Frank Marchese's twin-turbo Torana build

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In this game, we hear about new car builds all the time, but when we get wind that someone like Frank Marchese from Dandy Engines has something new in the build, we really sit up and take notice. Plot twist: if you were expecting it to be another tough Falcon, you’re going to be disappointed.

First published in the September 2026 issue of Street Machine

EXTERIOR: The purple coupe may look like an LJ Torana, but it actually left the Holden factory as an LC. In the late 2000s, Carmine Larusso campaigned it in the APSA Modified Street Aspirated class, where it ran in the low eights. “It was one of the fastest naturally aspirated Mod Street cars from the APSA days, so it’s still a factory-floored car with mini-tubs,” Frank says

“You know, I’m getting a lot of hype from it – people are like, ‘What? Frank in a Torana? Are we talking about the right Frank?’,” laughs the man himself. “But I’m just a car guy, like all my street machine buddies.”

The little purple Torana in question was previously owned by Carmine Larusso and was a well-known bruiser in the Modified Street Aspirated class from the old Australian Pro Street Association (APSA) days, running with the plates EVILLC. Back then, it ran a 407ci Chevy small-block and times in the low eights – pretty impressive for the late 2000s.

“Carmine was a very cool cat back in the day,” Franks says. “He was rough and tough, but really cool for what he did with an aspirated car. I think it went 8.30s back then.”

As you can see from the photos, Frank has no intention of chasing naturally aspirated records – there’s a pair of Precision 8385 Gen2 turbos already mounted in the front corners of the engine bay by the crew at PSIDUP Fabrications. They will be paired with Turbosmart wastegates, a Lock Industries billet intake, Higgins heads and a FuelTech FT700 ECU. The engine is going to be a 400ci Dart-blocked LS that Frank is developing with Precision International.

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ENGINE BAY: The PSIDUP Fabrications crew have made a great start with the pipework, with Precision turbos above the inner guards and the Turbosmart wastegates mounted underneath. The front end is a fabricated Craig Burns set-up, while Darren Mood has fashioned a full-floater 40-spline rear end

“Precision approached us, and we sat down and had a meeting with them,” Frank recalls. “We were like, let’s build a 2000hp short-block package that will be available off-the-shelf through Precision.”

Right now, the plan is for a Dart block with half-inch studs, filled with a Callies eight-counterweight crank, Oliver rods and custom JE pistons with thick turbo-spec pins, and finished off with Total Seal AP Steel top rings, fire rings with copper gaskets, and a custom Crow cam – all the parts that Precision carries day to day.

Street Machine Drag Challenge will be the real test for the combo. Having won DC outright in 2018 with his XW Fairmont, Frank knows exactly what is needed to survive our 1600km torture test, and he’s talking some serious numbers. And with some of his customers like Brandon Zito and Danny Busbridge also running quick LC/LJ Toranas, he’s got plenty of data to work with.

“It’ll be very similar to Danny Busbridge’s car,” Frank says. “Danny has been 6.77@209mph with a small-block Chevy, and I feel like the LS has a better cylinder head. It’ll be interesting to see the difference between the two of them and see if I can match what Danny’s car’s doing.”

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