“I ALWAYS wanted to do Street Machine Drag Challenge, and I love watching Drag Week in the States,” says first-time entrant Daniel Cassar. “It’s a good way to prove that your car can drive on the street.”

Daniel and his wife Ebony (Iron Maiden, SM, Aug ’18) own and run Fast Lane Speed Shop out of Ballarat, so he knows his way around cars. He’s whipped up a fresh ’32 Ford three-window coupe for his Tuff Mounts Outlaw Aspirated entry.

Sitting above the coupe’s IFS front end is a tough 406-cuber built by James from Melway Competition Engines, topped with a 950 Quick Fuel carby and Street Dominator manifold. The combo is good for 680hp at the flywheel. It’s backed by a Paul Rogers Performance-built Powerglide with a 6200rpm BTE converter, running back to a nine-inch with Detroit Locker and 4.3:1 gears.

“It’s a fresh build and I have had no problems so far,” Daniel says. He tested the ’32 at Portland but no timed passes were laid prior to Day One of DC, when he ran a snappy 9.93@133mph to see him in second place, and after Day Three he was leading the class.

When we caught up with him before his third pass on Day Two at Swan Hill, Daniel was chasing mid-track wheelspin and hoped that a lane change might settle the issue. Yet maybe it was just the heavy air that held him back from another nine-second timeslip.

Let’s see if this newcomer can keep his grip on the class lead come Friday evening.

DANIEL CASSAR
1932 FORD COUPE

Class: Tuff Mounts Outlaw Aspirated

SPECS
Engine: 406ci SBC
Intake: Street Dominator, 950 Quick Fuel carb
Trans: Powerglide
Converter: 6200rpm
Diff: 9in, Detroit Locker, 4.3:1 gears
Power: 680hp
Prev PB: N/A
Best Drag Challenge 2018 Pass: 9.86@130mph