Jonny is a Bogan: Part 2

Only one day to prepare the VL for the track! The bonnet ornament, monster tacho with shift light, temp gauge, boost gauge, speaker cables etc all got taken out fairly quickly. Window tint on the drivers window was ripped off.

With the car on the hoist, it checked out sort of ok. It was a disappointment I didn't have a Berlina, just a everyday Executive. This meant drum brakes on the back, and normal windy windows. But I did have the Berlina tacho, even if it wasn't screwed in properly.

The suspension bushes, steering and shocks were left alone, but the springs had been cut too low. They were not captive, and fell out. I rushed over to Repco and bought new Kings Superlow springs for the VL. The front brake pads were down to nothing, so I got Bendex Ultimate pads (not cheap) hoping they would hold up to some hot laps. The tyres were not too good either, rears were bald from burnouts, fronts were uneven due to toe-out. I had almost spent my budget so I only got new front tyres, Fedral 235/45/17. Had I mentioned the big 17" wheels? They are a good thing in this instance. And the new tyres are what the Fedral drift team run.

In changing the front springs I took the opportunity to swing the strut tops around for maximum negative camber. For the final "wheel alignment" before hitting the track I closed one eye and agreed that there was indeed a lot of toe-out that had worn the last set of tyres, but I couldn't be bothered changing it. Some people like toe-out on the track anyway, although I don't especially. I just couldn't be bothered anymore.

I swapped the steering wheel for my own leather one I had, and got the horn working while I was as it. The car already had "Monza" race seats, which are cheap and shameful, but I decided they would do the job. It was easy to find new brake and clutch pedal rubbers at the local for only $6 each.

More could have been done to tidy the car up, but I went to the movies to see Get Smart. It was OK, but could have been better.