Aspirated V8 Commodore Revs to 9000RPM!

Holden’s venerable Iron Lion small block Holden V8 was many things. It served Australian motorists for decades in a number of configurations and capacities, but one thing it never did was rev to 9,000rpm! 

That’s a task almost exclusively left up to Dodge’s NASCAR engines, and Aussie burnout fiends have been importing them and shoving them between the towers of locally available models for yonks. 

Immediately, we cast our minds back to the legendary BLOKY VG Valiant who deafened burnout fans at comps around the country, and the latest NASCAR engine conversion popped up on social media over the weekend - a particularly neat VH Commodore sporting very fitting ‘RPMKING’ number plates to accompany the Dodge R6 engine conversion, which makes  an entirely naturally aspirated 850hp at 9,000rpm.

Amazingly, owner Josh Smith has tackled the majority of the work himself, obviously handy with the welder he’s modified the rear end of the VH to accept up to a 12 inch wide wheel, as well as bowling over the technical aspects of the conversion, fabricating things like engine mounts and headers to suit the Dodge big-swinger in to the Commodore engine bay. 

The driveline is beefed up with a Reid-cased Powerglide and a Shane’s Chassis 9 inch diff boasting 35-spline axles, tucking the meaty 10 inch wide Welds up under the rear guards nicely.