ADAM Rogash and the boys from MPW Performance once again oversaw an action packed Horsepower Heroes at Summernats 31. For 2018 yet another yellow Torana sedan prepared by Jake’s Performance took out the overall win, but it wasn’t Jake Edward’s turbo big-block Chev-powered example. For the first time in the event’s history a traditional Roots-blown car has won the big prize in the dyno hall!

It was just before Christmas when Paul Allen whipped the single four-barrel carb and manifold off the 572-cube big block Chev in his yellow LX sedan, replacing it with a 14/71 from The Blower Shop and mechanical methanol injection. After qualifying for the final with 1036hp the boys struggled with fat AFRs but still managed to make 1010hp to take the win.

Paul beat Greg South, whose twin-turbo LS HQ Kingswood top-qualified with 1081hp. While Greg loaded some more boost into his Haltech ECU a torched lead dropped the monster Chev onto seven cylinders for a top run of 915hp on Sunday.

The Forced Induction six-pot class came down to a classic Holden/Ford battle between Shaun Cole’s 8-second RB30ET VL Commodore and the Barra-powered 9-second Cresta from Mighty Car Mods.

Ben “Mechanical Stig” Neal was one of the lead builders of the Cresta, with a stock bottom-end Barra, GTX38 Garrett turbo and plenty of Haltech engine management, and Benny and Woody squeezed 692hp with 23psi and E85 in qualifying, then topped out at 689hp on Sunday.

It wasn’t enough to top the class winner from Summernats 30, Shaun Cole, who backed up a 690hp qualifying run with an epic 720hp on Sunday. Running 42psi through a Garrett GTX42 and sniffing E85, the three-litre six now sports a billet crank after discovering a V-crack in the old one after Summernats 30.

The aspirated eights came down to Luke Hannigan’s sweet 427-cube XB coupe, which threw down 510hp back-to-back after dropping the back of the exhaust off, and Darryl Elliot’s LH Torana sedan. Luke had been super-consistent, with his big-inch Clevor rolling 510hp through several trips to the MPW dyno over the weekend.

It wasn’t enough to see off Darryl’s 434cui small block Chev, which has powered TORRIE to several Street Machine Drag Challenge appearances. Screaming to redline the LH sedan topped out at 551hp to take out the NA 8-cylinder class.

Scott Forrester’s epic ARROW Gemini came back to the dyno despite having seriously hurt the Isuzu turbo four-banger at Drag Challenge. He bashed it back together and made a smokey 709hp in qualifying, before belting out a monstrous 839hp on Sunday to take the win and put a final nail in the poor donk.

Coming in as runner-up Michael Brucic’s S14 Nissan 200SX put in a huge effort with 40psi being rammed by a Precision 6767 turbo into the forged 2.0-litre to stomp out 716hp. With its SR20VE variable valve-timing cylinder head the SR20DET screamed in the cell.