RAPIDLY becoming 1 of Commonwealth of Australia'sec virtually mobile motorists is Lou Kingsley, seventy-twelvemonth-one-time Sydney racing driver. Lou'sec f 103 1000.p.h. touring Holden sedan has been featured too tested in WHEELS together with his successes on race tracks all over Australia with his i Jaguar, Mercedes as well as more than recently, a Repco-Holden, are good known.
Now he adds Australia'second fastest commercial vehicle to his stable —a 130 b.h.p. Holden station sedan, owned past Lou's wife, Flo, just modified to conform Lou's sense of taste in rapid motoring. It is capable of a genuine 103 one thousand.p.h. (come across operation panel), provides startling acceleration, handles extremely well, nevertheless is quite docile inwards acme gear. This much we learned past hammering the vehicle over our examination grade, on a twenty-four hour period that was punctuated by rain in addition to freshened with gusty winds.
Considering its terrific performance too the fact that we drove it amongst the loud pedal downwards for nigh of the time, the hot carriage exhibited a surprisingly pocket-size thirst for heart petrol. As our comparing performance chart shows, it is exclusively 14.v per cent less economical than the criterion version. Outwardly, the Kingsley Holden looks like any other. Inside there are a few changes which reach a hint or two. The front end seats are clearly ex-Jaguar together with 3 additional instruments are neatly mounted inward a subsidiary panel — a tachometer, H2O temperature gauge too oil force per unit area gauge. The Jaguar seats add together a mensurate of comfort that has to live sat in to be believed.
As fitted to this Holden the Mk. V Jag seats take been modified. Lou acquired them from a wrecker's 1000, had them broadened, lowered in addition to 1 e-trimmed with a base of operations of foam prophylactic. In add-on to providing the form of back up a rider needs inwards a 100 k.p.h. motorcar, these seats are fitted amongst 4 style adjustment — upwardly, down, backwards too forrard.
Other non-Holden modifications are:
• An over-bored cylinder block, fitted amongst a Repco head.
• Brakes with larger bike cylinders together with PBR booster unit.
• A cantilever trammel.
• Newton stupor absorbers.
• A undercover anti-thief ignition switch.
We borrowed the vehicle when the speedometer was showing iv,025 miles. The Repco engine had been installed at 600 miles too was in that location-fore free plenty to pass on of its best.
Since the engine conversion solitary had price several hundreds of pounds, we asked the obvious enquiry: "Will y'all be racing this vehicle, Lou?" "Definitely no. It belongs to my wife, so we'll function it only for store-ping, for towing our caravan and normal touring." "Then why," we countered, "did yous non put your money into ane of the Detroit designs? Some take about the same power to weight ratio as this, even inward stock class." Lou's respond was feature. "For years I take owned large American cars. Then I switched to the smaller automobile together with, frankly, it will live a long time before I go dorsum. I like a modest vehicle. But I as well like enough of power. I would never live satisfied alongside a motorcar with average performance, specially equally I tow a caravan on trips lasting thousands of miles. "I decided on a Holden station carriage later completing 30,000 miles in my Repco-Holden sedan.
Its re-liability amazed me. Not alone did the measure components stand up upwardly to the operate, just the Repco head itself gave no trouble. So far, I have solely replaced one prepare of valve springs as well as had the rocker arms rebushed." So, alongside that testimonial in mind, nosotros took the Repco-carriage on a full-blooded high speed examination, omitting our normal horror stretch of crude roads equally the intermission characteris-tics have non been changed, except for the replacement of touchstone shocks with Newton units.
Apart from the tremendous surge of ability, we establish that top gear flexibility was a surprise feature. Few actually hot engines are amiable at low speeds, but the Repco conversion is an exception. The engine develops about 130 b.h.p. at v,500 r.p.k. together with is hot indeed. Yet on several occasions we plant it possible to act away from 15 one thousand.p.h. inwards tiptop gear amongst a lively burst of acceleration together with no detonation. Tramping on the trammel at 35 thousand.p.h. inward tiptop gear produces a sensation akin to being kicked inward the tail past a football thespian. As the operation figures present, the acceleration inwards each gear is enough to get out well-nigh sports cars lingering inwards the background In comparing with the factory station sedan the Kingsley version is 25 per cent faster, fifteen per cent quicker on the standing quarter mile as well as solely fourteen.v per cent less economical.
Credit for this goes to the engineers at Repco. They built upwardly this engine, alongside a compression ratio of viii.ii as well as cylinder bores enlarged to 38 in. We've given descriptions of the Repco conversion inwards these pages several times in the by as well as it would serve no use to become over the ground again. It is worth men-tioning, though, that the camshaft (in this particular machine) is semi-race in grind, and then equally to hand reasonable flexibility besides every bit abundant ability. The block is a normal Holden unit too all parts were assembled with a selective check by Repco.
The crank-shaft in addition to bearings are touchstone. The exhaust system consists of a double extractor, alongside three cylinders coupled to 1 extractor too the other iii to a twin extractor, as shown inwards our photograph. At present the gases encounter in a com-mon muffler simply plans are afoot to innovate a second muffler. As it stands the arrangement is more or less-what noisy, both when idling together with working hard. Idling is rough. Rough, that is, inwards comparison with criterion but sure no rougher than could be expected from a ability plant developing twice the ability intended past the manufacturers. Rather surprisingly the engine runs rattling cool.
Despite hard driv-ing, endless tests on the strip in addition to several blasts over the measured quarter mile, the water temperature estimate never showed more than 140 degress F. throughout. At normal high speed cruising the temperature dropped to 130 deg., which is far as well cool. For maximum efficiency an engine of this sort should oper-ate around 180 degrees water temperature, at to the lowest degree. This job is i which will live worked on by Lou Kingsley afterwards. When nosotros tested the Holden the fuel economic system worked out at 23.seven m.p.g. for fast touring in addition to xx.2 1000.p.g. during the menses when we made all functioning tests. Good though these figures were under the circumstances, Lou reports even better mileages on tour , he recorded 17 k.p.g. on occasions. institute the braking to be adequate, provided that the remained cool.
With a weighty caravan inwards tow as well as speeds around threescore 1000.p.h. where possible several We only drums expected, in that location is appreciable fade when the going gets actually tough. Lou proposes to counter this by fitting PBR heavy duty drums inwards place of standard. At i stage he was considering plumbing fixtures disc brakes to his sedan too subsequently — if successful — mayhap likewise to the railroad vehicle. He acquired a brace of cal-lipers too had the discs particularly machined. The quaternary disc proved blow-hole ridden too so the initial tests were suspended, pending farther investigation. However, on skilful advice, Lou lastly abandoned the project. He had been assured that the disc brakes would demand ii booster units to hand a reasonably lite pedal force per unit area.
Few cars nowadays are fitted amongst a cantilever confine but Lou swears past them as well as his cars take been and then fitted The confine is hinged well-nigh two inches from the bottom as well as a small-scale metal arch is attached to the base. The driver'second heel sits in this, then that the restrain can be snapped shut merely past applying heel pres-certain.
Acceleration is done in the normal style. It took us a short patch to go used to this organisation, only its merits are there. We intend a cantilever trammel is sure worthwhile for an enthusiast. Lou'second original policy was to continue the railroad vehicle every bit standard equally possible and then that in that location would be no spare parts problems on tour. But slowly he is moving away from his master concept. At the acquaint fourth dimension the clutch force per unit area plate is stock. only a heavy duty one volition be fitted before long. By the time this article appears in impress a 4-speed gearbox with a flooring modify volition too be fitted. The unit of measurement inwards inquiry is an ex-one thousand.thou. TC, which is currently beingness rebuilt. Summing Up:
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