Blown V8s and burnout cars go together like hot days and cold beers, so it should be no surprise that this 8/71-blown monster is destined for duty in a skid and event car. Put together by Damian Baker at BG Engines, it’s a stout combo, but not one he’d describe as exotic.

First published in the June 2025 issue of Street Machine

“This is a go-to combo for us for a burnout car, as it’s relatively easy to source parts for,” he says. “It made 1056hp on 16psi, and 925lb-ft, but it is not about making power; it’s about longevity.”

Having built a vast array of tough engines for the likes of Adrian Cuthbertson’s SKIDMA Mitsubishi and Alon Vella’s Drag Challenge Radial Aspirated-dominating Capri, among many others, Damo understands how to make big-horsepower engines live.

Starting with a Dart LS-Next block, Damian installed a Callies Magnum crank and H-beam rods, along with CP blower pistons, for a 388ci capacity and 10:1 compression.

The cam is a BG-ground hydraulic-roller turning 237°/250°/114° at 0.50in, while the heads are – surprisingly – lightly modified L98 rectangle-port four-bolt items, to which Damo added a set of valves and upgraded springs. “They’re a good head off the shelf, so we have used them here,” he says.

A Savy Motorsport dry sump system keeps the lubrication where it needs to be, and it’s just one of a bunch of Aussie speed parts on this LS. “We’ve also got Shaun’s Custom Alloy rocker covers, a Joe Blo timing snout, and our own Pro Billet sheet-metal high-rise intake that I make here at BG,” Damo says.

Above that intake lives a belt-fed 8/71 supercharger from The Blower Shop and a Big & Ugly hat.

The combo is mechanically injected, which works better with a methanol-fuelled skid car, according to Damo. “Given the cost to put EFI on a burnout car, it’s of no advantage over mechanical injection in this application,” he says. “I find mechanical easier to work with on these cars. EFI has its place, just maybe not for me on burnout and Powercruise cars.”

The 1000-horse donk was built for an in-the-works early-Kingswood burnout car. “I put this engine together first so they can finish off all the rest of the fabrication on the car,” Damian says. “I try and make the engine as complete as possible. For instance, the dry sump oil pump and the mechanical fuel pump all run off one belt, which means if you lose the oil pump belt, it stops the fuel pump and should save the engine.”

It’s wild to think we live in an age where a 1000hp, methanol-fed, 8/71-blown late-model small-block can have good longevity, but given BG’s track record with other hard-living bent-eights, we’re sure this one will shred ’til the cows come home.

FUEL FOR THOUGHT

Damo went for something different when setting up the fuel system on this 388ci LS. Rather than running the distribution block for the fuel lines from the back of the engine, he split the lines up to fit them either side of the blower. This keeps the fuel lines equal lengths and ensures even fuelling across all cylinders.

BG Engines,
North Richmond, NSW
bgengines.com.au