People have employed plenty of different strategies both here and overseas for tackling a drag-and-drive marathon, but we reckon Duane Daye would be the first bloke to have concocted a 60s Ford Econoline ute for the task. 

First published in the August 2026 issue of Street Machine

“I’d known about the car for a while; it’d already had the floor cut out and the process of fitting tubs started, but then the owner passed away,” says Duane. “I got it as part of the deceased estate, and then started the build from there.”

An electrician by day, Duane concocts his projects on the side at home, doing almost all the work himself. The Econo needed a new chassis, so he determined that the backbone of a 2004 Mitsubishi Express van was within 30mm of the Ford’s wheelbase. “It was an easy decision; we dropped the body onto the van chassis, and luckily we didn’t need to modify the back firewall of the Ford to make it all work,” he says. “It has the fabricated nine-inch in the rear, and the front end has been updated with Jaguar XJ6 calipers using Porsche rotors. I’ve relocated the tie rods for the steering to get better Ackermann geometry, so it drives bloody beautifully now.”

That upgraded stop and turn is needed, as the asthmatic Mitsubishi power has been binned in favour of a turbocharged LS package. “I was originally going to go with a Coyote, but as much as I love them, they’re just too damn big,” Duane explains. “So, I got a Barra, but that also was a struggle to make fit the way I wanted, so then we opted for the LS. I’m a Ford man through and through, but I’d always wanted to do a turbo LS project.”

Duane landed on a 6.0-litre alloy L98, mounting it under the floor between the front seats, where the original Mitsubishi Express motor once was. The engine has been fully renovated with Compstar conrods and SRP pistons swinging from the standard crank. A Crow Cams bumpstick feeds fuel and air through a set of standard rectangle-port heads, with an Aeroflow turbo throwing said air in at around 14psi through a standard LS intake system.

“It has a Haltech Elite 2500, but we stuck with 98-octane fuel for this one; it’s just easier for what we want to do with the car,” says Duane. 

On 14psi, the package churns out around 509rwhp, with the grunt sent through a reinforced 4L60E transmission and TCE converter – for now.

“We had gearbox troubles right before Drag Challenge last year, so we picked that driveline up last minute to get to the event and get through,” says Duane. “I have a ZF 8HP sitting there for it, so I’m hoping to get that in there before Drag Challenge later this year.”

At last year’s event, the Econoline was only just finished, and in hindsight, Duane reckons it was probably a bit underdone when the lads got to sign-in day at Dragway at The Bend. “We had issues on the test day after scrutineering where it was popping and banging,” he recalls. “It turns out we had a loose hose, which was obviously causing boosting issues.”

Duane and crewmate Chris Boyle got the car behaving well enough for a 12.07@119mph on the first day of competition in the VCM Performance/HP Tuners Dial Your Own class. Unfortunately, the lads struck trouble on our mandatory road route heading south to Robe, South Australia. 

“First, we did a wheel bearing, but the bigger issue was a lifter let go in the motor,” says Duane. “We were still close enough to The Bend that we could just get tow-trucked back, but it was obviously the end of our week.”

Even having only spent about 48 hours in the Drag Challenge family on his first crack, Duane was full of praise for the event and its people. “I generally hate going to car shows, with all the dumb questions you get asked, but all the entrants and crew on DC are so lovely,” he says. “They just get it, and it’s awesome to mix with likeminded people.” 

While the early withdrawal was a shame, Duane certainly hasn’t left the Econoline sitting dormant since then. “We had the motor fixed pretty quickly, and while I wouldn’t call it a daily driver, she gets used on the regular,” he says. “I’m still keen to get it back to the track and hopefully run a low 11 or really high 10 with it, but it’s a bit too scary to try and go any quicker!” 

DUANE DAYE
1961 FORD ECONOLINE

THANKS
Chris Boyle for crewing on DC; Luke Schofield at Diamond Body Works for paint; Matt Strickland for the trim; Shaun Costin at S&M Engineering; Harry for making the wheels

RETROTECH

ANOTHER of Duane’s wild concoctions is this 1970 F100 – or rather, a modern Mustang masquerading as an F100.

“Underneath, it’s all Mustang: the Coyote engine, transmission, front and rear cradles – the whole lot,” says Duane. “It has all the climate control, heated and cooled seats, and even the lane departure and radar cruise works!”

If the engineering process clears in time, Duane reckons he’ll be piloting the F100 at DC ’26; otherwise, the Econoline will be ready for redemption.