First published in the June 2004 issue of Street Machine

Looking for a week off to detune yourself from the rigours of modern living? Try the annual DLRA Speed Week, held in March on Lake Gairdner, deep in South Oz. Speed Week usually runs straight after the Melbourne F1 Grand Prix — and trust us, you couldn’t get two more different events.

Instead of tickets costing around $400, you can watch the racing for free. Instead of champagne, think beer. Instead of overpriced international cuisine, think a roast dinner with dessert and a cuppa for $10. Five star accommodation? Only if you bring it. Massive corporate sponsorship? Not bloody likely, though most cars have plenty of borrowed bits and pieces to get them going. Grid girls? On your bike!

Don’t come looking for a massive party or a piss-up either, that’s not what Speed Week is about. Nope, the real attraction is getting away from the daily grind and into some of the most beautiful countryside in Oz. You’ll meet some beaut people, see some really cool machinery and, unlike the F1, you never know who’ll come out on top.

The nuts and bolts read like this: the vehicles race one at a time over a nine-mile course, with speed measured across the middle three miles — from mile 3-4, 4-5 and 5-6. There’s also a set of lights recording the quarter mile from 3-3¼, and a set for the km up to the six-mile mark, though there are no km records.

Cars and bikes are divided up into classes depending on engine, fuel, body and chassis mods, and range from streetable production cars to a blown, hemi-powered belly tank. If you wanna race, you’ll need to join the DLRA and fork out the $100 lifetime membership fee, plus your car will have to meet the DLRA’s safety standards for your class.

Like any other form of racing, you’ll need to do a number of licensing passes. You’ll also have to obey the laws of the land — such as tarps under all cars on the salt — or you’ll be out on your ear.

While there is plenty of good-natured rivalry, most competitors battle with themselves to claim a class record, to set a new PB or to break through a barrier, such as the elusive 200mph mark.

This year’s event was tough. Light rain threatened to cut short the fun early in the piece and a strong tailwind on Tuesday meant that none of the runs could be counted as records. Plenty of fancied runners fell victim to mechanical dramas. Rod Hadfield’s Commodore broke its big-dollar Richmond gearbox. The Big Knob roadster of Hardinge/Belot/Williams did its motor, while the awesome Hemi-powered belly tank of John Lynch spent most of the week with clutch dramas.

As the week went on, they dropped like flies, but there was plenty of stuff going on to keep everyone interested. The bike boys were out in force, with a bunch of Suzuki Hayabusas out to crack the magic 200, including a turbocharged mutha. In the end, Garry Peterson, Grant Schlein and Gary Baker all did the deed.

You certainly meet some interesting characters. At one point I moseyed over to the Rickshaws camp, where Stan and his teammates (all called Stan to avoid confusion) were prepping the ailing Boss 302 in their mean black roadster. “We’ve got a coolant leak somewhere,” said Stan as he tipped some Bars Leaks into the radiator.

“We’ll take it for a test run after lunch and if it holds together we’ll bring it out in the morning and screw its neck, then go home.”

Stan has no idea how much grunt the Boss — built by schoolmate Ben Gatt — is putting out, but he knows it’s never enough.

Another Stan pulled the plugs out and there was much discussion about what they revealed. “Joe Gatt usually comes with us, he’s our plug-ologist,” said this Stan ruefully.

Good-natured ribbing and rivalry is all part of the game. Not many on the start line expected John and Paul Brougham’s belly tank to do much, since it spent most of the 2003 event blowing smoke. Combine that with some fairly basic presentation and a penchant for Toyota powerplants and the Broughams were definitely the black sheep of the Speed Week family. The boys had the last laugh, though — the switch to a 1JZ-GTE six-pot saw both run at more than 200mph.

Chris Fraser’s V8-powered bike created heaps of interest from the racers and plenty of attention from the scrutineers. As Chris lined up for his maiden run, Wayne Belot shook his hand and said: “Nice knowing ya, mate,” with laughs all round.

Engine dramas stopped Chris from running really quick, but when the bike was going he handled it like a postie bike and the consensus was that he must be one hell of a rider, with a set of giant testicles to boot.

For all that, it was the GM-powered XP Falcons of Bob Ellis and Chris Hanlon that caused the most talk. Bob’s coupe in particular is a beautifully-presented car, but the Ford fanatics in the pits couldn’t forgive their choice of powerplant.

“Gay sex, east-west engines and Chev engines in Fords. You can do it, but it’s an affront to God,” said one wag, but once again the black sheep had their revenge, Ellis breaking the magic 200mph mark and Hanlon pulling an impressive 174mph.

In a time when Holden and Ford V8 Supercars are just about identical under the skin and with Michael Schumacher dominating F1, it’s that kind of in-yer-face individuality that makes Speed Week so special. Visit www.dlra.org.au for more info.

Monaro Man

Lake Gairdner has been Ford Country for a long time, but the HK Monaro of Phil Stelling and Wayne Pickles arrived in 2004 to even the balance, running as fast as 184mph with wind assistance. The beautifully-prepared Monaro was built from three bodies and runs an aluminium-headed 350 Chev with a T56 six-speed and 9in diff.

“Wayne owns the motor and I own the body and driveline, so it’s an easy partnership to manage,” says Phil.

Their fun was cut short when the motor developed some ominous sounding noises. “The fridge in the truck did a motor on the way here, so we thought we had it out of the way,” he smiled. The blokes wanted to thank Greg Smith, Fred Singer, John Coleman, Dave Cummins and Milan from Albury for their help with the project.

Super Tough

Definition of tough: Driving a 30-year-old open hot rod from Western Australia to Lake Gairdner, pulling 168mph, then driving home. Factor in that Phil Medlen also pulled a trailer the whole way and that his car is powered by a Jag V12 and you have one hell of an achievement.

“It’s been on the road since 1974,” says Phil, “though the Jag motor is a new addition. The rod is based on a ’27 Ford roadster, with ’34 sills and a ’35 Ford grille.” Under the hand-formed aluminium bonnet is a basically stock V12 with a pair of Holley carbs and extractors.

Behind the cat motor is a Top Loader and a 9in with Jones quick-change centre. To run on the salt, Phil removed his guards and windscreen, reversed his headlights, bolted 127kg ballast to the rear and fitted a roll cage. The ’27 puts out 230hp at the treads and weighs just 1120kg.

1. 195mph in a ’68 Mustang? You bet. John Dent and Norm Bradshaw’s APRO ’Stang runs a 460 reamed out to 499ci, backed by a TKO five-speed and 2.47:1 nine-inch. “Our claim to fame is that it is the fastest registered Mustang in Oz. We started the build with the intention of using it in Cannonball Run type events, then we used it in some sprint races and now it’s purely a salt car.”

2. The young-gun team of Nathan Lambert and Jason Vandyk got its beautiful, black and blown Trans-Am boogieing on the salt to the tune of 171mph. A faulty tacho saw Nathan overshoot his first licensing pass by about a million miles an hour, but a borrowed GPS readout enabled both blokes to complete their licencing runs, ready for a full assault in 2005.

3. Coolest support car on the salt was this ’51 Ford F100 pick-up with two inches out of the roof.

4. Phil Cvirn’s 93-cube Shovelhead Harley ran 152mph with a 50hp shot from a tiny nitrous bottle. “Its been a dedicated salt bike for a while, but I’ll restore it now and build something else to race.”

5. The fastest run of the meeting was made by John Lynch and his blown hemi-powered belly tank, running 237mph despite some serious clutch problems.

6. The Moe boys had trouble with their XA coupe, which was the fastest small-block production car in 2003. “We’re aiming for 200mph,” said Moe’s Brian Nicholson, “If we can do that, we’ll stop development on this. The coupe is like trying to push a brick through the air with brute horsepower.”

7. If you’ve ever thought about taking your street/strip car to the salt, Daryl Chalmers’s Cortina shows what can be done. Running a 500hp 347ci Windsor with Top Loader, Daryl regularly pops the front wheels and runs high 11s, then drives home. Set-up for the salt was tough. “I had to fit harnesses, race seat, scattershield, extinguishers, extra roll cage bars and a battery isolator. I pulled off the scoop ’cos it rams too much air at these speeds and leans it out. Mate, she’s a bit of handful, like driving on wet grass!” At 169mph!

8. The Big Knob Racing team of Hardinge/Belot/Williams. Dead motor ended the fun.

Top 20 cars