10-second Holden HQ farm ute: reader’s car of the week

John Di Mauro’s charmingly weathered HQ farm hack is good for low 10s

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Photographers: Rick Welch

IT MIGHT look a bit rough round the edges (as the number plate proudly proclaims), but John Di Mauro’s trusty HQ farm ute is no slouch over the quarter, having run low 10s thanks to turbocharged LS power!

“This is my HQ ute. I’ve tried my hardest to leave it looking like it did when I dragged it out of the shed, where it had been resting for 10 years.

“It now has an LQ9 6.0-litre with an LS3 top end, and a homemade single-turbo set-up including steampipe manifolds and a custom-made billet 11-blade GT4204 turbocharger. A transbraked Keith Neal Powerglide and TCE converter runs to a 31-spline nine-inch rear end.

“So far it has run a best of 10.22@114mph, and that was with shutting it off just after half-track. It certainly is fun!

See video of the HQ in action at Willowbank by clicking here.

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