It’s a pretty common cliché that once the motorsport bug bites, you can never really shake it. However, it’s one saying that seems to ring true more often than not.

Jon grew up around motorsport when his father spent plenty of time circuit racing including a sting with a 10A rotary bolted into a Triumph which may well have been the first conversion of the type. Jon’s first stop was the quarter mile where he spent 10 years playing around with a Datsun running a Chev 350 that hurled itself down the quarter in 12s before stepping up to an small block LH Torana that ran a best of 9.8 on street tyres. Nines are nothing to be sneezed at now, but in the mid 90s that’s a serious time.

But as we get older our priorities change and for a few years, Jon moved away from racing to focus on family and work commitments. It was only when he saw the fun his younger brother was having with the Toyosports Car Club of NSW that he knew he had to get back behind the wheel.

Starting with some dirt events and super sprints, the decision was made for a dedicated track car to find it’s way into the garage. An LX Hatch filled the void for a little while, but it’s only ever a matter of time until it’s time for something faster. Jon initially set about looking for a clean VH or VK and a VN was never on the radar until this particular car popped up on Ebay.

Fitted with a VL 5litre with twin Webbers, the previous owner of this VN S Pack was keen to offload it due to a defect. Given we’re talking track cars a lack of rego isn’t really a problem so Jon snapped it up thinking it would be a perfect, budget conscious step.

Turns out it wasn’t.

The Maranello Red paint was in good nick and the body looked straight enough, as a matter of fact the doors, boot lid and rear bar is pretty much all that was left untouched. Externally, the VS sheet metal was changed out for the original VN panels and the car was treated to a VN SS Group A front bar and matching power bulge which allowed the bonnet to be cut to buy a little more room for the air cleaner. Jon isn't sure what the rear bar and spoiler are from, but it looks like VS GTS to me.

The entire stock trim was stripped out and binned, including the factory dashboard and everything behind it. Jon even went as far as stripping the sound deadening which involved many hours with a heat gun, scraper and thinners rag. Once the interior was out, a roll cage was fabricated and installed all in his own garage.

With the plan to race the car in Improved Production, the cage had to follow some very strict guidelines. The rules are very strict on the location of roll cage mounting points, so some careful planning was done in order to take advantage of what freedoms are available. Basically the Rear legs are mounted onto the rear wheel arches and are tied together by a "Harness Bar." The sill panels have been re-enforced where the main hoop and front legs attach. Behind the dash is another bar to help give the car some more rigidity. Off of the two front legs are two braces that go through the fire wall and are welded to the front strut towers. While VNs are often plagued by a floppy chassis, the addition of the roll cage- as well as the safety benefits- goes a long way towards stiffening the car up.

Mechanically, the car wasn’t all that it first appeared either. A lot of the previous owner’s claims were proven false when the motor was partially stripped for an inspection. No one likes to be taken for a ride, and given the original plan to run the car with the engine that came with it until something else was sorted, Jon was unimpressed. Luckily, the problem was solved by a VS Senator engine coming up at the right price, and it was immediately sent to Darren Farugia at Hi Speed Automotive in Girraween to be prepared for the abuse to follow.

The VS 304 was left as standard stroke with cast iron heads, but the EFI was removed and replaced by a Torque Power manifold and 750cfm race carby. Other than that, Jon is keeping mum. The decision to stay with a standard block design and iron heads was to avoid the weight penalties that can be incurred by moving to a Chev or alloy heads. The plan is to rework the fuel system and tune to get the most out of E85 fuel, but as it sits, the combo makes just shy of 500hp at the flywheel on pump fuel.

The standard suspension was removed in favour of a set of adjustable coil overs front and rear with Bilstein shocks and Nolathane bushes. Noltec adjustable strut tops, sit on the front. The front lower control arm mounting points were relocated to improve the steering geometry. Front and rear sway bars are both Selbys and the front pick up points have been moved back to the lower control arms. It’s all a bit over my head and more that you’d expect to do to a streeter, but I’m sure it handles a damn sight better than a regular street driven VN too!

For now, Jon is happy racing the car in the HDT Cup and Muscle Car Division which both belong to the Independent Race Series which Jon cannot speak highly enough of. If you are interested in more information on either event- either as a spectator or competitor-check out the web site.

Words by Mick

Pictures by Jon & www.Speedshots.com.au

Dad's racer which started it all

The VN on the track

An idea of the work that goes into a roll cage

Your VN probably doesn't handle like this

In the pits

The worked 304 provides plenty of go