21-year-old races a seven-second blown Torana – Video

Matt Loy is just 21 years old and races a seven-second, 1700hp blown big-block Torana

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THERE aren’t too many 21 year-olds who can say they’ve driven a ground-pounding 1700hp drag car, but Matt Loy definitely can. His weapon of choice is this mean red Torry, and he piloted it to a very loud 7.70@191mph PB at the recent Holden Nationals at Heathcote Park Raceway.

 Racing the LX is a family affair according to Matt: “We built it together, tune it, build motors – it’s a family deal.” The Loys hail from Warwick, Queensland; their home track is the little Warwick Dragway eighth-mile. They made the 3000km round trip down to Heathcote just for the event.

 “It’s a great atmosphere, great event and the track’s been good,” Matt said. “We’re used to running on eighth-mile regional tracks, so we haven’t been on the quarter in four years.”

 The body of the LX is all steel apart from the bootlid and bonnet, but beneath the Holden sheet metal there’s a full-chassis race car. All that forward momentum is provided the old-school way: a 555-cube Chevrolet big-block wearing a Littlefield 14/71 high-helix blower and methanol injectors in the hat and ports.

 “We use the MSD Power Grid system to retard timing at the launch if the track’s not quite there, but still have it all at the top end,” Matt said. So even though the powerplant may not seem as high-tech as something with turbos, there’s still a fair bit of power adjustment available to help the car get down the track as quick as possible.

“We’d only made one pass with this new blower before we came down here, but it definitely makes more power than we used to,” Matt said. “We’re keeping it safe though, ’cause we’re so far from home!”

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