Video: Muscle Car Drags

On Sunday the 29^th April several of us headed out to Sydney Dragway to hang out with the guys from the New South Wales Muscle Car Association at their club’s drag day. It was an awesome morning with around 60 quality cars turning up including a good showing by the HSV Owners Club. Cars of all shapes and sizes were present on the day which included old and new school muscle cars of all makes and models as well as myself and Roy Velardi entering our own cars for a bit of fun.

There was a vast array of cars racing on the day from old and modern muscle to European sports cars. With such a mixture of vehicles it made for some interesting match ups as well as some very surprising results when the cars crossed the finish line.

Here we have a trio of Holden’s finest muscle cars. A HDT VK Group A Commodore followed by an LC GTR XU-1 Torana and a Barbados Green LH Torana SL/R 5000 all preparing to let loose. I might add that all cars returned with excellent results with the SL/R 5000 running well into the 12s.

This VK Group A was sporting some serious hardware under the bonnet which made for impressive 11 second passes and wheels up launches. With twin fours poking through the bonnet it was obvious that was packing more than the factory intended.

Here is the perfect Aussie muscle car shoot out with the big XB GT Falcon taking on the little LJ Torana in a classic David versus Goliath battle with both cars running well into the 11 second zone.

Craig Alderson is not afraid to drive his genuine LC Torana GTR XU-1 the way it was intended and it is no stranger to the drag strip and circuit. Here is Craig bolting on a set of slicks before heading out onto the strip.

This tough Porsche 911 Turbo was only completed the night before the event and was running very low 13 second quarter miles with the six cylinder Boxer engine singing a sweet tune as it crossed the finish line. With a little more sorting we are sure that those times will plummet into the 12s and maybe even 11s.

Street Fords Roy Velardi attended the event in the families XB GT sedan fitted with an alloy headed 427ci Cleveland style engine running through a C4 auto and 4.11:1 9-Inch. The GT shocked all of us including Roy when it ran a very impressive best time of 11.6@116mph.

I attended the event in my own HSV SV99 Commodore which ran a best time of 13.9@102mph which impressed me for a standard car and I had a ball in the process. As you can imagine, I am now planning on what improvements can be made in order to run quicker times.

A supercharged Walkinshaw enhanced VE HSV GTS took on a tough 6.0 litre VZ Clubsport that the owner told us was more at home on the circuit rather than the drag strip.

The owner of this genuine Silver Mink HK GTS Monaro spent the day running mid 13 second quarter miles thanks to the solid cammed Chevy V8 under the bonnet.

Craig Alderson shared the driving with his brother in Craig’s LC XU-1 fitted with a triple Weber fed Holden six running an awesome best time of 13.5@107mph.

There was a great turn out of guys from the NSW HSV Owners Club and it was good to see these cars being driven the way they were intended and believe me, the owners were not taking it easy with some impressive times run on the day.

1967-’69 Camaros are a tough car at the best of times however when matched to a tough engine and a set of slicks they become awesome.

A fully restored genuine Torana A9X hatchback about to see what it is capable of down the quarter. It was great to see an array of rare muscle cars stretching their legs.

Anthony and Frank Papalia’s LH SL/R 5000 Torana spent the day running 12 second times with its tough 308ci engine singing a sweet tune.

Joe Maroun who is no stranger to L34 Toranas brought out his genuine L34 and impressed us all with just how tough it was.

We thought it fitting that Roy and I lined up together for our final run, needless to say I got hosed by Roy in his big cube XB GT but never the less it was a day full of plenty of laughs and was well worth the price of admission.

When it comes to muscle cars, especially when drag racing, photos don’t quite do them justice. Check out the video above to hear these beasts bark!