Every once in a while, we come a across a car that is just…right. It may not be the fastest or most innovative car around, but you can’t help but wish it lived in your garage.
Joe Saban’s LX hatch is one of those cars. It has 70s muscle car DNA in spades, but with way more horsepower, refinement and stopping power than anything that rolled off the Holden showroom back in the day. We’ll let Joe tell the rest of the story:
“I began my LX Torana hatch build in December 2020 and completed it in September last year; it was mostly built in my home garage. I have owned a few cars before this, but the hatchback Torana was my dream car, and thankfully I had the chance to build one my way.
“The driveline consists of a 427 LS3 Blueprint crate engine, Tremec TKX five-speed manual and nine-inch diff. The front runs a United Speed Shop tubular-arm kit with QA1 coil-overs and a K-Mac Bathurst sway-bar.
The brakes are from Hoppers Stoppers, and it rolls on three-piece 18in Simmons B45s.”
| Paint: | Mandarin Red |
| Donk | |
| Type: | 427 LS3 Blueprint crate engine |
| Inlet: | Holley single plane |
| Carb: | 850DP FST |
| Heads: | 72cc LS3 Blueprint 259cc intake/102cc exhaust |
| Valves: | 2.165” intake, 1.600” exhaust |
| Cam: | .624 intake, .624 exhaust, Duration @0.50 247 intake, 263 exhaust, 114 LSA |
| Pistons: | Mahle Forged 11:1 |
| Crank: | Forged 4.125” stroke |
| Conrods: | Forged 6.125” |
| Exhaust: | Custom 1.78” 4i nto1 headers, dual 3” stainless with high flowcats, x-pipe and growler mufflers |
| Ignition: | MSD 6014 |
| Shift | |
| Gearbox: | Tremec TKX |
| Clutch: | Mal Wood 11.5” Organic |
| Tail shaft: | Chrome moly 3.5” 1350 uni’s |
| Diff: | 9in, 31-spline billet axles, Strange nodular-iron centre, Truetrac, 3.5:1 gears |
| Beneath | |
| Front: | United speed shop tubular arm kit with QA1 coil overs, K-Mac Bathurst sway bar |
THANKS
Dave Pollock for being a deadest legend; My wife and kids for their patience; Harry, Johnny and Zelk for lending a hand when needed; Dad when I needed advice; Steveo for painting the body kit; David and Mark at The Little Trimmer Castle Hill; The team at Castle Hill Exhaust; Andrew at Motorsport Solutions; Mal and Colin at Mal Wood Automotive; Erick at Hopper Stoppers; Dale at Ferntree Gully radiators; Sam at Tempe Tyres; Mitchell at Sydney Premium Detailing; Cam at CDM Motorsports; Jaime at JD Custom Automotive; Kristian at Hardy Spicer; Linda at United Speed Shop and anyone else I may of forgotten.
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