THEY’RE intrinsically linked to drag racing,
and yet there were only two cars sporting
traditional GM-style blowers at Drag
Challenge this year, and one was Clive
Polidano’s blue HZ Kingswood. The full-
weight street car has a 383ci small-block
Chev and TBS 6/71 blower topped by a
pair of Edelbrock four-barrel carbs, good for
580hp on the engine dyno.
“We turned up on the Sunday and my
co-pilot Chris said we look like we’ve got three
heads,” laughs the Riverina mechanic. “Apart
from Krankenstein we were the only blokes
there with a blower through the bonnet, which
was a challenge on its own. Still, it was cool
cruising down the road looking at the blower
and carbies.
“The car is a cruiser to drive on the street,
and we take it out most weekends to get ice
cream or go for a drive. My wife and kids go
in it so it can’t break down, otherwise my wife
might start to not like it as much.”
Preparation paid off for Clive and his mates,
with a trouble-free run for the entire week,
despite the full-size sedan tipping the scales
at 1630kg (3600lb) in race trim.
“We made sure wiring, shifter cables, anything
that could melt in the heat, was safe. In the endwe didn’t touch the car! We tried to keep the
overall mass down as much as possible but,
with four 100kg blokes on board and the trailer,
we were sitting on about three-tonne.
“We kept the water and Esky down the back
with the tyres and wheels so it was easy to
get to. We used one of Norm’s big Aussie
Desert Cooler Burnout King radiators and it
was mint.”
The boys did struggle in the Adelaide heat
on Day One, with the car running half a second
off its PB with an 11.94. “The air was like
cheese in Adelaide on the first day, but we
got to Mildura and it thinned out so everyone
started going faster,” says Clive.
“We were never quick and the car was still
pretty new when we turned up on the Sunday.
Before we left it had done 12-14 passes and
1500km on the road. By the time we got back
to Adelaide on the Friday we did 11.50, 11.54
and 11.55 in a row, with two different drivers. It
still had 70 pounds of air in the air shocks, and
it might have even had a wheel off the deck!”
Clive is already doing backflips with the
idea of entering again. “We haven’t stopped
buzzing since we got back. It’s the best event
I’ve ever been involved with, and I’ve been
going to Summernats for 20 years!”CLIVE POLIDANO
HOLDEN HZ
KINGSWOOD
Class: K&N Dial Your OwnSPECS
Engine: 383ci small-block Chev
Blower: The Blower Shop 6/71
Transmission: TH400
Converter: 4000rpm
Diff: 3.7:1
Power: 580hpPrevious PB: 11.58@123mph
Best Drag Challenge Pass:
11.50@123mphAUSSIE-BUILT CLASSICS POWERED BY THE HEARTBEART OF AMERICA
THEY’RE intrinsically linked to drag racing,
and yet there were only two cars sporting
traditional GM-style blowers at Drag
Challenge this year, and one was Clive
Polidano’s blue HZ Kingswood. The full-
weight street car has a 383ci small-block
Chev and TBS 6/71 blower topped by a
pair of Edelbrock four-barrel carbs, good for
580 hp on the engine dyno.
“We turned up on the Sunday and my
co-pilot Chris said we look like we’ve got three
heads,” laughs the Riverina mechanic. “Apart
from Krankenstein we were the only blokes
there with a blower through the bonnet, which
was a challenge on its own. Still, it was cool
cruising down the road looking at the blower
and carbies.
“The car is a cruiser to drive on the street,
and we take it out most weekends to get ice
cream or go for a drive. My wife and kids go
in it so it can’t break down, otherwise my wife
might start to not like it as much.”
Preparation paid off for Clive and his mates,
with a trouble-free run for the entire week,
despite the full-size sedan tipping the scales
at 1630kg (3600lb) in race trim.
“We made sure wiring, shifter cables, anything
that could melt in the heat, was safe. In the endwe didn’t touch the car! We tried to keep the
overall mass down as much as possible but,
with four 100kg blokes on board and the trailer,
we were sitting on about three-tonne.
“We kept the water and Esky down the back
with the tyres and wheels so it was easy to
get to. We used one of Norm’s big Aussie
Desert Cooler Burnout King radiators and it
was mint.”
The boys did struggle in the Adelaide heat
on Day One, with the car running half a second
off itsPB with an 11.94. “The air waslike
cheese in Adelaide on the first day, but we
got to Mildura and it thinned out so everyone
started going faster,” says Clive.
“We were never quick and the car was still
pretty new when we turned up on the Sunday.
Before we left it had done 12-14 passes and
1500km on the road. By the time we got back
to Adelaide on the Friday we did 11.50, 11.54
and 11.55 in a row, with two different drivers. It
still had 70 pounds of air in the air shocks, and
it might have even had a wheel off the deck!”
Clive is already doing backflips with the
idea of entering again. “We haven’t stopped
buzzing since we got back. It’s the best event
I’ve ever been involved with, and I’ve been
going to Summernats for 20 years!”HOLDEN HZ
KINGSWOOD
Class: K&N Dial Your OwnSPECS
Engine:383ci small-block Chev
Blower: The Blower Shop 6/7 1
Transmission: TH4 00
Converter: 4000rpm
Diff: 3 .7:1
Power: 580 hpPrevious PB: 11.58@123mph
Best Drag Challenge Pass:
11.50@123mphAUAUAUAUAUAUAUSSIE-BUILT CLASSICS POWERED BY THE HEARTBEART OF AMERICA