“I bought it for $1000 and it’s somehow just snowballed from there,” Kai says. “I by no means intended for it to turn into what it is today.”
Long-gone is the humble 253 thong slipper the car originally came with, with the SL/E initially undergoing a home-brewed LS1 swap before the eventual upgrade to the current 5.3-litre iron-block LS. “We got ourselves a DIY swap kit from the Castlemaine Rod Shop and did the LS1 swap ourselves at home with a mild cam and the basics,” Kai says.
It didn’t take long for the LS1 to get a turbo conversion, but sadly it wasn’t all gravy. “I got a workshop to do the work for the turbo and it wasn’t done very well, so that engine lunched itself and I was done with it,” says Kai. “I had actually been interested in the 5.3s for a while before the LS1 let go, so when it shit the bed I already knew what I wanted to do next.”
The 5.3-litre was given a makeover with a bunch of fruit by fellow Drag Challenge combatant (and now good mate) Mark Drew. “I’ve always had the philosophy of doing things once and doing them right, but it hasn’t worked!” Kai says. “After a few dramas with previous engines I finally got in with Drewy and haven’t looked back since.”
This story is from the June 2020 edition of Street Machine Magazine.
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This story is from the June 2020 edition of Street Machine Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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