You might be a bit sick of the #LSTheWorld craze, but when you hear stories like what Grant Pegler has achieved with an unopened LS and a pair of turbos in his LX Torana hatchback, even the best lawyer would struggle to form an argument against the merits of the ubiquitous Bowtie mill.

First published in the August 2025 issue of Street Machine

“I haven’t even pulled the heads off; it’s still running the original head gaskets,” says Grant of the Torry’s stout L98. “All we’ve done is remove the timing cover for the camshaft swap and the rocker covers for the upgraded valvetrain, and bolted the manifolds and the rest to the outside of it.” That’s all the assistance the mill received in order to cop boost from a pair of Garrett G25-660 hairdryers.

The push for a turbo LS combo came from three-time Drag Challenge overall winner Quentin Feast. “He’s a good mate of mine, so after I finished fifth in the Dial Your Own class at Drag Challenge 2016, when the car was still running low 11s with the old 500hp, 355 stroker, he persisted with asking, ‘Don’t you want to go faster?’” Grant recalls. “So, I told him if he made the exhaust manifolds, I’d do it, so I did the LS swap.”

Controlling the whole lot is a Holley Dominator ECU, with E85 fuel to keep things safe on 8psi of boost. “It’s never been dyno tuned; it’s just had a road map remotely loaded by a Holley tuning wizard from the States,” says Grant. “We run low boost to keep it safe with the standard ring gap, and it’s been super reliable – I don’t think I’ve changed the sparkplugs in three years!” As such, Grant has no official power figures for the combo, but both his butt dyno and online calculators lob the car at around 730hp on 8psi.

Grant has owned the LX since 2006, when he purchased it off his father-in-law, who’d had it since the late 90s. “I’m actually a Ford guy, but I loved this car when he got it, so I told him if he ever sold it, I got first dibs,” he says. “He didn’t drive it much, and eight years or so after buying it, he did offer it to me, and bless him, he didn’t charge me a cent more than he paid for it.”

Fast-forward to Drag Challenge 2023, and the Torana was largely untested as Grant headed into the torturous week. “We did one test at Heathcote and it ran a 9.8@140mph, but by the time I got it back with a rollcage in it for the event, we didn’t get a chance to test again,” he says.

You would think an unopened LS would be a ticking time bomb under even the best conditions, let alone the marathon that is Drag Challenge. However, not only did Grant and the Torana successfully finish the week, but the combo is still going strong nearly two years later. Traction issues that week did slow him down a tad, with the LX running a string of mid-10s before a 9.82@137mph on the final day yielded him a single-digit DC pass in the 9.5 Radial index class. “It was a bit disappointing, but looking back, finishing the week with how untested we were was an achievement in itself,” says Grant.

Although Grant has slowly been piecing together a Dart-block LS, the need for it has not yet come to pass. “The turbo set-up and the driveline is all there for a big motor, but this one just keeps on trucking!” he marvels. “I’ll chip away at it in the background, but I reckon a mid-nine is achievable with the current engine.”

Along with appearances at the Holden Nationals and the Hardass 1000, Grant spends plenty of time cruising the Torry on the street. “I reckon it gets out at least once a week. We cruise it everywhere – that’s what it’s built for!” he says.

Sadly, he’ll be missing out on Drag Challenge 2025 due to intercontinental holiday plans, but we’ll see the Torana back in the fold at DC as soon as he’s able. “I love the social part of the event – it’s the best time of your life!”

GRANT PEGLER
1977 HOLDEN LX TORANA SS HATCH

Class:

PSR 9.5 Radial

THANKS
Peter Francalanza for doing such a good job on the original resto; my mate David Cobb; Quentin Feast for the manifolds, advice and help; my son Jake Pegler; my wife Jodie and daughter Kasey for their understanding and support.