FRONT/BACK Torana,” Shannon says.
With the Escort running on pure methanol,
there isn’t a huge requirement for a monster
radiator, so simplicity rules the day once again.
“It is a three-core copper and brass custom
radiator, about the size of a VN V8 unit,” says
Shannon.
Running 9psi on the John Sidney engine
dyno, the Little Thongslapper That Could made
600hp at 7000rpm, with 450ft-lb of torque at
6500rpm, though Shannon plans to eventually
step up to 12psi of boost and head for the
nine-second bracket. Yep, TUF253 isn’t just a
burnout car; it also dabbles in drag racing and
skidpan outings, too!
“I don’t touch the tune at all when I go to
the drags,” says Shannon. “I just soften up the
rear shocks, chuck the slicks on and go. I have
been changing the diff gears of late just trying
to find the right combo, as it hooks up well but
it needs to 60ft better.
“The 253s seem to rev pretty clean and
easy, but I don’t know if that’s a 253 thing.
I’ve always played with Holdens and they
have done well. I built this engine for reliability,
because while we could get more power, therods are nearing their limit and that factory
crank probably needs to go if we were to push
the motor harder.
“The valves are the next things I’ll have to
upgrade, as they’re nothing special. We might
build another motor down the track with some
more expensive stuff in it, with bronze lifter
bores and maybe a roller cam. But we have a
few projects on the go.”
Shannon thanks John, Mick and Neil from
John Sidney Racing and his fiancée Briana
Cable for their ongoing support in building one
of the world’s angriest thongslappers. s“The heads still use ARP(^7) / 16 in bolts,” Shannon says.
“I talked to John Sidney
about going up to half-inch
head bolts, but he didn’t
recommend it. The mains
are also ARP, and I used
grade-eight bolts in the
four-bolt mains”
T
FRONT/BACK Torana,” Shannon says.
With the Escort running on pure methanol,
there isn’t a huge requirement for a monster
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burnout car; it also dabbles in drag racing and
skidpan outings, too!
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the drags,” says Shannon. “I just soften up the
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While it has been painted
red like an early Holden V8, the
block actually dates from the 1980s,
and modifications are limited to
adding four-bolt mains. “A lot of the
early HT-HG 253s have jumped in
value, but you can still pick up the
later-model 253 engines cheapish
for a few hundred bucks,”
Shannon says