Steve’s HQ makes power the old-
fashioned way – with bulk inches!
The 632-cuber runs conventional-
style Dart Pro 2 heads, and a lofty
13.5:1 compression ratio. There’s
no fuel injection to be seen – just
a Pro-Filer Sniper intake and a big
ol’ 1250 DominatorMOST of those at the pointy end of the Drag Challenge
field run comparatively modern LS-based engines with
turbochargers and high-tech fuel injection systems, but in the
Outlaw Aspirated class, cubes are king. Back-to-back class
winner Stephen Micallef’s HQ one-tonner has plenty of them,
with its big-block Chev measuring in at an impressive 632ci.
“As hard as this event is, I like it!” said Stephen when we
caught up with him on Day Three. “It’s a challenge and that’s
the best part about it; you’ve got to make it to the end. If you
don’t do that you’ve got nothing. But if I manage to crack an
eight that would be unreal – that’s my goal.”
Stephen didn’t quite get his eight by week’s end, but he
went close at Swan Hill with a new PB of 9.11@147mph.
Low-nine-second pace all event handed him the Tuff Mounts
Outlaw Aspirated win by almost a second over past winner
Mark Clifford in his 600ci Mustang.
As the proprietor of a transmission shop (Shift Right in the
NSW Hawkesbury region), you’d expect Steve’s tonner to run
something pretty special in the gearbox department, and it
does. Where others would rely on a Powerglide or Turbo 400,
Stephen has opted for a GM 4L80E four-speed overdrive
auto, aimed at helping the tonner eat up the highway kays on
Drag Challenge with aplomb.
“Not many guys have actually done it and made it work,” he
said. “It’s fully mechanical with a full billet valvebody to do
away with the electrics. I was going to go with a Turbo 400
and a Gear Vendors, but a lot of guys have been chewing
them up, so I decided to go this way instead. The 4L80E has
some issues in standard form, and it’s taken a lot of research,
but it worked faultlessly at Drag Challenge. That said, I’m still
keen to pull it apart and take a look inside for R&D purposes.
“I’d like to thank my wife, and my co-driver Shaun from SM
Parsons Fabrications for making the lightweight tray and alloy
brackets, which made the car 240lb lighter.”
Aside from some overheating issues early in the week, a
blown –20 radiator hose, and a trailer that decided to unhitch
itself from the back of the Quey in transit, Stephen’s run to the
flag was fairly uneventful. And even though we’ve been sworn
to secrecy, we can tell you that he’s got some ideas for Drag
Challenge 2018 that will definitely make him one to watch!STEPHEN MICALLEF
Steve’s HQ makes power the old-
fashioned way – with bulk inches!
The 632-cuber runs conventional-
style Dart Pro 2 heads, and a lofty
13.5:1 compression ratio. There’s
no fuel injection to be seen – just
a Pro-Filer Sniper intake and a big
ol’ 1250 DominatorMOST of those at the pointy end of the Drag Challenge
field run comparatively modern LS-based engines with
turbochargers and high-tech fuel injection systems, but in the
Outlaw Aspirated class, cubes are king. Back-to-back class
winner Stephen Micallef’s HQ one-tonner has plenty of them,
with its big-block Chev measuring in at an impressive 632ci.
“As hard as this event is, I like it!” said Stephen when we
caught up with him on Day Three. “It’s a challenge and that’s
the best part about it; you’ve got to make it to the end. If you
don’t do that you’ve got nothing. But if I manage to crack an
eight that would be unreal – that’s my goal.”
Stephen didn’t quite get his eight by week’s end, but he
went close at Swan Hill with a new PB of 9.11@147mph.
Low-nine-second pace all event handed him the Tuff Mounts
Outlaw Aspirated win by almost a second over past winner
Mark Clifford in his 600ci Mustang.
As the proprietor of a transmission shop (Shift Right in the
NSW Hawkesbury region), you’d expect Steve’s tonner to run
something pretty special in the gearbox department, and it
does. Where others would rely on a Powerglide or Turbo 400,
Stephen has opted for a GM 4L80E four-speed overdrive
auto, aimed at helping the tonner eat up the highway kays on
Drag Challenge with aplomb.
“Not many guys have actually done it and made it work,” he
said. “It’s fully mechanical with a full billet valvebody to do
away with the electrics. I was going to go with a Turbo 400
and a Gear Vendors, but a lot of guys have been chewing
them up, so I decided to go this way instead. The 4L80E has
some issues in standard form, and it’s taken a lot of research,
but it worked faultlessly at Drag Challenge. That said, I’m still
keen to pull it apart and take a look inside for R&D purposes.
“I’d like to thank my wife, and my co-driver Shaun from SM
Parsons Fabrications for making the lightweight tray and alloy
brackets, which made the car 240lb lighter.”
Aside from some overheating issues early in the week, a
blown –20 radiator hose, and a trailer that decided to unhitch
itself from the back of the Quey in transit, Stephen’s run to the
flag was fairly uneventful. And even though we’ve been sworn
to secrecy, we can tell you that he’s got some ideas for Drag
Challenge 2018 that will definitely make him one to watch!