AS WELL AS THE BIGGER TUBS, THE KIT MOVES THE LEAF SPRINGS
I can still remember when a 275 was a massive rear tyre, but
these days that just won’t cut it, especially in the pro touring
scene, so Greg fitted a Detroit Speed Equipment (DSE) mini-
tub kit to the rear to make plenty of room. As well as the bigger
tubs, the kit moves the leaf springs inboard, allowing space
for the 335/30R18 tyres. Mounted on Fikse three-piece rims
measuring 10- and 12-inches wide, it’s the perfect wheel/tyre
combo for the modern pro tourer.
But while the wheels turned out great, Greg took a bit of a
punt on them. “I got the rims made in Canada and did all the
backspacing with what I thought I needed, because I had the
car half-assembled. I ordered the rims before I had the diff
housing because I knew they were going to take a while; in
the end it took nine months to get them. I bolted them on and
they fit, so I didn’t have to throw them in the bin!” he laughs.
Greg’s goal was always to build a pro tourer; after all, he’s
the kind of guy that likes to go around corners at pace. But he’s
got his own interpretation of what makes a good pro tourer:
“It should look original; no rollcage, no race seats or bonnet
pins,” he says. One big benefit of a rollcage, apart from the
added safety, is the stiffness it adds to a chassis, but Greg
found another way around that. “We reinforced the floor so
we didn’t have to run frame connectors,” he explains. “There’s
box RHS through where the seat-base frame is, and it goes up
around the tunnel, half in and half out, so you can only see a
bit of it from underneath. I’ve made it strong and it’s fully seam-
welded. I didn’t want to have big old rails hanging out there.”
With all of the suspension and chassis sorted, it was time
to get the drivetrain together, and Greg did not stuff around
in that regard, sourcing a big-block Chev from TRE Racing
Engines in the US. It’s based around a World Products Merlin
III cast-iron block that’s filled with a Callies Magnum crank,
Oliver rods and JE pistons. The Brodix BB-3 XTRA ally heads
were CNC-ported and ensure there’s no restriction for the1: Greg is suitably
impressed by the quality
and performance of the
Heidts Pro-G front end.
The 15in Wilwood disc
brakes with six-spot
calipers also work a treat
thanks to the Hydroboost
system
2: The exhaust is a 3in
MagnaFlow system that
Greg modified to suit. The
Stainless Works headers
also needed to be
tweaked to fit around the
rack-and-pinion steering
and make it easier to
remove the plugsThe stance is spot-on thanks to
a Heidts Pro-G front clip and a
lowered leaf spring kit from DSE
that was fine-tuned by Greg at the
end of the build12