Words and Photos: Isaac Western
If tomorrow you woke up and were given two years to live, what would you do? It’s a question that many of us have never thought about, and with some luck, we’ll never have to. But for Luke Miller, he had no other choice but to consider his options when he found out in April 2023 that he had stage four bowel cancer. Since that terrible day, he’s chosen to shift his life’s priorities slightly, embarking on a racing journey that has brought him overwhelming support from the drag community. He’s been fighting like you wouldn’t believe since then, as he chases down a dream that he’s had since he was young.
Things were looking great just a few years ago for Luke; newly married, living with a happy young family in his late 30s, and doing well in his career. Cars had always been part of his life; growing up in the ’90s and 2000s, he cut his teeth during the golden era of the JDM scene. Countless now-classic JDM cars had passed through his garage over the years, with his taste eventually moving towards the V8 side of things. At the time, he was in the middle of a VB Commodore project, planning to gradually turn it into a turbo LS weapon. But of course, when he was told he likely had only a couple of years to live, his perspective changed significantly.
With the idea of mortality suddenly shifted so close, he suddenly had to think about his life’s priorities. One priority was looking after his young family, but this story isn’t about that. The second priority was his cars. After getting the diagnosis, Luke sat down with his close mates, and they started thinking about his ‘bucket list’. These were things important to him that he wanted to do before he left, and one of those things was to properly get into drag racing. Having grown up as the Fast and Furious movies were coming out, Luke and his mates all agreed that the car they raced in had to be a 10-second car. And so, they set the plan in motion.
Time, however, was never going to be on Luke’s side. The old VB Commodore had a mountain of work left before it’d be anywhere near ready, so there was no guarantee he’d get the chance to finish it. The sensible decision was made: sell the VB to muster up some funds, and hunt for something already capable of heading down to the track. Luckily for him, aside from the VB, his health insurance payout helped make sure that it could happen.
By May 2023, Luke and his mates had found the platform he was looking for: a 1973 LJ Holden Torana. It came with a Chev 327ci V8, TH350 transmission, an open-centre 28-splined diff with 3.0 gears, and, importantly, it was fully tubbed, with a four-link rear and panhard bar already set up. Everything was certified, the body was rust-free, and it was a platform they could build on without having to start from scratch. It wasn’t perfect, though; while it was clearly built with care, the car had seen a few owners since who hadn’t loved it the same. In Luke’s situation however, it was more than good enough.
Now they just had to go and pick it up. Luke and his mate Brad set off from Clarks Beach with a freshly purchased car trailer for the 19-hour return trip to collect the Torana. It was a gruelling trip — a day before his next big oncologist appointment, and he was well and truly feeling the effects of his untreated bowel cancer. A 19-hour round trip in that state was not something most people would attempt, but the prospect of acquiring a new race car is definitely a powerful feeling. When they arrived they luckily found it more or less as described, so they loaded the car onto the trailer and started heading back. They eventually made it back in the early hours of the next morning, exhausted, relieved they’d made it, and excited to start playing with this new machine; a feeling many of you reading this will know well.
Once Luke got to drive it properly though, it was clear that the car wasn’t a 10-second machine yet. The gearbox was seriously tired, the open diff wasn’t helpful, and the 327 was begging for a freshening up. While some of the engineering on the car was good quality, other parts had been hacked together, and a proper overhaul was necessary if he was going to use it seriously as a race car. So, with only a few months until the August Chrome Horsepower Festival at Hampton Downs and Meremere, the little orange car was ripped into. It took a mammoth amount of help from Kain, Geoff, Podge, Frano and Brad, but they eventually started turning the Torana around. The work was extensive; a runner TH400 was swapped in, the open diff was replaced by a Truetrac centre with a Ford nine-inch, they set the engine up for a tunnel ram, as well as installing ICE ignition, and then they rewired the whole car, fitted a Haltech IC7 dash (something Luke had always wanted), fitted new wheels and tyres ready for racing, and made countless other repairs.
Meanwhile, Luke’s chemotherapy was beginning, and he underwent his first liver surgery during this time, so things were seriously rough on his end. But even though Luke was at times in a doped-up bobblehead state, his mates left no man behind. They’d prop him up in the passenger seat during parts missions (at Luke’s request), do the hard yards under the car in his shed, and talk the kind of crap that helps make hard times like these pass easier. This is what friends are for, after all, and these lads deserve massive respect for the part they’ve played in this journey. Working as a team, they managed to make the deadline for Chrome 2023; the Torana finally hitting the drag strip with some gusto. He was finally able to run it properly, and get some quality seat time. This was the first of many successful outings for Luke’s LJ, but the 327 was clearly letting the side down.
Now, there’s already a lot going on here, so you might be as surprised as I was when you hear that Luke had also acquired a bridgeported turbo FC RX7 not long after the LJ. His mates love their rotaries, so Luke couldn’t resist the purchase of a more road-ready second project while the Torana was still being built. Running both cars on and off throughout 2023 and most of 2024, Luke was able to fine-tune his drag racing skills. Being such a frequent attendee at the track, and having such an appetite to learn more, he managed to connect with some seriously knowledgeable people. Kiwi drag racing legend Tony Marsh was one, LVVTA certifier and prolific racer Mike Reid another, along with Mark Hudson, Nick T and many others. The help and knowledge from these guys really helped Luke to get the most out of his Torana, eventually landing a best run of 13.0 at 105mph — a great run for the hardware he was using, but still not even close to his 10-second goal.
Eventually, this dual-car setup became unsustainable. Luke is an absolute trooper, but at least he knows his limits. Ongoing surgeries, more chemotherapy, and the practicalities of looking after two high-maintenance cars meant that a tough choice had to be made. By July 2024, he’d put both cars on the market to see which sold first, with the RX7 giving him what he needed out of it not long afterwards. Now, he could focus on the Torana, and ‘invest’ (as it’s known by wives throughout the country) in the next stage of its evolution.
With his sights now firmly set on a 10-second timeslip, Luke began looking for a replacement for that tired old 327ci V8. A mate recommended a US-based race engine builder, specialising in 407ci mills regularly making 500–600hp at the crank. So he investigated, and ended up putting down an order, starting the chain reaction of upgrades that resulted in the car you see here now.
Making up this hot engine is a 407ci Dart Machinery SHP Small Block Chev, fitted with Mahle forged pistons, SCAT SuperLite H-Beam rods, and a SCAT UltraLite forged crank. It’s topped with Dart Iron Eagle heads, plus Dart SS intake and exhaust valves, COMP springs and retainers, T&D SportComp roller rockers, COMP HiTech pushrods, Erson Cams roller lifters, and a COMP billet steel cam. An Edelbrock intake manifold sits above that, mated to a QuickFuel 750cfm carb, with fuel supplied by a Carter 120gph pump. On the ignition front, they used an ICE billet dizzy and leads, along with CDI two-step to help get a lightning launch.
Exhaust comprises a pair of custom 1⅝ fender exit headers coated with HPC, twin three-inch stainless steel exhausts (which Luke learned to weld for and made himself) with M&H mufflers. Cooling is looked after by a Fenix radiator, a Fenix RX2 oil cooler, Setrab transmission cooler, and a Moroso electric water pump. Engine management is handled via an ECUMaster PMU-16 a CAN module, and all manner of Haltech temperature, pressure, and linear position sensors have been added to look after the engine. A Melling oil pump and Castlemaine Rodshop sump complete this shiny new engine.
Driveline wise, it needed an overhaul badly; so the TH400 gearbox was sent to Scott Murray at SNB Transmissions, who impressed Luke with his ‘do it once, do it right’ mantra. He didn’t muck around here — adding Raysbestos Stage-1 clutches, a 4L80e direct drum with 34 element sprag, Sonnax extreme duty forward hub, a TCI nine-inch converter with 3800 stall and an anti-balloon plate. Also featured is a Hipster billet three-speed valve body with transbrake, BTE deep cast pan and CRS gearbox crossmember. A Driveshaft Specialties driveshaft transmits the power to the Ford nine-inch diff now rebuilt with Mark Williams billet 31-spline axles, an Eaton Truetrac E-Locker, and at this point, 3.5 gears.
Suspension and braking remained a pretty simple setup as before — Munroe GT front shocks with Cobra Low springs, and QA1 Proma Star rear shocks with QA1 springs. The custom adjustable four-link rear with panhard bar remains, with brand new Nolathane bushes added throughout to keep the car predictable. Stopping power comes from HQ Holden front discs and callipers, and early Commodore rear discs and callipers, with a Commodore 15/16” master cylinder.
In order to get traction to the ground in this little rocket, Streetpro II wheels measuring 15×4-inch up front and 15×10-inch in the rear were wrapped in 24×5 Hoosier Front Runners and 26×11.5 Hoosier Quick Time Pro tyres respectively. Luke and his mates smoothed the firewall, and made the fender cuts for the headers. It runs Torana GTR front guards and GTR headlight bezels, and Luke tidied up the bumpers with a fresh 2K black.
Not too much changed inside during the most recent overhaul, bar the M&M reverse pattern shifter, but all in all it features a pair of red Racepro Arrow 202 seats, a Momo Corse steering wheel, the Haltech IC7 dash Luke always wanted, Cardwells five-point harnesses, and a BNN Customs five-point chromoly rollbar.
Since the overhaul, Luke has managed to take this next evolution of the Torana to the track a handful of times. In doing so, he finally managed to crack those elusive 10s with a solid run clocking 10.83 seconds at 127mph. It was a great day after such a long journey of ups and downs; he was stoked, his mates were stoked, and everybody that had helped him along the way was proud to see it happen. Luke had accomplished his bucket list dream: he’d built a 10-second car. But the thing is, now it was too late to turn back — he’d been bitten by the bug — Luke could smell a nine coming with this engine, and on consulting the boys back in the pits, everyone agreed that running a single digit should be the next goal.
So since then, Luke has made a few adjustments to this evolved Torana — he’s moved from a 3.5 to a Motive 3.9 diff ratio, and he’s got a 5200 stall Dominator Race Eliminator eight-inch torque converter on its way to NZ. He’s also fitted a big bottle of nitrous in the back too, because that car is going to make the 9s whether it likes it or not. While he waits for the torque converter, he’s also taken the 407 for a second tune.
After a long dyno session on Gas Pedal Fabrications owner Dayne Tyler’s hub dyno, well-known carb tuner Chris McDell managed to squeeze out 438hp and 555lb-ft on Avgas — the Dart-blocked 407 making a significant increase over the previous engine’s output. There’s still room for it to grow as well, of course, but Luke is going to start there, as he just wants to race it already.
Now, all of this work was completed fairly recently at the time of writing, especially the latest tune. It now looks like everything is in place to be able to really have a crack at the 9s, especially as Luke manages to dial in this new setup. As we near the end of this wild story, it’s difficult to provide you, the reader, with any kind of satisfying ending here. Rather, we may have to end on more of a cliffhanger, because after getting through chemo for so long, having countless surgeries on his bowel and liver, and finally experiencing a few months of miraculous stability, Luke’s most recent scan uncovered the fact that the cancer had spread to his lungs now as well (f*** cancer). Luke grimly explained this to me as I met with him to shoot his car, as on that same day, he was on standby waiting for his oncologist to call him in for lung surgery.
Since then, he’s had one run at Night Speed Drag Wars with this newly tuned setup. Of course, teething issues came into play, and he discovered that with all this new power, one of the four-link bars was preloading, making the rear sit lower on one side, and causing the car to pull hard off to the right. So the decision was made to chuck it back on the trailer for now, and soak up the atmosphere of the night. The lung surgery happened the very next week, and since then he’s been resting up and recovering as best he can. Being the absolute fighter that he is, we know it won’t be long before he gets back onto the track; and as summer rolls around, there’s no better time for him to line this LJ up and crack into those 9s. We’re all behind you on this Luke, you’re an inspiration to everybody you’ve met along the way, and we can’t wait to see you nail this. No pressure …
OWNER Q&A
DRIVER: Luke Miller
AGE: 39
OCCUPATION: Business development manager
PREVIOUSLY OWNED CARS: Tonnes of turbo Jappas as a pup, but notables for this mag include a ground up restomod rebuilt HQ that I sold to Jason, and went on to become ‘CR4NKN’ after he finished his incredible rendition of that car. Also my old VN headed 355 stroker VL in issue 148 of NZV8
DREAM CAR: Daniel Hookham’s twin turbo Coyote powered VB Commodore — the best shape of the chrome bumper Commies, with slick Coca Cola paint, and 2500 pure, unadulterated ponies. The ultimate party car I reckon!
WHY THE TORANA? Read the story!
BUILD TIME: Two years
LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: Two years
LUKE THANKS: My wife Cushla for supporting me through my cancer journey, and letting me live out my dream. Kain, Geoff, Podge, Frano and Brad; this car only exists because of you guys. Nick for all his trackside support and tuneup help, Tony Marsh, Mike Reid and Bronson Dunne for answering all my annoying questions, Scott Murray at SNB Automatics for the incredible level of skill and care in what he does, Darren Van Nes at Revolution Dyno Kelston, Braden Smith at BNN Customs, Gary, Derek, Nisa and all the crew at NAPA Auto Parts Dragway Meremere for giving us somewhere to race safely, Dayne Tyler at Gas Pedal Fabrications/The Torque Lab/The Partsman who not only offered me parts supply, but has also helped to counsel me with my mental health during my cancer battle, and has become a really good friend. And to all the racers who lent me a tool, gave me advice, or shared a yarn, what an awesome bunch of humans you all are.
SPEC LIST
VEHICLE: 1973 Holden Torana LJ
ENGINE: 407ci Dart Machinery SHP Small Block Chev, Mahle 2618 forged pistons, SCAT SuperLite 4340 forged H-Beam rods, SCAT 4000 UltraLite 4340 forged crank, Dart Iron Eagle Platinum cylinder heads, 230cc intake runner, 70cc exhaust runner, 64cc combustion chamber, T&D SportComp shaft mounted roller rockers, Dart SS intake and exhaust valves, COMP Cams springs and retainers, COMP Cams HiTech pushrods, ARP head studs and hardware, COMP Cams billet steel cam, COMP Cams Magnum cambelt drive, Erson Cams XL Ultra Race roller lifters, Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake manifold, QuickFuel Technologies 4150 750cfm carburettor, Aeroflow 9×5-inch air cleaner, two-inch phenolic spacer, Carter 120gph fuel pump, ICE Ignition billet distributor and leads, ICE Ignition 7AL CDI with two-step, custom 1⅝ fender exit headers with HPC, twin three-inch 304 stainless steel exhaust, M&H mufflers, Fenix radiator, Fenix RX2 oil cooler, Setrab transmission cooler, Moroso electric water pump, ECUMaster PMU-16 with CAN module, Haltech linear position sensor, Haltech temperature and pressure sensors, Melling HV oil pump, Castlemaine Rodshop sump, Aeroflow 100a alternator, 45L drop tank
DRIVELINE: SNB Automatics TH400, ATD Hipster’s billet three-speed valve body and transbrake, Raysbestos Stage-1 red clutches, 4L80e direct drum with 34 element sprag, Sonnax extreme duty forward hub, BTE deep cast pan, Ford nine-inch differential, Mark Williams billet 31-spline axles, Eaton Truetrac E-Locker, Motive 3.9 gears, TCI nine-inch converter, 3800 stall, anti balloon plate, PRW SFI flexplate, CRS gearbox crossmember, Driveshaft Specialties driveshaft
SUSPENSION: Munroe GT front shocks with Cobra Low springs, QA1 Proma Star rear shocks with QA1 springs, custom adjustable four-link rear with panhard bar, Nolathane bushes throughout
BRAKES: Holden Commodore 15/16” master, PBR VH44 remote booster, GM booster vacuum pump, Holden HQ front discs and callipers, early Commodore rear discs and callipers
WHEELS/TYRES: Streetpro II wheels, 15×4-inch front, 15×10-inch rear, 24×5 Hoosier Front Runners, 26×11.5 Hoosier Quick Time Pro rear tyres
EXTERIOR: Torana GTR front guards, GTR headlight bezels, sunroof, 2K black bumpers
INTERIOR: Racepro Arrow 202 seats, Cardwells SFI five-point harnesses, Momo Corse steering wheel, M&M billet reverse pattern shifter, Haltech IC7 dash, BNN Customs five-point chromoly rollbar
CHASSIS: Fully tubbed, rear halved RHS chassis to suit four-link and panhard bar, smoothed firewall, fender cuts for headers
PERFORMANCE: 438hp @ 6100rpm, 555lb-ft @ 3000rpm (at the hub), 10.83 ET @ 125mph (with old setup and 3.5 gears)
