Brocked or Blown

In Issue 48 of AMC we showed some more of the aftermarket dream machines produced here in the 1980s, including the Garrett Turbo Six Commodore. This was an impressive enough machine to be given a comparison test by Wheels magazine, up against the HDT Brock Commodore (‘Brocked or Blown?’ August, 1981 edition).

The limited-edition Garrett Commodores were sold as turn-key models through selected GM dealers, like Suttons of Chullora, and we couldn’t help wondering if any of them had survived.

AMC reader Bruce Shaw found one.

He picked up a Garrett-modified Commodore some years ago in very original condition, almost mint and with only 66,000km on the clock. It isn’t one of the 1981 SL/E based models featured in Wheels but an earlier 202 six-cylinder version with a Normalair-Garrett Strata II Turbosystem installed by Suttons. They did these conversions on a one-off basis according to the owner’s specifications. Full documentation came with the car.

GMH supplied its normal new car warranty on the basic Commodore and the Suttons dealership supplied a separate 20,000km/12-month warranty on the engine mods. Bruce told us that specialist workshops like Tilly Marine in Sydney also did Garrett Turbo conversions on a one-off basis.

Bruce bought this car from its second owner, and because it was so original gave it a light restoration, including replacing the shocks and rebuilding the brakes. One body panel needed minor repairs but the interior was kept in original condition. He was told that the first owner only drove it for two or three years before garaging it.

The bonnet scoop on Bruce’s car is thought to be a later modification.

The Garrett production cars had bonnet louvres and a front airdam.

Bruce also picked up a brochure for the Garrett Turbo Six Commodores which states that from August 1980 the company was set up to produce a maximum of 85 cars per month. They offered many options with the SL/E automatic as the top of the line.

In private testing he has confirmed the incredible acceleration of the turbo car, something that was referred to in the Wheels magazine test.

They reported that it was faster than the V8 Commodore over the standing 400 metres (16 seconds vs 16.4 seconds) and even faster from 0 to 100km/h (7.8 seconds to 8.4 seconds).

According to the brochure, “installation of a turbocharger will not increase top speed by more than 10 percent in most cases, however, the time to reach that figure is usually 30 to 50 percent of that of the standard vehicle”.