But while the EH still looks as it did when Nonno had the keys, it now sports a healthy turbocharged Holden six under the bonnet.

This article was first published in the August 2019 issue of Street Machine

Currently the drivetrain is the limiting factor for how much power the car can put to the ground. “I have to do the driveline next, as it still has an Aussie four-speed and banjo diff,” laughs Corey. “I actually blew the banjo to pieces just driving it gently, so we’re going to put a built M78 diff out of a VP ute in it and a Tremec TKO five-speed. I will also have to do bigger brakes, new wheels, all that”

“I wanted to do something different,” says the Novocastrian and owner of performance workshop Coretuned. “The day I got beaten by a Ford Laser was the day I knew I had to do something to it, so I did a 179 bored 60thou with a better head and a 350 Holley, making about 115rwhp. It was like that for years and I daily-drove it before I ended up putting the first turbo combo together.”

Once the EH was no longer his daily, Corey started planning some form of forced induction for the Holden six, but he ultimately left the decision on what form of air-compressor to someone else. “I actually asked my missus if I should supercharge or turbocharge the EH, and she said that if I had to cut the bonnet to fit a blower then I should go turbo,” he explains. “I didn’t want to cut any holes in the car because it is special to me, which is why I went for the custom water-to-air intercooler. There was no cutting this way.”

Corey’s first turbo set-up was fairly rudimentary, but it got the job done after some refining of the combo. “I grew up around Holden sixes, but 10 years ago when I first turbocharged the EH I didn’t know much about forced-induction motors,” he says. “I bought a $300 T04/T3 hybrid turbo off eBay, plumbed it back to a 600 double-pumper, made a manifold out of steampipe, modified a dizzy and drove it around for a bit.

Corey did all the mechanical work himself, including setting the engine up for full sequential EFI. “I machined the back of the flywheel for a 36-1 crank trigger wheel, and then I machined the fuel pump cam off the camshaft and made a single-tooth to pass a signal for a home sensor,” he explains

“It was making 187rwhp on 10psi, non-intercooled. I then added the water-to-air intercooler and it made 230rwhp just adding that, so I fitted a Garrett GT35 turbo I bought off a mate and it made 279rwhp on 12psi, and it did that for four years. It was a completely stock motor, just with a head and cam.”

Turbo tech had come a long way in that time, so Corey decided to push the combo harder, adding sequential injection and forged internals, but first he had to source a good block.

“I bought three WB blue 202 short motors from a guy for $50 and went through them to find a good motor to build,” he says. “It has the blue counterweighted crank, Spool rods, SRP forged pistons, main studs, ARP rod bolts and head studs, MLS head gasket, but it still has the original nine-port head and cam. I haven’t had it on the dyno yet, but it feels much stronger than what it was.”

The EH now runs LS7 coils, dual knock sensors and an LSA throttlebody off a VF GTS, which Corey welded to an old Cain intake that he drilled to run LSA injectors. He also made his own crank and cam sync sensors to run full sequential EFI, controlled by a Haltech Elite 2500 ECU.

“I’d have to say it’s probably making 300rwhp on about 12psi,” says Corey. “I still have to add the boost control to the engine, but the goal is to crack 500rwhp with it.”

The EH has been in Corey’s family basically since new, and has been a treasured gem ever since. “My nonno bought it off his cousin in 1965 after his cousin had it for a year, and it was stock when he gave it to me,” says Corey. “I took him for a run in it on the old set-up and he was blown away

COREY COLUMBRO
1964 HOLDEN EH

ENGINE
Type: Holden blue six
Capacity: 202ci
Head: Holden nine-port red
Intake: Customised Cain, HSV VF GTS throttlebody
Turbo: Garrett GT35
Exhaust: Custom steampipe
ECU: Haltech Elite 2500
Fuel system: Custom surge tank, Carter lift pump, DW350 push pump, LSA injectors

TRANSMISSION
Gearbox: Aussie four-speed
Diff: Banjo

SUSPENSION & BRAKES
Suspension: Stock
Brakes: Stock

WHEELS & TYRES
Rims: Stock 14×6 (f & r)
Rubber: 195/65 (f & r)