DANIEL GRIMA
AMERICAN iron was thin on the ground at this year’s Drag
Challenge, yet Daniel ‘Gizmo’ Grima proved that his big-bodied
’55 Chevy Bel Air can mix it with the best of them. “On the
morning of Day Three at Swan Hill someone mentioned that
we were second in K&N Dial Your Own, with a 0.0029-second
margin – so we went for it!” Daniel grins.
Daniel, along with his crew Steve Grima and Ryan Mortimer,
figured out the data from each run to start homing in on that
magical dial-in. “I would do a run short-shifting, then back that
up with a run where I revved it out. That would give us the
information to get close to my 11.853 dial-in,” Gizmo explains.
And with Portland rained out, it was back in Adelaide on Day
Five to fight for first. “We managed three runs before the rain
set in and we were four one-hundredths off our dial-in,” Gizmo
shrugs, then smiles. “That was enough to get us second place
in the K&N DYO class. I’m stoked!”
Under the hood of the red ’n’ white tank is a naturally
aspirated EFI LS2 with 11.1 comp and factory LS1 ECU
backed by a TH400, Dominator 4000rpm stall, Gear
Vendors overdrive, and nine-inch with 4.11s.
This was Gizmo’s first Street Machine Drag Challenge and
he really took the bull by the horns, driving the ’55 all the way
from Sydney, taking in the Bright Rod Run on the way. “We had
’box issues in the valvebody and overdrive, but once that was
sorted, it was smooth sailing to Adelaide and throughout Drag
Challenge,” he says.
Jumping into any car and driving over 5000km makes you
think twice, so why did Gizmo decide to take the Chev on this
epic adventure? “My friends have competed in Drag Challenge- I wired their cars,” he says. “So, I know that reliability is key and
I have full faith in the car knowing it will get me where I need to
go. Plus, I love street-driving events.
“I need to give a big thanks to Street Machine for organising
a great event, to Steve and Ryan for helping along the way,
to Robert Spagnol from Edmargs Engine Reconditioning for
building a killer engine and Joe DiGiorgio for the tune. Thanks
everyone for the encouragement along the way – I can’t wait
to do it again.”
AMERICAN iron was thin on the ground at this year’s Drag
Challenge, yet Daniel ‘Gizmo’ Grima proved that his big-bodied
’55 Chevy Bel Air can mix it with the best of them. “On the
morning of Day Three at Swan Hill someone mentioned that
we were second in K&N Dial Your Own, with a 0.0029-second
margin – so we went for it!” Daniel grins.
Daniel, along with his crew Steve Grima and Ryan Mortimer,
figured out the data from each run to start homing in on that
magical dial-in. “I would do a run short-shifting, then back that
up with a run where I revved it out. That would give us the
information to get close to my 11.853 dial-in,” Gizmo explains.
And with Portland rained out, it was back in Adelaide on Day
Five to fight for first. “We managed three runs before the rain
set in and we were four one-hundredths off our dial-in,” Gizmo
shrugs, then smiles. “That was enough toget us secondplace
in the K&N DYO class. I’m stoked!”
Under the hood of the red ’n’ white tank is a naturally
aspirated EFI LS2 with 11.1 comp and factory LS1 ECU
backed by a TH400, Dominator 4000rpm stall, Gear
Vendors overdrive, and nine-inch with 4.11s.
This was Gizmo’s firstStreet Machinee Drag Challenge and
he really took the bull by the horns, driving the ’55 all the way
from Sydney, taking in the Bright Rod Run on the way. “We had
’box issues in the valvebody and overdrive, but once that was
sorted, it was smooth sailing to Adelaide and throughout Drag
Challenge,” he says.
Jumping into any car and driving over 5000km makes you
think twice, so why did Gizmo decide to take the Chev on this
epic adventure? “My friends have competed in Drag Challenge- I wired their cars,” he says. “So, I know that reliability is key and
I have full faith in the car knowing it will get me where I need to
go. Plus, I love street-driving events.
“I need to give a big thanks to Street Machinee for organising
a great event, to Steve and Ryan for helping along the way,
to Robert Spagnol from Edmargs Engine Reconditioning for
building a killer engine and Joe DiGiorgio for the tune. Thanks
everyone for the encouragement along the way – I can’t wait
to do it again.”