Two Years, Two Turbos: The Aussie Chevelle Returns!

The Field-Find Chevelle is More Mental Than Ever.

- Phillip Thomas

​Once settled into the racing seat, the turbos aren’t as hard to see around as you would expect. And that’s a legitimate concern for the Aussie Chevelle, as both 76mm BorgWarner turbochargers sprout out of the hood with less than 2 feet separating the tip of the air filter from the tip of the exhaust. Max Rockatansky has his blower, but the Aussie Chevelle team of Harry “Haul” Haig, Ryan “The Sarge” Ford, Shannon “Pyro” Jennings, and Terry Seng has their turbos.

Readers will recognize this heap as the same 1969 Chevelle SS 396 that spit its ring-gear bolts out—repeatedly—during Drag Week™ 2015 after being rescued from a field for $1,500. The Aussies, a group of friends who wheel in everything from Holden drag cars to slammed Buicks, returned to the United States with a new plan for 2016: two turbos and single-digit e.t.’s.

The captain in charge of that effort was Terry Seng of Paramount Performance in Queensland, Australia. He developed a twin-turbo, 540ci, big-block package that cranks out 1,300 hp. Paramount started with a Dart Big M block and Eagle rotating assembly and topped it off with aluminum Edelbrock/Musi CNC-ported heads and an Edelbrock Victor Jr. Manifold. We heard the camshaft spins the opposite way, but the Aussies were not willing to confirm that fact.