There were plenty of hotties at the Western Highway Shootout back in February this year in the country Victorian town of Ballarat, including Daniel Dimcevski’s VS Acclaim, still rocking the swirly hubcaps! He’d come up with a few mates from Melbourne to give the Iron Lion weapon a stab at Ballarat Airport, so we pulled him up for a chat about the sleepy Commo.

First published in the August 2025 issue of Street Machine

That’s a tidy VS, mate! How did you come to own it?

A mate of mine bought it from the original owner. He was going to LS-swap it, but I ended up buying it off him around May 2021. Everyone does VLs and VNs; I wanted something a bit different, and this one is nice and tidy.

What driveline’s in it now?

It’s a 355 Holden, built by Steve from Tuff Toys Garage. It made 600hp on the engine dyno, and the ’box is a Trimatic, which was also Steve’s recommendation. Originally, it was all under the bonnet, but the intake temps were up and it was losing me a fair bit of power. So, we’ve got the air cleaner out of the bonnet now, and it’s picked back up to where it should be. She bloody rips!

Any other cool bits?

It’s still a flat-tappet cam, which is what the engine builder preferred. It’s actually EFI with a Haltech as well, so it looks old-school but drives really nice. With the 5400rpm converter, it’s good fun on the street – driveable but not boring, which is what I like.

You weren’t tempted to LS-swap it like your mate planned?

I get why people do it, but I just love the sound of the Holden V8 over the LS. People are making a lot more power out of them than what they used to, so I’m happy with the combo.

Have you raced it much?

Not really; it ran a best of 11.4 when the intake was still under the bonnet, but I didn’t really build it as a race car – it’s more a street car. It probably has a low 11 in it with the new intake set-up, but I haven’t run it down the quarter since we changed it.

It’s cool to see that it’s still running the swirly hubcaps!

Well, being a proper VS Acclaim, they actually come factory on them, unlike most Commodores people put them on! I like the sleeper look, and with the wider seven-inch wheels and 235 radials, it gives it a subtle but meaty look.

It looks like it’s still got the independent rear suspension as well.

Sure does, and it’s actually working pretty well so far. It has 4.11:1 gears, but while it’s not ideal for drag racing at events like this, I still like it for the street. If I break it enough times, I might switch it for a live axle, but right now I haven’t had any dramas.

How did you find the Western Highway Shootout?

It was really good! A few mates came up in a VN and an LX Torana; we thought it’d be cool to have a crack on a street-style surface. The car was hooking up really well with the two-step, so it was a good time. I’m thinking I might do Drag Challenge in it one day. That’d be good fun in a car like this.