In a veritable sea of Toranas and Capris, Wollongong lad Drew Friend’s Mitsubishi Galant stood out like the proverbial at Powercruise 66. Finished in the days prior to Street Machine Summernats 30, the car made the Elite Top 60, and picked up an encouragement award to boot.

Out on the track at Powercruise, however, Drew needed very little encouragement. He beat up on the little Galant like he hated it all weekend, and the car just seemed to take it in its stride. Powercruise is an event that’s tough on cars at the very best of times, so it was an impressive feat for such a fresh build.

The 5.7-litre LS1 V8 has been slotted in so neatly that it almost looks like factory fitment, however firewall and trans tunnel mods and a custom engine plate were required. It’s a modest combo that has “The Three Cs” (cam, compression and cylinder heads) covered, making a stout 450rwhp on E85.

The Galant is a compact, lightweight car, and Drew certainly had no issues baking those meaty rear tyres at Powercruise. His dad Steve took care of a great deal of the work on the car during the build, including – but by no means limited to – laying on the retina-searing green paint.

It’s an absolutely stunning little ride that breaks free from the status quo, and it’s already proving to be a very well-sorted package mechanically. We look forward to bringing you a full feature on the car in the not-too-distant future.