Past Winner Spotlight: Wyatt Phelps’s 1981 Holden VH Commodore SLE
Wyatt Phelps from New South Wales is now at the wheel of an absolute classic, a 1981 Holden VH Commodore SLE, valued at $75,000. This car is all about blending old school style with serious street performance.
Finished in its factory colour thanks to a respray four years ago, it looks as fresh as the day it rolled off the line. The immaculate factory trim has been carefully kept, while the engine bay has been fully shaved and features boxed rails for a clean and tough finish. The Wilwood brake booster delete and Astra power steering conversion are neatly hidden for a sleek look, while dual catch cans and re-chromed bars add a touch of shine.
New lights keep everything looking fresh, and out back, there’s a custom surge style race tank in the boot with the battery relocated to an aluminium box.
Under the bonnet is a serious Holden powerplant: a VS Holden 5.0 V8 block with a COME 355 stroker crank (Chev journal crank), Scat H beam rods with ARP bolts, and SRP pistons 20 thou over, with skirts coated by Racecoatings. It’s got ACL bearings and ARP studs throughout, a sealed power ring pack, BAM BB4 solid roller lifters, and a custom solid roller cam with .680 lift and 260s duration.
The heads are CNC ported VN cast heads with cosmetic head gaskets, Ferrea stainless valves, PAC valve springs, tool steel retainers and collets, and YT shaft rockers with 7/8 bolts. Oil control is sorted with a custom fabricated sump, external pickup, and a modified ported oil pump.
Fuel and air come via an Edelbrock single plane intake and a 2 inch billet super sucker spacer, topped with an 850 QFD Diamond carburettor. Ignition is handled by an ICE digital ignition system, and the engine’s dressed up with Shaun’s billet valve covers.
Exhaust is a work of art with Pacemaker tri-y headers, custom stainless collector, and a twin 3 inch into single 3.5 inch system that makes sure this VH sounds as tough as it looks.
On the engine dyno, it makes 593 horsepower on MS109 and 575 horsepower on 98, serious numbers for a street car.
Backing it up is a newly built T350 transmission with an upgraded sprag and full manual valve body, built to handle 650 horsepower. It’s paired with a Dominator 6000 converter, B&M ratchet shifter, and a GJ 3 inch aluminium tailshaft with billet yolks.
The rear end is built to handle the punishment with a BorgWarner diff, billet 31 spline axles, a Harrop TruTrac differential, and Spicer 3.91 gears. Stopping power comes from Wilwood disc brakes all round in a Chev pattern.
The suspension setup features Viking double adjustable shocks, BMRC lower arms with poly bushes, and Showtime upper adjustable arms. It’s all fresh too, with only 2000km on the driveline.
Wyatt’s VH Commodore is a perfect example of how to build a tough street car that still looks every bit the classic SLE. Congratulations to Wyatt Phelps, another past winner who’s now rolling in true Aussie muscle style!
