So I’ve played with a couple of V8s recently but tinkering with Holden and Ford six-cylinder cars – especially my recent VC Commodore and XF Falcon wrecker-save resurrections – has reminded me of the strong heritage of Aussie-made six-cylinder cars.
Like many Aussies between the ages of – oh, I dunno – about 30 to 90, I grew up surrounded by Aussie sixes.
The scenery, while straddling my Malvern Star Dragster bike, hanging out with the other kids in my urban-sprawl cul-de-sac, included an FC Holden, a HK Premier, a husband-and-wife matching green UC Torana and Sunbird, an FE Holden, HZ Kingswood and an LC Torana GTR.
Further up the street was a HJ Holden Belmont, a HT Kingswood and a Valiant AP5. Down the other way on the other side, was a driveway hosting a weird old pommy Rover and an early Commodore.
My parents had a HK Holden Belmont and a VH Commodore SL and, later, an Aussie-built three-litre Nissan Skyline. Oddly, there were no Fords down my end of the street but hopefully you get the idea: Aussie sixes everywhere.
I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of owning a few V8s over the years (and I still do) but I reckon it’s time for me to look at buying an Aussie six as a ‘keeper’.
So what would I buy, a Holden VK Calais? Ford Fairmont Ghia? A VL Commodore turbo anything? Falcon XR6 – with or without a turbo? A Commodore S or SV6? Maybe a Skyline … It’s a good list!
Or, for my addictive fix of Aussie six, I could spend a little more money, invest some evenings and weekends, and build my own ‘hottie’. Maybe an early Commodore – a car I’m familiar with – with a modified six in it: cam, balanced crank and bits, some compression, good exhaust, and a tweaked carby.
The standard EFI Holden 3.3-litre six in the 1984 Holden Calais, had 106kW so I reckon 140kW (let’s say around 140 horses at the rear wheels), would be relatively easy from a 3.3 without being too silly.
With a five-speed manual gearbox, decent brakes and suspension, a set of quality tyres and a nice driver’s seat (like a 1980s SAAS) I reckon it would be a terrific car for twisty mountain roads.
And without being a full-on, numbers-and-stickers, Targa Tassie car it’d also be great fun at events such as the Geelong Revival in Victoria and the Surf to Summit run through the NSW Snowies. Maybe I could fakey-badge it as a Commodore GTR!
Or, inspired by my recent experience with my wrecker-save red XF Falcon, I could play with a Ford. I wouldn’t mind an ESP-inspired Falcon … but maybe a TE or TF Cortina with a warmed alloy-head six could be ‘tributed’ as an XR6! (Hey, there was a Cortina XR6 in South Africa!)
Decisions, decisions…