We’ve become accustomed to seeing the lanes at Street Machine Drag Challenge packed with new-age LS engines, Barras, turbos and high-end ECU packages. So, when Tim Laidler’s VL Calais fronted up to DC 2024, it was a refreshing throwback to the glory days of blown, analogue drag racing monsters.

First published in the February 2025 issue of Street Machine

Instead of an LS, you’ll find a stroker 383-cube Holden V8. There ain’t no turbos either; the plastic is instead topped by a 6/71 blower, which relies on a pair of Holley 750 double-pumpers as opposed to fandangled EFI.

You may recall seeing Tim’s name mentioned here before, as his blown fatty-powered genuine VL SV88, EXCESV, graced the cover of our November 2023 issue. And that car and this Calais are only two out of his eight early Commodores!

“I also have a Group A with a turbo 427ci LS, and I’m in the middle of building a rare Series 200 VL, which is getting a big turbo RB30, so that’s why this Calais is still a 308,” says Tim. “It was a major talking point at Drag Challenge. The old Holden V8s are definitely coming back into fashion, and people loved that it wasn’t another LS.”

The 383 is based on a VS-generation 304, renovated by Aaron Hambridge at Advanced Performance Machining. He increased the cubes using a COME Racing crank, Scat H-beam rods and SRP pistons. Completing the bottom end is a hydraulic-roller stick, sealed in by a pair of hand-ported Holden heads.

“We did toy with the idea of injection before Drag Challenge, but that’s at least a $25,000 exercise,” says Tim. “Plus, the carbies add to the Roots-blown factor, so they’ll be staying for now.”

All up, the package chucked out 844hp at 15psi, which it shoves through a Turbo 400 ’box and nine-inch diff.

Drag Challenge 2024 was Tim’s first crack at a drag-and-drive event. “It was also my first time racing this car, and we went in using it as a bit of a dry run before we eventually bring EXCESV along for it,” he says.

With racing on Day One at Calder Park cancelled, Tim’s first day of Drag Challenge turned into a gruelling drive from northern Melbourne to Mildura, a trip of over 500km heading uphill in 30-degree heat.

“That climb as soon as we left Calder was a lot; the car kept getting hot, and we now know the blower was spinning too fast and just generating so much heat,” says Tim. “Our plan was to run 98 on the street, but we ended up having to run E85 the whole week instead, so it was doing around 40L/100km at 90km/h – I spent nearly $2500 on fuel!”

Day Two saw the DC entrants at Mildura’s eighth-mile Sunset Strip, where Tim’s VL did a best of 7.12@98mph in hot conditions. By the time he got to Dragway at The Bend in South Australia for Day Three, an issue with the tailshaft handicapped his pace, and he only managed a 10.31@134mph. “Turns out a mount had moved, so we had a decent vibration that took a while to sort,” says Tim.

After completing another mammoth trek of 600km back into the heart of Victoria, the final two days of DC at Heathcote Park Raceway saw Tim run a fresh PB in the Calais – a 9.98@137mph pass on the final day.

“I was hoping to run nines all week, but just to finish after the temp issues we had on the first day was good for us,” he says. “Cruising with my mates in three other cars was awesome; we all had a blast.”

The bug has well and truly bitten, with Tim already making plans for DC this year. “I reckon we’ll take this rotating assembly, blower and some new alloy heads and chuck them at a new COME Racing cast block,” he says. “We haven’t really run this combo that hard, so with that, we should be able to get around 300-400hp more than what we have right now.”

With that extra grunt, Tim is hoping to throw enough down for a podium spot in the Pro Street Radials 9.5 index class this year, and we’re here for it!

TIM LAIDLER
1987 HOLDEN VL CALAIS

THANKS
Christian and Nino at Black Widow Restorations; Carl at Mongrel Motorsport; Aaron Hambridge at Advanced Performance Machining; my mates Paul Chidge, Ben Daley and Michael Hinchy.