Shane Toft’s love for the LC Torana stems from a memorable occasion where he ‘entertained’ a lady friend in the back of one while bull ants crawled up his leg. “It’s a moment I’ll never forget,” he laughs. That vivid recollection, along with Shane being keen for a car project to help process the loss of his father, has resulted in the splendid LC you see here, unusually powered by a turbocharged RB30.

“It was in fairly good nick with a 179 when I got it about five years ago, and at first I chucked a turbocharged 202 in it,” Shane says. “That was a lot of fun, but naturally it blew up, and then the RB30 came about. I wanted to keep it a six, because that’s what these originally were.”

Shane tackled just about all the work on the little Torry himself. It’s a basic set-up but with all the right bits in the right places. “The Haltech Elite 2500 ECU was a real game-changer for me,” he says. “It opens up a whole new can of worms with what you can do, and for someone like me who’s used to carbies and all that, it’s revolutionary!”

The Haltech brainbox controls a forged RB30, but that wasn’t the first RB this LC had. “I did a more basic one first, but we boost-spiked to 33psi on a test drive – and that was the end of that motor!” Shane laughs. 

The current donk retains the standard crank but now runs Spool rods and CP pistons. A Nitto oil pump helps distribute lube, and while the head is still single-jingle, it’s a Bullet Race Engineering job with, as Shane puts it, “the biggest Kelford camshaft I could get.”

Force-fed air comes from a Pulsar 3584 turbo, which, combined with E85 and 32psi, makes the package good for around 550rwhp. “It’s no slouch; I’m still amazed how it gets up and goes!” Shane says. “I’ve gotta give big props to Brett at Gawler Mechanical for the tune; he’s a bloody legend.”

In keeping with a budget build, the gearbox is a Jatco RE4 four-speed with a 3000rpm converter, while the VS Commodore-sourced Borgy diff has been shortened 20mm. The factory rear tubs house 15×7 rims, which are clad in 225/50R15 rubber whether on road or track.

To date, the Nissan-shoved LC has a 10.4@133mph best to its name, and a nine won’t be out of the question if Shane can get things going his way. “When I built it, my only goal was to have a car that lifts the front wheels off the line!” he says. “We ticked that off the list, so now we’ll see what it can do.”

Drag Challenge 2024 will be the South Australian’s first, and he’ll be taking on the Tuff Mounts 235 Blown class. “I love getting away with mates and having a blast, so I’m looking forward to it,” Shane says. “My good mate Mark Barber will be in the same class in his RB30 LJ Torana, so I’m keen to see how the two stack up during the week. I just want to finish and have fun; that’s what it’s all about.”

SHANE TOFT
1970 HOLDEN LC TORANA

THANKS
Mark Barber; Reece Yard; Nick Miller; Luke Hamdorf; Shane Venning; Brett at Gawler Mechanical.