Those in the Melbourne car scene would know the friendly face of John Ricca, owner of Race Parts Melbourne and enough enthusiast dream cars to make even Jay Leno envious.

First published in the October 2024 issue of Street Machine

When you’ve got VL Commodores, R34 GT-R Skylines, rotary Mazdas and even a twin-turbo Lamborghini to choose from (just to name a few), how do you decide which car to take cruising? Well, John decided to fix that problem by acquiring another car – this stunning LX Torana.

“It came up after Boosted Fabrications had just finished building it, and I could see it was a well-built, quality car,” says John. “A deal was done to purchase it, and it’s been a great thing to just get out and cruise in.”

The LX was originally used by Steve Martin at Boosted Fabrications as a test dummy for fabricating pipes and the like, but when Ryan Parsons from Race Coatings wanted a car built, Steve and the crew transformed the Torana into the eye-catcher you see now.

“We had a pretty simple and clear vision of the car that we wanted to build from scratch, and we put a plan in place to make it all come together,” says Steve.

The core of that plan was a 403ci, iron-block LQ9. It boasts beefy, all-new internals, including a Callies crank, Howards Cams I-beam conrods, CP pistons and a stage-four LJMS camshaft. Heads are Dart Pro1s, topped by a Plazmaman intake. Brainpower comes from a Holley Dominator, while 1650cc injectors and three Walbro 460 pumps deliver the go-juice. Though you can’t see them, the mill is also fed by a pair of hidden GTX3582 turbos, which sees it punch out 992rwhp on ethanol at around 20psi.

Boosted Fabrications custom-made the exhaust manifolds and intercooler piping on either side of the PWR core, all of which is hidden beneath the front wheel tubs.

The rest of the chassis copped plenty of treatment to deal with everything the twin-turbo mill has to offer. Out back, it’s been mini-tubbed to accept mammoth 325 radials on 15×10 Weld V-Series wheels, with modified rails and a complete rear clip. The nine-inch is connected via four-link suspension, and a parachute mount and full rollcage were also on the shopping list, so this thing is more than ready to hit the track if John sees fit.

The front underpinnings copped just as much treatment. It now has a full tubular front end, big-boy Afco coil-overs and updated rack-and-pinion steering.

The MDT-built Powerglide uses a TCE 3500rpm converter, while the nine-inch diff houses 3.25:1 gears and a Truetrac LSD to get the shove to those big rear meats.

The car was under the knife at Boosted Fabrications for a couple of years, and made a grand debut in the hands of then-owner Ryan Parsons at Street Machine Summernats 34. The LX made an immediate impression, landing a spot in the Top 20 in the Elite Hall.

“None of this build would be possible without the help of many of the finest suppliers and talents in the industry,” says Steve. “I’ve got to thank Jeff Johnson on the tune-up for the Holley Dominator, and Ben D’Annello for the use of the dyno and his workshop – he was an absolute gentleman and legend.”

Under John’s ownership, the Torana has continued its award-winning ways. At Showcars Melbourne in February this year, the LX earned Top Street Machine, along with an invite to MotorEx 22 in May as a Meguiar’s Superstars finalist alongside John’s Midnight Purple III R34 GT-R.

John plans to bring the LX back for Summernats 37 in January 2025, but one thing he reckons isn’t on the cards is sending it down a drag strip. “I have a lot of race cars, and I find once you start racing street cars, you tend to ruin them to go faster,” he says. “This thing drives so nice; it’s perfect to head out on a sunny Sunday for a car show or just cruise, so I don’t want to spoil that. People still don’t believe me, but I haven’t even done a powerskid in it yet!”

So, if you’re in the western ’burbs of Melbourne, odds are you’ll see the LX burling around with John and his kids on a nice, sunny day. As such, it’s not likely to be his weapon of choice for Drag Challenge 2024, but with an arsenal of other toys at his disposal, we look forward to seeing what John rolls up in for DC sign-on day on
29 October.

PRO RACER

At the time of writing, John had just returned from the US, where he was testing his newly acquired, 4000hp, 514ci Hemi-powered Camaro Pro Mod. “We went 5.53@262mph on its third full pass, so there’s potential there for a 5.20,” he says. So, if you’re wondering why John isn’t overly interested in racing the LX, this might explain why! When a 4000-horse Pro Mod is your ‘proper’ race car, a 992rwhp Torana seems rather tame by comparison.

JOHN RICCA
1976 HOLDEN LX TORANA

THANKS
Race Parts Melbourne; Matthew DeSpirt for the transmission; Shawn Potter at Exotic Kustoms for paint and panel; Ryan at Race Coatings for the ceramic coatings; Ben D’Annello for the base tune; Steve at Boosted Fabrications for the complete turn-key build.