brock Commodores came out with 5.0-litre V8 engines, although Pennisi says six-cylinder turbo engines were also available as an option in the late 1980s.“It's not like today's supercars. You can't buy a car raced on the track as a road car but in those days you could buy almost the same car as was being raced,” he says.“You could take it to the track as well as (use it as) an all-purpose type of car. They had a very nice interior, unique wheels, unique body kit and specific engine modifications.”As for the Pennisi brothers, keeping both HDT and the memory of their racing hero alive is a top priority.“I knew him personally for over 20 years,” Len says. “The day it happened (Brock's death) reminded me of JFK. The world stopped, everyone was ringing us up and asking what happened. I got phone calls from all over Australia and even overseas, 2 1/2 days after that people could not believe it happened. It took me months to believe it.”And with the passion that Pennisi as well as fellow Brock Commodore owners possess, people won't forget these cars.“Obviously I was that passionate that I raced them, bought the company, own the cars and still work with them today,” he says.Fast factsVehicle: Brock CommodoreValue: when new: around $20,000Value two years ago:VC: $12,000-$15,000VH: $24,000Value now: $35,000-$45,000Verdict: The legend lives on in these classic Brock Commodores of the 1980s. They've become even more sought-after since the death of Peter Brock last year.