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HDT "Brock" Commodore VL
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1986 - 1988 |
Country: |
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Engine: |
L6, L6 Turbo and V8 |
Capacity: |
up to 5.6 ltr. |
Power: |
up to 231kW (Director "Stroker") |
Transmission: |
5 spd. man; 3 spd. auto |
Top Speed: |
227 km/h |
Number Built: |
500+ |
Collectability: |
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The first of the HDT Special Vehicles Commodore's
for the VL range would be the Calais LE.
Initially
it was powered by the same engine as the donor car,
the Nissan sourced 6 cylinder engine being used. Naturally,
as other engines became available on the general Commodore
range the HDT engineers were quick to use these for
their cars, and so both the turbo-six and Holden 5.0
liter V8 would also find their way under the bonnet
of the Brock VL.
The mighty VL SS Group A was released in November
1986, 500 being manufactured to ensure compliance with
homologation regulations.
The bonnet scoop used a NACA
duct, while the front air dam and rear under-tray were
beautifully styled, the rear wing blending well into
the VL tail light treatment.
We would argue that this
was the first Brock Commodore where the additional
body adornments actually looked like they should have
been there, rather than the “pimp-my-ride” style
used on previous iterations.
The Group A’s engine used a Holden heavy duty
crankshaft and conrods, while the trusty Rochester
four barrel carby was carried over.
Crane roller rockers
were used, while the camshaft profiles, combustion
changer shapes and exhaust system were all improved.
The engine was mated to a Borg-Warner T5 five speed
manual, while inside the cabin wonderful “Scheel” bucket
seats were installed, the rear bench seat being re-trimmed
to match the new front pews. As expected, a Momo steering
wheel was fitted along with the mandatory HDT gear
knob.
But it was with the VL that one small device would
polarize the once close relationship between Brock
and GMH. Designed to “rearrange the car’s
molecules to improve ride, handling and overall smoothness”,
the fitment of the “Polarizer” had most
people scratching their collective heads – in
the end most agreed if it was good enough for Brock,
it was good enough for them.
The General disagreed, and so the Group A, produced
entirely by Holden, was not fitted with the device.
Meanwhile Brock deemed it mandatory for the HDT “Group
A Plus” vehicles being produced from the Special
Vehicles facility to all be fitted with the Polarizer – and
only then would they receive his highly prized signature.
A statement from the General read “GMH can see
no technical merit in it and can not endorse its use”.
The VL HDT Special Vehicles Director was quite a different
beast from that introduced with the VK range, the dramatic
new look almost being a completely new make over of
the donor car. To further demonstrate the rift that
had developed between Brock and GM, the car was now
simply named the “HDT Director”, Holden
notably being dropped from the name.
HDT may have broken away from Holden, but that did
not stop them developing some other glorious models,
including the Group Three Signature, Designer Series,
the Bathurst and Bathurst Aero. For those unable to
stretch their budgets for the purchase of a HDT
model, after market “Sport by HDT” kits
were available to fit out the more mundane variety.
We know that at least 500 Group A's were produced to
satisfy homologation requirements, however we do not
have figures for the Group Three or Director. |