“It was my first car, which I bought for $6,500 in 17. It was completely standard at the time, so I began a slow and steady process of upgrades as I endured it as an apprentice. Could, while still using it as a daily driver.
First published in the October 2022 issue. Street Machine
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I started with a chip and cam package installed in an original Nissan Six, which was fun for a while. Then I stumbled upon an original Walkinshaw V8 motor and matching five-speed box through a colleague. I bought it for a paltry $2000 and put it in the car.
I installed a Haltech ECM and did a tune to improve it and chase a few extra horses, and then it made 222rwhp on the dyno. I drove like this as my daily for years and enjoyed it.
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After a while, I got tired of the aspirated motor and decided to bolt the turbo on the Holden 5.0-litre. Over the next few years on Friday and Saturday nights, I custom built a complete turbo setup in my home garage, complete with turbo mountings, exhaust manifolds, intake pipes and an E85 compatible fuel and cooling system. All other upgrades included. to support it.
The finished product made an impressive 550rwhp on E85 with nothing more than a turbo. At this point the motor was still fully open. I enjoyed it for a long time, crying mercilessly over it at many Power Cruise events.
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But on a power cruise, I leaned on it hard on boost in top of fifth and blew both head gaskets. This was the catalyst to start building the stroker motor I had always wanted to do.
The build took a long time, but it made some nice gains in the end, as it now makes 645rwhp and 885lb-ft of torque.
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