Crazy Holden Torana with Blown Chevy Puts Out 1,584 WHP

Talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing. With a few exceptions like the sporty six-cylinder GTR XU1 and the 5.0-litre V8 powered SLR 5000 editions, the Holden Torana was a run-of-the mill compact model with plain Jane looks and lackluster performance.

But in the world of tuning and drag racing even the Torana can be transformed into a terrifying beast. Meet Jakes Edward's latest Torana sedan fitted with a massive 496ci (8.2-liter) turbocharged V8 Chevrolet engine that runs on methanol fuel.

At this month's Summernats festival in Canberra, Australia, Edward's yellow Holden took part and won the "Horsepower Heroes" competition as it yielded 1,584.5 wheel horsepower on the dyno! Watch the Aussie-made monster in the video after the break.

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1970s Toyota Corolla Sleeper with Nissan V6 Turbo Runs 1/4 Mile in 11s

We all love us some cool sleepers and what a better mechanical wolf in sheepskin than a third generation Toyota Corolla sedan [KE30 series] from the mid-1970s with a completely stock look right up to the rear window shades sporting a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 Nissan engine under its tiny hood.

The ride comes to us from Australia and according to the blokes over at FullBoost, it was created in just four weeks' time. The force-fed VQ30 is linked to a ZX five-speed manual gearbox while the car runs on 14-inch tires.

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What Would You do with a Ferrari 550 Maranello V12 Engine?

We've already established that buying a used exotic sports car can turn out to be a bottomless money pit.

But for the sake of conversation, let's say that you had the opportunity to buy a supercar's engine alone, like this 5.5-liter V12 from a 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello coupe that we discovered on eBay with 9,000 miles and a 'Buy it Now' price of $16,999; what would you do with it?

If it the engine turned out to be in good condition, would you try to fitting it in another Ferrari or would you attempt a crazy engine swap in the likes of the F360-powered 1960 Nash Rambler Wagon or the Lamborghini-powered Ford Mustang, and if so, which donor car would you prefer?

Then again, maybe you'd like to create one of the world's most expensive coffee tables. Whatever your choice, we'd like to hear about it in our comments section after the break.

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1969 Dodge Charger V/C: Are You Happy to See me or is that a Viper Under Your Hood?

We've seen the Viper's 10-cylinder engine slithering out of its old skin and sliding under the bonnet of many different cars ranging from a Chrysler PT Cruiser and a 300 sedan, to a Dodge Challenger and a Saab 9-3 Sport Combi, but what could be more fitting than seeing it in a classic muscle car like the 1969 Dodge Charger?

This bad boy was found for sale on eBay with the seller claiming to have modified or replaced just about everything on the original 1969 Charger, from the upper and lower control arms and the independent rear suspension to the rack and pinion steering system, all of which are said to have been sourced from the Viper.

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Ford Mustang Exotica Hides an Aston Martin Vanquish V12 Under its Hood [with Video]

We’re pretty sure that, during the time Aston Martin was under the ownership of Ford, the thought of stuffing an exotic V12 powerplant under the bonnet of a Mustang must have crossed the mind of a few company engineers.

And while we never saw something of the sort officially from Ford, an independent custom shop actually realized the idea with the 2005 Ford Mustang 'Vanquishd' show car that was presented at the 2006 SEMA aftermarket gathering.

Built by Western Motorsports, this one-of-a-kind Mustang gets a 6.0-liter V12 engine with 600 ponies from a 2001 Aston Martin Vanquish. Power is sent to the chunky rear wheels through a 6 speed manual Tremec T-56 transmission.

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It Came From eBay Hell: Triumph TR3 with an Italian Body and an American Heart

Much like Christine in the Stephen King novel of the same name, this 1957 Triumph TR3 Special began life as nothing more than a…car. Since then it’s mutated into this thing that sports a faux-Ferrari body and a Chevy 350 V8 under the hood. Read more »

BMW 357Ci: E46 Coupe gets Pontiac GTO 5.7-liter LS1 V8

Two observations: one, there’s nothing cooler than a LS1-engined BMW that is externally indistinguishable from its bread-and-butter cousins and two, the Apple iPhone is probably the worst thing for filming a movie ever. A little less of number two and a little more number one, if you please.

This BMW E46 3-Series coupe, or as its UK owner has appropriately named it, the 357Ci, started its life as a 2001 325Ci with an M Sport Package.

In the hands of its current owner, it received the same 5.7-liter LS1 V8 engine as the rather forlorn looking Porsche 911 we wrote about last week, making this the second American-powered German automobile we’ve featured in as many days.

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A Mazda MX-5 On Steroids: Australia’s V8 Engined Bullet Roadster

In the late ‘90s, Australian John Bettini unleashed onto the word the Bullet Roadster. What begin life as a heavily modified Mazda MX-5 with an RX-7 13B powerplant gradually evolved into a V8-engined monster like the one you see here that we found for sale in Queensland, Australia.

According to the seller, this was the fifth Bullet Roadster built and the first V8-engined one to roll out of the company’s then new Chinderah, NSW factory. It’s all hearsay, of course, but I’m willing to believe the words of a 62yo motoring enthusiast with arthritic knees. So here goes...

Bullet No. 5 was a special order from a man named George Covacic who supplied a 4.6-liter all-alloy, fuel injected V8 crate motor along with a Tremac 5-speed manual transmission and the differential from a Holden Commodore SS. Like all Bullet supercars, the brakes and suspension came from the Mazda RX-7.

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Yes Please: Porsche 911 with GM LS1 V8 Power [Videos]

By taking a kitbashed GM-sourced LS1 V8 engine and slotting it into an AWD Porsche 996, LS1tech forum member “1dirtyZ” has set out to create something truly unique. Sure, it’s unconventional and perhaps a little sacrilegious...but just look at the Porsche donor car.

It’s a wreck, the victim of a catastrophic engine fire. It has a ruined interior and a body that’s been damaged both by fire and rust. It would have spent the rest its days rotting away in a car wreckers yard if 1dirtyZ had not rescued it.

And even though this confabulation of All-American grunt and German precision engineering is not yet finished (it doesn’t have a rear bumper, for one), it certainly runs and can even be driven around a dirt race track. You can check out our gallery of in-progress images below and a handful of videos showing the V8-powered Porsche 911 running.

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Pontiac Solstice gets an Engine Transplant from a Toyota Supra

In the world of engine swaps, anything goes but it’s always nice to see people experimenting with different kind of builds. For Car Lounge forum member ‘Phlow’, the patient was a Pontiac Solstice roadster with a weak heart - or so to say.

While most physicians would prescribe a local LS V8 transplant, this doctor went for something more exotic, to be precise a 2JZ, which is a code name for the Toyota Supra’s twin-turbocharged inline-six.

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Viper V10-Powered Chrysler PT 10 Cruiser Pickup Truck for Sale on eBay

Whether you love it or loathe it, Chrysler’s PT Cruiser was a running success for the Detroit automaker and over its ten-year lifespan, we saw countless projects cars and tunes based on the retro-styled compact model. However, ask any true Mopar fan what the ultimate modification is for any Chrysler Group model, and you’ll most likely get the answer an engine swap with the Dodge Viper’s ferocious V10 powerplant.

Here at Carscoop, we’ve shown you plenty of Viper-powered cars ranging from a Chrysler 300 and a Dodge Challenger to a Saab 9-3 and a Jeep Wrangler. Now it’s time to add the Chrysler PT Cruiser to our list of venomous engine swaps with this eBay find.

The PT/10 Cruiser Pickup Truck is said to have been built in 2000. It is based on a custom chassis with power coming from the Viper’s V10 engine churning out 500 ponies. Other goods sourced from the Dodge sports car include the 6-speed transmission, rear suspension, steering rack and seats.

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Fox Body Mustang Gets an Injection of Coyote V8 Power

There was a lot to like about Ford’s “Fox Body” Mustang of the 1980’s. Though lacking the attractive lines or brutish character of the first generation, it was a substantial aesthetic improvement over the Pinto-derived second generation ‘stang. It was also somewhat unique in pony car history for offering a 2.3 L turbo four alongside the usual assortment of V6’s and V8’s, purporting to offer the right combination of performance and economy.

So it’s no wonder the Ol’ Fox is popular with pony car enthusiasts. Now, Kurgan Motorsports of Atlanta has taken one of these semi-classics and retrofitted it with the barnstorming 5.0 L “Coyote” V8 and drivetrain from a wrecked 2011 Ford Mustang GT.

Kurgan Motorsports owner Bob Kurgan explains:

“The engine just dropped right in. It was everything else that was difficult. With this engine only being out for just a little while, everything had to be custom built for it to swap over. Getting the engine running was easy. We had to custom make the motor mounts, air conditioning brackets, power steering brackets ourselves. But it’s a friggin’ animal on the streets.”

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Dutch Man Builds Alfa Romeo GTV Bi-Motore with Two V6 Engines and 487HP [with Videos]

“What do you do when the power of an engine is no longer sufficient?” asks Stephan Lenior, the man behind Squadra Tuning, on his company’s website. While the solution for the majority would have been a heavily modified or perhaps a completely different engine altogether, for the owner of the Alfa Romeo tuning company based in Holland, the answer to that question was far more radical and complex.

To make a very long story short, Stephan’s solution to u the performance of his Alfa Romeo GTV V6 involved the fitment of a second six-cylinder engine at the back. Easier said than done of course, with the project turning out to be a rather complicated and time-consuming process.

Stephan documented the entire build on his company’s website and if our Google’s translation is correct (any help from our Dutch speaking readers would be appreciated, especially on the matter of the transmission), Stephan took a 3.2-liter V6 along with the sub frame and suspension bits from an Alfa Romeo 166 and placed them in the rear section of the Italian coupe. Together with the GTV’s front-mounted 3.0-liter V6, the two engines produce a combined output of 487-horsepower.

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