Turbocharged 406ci LS combo - Mill of the Month

Charlie Sant might only be a pup, but he’s already built a kick-arse street car in his HK Kingswood (Young Gun, SM, Sep ’18) and now has an even spicier project on the go. His HSV-styled VN will be more aimed at drag racing and events than regular street use, and this turbocharged LS is what’s going to power it.

First published in the July 2022 issue of Street Machine

Charlie works at ProFlo Performance in Sydney, so he pieced the mill together himself, with help from his dad and ProFlo bossman Paul. It’s a budget-minded combo built largely from bits left over from other projects, but it’s sure to power the VN to plenty of smoky good times at Powercruise.

The block is a cast-iron LQ9 job, topped with 241 cathedral-port LS1 heads that were ported and treated to oversized Ferrea valves, Manley springs and factory rockers with a trunnion upgrade.

The rotating assembly comprises a Compstar crank, Scat rods and CP Bullet pistons, with ARP studs throughout. A Camtech hydraulic-roller bumpstick gives the valves a workout.

The Garrett 76mm snail is a second-handy that Charlie got for nix; he then had it modified to suit his application by Precision at Wetherill Park. Charlie and a mate built the turbo system in-house, consisting of custom manifolds, a crossover pipe and side-exit bullhorn exhaust and screamer pipe. Funnelling compressed air to the intake ports is an early Shaun’s Custom Alloy inlet manifold, neatly matched to the Shaun’s billet rocker covers proudly emblazoned with the ProFlo logo.

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It’ll run on pump E85, metered out by a FuelTech FT600 that will be wired and configured by Charlie’s uncle, Mark Sant of Ontrak Auto Electrical.

Charlie won’t be drawn on what numbers he thinks the motor will make, and for good reason. “I don’t have a specific number in mind, and to be honest it’s not really designed to make huge amounts of horsepower,” he explains. “I built it to come on quickly and have really good throttle response for Powercruise. The turbo is undersized for this combo, but that was done on purpose so it makes plenty of grunt down low. I didn’t want it to be laggy.” Charlie and the ProFlo team don’t muck about, so we’re looking forward to seeing this mill making clouds at Powercruise sooner rather than later!

Colour combination

Charlie thought ahead when it came to the engine’s presentation, with its grey block and heads and black ancillaries set to tie in with the car’s broader theme. “The whole car will have the black-on-grey look, right down to little touches like the brake calipers,” he says.

ProFlo Performance
Campbelltown, NSW