If you’re a big fan of the Iron Lion and got excited when you saw what’s under the bonnet of Kelvin Mann’s 1997 VS Commodore ute, we’ve got some sad news for you. What you’re actually looking at is a carefully disguised 6.0-litre L76 LS. And to make matters worse, there’s a Pulsar G42 1450 turbo hidden in the tub where the fuel tank used to be!

First published in the May 2024 issue of Street Machine

“I always had that vision in my head of keeping it sleeper like that; I like to keep people guessing!” Kelvin says. “It has caused a fair few arguments online with confused people – I just let them fight it out amongst themselves.”

Kelvin’s sleeper ute idea first started to come together when he got an LS, a Paul Rogers-built Powerglide and a PWR water-to-air intercooler from his mate Brett Lowing. The combo had done a solid job in Brett’s Mitsubishi Sigma at several Drag Challenges, so it felt right to repurpose it for another DC build.

“Brett is going to another level with his car – twin-turbo and all that – so this car has his old fuel system and a bunch of parts,” explains Kelvin. “He and I nutted out all the fab for the rear turbo system. He likes to be very thorough with stuff like this.”

As for the ute, it came from another Drag Challenge regular in Michael Ryder. “It was already ’caged and tubbed, so I mainly bought it because I didn’t have to worry about ’caging it,” says Kelvin. “I’d followed Drag Challenge for years, and four months out from the event, Brett and my other mates told me to get off my arse and build it.”

A Rod Shop LS swap kit got the engine and ’box mounted. The stainless headers included in the kit allow exhaust gases to exit as normal. “It was super-simple to take the exhaust from there up to the turbo in the tub, and then the charge pipe goes straight out of the intercooler up the car to the engine,” says Kelvin.

The mad thrash culminated in a test day at Heathcote just two weekends out from DC ’24, and here things went from hero to zero really bloody quick. “It started out really well; I got a low nine out of it,” says Kelvin. “But at the end of a pass, the car started spewing out oil smoke and it ended up kicking a leg out of bed.”

With just one weekend in hand before Drag Challenge, Kelvin and Brett went into overdrive to sort a new donk for the VS.

“I found the 6.0-litre it has now, we pulled it down, and I have to give a massive shout to Dandy Engines for sorting the heads for it in record time,” Kelvin says. “We slapped it in the weekend before DC, got it running, and then the first pass at Mildura was the first for that engine.”

That one-and-done run at Sunset Strip was a 6.44@113mph over the eighth-mile, which was followed by a 9.46@143mph on day three at Dragway at The Bend, and a 9.36@145mph on the penultimate day at Heathcote Park Raceway. Plenty of road miles were covered in between, and up to that point, Kelvin and the ute were loving it.

“It cruised really nice, we had no problems, and I was hoping for that low nine or even an eight on the last day,” says Kelvin. “But, as I put it, we made it to the last lap but didn’t cross the finish line.”

That’s because on the final day (still at Heathcote as we were unable to race at Calder Park as originally scheduled), Kelvin hit troubles that ended his run. “We now know it was a voltage issue, but what it boils down to is the car was having charging problems, which wiped the tune from the ECU and I didn’t have a back-up saved with me,” he says. “Luke Foley was awesome in helping me discover that, but with no tune, we were hosed.”

Since then, Kelvin has been cruising the VS on the street, and has full intentions to bring the ute back to DC later this year. “I’m in for sure. It was an awesome week, and I need to make amends for last year!”

KELVIN MANN
1997 VS COMMODORE UTE

THANKS
Brett Lowing; Corey Benning; Kalman Lorinc; Sean Anthony; Ben Bramall; Josh Tuskin; Martin Hellings; Dave Wood; Aaron Hamilton; Luke Hamilton; Shane D’Amato; Shane Duyvestyn; Craig Wapshott; Scott Rawson; Jason Morgan; Andrew Kulundic; Jeff Hastings; Rob Stoker; Lee Vanda; Scott Middleton; my wife; Jason Morgan at Instyle Panels; Kane Goodlife at Hellbent Fabrications; Justin Hamilton at Kev’s Powder Coating; Quickbitz; Speed Pro; Dandy Engines; Raceworks.