Mario Busljeta’s journey to creating a powerhouse street machine began with a moment of inspiration back in December 2019 when he laid eyes on Daniel Szabolics’s HQ Monaro featured on the cover of Street Machine. This sparked his vision of building a high-horsepower street car, leading him to acquire an HQ Monaro with a twin-turbo big-block engine.
The Monaro Mario purchased was already a formidable machine, adorned in a striking silver-and-orange GTS color scheme. However, Mario envisioned transforming it into something even more potent. With the help of Adelaide Motorsport Fabrication, Mario decided to rear-mount the twin turbos to eliminate the heat issues and enhance the car’s performance.
Underneath the Monaro’s hood lies a powerful 540ci Dart Big M big-block Chevy engine, meticulously crafted by Frank Marchese at Dandy Engines. This engine, capable of producing close to 3000hp, features top-notch components like AFR 20-degree heads and a Plazmaman billet intake manifold, all expertly assembled and tuned by the skilled team.
By relocating the turbos to the rear and streamlining the engine bay, Mario and his team were able to optimize the car’s performance and showcase their meticulous fabrication work. The innovative setup not only enhances the car’s power output but also improves its overall efficiency and drivability.
Adam Rogash from MPW Performance played a crucial role in fine-tuning the Monaro, ensuring that Mario could harness the car’s immense power on the track. Mario’s dedication to mastering the car’s capabilities, coupled with Adam’s expertise, has propelled the Monaro to impressive performances, achieving a remarkable 7.1-second quarter-mile time at 199mph.
Despite the Monaro’s track success, Mario’s ultimate goal is to engineer the car for street use and clock up miles on public roads. While Mario has no plans to dominate Drag Challenge with this particular car, he is already envisioning a future project—a 1500hp HT Monaro in collaboration with Adam, promising yet another thrilling addition to his garage of high-performance vehicles.
Through collaboration with skilled builders and engineers, Mario Busljeta has transformed his HQ Monaro into a formidable street machine, combining classic styling with cutting-edge performance. With a relentless pursuit of speed and innovation, Mario’s journey exemplifies the passion and dedication that drive the custom car community to push boundaries and create automotive masterpieces.
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