In March 2000, Lachlan, MTA’s Skills Manager for Light Vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Paint, and Panel, began his passion project by purchasing a new car body.
At first, his goal was to design a car specifically for racing on tracks and trails. However, as the project advanced, he chose to make the car suitable for regular road use by getting it registered. If you have an interest in modifying cars, Lachlan is an expert in this field.
“The modifications to my Ute are extensive. The Body has undergone reshaping, bodylines changed holes filled and panels graphed into the bonnet to allow for the 6.9 litre, V8 to fit.”
“The motor initially came from a 1969 BOSS Mustang as a 5.8-liter Ford Windsor. I made modifications by customising the crank to give it a 4-inch stroke and increased the bore to a little over 4.0 inches. This involved using custom Ross Pistons and Carrillo H beam rods. The compression ratio is around 11:1. To enhance strength, I filled the water jacketing inside the block with epoxy resin. On top of the block, I installed Edelbrock Victor cylinder heads. I had these sent to Bullet CNC machining where they were ported to the heads for maximum flow and performance. On top of it all sits an EFI Super Victor intake manifold and a 1300 CFM throttle body. For fuel and ignition control, I use a MOTEC ECU. Finally, the exhaust exits the engine via a custom twin 3-inch system.”
“Connected to the Windsor engine is a ceramic clutch and a Tremec TKO manual gearbox. This power then transfers to the 9-inch Competition Engineering differential housing, utilising a 4.4:1 gear ratio that propels the wheels through full floating 35-spline axles. The rear wheels consist of 17”x11” three-piece Simmons on the back and 17”x10” Simmons on the front. Stopping power comes from the Willwood 6-piston callipers both at the front and rear. These brakes have a bias valve in the system so the braking pressure can be split from front to rear depending on track conditions or road conditions.”
“I redesigned the suspension, fitting coilovers in the front and rear also incorporating a watts linkage to the rear for better handling and performance. The original fuel system was changed to add twin, 12 mm fuel lines and twin Bosch motorsport 044 fuel pumps to support the fuel demand. The original fuel system has been revised and I built a rear drop tank to allow for extra fuel and weight over the rear wheels for better traction.”
“Inside the cabin, a pair of VELO carbon fibre race seats are mounted. The trims are finished in black leather. The dash was redesigned and filled with Autometer race gauges, for me to keep a focus on what is going on mechanically. I also included a heavy-duty sound system in the car, but the only music I generally play is from the exhaust. The build took approximately 7 years. I get a lot of enjoyment from the old girl.”
Thank you, Loc, for being our final Mod of the Month for 2023!
