It’s not often you see a late-model burler like a this here at Street Machine, but any car built to the level of Adam Fraser’s VF-based 2017 HSV Gen-F GTS should certainly command your attention.

First published in the November 2023 issue of Street Machine

For any purists out there wondering if this is a genuine HSV GTS that’s had an angle grinder taken to it, we have some bad news for you: this car is no tribute – it’s the real deal. Adam has owned tough Holdens his whole adult life, and he considers his GTS his ideal car. “I’ve got a few Holdens, including a VZ ClubSport, my VT SS with an LS3, a twin-turbo VF and so on, but this’d be the crown jewel of the collection,” he says.

That certainly wasn’t the case when Adam first got his hands on the car, though. He bought the Gen-F from Western Australia, and was far from impressed when it rocked up on the transporter at his home in NSW. “It wasn’t like I saw in the photos; it was basically a bitser,” he says. “It had SV6 seats, an SV6 dash, the paint was trash, it had the wrong bodykit; it was not in good nick.”

The car’s poor condition was the catalyst for Adam to turn it into the monster it is today, even if it meant taking a few steps back before going forward. “I sourced a written-off GTS to get all the correct bits, and then the build just went from there,” he says.

The HSV’s engine wasn’t too crash-hot either, and after a few motor-related dramas, Adam hit up Damian Baker at BG Engines to sort a package for the car.

“I’ve built engines for Adam in the past, so it was pretty easy to settle on a good combo for the car,” Damian says. “He wanted a tough car for events like Powercruise, and because it’s originally a blown LS car, it made sense to stay with that formula.”

Damian started with a Dart LS Next block, specced to 387 cubes with a Callies Magnum crank, Callies Ultra rods and Diamond pistons. The stick is a BG custom grind, while heads are Higgins-ported LS7 items. It’s all topped by a Shaun’s Custom Alloy manifold, a BDS 8/71 blower and an Enderle Big & Ugly injector hat.

That allowed a conversion to mechanical fuel injection, using an Enderle 660 pump that feeds the LS exclusively with methanol. On the engine dyno at BG, the package made a nice, round 1200hp on 24psi. “We knew it’d do 1100hp easily, so we spun it a bit harder and got it to 1200 at around 7000-8000rpm, which is where he wants to drive the car,” Damian says.

While that was the engine side of things sorted, unfortunately that wasn’t the end of Adam’s troubles with the car. “We’ve been through three gearboxes with the car; it’s just a Powerglide killer,” he says. “We put a ’Glide in for the photoshoot, but I’ve got a Turbo 400 being built that should hopefully last.”

Between the previous engine dramas and recent gearbox troubles, Adam hasn’t had the best run with the GTS to date. “I’ve done around 10 events I reckon, and every time we’ve had to push the car on the trailer for one reason or another,” he says. “One time we snapped the input shaft on the ’box. Every time it breaks, my partner asks me to sell it, but that’ll never happen!”

At the time of the build, Adam had his own performance workshop up and running, so that’s where he had the majority of the car built. “We did the rear end with the diff and tubs, plumbing the car up and so on,” he says.

Even getting the engine bay done was a mission, as Adam wasn’t prepared to cut any corners. “A few shops botched the engine bay, so I ended up cutting it all out, getting it redone, and I got my panel beater who sprayed the car and is handy with a welder to clean it up for me,” he says. “I’m super particular with my cars, so nothing less than the very best would do.”

With all that said, the Gen-F has been together for around 12 months now, and Adam says it always gets a big reaction whenever he takes it out to an event. “I don’t really advertise that I have the car much, but whenever I take it somewhere, I’m always getting asked about it,” he says. “People always ask if I cut up a real GTS; I don’t think most people believe it at first!”

As for future plans with the car, Adam and his mate Damian from BG have big plans to make an international impression. “We want to take our cars over to the States and show ’em how it’s done,” Adam says. “Both my car and Damian’s VE are pretty similar, so we’d love to ship them over to Minnesota and have a crack at Powercruise USA.”

In the meantime, you’ll likely be able to see the GTS tearing off tyres and thumping its way around the pits at Powercruise events in Sydney and Queensland, and hopefully Summernats!

ADAM FRASER
2017 HSV GEN-F GTS