by bullet-proof, home-grown Jet Engineering
pushrods, matched to Crower lifters.
Shane’s Chassis, in Sydney’s south, took
care of the plumbing, as well as the turbo
manifolds and all the plumbing to the front-
mounted intercooler.
Instead of big-dollar turbos, Elvio has
elected to run with twin eBay GT42s, units he
has had great success with. The wastegates
are a set of Turbosmart 50mm Pro Gates with
a same-brand blow-off valve.
Norm Alavanos built a stout Powerglide for
the package, and it’s swinging a Converter
Shop six-bolt, nine-inch torque converter.
The fuel system is pretty serious too, with
three in-tank Walbro pumps in a custom
cell, plumbed to an Aeromotive rising-rate
regulator and ID2000 injectors.
“We are setting the car up with 1000rwhp
on E85, and will have a tamer street tune for
pump gas,” Elvio says. “We are mindful that
the car has to be a good all-rounder for the
family, and know it’s going to run into the low
nines with ease; probably much quicker.
“With the MoTeC M130 ECU we can dial
back the power to whatever we want and the
system has all the bells and whistles, from
GPS speed in the seven-inch data dash,
traction control, fuel flex sensor input and a
bunch of other features.”
Even though this car is all-steel and full
trim, the boys hope that it will come in under
3500lb with Tom in the pilot seat. With over
20psi of boost pumping through this mega
small-block, it’s bound to be one hell of
a ride. s
A R B Y C H A T
DRAG WEEK REBUILD
WE’VE all heard the stories of how tough Hot Rod
Drag Week is. Queenslander Brian Jensen certainly
knows, having taken his big-block Torana hatchback
to the past two events. Unfortunately he hurt the
engine last year after placing in his class in 2015.
After getting the car home, he vowed to return to
sort out unfinished business.
With that in mind, work on the Torry has been
extensive; the car needed new axles, a TH400
rebuild with a new planetary set, and a total rebuild
of the 572ci Chevy, including a new crank, rods
and pistons.
The short motor was assembled by Tremaniac
Racing, and Brian is confident the car will run into
the bottom nines. His friendship with the boys at
417 Motorsports in the USA saw him fit Holley EFI
to the car last year, and after a few years of hassles
he hopes for a trouble-free ride in 2017. The car is
expected to leave for the US in early July.RIVERINA SCREAMERS
RIVERINA street machiner Brett Piltz has a
number of cars in the build, one being an LJ
Torana with a ProCharged, dry-sumped 355 built
by Westend Performance. Kingpins Kustom Paint
and ProFlo are also involved, and the build is
nearing completion.
He has also been working on his LX hatchback,
a car formerly owned by the late Mark Diessel.
Piltzy, who is known as a bit of an engine
destroyer, has just finished a mega-tough donk
for it after kicking the rods out of the old roller-
cammed small-block.
Built by the guys at Vintage Racing Services in
Wagga Wagga, the new aspirated 434ci Dart-block
Chevy features a Callies rotating assembly, heavily
massaged CHI 18-degree heads, Crower lifters,
rings and more, and is topped with a Pro Systems
1050 carb.
The combo runs 12:1 compression, and made
860hp at 7500rpm on the dyno recently. Piltzy
hopes to throw a 250-shot of nitrous at it, and
has a bunch of work to do to bring the rest of the
driveline up to scratch before fitting some 275
radials and hitting the track.