25 years of HDT special vehicles

[001 Neville]

Just borrowed this dvd from the local library - "25 years of HDT special vehicles" - which must be like hardcore movies for some Holden fans.... I'm sure Phil has got a copy for sure......???

I was particularly interested in the section on the Phil's Monza 'Brock1' which was included of course.

Such a shame that Peter Brock died so early as he was also heavily involved in road safety messages and video clips which I'm using in my driver training. He is recognised by most of the teenagers on my defensive driving courses - well, the lads anyway.

[014 Phil]

Certainly do have a copy......

Filming was done a few months prior to me purchasing the car.

[001 Neville]

I have to say that it was amusing when they were so excited about the independent rear suspension on the later HDT Commodores, since it was already present on the Monza at the early stages.

I'm not sure how the rack and pinion steering improved the Brock1 steering? Improved ratio? Can you throw any light on that, Phil?

[020 Brad]

Rack and pinion always feels more direct in my opinion. I haven't experienced a conversion before, but in cars I have driven that have different systems I much prefer rack and pinion as opposed to recirculating ball or steering box.

[001 Neville]

Does the Commodore VR have rack and pinion steering? I don't remember that as being any better than the Monza, but I did sell mine a few years back so not easy to compare the memory

[014 Phil]

All Australian Commodores have r & p steering. R & p does traditionally have a more direct & precise feel. But, perhaps more importantly, it's nice & compact, leaving plenty of room to slip in the V8.

[020 Brad]

Does the Commodore VR have rack and pinion steering? I don't remember that as being any better than the Monza, but I did sell mine a few years back so not easy to compare the memory

To carry on from what I wrote above, from my (minimal) experience, a good recirc ball setup will feel fine usually. I think they are just slightly more prone to "loosening" up and get a little "sloppy" over time.