WHEN Jason Martin refused to take money from a mate for doing some work on his car, his mate decided to pay him back with the next best thing – buying him a car to help him kick-start his dream build.

The car in question was a bog-standard VK Commodore, but what Jason planned to do with it was anything but. He had always wanted to build a VK Group A/Three ‘Blue Meanie’ replica, but with a twist. Instead of either an old-school iron-lion V8 or a run-of-the-mill LS swap, Jason went to an old favourite of his: a 1UZ four-litre twin-cam V8 from a Toyota Soarer.

Turbo Toyota-powered Ford Capri

Jason’s always sworn by the 1UZ; it’s by far his choice over anything from GM. “To be honest, I don’t really like the LS,” he says. “For the money you pay and the power you get out of them, the 1UZ is just a better package.”

While the 1UZ currently sitting in place is standard, Jason plans on getting the fellas over at Warspeed Industries to give the Toyota mill a once-over, adding fruit like rods, pistons, cams – the whole works. Poking through the top of the bonnet is a pair of 76mm eBay-spec turbos, a temporary measure for Jason while he dials in the set-up before buying some brand-name hairdryers. He’s aiming for around 1100hp on E85, which he thinks will be more than achievable with this combo.

Backing up the donk is a Turbo 400 ’box and a shortened VL Turbo diff, and the process of bolting it all in was as simple as picking up the phone. “I just got in touch with the Castlemaine Rod Shop and they sent out all the mounts I needed; it even works with a standard Turbo 400 tailshaft for VK-VL Commodores,” Jason says.

Being the manager at Precision Autobody Repairs in Sydney, Jason has done all of the fabrication and paintwork himself. The car is still in the early stages of the build, with progress so far including a shaved engine bay and full tubs in the rear. It will also be getting a full bolt-in rollcage, and the paintwork is going to be as about as extensive as you can get, even for a show-car build. Jason will be throwing down Formula Blue paint on just about everything, including the suspension arms and tailshaft. The custom HDT replica wheels have already been painted blue and then had the faces machined and polished. Speaking of the spinners, they measure a massive 19×10 in the rear and 19×4 up front.

Jason’s had the car for roughly two years now, and hopes that if things go his way he can have it finished in time for a debut at Street Machine Summernats 33. He’s hinted that while it will be a Blue Meanie replica, he’s going to add his own flavour to it to make it stand out from the crowd. Needless to say, we’re all excited to see the finished product.