SAUSAGE SIZZLE
Kai ‘Creswick Sausage’ Mcphee’s 1300hp VC Commodore ran sevens at Drag Challenge 2019
IT MIGHT be hard to believe now, but when Kai ‘Creswick Sausage’ Mcphee initially took possession of his VC Commodore, he only had the intention of making it a humble club-plated cruiser. That’s a far cry from the 1300rwhp, seven-second street beast it is now. “I bought it for $1000 and it’s somehow just snowballed from there,” Kai says. “I by no means intended for it to turn into what it is today.” Long-gone is the humble 253 thongslapper the car originally came with, with the SL/E initially undergoing a home-brewed LS1 swap before the eventual upgrade to the current 5.3-litre iron-block LS. “We got ourselves a DIY swap kit from the Castlemaine Rod Shop and did the LS1 swap ourselves at home with a mild cam and the basics,” Kai says.
It didn’t take long for the LS1 to get a turbo conversion, but sadly it wasn’t all gravy. “I got a workshop to do the work for the turbo and it wasn’t done very well, so that engine lunched itself and I was done with it,” says Kai. “I had actually been interested in the 5.3s for a while before the LS1 let go, so when it shit the bed I already knew what I wanted to do next.”
The 5.3-litre was given a makeover with a bunch of fruit by fellow Drag Challenge combatant (and now good mate) Mark Drew. “I’ve always had the philosophy of doing things once and doing them right, but it hasn’t worked!” Kai says. “After a few dramas with previous engines I finally got in with Drewy and haven’t looked back since.”
The highlights package includes a Dragonslayer crank, Carrillo rods, CP Bullet pistons and Higgins heads with Holley Dominator EFI – and a GTX55 turbo force-feeding the whole shebang, running on E85. “I didn’t really have a huge horsepower goal in mind when we built it; I just wanted it to run eights and work,” Kai explains. “But we’ve kept pushing it and the pace and power have just got better.”
I DIDN’T WANT TO SPEND THE COIN ON A DART BLOCK, AND SO FAR IT’S BEEN GREAT TO RUN WITH THE BIG BOYS
Currently the VC puts out 1330rwhp and has run a PB of 7.86@180mph with the standard block. “I always wanted to push the 5.3 as far as we could. I didn’t want to spend the coin on a Dart block, and so far it’s been great to run with the big boys,” Kai says.
Backing up the iron mill is a Turbo 400 ’box from MDT, sporting a PTC 3500rpm stall converter sending power to the 275 M/T Radials through a nine-inch diff.
The red rocket certainly doesn’t shy away from track time, with Kai hitting up just about every event he can, including Jamboree, Grudge Kings, No Excuses and, of course, Drag Challenge.
“Drag Challenge 2018 was my first proper hit-out with the car, and we had a few struggles, so I learnt a lot that year,” he says.
Skip forward to DC 2019 and Kai’s fortunes had improved massively, taking out the Quickest Ls-powered award, Runner-up in the Haltech Radial Blown class, and, critically, fourth overall thanks to the car’s blistering pace. “It was a like a dream come true, that week,” he says. “I was blown away when they called out my name for fourth overall; it was surreal.”
The real highlight of the week came when Kai set the quickest time of the entire field on Day Two at Mildura’s eighth-mile, with a 5.11 just edging out Brendan Cherry’s and Harry Haig’s beefy big-block machines. “It was amazing driving back through the return road; I had no idea, and people were just going off,” he says. “I nearly had tears in my eyes. It was a pretty special moment.”
Kai didn’t slow down after Drag Challenge either, winning his class at the No Excuses heads-up drag racing at Ballarat and running his 7.86 PB at Sydney Jamboree before the temporary shutdown of events in Australia. It’s not just racing miles either; Kai makes sure the VC does its fair share of street duties as well.
“When I do take it out, I always get looks and messages, even though I try and keep it as discreet as possible,” he says. “I even change the boot to get rid of the wing!”
As for what’s next for ‘the Creswick Sausage’ and his VC, the 5.3 is coming out for a refresh during the coronavirus-enforced break. “It’s done just about every racing event around since Drag Challenge 2018, so we’ll give it a health check over the break and maybe bump the power up a touch when it gets thrown back together,” he says. “It’s a better eighth-mile car, so I’m keen to chase a four-second slip when we can all get back out there.”