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Hyper Review: HSV Maloo R8 LSA

Before we start, I must apologize for the lack of my own photos on this write-up. No excuses really, except that I was having too much fun to remember “Hey shit, I need to take photos”, and my time with the car came to end prematurely. Regardless, the guys at HSV have been more than accommodating and have given me access to photos off their media library. Anyways, I digress. So before we get to…

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Utes were originally intended to be a cheap vehicle for the working man to lug his tools and goods around. Rugged, cheap, readily available, and plenty of space to store your gear. But since the invention of the motor car, us petrolheads just can’t leave things alone. John’s build is a fine example of a Ute, that’s pretty much now useless at being a Ute.

With an old school 265 HEMI 6 under the hood shaking everything to bits, it’s not much use for lugging your tools and crap around in the back anymore, but what it is good at is burning tyres and screaming down a quarter mile at the Dragstrip.

This Ute has been built on a seriously surprising budget, but it’s been done right. No corners cut anywhere, and the focus of this build has been on the engine, with light resto work around the rest of the car. Thankfully, the Queensland Climate keeps the dreaded tin-worm away but isn’t very forgiving on the paint. It’s been resprayed in matte black for quite some time now, and the sun has faded the paint in just the right places that gives the Ute a badass look to it.

Stepping inside the car is quite something as well. The only giveaway that this Ute has something going on is the aftermarket Tacho, steering wheel, and the absence of a passenger seat. Everything else is factory, and surprisingly all the OEM dials actually work!

Now, the engine. What a peach. It started off as a standard 265 HEMI, but John and his Father have put some incredible work in to this motor. 120thou off the head is unimaginable in most cars, and with the 60thou oversize pistons, this thing has ridiculous compression. Specs of the E49 cam are pretty aggressive, 12.11mm of lift and 308degree duration on both intake and exhaust, results in a lovely lumpy idle and with it’s double valve springs, allows the car to rev considerably higher than stock. Power output is unknown at this time, but it’s currently running 15’s down the quarter mile without proper fine tuning of the carb and lightning up the tyres in first.

The car originally was a 3 speed manual on the column, but the engine has now been mated to a 4 speed Borg Warner manual from a later Valiant, so some light fab work on the transmission tunnel was needed but nothing too crazy.

The Ute’s close to being finished, and it’s just about running right. Soon the car will be going to the next Mopar Sunday to start chasing PB’s down the quarter mile. Other than the Ute, Jon and his dad have a load of other cool cars, including a mint convertible Chrysler / Valiant Dart, another coupe Dart sitting away, and a couple of rolling shells. One of which being an Chrysler / Valiant Charger but that’ll be too much to blab on about so I’ll just leave bonus pics down below.

Specs:

Engine: 265 HEMI 6 cylinder 120thou head skim(?!) Double valve springs 60thou oversized flat top pistons E49 spec cam (rough specs can be found here http://www.crowcams.com.au/FindaProduct/tabid/92/ProdID/15551/6703__HEMI_E49_USE_15t_oilpump_gear.aspx) Balanced bottom end Extractors out to a straight side pipe 650 Holley 4 barrel carby on a Cain 4 barrel manifold

Transmission: 4 speed Borg Warner manual conversion, light fab work to transmission tunnel Standard diff Standard body, mild restoration / plating and matte black respray.

Suspension: Stock all round Slotmags on standard road tyres

  Bonus gallery:

Featured: A Valiant Beast Rumbles to Life Utes were originally intended to be a cheap vehicle for the working man to lug his tools and goods around.

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Downshift are probably one of the biggest modified car communities in Australia and with large communities come big meets and events. Downshift are one of those communities that appreciate all cars, from exotic supercars to your daily banger. So when you go to their meets, you can expect a super friendly atmosphere that bring a wide range of cars from your domestic V8 Ute, daily driven classic Datsuns, to supercars and rare JDM imports.

Circuit and Coffee was held at Queensland Raceway, in the outer suburbs of Brisbane, at the end of the aptly named “Champions Way”. Down this road, not only will you find the circuit at the end, but an outdoor karting track and a whole other array of automotive goodies where you could really spend a whole weekend at.

Anyways, I digress. Parking up at the event I felt a bit out of place since I rocked up in a bog standard Landcruiser Prado which is not exactly “car guy” material but really, who cares? Walking through the gates of the QLD Raceway compound found me ogling at a huge variety of cars. The first thing to strike me was a Hilux Ute lifted so high you could probably have a picnic under the bloody thing. Through the gates and in to the pits and in the paddocks sat plenty of Evo’s, Skyline’s, a few Supra’s and loads loads more. There was even a Mitsubishi RVR Hyper Sports Gear there – Something I’ve never seen before and holy shit is it an impressive beast. Essentially A Mitsubishi Galant VR4 underneath the body, it’s had the incredible 4G63T engine shoved in it because, well, Japan. Fair to say it wasn’t the slowest thing on the straight away.

One of my favourite cars ever is the Alfa Giulia. It’s one of the most beautiful old italian classics and to see one there was awesome. What I couldn’t quite figure out though, was why the hell it was spitting giant flames, and keeping up with an HSV Commodore like a walk in the park. Also, it made boosty wastegate noises so I figured out that it was a bit special. I’m not very good with old Alfa engines, but it looked like the standard one – From the outside anyways – with a big giant fuck off turbo strapped to the side of it. I wasn’t sure on the power it was running, but the way it was going that day I don’t think numbers really matter.

As it was a happy laps session and not a full track day, competitive driving and lap attacks weren’t permitted so taking it easy on the corners and battling it out on the straight was what the day was all about. I’ll be honest by saying I thought this sounded pretty lame, but actually it looked like a hell of a load of fun and standing by the pit wall while people have their foot to the floor was awesome photo and video opportunity. I was tempted to take the TurdCruiser but it would probably die out there. Not only was the track open, they had a skid pan ready for use for… Well, skids. Line up, have a skid for a few minutes then get out and let your mate have a go hooning around the figure 8. Again, if it’s got a motor and RWD, whatever you bring is game. Including this old V8 Rover SD1, check out that body roll.

Circuit & Coffee wasn’t the only event that was going on there that day, so not only did I get the pleasure of seeing awesome modified cars, but the American Trans Am races were on that day as well so the paddocks were full of old American Muscle race cars, single seater kit cars, and plenty of other race cars. Including this rally / time attack Evo which was just incredible. It reminded me a bit of the HKS Time Attack Evo.

This is the second Downshift event that Ive been to and like before it was a really great day out and I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for more meets and events that they’ll be organising. The wide variety of cars, from JDM Royalty, supercars, to your run of the mill daily beater is something you don’t get in a lot of meets so no matter what you drive, you’ll be with open and like-minded enthusiasts.

As always, enjoy the rest of the photos.

Belated Coverage of Downshift Circuit & Coffee Downshift are probably one of the biggest modified car communities in Australia and with large communities come big meets and events.

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A post shared by Hyper_Octane - ハイパー オクタン (@hyper_octane)

ON A BOAT MUTHA FUCKAS. #boat #bcf #fishing #brisbane #hyperoctane #captainfizbne #fizbne #australia #catchafish #speedboat #VIP #fisherman

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Ooooooo. Rainbow Story Bridge. #rainbow #storybridge #Brisbane #australia #straya #travelling #arty #farty #

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Amazing coffee and a sick truck at @deathbeforedecaf247 #chevrolet #c10 #americanmuscle #ute #truck #pickup #V8 #muscle #espresso #coffee #drag #deathbeforedecaf #usdm #stickers #punk #rock #metal #alternative #Brisbane #brissylife

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So damn clean #jps #Mazda #mazdaspeed #rx7 #FC #fcrx7 #Rex #coupe #turbo2 #rotary #13b #bridgeport #brisbane #JDM #drift #grip #watanabe #volkracing #raysengineering #Volk #stance #hyperoctane #initiald

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John Player Special FC RX7. #jps #Mazda #rx7 #FC #fcrx7 #Rex #coupe #turbo2 #rotary #13b #bridgeport #brisbane #JDM #drift #grip #watanabe #volkracing #raysengineering #Volk #stance #hyperoctane #initiald

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A write up of my visit to @dreamautomotive earlier in the year. A great bunch of guys. #review #motoring #carsofinstagram #sportscars #honda #hyperoctane #JDM #tuning #civictyper #vtec #vtecchallenge @hondauk @hondaracingwtcc

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Car spotting at my job intervie. Want. #mitsubishi #evolution #lancer #evo #evo9 #JDM #AWD #rally #ralliart #grip #drift #powerslide #wrc #mitsi #mitsubishimotors #triplediamondsociety #hyperoctane

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Cross town traffic. #brisbane #traffic #ford #mustang #68 #ponycar #musclecar #muscle #V8 #V6 #i6 #inline #straightpipe #classic #classiccars #americanmuscle #americanclassic #usdm #JDM #drag #street #OEM #stock

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Oh man I want it. #ford #falcon #ute #V8 #smallblock #bigblock #Brisbane #storybridge #pickuptruck #pickup #straya #burnout #classic #classiccars #australian #clean #JDM #ausdm

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This ute is stunning. #ford #falcon #ute #V8 #smallblock #bigblock #Brisbane #storybridge #pickuptruck #pickup #straya #burnout #classic #classiccars #australian #clean #JDM #ausdm

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At the Pistonheads Sunday service I briefly met the Dream Automotive guys when I lost my shit after seeing the Dream Auto Civic Type R. I took a few snaps, had a quick chat and we went off on our separate ways. After putting my pictures up, Andy from Dream got in touch with me via Instagram, and offered me to come up for a wander around the workshop to take pictures and hang out a bit, so a date was arranged and off I went. Bouncing along in my old Daihatsu round the dreaded M25 all the way up to Watford found me at a place where if you own a Honda, your dreams actually do come true. I got a bit lost, as is tradition, but as soon as I did I was greeted by an awesome array of cars and friendly faces.

Dream is a busy place and there’s always a project going on at some point, whether it’s one of Phil’s own builds or a customer’s own car. Sitting outside the shop was a UK Integra Type R awaiting diagnosis, a ratty old MX5 used to thrash around tracks and standing guard was the intimidating looking Dream Automotive Civic Type R complete with their own livery.

Inside the Dream factory, Phil was working on a very nice and unique Honda CRZ. It had a lightly modified engine, with an intake from a US Honda Jazz, Mugen bodykit, and being fitted were a wide arch kit imported from Malaysia. An already clean and fairly new car had it’s panels drilled, and the wide arches bolted on to fit wider wheels and rubber. A daunting task, but the end result was well worth it.

Next door to the main workshop was a room full of goodies. Painted rocker covers, harnesses, merchandise, big brake kits, and not to mention a couple of project cars. Phil’s own F20 Powered kit car on Jenvey ITB’s was sitting there ready and waiting for it’s next outing, with a customer’s EP3 Civic Type R sporting Ultra Racing Chassis braces hovering over it waiting for more work to be done.

One of the most insane builds here at Dream has to be the Mini. It looks super clean and totally unsuspecting from the outside. Even the massive over-fenders aren’t a giveaway to what this beast is hiding as wide arched Mini’s are a-plenty. Get up close and you’ll notice a side mounted intercooler, and in place of the back seats was an empty chasm where a Rotrex Supercharged K20 used to sit sending about 350bhp straight to the rear wheels. Why was there nothing in there at the moment? The customer felt like it needed more power.

Dream started off a couple of years back when Phil was a mechanic working for Honda. His talents were wasted however, so I can only assumed he Dreamed a Dream to fire up Dream Automotive and make it was it is today. For a tuning house that’s only been around for a few years, they’ve come a long long way in a very short time. Having one of the first new Type R’s before most other places has given Dream Automotive a head start with development and they’ve really sorted this car right out in such a short amount of time. So much so, it’s the safety car for the ongoing VTEC Challenge in the UK.

Currently Dyno’d at approx 375BHP this beast is not for the feint hearted. I also found this out the hard way when I asked Phil if he could take me out for a spin. Now, I’m not normally one to get scared being a passenger in a car but holy shit this thing is an absolute monster. Pouring with rain and soaking wet, private twisty roads of course and still on delivery tyres. The car was put through it’s paces but the thing still gripped like shit to a blanket.

Phil and all the guys involved with Dream Automotive are friendly, welcoming, and most importantly they’re really approachable. If you own a Honda and need anything from servicing to a full on engine conversion then Dream is for sure the way to go. While it’s on, you can see the Dream TypeR at the VTEC Challenge, it’d be a great way to see the guys in their element and also to check out a shit tonne of awesome Honda’s.

To find our more about the races then head over to VTEC Challenge

You can follow Dream Automotive on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and find them at Dream Automotive

Enjoy the gallery

My visit to Dream Automotive. Dreams do come true if you want your VTEC to go BWAAAA. At the Pistonheads Sunday service I briefly met the Dream Automotive guys when I lost my shit after seeing the Dream Auto Civic Type R.

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On the Brisbane CityHopper. Free ferry yay. #australia #straya #brisbane #Brissy #brissylife #cityhopper #kangaroopoint #cbd #goneforwalkies

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When life's being a beach. Run her over with your #landcruiser #toyota #Prado #hyperoctane #landcruiserprado #trd #trucks #AWD #beachdrive #beachdriving #beach #surf #queensland #rainbowbeach #JDM #drift #grip #4wd #4wding #australia #straya #swag