SHANNON Heraud’s Ford Escort is like a breath of fresh air when it comes to burnout builds. The whole ‘big motor and big blower into a Falcon/Commodore/Torana/Kingswood’ thing has been done to death, and Shannon’s rally-themed Mk1 Ford Escort with its little Holden 253 and 4/71 blower is something unusual to say the least.

Yep, this Ford product is rocking a dinky-di, Aussie-made, thongslappin’ 253 V8. And you’re probably asking: ‘Why?’

“I fell into 253s, really,” says Shannon. “When I first started skidding, I ran an NA 253 in my Torana; then I picked up another for basically nothing.”

Shannon has thrown the kitchen sink at the humble 253, with a forged rotating assembly and a neat blower with Enderle injection on top.

It might be Holden’s smallest V8, but Shannon’s experience with the 253 is that it has adequate power and exemplary reliability. “I’ll take it to 7000-7500rpm all day at 12lb boost,” he says. “It should see around 600hp once we start pushing it.”

While it was built as a burnout car, Shannon isn’t afraid to drive the wheels off it at the drag strip. We caught up with him at the recent Ford-Powered Nationals at Heathcote Park Raceway, where Shannon was putting the car down the quarter-mile. He managed to run a new PB of 10.57@131mph.

Shannon’s Escort is a finalist for Street Machine Of The Year, so click here to cast your vote!