There’s been a noticeable resurgence in the development of aftermarket go-fast bits for Holden’s humble homegrown bent-eight of late, and we reckon that’s a beautiful thing.

This article was first published in the April 2019 issue of Street Machine

Aussie performance giant Harrop recently launched its TVS2300 positive-displacement supercharger kit for the Holden V8, and if this Sam’s Performance-built 355-cuber is anything to go by, the blower transforms the iron lion into a formidable performer.

Harrop had Sam’s screw the engine together as a testbed for the blower kit, and it consists of a VR block with Harrop’s own four-bolt mains conversion and stroker crank. To this, Callies Compstar H-beam rods and Diamond pistons were added, for a 9.5:1 compression ratio.

The heads are CNC-ported items from Higgins wearing PSI valve springs, while the camshaft is a hydraulic-roller of a Sam’s Performance-specified grind.

With a 65mm pulley fitted to the snout, the blower winds a total of 12psi into the little Holden, and with it loaded on the Sam’s Performance engine dyno and the factory ECU reprogrammed using Kalmaker, 813hp at 7000rpm and 681lb-ft at 5450rpm were achieved on 98-octane pump fuel – impressive numbers in anyone’s language.

“We were stretching the friendship with the crank, but we were impressed with how hard we managed to lean on it,” Harrop’s Heath Moore says. “The kit is only relatively new, and while there’s only a handful of them out there, they’ve all gone onto built engines. While the kit is designed to work on a standard-spec engine, for those looking to make really big numbers, our TVS2650 version is now available.”

NICE BIT OF KIT

Harrop’s positive-displacement Holden 5.0L V8 supercharger kit features a water-to-air intercooled Eaton TVS2300 rotating group, and Harrop-designed housing, manifold, bracketry and drive system.

It accepts 90mm, L76-bolt-pattern throttlebodies and comes loaded with an 80mm blower pulley, but a range of pulleys are available to suit your desired boost level. Commodore owners will probably opt for the version of the kit with the intake angled towards the factory airbox on the passenger side of the engine bay, but those favouring an over-the-radiator style intake will prefer the forward-facing version, which can also accept an aftermarket 102mm throttlebody with the TVS2650 version.

Sam’s Performance
Greenacrew, NSW