IT’S a familiar story: older relative hands down a car they’ve hung onto for a bunch of years to Young Pup who is hanging for a cool set of wheels. Young Pup then lavishes attention (and all their pay) on turning the car into a sweet streeter, and the circle continues.

Ali Elseidy ended up with his turbocharged AU-powered LTD a slightly different way. “I got the car from my dad when I was 14 – well, I just took it off him, as I really liked it. He had blown the auto and, as a young kid, I was eager to change it and get the car going.”

Rather than going for the usual V8 swap, Ali looked to boosted sixes to satisfy his need for speed

Over time Ali treated his Ford to a stereo, bigger wheels and a lowering job, but it wasn’t long before the itch for grunt started. Rather than jamming a V8 in, though, Ali looked to six-pot turbo set-ups.

Ali’s LTD wears its original silver duco like a fine suit and, matched with the original 15-inch wheels, you’d never imagine that it packs a potent turbocharged AU Falcon engine.

Rolling on the original LTD 15-inch wheels, you’d never know this was a 9 second scorcher

“At the age of 17 I blew the engine, and at that point I decided to start building something different,” Ali says. “By the time I was 18 I had it in my head that I would have the car running with an AU engine.”

While the AU is one of Ford’s least-loved Falcons, the Intech single-overhead-cam six has proven to be a boost-friendly hit with street machiners. One person who is building a reputation on the back of stout turbo AU sixes is Jason Ghiller from Tunnel Vision Turbocharging.

Ali’s de-stroked AU 3.8-litre straight six runs a Garrett GT42 turbo with a Tunnel Vision inlet, 4-inch dump and 3-inch exhaust

The Tunnel Vision-built ITUF65 Mustang of John Colaidis packs a turbo de-stroked 3.8-litre AU SOHC motor and has run an 8.23 at 171mph on the quarter. Ali’s LTD sports a very similar engine, with a huge, high-mounted Garrett GT42 snail hanging off the side.

Power is something Ali isn’t prepared to talk about, but he admits the LTD isn’t for novice drivers. To give you an idea, the LTD has run a 9.50 at 141mph.

Apart from the B&M shifter, the interior is all factory – right down to the velour upholstery

“It’s a handful; it’s the ultimate sleeper,” he says. “Still, it isn’t a race car or dyno king, it is a true street car. It used to be my daily, but not anymore – people started to get to know the car a bit and it became ridiculous with people wanting to race me.”

The 3.8 drives the rear tyres through a Truetrac-equipped nine-inch diff and manualised TH400 transmission

To handle the massive grunt the LTD is making, Ali’s got a manualised TH400, a custom three-inch tailshaft and a Truetrac-equipped nine-inch. But you would be hard-pressed to pick such a set-up, as only the B&M shifter gives the game away inside – the rest is factory-fresh velour!

Check out Ali’s turbo LTD in action in the video below!