There’s nothing like a bit of cheek from your mates to motivate a build, and for Tasmanian Heath Carroll, it was the catalyst for throwing a turbo LS into his HR Holden to have a crack at Drag Challenge.

First published in the June 2026 issue of Street Machine

“A few mates gave me shit about the 202, but it was no slouch at 230hp aspirated,” says Heath. “Even so, a week later I bought a cheap LS3.”

Heath’s initial plan for the build was nice and simple – just an aspirated, tunnel-rammed, carby LS, while keeping the BorgWarner diff. “Then a mate found the BorgWarner turbo on Facebook Marketplace, and it escalated from there,” he says.

Being a boilermaker and fabricator, Heath has done more than his share of fast-car work, including building fellow Tasmaniac Alexis Margaritis’s seven-second, twin-turbo LC Torana. “He was also partly responsible for the turbo conversion, because he gave me the Hooker turbo headers after I made some new ones for this Torana,” says Heath.

Heath handled converting the HR to modern Bowtie power in his own workshop, with around 12 months of work going into the car during his spare time. “I thought ahead a little and wanted to make new inner guards that let the heat out from the turbo and engine,” he says, “and next thing you know, everything but the firewall had been modified.”

Despite sounding simple on paper, the LS conversion involved more than just an engine and turbo. Heath opted to make his own water-to-air intercooler set-up, finding it easier to work within the limited real estate of the HR’s engine bay. “Unlike air-to-air, water-to-air gives you more consistent intake temps, which is great at an event like Drag Challenge,” he says.

Another notable aspect of the build is the Moroso dry sump system. “A customer paid for some work with a Moroso oil pump, so that was another item that just came my way to step up the build,” Heath explains.

As for the LS3 itself, it was rebuilt with help from Pete Eastley. The crank is standard, and the rest of the rotating assembly includes a set of Callies rods and CP Bullet pistons, finished off with a Comp Cams bumpstick. The heads are standard but have had a tidy-up of the ports, topped by a Holley Hi-Ram manifold taking around 14psi of boost. Managed by a Haltech Rebel LS and juicy E85, the combo made a healthy 610kW (818hp) to the hubs through the Powerglide ’box and nine-inch diff.

The HR was finished just in time to load it up for the trip from Hobart to the mainland, where it was then towed up to South Australia for the start of Drag Challenge 2025. “We pushed the deadline a bit too close, so the first test drive of the old girl was the day before scrutineering from the caravan park at Tailem Bend to the pub for a counter meal,” says Heath.

You might think that a completely unproven car would’ve been a bit of a handful for a week of drag-and-drive in the Drag Challenge torture chamber, but Heath and crew had pretty much no issues over the five days. “The only problem was a clogged fuel filter between Portland and Mildura, which also killed the pump,” Heath says. “But otherwise, it was grouse!”

Given the car was so green, Heath opted to play it safe and run just one pass at each track, competing in the HP Tuners/VCM Performance Dial Your Own class. His first pass at Dragway at The Bend on Day One was a low 11, and he finished the week with a PB back at The Bend on the final day, running a 10.42@120mph. “It sounds a bit lame, but we just didn’t want to beat on the car with it being so new,” he says. “Completing the week and getting a pass at each track was more than enough of a win for me.”

Heath reckons he’ll be back again in late October for this year’s Drag Challenge, and by then the HR will have copped a rollcage and a new fuel system. “I do like the idea of the new 10.50 index class, so maybe we’ll have a crack at that,” he says. “It’s such a fun week away with mates.”

HEATH CARROLL
1966 HOLDEN HR SPECIAL

THANKS
Pete for the help with the motor; Dan for the long Friday nights and continued help; Jabs for the LS knowledge; Craig for wiring the old girl up; Spencer at Platinum Tuning; most of all, my wife Sarah and my kids.