LAST year we followed the build of Adam Rogash’s VK Blue Meanie replica, dubbed ALLSHOW. Powered by a twin-turbo 440ci Dart LS Next, it was built in around 10 weeks for Street Machine Drag Challenge 2017 to run deep into the seven-second zone. Thus far the car has run a best of 7.75@180mph across the quarter-mile.

ALLSHOW: SEVEN-SECOND VK COMMODORE BUILD – EPISODE ONE

Since completing that build in September last year, Adam and the boys at MPW Performance have been working on a very similar build in a genuine HDT LE VL Commodore shell for Sydney’s Nathan Borg. Nathan was crowned Grand Champion at Summernats 28 with his bright red Datsun ute, and the brief for his VL build was no less extravagant.

The rollcage and rear end fabrication was all done in Sydney, before the car was shipped down to Melbourne where the rest of the mechanical package would be completed by MPW. Powerhouse Engines built up a 440ci Dart LS Next the same as the ALLSHOW combo, with the Plazmaman billet intake manifold and all the fruit. From there it runs the same twin Turbonetics 75/75 turbos as ALLSHOW, same intercooler, same dual injector set-up, and very similar exhaust systems. It’s basically ALLSHOW in a VL body, with a few improvements here and there that the boys learnt from building Adam’s car.

Like ALLSHOW, the VL also runs a McDonald Brothers Racing tubular front end with Viking coil-overs, and a two-speed Powerglide and TCE converter. Where it differs slightly is in the fuel system, where they have gone with four Walbro 460 in-tank fuel pumps, which will be quieter and less likely to fail in warm conditions compared to Adam’s external pumps. All the fuel lines are hard-line rather than Teflon braid too. Overall, it’s just a bit more showy than ALLSHOW, which you’d expect from a bloke who has won Grand Champion at Summernats.

Adam, Luke and the MPW boys have now finished up the mechanical side of things; the car runs, drives and makes big power – over 1100rwhp on the dyno. Now it’s off to Sydney where the interior will be fitted up and the car will be re-assembled. We can’t wait to see it finished and at the track and running some fast numbers.