NSCnews Online Sept_2017 | Page 20

The fi gure brings a smile to his face, but the real ambition is to get 1000HP from the 6.2l LS3 engine. He will take a big step towards that goal next year when he has a Magnuson 2650 blower installed. It will need a new camshaft specifi cally designed to suit the supercharger and the combination of blower and cam will almost double the power available. He will also fi t a 102mm Yellaterra throttle body to ensure he can pour in enough fuel to feed the hungry beast he is creating. “I’ll be close to the 700 mark at the tyres once all that is done,” Ash said. He will also add an NPC heavy-duty clutch to cope with all that power. “If I don’t upgrade the clutch, I defi nitely won’t be driving it,” Ash said, grinning. A lot of the conversation is nonsensical to anybody but a fellow suff erer (others might call them “enthusiasts”). Ash talks about the adiabiatic effi ciency of the Magnuson supercharger... actually, no he doesn’t, all he is interested in is that it will give him more horsepower. More horsepower is what it’s all about and the 1000HP goal is something akin to the four minute mile about which athletes obsessed for years. “It has been achieved before, but it’s 20 | SEPTEMBER 2017 a lot of work, and a lot of money, a lot of time to get there,” Ash said. The blower, the new clutch and the camshaft will probably set him back about $22,000, so the path to 1000HP may well be paved with gold. Ash freely admits his passion is an obsession and can pinpoint when he became hooked. It was in 2009 when, 16 years old and having got his Learner’s Permit, he and his stepfather Matthew Ragash fou