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STREETMACHINETV

I

T AIN’T every day that a prominent Aussie
athlete like Cam Waters builds a high-end
street machine, so I’m pretty stoked to have
his XB coupe on the cover of this issue.
When your day job involves piloting a snarling
635hp Supercar at speeds approaching
300km/h, I imagine it would take an impressive
street car to blow your hair back.
Fortunately, Cam looked to motorsport
engine guru Jon Grove to screw together a
Supercars-inspired Windsor V8 that’s dripping
in genuine Tickford Racing go-fast bits, from
its carbonfibre trumpets to its billet dry sump
system. Refined for street use but benefitting
from a bump in capacity, it makes 745hp at a
howling 6800rpm, and sounds mental doing it.
Make no mistake, Cam is a proper car guy.
Chief among the interests listed in his bio on
the Supercars website is car restoration, and
he and his dad Chris were quite hands-on
with the build, tackling aspects like the tubs,
transmission tunnel and exhaust themselves.
But the involvement of gun car crafters Rides
By Kam really levelled things up, and I’m sure
you’ll agree that the finished product is worthy
of the many accolades it received on debut at
Meguiar’s MotorEx.
On the subject of MotorEx, it seemed to
me like this year was a particularly strong
one when it came to fresh metal. A hallful of
absolute stunners were unveiled, with cars like
Ron Barclay’s hotly anticipated Camaro, Bob
Grambau’s hot rod, the return of Phil Rillotta’s
iconic Torana, and a cool little Mercedes
roadster from the Hillier brothers making for a
star-studded cast.
But it’s the social side of MotorEx that always

makes it a highlight for me. There’s no better
event for catching up with old mates and
making new ones, and that’s why I look forward
to it every year. If you missed it, you missed out
– but we’ve got you covered! There’s 12 pages
of MotorEx coverage from page 42.
At the polar opposite end of the automotive
event spectrum, it’s been pleasing to watch the
Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge build
momentum recently. Shout-out to SM’s own
Kian Heagney, Tas McMillan and Scotty Taylor,
as well as a bunch of other Drag Challenge
alumni and friends of the mag who tagged
along to the 2024 event, thrashed their cars
to within an inch of their lives, and had a beaut
time doing it. It was a resounding success,
with a profound variety of street cars being put
through their paces at Calder Park.
Indeed, variety is a key theme this issue.
We’ve got Cam Waters’s aforementioned
Meguiar’s Superstars-quality XB coupe pro
tourer; a delightfully old-school Holden One
Tonner with blown plastic power; a mental
blown Indy Hemi-powered Dodge Charger; a
twin-turbo HR panel van no-prep weapon; a
carby big block-powered XT Falcon ute; a killer
LSA-motivated HK Monaro streeter owned
by an ex-Pro Stock racer; and an impossibly
quick SR20-powered Gemini that’s been
kicking arse and taking names in all manner
of drag and roll racing events in South East
Queensland.
It’s a killer issue, if you don’t mind my saying
so, and I hope you enjoy it!
Cheers,
Broads.
andrew.broadley@streetmachine.com.au 

MAIL
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ST RE E T MA C H I NE

005

CO N TE NTS
JUNE 2024 | VOLUME 44 | ISSUE 06

042

> FEATURES
MOTOREX 22

42
68 OPTIMA ULTIMATE STREET CAR
92 VAN NATIONALS
106 TIME MACHINE
120 DRAG CHALLENGE
Complete coverage from a ripper edition of
Meguiar’s MotorEx in Melbourne

We head to Calder Park for a massive showing at
the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge

068

112

IRON MAIDEN

Madelyn McCracken gives us
the lowdown on her wicked
Chevy Astro van

Simo saddles up the shaggin’ wagon and heads to
Stanthorpe for the 49th annual Van Nationals

Nev Philips’s LEGAL8 EH Holden broke new
ground in the early 90s, and it’s still going strong

Tim McClure’s turbo LS EH is a home-built sleeper
that ran 10s in its debut Drag Challenge campaign

092

> REGULARS
05 BROADCAST 10 NEWS FRONT 14 PEOPLE LIKE US
16 FANGING FLICK 19 YOUR STUFF 114 URBAN
WARFARE 118 DIRTY STUFF 124 IN THE BUILD
128 IN GEAR 132 READERS’ ROCKETS 140 LOL
142 SUNDAY TOO FAR AWAY 146 MILL OF THE MONTH

146
106

120

100

HOT TEA &
CRUMPETS

With SR20 power and a string
of no-prep wins to its name,
this ain’t your nana’s Gemini!

024

SUPER CAR

Supercars ace Cam Waters’s
XB hardtop is packed with trick
Tickford Racing gear

034
CORE VALUES

Indy Hemi grunt meets iconic Detroit muscle
in Jye Core’s 1200hp ’68 Charger

Darren Whyte’s big-block XT is a reborn
90s street machine ready to rip once again

Garry Rosser’s WB-fronted HQ Tonner went from a
basket case all the way to the ’Nats Top 20

054
062

UTILITY KNIFE

TUN OF FUN

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE

Packing 1800rwhp, Aaron Gregory’s H3LLRZR HR
pano is a no-prep weapon you don’t wanna mess with

078
086

A SLOWER BURN

+RZGR\RXoOOWKHJRIDVWKROHDIWHUOHDYLQJ3UR
Stock racing? Build yourself a blown HK Monaro!

T H OR OGOO D
CHR IS
PHOT O:

EDITOR
Andrew Broadley
ART DIRECTOR
Leah Gionis
ADDITIONAL DESIGN
Povi Pullinen
SUB-EDITORS
Brett Collingwood, Jack Houlihan
VIDEO & EVENTS PRODUCER
Scott Taylor
JOURNALIST
Kian Heagney
DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER
Mary Lee
SOCIAL MEDIA NINJA
Paul Cronin

PUBLISHER
Simon Telford
COVER PHOTO
Chris Thorogood
COMMERCIAL MANAGER
Kim Simonsen
0439 422 285, kim.simonsen@streetmachine.com.au
QUEENSLAND SALES MANAGER
Todd Anderson - 0409 630 733
MARKETING GURUS
Natalie Gatt & Tim McAlpine
PRODUCTION SERVICES
Di McLarty
FOUNDER
Geoff Paradise

KICK-ARSE CONTRIBUTORS
Christian Angilletta, Mark Arblaster, Troy Barker,
Dave Carey, Ben Hosking, Jack Houlihan, Iain
Kelly, Steve Kelly, Simon Major, Tas McMillan,
Shaun Tanner, Noah Thorley, Chris Thorogood,
Trackside Images, Noel Tuckey, Boris Viskovic,
Ashleigh Wilson

Published by Street Machine Media Pty Ltd
ABN 33 672 316 951
© 2024. All rights reserved. ISSN: 0810-0187

N EW S F R O NT

JUNE 2024: ALL THE NEWS THAT MATTERS
STORY KIAN HEAGNEY PHOTOS SHAUN TANNER

DOING A ’RUNNER

> ROBI FEKETE’S IN-THE-BUILD 1970 F100 PRE-RUNNER WILL BE A STREET-LEGAL, OFF-ROAD
SPEED MACHINE

R

OBI Fekete of Fekete Fabrications is
forever pushing his own limits – and
those of what’s legally possible – with
his car builds, and this 1970 F100
pre-runner is right at the forefront of that ethos.
You see, Robi fully intends to have this thing
100 per cent certified, engineered and VASSlegal with full registration in Victoria.
You might think that this goal can only be
achieved under the Individually Constructed
Vehicle (ICV) rules, which normally apply to
replicas (think Shelby Cobra clones and the
like). However, thanks to the new chassis
replacement laws in Victoria, Robi intends to
engineer and register the pre-runner as a 1970
Ford F100.
“The new laws allow you to replace the

010

S T RE E T MA CH I N E

chassis as long as it replicates the original rail
design, which we do to around 80 per cent,”
Robi says. “So, in this case, the basic rails
are the same as they were originally. All the
bar work is built on top of that, rather than
instead of.”
That includes all the necessary points of the
rollcage that need to be removable for road use,
and because this F-truck is a 1970 model, it
only needs to comply with the standards of that
period in terms of crumple zones, emissions,
ABS, retractable seatbelts, airbags and such
– most of which didn’t even exist back then.
“It’s basically pushing the limits of what’s
possible within the rules, showing everyone
something like this can be done legally if all
the right processes are followed,” says Robi.

“It’s really important to have a good engineer
and people working with you to make a
build like this happen, which I can’t stress
enough. It took nearly two years just to get
this project approved through VicRoads. It’s
a comprehensive process that takes time, and
it’ll likely have a 50-page engineering report
when it’s done.”
A fully forged Coyote V8 has been shoved
deep into the chassis and wears an Edelbrock
blower. “That’s for weight balance and to keep
room for the suspension in the front; it’s the first
time I’ve seen one of these Coyotes mounted
this far back in an F100,” Robi says. “Usually,
they’re all the way forward.” The mill is paired to
a T56 Magnum, which’ll be sequentially shifted.
Robi has recently partnered with Haltech, so

> HOT GOSSIP
RICK’S WIDOWMAKER

EX-SUPERCARS driver and two-time Bathurst
winner Rick Kelly has kept himself busy since
retirement, building cool stuff like this Widowmaker
drift trike on his Hell Bent Garage YouTube channel.
Based on a Harley, the trike holds the Guinness
World Record as the most powerful in the world
thanks to its turbocharged engine.

RED CENTRENATS TURNS 10!

CAN you believe it has been 10 years of Red
CentreNATS? It feels like yesterday that we were
cruising across the country in Telfo’s EJ for that
first event in 2015! To celebrate the big anniversary,
the plan is to have every previous RCN Grand
Champion face off against this year’s finalists in a
massive showdown of show ’n’ shine goodness! This
year’s event runs from 30 August to 1 September;
check out redcentrenats.com.au for all the info.

NEXT!

the F100 will use that company’s Nexus R5
VCU and PDM suites to control everything.
The shocks and springs are top-end Fox stuff,
using arms Robi designed himself and had
CNC machined. The rear-end bar work makes
a home for a 300-litre fuel cell, along with the
spare wheel.
Speaking of wheels, Robi has designed his
own beadlock rollers, which, like the rest of
the car, have been built to adhere to every
rule possible for legality. “They’re JWL, VIA
and DOT compliant, and I still haven’t found
any legislation in Victoria that says certified
beadlock wheels are illegal,” he says. They’ll
be wrapped in 39-inch tyres that are also fully
road compliant. “When we do all the testing
and reporting, it’ll be done on 40-inch tyres,”

Robi says. “It’s no different to when a brandnew car or chassis is tested for a maximum
rolling diameter size that goes on the tyre
placard. We’ll just be doing it with the 40-inch
rolling diameter, and then downsizing slightly
to 39s.”
We’ve been following the progress of the prerunner for close to a year now, and Robi had
the thing in public for the first time at this year’s
Meguiar’s MotorEx in Melbourne. “I talked to
so many people about it that I actually lost my
voice, but it was great to speak to people and
run them through these processes,” he says.
“I’m doing this for the wider industry, so we
can all push the boundaries and open up a
whole new innovative category in the Australian
automotive industry.” 

YOU’D be crackers to miss the July issue of Street
Machine! We’ll bring you all the tyre-torturing
mayhem from Northern Nats, and for the techheads, there’ll be a step-by-step guide through the
process of installing Haltech’s revolutionary Nexus
R5 VCU in our Carnage drag-and-drive VS ute. Not
to mention a bunch of rad feature cars, including
an oh-so-cool XP sedan delivery, a stonking twinturbo NRE 572 Hemi-powered Dodge Coronet, and
a genuine, concours-restored XW GT that’s hiding
a mega-tough Clevo, to name but a few. The July
issue of SM goes on sale 27 June. Get ’em while
they’re hot!

S TR E E T MA C HI NE

011

N EWS F R O N T

JUNE 2024: ALL THE NEWS THAT MATTERS
STORY KIAN HEAGNEY PHOTOS SHAUN TANNER & NOAH THORLEY

MELTIN’ HEARTS

> MATT WATTS’S LATEST BURNOUT BUILD IS NONE OTHER THAN THE LATE NIK RIGBY’S MELTEM COROLLA,
REBUILT IN NIK’S HONOUR AND RENAMED BLOEM

G

EELONG-based legend Matt Watts
has built plenty of tough cars in his time,
including his BLO202 Torana, BLO UP
Corolla, sweet HQ ute, and very tough
LX hatch. Even so, his new BLOEM KE55 Corolla
build, which debuted at MotorEx 2024, may be the
most special of the lot.
You see, the Corolla used to be called MELTEM
and was owned by burnout nut Nik Rigby, who
passed away in 2019. “He was a really good
mate of mine,” Matt says. “He was there at my first
Summernats, and we spent a lot of time together
at events in the early days.”
Matt had actually tried to buy the Corolla off
Nik before his passing, but missed out. “I’d been
offered the opportunity to buy it a few more times
after that, but they didn’t line up,” he says. “Then
in February this year, I was contacted again about
buying it, so this time I took my chance.”
The little Corolla wasn’t in the best shape when

012

ST RE E T MA CHI N E

Matt got it, but the emotional attachment made
it worth saving. “It was a roller, and it was pretty
rough,” he says. “The original plan was just to do
a basic driveline and make it work. We ended up
re-doing a lot of the car, but I’m glad we did.”
The goal for the build was to give the Corolla
Matt’s own personal stamp while still paying tribute
to how Nik had it in its prime. “It was two-tone when
he had it, so we’ve kept that but with my gold on
top for my own touch,” Matt says. “I’ve also kept the
Simmons rims, even though I hate them, as that’s
what he had on it originally.”
Another key aim of the build was for Matt to get
himself into a safer car. “My BLO UP Corolla was
pretty basic, and I wanted something safer with
better brakes, a ’cage and so on,” he says. “This
new Corolla has all that – ’cage, tubs, good brakes
with a tubular front – so it’s a much better and
safer car.”
BLOEM’s driveline has been nicked from

BLO UP, with the same 5.7-litre stroker iron block
up front. “It’s been refined, and I’ve switched to
mechanical injection, so we had to redo the whole
fuel system on this car to suit,” he says. “It’s still a
6/71 blower, and although we haven’t dynoed it,
it’d be good for 900-950hp.”
MotorEx 2024 saw the Corolla’s grand debut,
Matt having kept a lid on the project until it was
ready for its first public showing during the burnout
demos. “I’m normally shocking; I get excited and
show people stuff straight away!” he laughs. “But
for this one, I really wanted to make it special, so I
held off so we could do a proper debut at MotorEx.”
Matt plans to hit the pad properly in anger at
Brasher Nats in Sydney on 9 June, where Nik’s
family will be in attendance. “That’s something I’m
really looking forward to – taking the car back to
Nik’s old stomping ground so his family can see
it back out there and pay tribute to him properly,”
he says. 

IFS FRONT ENDS

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BRUCE & CATHY GUNDILL
> TOOWOOMBA, QUEENSLAND

W

ANDERING around the oval
at the 49th Van Nationals in
Stanthorpe, we spotted a
van that’s quite a rarity in the
scene nowadays. It certainly warranted closer
inspection, so we tracked down owners Bruce
and Cathy Gundill to find out more.
Wow! I can’t remember the last time I saw an
XT Falcon panel van in the flesh.
Bruce: Yep, they’re a pretty rare car nowadays,
especially in windowless form. It’s one of only
two XR-XY vans here this weekend, and you’d
think if they were going to come out of the
woodwork in greater numbers, then it would be
to an event like this.
That’s very true. How long have you guys
owned it?
Bruce: Only for a few months, actually; we saw
it advertised on the ’net down in Victoria and
figured it’d be the first and last one we’d see
for sale for a while, so jumped on it.
Cathy: We actually own XTs in all of the other

body styles made, so adding a van is the perfect
finishing touch to our current sedan, wagon and
ute fleet.
Cool! What attracted you to XTs in the first
place?
Bruce: I’m not really sure; I’ve just always loved
them. I’ve owned quite a few over the years, and
I think it’s just the fact that they were the last of
the Falcons made with a full chrome steel grille;
something about that has always just resonated
with me.
With the original weathered look the van has,
along with the Kelvinator signwriting on the
side, I wasn’t expecting to see a V8 under
the bonnet!
Bruce: Yes, it was converted a few years ago
to 302 Windsor power backed by a C4, which,
along with the seats, disc brakes and steering
column, were lifted from a ZB Fairlane, so it’s
all of the era. We’d love to know a bit more of
its history; we’re thinking by the colour and a
few weird holes here and there that it may have
originally been a Victoria Police divvy van, then

later sold and used as an appliance repair van.
That’s a column-shift auto too – it must be
sweet to cruise around in.
Bruce: Oh, for sure. My son and I drove it back
to Toowoomba from Melbourne and it didn’t
miss a beat, even in stinking hot weather and the
odd traffic jam. This van is just so comfortable
and effortless to drive on the highway; it’s easy
to forget how enjoyable and smooth an old car
can be on a road trip.
Most definitely. Have you done much to it
since getting it home?
Cathy: Just a little bit of suspension work was
really all it needed – some new shocks all
’round and a little bit of a lowering job. The
shock absorbers that were in it were datecoded 1985!
And those are some nice threads you’re
sporting there, Bruce!
Bruce: Hey, we were both dressed this morning
in full 1960s garb to match the van! It’s just
that Cathy has since changed out of her go-go
dress, heels and wig. 

THE VAN IS SO COMFORTABLE AND EFFORTLESS TO DRIVE ON THE HIGHWAY;
IT’S EASY TO FORGET HOW ENJOYABLE AND SMOOTH AN OLD CAR CAN BE

014

ST RE E T MAC HIN E

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or the instalments must be up to date at the end of the Entry Period. The issue of Shannons Insurance is subject to the product issuer’s normal underwriting criteria. 3XUFKDVHDQHZ6KDQQRQV+RPH &RQWHQWV,QVXUDQFH3ROLF\ LQFOXGHVEXLOGLQJRQO\FRQWHQWVRQO\RU
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must be up to date at the end of the Entry Period. The issue of Shannons Insurance is subject to the product issuer’s normal underwriting criteria. ^(DFKH[LVWLQJULVN YHKLFOHLQVXUHGXQGHUDPRWRULQVXUDQFHSROLF\H[FOXGLQJ&73RULQVXUHGDGGUHVVXQGHUDKRPHDQG
contents insurance policy) must have a start date prior to the beginning of the Entry Period, remain active and be fully paid if paid annually at the end of the Entry Period or the instalments must be up to date at the end of the Entry Period. A combined building and contents
SROLF\FRQVWLWXWHVRQHULVNIRUWKHSXUSRVHVRIWKLV&RPSHWLWLRQ&XVWRPHUVWKDWGRQRWZLVKWRSDUWLFLSDWHLQWKH&RPSHWLWLRQFDQHPDLOHQTXLULHV#VKDQQRQVFRPDX)XOO7 &VDWVKDQQRQVFRPDXXVD&DOOWRRSWRXWDQGPDQDJH\RXUPDUNHWLQJSUHIHUHQFHV LI
you opt-out you will no longer be eligible to win this Competition).

F A NG I N G F L I C K

COOL FLICK FACT:
Stuntman Logan Holladay
broke the Guinness World
Record for the most cannon
rolls in a car for his incredible
eight-and-a-half-turn roll in
The Fall Guy (pictured left).

STORY SIMON MAJOR

THE FALL GUY 2024
> FALL HARD

BREAKDOWN
VEHICLES: 1981 GMC Sierra Grande
K-2500, 2023 GMC Sierra AT4X,
1973 Holden LJ Torana, 2023 Dodge
Challenger Hellcat, 1966 Pontiac
GTO, 2010 Hino 500-series
STARS: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt,
Hannah Waddingham, Aaron TaylorJohnson, Winston Duke, Ben Knight,
Adam Dunn, Stephanie Hsu
DIRECTOR: David Leitch
ACTION: Myriad awesome stunt
sequences involving both cars
and trucks, and a whole pile of
supporting action
PLOT: After a near-careerdestroying accident, a high-end
Hollywood stuntman fights a bogus
murder charge while rekindling a
romance with a lost love
AVAILABLE: In cinemas until June
2024, streaming from August 2024

016

S TR E E T M ACHI N E

T

HOSE of us who grew up in the 1970s and 80s
will likely remember some truly epic TV shows
of the time – CHiPs, The Dukes of Hazzard,
Knight Rider, The A-Team and Starsky and
Hutch, to name a few. Many of those have since been
rebooted as films, and The Fall Guy is the latest iconic
80s series to get the big-screen treatment.
The basic premise of the flick follows that of the
original series. Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is a
sought-after Hollywood stuntman, putting his body on
the line in big-ticket films by day, and in his downtime
throwing hoops in an awesome GMC K-series pick-up
alongside his much-better-half, camera operator Jody
Moreno (Emily Blunt).
However, a back-breaking accident sends Colt into a
mental and physical downward spiral, until he receives
an offer from dodgy film producer Gail Meyer (Hannah
Waddingham). She wants him to head Down Under and
reinvigorate his stalled career in a film being directed
by his now-ex, Jody, who has supposedly specifically
asked for him.
Colt agrees to take it on, figuring the chance to step
back into his former role as the personal stunt double
for high-maintenance actor Tom Ryder (Aaron TaylorJohnson) could be what he needs to get himself back

into Jody’s good graces and help make her directorial
debut film, Metalstorm, a success.
The former couple’s reunion is initially a little shaky – it
turns out Jody had no idea Colt had been hired. More
worryingly, it soon appears that Colt is being set up as
‘the fall guy’ in more ways than one after he’s tasked to
locate the AWOL Tom, which is fact an elaborate ruse
to frame Colt for the dirty deeds of others.
Colt and his longtime friend, Dan Tucker (Winston
Duke), have to engage all of their stunt training and
skills to fend off the bad guys in an effort to not only
clear Colt’s name, but also help finish Jody’s movie and
ultimately win back her affections.

VERDICT: 4/5
AS SOMEONE whose first celebrity crush was the
spunky Heather Thomas, who played Jody Banks in
the original TV series, I was probably more emotionally
invested than many in the outcome of this film remake.
Fortunately, I can happily report that it’s a winner.
Awesome stunts, a witty script, and great banter and
screen chemistry between Blunt and Gosling all make
The Fall Guy a treat from start to finish. Keep your
eyes peeled for a cameo from original series star Lee
Majors, too. 

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EMAIL your missives to gday@streetmachine.com.au. Keep it short and sweet!

> LETTER OF THE MONTH
SUPPORT CREW
I WANTED to take the opportunity to thank
the Optima team, event staff, safety crews and
more for a fantastic 2024 Optima Ultimate
Street Car Challenge (see p.68 for full feature).
Unfortunately, I wrecked my Barra-powered
Lincoln – my pride and joy and labour of love
– at the event (pictured, top right), but I was
heartened by the positivity and support from
the other entrants and Street Machine staffers
checking in on me after the crash, particularly
Simon Telford, Scott Taylor, Andy Lopez, and
the driver of the XYYNOT drifting XY [James
Mackie] for the “bring it in buddy, are you
okay?” hug.
What an outstanding car community we’re
involved in! Thank you all, legends. My Linc will
be back soon, with overnight parts from the
USA already ordered.
On a happier note, here are a couple of
pics of some super-sweet rides at the event
alongside a hugely appreciative friend of
mine (pictured, bottom right). Check out her
beaming smile – she was ecstatic to be around
such cool cars. It’s tremendous to see the girls
getting amongst it at these awesome events!
Mal Schoch, email

SIK RIDES
HEY there, I love all your
magazines; I’ve been collecting
them since I was very young!
I’m a 17-year-old auto artist/car
chick, and I run a little business
called Fully Sik Auto Artistry. I
have been drawing since I could
pick up a pencil, and I’ve been
constantly trying to improve every
day. I’m also a spray painter who
is looking to do some pretty crazy
paintjobs and airbrushing in the
future.
Anyways, I thought I’d send
you a few selections of my work
(pictured, left). You can find
more of my art on my _fully_sik_
Instagram page or my ‘Fully Sik’
Facebook page!
Mia Jarmey, email

S TR E E T MA CHI N E

019

NE WS FR ON T

DECEMBER 2019: ALL THE N
EWS THAT MATTERS
STORY GLENN TORRENS PHO
TOS LUKE HUNTER

BUILT BEHIND BARS

I’M LOOKING for an edition of your
magazine from approximately 2018, where
you mentioned a Holden WB One Tonner
being built by inmates of the Junee
Correctional Centre to be raffled off to
raise funds for Can Assist. Could you
please let me know the issue it was in?
Elizabeth Eglitis, email
HEY, Elizabeth! We don’t think that story
was published in the mag, but you can
find it on streetmachine.com.au – just
search ‘Prisoners build Holden OneTonner’. We also ran a story in the
December 2019 mag about a VL SS
Group A tribute the Junee inmates built
(pictured, right). – Telfo

VARIETY SHOW

JAILHOUSE BROCK

> THIS VL COMMODORE GROUP A TRIBUT
E WAS BUILT BY THE INSIDERS AT NSW’S
JUNEE CORRECTIONAL
CENTRE. NOW IT’S FINISHED, YOU CAN WIN
IT

D

IF YOU attended the 2024 MotorEx and
couldn’t find a vehicle that fitted your
niche, then you need to go and take up
lawn bowls or something! I mean, there
16
were pushbikes, insanely built 4WDs
that would go to the Cape and back
with no issues, lowriders that must have had
at least 1000 hours of detail work put into
the dashes alone, drifters giving people a
buzz that would last for days, and burnout
demos that produced so much smoke they
would have given Cheech & Chong a run for
their money.
It was also great to see so many of the
Street Machine crew, too. I reckon Scotty
was being stopped every 20 seconds by
people asking for photos and wanting to chat
about the Carnage builds. And I don’t know
if you guys have worked out either time travel
or cloning, but no matter where I looked,

ON’T do the crime if you can’t do the
time, the old
saying goes, but it might have been
worth stealing
a pack of Tim-Tams to have been
involved in the
rebuild of this ripper 1986 VL Commod
ore SS
Group A tribute. It’s the result of
the awe-inspiring efforts
of inmates at Junee Correctional Centre
in southern NSW.
And you can win it!
This Commodore is the third giveaway
car to be rebuilt
at Junee; a Holden Monaro and
One Tonner have also
been resto-modded and given away
in support of charity
in recent years.
Working on cars like this isn’t just
something to keep the
inmates occupied. There’s been a
decade-long partnership
between the GEO Group (which
operates the centre on
behalf of the NSW Government) and
TAFE NSW. Within the
boundaries of Junee Correctional Centre
is a well-equipped,
stand-alone TAFE campus, complete
with automotive/
industrial spray booth, and even though
they are guests of
Her Majesty, the inmates who worked
on this car are all
signed-up TAFE students.
“The TAFE programs give the inmates
the opportunity to
get practical hands-on skills,” explains
Trevor Coles, Junee’s
Rehabilitation and Reintegration Manager
. “But a project like
this really lifts the level of motivatio
n.”
Peter Holt, Junee Correctional Centre
Industries Manager,
explains more. “The car is an important
tool for the delivery
of the TAFE qualifications such as
panel beating and spray
painting, small motors, and welding.
Junee also offers

courses in woodwork and building
and construction. Doing
something such as this is an inspiring
way of putting what
they’ve learned into practice.”
A factory VL V8/auto, the car was found
in Victoria by Holt,
and the purchase was financed by the
GEO Group Australia,
with supporters chipping in with product.
“The support along
the way has been terrific,” Holt says.
“HDT has given us
lots of stuff, as well as DeBeer, and
Rare Spares has been
amazing. It all helps.”
Under that terrific HDT-enhanced
body and Permanent
Red paint, the Commodore has been
repowered with a 355cube iron lion. The engine build was
another opportunity
for education. After respected Wagga-b
ased engine builder
Chris Ingram machined and prepped
the components off-site,
he attended the Junee centre and
supervised the students
as they assembled all the goodies,
including a stroker crank,
flat-top pistons and a performance
cam. The poky result is
494hp on the Ingrams Automotive
engine dyno, so it’s far
more than just a cruiser. Behind is a
built TH700 four-speed
auto. The interior was one of only a
few aspects of the car’s
metamorphosis that was done off-site;
it’s the work of local
trimmer David Huthwaite.
Now it’s complete, you can win this
terrific Commodore
VL SS Group A tribute. It’s being
raffled in support of the
Country Hope charity, which provides
support for families
of kids who have been diagnosed
with cancer and other
chronic illnesses. To enter, visit
rafflelink.com.au/brocktribute-car. s

ENGINE:
The Ingrams
Automotive-specified
and machined engine
is based on a VN
V8 with its betterbreathing symmetricalport heads. With a
Scat stroker crank,
10.5:1 squeeze,
Pacemakers, 750cfm
Holley Brawler on a
dual-plane Edelbrock
air-gap manifold, and
a Camtech bumpstick,
it’s good for close to
500hp at the flywheel
at 6250rpm
EXTERIOR:
DeBeers paint was
applied and the
HDT body package
was prepped by the
students/inmates at
Junee Correctional
Centre. Those HDTsupplied wheels look
sensational

STREET MACHINE

there was Telfo – he was just everywhere!
James Baylis, email

OLD’S COOL

SO GOOD to see that awesome Sandman
Doorslammer in the mag (SM, May ’24). Up
until a couple of years ago, Street Machine
always featured cool-looking drag cars, and
I’ve been missing that!
Also great to see the Time Machine yarn on
Roy Alati’s cool old S-Series Val in the same
issue. I love 90s-style builds, so it’s good to
see that the car survived.
Daniel Peachey, email

> DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH

GIRL POWER

HI SM! I love buying and reading your magazine, although my two daughters
constantly steal them from me to look at the cool cars! They’re really getting into cars
and love going to car meets.
I wanted to share some pictures they’ve drawn. My eldest, Nikoleta, is nine, while
Christina is six. I know they would really love to get their pictures in an issue!
Brian Montaldo, email

Importer of High Performance
Auto Parts For Over 20 Years
Special Orders & Custom Cams
Airfreighted Weekly

> IN YOUR FACEBOOK

L

FURY ROAD

ONG-TIME
readers
might
remember our Fanging Flick
review of John Carpenter’s 1983
flick, Christine (SM , Jun ’14),
and if you’ve seen the film, you’ll surely
recall the titular 1958 Plymouth Fury that
seemed to have a mind of its own. Well,
it looks like a remake of the classic movie
is on the cards, reportedly to be directed
by Bryan Fuller, creator of the Hannibal
TV series. We shared the news on our
Facebook page; here’s what you had to
say.

We deal direct with the US
manufacturers and can offer
service, backup and support that
other resellers cannot.

Ph 08 8363 5566

sales@autopd.com.au
S T R E E T www.autopd.com.au
MA CHI NE

Phill Gee – I’d leave it a classic.
Peter Clifford – Don’t think you could
improve on the original, but I will wait and
see. Stephen King himself didn’t want a
remake of this film.
Matthew Owens – Why don’t they
just do a sequel, Christine’s Revenge,
with Mustangs leaving the car show.
Oh no wait, that would be more of a
documentary rather than a horror movie.
Kyle Barwick – CGI will ruin it. There
was a shortage of ’58 Furys in the 80s
when they made the original, so half the
new movie won’t even be a real, just an
animation. They imploded a real car with
hydraulics and reversed the footage in
the original film; that’s why it looked so
good. I doubt they will do it right. I will
still go to see it, though.
Charlie Bell – A suitably dark JDM driftwagon version maybe, but surely it’s not
needed.
Stewart Charlesworth – A red Mustang
would be fitting.

Dean Miner – Probably be a red Tesla!
Chris East – The fire scenes won’t be a
problem, then!
Matthew Owens – Christine’s daughter,
Talula the exploding Tesla.
Mako Mick – Leave it alone.
Peter Bal – If anyone is ever in Los
Angeles, go to the Petersen Automotive
Museum and do the vault tour. They have
a hero car from the movie there; you can
feel the darkness and evil oozing from
the car.
Chris Slade – Red VN Commodore?
Nigel Williamson – Sums up Hollywood
– plain run out of ideas. Keep redoing
(wringing the life out of) what was a good
thing. What new interpretation could it be
given and at least be slightly marketable?
Alistair Vellentino – Nope, remakes are
lame.
Ricardo
Saavedra
Mendoza
–
Absolutely NOT! How many Plymouths
would be destroyed for a stupid film?
When was the last time you saw one?
Paul Nicol – If it isn’t broke?
David King – Yeah, it might be okay,
might be poo.
Drew Mountford – Given that Christine
was a 25-year-old car at the time, does
this mean the remake will be a ’99 model?
Cam Robinson – Yeah, a VT Commodore
Acclaim!
Drew Mountford – For the correct level
of evil, you’d probably need an ’88 EA
Falcon GL with none of the recalls done.
Cameron Halford – I think they may be
using a black Trans Am that talks this
time.

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STORY BORIS VISKOVIC

PHOTOS CHRIS THOROGOOD

WHEN SUPERCARS RACER CAM WATERS TEAMED WITH PRO
TOURING MAESTROS RIDES BY KAM TO BUILD AN XB FALCON
HARDTOP, THE RESULT WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE SPECTACULAR

024

S TR E E T M A CH I N E

S TR E E T M AC H I NE

025

HEN this stunning XB coupe was unveiled at
this year’s Meguiar’s MotorEx, it was Rob Zahabi
pulling back the covers, the man behind Gold
Coast workshop Rides By Kam, which had
brought the car to life. But the massive Tickford
Racing transporter sitting immediately behind it
gave a pretty good clue as to who had commissioned the
build in the first place: Supercars driver Cam Waters. And
don’t go thinking that Cam was just signing the cheques – he
was heavily involved with the fabrication at various points in
the build.

he had bought, and he wanted to sell one of them,” Cam
explains. “I went to his shed to see him and saw the coupe in
the corner. He was close to having it sold, but when I saw it,
I bought it on the spot. I’d always had a desire to build or buy
an old car down the track, and I couldn’t pass it up.”
The XB had been fitted with a big-block, and it would
have been easy to make bulk horsepower from it, but as a
Supercars driver, Cam is more accustomed to high-winding
small-block Fords. For a solution, he turned to Jon Grove, who
at the time was head of Tickford Racing’s engine shop. “Cam
dearly wanted to run the same engine that took him to victory

CAM WANTED THE ENGINE BAY TO STILL HAVE A RACE CAR LOOK,
TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE WIGGINS CLAMPS AND NOT HIDE STUFF
Unfortunately, Cam was racing NASCAR trucks in the US
the weekend of MotorEx and couldn’t be there to appreciate
all the attention the car received from punters and judges
alike. By weekend’s end, it had picked up medals for Design
& Execution, Engineering, Paint, and Bodywork, as well as a
Superstars invitation for next year. The only downside of that
success is that Cam might have to keep the XB clean for a
good while, as he’s more than a little keen to strap into it and
rip some skids!
Cam bought the car in 2018 from long-time friend and
personal sponsor Colin McQuinn. “He had two coupe shells

026

S T RE E T MA CH I N E

in the 2017 Sandown 500,” Jon says. “It was his first win and
my first win with the team after coming back from NASCAR,
and it was also cool for me because it was the first time we
had run the new engine package I’d developed for the team.”
Unfortunately, the block wasn’t serviceable anymore, so the
decision was made to go for a new Dart SHP Windsor block
with an 8.2-inch deck height, the same as a 302 Windsor, in
part for ease of packaging in the Falcon’s engine bay.
The first order of business was to send the car off to Rob
Zahabi and the Rides By Kam team. “I found RBK online
from the red XC coupe that Rob had built a few years back

ROCKER COVERS: The super-cool Ford
Performance Racing rocker covers are
from Cam’s Sandown-winning small-block
Ford and are now powdercoated black.
The team managed to track down the guy
who engraved the FPR logo originally, and
fortunately he still had the CNC program for
it. It’s a great touch

BELOW: Everything that helps the 369ci Dartblock Windsor make 745hp and over 600lb-ft of
torque is on show for all to see. Cam has used
Wiggins clamps – widely employed in motorsport
applications like Supercars – to great effect on
this street-car build, while the FPR/Tickford
Racing intake system looks wild with its raw
carbon finish and above-the-butterfly injectors

GRUNT HUNT!

WE DID a full rundown on what went
into the engine in Cam’s XB in the
April 2022 issue of Street Machine.
Scan the QR code to read it now!
ST R E E T MA C HI N E

027

for Brock Mahoney [SM , Sep ’14],” Cam says. “Rob helped
guide me early on with what I should do. I got the car as far
as I could at the time, then gave it to him. Rob and his boys do
amazing work, and they really nailed this build. I can’t thank
them enough for the level they took my car to.”
The RBK team worked their magic to install McDonald
Brothers front and rear ends, including Ridetech airbags
and Fox shocks on all four corners. That might sound
straightforward, but it required a bit of extra head-scratching

the old primer and bog to get it back to bare steel and were
going to look at starting the bodywork themselves, but he
found a lot of steel work that needed attending to,” Rob says.
“Cam did do the new trans tunnel and tubs, and made up
the exhaust system, headers and fuel tank before sending
it back to our shop, where we fixed all the steel and did the
bodywork and paint.”
Some might look at the engine bay and think it could have
been more highly detailed or perhaps have more painted and

DON’T GO THINKING THAT CAM WAS JUST SIGNING THE CHEQUES – HE
WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH THE FABRICATION DURING THE BUILD
due to the specialised sump on the engine. “There was a lot
of to and fro between me, Cam and Jon to get everything right
and dialled in, because we hadn’t used that sort of sump set-up
before where the engine mounts off the sump,” Rob explains.
“It’s a bloody good design; it’s a Tickford Racing sump that
they machine out of billet aluminium on their CNC machines.
The engine mounts are built into it, so they’re strong-as.”
With the suspension in the car, Cam took it back home to
continue working on it with his dad. “They started stripping

028

S T RE E T M A C HI N E

polished parts considering the elite finish on the rest of the
car, but Cam had his reasons. “That was one of Cam’s specs
for the build,” Rob says. “He wanted it to still have a race car
look; he wanted to be able to see the Wiggins clamps and
not hide stuff. Obviously, the trumpets had to be seen, and
that’s why we had to build that big-arse box underneath the
bonnet. It’s designed to hug the trumpets within 10mm all the
way around, so when the bonnet is shut, it’s just breathing
through the nostrils in the hood.”

BODY: There are no major departures
from the factory styling here – let’s face
it, a stock XB hardtop looks pretty much
perfect already. However, the body
of Cam’s coupe has been sharpened
and enhanced via tucked bumpers,
fabricated headlight eyebrows moulded
to the guards, shaved drip rails,
flush-fitted ’screens, Kindig It Design
door handles, and a killer custom front
splitter in satin black

INTERIOR: Rides By Kam is
known for its intricate interiors,
but this one is comparatively lowkey and suitably race-inspired.
Alcantara covers the XR8 seats,
custom console and dash, with
the latter housing Haltech’s soonto-be-released uC-10 display,
which relays data from the Nexus
R5 VCU. A Ringbrothers shifter
rows through the six speeds of
the Tremec T56

CENTRE CONSOLE:
A Haltech 15-button
CAN keypad controls
all the functions
and accessories in
the car, while the
other controller
is for the airbags.
Fittingly, the wiring
harness was built to
Supercars specs using
lightweight wiring
ST RE E T MA CH I NE

029

The interior is also pretty low-key, completely swathed in
black Alcantara and highlighted with bronze stitching to tie into
the wheel colour. The front and rear seats are FG XR8 Falcon
ute items, with the rears losing their headrests. There’s a fulllength console housing a Ringbrothers shifter, Haltech CAN
keypad and Pioneer touchscreen. A couple of 6x9 speakers in
the back and some six-inch speakers in the doors means Cam
can listen to some sweet tunes when he’s cruising, although
it would be tough to beat the sound coming out of the pipes.
One of the final decisions was picking a paint colour, and
Cam had a few options in mind, all quite different. “The purple

As beautifully finished as it is, the car was still built to be a
driver, so at least it should be easy to clean the rubber off
those smooth surfaces.
Given his rather busy professional schedule, you might think
that Cam would have had enough of tinkering with old rides
for a while after building such a high-end example. Not so:
“During COVID, I was in Sydney for four weeks, racing backto-back weekends. During race weekends, I was browsing
Marketplace and saw an XP sedan for sale,” he says. “It was
a roller and needed a bit of work, so I went and looked at it.
I got there, had a look around and bought it. I wanted to buy

ALTHOUGH CAM MIGHT HAVE TO KEEP THE XB CLEAN FOR A GOOD
WHILE, HE’S VERY KEEN TO STRAP INTO IT AND RIP SOME SKIDS
was on the cards, but there was a white in the mix, as well
as an orange,” Rob says. “Cam got some renders done, and
when I saw the purple, I wanted to make sure it was a bit darker
– more of a black/purple – and that’s when Cam found that
colour on the internet.” The chosen hue is Porsche Amethyst
Metallic, which looks practically black in the shade but really
pops when the sun hits it.
The XB’s underside is neat and tidy, too. The smooth floor is
painted a satin version of the body colour, while the exhaust
and various suspension parts are finished in bronze Cerakote.

something that I could work on myself and keep a little more
standard than the coupe. The project has escalated a little
from my original plan now!”
Cam stripped it himself, before getting it blasted and in
primer. He then mini-tubbed it and put a triangulated four-link
and nine-inch underneath, along with a Rod Shop front end
and new tunnel. “It’ll be powered by a Ford Coyote with a sixspeed Tremec Magnum manual,” he says.
Sounds like there could be another Cam Waters Falcon in a
future issue of Street Machine! 

BONNET: The underside
of the bonnet was heavily
modified to turn the factory
bonnet scoops into a cold-air
intake to allow the eight
carbonfibre trumpets to
breathe freely
SUSPENSION: The coupe sits
low over Ridetech ShockWave
airbags, but if Cam isn’t keen
on the way the car handles,
there’s a good chance they’ll
get swapped out for coilovers. Either way, the XB will
still be slammed and look
killer
WHEELS: The Billet
Specialties Prism wheels
wear a bronze powdercoat
finish and measure up at 19x8
on the front and 20x10 out
back. Tyres are 235/30 and
305/35 Michelin Pilot Sports
respectively

030

ST RE E T M A CH IN E

CAM WATERS
1974 FORD XB
FALCON COUPE

Paint: PPG Porsche Amethyst
Metallic

DONK

Brand: 369ci Dart Windsor
Intake: FPR/Tickford Supercars
ITB manifold, custom throttle
blades, EV14 injectors
ECU: Haltech Nexus R5
Heads: D3, 2.125/1.60 titanium
valves, PAC springs
Pistons: JE custom
Crank: Bryant custom
Conrods: Carrillo custom
Camshaft: Comp Cams custom
solid-roller, over 0.700in lift
Oil pump: Dailey Engineering
five-stage
Sump: FPR/Tickford billet
Preferred fuel: Petrol
Exhaust: Custom stainless-steel
four-into-ones
Ignition: Haltech individual coil
packs

SHIFT

’Box: Tremec T56 six-speed
Clutch: Triple-plate billet
Diff: 9in

BENEATH

Front: Custom IFS, Fox shocks,
Ridetech ShockWave airbags
Rear: Triangulated four-link, Fox
shocks, Ridetech ShockWave
airbags
Steering: Power rack-and-pinion
Brakes: Wilwood 15in discs and
six-piston calipers (f), Wilwood
14in discs and four-piston calipers
(r)

ROLLING STOCK

Rims: Billet Specialties Prism;
19x8 (f), 20x10 (r)
Rubber: Michelin Pilot Sport;
235/30R19 (f), 305/35R20 (r)

THANKS

Brooke, my parents and my
family; Dad and Richard for
putting in a lot of hours early in
the build with me; Rob and his
boys at Rides By Kam; Jon Grove
for the killer engine; Haltech for
everything electrical – if I needed
help or had questions they were
always there; the PPG crew
for nailing the paint colour and
everything else they helped with;
GJ Drivelines; Michelin; 3M; PWR
S T RE E T M A CH I N E

031

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STORY KIAN HEAGNEY

034

ST R E E T M AC H I N E

PHOTOS BEN HOSKING

GARRY ROSSER’S WB-FRONTED
HQ TONNER WENT FROM
SCRAPYARD FIND TO TOP 20
SUMMERNATS STUNNER

S T RE E T MA C H I NE

035

HE TEAM at John Zelukovic Smash Repairs in
Orange, NSW have turned out plenty of elite-level
stunners over the past few decades, and their latest
trick – a WB-fronted HQ One Tonner for Garry Rosser
– ranks among the finest.
For Garry, the journey began over 10 years ago.
“He came to us with the car after a long time of not much
happening at another shop, and he wanted us to finish it off,”
Ben Zelukovic says. “The work was not great to say the least,
and it turns out the Tonner he had was badly bent; nothing
would line up in the front.”
Ben discovered the issue while measuring it up against a
straight Tonner at a local wrecker’s, which he says led to a
lightbulb moment. “I thought, ‘If this one at the wreckers is
straight, why not just start again with it?’ So, that’s what we
did.”
The boys salvaged what they could from the first HQ, and
a comprehensive, ground-up rebuild got underway. “We
already had the engine and driveline done, and the interior
was half-trimmed in the red vinyl,” Ben says. “So Garry opted
to stick with that, to keep costs down.”
The chassis was stripped, and any unnecessary holes were
filled. “I’ve always hated the gap in the chassis rails at the
back of the cab, so I had the boys fill it in,” Garry says. “I don’t
like the rain gutters either, so I had them deleted, and I love
Kindig It door handles, so I got a pair of those.”
The front bar was given a nip-and-tuck job, with Garry opting
for a WB Statesman nosecone. “I’ve always liked the look of
a blower with a Stateman front on these utes, so that was a

EXTERIOR: Mixed in-house
at JZ Smash, the deep
metallic red is codenamed
Gazzberry as a nod to
Garry. The wheels are KWC
Forged, measuring 19x8 up
front and 19x10 in the rear

036

S TR E E T MAC H IN E

IT TURNS OUT THE TONNER HE
HAD WAS BADLY BENT; NOTHING
WOULD LINE UP IN THE FRONT

GAUGES: The Auto Meter
Ultra-Lite gauges required
extra holes in the GTS dash,
and transplanted air vents were
moulded in for a classy look
INTERIOR: Garry chose crocodile
leather to break up the red
interior, which uses pews from
a VY SS. The smooth floors are
made from fibreglass

S T RE E T MA C H IN E

037

ENGINE BAY: Ben and Darryl at
John Zelukovic Smash Repairs
got creative with the engine
bay, creating a sheet-metal
firewall and deleting most
of the ugly original wheel
tubbing. The radiator has also
been moved forward and out
of sight

038

S TR E E T M AC H I NE

must for me,” he explains. Other notable body mods include a
rear diffuser under the tray, and the fact the tray itself tilts like
that of a dump truck.
“Garry wanted to keep the tilt tray from the first build, but we
fully revised it so it actually worked,” Ben says. “The diffuser
was my idea. It’s something I’d thought about doing for a while;
it’s different!”
For the longest time, Garry insisted on a white exterior to offset
the red trim. Ben can be quite persuasive, however. “Garry
wanted a super-sparkly white, but I just couldn’t get one he
liked,” Ben says. “We did a few test panels in this red, and he
ended up coming around – thank God!” The colour, cheekily
named Gazzberry, coats the body, chassis and tray.
Inside, Garry upgraded to VY SS seats, with trim by Wayne
Birkin. “I liked the red, but we wanted something to break it up,

so Wayne found the croc skin in red,” Garry says. “I like it; it’s
something different. If people don’t like it, that’s fine, but he did
a really nice job.”
The boys at JZ Smash modified the GTS dash to receive extra
Auto Meter gauges, along with vents nicked from a car that
Ben’s keeping close to his chest. “Let’s just say they’re custom,”
he chuckles.
Garry wanted a Holden V8 for his V8 Holden, and the engine
package had already been sorted by the time the Zelukovic crew
got their hands on the Tonner. The 304 has been stroked to 383
cubes using a COME Racing crank, Scat H-beam rods and
SRP blower pistons, and sitting atop the Edelbrock Performer
heads is a 6/71 from The Blower Shop, sucking through a pair of
Holley 650 carbs. At the time of writing, it’s only kicking around
on a basic run-in tune, but both Ben and Garry reckon it should

THE TONNER SCORED A SPOT IN THE TOP 20, ALONG WITH
THE TOP UTE TROPHY

REAR: For a unique touch,
the JZ Smash boys sculpted
the fuel tank cradle in the
style of a rear diffuser
TILT TRAY: Lifting the tilt
tray reveals a beautifully
smoothed chassis, and gives
access to the fuel cell
ST RE E T MAC H I N E

039

be able to churn out somewhere between 750 and 800hp
once dialled in.
Behind the iron lion is a Hughes Performance Turbo 400,
with a nine-inch rear using a McDonald Brothers four-link kit.
The build took around four years to complete, and when
Garry first came to JZ Smash, his goal was simple: “He just
wanted to get into the elite hall at Summernats,” Ben says.
“He wanted a street cruiser, but he wanted it to get into
that hall!”
Ben reckons the rush to get the HQ finished nearly killed
him, the covers were pulled off in the elite hall at Street
Machine Summernats 36. Not only did Garry fulfil his dream
of placing with the best, but the Tonner scored a spot in the
Top 20, along with the Top Ute trophy. “I honestly couldn’t
believe it,” Garry says. “It was a dream come true; I just stood
there looking at it and couldn’t believe it was mine! I still go
out to the garage now and do the same thing.”
Ben was equally thrilled with the result. “I suppose I did
expect it to go Top 60, but to get Top 20 and Top Ute was
surreal,” he grins. “It’s a great honour for us, and I’m stoked
for our crew and Garry.”
The Tonner will hit a few more shows before Garry puts
it to work as a street cruiser. “I can’t thank Ben and the
boys enough,” he says, “and my family for their patience and
support throughout the build.” 

I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT’S MINE!
I STILL GO OUT TO THE GARAGE NOW AND
DO THE SAME THING

GARRY ROSSER
1972 HOLDEN
HQ ONE TONNER
Paint: Glasurit
Gazzberry
custom mix

ENGINE

Brand: Holden 383ci
Induction: TBS 6/71 blower
Carbs: Twin Holley 650cfm
Heads: Edelbrock Performer
Camshaft: Camtech solid-roller
Conrods: Scat H-beam
Pistons: SRP
Crank: COME Racing
Oil pump: Standard
Fuel system: MagnaFlow pump
Cooling: Aussie Desert Cooler
Exhaust: 15/8in extractors, 3in system
Ignition: ICE

TRANSMISSION

Gearbox: Hughes Performance TH400
Converter: TCI
Diff: 9in, 31-spline, 3.55:1 gears

SUSPENSION & BRAKES

Front: Viking coil-overs
Rear: Four-link, Viking coil-overs
Brakes: Wilwood discs & four-piston
calipers (f & r)
Master cylinder: Wilwood

WHEELS & TYRES

Rims: KWC Forged; 19x8 (f),
19x10 (r)
Rubber: Achilles ATR Sport;
245/35R19 (f), Kumho Ecsta
285/35R19 (r)

THANKS

Ben at John Zelukovic Smash Repairs;
Darryl Harrington; Victor Yeghoyan;
Luke Mitchell; Andrew Lynch; Wayne
Birkin at Street Trim; my brother
Mark; my son Cory and my wife Helen

040

S T RE E T MA C H I N E

STORY JACK HOULIHAN, KIAN HEAGNEY & ANDREW BROADLEY

042

S T RE E T M A CH I N E

PHOTOS SHAUN TANNER, NOAH THORLEY & CHRIS THOROGOOD

LEGENDS AND YOUNG GUNS COLLIDED AT A HUGE
MEGUIAR’S MOTOREX FOR 2024

STR E E T MA C H IN E

043

EADING up to MotorEx 22, there was genuine excitement
around new and reborn street machines from the kings of
our sport, and anybody who wandered through the
Melbourne Showgrounds on the first weekend of May would
agree they didn’t disappoint. Legends like Ron Barclay,
the Hillier brothers and Bob Grambau yanked the covers
off brand-new builds, proving they’ve not lost an ounce of mojo
since they made their names in the 80s and 90s. The Fitzpatrick
name also made a return, but this time it was Peter’s son Daniel
yanking the covers off a slick Honda CB1100. Some iconic cars
from decades ago also rolled into the halls looking tougher than
ever, including Phil Rillotta’s PROST1 Torana.
That’s not to say there wasn’t plenty of new stuff from debut
owners on offer – with 20 unveilings in the hall, it was quite the
opposite, as the covers came off long-awaited stunners like Cam
Waters’s pro touring XB hardtop (see p.24 for the full story!), who
watched on via video link from a NASCAR race in the US. Joining
the action were a stack of Meguiar’s Superstars finalists; some
more recent show icons like FORGED and XBOSS; countless
street-driven toughies; and the industry’s best and brightest
traders.
Melbourne’s weather played nice for a welcome change, which
helped bring droves of metal to the Real Street display, not to
mention the car park and surrounding streets! Summernats may
still lead the way in saturating a city with muscle cars, but MotorEx
turned the suburb of Ascot Vale into a car-spotter’s mecca.
Nostalgic and fresh rides flourished in the huge Street Elite
display, one highlight being Scott Briant’s Corolla wagon. It had
spent 15 years languishing in a shed until Scott recently bought

1: This incredible 572ci Hemipowered, AWD Jensen FF by GB
Classic Restorations appeared in our
July ’23 edition of In The Build. The
aluminium mill wears Kinsler ITB
injection, turning a Jensen front diff
and Corvette IRS. Brakes are huge
Wilwood 381mm and 355mm discs,
while a Haltech Elite 2500 and two
PD16 power distribution modules
manage the systems
2: Darren Pelacchi’s Soul Crystal Red
1955 Ford C600 was a big presence
in the hall – and more than just
dimensionally! It runs a periodcorrect Y-block V8 paired to a TH400
and two-speed electronic diff, all
in a C-notched chassis. Wheels are
custom 24in Big Rig Alcoas with a
dually rear axle
3: Gary Watkins’s ’69 Charger takes
the ‘less is more’ approach, except
for the modern Gen III 392 crate
mill under the bonnet! Garage 12
handled most of the resto, with
Gaz’s brother Neil helping with final
assembly. The bright turquoise
toughie recently picked up Best
Dodge Muscle at Chryslers on the
Murray 2024
4: Gorgeous 3D designs by Matt
Barnsley of The Render Garage

popped up all around MotorEx, and
this year he rocked up in his freshly
imported DeLorean – the realisation
of a childhood dream. Loaded up
with Back to the Future memorabilia,
it delighted kids and adults alike all
weekend
5: The eBay Performance Garage was
an exhibition in its own right – where
else would you see XBOSS sharing
floor space with Jay Duca’s slammed,
quad-rotor VL? Other highlights
included the Optima-proven Carnage
1UZ Lexcen and the ‘Grimace’ VS ute
in its first public appearance
6: Daniel and Leanne’s LOWGTS
HQ Monaro is something of a
throwback to the golden era of street
machining. In lieu of a more typical
LS powerplant, a 634hp, 434ci,
carb-fed Dart Chev provides shove,
and a set of Centreline Convo Pros
complete the look sublimely
7: Wayne and Megan MacDonald’s
HQ Tonner exudes late-90s cool
with its colour-coded Simmons V5s
and WB Caprice interior fit-out. A
cammed 355 stroker, TH350 and 9in
round out the driveline, with WB
Caprice discs on both ends. Paul
MacDonald did the engine, body
and paint

TOP STREET MACHINE WENT TO ADAM BICKERSTAFF’S NEWLY
UNVEILED, COYOTE-POWERED F100 BUILT BY VIKING HOTRODS

ADAM BICKERSTAFF 1956 F100

ADAM Bickerstaff’s F100 (left)
was found in Queensland and
bought sight-unseen so that
Greg at Viking Hotrods could
RHD-convert it and make into
a stunner.
Starting with a clean, rustfree body, the Viking lads
jammed a blown Coyote mill
up front and heavily reworked
pretty much everything else!
The front wheels have been
pushed forward, with custom
engine bay metal and lots of
chassis work, and the Coyote
runs through a 10-speed auto.
“The curves of this car
really showcase the paint
and colour,” Greg said of the
PPG Envy Green/Tonic Brown
finish. “In the sun it’s totally
different.”
Adam spent the six weeks
leading up to MotorEx helping
put it all together. “Greg
and the team have just been
fantastic,” he enthused. “Their
workmanship is spectacular.”

044

S TR E E T MA C HI N E

2

1

3

HELEN WYNANTS LX TORANA

HELEN Wynants was jealous of her husband Stephen Barrie’s showquality cars, so she decided it was her turn to have one. This LX
SL/R (right) is the result, which started as a shell sourced from a
friend. It’s powered by a Holden 355 stroker and uses a T56 manual.
The most important part of the build for Helen was the colour.
“It took six years to build, and four years to do the paint,” she
explained. “I wasn’t allowed to choose white or blue, so we ended
up with the [Mazda] Soul Crystal Red instead.”

4

5

7

6

S TR E E T MA C HI N E

045

2
1

3

CHRIS RETZOS 1969 DODGE CORONET

THE bulk of this gorgeous Southern Rod & Custom-built Coronet R/T
(below) came together 10 years ago. “This was a basket-case I bought 10
years ago, and [Chris Retzos] wanted to build it,” SR&C’s Shane Rowe said.
“We had other priorities, and this car sort of faded into the background, but
we’ve put in an effort over the past six months to get it finished.”
We showed the car in bare metal way back in the February 2013 mag, and
it had sat mostly finished since 2014.
It’s 3in wider than a stock Coronet, with a wheelbase extended by 2in,
and boasts an NRE twin-turbo 572 Hemi under the scoops. The wheels are
one-off billet pieces, and while it initially wore a white vinyl roof, it was
turfed some time ago.

4

BOB GRAMBAU 1934 FORD COUPE

BUILDER of a legendary EH 40 years ago,
Bob Grambau has owned this ’34 coupe
(above) for the past 30 years, and spent the
5
last six putting it all together. “It’s a bigblock Chev with an 8/71 blower, floating rear
end and four-wheel discs,” he said.
George Haddad built the rat motor, which
is hooked to a Turbo 400 and 3500rpm
converter, with 3.7:1 gears out back. An
extensively modified chassis and Wilwoods
mean it’s ready to be ticked off by an
engineer.
“To build a car that’s a bit of a head-turner
and complies with VicRoads is super, super
hard,” Bob pointed out. “You’ve gotta have a
window-washer, middle stop light, pushbike
reflectors – everything! Everything works and
complies now, so we’re happy.”

5
4

046

ST RE E T MAC HIN E

PHIL RILLOTTA LC TORANA

PHIL Rillotta’s blown and injected
PROST1 Torana (right) is perhaps
the most revered old-school
Aussie pro streeter of all time.
Having been freshly rebuilt after
a 23-year hibernation, it remains
immediately recognisable as the
car that graced the cover of our
Oct-Nov 1991 issue, but with the
quality now dialled up to 11.
The original 350ci Rodeck SBC
remains, but it’s been treated to
a freshen-up and a new blower.
The old Powerglide was ditched
in favour of a three-speed Lenco
and Bruno drive set-up, and while
Phil briefly entertained the idea
of fitting more contemporary
wheels, he polished up the old
Weld Draglites instead.
The most pronounced
difference is the impeccable
finish, especially on the
undercarriage. “It was always
a nice car, but it’s at a different
level now,” grinned Phil. “Matt
Bailey at Adelaide Custom Paint
& Body looked after the paint,
and he’s done an awesome job.”

LEGENDS LIKE RON BARCLAY, THE HILLIER BROTHERS AND BOB
GRAMBAU YANKED THE COVERS OFF BRAND-NEW BUILDS
1: Terry Vavitis’s VH Holden
Commodore Vacationer drove in
and out of the Street Machine
hall, presenting as a factoryfresh resto but for the LSA
under the swollen bonnet. “I
wasn’t sure on keeping it as a
Vacationer, and then we stuck
the stripes on, and I knew they
had to stay!” he said
2: It was amazing to see Scott
Briant’s resurrected KE55
Toyota Corolla wagon, a car
that entertained us plenty back
in the glory days of Easternats
and Performance Car Mania.
Scott sold the car in 2009, and
it sat essentially unused in a
shed until he bought it back
last year. He’s left most of it
as per the old days aside from
a wheel and induction update.
It’s hard to believe that paint is
20 years old!
3: We did a mini-feature on
Dave Troisi’s 670rwhp, manual,
genuine VY SS wagon in our
2018 issue of Street Machine
Commodores. Since then, he’s
traded the old rolling stock for
a set of black Simmons wheels,

which house a massive set of
brakes – much-needed to pull
up the Vortech-blown LSX
4: Mike and Jim Ring of
Ringbrothers fame soaked up
the Aussie scene with delight,
bringing along a gorgeous
bespoke trophy for their top
pick – Jason Sandner’s Torana.
With that done, Summernats
judging gurus Owen Webb
and Rachael Durbidge gave
the guys – and their wives – a
tour of some of Australia’s
most private car collections,
and topped it off by a visit to
Northern Nats at Springmount
Raceway. Feature next issue!
5: Jason Sandner’s Torana
(SM, Nov ’18) is a regular high
achiever in the Street Machine
Summernats Elite Judging and
has given the Grand Champion
title a crack on more than one
occasion. But being chosen as
Ringbrothers’ favourite ride of
MotorEx was something else.
“It still hasn’t sunk in, and
I’m speechless. It’s the stuff
that dreams are made of, to be
totally honest,” he said

the car back, gave it a few contemporary tweaks and polished the
20-year-old paint to snap necks and introduce the ’Rolla to a whole
new generation in the process. Top Street Machine went to Adam
Bickerstaff’s newly unveiled, Coyote-powered F100 built by Viking
Hotrods, and it also earned first in the Street Elite Bodywork and
Interior categories to land a place in the Superstars hall for 2025.
The Auto Salon revival of the past few years is only getting
stronger, and this year the rad MRCRX joined the throwback roster.
It was originally owned by Brian El-Hassan, who chipped in to help
custodian Jon Pierre Kairouz return the Del Sol to its past glory and
pick up Top Tuner. Craig McKenzie’s tireless efforts have helped get
the revival off the ground, and he had arguably his biggest MotorEx
ever. His re-imagined version of the ex-Ditch Jones 1FATHR ute
(SM, Jul ‘23) cleaned up the Super Six awards, earning first place
in Bodywork, Undercarriage, Engine Bay and Innovation to romp
home to a MotorEx Grand Master win.
“People kept coming up to me saying I had it in the bag, but I
didn’t expect it,” Craig grinned. “I still don’t quite know how to
feel, but it’s a great send-off for the car.” The ute’s now off to the
Seven82Motors auction house, with Craig shifting focus to a huge
restoration project of Alan Cooper’s iconic BLOBAK 2 HQ ute.
“I’ve located most of the original parts, including the body, so we’re
planning to have that ready for Summernats 40,” he said.
The Laurie Starling Engineering Excellence Award is another of
our sport’s biggest accolades. Rob Guljas of Automotive Creations
Custom & Restoration joined the elite list of car-crafting madmen
with his in-progress ’67 Impala. “It’s the sort of car we could see

ST R E E T MA CH I N E

047

TROY HILLIER 1962 MERCEDES 190 SL

THE Hillier brothers are some of the highest achievers in
our sport, with a long and storied resume of killer builds,
mostly based on Fords. This stunning Mercedes-Benz 190
SL (left) is a big departure from the brothers’ norm, built
for a customer as a tribute to their mother – hence the
name Lady Lois.
The striking 190 SL body was cut into three sections and
grafted over a 2004 SLK AMG chassis and powertrain,
leaving the 3.2L supercharged V6 and five-speed auto in
situ.
The beautiful custom trim was done by Pat’s Pro Restos,
and the billet wheels are one-off custom items built
specifically for this car.

SERG DEROSE XY FALCON

SOUTHERN Rod & Custom’s lowhanging XY dubbed ‘The Grinch’
(left) was one of two cars the
Shepparton business unveiled
at MotorEx. Owned by Serg
Derose, it runs a Pavtek-built
393 Cleveland, worked C10, and
a 35-spline 9in by Competition
Diffs. Chassisworks Australia
supplied custom rails, paired
with a United Speed Shop front
end and four-link rear.
Rolling on 20x8 and 20x12
Simmons rims, the car’s static
stance is pretty wild. “People
think it’s ’bagged, but it’s not,”
laughed SR&C’s Shane Rowe.
“It’s been purposely built as a
driver.”
While Shane admits the colour
is a bit out-there, he’s had good
feedback thus far. “You need to
walk around it several times to
take it all in,” he said.
It was trimmed in-house with
leather in GT styling.

POLIS MORTAKIS
1986 VL CALAIS

POLIS Mortakis’s
genuine Series 1 VL
Calais LE (right) was
dug out of a horse
paddock outside Wagga
Wagga and turned into
a 304-powered stunner
in just two-and-a-half
years.
He kept the Calais
mostly original in terms
of styling, retaining the
Madeira Red interior
and 80s exterior
touches, all riding on a
set of 20in MOMO Star
alloys. “The idea was to
build the car in factory
style to an elite level,”
Polis said.
Power comes from a
304, matched to a fivecog manual.

048

ST RE E T M AC H IN E

DANIEL FITZPATRICK 1984 HONDA CB1100

DANIEL Fitzpatrick pulled the covers off a super-cool
Honda CB1100 (above), which he bought as a $1000
“toasted piece of crap” from Gumtree. Noel at Black
Cycles played a big role in getting it done, blending
hot rodding design cues with Ferrari-esque styling.
“There were a lot of conversations about why
I was going so far, but who is he to talk?” Daniel
laughed, referring to his dad, street machining
legend Peter Fitzpatrick.
“It’s a bit scary to ride, because you don’t want to
drop it, but it really goes. It makes 100hp at the tyre,
which doesn’t sound like much, but it only weighs
110kg, so you’re almost at 1000hp per tonne!”

MARION BRESKI 1967 FORD MUSTANG

MARION Breski has owned his sweet Mustang
coupe (right) for four years, and visited Paul
Sant after a fire made a mess of its engine bay.
The repair job soon turned into a full rebuild!
A BDS 8/71-blown and injected 370ci Windsor
hangs proud, managed by a FuelTech FT550. The
rear is mini-tubbed with a four-linked, sheetmetal 9in, all handled at ProFlo Performance.
C&J Custom Paint sorted the panels and
doused them in custom grey, which sets off the
Raw Hide Interiors-trimmed red leather and
suede cabin wonderfully.
It’s packed with Speedflow fittings right
through, anodised in red to match the interior.

BARRY CONRAN XB FALCON

PAT’S Pro Restos did a full 180 from the FORGED XY vibe at this
year’s MotorEx, bringing along Barry Conran’s concours-level
Tropic Gold XB GT hardtop (left). While there’s no wild mods, it’s
finished to an exacting level basically on par with the XY. “It’s good
doing a different style,” Pat enthused.
“The main thing was research and finding the original bits and
pieces. We’ve got a couple of guys that really know their Ford stuff,
so that made it easier.”
It’s an early production coupe with factory goodies like a/c and
power windows, and Baz has owned it since 1995.

LEIGH CLARK 1967 CHEVROLET CAMARO

BARE Bonez Garage in Hastings, Victoria turned
what was meant to be a quick rear tub job into
an all-out, five-year build on Leigh Clark’s 1967
Camaro RS (below).
“It was a bloody mess – the floorpans were held
in with sticky tape!” said Dom Di Mento from Bare
Bonez. “As we started cutting, we just kept finding
more rust; there wasn’t much original metal left by
the time we were done.”
The Camaro uses a 540ci fatty from Dandy
Engines, with mirror-image 7675 turbos. Dom
reckons it’ll be plenty good for 1800hp, which’ll be
more than enough to turn the 22x12 rear wheels.

BRIAN JAMES MODEL A FORD

RIDING on a custom chassis with a flathead taken to 255ci via a Mercury crank, Brian
James’s Ford tudor (left) has been “modified to within an inch of its life”, according to him.
A Baron manifold and heads are topped with a sweet set of billet throttlebodies, controlled
by a Wolf ECU. Just as cool is the Tremec five-speed manual and early Jag rear end.
“I first imported one that was too good to cut up, so I sold it and bought an even better
one,” Brian said.
Other steering and stopping bits include IFS, a Commodore rack, coil-overs and disc
brakes to make it a proper driver.
ST RE E T M AC HI NE

049

Laurie building; it’s an incredible build with plenty of innovation in it,” said
head judge Owen Webb.
“I’m blown away by it,” Rob grinned after the presentation. “I’ve been
doing up cars all my life, and I’ve had a panel shop for 25 years, but I’ve
never done anything at this level. I’m gonna be working on it full-time from
now, and my workers will look after the shop – it’s given us motivation!”
Special guests from the USA, Jim and Mike Ring, added a new award to
the mix, with the one-off Ringbrothers’ Choice trophy. They had a tough
job when you consider the entire showground was fair game, but they
eventually picked Jason Sandner’s LX Torana sedan (SM, Nov ’18). The
car has been ever-evolving since its 2013 unveiling, with the help of Peter
Fitzpatrick and Rob Gardner. “It’s probably the pinnacle of all awards, I
think; for me and [my wife] Tanya, it sort of outshines everything else,”
Jason said. “It still hasn’t sunk in, and I’m speechless. It’s the stuff that
dreams are made of, to be totally honest.”
Jim and Mike had a ball taking in a mix of familiar American two-door
fodder and stuff they’d never seen before. “As far as the cars go, we’re
clueless, and it’s kind of fun,” Mike laughed. “I think the quality of cars
is equal [to the US] – there are super-talented people all over the world,
and no exception here!”
For what’s broadly considered a static event, there was a hell of a lot
of engine noise and tyre smoke at this year’s MotorEx thanks to blokes
like Matt Watts, who re-christened the late Nik Rigby’s MELTEM KE55
Corolla as BLOEM (see News Front, p.12). Drift demos and MPW
Performance dyno runs were pretty much non-stop, with big hitters like
Glenn Eastwood’s blown Torana going all-out during power pulls. It’s a
weekend that’s only getting more diverse, so don’t miss the next one! 

ZAC PALMER MODEL A FORD

ZAC PALMER copped a set back with his blown 383-powered,
5in-chopped ’30 Ford tudor (right), but it didn’t stop him from
reaching the hall. Its custom billet wire-style wheels were lost in
transit between California and Australia, so he was forced to paint its
build wheels on the kitchen table of his Airbnb instead!
Zac’s best mates Mitch and Alex helped with the build, with paint
by the latter, and there were plenty of 20-hour days at the pointy end.
“We didn’t finish it until we rolled it into the trailer,” Zac laughed.
“It’s been a big effort from all my friends and family to be here.”
He made the hard-won debut even more special by proposing to
girlfriend Jasmine, who tearfully accepted.

1: Between John Bowe meetand-greets and a one-off Onyx
Black XA GT unveiling, the Rare
Spares stand was not to be
missed. The XA is the handiwork
of Rare Spares customer Harry
Mihalakos, and it’s a stunning
example of a highly optioned GT,
with goodies including white trim,
power windows, air con and a
sunroof – all oozing 70s cool
2: Daniel Lake’s VT HSV Senator
has been on the Melbourne
street-car scene for nearly two
decades, now boasting 670rwhp
from the 355 turbo iron lion. “It’s

still the original block; the plan
is to try and get a nine with it,
and we’re close, with a 10.4 PB,”
Daniel said
3: Sean Basford’s SKIDRAGIN
Celica has gone blown, earning
pride of place in the Street Elite
hall and picking up the Pro Comp
Fabrication award along the way.
“I didn’t see this coming and can’t
believe I won this, but hard work
pays off,” Sean said. “I’m pretty
stoked.” The fresh Nardo Grey
finish is almost too nice to put on
the burnout pad, but that won’t
stop Sean!

ROB GULJAS WON THE LAURIE STARLING ENGINEERING
EXCELLENCE AWARD WITH HIS IN-PROGRESS ’67 IMPALA

ROB GULJAS 1967 CHEVROLET IMPALA

THIS mental Chev coupe (right) has
been in the build for several years
as a collaborative effort between
Geelong’s Rob Guljas and his son,
Jeremy. Tucked amongst all that
gorgeous bare metal is a 572ci bigblock with twin 88mm Precision
Pro Mod turbos, screwed together
by mate Frank Marchese at Dandy
Engines, with a goal of 3000hp.
“I went to Frank and said, ‘Build
me a 1000hp engine,’ and of course
he can’t help himself,” Rob laughed.
“You can’t see it, but it’s got an
M&M two-speed Turbo 400 good for
3000hp and a Race Products diff from
Queensland with 40-spline axles, so
it’s pretty unbreakable!”
Rob said he poured about two
weeks of work into each side of the
sheet metal, with more work left to go.
Other metal mods will include flushmounted windscreens to do away with
the chrome surrounds, tucked bars,
and a quarter-window delete with
single pieces of glass in their place.

050

S TR E E T M A CHI N E

1

2

DRAGOS BJELOGRLIC XE FALCON ESP

TAKING a monumentally powerful engine from a
six-second race car and bolting it into a street car
is just the kind of tomfoolery we can get behind.
“I had this vision of a Pro Radial-style look but
[still] keeping it looking like an ESP – trim and
everything,” said Dragos Bjelogrlic, owner of the
head-kicking XE ESP in question (left).
The 380ci twin-turbo SBF is the very same
mill that powered Joe Gauci’s Cortina to 6.8sec
quarters. “We’ll see how we go with it, but it has
to have rego for us,” Dragos said.
“Dandy Engines did the motor, and MPW did
a lot of the fab work. It’s been in and out of a
few fab shops, and they’re the ones who came
through with the goods. I can’t wait; I’m going to
drive the wheels off it!”

ROBERT RAMPTON XY FALCON GT

ROBERT Rampton found his ‘Old Gold’ XY GT
(below) in a shipping container, where it’d lived
for 20 years!
It’s one of three cars originally painted in Royal
Umber, though it’d been resprayed in Vermilion
Fire at some point in its life. “There was one GTHO
in that colour too, but I’ve never seen another
one,” Robert said. “I love the colour, the Hawaiian
cloth inserts and the gold stripe – it just sets it off
beautifully!”

3

S T RE E T M AC H I N E

051

JORDAN LORD HQ PREMIER

JORDAN Lord’s full-fat HQ Prem
(right) is all brawn, rocking a 582ci,
nitrous-huffing big-block Chev by
Nyes Racing Engines in the US.
The metal has copped a fresh lick
of stunning HoK green by Rise Up
Restorations; unusually, it was done
at the start of the build! “We built it
backwards,” Jordan laughed during
the Prem’s unveiling.
It sits on a set of Weld V-Series
hoops that measure 15x10 in the rear,
wrapped in hefty 295 rubber.
Jordan dedicated the Prem to his
late dad, who didn’t get to see it
finished.

MEGUIAR’S
SUPERSTARS
THE Meguiar’s Superstars
crew get their own hall at
MotorEx, and came from
all over Australia for the
culmination of the east coast’s
show season. The show itself
is a qualifying event, with
six cars already locked in for
MotorEx 23 in 2025.

SUPERSTARS QUALIFIERS
RON BARCLAY – 1967 CAMARO
ADAM BICKERSTAFF – 1956 FORD F100
ROSS GANGEMI – 1965 MUSTANG
BOB GRAMBAU – 1933 FORD
JORDAN LORD – HQ PREMIER
CAMERON WATERS – XB FALCON

RON BARCLAY
1967 CHEVROLET CAMARO

RON Barclay’s HQ ute is one of
the most influential Aussie street
machines of all time, and he was back
at MotorEx 2024 to yank the sheets
off a jaw-droppingly stunning ’67
Camaro dubbed ‘Plain Jane’ (left). As
we’ve come to expect from Ron, it’s a
masterclass in detail and restraint.
Powered by the factory-fitted 327ci
small-block and backed by a T5 cogswapper and 10-bolt rear end, it’s by
no means wildly modified, but the
level of finish in and out is superb.
“My goal was to treat every part the
same; it doesn’t matter whether you
see it or not,” Ron said.
The originally optioned Nantucket
Blue was applied by Ed Miller at
Darred Bodyworks, earning Plain Jane
the Top Paint award on debut.
“For the past 13 years, all anyone
has heard about is this car!” Ron
joked. “After MotorEx, I’ll start it, get
it registered and drive it.”

ROSS GANGEMI 1965 MUSTANG FASTBACK

EARLY Mustangs are probably the most widely modified car
on Earth, so building one that stands out is no mean feat.
Ross Gangemi’s ’65 fastback pro tourer (below) is an absolute
stunner, and while the world-first Harrop 2650-blown 360ci
Windsor and myriad carbonfibre goodies are highlights, the
quality of the paint and bodywork steal the show.
“Automotive Creations Custom & Restoration did the body
and paint and turned it around from a rusty bogged-out shell
in just six months,” Ross said. “It’s built to be a Shelby clone,
but with a modern look.”
The ’Stang has been finished to an exceptional standard,
with loads of custom touches everywhere you look.

CAM WATERS XB FALCON COUPE

RARELY does a pro race car driver like Supercars ace Cam Waters decide
to build a street machine, and with heavy involvement from the team at
Rides By Kam, this Falcon hardtop (above) does not disappoint.
It’s powered by an ex-Supercars Windsor built by race engineer Jon
Grove. Some liberties were taken with the mill over and above the class
rules, however, with cubes stretched to 369ci for an impressive 745hp
at 6800rpm, and we imagine it’ll sound insane sucking air through the
carbonfibre trumpets on the genuine FPR/Tickford Racing cross-ram
intake. NASCAR duties Stateside kept Cam from being at MotorEx in
person, but he watched the unveiling via video link.
“It’s been a really cool project,” said Rides By Kam’s Rob Zahabi.
“Cam is going to drive the wheels off this thing.”

052

S TR E E T M AC H IN E

SUPER SIX

SHOW car accolades don’t come
much higher than a place in the
Meguiar’s Super Six. Made up of the
highest-scoring Superstars finalists
at MotorEx, it’s a distilled list from
events like Summernats, Rockynats
and Motorvation. The top finalist
is named the Meguiar’s Superstars
Grand Master.

SUPER SIX
CRAIG MCKENZIE – HR HOLDEN
BOB BULL – 1939 FORD
ROBERT KASTOUN – 1949 CHEVROLET 3100
PETER LEWIS – XC FALCON
DEAN RICKARD – HT MONARO
JOE BAUER – 1968 DODGE CHARGER
GRAND MASTER
CRAIG MCKENZIE – HR HOLDEN

ST RE E T M A C H I NE

053

054

ST RE E T M A CH I NE

Storyy
St

KIAN HEAGNEY

Photos

ASHLEIGH WILSON

1200HP OF BLOWN HEMI SHOVED INTO ONE OF
DETROIT’S TOUGHEST SHAPES – MEET JYE
CORE’S ’68 DODGE CHARGER

S TR E E T MA C H IN E

055

YE Core has been a Mopar nut from day dot, and if
you’re a regular in the Queensland car scene, you’ll
likely recognise his name from one or more of his
Valiants that have torn up local strips and prowled the
streets over the years.
But while Valiants are cool and all, for many, the
1968-’69 Dodge Charger is the pinnacle of classic Mopar
metal. This particular ’68 Charger made a big impression
on Jye at a young age, but he never thought he’d end up
owning it.
“I first saw it when Lionel Durre owned it; I was in my early
20s,” says Jye. “It had a 720hp, 500-cube big-block in it – it
was the toughest car I’d ever seen! The look and sound was
next-level.”
Fast-forward a few years and Jye got a call from Lionel,
offering him the chance to buy his dream Charger. “I couldn’t
believe it!” says Jye. “I had not long finished my BLOWEN
VG hardtop [SM , Feb ’20], so funds were tight. Finding that
money at age 24 was not easy, I tell you, but I had to have that
car no matter what.”
The ’68 still had the 500-cuber in it when Jye finally got his
hands on it, but he already intended to go one step further
with it. “I wanted 1000hp, which, when we first started the
build around eight years ago, was a big deal,” he says. “I
started looking into the Indy Maxx Hemis, and then Peter
Gratz put this water-jacketed race engine up for sale, so I
grabbed it.”
Fettling a race engine to make it better suited for street
duties is no small task, so Jye handballed that project to Tony
and at the team at Brinks Performance. “There was no oiling
in the block to the lifter bores, so it had to be drilled to suit,”
Jye says. The cam tunnel also had to be massaged out to
60mm to accept rollerised cam bearings, and a Torrington
bearing was also added to stop crank walk. The oil pump

056

ST R E E T MA CHI NE

Interior: Much like the
outside, Jye wanted to keep
the Charger’s interior looking
as original as possible,
although he did twist the
formula slightly by adding
the Houndstooth seat inserts
Gauges: The Holley EFI

dash is made to be easily
removable, so Jye can revert
to the factory gauges if he
wants a more original look

I WANTED 1000HP, SO I STARTED LOOKING
INTO THE INDY MAXX HEMIS

S T R E E T MA CH I N E

057

Wheels: The Dodge
rolls along on Weld
AlumaStar 17x4.5 front
and 15x10 rear wheels;
however, since this
photoshoot, the rear
Nankang 295s have
been switched out for
PSR 325/50 radials

Engine Bay: Dual

plugs, dual dizzy, dual
carbs – everything
doubles when it
comes to race motors,
and it’s epic to see
one squeezed into
a street cruiser like
Jye’s Dodge

I WANTED IT TO BE FAIRLY STANDARD-LOOKING
BUT WITH THE RACE MOTOR HANGING OUT

058

S TR E E T M AC H IN E

Boot: Somehow, even

with a 95L fuel cell and
dual Optima batteries,
there’s still room for
a picnic hamper in the
boot. The batteries
are needed to power
the MSD Grid and dual
distributor system

is an external System 1 wet-sump deal to suit street duties.
“Parts were a real issue; it felt like we were dealing with a
lot of firsts, and there isn’t much support for Hemis here in
Australia,” says Jye. “The head gaskets took eight months,
the rockers even longer; it dragged out the build massively.”
When it was finally all buttoned up, the mighty 572ci Indy
mill sported a Callies crank, Manley rods and Diamond
pistons. The heads are Indy Maxx dual-plugs, topped by a
BDS 14/71 blower sucking through a pair of 1250 Holley
Dominator carbs. It runs a dual MSD distributor set-up, and
the fact it’s barely contained within the bonnet is completely
intentional. “I wanted it to be a fairly standard-looking Charger
but with the race motor hanging out, because you never see
a dual-plug engine in a road car,” Jye says. “We specced the
camshaft for noise more than anything else, and the thing
thumps along, turning the tyres at idle.” On E85 and 13psi,
the package put outs a comfy 1215hp.
Despite the considerable size of a late-60s Charger, fitting
an engine of this magnitude in one was still quite a task. Jye
had Craig at Extreme Custom Engineering tackle that job,
and Craig also set up a big chunk of the car. “He ended
up doing a whole new firewall, mounting the engine and
gearbox, doing the tailshaft, and adding a Commodore rackand-pinion conversion for more clearance,” Jye says. The
front suspension is still a torsion-bar affair, while leaf springs
and CalTracs live in the rear. Craig at Extreme also shortened
the Dana 60 diff to suit the 15x10 Weld AlumaStars, relocated
the radiator, and tackled all the big fab jobs.
After a fresh lick of Super Jet Black paint from Bruce
Clape, the Charger copped its final assembly at Jye’s diesel
mechanics business, Core Diesel Maintenance. “We do

ST RE E T MAC HI NE

059

Body: Jye was firm about

not messing with any of
the Charger’s bodylines or
features. “It’s what makes
these cars so great,” he
enthuses. “They’re by far the
best Mopar body of all time”

JYE CORE
1968 DODGE CHARGER
Paint: Super Jet Black

ENGINE

Brand: 572ci Indy Maxx Hemi
Blower: BDS 14/71
Carbs: Twin Holley Dominator
1250
Heads: Indy Maxx dual-plug
Camshaft: Comp Cams solidroller

Conrods: Manley
Pistons: Diamond
Crank: Callies
Oil pump: System 1
Fuel system: Aeromotive pump
Cooling: Alloy radiator, twin
Spal fans
Exhaust: Twin 4in stainless
Ignition: MSD

TRANSMISSION

Gearbox: Protrans Reid-case

Powerglide
Converter: Dominator 3500rpm
Diff: Dana 60, 35-spline axles,
3.5:1 gears

SUSPENSION & BRAKES
Front: Torsion bar, Competition
Engineering dampers
Rear: Leaf springs, CalTracs
bars, Pedders dampers
Brakes: Wilwood 320mm discs
(f), EA Falcon discs (r)

anything from 4WDs to big machinery, but we also do custom
cars on the side,” Jye explains. “So, the boys and I tackled
putting it back together, plumbing the fuel system and so on.”
Although his Charger project took many years longer than
he’d intended, the dream result is exactly what Jye wanted
from day one. “I originally budgeted time and money for a
12-month build, and it took nearly eight years!” he laughs.
“But the vision was always the same. I didn’t ’cage it, because
it’s not really a race car; it’s a dream car of mine – a 1968
Charger with a race engine. My perfect street car.”
If you’re a local to Queensland’s Fraser Coast, you may
well have spotted Jye and his two young boys enjoying the
Charger on a weekend cruise. “They love it just as much as
me; they’re always nagging to take it out!” he says.
The Dodge scored Grand Champion at its unveiling at
the Peninsula Motorfest in 2022, and Jye also had it at
Rockynats 3 for a crack at Grand Champion, which was
also the first time he opened the taps properly during the
street drags. “It just fried the tyres to half-track, but otherwise
it drives really well,” he says. “We just put some new 325
PSR radials on it that fit nice and snug, but it still turns them
without a second look!” 

060

ST RE E T M A CH I NE

Master cylinder: Wilwood

WHEELS & TYRES

Rims: Weld AlumaStar; 17x4.5
(f), 15x10 (r)
Rubber: Mickey Thompson
Sportsman S/R 28x6.00R17 (f),
Pro Street Radials 325/50R15 (r)

THANKS

Joel Blake at Parry Rd Performance;
Craig at Extreme Custom Engineering

for all the fab work; Bruce Clape for
the paint and panel; Tony and team
at Brinks Performance for the engine;
Lionel Durre at Engine Improvements;
RCE and Craig; Mitch Wills at Onsite
Electrical; Aaron Loader at Azz’s Auto
Electrics; Ray J Edwards; Paul at
PST Performance; my dad Warren
at Classic Touch Auto Detailing; the
Core Diesel Maintenance team that
helped get the car together and
ready for the streets!

   

   

 

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AARON GREGORY ENJOYS TERRORISING
FELLOW NO-PREP RACERS IN
HIS BEASTLY 1800 HP HR
PANEL VAN

062

ST R E E T MA CH I N E

STORY KIAN HEAGNEY
PHOTOS ASHLEIGH WILSON

ST R E E T M AC HI N E

063

F YOU’VE been drag racing on the east
coast in recent years, you likely would’ve run
into Aaron Gregory’s no-prep H3LLRZR
HR panel van, which packs an 1800rwhp
punch. Aaron drew inspiration for his van
from another well-known drag-racing HR
– none other than the late Craig ‘Shonky’
Brewer’s iconic ‘Frog Stomp’ van.
“I thought it was so cool the first time I saw it
running in APSA as a young fella,” Aaron says
of Craig’s HR. “Most people thought vans
had to be down the beach with surfboards on
them, but seeing Frog Stomp, I thought how
cool it was to take a van racing.”
Aaron is the founder and owner of ASG
Motorsports in Coomera, Queensland. He’d
always wanted a race van of his own, so
during COVID times, he started looking for a
new project car and stumbled on the HR on
Facebook Marketplace.
“Finding a windowless van wasn’t easy, and
then this one popped up at a salvage yard, but
the old guy wanted far too much for it,” Aaron
recalls. “I waited nearly two years for him to
accept a reasonable price, and then we dug it
and all the parts out of the yard and got it back
to the workshop.”
Naturally, as soon as Aaron cracked open
the HR, rust was the word of the day. “We
just kept finding more – the floors, inside the
sills. Everything was gone,” he says. “Funnily
enough, the floor wasn’t even spot-welded in

properly from new; I stomped on it and it fell
out!”
Needless to say, everything was replaced
and reinforced, with Aaron setting this thing
up as a speed demon from the get-go. “We
did things like the tube front end because
we needed that high-speed stability, and HR
suspension and brakes aren’t much chop,”
he says. As a result, the HR copped an
IFS conversion with rack-and-pinion, using
Menscer coil-overs and a Strange rack. The
chassis got a thorough makeover, and a new
firewall was made as well.
In the rear, the chassiswork is just as
intricate, with a Pro9 diff housing, Afco Big
Gun X coil-overs, and enough room to fit a
28x10.5 Mickey Thompson ET Drag tyre
on a 12in-wide wheel. “We’ll change the
rear rubber and wheels depending on what
surface and type of racing we’re doing,” says
Aaron. “For the photoshoot, it’d just come
from no-prep, so the full 15x12 with the 28 ET
was still on it.”
Aaron also integrated a full chrome-moly
rollcage into the architecture, although you’ll
need a second glance to notice it in the cabin.
“We tried to keep it as discreet as possible;
that’s just how we build things,” he says.
The powertrain is equally as impressive,
Aaron using one of ASG’s tried-and-true
turbo LS combos for the van. “It’s one we’re
very familiar with,” says Aaron. “It works

SPOTN
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’
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WE KEPT FINDING MORE RU

064

ST RE E T M AC HI NE

ENGINE BAY:
The 1800rwhp worth
of twin-turbo LSX has
been surrounded by all
new engine bay metal,
with Aaron only keeping
the basic GM-H chassis rails
for engineering purposes

WELDED IN PROPERLY FROM NEW; I STOMPED ON IT AND IT FELL OUT!

LEFT: Don’t worry, there aren’t 40 nitrous bottles
hiding under the false floor. There is a 90L fuel cell
under there, but the floor is more of a cosmetic
choice. “We mainly did it to neaten it up with the
rear suspension,” Aaron says. “There’s storage
compartments built in that we use as well”

ABOVE: Afco shocks
connect the Pro9 diff to
the chassis, which, if
you look closely, is fully
reinforced with chromemoly from front to back

ST R E E T M AC HI N E

065

well and doesn’t give us any problems.” A
cast GM LSX block has been equipped
with a Callies Magnum crank, Oliver Super
Speedway conrods and CP pistons for 427ci
of displacement. Aaron uses one of his own
ASG turbo solid-roller sticks, sealed in by a
pair of Mast Motorsports LS3 Black Label
heads. Topping the package is a Plazmaman
manifold, which sees up to 38psi of boost
from the mirror-image pair of Precision
PT7675 turbos.
“We run it on methanol at the [race] events
that allow it, and then E85 for everything else,”
says Aaron. “The [Haltech] Nexus [R5 VCU] is
tuned to account for both. I spent plenty of time
setting up all the right tables to deal with just
about any scenario.”

On that 38psi, the package has churned out
a whopping 1827hp to the hubs. “It’s not as
light as people would think, with all the extra
steel for the van part,” Aaron says. “We scaled
it at 1620kg in race trim, so it does need the
grunt.”
Everything but the finer panel, paint and
interior trim on the HR was done in-house at
ASG. Completed in a matter of months, the
van has been terrorising drag strips for the
past three years. “We do a lot of no-prep
events, and it’s a consistent four-second car,”
Aaron says. “We’ve taken wins in the OG275
and OG315 classes a few times, and also won
the small-tyre class during the shootout for the
Street Outlaws TV show at Willowbank. After
that win, Farmtruck and AZN invited us for a

heads-up flashlight race, which we won as
well. That was an amazing experience.”
With Willowbank still out of action due to
resurfacing works at the time of writing, the
HR is yet to make a representative quarter-mile
pass. “It’s done 152mph to half-track and a
7.8 to the 1000ft, so there’s plenty of potential
there,” Aaron says.
As for the van’s H3LLRZR moniker, that was
bestowed upon the HR by Aaron’s wife. “We
wanted a name for the Street Outlaws shoot,
because they name all their cars,” says Aaron.
“We red-tinted the headlights for the race to
help it stand out – we can just pull it off when
we get tired of the look,” he says. Until then,
it’s a safe bet H3LLRZR will continue to live up
to its name. 

RBOS,
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O
ON 38PSI FR

066

S TR E E T M AC H IN E

LEFT: Accompanying the Nexus R5
VCU is the full Haltech suite including
CAN keypad, iC-7 dash and the rotary
dials used to control torque, boost and
launch strategies
INTERIOR: A pair of Kirkey race seats,
along with the rest of the cockpit, have
been decked out in custom burgundy
by Jam from Currumbin Trimmers

THE PACKAGE HAS CHURNED OUT A WHOPPING 1827HP TO THE HUBS
AARON GREGORY
1966 HR HOLDEN
PANEL VAN

Diff: Pro9, 35-spline axles,
3.5:1 gears

ENGINE

Front: Menscer struts
Rear: Live axle, four-link,
Afco coil-overs
Brakes: Wilwood discs
and four-piston calipers
(f & r)
Master cylinder: Wilwood

Paint: Silver Mink

Brand: 427ci LSX
Induction: Plazmaman
VCU: Haltech Nexus R5
Turbos: Twin Precision
PT7675 mirror-image
Heads: Mast Motorsports
LS3 Black Label
Camshaft: ASG turbo
solid-roller
Conrods: Oliver Super
Speedway
Pistons: CP
Crank: Callies Magnum
Oil pump: Melling HV
Fuel system: Kinsler
pump
Cooling: Alloy radiator,
SPAL fans
Exhaust: 3.5in stainless
Ignition: Haltech IGN-1A
coil packs

TRANSMISSION

Gearbox: Precision
Automatics BTE Powerglide
Converter: Dominator

SUSPENSION &
BRAKES

WHEELS & TYRES

Rims: Weld V-Series;
17x4.5 (f), 15x12 (r)
Rubber: Mickey Thompson
ET Front 26x4.00R17 (f),
Mickey Thompson ET Drag
28x10.50R15 (r)

THANKS

My family and friends;
Cleo; Charlie; Dave; Jamie;
Mark; Pinno and Trent;
Oz Trade Paint Supplies;
Plazmaman Racing;
Haltech; GFB; WSD; Full
Circle Restorations; all the
staff at ASG Motorsports;
Brett the HR Guy for all
the parts
S T RE E T MAC H I NE

067

STORY JACK HOULIHAN

068

S TR E E T MA CHI N E

PHOTOS SHAUN TANNER & NOAH THORLEY

CALDER PARK COMES ALIVE FOR THE RETURN OF THE
OPTIMA ULTIMATE STREET CAR CHALLENGE
S TR E E T M A CHI NE

069

LEFT: Bailey Anstis brought his
freshly registered TF Rodeo
to the VIP Park-Up, earning a
spot at Real Street for MotorEx.
It’s Bailey’s first car, and he
did everything himself aside
from the paint, which his
brother handled. Mods include
a smoothed tailgate and a
flared tub, which uses Holden
Frontera metal lengthened to
fill out the extra space
LEFT: Keeping a drift car on the
straight and narrow can be a
challenge, but James Mackie
gave it his best shot in his
Harrop-blown, LS-powered XY
BELOW: Adrian Portelli of
LMCT+ fame brought his megabuck McLaren P1 out to play,
and while he didn’t complete
the whole event, he was
blisteringly quick in the Auto
Test and Speed Stop legs

INCE it first hit Australia in 2019, the
Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge
(OUSCC) has steadily grown into a
must-do event for anybody keen to put
their proper street-driven car through its
paces. While the 2024 OUSCC was
only the event’s third running, it’s seen entry
numbers increase threefold since its debut,

Show in Vegas. In that world, where Bluetooth
tailshafts rule and bench-racing abounds, it’s
pretty cathartic and refreshing to see big-dollar
cars get a proper spanking. As co-founder Jimi
Day put it during his opening brief at this year’s
Calder Park event, he wanted to “create an
event where people and manufacturers could
put their money where their mouth is”. Much like

across four disciplines. Proven Drag Challenge
competitors lined up against magazine cover
heroes, big-dollar supercars and even a certain
Summernats Grand Champion Porsche. The
‘street car’ part of the name is emphasised in
the rulebook, requiring registration and tyres
with treadwear ratings above 180. Openwheelers are out, and “purpose-built” race cars

PROVEN DRAG CHALLENGE COMPETITORS LINED UP AGAINST
MAGAZINE COVER HEROES AND BIG-DOLLAR SUPERCARS
as returning entrants throw down the gauntlet
to mates, regardless of their automotive
persuasion.
The basic OUSCC format originated in the
US, where the Optima Ultimate Street Car
Invitational is hosted right after the SEMA

070

ST RE E T MA C HI N E

our own Drag Challenge, it’s a reality-checking
trial that has grown into a juggernaut since its
inception 15 years ago.
While the OUSCC is well-suited to pro tourers
and modern muscle, all genres of cars fronted
up at Calder Park on 20 April to test their mettle

aren’t within the spirit of OUSCC.
This year’s running divided 77 entrants into
five classes: Vintage, Tuner, Modern, Exotic
and Outlaw. Most were fairly self-explanatory,
with Outlaw permitting unregistered cars and
soft tyres. There was a bit of wiggle room for

LEFT: Still wearing the
paint that was applied
in 1982, David Kerlin’s
HT Brougham is a puristkilling retro delight. It
packs 355 cubes, a fourspeed Top Loader, 9in
rear and a shaker through
the bonnet!

MAIN: Greg Smith edged out
drifter Mercury Lien to win the
two-car race in Outlaw, driving
his mental turbo Barra F-truck.
The truck rolls on an HQ chassis,
with a BF II-spec engine, firewall,
interior and rear end. Airbags get it
low, and it also boasts a modified
panel truck tub and chopped-up
44-gallon drums as inner arches!

RIGHT: Commiserations go
to Mal Schoch, who crunched
his rad turbo Barra Lincoln on
the circuit. He came out sore
but okay, and his indomitable
spirit had him on the phone
to American Lincoln parts
suppliers within hours. What a
legend!
FAR RIGHT: Car journo and
talented steerer Scott Newman
placed second in Modern and
fourth overall in a Hyundai
Ioniq 5 N, bringing a whole
different element to the Optima
crowd. Say what you will about
EVs, but watching Scott silently
run down Commodores like
they were standing still was a
wild sight
ST R E E T MAC H I NE

071

LEFT: Tony Masters has been
busy in his self-built ’66
Mustang fastback, recently
giving it a good thrash on
Tasmania’s Symmons Plains
circuit. The 520-cube, five-speed
hottie is well-suited to this kind
of wheelwork, thanks to its dry
sump, heaps of chassis bracing
and buckets of torque

It was a frustrating day for Heath van der
Waerden as his pro touring LX hatch (SM,
Sep ’23) continued to have issues, losing
oil pressure as he whipped it around the
course’s hairpin. He still managed an
11.96sec quarter despite a missed third-gear
shift, finished third in the Vintage class and
drove the car home!

LEFT: First-timer Simon Cooper bought
his LX hatch at age 16. “I blew up one
engine, broke four gearboxes, 12 axles
and eight diff centres – when I got to
20 diffs, I put a 9in in it,” he laughed.
It now runs a 355 and Trimatic. “You
can tell by the front-runners I’m not
here to steer the corners; I’ll steer
with the rear!” An 11.58 on the drag
strip landed him in the Vintage Top 10
RIGHT: “Over the years, I’ve
disassembled the whole car and put it
back together,” Jason Briffa said of his
XT wagon. “Every nut and bolt at some
stage!” With a Sniper-injected 351W,
TR6060 manual and 3.7/Truetrac rear,
the wagon is well-suited to casual
track work like Retrospeed. “The kids
grew up in it; I’ve got photos of them
climbing all over it,” Jason grinned

072

S TR E E T MA CH I N E

BELOW: SM scribblers Kian
Heagney and Tas McMillan
downed the notebooks for a
day of racing in their VZ SS ute
and F6 Typhoon respectively.
Both lads put their stock
brakes through the wringer,
and it’s safe to say they were
glad they wore dark-coloured
pants!

RIGHT: Cameron Rochow
blew minds when he lined
up his turbo 13B-swapped
Mighty Boy for an 11.98sec
pass down the quarter! The
Initial D anime-themed,
RWD-converted Zook was
the quickest drag racer in
the Tuner category, beating
Dutchy Holland’s Mini by
seven-tenths
RIGHT: John Ricca’s twin-turbo
Lamborghini Huracan blew
an oil line during a timed lap,
briefly turning the track into a
smoky mess, but he got it all
fixed in time to run the quickest
drag pass of the day with a
9.0. He ended the day second
outright

oddball stuff like Steve ‘Dutchy’ Holland’s 1961
Mini (SM, Jul ’23); he reasoned that its WRX
powerplant and extreme reworking didn’t quite
gel with the Vintage vibe.
Cone-dodging Auto Test and Speed Stop
events opened the day, favouring those with
rippable handbrakes or enough power to steer

in the Design & Engineering section. Entrants
chatted with a scrutineering panel, explaining
what they’d done with their cars and why. Any
loss of ‘daily driver’ functionality (think working
windows and interior carpeting) would see
points docked, while driveline and fit-andfinish quality earned bonus points. “It's how

lost out in terms of presentation against the
class’s top three Holdens to land fourth.
By the time competition wrapped up on
Saturday evening, it was a fairly unassuming
Audi TT that earned the big trophy. Driven by
Reece McIntosh and owned by Alex Barnett
of Underground Performance, the Quattro

AUTO TEST AND SPEED STOP FAVOURED THOSE WITH RIPPABLE
HANDBRAKES OR ENOUGH POWER TO STEER WITH THE REAR TYRES
with the rear tyres – preferably both. For some
entrants, the Hot Lap time trials and quartermile racing were their first try at the disciplines,
and they left with a taste for more.
One hundred points were up for grabs in each
of the four events, with an extra 100 offered

we make sure the event isn’t just a bunch of
race cars with plates,” Jimi Day explained. It
was a segment that could make or break a run
for top placings – for example, James Mackie’s
XYYNOT drift car (SM, Oct ’16) earned the
most points in the Vintage driving events but

four-pot edged out John Ricca’s twin-turbo
Lamborghini Huracan by a miniscule two points
to finish with a score of 490, recording the
quickest time in every event bar the drag race.
“It’s not a huge-cost car; we like to call it the
supercar killer, and I think we proved that today,”

ST RE E T M A C H IN E

073

LONGROOF LUNACY

TURNING corners isn’t exactly a high priority among our current
Carnage stable, but that didn’t stop Scotty from having a red-hot
crack at the OUSCC. Our turbo Toyota 1UZ-powered Lexcen
wagon (aka the Flexcen, above) got a run, having copped a few
sorely needed upgrades to keep it away from the Armco.
Over 700rwhp is a handful at the best of times, let alone with
unboosted brakes like the wagon had, so Scotty wisely installed
a Cruisin Automotive electric power brake kit from Kyle’s
Conversions. Between the extra braking oomph, a beautiful set
of Shockworks adjustable shocks and coils, and fresh 17-inch
rubber, the car was ready to be wailed on in the 21-car Vintage
class.
And wail Scotty did – on the drag strip, the cone courses and
the full track layout. Sounding like a jet engine at full tilt and
going deep into the corners, the Lexcen hit about 240km/h on
the main straight, and an 11.76 on the quarter-mile helped land
Scotty in a respectable 23rd outright.

LEFT: Seeing a Summernats
Grand Champ winner lapping
a circuit at speed is pretty
special, and Livi Krevatin did
it right with his 1978 Porsche
911 SC (SM, Dec ’22). He sent
the stunning car to ninth in
Vintage, with a hot-lap spin-out
proving it was no Sunday drive

074

S T RE E T M AC H I NE

ABOVE: Brendan Irvine won the 2022
Vintage category in his Harrop-blown
HQ, but landed second in class and
sixth outright in this year’s expanded
field. He said he was stoked with
the performance of his shed-built
“no-compromise road car,” especially
given it’s running a 4L60E that’s not
really ideal for corner racing!

ABOVE & RIGHT: Michael and
Nathan of Hackshop Garage
fame brought along their
253-powered HQ sedan and
turbo SOHC Fairlane, plus
Michael’s brother’s boosted,
six-cog VY SS ute. While the
Fairlane copped a DNF with a
rattly driveline, and the HQ got
uncomfortably hot, the boys had
a great time pushing each car to
the limit

RIGHT: The Vintage trophy was
taken by John Szwede in his
corner-carving LX SS hatch,
clocking 1:11s around the
Calder circuit – a great effort
considering the class featured
metal dating well into the 1990s!
While he didn’t place first in
any individual event, consistent
high marks plus bonus points
from the car’s driveline and
presentation won him the day

TOURIST TROPHY

REECE McIntosh steered the Underground
Performance Audi TT to victory at the OUSCC
2024, dominating practically every aspect of the
day’s events.
Owned by Alex Barnett, the Audi (left) is an
impressively subtle car, made even cooler by
the fact it’s not even a top-spec five-cylinder
model! It packs a four-cylinder, Volkswagen
GTi-based mill sending 424kW (568hp) to both
ends, making it a highly capable street car on a
reasonable budget.
“Our goal was always to take an off-the-shelf
car – something any customer could walk in and
spec out,” Alex explained. “We had the engine
out two weeks before the event to get it ready –
that’s when we did the rods and pistons, which
are off-the-shelf items.”
There’s nothing bespoke about the car, from
the Galano Engineering-retuned factory engine
management to the readily available aftermarket
intake and exhaust.
“We knew we might have a good chance,
but we also knew it was going to be tough,”
Alex says of the hard-fought win against cars
like John Ricca’s Lamborghini Huracan. “It’s a
surreal result for the team, and it feels right that
a proper street car won it overall. It drives so
nice on the street; it’s really in that sweet spot
in its current set-up.”
To prove it, the UGP boys cruised the TT
to Sydney right after Optima for a roll-racing
mission, where it was the second-quickest VAG
product on-site! Alex and the UGP team will be
back next year to defend their title, though we’ll
have to wait and see what they bring.

FAR RIGHT: Sam Brown had
a tough day in his Subaru
Outback, lunching its
swapped-in twin-turbo mill on
the final hot lap. It was one of a
few cars to leave on a trailer
ST R E E T MA CH I N E

075

Steve ‘Dutchy’ Holland’s WRX-powered Mini
(SM, Jul ’23) made its debut quarter-mile pass,
clocking a solid 12.59 but killing a driveshaft
on its next try. “I crunched first to second gear
and then lost drive in all gears,” Dutchy said,
“and rolled on from there – day finished.” Even
so, he finished third in the Tuner class

Reece said during the trophy presentation. “I’d
like to thank Galano Engineering, Underground
Performance and Northside Euros.”
Beyond bragging rights, Reece and Alex have
also been offered a trip to Las Vegas for SEMA,
care of Optima. “I will try to make it out there, I

honours went to John Szwede and his ripping
LX hatch (SM, Jun ’23), pipping Brendan
Irvine’s HQ by the slimmest of margins.
The Street Machine VIP Park-Up was a new
addition to the 2024 OUSCC, and it was a
corker. All kinds of cool rides across age and

spot on Real Street at this year’s Meguiar’s
MotorEx.
On that note, it was great to see Calder Park
hosting so much action at once: the full day
of track action was joined by drifting on the
Thunderdome and even rider training around

IT’S SAFE TO SAY THAT THE OUSCC IS REALLY HITTING ITS
STRIDE TO BECOME A HARD-FOUGHT AND DIVERSE EVENT
think,” Reece laughed. “I’ll clear my calendar!”
Experienced track racer Josh Muggleton won
the Tuner class and picked up third outright
in his angry V-Sport GR Yaris, while Vintage

genre brackets set up in the pits, which made
our job of picking a Top 10 somewhat tricky!
You’ll find our favourites on the Street Machine
Facebook page, all of which earned a free

the scrutineering area. The place was truly
alive, and it’s safe to say that the OUSCC is
really hitting its stride to become a hard-fought
and diverse event. 

Drag Challenge regular Grant Grech
put the LS2/T56 manual combo in
his LX hatch to good use through the
corners and drag strip, clocking a
12.38 to help land him sixth in Vintage

076

ST RE E T MA C HI N E

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078

ST R E E T M AC HI N E

STORY TAS MCMILLAN

PHOTOS CHRIS THOROGOOD

DARREN WHYTE RESCUED, RESTORED AND
SHARPENED THE HELL OUT OF A 90 S STREET
MACHINE, REPLETE WITH BIG-BLOCK POWER

S TR E E T M AC H I NE

079

ITH its perfectly defined lines
and sparkling silver paint, you’d
almost think Darren Whyte’s
super-sharp XT ute was
machined from a solid block of
steel. Combine the finish with
Auto Drags and a Ford big-block, and you’ve
got yourself a killer Geelong streeter. “It’s
come up all right,” Darren says, immediately
winning the Understatement of the Year
award.
Darren’s been a dyed-in-the-wool Ford
fella since day dot – a trait he picked up from
his dad. “I did my apprenticeship at Ford,
and my first couple of cars were XWs,” he
says. “The second one copped a bit of a

TOP LEFT: Klemzig Platers worked
their magic to clean up most of the
chrome and stainless trim pieces
instead of replacing them, while
the side and rear glass was good
enough to reuse
RIGHT: While Shaun Sparrow was
fixing the myriad sins the body had
suffered over the past six decades,
he deleted the spare wheel space
and knocked up a smooth rear
valance to neaten the back end

080

S TR E ET M A CH IN E

rebuild; it had a 289 with 302 heads, a Top
Loader and a nine-inch. After that, I had a
few XEs, an EA, a couple of XR8s and an
F6 Typhoon. Once the kids had grown up, I
bought an XE ute and did that up as a bit of
a project, but my aim was always to get back
into a chrome-bumper car.”
As luck would have it, this XT popped up
on Darren’s radar at just the right time, so
the XE was sold and he drove home with
some new, considerably older metal.
The ute didn’t even get time to adjust to
its new home before Darren had it
strapped to an Adelaide-bound trailer for
an appointment with panel beater Shaun
Sparrow. “The car was a showbag – it

looked shiny on the outside, but it was full
of surprises,” Darren laughs. “You name it,
we found it: bog, rust, chicken wire. It had
everything.” Shaun knows his way around
a car, and it wasn’t long before the XT was
stripped to its dacks for some surgery.
Most of the exterior panels have been
either repaired or replaced, including the
doors, bonnet, sills and tailgate, with the
exceptions of the front guards and floor.
Shaun took care to make every bodyline and
panel gap Mickey Mouse, resulting in edges
so straight you could use them to calibrate
your ruler. Most of the panels are in the same
shape that Henry intended, until you reach
the inside of the tub. Darren probably won’t

THE CAR WAS A SHOWBAG – IT LOOKED SHINY ON THE
OUTSIDE, BUT IT WAS FULL OF SURPRISES!
ENGINE BAY: A four-core radiator with
Davies Craig thermo fans and an electric
water pump keep the big-block frosty.
An extra tower brace was fitted to meet
engineering requirements, while a 140amp alternator feeds the cooling gear
and electric power steering pump

STR E E T MA CH I N E

081

be throwing any mowers or toolboxes in the
back, because the floor is flat and smooth
enough to play billiards on. The wheel tubs
have been stretched to the chassis rails to
accommodate fat 15x10 wheels, but they
haven’t made their way under the ute just
yet.
Once the shell was die-straight, Darren
had to pick a colour for Matt Murphy, Shaun’s
go-to gunslinger, to drench the panels in.
“I’ve always liked silver, but I didn’t want to
go too dark,” Darren explains. “Aston Martin
had a few silvers at the time, and when I
saw one in Magnetic Silver in the Melbourne
showroom, I knew it was the colour I wanted
to go with.” You’d have to be cuckoo to
disagree – the British chemists had cooked
up a colour that looks dark and sparkly but

shifts to blinding brightness wherever light
hits it. On Darren’s ute, it does a lovely job
of framing the satin big-block.
The XT is packing 460 cubic inches the
old-fashioned way, and there’s a bit of story
behind it. The big-block has called this ute
home since the 1990s and was engineered
for it way back then. Darren is at least the
third owner since the conversion was done,
and specifics of the ute’s powerplant have
been lost with the passing of time. “It had a
mild rebuild at some point, and when we put
it on the dyno at Dalton Automotive, it made
a touch under 400hp at the wheels,” Darren
says. “Once the engine’s better, then we’ll
do a bit to the trans too. I’ll enjoy it for a bit,
and then we’ll start with a Holley 780 and
see what happens.”

The ute is a fairly mild affair underneath,
with a 2800rpm stall feeding the big-block’s
torque to a C6 and nine-inch from Precision
Automotive. Lowered King springs and Koni
shocks in the front handle the weight of the
mill, while reset rear leaf springs and more
Konis with relocated mounts keep the back
end settled on Geelong’s often-undulating
asphalt.
Darren’s over the moon with the way the
ute has turned out so far, as he should be. “It
drives really well and it sounds great, so I’ve
been taking it out on most weekends over
summer,” he grins. “I had a vision in mind of
how I wanted it to be from the beginning,
and it took five years, but I knew it would be
worth it.” If you ask us, the result of all that
waiting speaks for itself! 

THE XT IS PACKING 460 CUBIC INCHES
THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY, AND IT MADE A
TOUCH UNDER 400HP AT THE WHEELS

DARREN WHYTE
1968 FORD XT
FALCON

Paint: PPG Aston Martin
Magnetic Silver

ENGINE

Type: 460ci Ford bigblock
Carb: Edelbrock
Ignition: ICE

082

ST R E E T M AC HI NE

TRANSMISSION

Gearbox: C6
Converter: 2800rpm
Diff: 9in, 3.5:1 gears

SUSPENSION &
BRAKES

Front: King Springs, Koni shocks
Rear: Reset leaf springs,
Koni shocks
Brakes: Ford discs (f & r)

WHEELS & TYRES

Rims: Center Line Auto
Drag; 15x7 (f), 15x8.5 (r)
Rubber: Nankang
195/60R15 (f), Vitour Galaxy
255/60R15 (r)

THANKS

Shaun Sparrow for
his attention to detail,
workmanship and patience

with the build, assisted by
Nigel and many others; Mark
Menzies for allowing Shaun
the time to weave his magic;
Matt Murphy; my wife Sue for
her support throughout; Mick
‘Cheesa’ Fiolet for allowing
us to use his shed for the
photoshoot; Breakaway
Radiator Service; Exhaust
Plus; Dalton Automotive;

Precision Automotive; CDS
Engineering for the mini-tubs
and shock mounts; Warren
at SA Suspension; Klemzig
Platers; THR Developments;
Ben at Dash Original; finally,
my late dad Lloyd – he
never got to see the finished
product, but I’m sure he
would have been proud of the
end result

INTERIOR: It’s impossible to
go wrong with a mostly black
interior in a 60s car, as Darren’s
XT demonstrates. The dash is the
original XT unit, with GT gauges
supplying a bit more information.
The re-sprung and retrimmed
buckets are XR-spec, while the
tiller is from SAAS and the GT door
cards by Kooltrim

BOOT: A custom THR
Developments 60L aluminium
fuel tank, Carter pump, electric
Astra power steering pump and
Odyssey battery all live in a
tidy compartment beneath the
tub floor. The lid is held down
by a standard cable-release
bonnet latch

S T RE E T MA C HI NE

083

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FRAME MADE FROM

086

ST R E E T MA CH I N E

STORY IAIN KELLY

PHOTOS CHRIS THOROGOOD

,
G
IN
AC
R
CK
O
ST
O
PR
F
O
T
U
O
D
PE
HAVING STEP
TS
G
K
H
N
W
LO
B
IS
TH
T
IL
U
B
O
LL
VA
CA
O
BRUN
ID
VO
PH
M
5
19
E
TH
LL
FI
P
EL
H
TO
R
TE
MONARO STREE

ST R E E T MA C HI N E

087

d and the decision was
says. “I saw it after it was blaste
e
otiv
om
aut
sie
Aus
st
ate
gre
to be done
NE of the all-time
rt again; it’s a forever car, so it had
sta
to
de
ma
riot
cha
led
fab
a
designs, the HK Monaro remains
car enthusiasts right.”
or back
for street machiners and classic
toms crew had the swoopy two-do
Kus
tic
Exo
The
e
rac
zy
cra
into
down the bright
alike. While they’ve been built
lte form in no time, and then laid
sve
in
the
on,
diti
con
ew
n-n
only
cars or restored to bet ter-tha
ite. While many think HK Monaros
wh
or
Kol
of
use
Ho
too
is
car
street
no wanted to
appeal of a clean and tidy HK GTS
Warwick Yellow or Silver Mink, Bru
in
e
com
o,
vall
Ca
no
Bru
ing
includ
t.
hard to ignore for many Aussies –
stand out with this special projec
e.
her
see
you
’K
r
kille
but everybody wants a
the
lly,
of
ina
ner
the ow
blue V8 car orig
a
s
wa
“It
HK
an
se
cho
I
car, and
nt,” he laughs . “I also
“They’re an iconic Aussie muscle
er Mink, so I wanted to be differe
Silv
er
Aft
s.
say
no
Bru
,”
car
re are
because I love the shape of the
Red stripe and detailing helps. The
ya
Go
the
k
thin
hift
k-s
stic
,
six-second
the wheelarch
decades of race cars, including
ya Red touches outside, like on
Go
e
littl
ride
a
d
nte
wa
no
Bru
),
Pro Stockers (see sidebar, below

OCKERS,
ST
O
R
P
D
N
O
EC
-S
X
SI
G
IN
C
A
R
F
O
ES
D
AFTER DECA
EET
R
ST
E
TH
N
O
Y
JO
EN
LD
U
O
C
E
H
E
ID
R
BRUNO WANTED A
nt through quite a few
h his family. But while a
he could enjoy on the street wit
ss, the driving manners
factor y HK ’s looks might be timele
n’t. “I wanted it to look
of Holden’s first coupe cer tainly are
old stuff drives,” he says.
old, but I am not a fan of how the
suitable HK shell that
It didn’t take Bruno long to find a
the bodywork started.
had already been stripped and
Exotic Kustoms soda“Af ter I bought the HK , Shawn from
was working with,” he
blasted it so he could see what he

LIF E OF SP EE D

o’s HK can
MAN Y readers would be keen to hear what Brun
Pro-class
do on the quar ter, but his past with hand-built
get him fired
race cars means he needs way more spice to
up about racing these days.
me, this car
“I’ve got racing out of my system now, and for
high sixes
is still slow,” he laughs. “The Pro Stock cars ran
rent to a
diffe
at over 195mph; obviously a street car is a lot
d.”
purpose-built race car, but I’m still not intereste
streeter s.
with
n
bega
k
Ironically, Bruno’s path to Pro Stoc
as a
just
–
“My racing star ted with a hatchback Torana
progressed to
street car at Calder on Sundays – and then it
I blew up the
buying a Windsor-powered RX-7 Super Sedan.
big-block in
a
motor, so we ended up tubbing it and putting
modore and
it. We then built a tube-frame, big-block VH Com
2 Super Stock
ran that for a year before we moved to Group
a few year s.”
with a small-block and manual. That lasted for
Firebird,
Bruno then moved to an American-built Pontiac
-shift
again in Group 2 classes, with small-block/stick
national
was
combos. “I reset multiple national records and
champion a few times,” he says.
k around
“Following this, we then stepped up to Pro Stoc
rally
natu
ci,
a decade ago,” he continues. “These were 400
hp up to
aspirated small-blocks that we pushed from 900
t to
grea
were
1100hp by the time I finished racing. They
car
the
and
ld
drive when ever ything was working as it shou
set up was right.”

088

S T RE E T M AC HI N E

trims and centre caps, and we we
the shade that worked. It
colour samples before we found
the white paint to work
all needed to come together with
as a package.”
rove upon the HK ’s
With Bruno wanting to vastly imp
ur, a new Magnum GX
original soggy on-road behavio
op was fitted, with the
front end from United Speed Sh
-up binned in favour of a
old steering box and drag link set

BELOW: Hiding the reengineered suspension was a
key part of the build for Bruno,
and he’s pleased to say the
effort was all worth it. “The car
drives absolutely brilliantly, and
I couldn’t be happier,” he says.
“It does everything I wanted”

INTERIOR: One of the most popular
a Goya
options for HK builds is to install
paint
te
whi
ht
brig
the
but
Red interior,
’s
Trim
r
Tige
s
take
aro
Mon
on Bruno’s
of
l
leve
r
the
ano
to
in
cab
the
work in
nts
intensity. A FuelTech 550 ECU mou
the
on
in the factory tacho location
console to display engine vitals

ST RE E T MA CH I N E

089

WHEELS: The Billet Specialties Win
Lite wheels rock a contemporary
17x4.5 sizing up front and 15x8 out
back, wrapped in Mickey Thompson
26x6.00R17LT front-runners
and M/T ET Street 255/60R15s
respectively
RIGHT: Most of the Monaro’s
smarts are well-hidden. The United
Speed Shop Magnum GX front end
features fabricated control arms,
CNC spindles and QA1 coil-overs to
right many of the factory wrongs,
abetted by a blade-type sway-bar
and steering rack. Wilwood disc
brakes, reset leaf springs and
k
adjustable QA1 shocks live out bac
is already a
ENGINE BAY: While an LSA cratey
mple has
highly capable package, Bruno’s exa
ance goodies
been improved with Motion Perform
of braided
like a steam port kit and lashings
engine bay,
ed
hose and AN fittings. The smooth
ty of hours
plen
k
radiator panel and firewall mas
watertom
cus
The
tidying the factory tattiness.
er
corn
t
righ
t
fron
to-air intercooler tank in the
side
left
the
on
ox
airb
the
was designed to mimic

090

S TR E E T M A CHI NE

modern rack-and-pinion system.
ant par t of the project that
The drivetrain was another import
t, and Bruno blended oldhad to function as a cohesive uni
fect match. General Motors’
school with modern to find his per
killer 580hp kick with all the
6.2-litre LSA crate motor offers a
car, so it was a no-brainer for
reliability of a nice, fresh modern
ck engine cover off, instead
Bruno’s HK project. He left the sto
t and intercooler systems,
detailing the mill with custom exhaus
pack covers , black fuel and
a larger throttlebody, finned coil
front accessory drive.
coolant fittings , and a CVR billet

block is a traditional street
Behind the late-model alloy smalllide auto and a nine-inch
machine drivetrain of a Powerg
, with an SDE 30 00rpm
diff. They’re not stock-spec though
uilt two-speed, and Supa Trik
conver ter working the Protrans-b
with a Strange Engineering
Dif fs kitting the third member out
s.
centre, Truetrac and 35 -spline axle
of the build was chasing
s
One of the most difficult aspect
t Mat at Elite Street Classics
down the necessary par ts so tha
e car was just a bare shell
could handle the final assembly. “Th
ped me by finding par ts to
when I got it, and Phil Bartolo hel

K
IC
K
P
H
0
58
R
LE
IL
K
A
S
ER
FF
O
R
TO
O
GM’S 6.2L LSA CRATE M
N CAR
ER
D
O
M
H
ES
FR
E,
IC
N
A
F
O
Y
IT
IL
B
IA
WITH ALL THE REL

-school donk to a smoothSome might prefer a grumpy old
cticalit y in mind. “I wanted
running LSA, but Bruno had pra
you want it, and I wanted to
power to be there on tap when
he says. “My Chevy pick-up
get away from fumy old engines,”
my wife hates the fuel smell
has a strong small-block in it, and
HK .”
from it; you just don’t get that in the
ine bay that belies the
eng
The LSA sits in a super-sanitary
e Street Classics had to do
amount of fab work Mat from Elit
an amazing job, as he made
to get it looking that way. “M at did
k, airbox and all the engine
the exhaust, custom intercooler tan
bay fabrication,” says Bruno.

finish it all off,” Bruno says.
issues and re-engineer the
Despite having to overcome body
slick HK completed inside
car to steer sweetly, Bruno had his
c considering the quality of
a three-year window, which is epi
the finished car.
ber 2022,” Bruno says.
“We brought it home on 23 Decem
t to myself, and I even got
“I said it was my Christmas presen
mas day. After that, we got
to unveil it to the family on Christ
now I drive it as much as I
it engineered and registered, and
ght this year.”
can. I’ll probably drive it up to Bri
er felt so good! 
For Bruno, going slower has nev

Restorers may get frothy over the fact
that Bruno started with a factory V8
Monaro, but the car’s heritage simply
didn’t bother him. “There is a hole in
the firewall that V8 cars got, but that
wasn’t relevant to me – it was an HK
coupe, and that’s all that mattered”

BRUNO CAVALLO
1968 HOLDEN HK
MONARO

Paint: House of Kolor white

ENGINE

Brand: GM 6.2L LSA
Induction: 102mm
throttlebody, custom intercooler
ECU: FuelTech FT550

Cooling: Cus tom alloy
radiator, twin ther mo fans
7
Exhaust: Custom 1 /8in
headers, custom twin 3in
system

TR ANSMISSION

Gearbox: Powerglide
Conver ter: SDE 300 0rpm
Diff: 9in, Strange Engineering

centre, 35-spline axles,
Truetrac LSD, 3.5:1 gears

Wilwood discs (r)
Master cylinder: Wilwood

SUSPENSION &
BR AKES

WHEELS & TYRES

Front: United Speed Shop
Magnum GX front end, QA1
coil-overs
Rear: QA1 shocks
Brakes: Baer discs (f),

Rims: Billet Specialties
Win Lite; 17x4.5 (f), 15x8 (r)
Rubber: Mickey Thompson
Sportsman S/R 26x6.00R17LT
(f), Mickey Thompson ET
Street S/S 255/60R15 (r)

THANKS

Mat at Elite Street
Clas sics; Phil at Progen
Per formance; Jason at
Race Radiators; Andrew
at Supa Trik Diff s; Phil
Bar tolo the HK-T-G
specialist; Chr is at Race
Wir es; last but not least,
my family for their support

S TR E E T MA C HI N E

091

STORY SIMON MAJOR

PHOTOS STEVE KELLY

FOR THE PANEL VANNING
FAITHFUL, EASTER 2024
SAW ALL ROADS LEAD TO
STANTHORPE FOR THE 49 TH
ANNUAL VAN NATIONALS

092

S T RE E T M A CHI N E

Arron Hay’s aptly named ‘Rustic’ Holden
van features V6 Commodore running gear,
a station wagon floor and rear seat to
make it more family friendly. It’s a budget
build while the Newcastle resident chips
away at his longer-term full-custom Holden
project dubbed ‘The Howling’

Matt Cantrill has owned his HTgrilled HG van for 32 years, and
it currently rocks a 383 stroker
SBC running Holley Sniper EFI.
Unfortunately, Saturday’s poker
run saw a truck take a corner too
wide, forcing Matt and the HG into
the bush, damaging a front ball
joint and earning Matt the Hard
Luck Award

N JANUARY 1979, a small group of panel van enthusiasts from
Brisbane’s now long-defunct Holden Vans Ltd club decided
to run the state’s first ever Queensland Van-In, choosing the
beautiful Southern Downs spot of Stanthorpe as the host town.
Famous for its apples, wineries and crisp (by Queensland
standards) winters, Stanthorpe has really come of age in the
decades since, much like the van scene itself.
“That 1979 meet has long been spoken of in hallowed tones by
local vanners. So, we felt that a 45-year celebration of that first
Stanthorpe show was the perfect theme and location for this year’s
49th Australian Van Nationals,” said event co-organiser and longtime van tragic Christine Dowton.
Christine, co-organiser Andrew Farrell and their team worked
long and hard in the lead-up to the Easter long weekend to ensure
entrants and spectators alike enjoyed not only a healthy dose of
van-related love, but also a decent insight into what the local area
has to offer.
Earlybirds arriving on the Wednesday and Thursday were
unfortunately greeted by rainy weather that saw the cancellation of
a couple of welcome events, including the normally awesome dirt
drags at the nearby Pete’s Hot Rod & Resto Shop. However, the
Pete’s shop tour still got the juices flowing and new ideas swirling.
By Good Friday, the sun started to shine through, and an earlymorning coffee-and-cars event at the Glen Aplin Jamworks was a
great primer for the early-evening van cruise of Stanthorpe’s main
drag. Dozens of curious locals and tourists lined the footpaths of

ST RE E T MAC H I N E

093

Brett McKechnie’s 1961 US Ford
Falcon sedan-delivery was built as
a replica of Carroll Shelby’s first
shop truck from back in the early
1960s. Brett’s van has a little more
poke, though, thanks to the Paxton
supercharger hanging from its
Windsor, along with plenty of other
Shelby parts and accessories

Maryland Street to enjoy the collective ‘root’ of panel vans burbling
by, the bracing sights and sounds enhanced by many entrants
dressing up in period 1979 garb.
Saturday’s official events kicked off with a pair of mid-morning poker
runs to take in the local vineyards and breweries, while the afternoon
saw many entrants doing last-minute van cleaning and camp chores
before some pre-judging was undertaken in preparation for Sunday’s
show.
Quietly nestled in the campgrounds was a very cool 1961 Ford
Falcon sedan-delivery owned by Beaudesert’s Brett McKechnie.
Eagle-eyed Ford freaks will be quick to notice that it’s a US model
thanks to some visual differences to its Aussie brethren, and Brett’s
Falc has scored some extra changes to make it even more distinctive.
“It’s a replica of Carroll Shelby’s first shop workhorse from back
in the early 1960s,” Brett said. “The original van was used to tow
Cobras to race tracks and for parts-running, and was also believed
to be the first car from the Shelby stable to sport racing stripes.” Just
like the original, Brett’s delivery has been fitted with a hi-po Windsor,
but it also features a Paxton supercharger and blow-through carb box
assembly for extra neddies. A Top Loader and nine-inch round out the
powertrain, while a swag of extra Shelby gear from various decades
complement the traditional white and blue paint scheme.

Brent Broderick has
been chipping away at
his Amcat-converted
Commodore van dubbed
‘Cronus’ for a number of
years. First bought out of
Canberra in stock form,
the LS-powered VY now
sports a V8 Supercars
front bar and plenty of
Grim Reaper-inspired
interior and exterior
touches, nabbing Brent
the runner-up spot for
Best V-Series Paint

094

S TR E E T MA C HI N E

David Window’s XY Falcon van is one of only
seven to be factory-delivered as a K-code with a 351
Cleveland. The Electric Blue paint, column-shifted
FMX auto, 9in diff and air con are all as-optioned, as
is the ‘B9’ coarse black interior trim. David scored
Best Ford Pre-XA at Van Nats ’24

Phil and Kerrie
Carberry road-tripped
from Canberra in their
awesome ‘HGVE’ HG
van. A written-off 2010
HSV R8 Maloo ute
had its entire body
removed and replaced
with that of the HG,
and retains everything
from its Walkinshawenhanced, blown 6.2L
mill to the HSV door
locks and actuators

ALL I CAN SAY IS, IF VARIETY’S
IMPORTANT TO YOU, YOU NEED TO GET
YOURSELF TO A PANEL VAN SHOW

Clinton Wheeler easily bagged the Longest
Distance Travelled award when he decided to
ship his beautifully chopped and finished EK van
(SM, Jul ’18) across the ditch from NZ, and also
scored a Top 10 trophy for his troubles. Clinton
has the Holden on a one-year ‘car passport’ and
intends to enjoy some Queensland events like
Cooly Rocks On, Beachfest and the Hervey Bay
Van-In while he and the van are here

Danny Hoy’s factory beige EH
pano receives plenty of poke
from an XU-1-spec 202 red motor
with triple SUs. The Walcha,
NSW resident just finished a
two-year full rebuild on the
EH, registering it just four days
before Van Nats ’24

Coke and Pam Wilson from Inverell saved their
genuine Chrysler Drifter van from the tip, then
spent the next five years restoring it to its full
Impact Orange glory. The original Hemi 265 sixcylinder and four-speed combo still powers the
rare Mopar, and the Wilsons were awarded Runnerup Best Chrysler at Van Nats ’24

ST RE E T MA C HI N E

095

Brett Rubie and his partner Lana rocked up to
the Nats in their genuine HX Sandman, which
Brett purchased back in 2003. Still running the
original 253, four-speed and 10-bolt driveline,
the van is stock apart from a set of Weld wheels,
and it covers a heap of road miles every year

Saturday night wrapped up with a vanning light and sound show,
topped off with a barbecue and live music belted out by the vanappropriate Hillbilly Nipple Lickers.
Sunday morning was go time, with nearly 200 vans filling the oval
of the Stanthorpe Showgrounds – just like they did back in ’79 – and
hall for the main show ’n’ shine. All I can say is, if variety’s important to
you, you need to get yourself to a panel van show. All manner of small,
medium and big vans, from dead-stock FJs to wildly customised 70s
throwbacks to modern V-series Commodores, meant there was truly
something to satisfy all tastes.
The sun bouncing off its Candy Apple Red paint drew me straight
to Paul Murray’s ‘Iron Man’ HR van, which has copped a refresh since
we featured it way back in our Van Wheels special (SM, Jun ’15). New
rolling stock, fresh paint and murals, and extra detailing to its smallblock Chev, Turbo 700 and Jag diff drivetrain made it a crowd favourite
and netted Paul a spot in the Top 10 – a great result for a van that sees
a heap of street miles. The number of kids and adults Paul let sit in the
van for photos was a tribute to his all ’round great-bloke-ness, leaving
plenty of young peeps with lasting memories and inspiration.
My attention soon turned to Ian Wood’s EH van, ‘La Catrina’ (SM,
Dec ’22) parked nearby. The searing orange hue in the outdoor light

RESULTS
AUSTRALIAÓS TOP
VAN 2024
Gary Scicluna – ‘Skid Row’ Mk2 Escort

TOP 10

Gary Scicluna – ‘Skid Row’ Mk2 Escort
Jason & Jess Ackland – ‘Eloped’ HX Sandman
Ritchie Brown – ‘End of Days’ HJ Sandman
Ian Wood – ‘La Catrina’ EH Holden
Wayne Turner – ‘Weapan’ HX Holden
Rodney & Jennie Barnes – ‘The Player’ HZ
Sandman
John Lillie – ‘The Joker’ XC Falcon
Susan Kelley – ‘Ned’ EH Holden
Clinton Wheeler – DLIVID EK Holden
Paul Murray – ‘Iron Man’ HR Holden

096

S TR E E T M A CH I N E

Neil Dieckmann and his legendary FJ are
celebrating 50 years together in 2024. Neil
has covered more miles and attended more
events than most, and the FJ’s triple Weberequipped Holden six still sings a sweet tune

attracted me like a moth to a flame, and it was fantastic to be able to
eyeball this gorgeous van in person. Ian’s vision is a subtly modern twist
on the themed van builds that dominated the scene in the 70s and 80s,
with a striking ‘Day of the Dead’ concept applied throughout. Its 6.0litre LS2 and six-speed auto keep things pretty lively, and Ian netted a
swag of tinware for his first ever Van Nats, including a Top 10 placing,
Best Engineered, Best Engine Bay and Best Custom Van, along with
the coveted Entrants’ Choice and Legends Custom Choice awards.
A dozen elite-level vans had been selected to be displayed in the
show hall, centred around Gary Scicluna’s all-conquering ‘Skid Row’
Escort (SM, Sep ’14), a seven-time winner of Australia’s Top Van and
looking just as crisp and current as it did when first unveiled more
than a decade ago. Not surprisingly, Gary netted yet another van-load
of trophies at this year’s event, including Best Small Van and Best
Custom Interior, and he even cut a few hot laps in the Esky around
Mount Panorama during his journey back home to Victoria!
The passage of time has seen many of the traditional panel van
models enter the ‘classic’ realm, and few could hold a candle to Jason
and Jess Ackland’s Mint Julep-painted HX Sandman. Built to be exactly
as it rolled off the production line in September 1976, everything on
the van has been date-coded right down to the distributor and coil

Mark Morgan brought his stunning XC Falcon
down from Gympie, still sporting the original
302 V8, single-rail four-speed and disc-brake
BorgWarner diff. “It was built by a good mate
who offered it to me as soon as he’d finished it,”
he said. “This is the first time I’ve ever shown
it.” It was a firm crowd favourite, and the judges
thought highly of it too, awarding Mark the
Encouragement Award

In recent years, XF-XH Falcon vans have
become a great option for a budget van
build as the earlier Aussie vans get pricier.
Tor Kumpel’s crossflow six-powered XF was
bought as a stocker sporting the current twotone paint, but he’s since added the bodykit,
Weld Draglites and XR-spec headlights

Stanthorpe local Jamie Reid’s Falcon sedandelivery was a stunner on Sunday’s show oval.
Built as a loving tribute to his late daughter,
Tiarnah, Jamie’s ‘Narn’ XM was finished in Tiarnah’s
favourite custom-mix teal and features a strong 302
Windsor, C4 transmission and four-linked 9in rear

THE AUSSIE VAN SCENE IS IN A REALLY GOOD PLACE, WITH A THIRD
OF THE ENTRANTS AT THIS YEAR’S VAN NATS BEING FIRST-TIMERS

John Lillie’s XC Falcon, ‘The Joker’, was built with the
help of the team at Chrome n Candy Customs, replete
with appropriate purple and bright green detailing. A
triple-throttlebody Gas Research LPG intake on its 351
Clevo is an unusual feature, as are the Cadillac taillights. John and The Joker earned a place in the Top 10

Paul Murray had his ‘Iron Man’ HR looking
the goods. A visual upgrade since it appeared
in our Van Wheels tribute issue (SM, Jun ’15)
saw it earn a Top 10 spot at Van Nats ’24. A
small-block Chev hides under the flip front,
while a nicely detailed Jag diff fills the rear

Karl Vanzuyden
is a tireless mover
and shaker in the
Victorian van scene
and has owned
this Statesmanfronted HQ for 20
years. Some recent
upgrades include
a T5 conversion
behind the 308, a
fresh set of bubble
windows and US
Mags Rambler rims

S T RE E T M AC H I NE

097

ONCE AGAIN, IT WAS GARY SCICLUNA’S SKID
ROW ESCORT TAKING OUT THE AUSTRALIA’S
TOP VAN GONG – FOR THE EIGHTH TIME!

Just when I thought it was
impossible to make John
‘Badger’ Goodyear’s replica
of the Ford Motor Company’s
XC Falcon Concorde show van
any cooler, he rocked up to Van
Nats with a matching trailer!
Launceston-based John has
travelled thousands of kays all
over Australia in the XC with its
351 Clevo, T5 and 2.92-geared
driveline. The trailer was
found already sliced in South
Australia, so it was simply
flared and painted to match

and the 1976 GMH-fitted Lucas battery. Jason and Jess’s fantastic
display included era-correct picnicware and even a date-coded
Dolly magazine! The couple cleaned up in the original categories,
taking home Best Original Interior and Best Original Engine Bay,
while also adding Best Paint and Top 10 trophies to the mantelpiece.
Sunday wrapped up the event with a few cold bevvies and a
delicious roast meal at the official awards dinner, and when the dust
settled, it was once again Gary Scicluna’s Skid Row Escort taking
out the Australian Top Van gong – for the eighth time!
Next year’s 50th-anniversary Van Nationals will be held back
where it all started – Mildura, Victoria – and everyone at this year’s
show was left in no doubt that Gary’s Escort will be the van to
beat come Easter 2025. The Aussie van scene in general seems
to be in a really good place right now, with a third of the near-200
entrants at this year’s Van Nats being first-timers. If that’s anything
to go by, the 50th-birthday bash in Mildura in 2025 will be a doozy.
See you there! 

Rodney and Jennie
Barnes’s casinothemed, Malachite
Green HZ Sandman,
‘The Player’, looked
sharp with its factoryoptioned Statesman
front. An old-school
332ci Holden stroker
and five-speed Supra
’box have been
beautifully detailed
to match. It won Best
Theme and a place in
the Top 10

098

S T R E E T M A CHI N E

Phil Lister’s ‘Vantastic’ Bedford has had quite a few makeovers since he bought it brand new in 1980, the latest of
which sees it wearing cherry black paint with fresh murals
and a new interior. The factory 173 red six and Trimatic
were swapped out many moons ago for a 400ci Chev and
Turbo 400. Phil was awarded Best Big Van at Stanthorpe

SMALLER.
LIGHTER.
FASTER.

AVAILABLE NOW
Visit turbosmart.com to learn more

STORY KIAN HEAGNEY

PHOTOS ASHLEIGH WILSON

ELBOWS OFF THE TABLE, LADS!
NANA’S GEMINI IS NOW SR 20 POWERED AND HERE TO SERVE
YOU SOME HUMBLE PIE

100

ST RE E T MAC H IN E

S TR E E T M AC H I NE

101

AUL Butler may have got his 1976 TX Gemini
from the original, 76-year-old owner, but make
no mistake – this Gemmi is not Nana’s asthmatic
runabout anymore.
Using turbo SR20 power, this little beige rocket
has nabbed just about every piece of no-prep
drag-racing silverware the northern east coast has to
offer. Wins at Rockynats, Roll Racing Queensland,

I’m a V8 guy. I swapped a race suit for the first SR20 just
to get it going, and that’s where it started.”
It has since evolved into a bloody potent package,
now boasting over 50psi of boost to make 1000hp
at the hubs. Stroked to 2.2 litres, Paul’s SR20 was
built by Peter Phillips Performance Engines. The extra
displacement comes from a Nitto rotating assembly, and
the block is sleeved. The head is actually a front-wheel-

IT’S A POTENT PACKAGE, NOW BOASTING OVER 50PSI
OF BOOST TO MAKE 1000HP AT THE HUBS
Torque Time No-Prep Eighth-Mile and the Oz Aid
Kooralbyn Shootout are just a few of the honours Paul
and the Gemini have gathered over the years. Not bad
for a car that was originally intended to be used for parts.
“It started as a basic 420hp deal, and it’s evolved over
the past 10 years or so to what it is now,” Paul says. “In
the beginning, I didn’t know anything about four-pots –

102

ST RE E T MA CH I N E

drive SR20DE item from a Pulsar, using a custom set
of cams. “I found that head on Gumtree during the first
build; it was all set up, but I had no idea there were
different heads!” Paul laughs.
Hanging off either side of it is a modified Otaku Garage
inlet manifold, the hot side using 6boost pipes to feed the
G35 1050 turbo. A Haltech Nexus R5 controls the show,

INTERIOR: It’s all
business inside, with a
pair of colour-matched
Kirkeys, a Haltech iC-7
dash, a CAN keypad
and a full chrome-moly
rollcage
TOP LEFT: A Moroso
oil accumulator helps
maintain the SR20’s
oil pressure doing the
warp-speed drag runs,
ensuring the Monsterbrand pump never
runs dry

STR E E T M A CH I N E

103

PAUL BUTLER
1976 HOLDEN TX
GEMINI
Paint: Holden Beige

ENGINE

Brand: Nissan SR20
Induction: Otaku Garage
ECU: Haltech Nexus R5
Turbo: G35 1050
Head: SR20DE, ported
Camshafts: Custom
Conrods: Nitto
Pistons: Nitto
Crank: Nitto
Oil pump: Monster
Fuel system: Deka 2433
injectors, Aeromotive beltdriven pump
Cooling: Rear-mounted
radiator
Exhaust: 6boost manifold,
4in dump
Ignition: Haltech IGN-1A

TRANSMISSION

Gearbox: Ford Vasco C4
Converter: SDE 6850rpm
Diff: BorgWarner M78,
31-spline axles, 4.11:1 gears

SUSPENSION &
BRAKES

Front: King Springs, Afco
dampers
Rear: Afco shocks and
springs
Brakes: Wilwood (f & r)
Master cylinder: Wilwood

WHEELS & TYRES

Rims: Commodore SL/E;
15x4 (f), 15x10 (r)
Rubber: Nankang 145R15
(f), Pro Street Radials
325/50R15 (r)

THANKS

Justin Simpson at
Horsepower Solutions; Billy
Shelton at SICKO Motorsport;
Anycrete Concretors; Peter
Faulkner at Air-Con & Auto
Electrix Mechanical; Peter at
Peter Phillips Performance
Engines; Jeremy Hassell at
Weldwerx; Todd Protheroe;
Andy at Fireball Kustom
Fabrication; Bob Jane
T-Marts Redcliffe; Ben
Vlekken at Elite Automatics

104

ST RE E T MA C HI N E

ENGINE BAY: That ain’t no
G-series mill! The eagle-eyed
will also notice there’s no
radiator. Paul has rearmounted that sucker, neatly
tucked under the boot floor
BOOT: Two nitrous bottles
are what’s needed to keep
the two-stage system fed
during those roll racing
events, and Paul has already
flagged that he’s happy to fit
a third!
WHEELS: Yep, those are
Commodore SL/E wheels!
Paul had them remade to
15x4 fronts and 15x10 rears.
Depending on the day, the
Gemini might rock the PSR
tyres pictured here, Hoosier
DR2s, or whatever Paul feels
will get the job done

while fuel is pump E85. However, this mill’s secret
sauce is the two-stage nitrous system. That gives
the SR its four-figure punch, tuned to perfection by
Paul’s good mate Justin Simpson at Horsepower
Solutions. “He’s the wizard with the nitrous; that’s
what gives us such a good edge,” he says.
Oh, and if you’re wondering how Paul combats
the famous SR20 rocker problems, it’s fairly simple.
“We keep the rpm low at 8600, and a properly
set up head is key, which takes a lot of time,” he says.

because that’s how you run at the pointy end,” Paul
says. “I had to tub the rear end three times, first to
fit the 235s, then the 275s, and now the 325s. It’s
all part of going faster.”
Until recently, the transmission was a Ford C4
with an SDE 6850rpm converter, sending the power
back to a BorgWarner diff with full-floating axles and
4.11:1 gearing. However, since we shot the Gemini
at Rockynats 4 over the Easter long weekend, Paul
has already swung the axe to keep the car on its

THE SECRET SAUCE IS THE TWO-STAGE NITROUS SYSTEM,
WHICH GIVES THE SR ITS FOUR-FIGURE PUNCH
“It’s still standard Nissan rocker gear.”
As for the rest of the car, that was put together by
Paul’s own two hands. He’s built a number of highend cars in his time, most notably Billy Shelton’s
SICKEST VL Calais, cover star of our August 2021
issue. That car has cracked the sevens comfortably,
so it’s no surprise that the Gemini shows the
same potential.
“I’m always looking to improve it and stay ahead,

toes. “It’s now got a Garrett G40, a 6boost Pro
Mod forward-facing exhaust manifold, and we’ve
upgraded to a 2000hp Powerglide,” he says.
The car is yet to run a representative time over the
quarter on a prepped track, but Paul is looking to
change that soon. “Once Willowbank opens, we’ll
head there with some 235 radials and see what it
can do, and we’ll have a crack at a Kenda round as
well.” 

S T RE E T M AC HI N E

105

T I ME M AC HI N E
STORY DAVE CAREY

PHOTOS TROY BARKER

> THIS BLAST FROM THE PAST IS NEVILLE PHILIPS’S LEGALLY REGOED,
V8-POWERED EH HOLDEN STREET FIGHTER. BUT THIS AIN’T NO SECOND COMING:
LEGAL8 NEVER WENT AWAY

W

E ARE gathered here today
to worship one third of South
Australia’s Holy Trinity of street
machines: Neville Philips’s EH
Holden sedan, LEGAL8. Nev’s EH is the Father,
Colin Townsend’s fat FJ Holden, 308-053, is
the Son, and Mark Sanders’s P76-powered
RPM Torana is the Holy Spirit.
Think about what ruled the streets in the
1980s; it was either drag-inspired big-andlittles or Bathurst-bashing tributes, in equal
measure. That’s because, unlike the States,
Australia’s motorsport history is as much about
corners as it is about quarters, and some guys

just love to drive. Hard.
Turning your Torana, HK-WB Holden, VH-CM
Valiant or XR-XE Falcon into a tarmac-tearing
terror wasn’t too difficult back then; if the
options sheet had a box marked ‘V8’, then you
could drop one in. But if you lived in South
Australia, heaven forbid you try and V8-ify your
early-girl Holden, Ford or Chrysler. The SA
Government banned that particular practice
wholesale in the late 70s, likely due to a bunch
of half-arsed conversions. The only way to get
a pre-V8 car with a bent-eight in the bay after
the ban was to buy one already converted and
hope you didn’t die driving it.

ar XJ fuel
LEFT: The twin Jagu few
e
fillers are one of th
ther than
ra
concessions to form
ve just
ha
t
n’
function. “You ca
ughs.
la
v
Ne
”
one Jag fuel cap,
doesn’t go
“But the right one
ker under
ac
st
CD
far; there’s a
might be just
there.” The latter
century, but
ballast in the 21st
1990!
it was big news in

106

S T R E E T M A CH I N E

Fortunately, the guys and girls at the Street
Machine Association of SA (SMASA) got sick
of the discrimination, so a congregation of the
like-minded formed to forge a way forward. “I
was at that meeting,” Neville Philips recalls.
“They asked who was interested in the ’V8
Early’ engineering project, and a dozen hands
shot up. ‘And it’s gonna cost 400 bucks,’ they
said. Suddenly there was nobody! I knew this
was coming, so I slapped 400 bucks cash on
the table: ‘Here you go,’ I said.”
Understandably, the crew at SMASA had no
idea who this be-mulletted young man was.
“They said they were gonna need a car, which

all isn’t recessed
BELOW: The firew
that the trans
as such; it’s more
biggened so
tunnel has been em
allows the
sw
much that it wholly
entirely
an
s
It’
Holden V8’s rear.
tion in SA and
cromulent modifica
ays legal
ensures LEGAL8 st

ENGINE BAY: LEGA
L8 was originally
engineered for 30
0 horses, but the
Holden V8 has copp
ed a few upgrades
since its completio
n in 1990, including
a
full EFI system and
twin cold-air intake
s.
The mill was origin
ally built by the la
te
Bill Hanson, and m
ost recently by John
Keen. “My car was
good for flat 13s
in 1991,” Nev says
. Now with 400-ish
horses, it’ll do a 12
.5

ST R E E T MAC H I N E

107

e MOMO centre
ABOVE: Don’t let th
GAL8 runs an
button fool you; LE
r tiller. Neville
he
at
le
Isotta Evoluzione
eel
VL Commodore wh
originally fitted a
d
an
n
g colum
to match the steerin ht sound naff
ig
m
ich
wh
blinker switch,
back in the day
ck
tri
ty
et
now but was pr

108

ST RE E T MA CHI N E

I had. And it needed to be a bare shell, which
it was. And they’re realising, ‘Oh, this guy’s
actually serious!’” Neville laughs. “They had a
look at it in Colin Townsend’s shed, and that’s
where it started.”
At the time, Colin had already kicked off the
build of his soon-to-be-iconic FJ, but it was
Nev who had the paper pineapples to make
things happen, so it was his EH, to be dubbed
LEGAL8, that took centre stage. “Colin’s FJ
and LEGAL8 had all the same running gear,”
he says. “And they were developed together.
It’s just that mine was finished first.”
In a land before tubular bells and whistles, a set
of bespoke A-arms couldn’t just be ordered and
sent with the click of a button. Colin therefore
relied upon his CAD program – part Computer
Aided Design, part Colin’s Awesome Dome – to
superimpose the future over the past, modifying
Holden’s reasonably basic HR-model front end
as the main ingredient in the V8 legality recipe
for Nev’s EH. The changes seem so simple
now: trim a bit, weld a bit, re-fold a bit, and
suddenly you’ve got a V8-worthy, disc-brake

front end with more camber than a BMX berm
and that stops and turns better than it really
should.
“My car became Mark Sanders’s first customer
car,” Neville says. “The ideas were Colin’s,
but the car had to be built in an engineering
workshop, so that’s where Mark came in. I’d
go there every week with some dough, and the
things got done.”
That’s not to say Neville wasn’t hands-on. He
got his hands plenty dirty before, during and
beyond the build. “When Mark’s work was done
and the authorities were happy, it came to my
shed for reassembly,” he says. “I’d stripped it
down, and I put it back together.”
Forty years later, Neville’s got the EH up on a
chassis stand, allowing me to see the fabbed
front end. Then he drops LEGAL8 back to earth
and tweaks up those beautiful Simmons V5s. A
clatter follows a whir, and the 355ci V8 clears
its throat and settles into a loping idle. “Well,
it’s on,” Nev yells over the rumble. “Let’s go!”
It’s clear that Nev is still excited by his creation
even after all these years, and why wouldn’t he

be? It’s exactly the car he wanted to build. Like,
precisely. That’s why he’s kept it for 40-odd
years. Ain’t no itches to scratch, no bugs to sort.
This car is ready to race every time he backs it
out of the shed.
“I’ve got no mechanical sympathy whatsoever,
or so I’m told. But if I break it, I build it again.
Better,” Nev says. A reasonable mantra, and
one that has seen the motor come out for a
freshen-up five or six times over the past four
decades. “I was told I couldn’t do what I do
with this car: ‘It’s a show car.’ I never built a
show car; I built a driver’s car, but people said
I should show it.”
Nev nabbed a Top 50 spot at Summernats 4
in 1990 and a swag of other trophies across
that year and the next, including Top Interior at
the Street Machine Nationals in 1991.
These days, however, the award-winning
interior, with its leather-trimmed SAAS seats
and matching rear bench, is now safely stowed
in the mezzanine above us. In its place are a pair
of MOMO Corse race seats, a half-rollcage with
side intrusion beams, and a mounting bar to

I’VE GOT NO MECHANICAL SYMPATHY WHATSOEVER, OR SO I’M TOLD.
BUT IF I BREAK IT, I BUILD IT AGAIN – BETTER

ABOVE: Nev biffed
the EH during
one of his assaults
on Targa
Tasmania. “I was
lucky; I hit a
tree,” he says, befo
re explaining
that a previous co
mpetitor had
slicked the road do
wn after a
mechanical malad
y. “The next
car wasn’t so luck
y; he missed
the tree and went
off a 20-metre
embankment!”

S TR E E T MA C HI N E

109

the road
y strapped to gh the
ll
a
u
rt
vi
is
LEGAL8
s throu
l Nev pound
– that is unti e left-hand sweeper at
ast
old Pacific W uit: “The flaggies were
rc
ci
l
the Mallala
nt left whee
to get the fro re so hard,
e
m
t
a
g
n
vi
wa
d the
going aroun ing!”
down; I was
inn
sp
d
e
it had stopp

I WAS TOLD I COULDN’T DO WHAT I DO WITH
THIS CAR: “IT’S A SHOW CAR.” I NEVER BUILT
A SHOW CAR; I BUILT A DRIVER’S CAR
accommodate two spares (required for Nev’s
tarmac rally assaults). “This is fully registered
as a two-seater, four-door EH Holden,” Nev
says.
But despite our original feature on the
car (SM, Jul-Aug ’91) being entitled ‘The
Untouchables’, LEGAL8 hasn’t been entirely
so. “I was on Jaf’s Cruise 2019 when I got
pinged for the rollcage, which wasn’t part of
the original build,” he explains. “That and the
harnesses – fine at 300km/h, but no good at
60.” Never one to sit on his hands, Nev found
the car’s original engineer, Tim Bartrop, now of
Dr Tim’s Auto Engineering in Queensland, and
flew him down to re-engineer the car. “We had
to do the stability lane change and all that fun
stuff,” Nev recalls.
There was a moment of stress when the
government inspection guys pulled down the
roller doors and impounded the car for two

NEVILLE & NAOMI
PHILIPS
1964 EH HOLDEN
ENGINE
Type: 355ci Holden V8
Intake: Edelbrock Performer
Induction: EFI
Heads: Aluminium
Pistons: Forged flat-top

110

S TR E E T MA C HI NE

BELOW: Nev and LEGAL8
have attacked race
tracks across the country
, including Mount
Panorama, Winton Motor
Raceway, the Phillip
Island Grand Prix Circuit,
Sydney Motorsport
Park, Calder Park, Malla
la Motorsport Park
and The Bend. The car ev
en hit 245km/h on
Ford Australia’s You Yang
s speed bowl!

weeks. “They suspected it of being stolen
and rebirthed, because they transposed some
digits 35 years earlier,” Nev sighs. “No worries,
as they transposed two more the second time!”
With the Holden V8 warmed up, Neville
deftly drops into LEGAL8’s deep racing seat,
just as he’s done hundreds of times since the
car’s completion over Easter 1990. Once I’ve
strapped myself into the passenger side, Nev
pulls carefully out of his local backstreet, gives
it a few neddies and suddenly I see God. Then a
Stobie pole. Then God again. But I’m at peace.
Once we’re rolling straight, acceleration from
400-and-a-bit horsepower removes the air from
my lungs; LEGAL8 is good for a 12.5-second
quarter, after all. When we return, I feel I’ve well
and truly touched the divine. So, in the name
of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, here
endeth the sermon of how LEGAL8 got legal.
Amen. 

Crank: 355ci stroker
Oil pump: Bill Hanson
custom
Ignition: MSD
Exhaust: Colin Townsend
special

TRANSMISSION
Gearbox: Tremec TKX fivespeed

Clutch: Twin-plate
Diff: Ford 9in

SUSPENSION & BRAKES
Front: Modified Austin 1800
rear-mount rack-and-pinion,
custom Universal Springs,
Koni shocks
Rear: Custom three-link,
Spax coil-overs

Brakes: Commodore vented
discs and Falcon calipers (f),
HJ front drums (r)

WHEELS & TYRES
Rims: Simmons V5; 16x7 (f),
17x9 (r)
Rubber: Bridgestone Potenza
225/50R16 (f) Nankang
Sportnex NS 255/40ZR17 (r)

THANKS
My wife Naomi; my
son Hamish; Colin Townsend;
Robert Wann; John Keen;
Dave Addis; Ray Szach;
all the people who helped
us raise over $80,000
for the charities supported
by the Aussie Muscle
Car Run

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IR ON M A I D EN
STORY SIMON MAJOR

PHOTOS STEVE KELLY

MADELYN MCCRACKEN
> BUNDABERG, QUEENSLAND

Y

OU would’ve had to have been
blindfolded to miss Madelyn
McCracken’s awesome Chevy
Astro at the 49th Van Nationals in
Stanthorpe over the Easter long weekend.
But as we discovered, there’s more to this
mobile Easter egg than just a lairy paintjob.
I feel like I’ve walked into a Fatboy Slim
video from the 90s! What exactly am I
looking at here, Madelyn?
It’s a 1985 Chevy Astro. It still runs the factory
4.3-litre V6 and four-speed auto, but yes, it’s
seen some work to the interior and exterior!
It looks so period-perfect; how long have
you owned it?
I bought it two years ago from one of my
uncle’s friends in Childers, but it was
imported here about 10 years ago. It was
originally built in the 1980s as a promotional

112

ST R E E T MA CH I NE

vehicle for the late singer Jimmy Buffett’s
Margaritaville café, which opened in ’85 in
Key West, Florida.
That helps explain this paintwork and
interior!
Yep, his fans were long called ‘Parrotheads’
due to the bright and lairy clothing that many
would wear to his concerts, so that whole
concept became deeply associated with
Jimmy and also the Margaritaville café chain.
Do you know much about its history?
It was basically bought as a brand-new van,
then airbrushed by Kent Ford Auto Art Studio
in Florida to reflect Jimmy’s love of tropical
colours, and it’s thankfully been very well
cared for in the decades since.
Have you made many changes to it since
buying it?
No, I’ve just mainly been driving and enjoying
it. It has received some minor upgrades over

the years, like the wheels and more modern
headlights, along with being made to look
quite a bit cooler with a five-inch lowering kit.
I can’t imagine there’d be many of these
in Australia, so it must be nice to have
something truly individual.
Most definitely. Half the fun with owning this
van has been learning about its history and
that of Jimmy Buffett. He passed away in
September last year, but his legacy will live
on through his music and his fans for sure.
I see that you’re a first-time Van Nats
attendee; how have you found the event
so far?
It’s been fantastic, and we’ve made a full-on
family weekend trip out of it also – of course
enjoying the vans, but also getting out and
about around Stanthorpe and seeing the cool
things and places this area has to offer. It’s
been a great time. 

Girls — wanna be
famous? Become an
Iron Maiden! Email car
details, pics (2MB+) and
contact deets to gday@
streetmachine.com.au.
You and your ride could
appear in the mag!

IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT IN THE 19
80S AS A PROMOTIONAL
VEHICLE FOR JIMMY BUFFETT’S MA
RGARITAVILLE CAFÉ

S TR E E T MA C HI N E

113

U R BA N W AR FA R E
STORY MARK ARBLASTER

PHOTOS STEVE KELLY

> JAMIE JEFFREYS’S BLOWN BIG-BLOCK CHEV-POWERED FOX-BODY MUSTANG IS ON A SIX-SECOND MISSION

I

T MIGHT look like just another Mustang,
but Jamie Jeffreys’s Fox-body is an ex-USA
No-Prep mauler that has been totally
rebuilt into one of the toughest radial cars
in the country by Queensland’s Spot On
Performance.
“I’ve always had a fascination with Foxbody Mustangs,” Jamie says. “So, when I
saw this car for sale after being imported
from Missouri, I jumped on it.”
At the time, the ’Stang was powered by
a 6.0-litre LQ9 with a 98mm turbo, and
had already run an 8.0@174mph off the
trailer in Australia under the ownership of
fellow Aussie racer, Harley Hamilton, who

had imported the car. It had been built
for no-prep racing, but it was a bit rough
around the edges when it came into Jamie’s
possession.
“At the time, l had a VE Commodore that
had been four-linked [and was powered] with
a twin-turbo LSX combination that I’d built to
make 2000hp,” Jamie recalls. “I ditched the
VE project to focus on this.”
After having a good look at the car, Jamie
decided to pull the trigger on gutting it and
asked the team at Spot On Performance to
build him a reliable, three-second-capable
(over the eighth-mile) radial car. “We ripped
everything out of the car back to roof, quarters

and firewall,” he says. “It was a big build, and
the boys did not cut one corner with the
quality of the build or parts selected.”
Once the Spot On crew had the Fox-body
ready to party with the LS, Jamie took it roll
racing to stretch its legs. “The car was fast;
we really cleaned up with that combination,”
he says. “But we had a really important drag
racing goal, and that was to run in the sixes
over the quarter-mile.”
Jamie and the Spot On team took the
car down to Sydney for Midnight Mayhem,
where it ran a 7.0 over the quarter – so close
to that six!
The run proved to the team that some

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ON 40PSI, THE VORT
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IN
N
BELTED OUT A
T
A
E
W
S
A
G
IN
K
A
E
R
B
T
U
O
WITH

114

S TR E E T M AC HI N E

S TR E E T MA CH I N E

115

116

S T RE E T MA C H IN E

changes were needed. “We were really
leaning on the combination,” Jamie says.
“It was making around 1700hp, and while
we could still drive it on the street, it wasn’t
sedate and was prone to breakages. We
needed something more serious; we were
keen to go with a big-block Chev or a Proline
combination but just could not swing it on the
budget we had.”
As luck would have it, Jamie and the team
found a 632ci big-block Chev originally
owned and freshened-up by Queensland
racer Stu Henry with the help of Aaron
Tremayne. It had a big Vortech blower and
was going to make more than enough steam
for what they needed.
As far as boosted big-blocks go, this one
has got it all. Built around a Brodix block, it
sports a Callies crank and GRP rods, and is
topped with Big Chief 11-degree heads, a
massive Vortech supercharger and a billet
Plazmaman intake with a five-inch inlet. The
block has also been dry-decked, with water
circulated through the heads only.
The inlet has been fitted with dual fuel
rails and injector banks housing Excess

Racing 2400cc and Billet Atomizer 3500cc
injectors. Incredibly, the motor still runs a wet
sump, and to save weight, it’s been set up
for alcohol for the track, with a front fuel cell
feeding a Waterman Big Bertha pump to an
Aeromotive rising-rate regulator. A Haltech
Nexus R5 controls the whole show.
On 40psi, the big-block belted out an
incredible 2500rwhp without breaking a
sweat.
Jamie already had a kick-arse trans for the
car but decided to trade it for the one that Stu
Henry ran when he had the motor: a Reidcased, two-speed Pro Mod TH400 with twin
external dumps and a spragless PTC 10-inch
converter.
Down the back of the car is a Strange nineinch floater with a Mark Williams case, and
3.2:1, 9.5-inch Pro gears. A Spot On track
locator, Afco Big Gun shocks and an anti-roll
bar round out the rear-end goodness.
The Fox-body runs a three-quarter chassis
with a tubular front end and stock firewall.
Weight saving has been a priority, which
explains the polycarbonate windows,
carbonfibre floor on the driver’s side

(tinned on the passenger side), a removable
fibreglass front clip, and Motor City Solutions
Outlaw doors. Both the boot and Andrew
Richards Performance Components wing
are also made of carbonfibre. All dressed for
the prom, the car still comes in under 2800lb
(1270kg).
From a build perspective, it’s been a hell
of a journey for the Spot On Performance
crew, who have fettled the car through
multiple evolutions, taking care of everything
from the shell up, including the Funny Car
rollcage, a massive amount of fab work, full
fit-up (twice), and paint.
“For now, we need to make sure the car runs
straight and shifts, and the chutes deploy,
and from there we will chase it,” Jamie says.
“The car still has plenty of power left, but we
are not going to beat on it until we can use
what we have now.
“I’m addicted to this sport and this car, and I
will do anything I can to make [a six] happen.
You can’t put a price on happiness.”
We sure can’t argue with that, and we
look forward to seeing this missile do its
stuff on track. 

I’M ADDICTED
TO THIS SPOR
T AND THIS
CAR, AND I W
ILL DO ANYTH
ING I CAN TO
MAKE A SIX H
APPEN. YOU C
AN’T PUT A
PRICE ON HAP
PINESS

C

S TR E E T MAC HI N E

117

D I RT Y S T U FF
WILLIAM PORKER

Y

OU have built your version of a
brilliant street machine, with a fully
loaded engine hooked to a superstrong driveline – and first up the
mongrel refuses to start. That bent-eight just
sits there and groans weakly when you hit the
starter motor, taking no notice of that brandnew battery. So, then you go out and pay big
dollars for a reconditioned starter motor and
fit that, only to find that the eight still groans.
Why?
Difficulty in starting a new engine can be
caused by several things. Refitting an original
starter motor that ain’t up to coping with the
extra load imposed by engine modifications
is a common issue. That compact whirl-over
machine was probably designed with about
half a horsepower of grunt to turn over a bogstock engine, but now it needs twice that.
Your carefully laid cable from the battery
in the boot is resisting the flow of electrical
current, so you are getting massive voltage
drop, as the cable is just too small in diameter.
You can compare this to a garden hose,
where water from the tap at one end turns into
a dribble at the spray nozzle due to internal
skin friction over the length of the hose. It’s
the same with electrical cable. When you
have to transmit the 300 or more amps that
an engaged starter motor demands, your
cheap, finger-thick cable just cannot deliver.
You might have 12.5 volts at the battery, but
when the ergs get to the starter solenoid,
resistance will most likely have dropped the

vees to 10 or less.
To get a clean start every time with your
machine, the system needs to be properly
designed. This begins with the battery –
size matters here, and as your machine
will probably not be a daily driver, go for an
assembly that will cope with intermittent use.
I have been fitting the US-made, steel-cased,
pure-lead Odyssey batteries, which are damn
expensive, but they all have big mobs of cold
cranking amps and a very high discharge rate.
From my experience, they will withstand 10 or
11 years of treatment that would kill a normal
lead-acid battery real quick.
Combine the battery upgrade with a fivegauge, 500-amp cable to run from boot to
engine bay, fitted with proper solder lug ends
that have been attached with flux-cored wire
solder. Same goes with the negative (earth)
battery cable – little stuff here won’t hack
it. You will need more 500-amp cable in a
decent marine terminal to take this fat wire,
and a solder lug at the other end to bolt down
to a sanded-clean steel section of the boot
floor. I know this will look bad on your shiny
new paintwork, but electricity has a hard time
trying to get through painted surfaces. You
didn’t know you needed that? Well, you could
cross your fingers and hope that the driveline
will somehow act as a return to earth, but
don’t count on that. Better to do the job right
first up, then fit and forget.
As for starter motors, you could persevere
with an original factory unit, but there is so

TO GET A CLEAN START EVERY
TIME WITH YOUR MACHINE, THE
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE
PROPERLY DESIGNED. THIS BEGINS
WITH THE BATTERY

118

ST RE E T M A CH I NE

much better stuff available now. Aftermarket
geared starter motors are the way to go, which
use reduction gears to allow the internal
armature to really rev, powering the pinion to
put real torque into the flywheel or drive plate
ring gear. Often rated up to almost 3hp, these
units are compact, light and often feature
alternate mounting holes so you can work out
the best position to clear stuff like extractor
pipes. A heat shield to protect the starter and
cables is a real good idea. There’s nothing
worse than fried cables, and the shield can be
colour-coded to match the engine.
Putting power back into the battery is
the job of an alternator, and all these units
share the same feature of being able to run
both clockwise and anti-clockwise while
still delivering energy. The common Bosch
55-amp unit, which was standard gear for
most Australian-made cars of the 60s and
70s, can be uprated to an 80-amp assembly
by changing the stator that surrounds the
rotor. This involves removing the old stator
ring by de-soldering three wires, then fitting
the new stator by reversing that process and
reassembling the alternator. Same voltage
regulator, same brush box, same V-belt pulley.
Simple, but it’s usually a job best done by
an auto electrician. You’ll get 25 more quickcharge amps – very useful for short-duration
driving.
Do all of this right the first time around and
you will be fully hassle-free every time you fire
up your engine! 

Established

1930, 100% Au

d
stralian Owne

TH JU
9
2
&
D
N
2
2
Y
A
SATURD
M
P
3
L
IL
T
N
E
URS! OP
O
H
G
IN
D
A
R
T
EXTENDED
quality and
standard for
“Setting the

value”

NE

E
L
A
S
Y
EOF
360°ROLL

2000 x 1000mm M16 Pro Series
Welding Table - WT16-2010N

Universal Rotisserie - ROT8A-360
• Modular design to suit low clearance openings
• Indexable rotation with locking points
every 6 degrees of rotation.
• Space saving design with no
overhang past chassis
• Heavy duty Ø150mm castor
wheels with brakes
• Adjustable cross beam to
assist with load balancing

2,250 (A330)

360 DEGREE
ROTATION

• Ø28mm Precision bored fixing holes at 100mm centres
• Diagonal hole grid pattern offering a multitude of
clamping options
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• Precision CNC machined to ensure flatness of +/0.1mm over 1m2

ADJUSTABLE MOUNTING HEIGHT

$

5,199 (W07811)

ADJUSTABLE WIDTH

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NITRIDIN
PLASMACE FINISH
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$

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Centre Lathe - AL-336D
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Engine Tilter - Heavy
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Engine Stand
HES-907F

• Ø300 x 900mm cap.
• 2-Axis digital readout
• Hardened & ground
bed
• 38mm spindle bore
• 2hp 240V motor

• 1200 x 750 x 910mm (L x W x H)
• Ø16mm holes in 50 x 50mm
spacing pattern
• Reversible tabletop
with Nitrided black
oxide finish
• 700kg load capacity

• 907kg capacity
• Adjustable tilting

• 907kg load capacity
• 5 swivel caster wheels
• Fold-up legs

$

$

$

S
INCLUDENGE
HA
QUICK C OST
P
L
TOO

$

6,435 (L682D)

3,475 (W07705)

SAVE $440

40 (A3425)

SAVE $210

209 (A340)

SAVE $9.50

SAVE $33

75T Hydraulic & Pneumatic
Press - HPM-75P

Trade Hydraulic Press
HPF-20

Professional Series Toolbox
Combo - 56” - TPS-KIT1

Deluxe Series Toolbox
Combo - 44” - TDL-KIT2

• Pneumatic or hand operation
• Heavy duty steel construction with robotic
fully welded frame
• Adjustable sliding head
up to 255mm travel
between the vertical
post

• 20 Tonne
• 150mm ram stroke
• Hand or foot
operated pump
• 175mm horizontally
sliding ram
• Robotic welded
frame

• 8 Drawer Tool Chest with large top lid
• 8 Drawer Roller Cabinet
• Gloss Nardo Gray finish

• 11 Drawers
• Corner armour for maximum strength
• Extra side storage

E DEAL
PACKAG

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ROBOTICFRAME
L
E
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UCTION
CONSTR

$

3,699 (P154)

SAVE $250

E DEAL
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$

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SAVE $80

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2,149 (T6835)

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1,349 (T6833)

SAVE $136

BUY AND INSTALL

BEFORE JUNE 30TH TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE $20,000 INSTANT ASSET WRITE-OFF!

*UP TO $10 MILLION TURNOVER!
View and purchase these items online: www.machineryhouse.com.au/STM2406
Specifications & Prices are subject to change without notification. All prices include GST and valid until 30-06-23

E
ADELAIDLY
OPENING JU

06_STM_300524

$

• Ø16mm Precision bored fixing holes at 50mm centres
• 50 x 50mm hole grid pattern offering a multitude of
clamping options
• 50mm grid lines & perimeter ruler engraving
• Precision CNC machined to ensure
flatness of +/- 0.1mm over 1m2

2000 x 1000mm M28 Pro
Series Welding Table WT28-2010N

D RAG C H A L L E N GE
STORY KIAN HEAGNEY

PHOTOS CHRIS THOROGOOD & SHAUN TANNER

> TIM MCCLURE BROUGHT HIS HOME-BREWED, TURBO LS-POWERED EH SPECIAL ALL THE WAY FROM
WESTERN AUSTRALIA TO TAKE ON HIS FIRST DRAG CHALLENGE

F

ROM the outside, Tim McClure’s
lovely EH Special looks like nothing
more than a nice Sunday cruiser. But
while it’s certainly capable of that, the
600rwhp turbo LS under the bonnet makes
sure it’s a certified tyre-fryer at the drop of
a hat. “It loves doing top-gear burnouts; it’s
done plenty of those at Motorvation over the
years,” the Western Australian says.
Tim has owned the EH for around 20 years,
and it’s had quite a few iterations before the

120

ST RE E T MA CH IN E

current LS combo. “When I originally got it,
it had a 186, and I daily drove it for around
three years like that,” he says. “Then I built a
turbocharged 202 for it, but that didn’t last
beyond the first test drive, because the diff
blew to pieces!”
It then got a 400ci small-block for a while,
along with the current Turbo 350 ’box and
nine-inch diff. “That ran a 10.96@124mph,
but after around 18 months, it was tired,
so I pulled it out and sold it off to fund the

LS,” Tim says. “I found a stock L98 with low
kilometres, so I started with that.”
Originally, the plan was just to have a
healthy, cammed LS. But mid-conversion,
some head-scratching about the headers
led to the turbo being added. “I figured
out I’d have to make some headers, so I
decided if I was going to do that, I may as
well go turbo,” Tim laughs.
Shoehorning the whole lot in there wasn’t
easy. “I had to modify the crossmember,

She’s a tight
ENGINE BAY:
0rwhp of
squeeze, but 60 e than
or
turbo L98 is m e EH
th
t
ge
to
gh
enou
dget
bu
moving on a

LEFT: Big-arse alloy conrods from
a Hemi donk
serve as an excellent battery hold
-down and a
cup holder – the latter a necessity
for any Drag
Challenge machine

shift the steering column and massage the
firewall,” Tim says.
As for the engine itself, Tim stuck with the
standard rotating assembly to keep things
on budget. “I did the BTR Stage Two Turbo
cam kit, which includes all the pushrods and
everything you need, and just gapped the
rings for boost,” he says.
The turbo in question is a Pulsar S480,
breathing around 10-11psi with management
from a Holley Terminator X. “That’s wastegate

pressure, which the tuner Jeff Johnson was
happy with,” says Tim. “There’s room for
more if we want it, but we’re still only on pump
fuel at this stage – no ethanol yet.”
Drag Challenge 2023 was Tim’s first,
having watched the event from afar for
several years. “I’d always wanted to do it,
and then after it was delayed a few times
[due to COVID], I jumped on this one,” he
says. “A few mates and my son came across
for it, and we had a great time.”

I FIGURED OUT I’D
HAVE TO MAKE
SOME HEADERS, SO
I DECIDED IF I WAS
GOING TO DO THAT,
I MAY AS WELL
GO TURBO!
ST R E E T M A CH I N E

121

RIGHT: Tim’s DC ’23
crew (L-R): ‘Gussy’
Broad, Tim, Tim’s son
Doug McClure, and
John ‘Rooster’ Harris.
They all climbed
aboard the EH for
five days of DC fun

The EH ran flawlessly all week, which was a
welcome surprise for Tim. “We only did one
to two passes on the first couple of days,
because we weren’t sure how the road legs
would go with the trailer and all,” he says. “But
it was a great experience; I really enjoyed the
road routes in particular.”
On track, Tim started his week at The Bend
with a 10.64@134mph. Day Two at Mildura’s
eighth-mile saw a best of 7.04@106mph,
followed by a 10.73@134mph on Day Three
at Heathcote. “It doesn’t have a transbrake,
so the 60-foot is always lazy,” says Tim. “We
also had shifting issues at the start of the
week, which we got sorted by the time we got

back to The Bend.”
The final day back in South Australia was
a pearler for Tim, with the EH churning out
a fresh PB of 10.33@136mph. “It goes to
show that this thing will go nines with a proper
launch; the miles per hour shows that,” he
says. “We’d need to ’cage it at that point
though, and I’m not sure I’m prepared to do
that yet.”
Regardless, Tim is more than keen to put
his hand up for another Drag Challenge. “It’s
a ripper week, so even if we have to come
back and just run 10.50s, I’d be happy with
that,” he says. “It’s well worth the long trip
over!” 

THE FINAL DAY OF DRAG CHALLENGE ’23 WAS
A PEARLER FOR TIM, WITH THE EH CHURNING
OUT A FRESH PB OF 10.33@136MPH

TIM MCCLURE

1964 EH HOLDEN SPECIAL

Class: Hare & Forbes Dial Your Own

ENGINE

Brand: L98
ECU: Holley Terminator X
Turbo: Pulsar S480
Heads: Standard
Camshaft: BTR Stage Two Turbo
Internals: Standard
Oil pump: Melling
Fuel system: Walbro 525 pump

TRANSMISSION

Gearbox: Turbo 350
Converter: Allfast
Diff: 9in, 31-spline, 3.7:1 gears

WHEELS & TYRES

Rims: Weld Draglite;
15x4 (f), 15x9 (r)
Rubber: Nankang; 165/70R15 (f),
275/60R15 (r)

THANKS

Mark at B&B Smash Repairs; Chrisso
at Bush Chooks Autos; Jeff at Power
Management Solutions; Holley;
George at Blown Motorsports

122

S TR E E T M A CH I N E

AUSTRALIA’S BEST RADIAL
ORDER ONLINE
BUY FROM AUS WIDE DEALERS

X235 - 235/60R15
X255 - 255/60R15 X275 - 275/60R15
X275-50 - 275/50R15

X325-50 - 325/50R15

.

I N T H E BUI L D

HUDSON CAMBRIDGE
5 PICK-UP
1947 STUDEBAKER H
been in

’BAKER STREET

124

ST RE E T MA C HI N E

aker pick-up, which has
“THIS is our 1947 Studeb
ation
ars. It has had a full restor
the family for over 30 ye
n from
ting the front suspensio
from the ground up, upda
a
re comfortable ride using
a leaf-spring front to a mo
100mm
nt end. It has also had a
fro
n
va
00
L3
hi
bis
tsu
Mi
shed at
rk has been done in the
wo
the
all
d
an
,
op
ch
f
roo
to allcar is new, from bushes
the
on
ng
thi
ery
Ev
.
me
ho
arged
wer comes from a superch
new window rubbers. Po
s disc
ha
It
f.
dif
werglide and 9in
left
350 Chev backed by a Po
ch
mu
’t
isn
XC Falcon; there
brakes all ’round from an
al.”
under the car that is origin

GOT a sweet ride that’s
currently in the build and want to
share it with our readers? Email
photos of it (2MB+ each) along
with some details on the build to
inthebuild@streetmachine.com.au.

BEN AMOS
CHEV Y C10

LAYING LO

JASON WOLLER
HT BROUGHAM

rs, but
“I’VE owned this car for 15 yea
ed it
I’ve only driven it twice. I stripp
Jamie
to a shell and shipped it off to
at Full Flight Engineering to get
fourchassis connectors, 35-spline
or
flo
new
,
nel
tun
link rear, raised
int
-po
six
a
k,
bac
ts
from the front sea
at
on
Sim
re.
mo
rollcage and much
e
AutoDome helped out with som
and
s
ver
l-o
rust repairs, front coi

s off to
other bits, and then the HT wa
rest
Gambier Kustom Autos for the
. The
of the bodywork and paintwork
have
car was initially supposed to
ine,
vel
dri
350
rbo
a simple LS1/Tu
o
urb
n-t
twi
a
o
but it evolved int
,
6.0L backed by a 2000hp-rated
It’s
.
ide
rgl
transbraked Powe
next
expected to be finished in the
couple of months.”

W

PO WERING

“I AM building a ’bagged, bodydropped, single-turbo LS1-powered
Chev C10, with the goal of it being
the lowest square-body pick-up in
Australia. It has a two-inch body
drop, a lifted tub floor, raised inner
guards front and rear, rollpan on the
tub and deleted rear bumper. It sits
the chassis rails dead on the ground
!
The engine is an LS1 with valvetrain
mods and a turbo-grind cam to suit
the Garrett GT45. The rest of the
driveline comprises a Turbo 400 and
a HiLux diff. It will also feature a full
y
boxed chassis, Porterbuilt front end
with rack-and-pinion conversion,
airbags front and rear, custom fourlink rear with Panhard bar, and a
disc-brake conversion. The wheels
are 22x9.5 in front and 24x11 in the
rear. The exterior will be getting a
fresh new mustard-orange paintjob
,
while a whole new interior will be
built featuring a sliding back window
,
heater and even air con. I’m hoping
to get the car done for the next
Summernats in January.”

UP

ST RE E T M A CH I N E

125

I N TH E BU I L D
A REAL GEM
MICHAEL GANDOLFO
1980 T E GEMINI

“I AM in the process of
fitting an
SR20DET to my 1980 Ge
mini. It’ll
have a matching five-spe
ed manual
’box from an S13 Silvia
. It has been a
labour of love with a few
challenges
on the way, but we are
almost ready
to turn the key. A couple
of mates and
I have done all the work
ourselves
(mostly my mates), inc
luding
rebuilding the engine an
d all the
custom fabwork requir
ed to get it
in the car. It has been my
dream to
have an SR20-powered
Gemini since
I was a kid, and it is clo
ser than I ever
thought it would be.”

WAGON

TALE

JAIMAN TRENTO
VY COMMODORE
WAGON
“I HAVE been working on this project
for the past five years. It’s a genuine
VY SS, which I’m building to be an
HSV-enhanced vehicle, using as many
HSV parts as possible. I wanted a
tough street car but luxurious at the
same time; it also had to be practical
so that it could do the long trips. I
found the LSA supercharger from
Harrop, did my research to make
it all fit to the original LS1 engine,
rebuilt the motor, re-upholstered the
interior, made custom gauges and
brackets, and upgraded the brakes
and suspension. The supercharger, AP
Racing brakes, Coulson seats, gauges,
LX8 cargo interior, wheels, and even
the ashtray are all HSV items. Being
quite a rare wagon (only 87 in manual
and this colour out of 850), I didn’t
want to take away from its original
form too much, so body-wise the
only thing that has changed is the
bonnet. It is now in the final stages
of the build; I’m currently waiting for
bumpers to come back from paint,
and then it’ll be ready to have a first
start-up and tune. Once it’s running,
I’ll have airbag suspension installed
and all the minor details finished off
soon after. I have the whole build
documented on Instagram @obnxss.”

126

ST RE E T M A C HI N E

TURBO DR

EAMS

DAVID MUNCE
VY COMMODORE
“MY V6 VY Commodore has been my
on-and-off project since 2022; I’m in the
process of turbocharging it. The car has
been kept on the road the whole time,
as I’ve been building the parts over the
weekend and then putting the VY back
to stock so that my daughter can keep
learning to drive in it. The turbo kit I’ve
been building uses a Pulsar GTX3584RS
with a 60mm wastegate. The exhaust is a
3.5in system, and so far I’ve chosen 850cc
injectors. It’s still running a standard ECU
and Ecotec for now, but I have an L67 that
will be getting sorted to make big power
with the turbo later on. I look forward
to hitting the strip and doing some roll
racing later this year when it’s finished!”

ANDREW QUINN
XW FALCON
“HERE is my XW wagon projec
t
that’s been seven years in the
making. I’m trying to do a lot
myself, learning along the wa
y! It’s
running a 2015 5.0L Coyote wit
h
a five-speed manual ’box. It
also
has independent front suspen
sion
with power steering, and a fou
r-link
rear, with coil-overs under all
four
corners. I’m just going throug
h the
bodywork stage now, so hop
efully
it’s not long until it’s ready to
see
the road. It’s affectionately kno
wn
as the ‘Rusty Car’ by my childr
en,
who help when they can.”

THE COYOT E
HOWLS

ST R E E T M A CH IN E

127

IN GEAR

To have your product featured here, call Kim Simonsen on 0439 422 285
or email kim.simonsen@streetmachine.com.au.

01

01

128

S TR E E T M A CH I N E

REST ASSURED

RARE Spares has just released armrests to suit VB-VK
Berlina and Calais, and to celebrate, the company
has put together a range of kits for early-Commodore
enthusiasts to replace their worn and loose armrests.
Scan the QR code to find your preferred option, or visit
rarespares.net.au.

02

03

02

GENERATION NEXT

PRECISION Turbos has just upped the ante in the 86mm
hairdryer game with its new, 1800hp-capable 8685 Next Gen
turbo. It features a new 7x7 CEA (Competition Engineered
Aerodynamics) compressor wheel, machined from aluminium.
The new tech allows 15 per cent more air flow and is more
efficient than the previous Gen 2 8685. The unit is now available
through Speed Pro, either in T4 or V-band flange configurations
and with a variety of in and out housing options. To find out
more, head to speedpro.com.au or scan the QR code.

03 SHOCKS TO YOUR SYSTEM

THE Castlemaine Rod Shop is Australia’s biggest distributor
of Viking suspension, and the range has just been beefed up
with Viking double-adjustable replacement rear shocks for
classic Falcons, from the XK all the way through to the XD.
Sold as a pair, they offer 19 points of adjustment to suit any
style of driving, from plush cruising, to firm corner carving, and
everything in between. For more info, head to rodshop.com.au or
scan the QR code.

ST R E E T M AC HI NE

129

IN GEAR

06
04

04 COOL IT

07

05

WITH the ever-growing bang-for-buck you can get from the Aussie Barra six,
more and more enthusiasts are chucking them in their project cars. That’s
where Pulsar Turbos’ new FG/FG X Ford Falcon Stage 2 Intercooler kit comes
in. If you’re the proud owner of one of Ford’s last Aussie Falcons, this complete
bolt-on kit could be just what you’re looking for. It suits factory turbo cars or
those doing a turbo conversion. Priced at $999 and rated to over 1000hp, they
represent extremely sound value for money. For more information, call Pulsar
Turbos on 0451 841 299 or visit pulsarturbo.com.au.

05 CLEAN AS

EXCELLENT filtration is the key to fuel system performance and keeping
your engine healthy, which is why Aeroflow’s Pro Filters are an inexpensive
insurance policy to protect your investment. Pro Filters feature a stainless-steel
reusable/washable element with anodised end caps and are also compatible
with E85 and methanol fuels. They can be had in 10- up to 100-micron mesh,
while the bodies are CNC-machined from 6061-T6 aircraft aluminium and are
available in blue, black and silver anodised. They also come in various sizes
to suit 200-2700hp applications. For more information on all the sizes and
specifications, visit aeroflowperformance.com or call Rocket Industries on
(02) 8825 1900.

130

S TR E E T M AC HI N E

06 CATCH THE TUBE

FANCY doing some home DIY tube bending? Then the Hare & Forbes
portable electric tube bender is perfect for you, taking the strain off
your muscles and allowing perfect bends. It can handle many pipe
materials including steel, copper and aluminium, as well as mild steel
with up to 2mm wall thickness. The digital read-out allows you to
track your bends down to the last degree, and the bender is portable
and compact enough for professionals to use in the plumbing and
gas industry. Included in the kit are five different sizes of round tube
formers, a three-legged stand and a plastic carry case. The bender
normally sells for $2629, but it’s currently discounted to $2398 as part
of the Hare & Forbes EOFY sale, which ends 30 June. To find out more,
head to machineryhouse.com.au.

07 SEAL OF APPROVAL

THERE’S nothing worse than blowing a bloody gasket, especially a
head gasket. If you’re building an LS and don’t want it to resemble
a Subaru engine, you’ll need a proper MLS head gasket to seal in
those chambers. Cometic is the leader in aftermarket, heavy-duty
head gaskets, and Serco now offers the full range of Cometic LS
head gaskets to suit either Gen III LS1 or later Gen IV engines. Head
to serco.com.au to find out more!

Worldwide supplier of shelf stock, custom and
short-run gaskets for the performance aftermarket,
original equipment and motorsports industries

Multi-Layer Steel gaskets are comprised of multiple embossed
layers of both proprietary high temperature coated and uncoated
stainless steel, requiring less clamp load, creating less bore
distortion, and conforms load distribution across the sealing area.

PROUDLY DISTRIBUTED BY

Phone: (07) 3362 6627
Email: sales@serco.com.au
108-114 Steel street, Capalaba QLD 4157

R E A D E R S R O CK ETS

WANT your pride and joy featured in the mag? Just send some photos of your car (minimum file size 2MB each) and a few details of what went into the build
to readerscars@streetmachine.com.au.

132

ST RE E T MA C H IN E

DAMIEN WATT
LJ TORANA
“HERE is my 1972 LJ Torana after its make-over.
This final look is exactly how I envisioned it. After
being black for so long, it needed a fresh new look,
so I had all of the bodywork done and topped it off
with candy blood red paint to really make it pop!
The car has also had its interior redone, while the
engine has had an upgrade with a forged bottom
end and a Harrop 2650i supercharger. It is going
to be super-competitive in the eighth-mile no-prep
stuff! I wouldn’t have the car how it is today without
my mechanic, Andrew Murray, who built this rocket
from front to back all in the shed at home, and my
good mates over at 1320 Motorsports for getting
all the parts. My main goal with the car is to enjoy
it and rack up as many kays on the street and
tracks as possible, and it’s been doing so reliably.”
Photos: Steve Kelly

S T RE E T M AC HI NE

133

CHRIS SAROS
VH VALIANT CHARGER
“I RECEIVED my VH Charger as a present for my
21st birthday. The plan was to do a quick respray,
give the 265 a freshen-up, throw on a set of wheels
and have it ready to go cruising within six months.
However, not long into the build, the plan changed
and a nut-and-bolt resto was on the cards. The
stripped-down body was sent off to 2SUS Custom
Resprays, where rust repairs were carried out, the
body was straightened and the colour choice of
Vitamin C was sprayed onto the car. Once I got the
VH back, all the wiring was re-done, the suspension
and brakes were upgraded, and a new driveline was
fitted. It now runs a 410 stroker engine built by my
father Tony, backed by a Hughes 727 Torqueflite
and a 9in diff with 31-spline billet axles and an Eaton
Truetrac centre with 4.11 gears. The interior features
leather trim, a custom dash cluster with Auto Meter
gauges, a B&M Megashifter, and a custom centre
console with a Kenwood multimedia head unit.”
Photos: Darren Banks at Trackside Images

134

ST RE E T MA C H IN E

DUNCAN ALLEN
1960 VW BEETLE

ROBERT COOPER
VN COMMODORE
“MY DAD originally bought this VN
Executive in 1994 from Rick Sivyer Holden
as an ‘RSV’ dealer pack, which was
nothing special – just some stickers, a red/
black stripe and colour-coded bumpers.
When I turned 15, he said I could have
the car when I get my licence, so once
I got my P-plates, I began to modify it. I
didn’t touch the trusty 3.8L Buick and T5
combo, instead focusing on improving
its appearance. I went through so many
different wheels, painted things, and did
what I could on apprentice wages. I found a
VP Calais International interior for it, along
with VS Devonish front seats, and an SS kit
with VS side skirts. When I got on my open
licence, I built a tough 304 for it, and drove
it for around for the next five years – I loved
how it sounded. However, all my mates’

cars started getting faster and I was bitten
by the power bug, which brings me to the
car’s current build, which I’m proud to say
I’ve carried out 100 per cent on my own,
from the wiring to paint to fabrication. It
now has a manual turbo LS1, which makes
550hp at the hubs. I’m still learning the
power, having been used to the old 304,
but it’s been a blast to drive it again. It’s
sitting on BC Racing coil-overs and 18x9.5
wheels all ’round, and has also been given
a VT brake upgrade, a fuel cell in the boot,
and a Haltech Elite 2500 brainbox, harness
and dash. Plans for the car now are just to
enjoy it for a bit, but I’d love to fix the rust
in the roof and sunroof, repaint the car,
strengthen the diff, put a T56 Magnum in it,
and then get the interior retrimmed. One of
those never-ending projects I’ll have for life.”

“THIS is my 1960 VW Beetle. Recently
it was at Rockynats in the Super Street
class, where it surprised many and hurt
some egos, but before its racing life, it
was my daily driver while I was on my
P-plates. It received a 2387cc engine,
which has been revised twice, and has
had four different gearboxes in the past
14 months. Only one of them broke,
though; the others were just changes
that had to be made as well as trialling
different gear ratios. Every time the
car has made an appearance, we have
changed something major, whether it be
engine, gearbox, fuel system, suspension
or tyres. It has slowly progressed from a
stock street car to a little Bug with lots
of punch, heavily influenced by the early
days of VW drag racing in the H and I
gasser classes in America – especially
Darrell Vittone’s ‘EMPI Inch Pincher’.
Eventually, the car will be covered front
to back with 70s-inspired pinstripes and
paintwork. All the work has been done
by me or my dad, except for the current
gearbox, which was built by good friend
Aaron Roberts from Aaron’s Speed Shift
Autos. The car is still powered by an
aircooled, naturally aspirated VW flatfour, and shifts gears via an H-pattern
manual ’box. It also retains all stock body
panels and full glass. Its best ET over the
eighth-mile is 8.15@78mph, and the best
at Rockynats was 8.23@83mph. It hasn’t
run on a prepped surface in this new
configuration yet, as last time it struggled
to keep the front wheels on the ground,
but now that the suspension is sorted,
we have plans on running it down the
quarter very soon.”

S TR E E T MA C HI N E

135

PETER CHRISTOPOULOS
LX TORANA
“I BOUGHT my Torana eight years ago,
registered and engineered with a 350 Chev.
I kept it for a few years before deciding to
freshen the paint. I was in hospital at the time
for a big operation, so Andrew from Braeside
Smash Repairs painted it. He knew I was going
to cruise it heaps and I told him I didn’t want
anything special, but he went above and beyond
to make it look great. I then took the engine to
Con at Pro Race Engines for a freshen-up and
cam change. It’s still a 350-cube affair with twobolt mains, Aeroflow alloy heads, 11:1 comp,
a solid-roller cam, and a 750 Quick Fuel carb
with all the fruit. The Chev mill is backed by a
manualised TH400 with an SDE stall, and a
4.3:1-geared 9in diff with 28-spline axles. It’s
run a best of 11.1@120mph at Heathcote, and
after making a few changes, I’m hoping to run a
10-second pass soon. The car doesn’t miss a
beat and gets driven everywhere.”

STEVE COLLINS
1999 HSV VT XU8

“MY STING Red HSV XU8 is build 145 of 161. I became the car’s
second owner in 2001; at the time it still had new-car warranty and
only 40,000km on the clock. My wife used it as a daily driver for a
year, and then the upgrades began. This included a six-speed Mal
Wood T56 conversion with an S1 sequential shifter and custombuilt twin-plate clutch. A one-piece Gibson tailshaft connects the
gearbox to a PowerTrax Grip Pro diff with 3.7:1 gears and G-Force
axles. The engine bay has been smoothed out and had all holes
filled. The rear is airbagged, while Pedders coil-overs live up front,
and it rolls on 20in Simmons rims. Inside is custom leather trim and
a polished half-rollcage. I’d like to thank Steve Collins Automotive
for the build; Kev Pryce Engines for the engine build; Clint at Spray
Paint Perfection; my brother-in-law Paul for the many hours spent
on the bonnet; my wife for letting me spend the money and time;
and Jake Drury at Trucks N Toys for the wiring.”

MATT CAPLE
VL COMMODORE
“THIS is my 1988 VL Commodore. It is
stock at the moment, but it’s definitely
a long-term project. It is going in for a
fresh paintjob and interior upgrade to
get it ready for Summernats next year.
I purchased the car for myself and my
10-year-old son Jack, who is a massive
revhead like me. I eventually want to rollrace and drag-race the car in the Super
Street class. The VL will be handed over
to my son when he is old enough to drive
– definitely a cool ride for him! – and we
are already doing cars-and-coffee and car
shows with it. He would get a kick out of
seeing it in Street Machine.”

136

S TR E E T M A C H IN E

MIKE PROCTOR
1963 CHEVROLET BEL AIR
“MY 1963 Chev Bel Air is a right-hand-drive car powered
by 6/71-supercharged, carburetted, 6.2-litre LS3, which
has been forged, ported and polished. It sits on airbagged
suspension and 19x9.5 Simmons rims, with everything new
underneath. I spent two years building it, carrying out 95
per cent of the work myself, including building the engine.”

ETHAN ELLUL
1985 TOYOTA CORONA
“I’M A 21-year-old qualified mechanic and appr
entice
panel beater, and this is my beaten-up 1985 Toyo
ta
Corona ST141 drift wagon. I bought it about a
year
ago for a measly $750. I started by removing
the old
2S-C four-cylinder and automatic, before testfitting
my dad’s old Holden 253 V8 from his VH Com
modore.
My nannu (Maltese for granddad) then made up
and
welded in some custom engine mounts for the
V8,
as well as making supports for the alloy radiator.
My
father and I then stripped the engine and sent
it away
to get the block, heads and crank machined and
cleaned, as well as getting 60thou flat-top pisto
ns.
We re-assembled the engine with a brand-new
H264
Comp Cams cam kit, before installing it in the
car
along with a Holden Trimatic gearbox. The engi
ne
ran great, but the rear main seal kept leaking oil,
even
after replacing it three times, so we ended up
getting
another 253 that’s a lot more stock and swapped
it into
the car until we can inspect the crank. I then spru
ced
up the interior with a quick-release steering whe
el and
boss kit, a working Monster tacho along with vacu
um
and oil pressure gauges, a racing bucket seat
for the
driver, and a regular bucket for the passenger.
I also
installed a B&M T-bar Megashifter, as I’ve alwa
ys
wanted one in a car ever since I can remembe
r. And
just for fun, we got a second bonnet and fitted
a Bug
Catcher to the carby. We also installed a solid
-axle
diff out of a Volvo 240 with an LSD centre, whic
h was
custom made with mountings to fit in a Corona.”

ST RE E T MA C H I N E

137

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L OL

Email your favourite funnies to gday@streetmachine.com.au.

> GAG OF THE MONTH
WAY TO GO

A GUINNESS brewery worker, Patrick,
travelled to the home of his co-worker
Liam with some bad news. When
Liam’s wife opened the door, Patrick
said, “I’m sorry to have to be the one
to tell you, Mary, but Liam died at the
brewery today.”
“Oh my god!” Mary cried. “What
happened?”
“I’m afraid Liam drowned in a vat of
Guinness stout,” Patrick said.
“That’s terrible!” Mary sobbed. “Was it
a quick death at least, Patrick?
“I’m afraid not, Mary,” Patrick replied.
“He had to get out twice to take a piss.”
Boo Zeedeth, email

SOUNDS WRONG

THE world expert on European wasps is
taking a stroll down the main street of town.
As he passes by the record shop, a sign
catches his eye: “Just released! New LP
–Wasps of Europe and the Sounds They
Make. Available now!”
Unable to resist the temptation, the wasp
expert goes into the shop and announces to
the shop assistant, “I am the world expert
on European wasps. I’d very much like to
listen to the new LP you have advertised in
the window.”
“Certainly, sir,” the assistant replies. “If
you’d like to step into the booth and put on
the headphones, I’ll put the record on for
you.”
So, the expert goes into the booth and
puts on the headphones. Ten minutes
later, he comes out of the booth and says
to the assistant, “I am the world expert on
European wasps and their sounds, and yet I
recognised none of the ones on this album.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” the young assistant replies.
“If you’d care to step back into the booth,
I can let you have another 10 minutes’
listening.”
So the world expert on European wasps
steps back into the booth and replaces the
headphones. Ten minutes later, he comes
out of the booth again, shaking his head,
clearly agitated. “I don’t understand it,” he
says to the assistant. “I am the world expert
on European wasps. I know all the sounds
they make, and yet I still can’t recognise any
of the noises on this record!”
“I’m terribly sorry, sir,” says the young man,

140

ST RE E T MAC HIN E

> FUNNY FOTO

Any Bob in particular? Asking for my mate Robert.

“but that was my fault. I just realised I was
playing you the bee side.”
N Sekt, email

POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION

PADDY died in a fire, his body horribly
burned and disfigured. The Dublin morgue
needed someone to identify the body, so
Paddy’s two best friends, Seamus and
Sean, were sent for. Seamus went in and the
mortician pulled back the sheet.
“Oh, he’s burnt pretty bad; I can’t tell if it’s
Paddy or not,” Seamus said. “Roll him over.”
The mortician rolled the corpse over.
Seamus looked and said, “Nah, that ain’t
Paddy.”
The mortician thought that was rather
strange, but then he brought Sean in to
identify the body.
Sean took a look at the corpse and said,
“Not sure if that’s Paddy – roll ’im over.”
The mortician once again rolled the corpse
over. Sean looked down and said, “No way!
That ain’t Paddy.”
Now the mortician couldn’t contain his
curiosity, asking, “How can you tell?”
“Well,” Sean replied, “Paddy had two
arseholes.”
“What? He had two arseholes?” asked the
incredulous mortician.
“Oh yeah, everyone knew he had two
arseholes,” Sean said. “You can ask Seamus
– he’ll tell you that whenever the three of us
went into town together, folks would always
say, ‘Here comes Paddy with them two
arseholes…’”
Orry Fiss, email

FINE DINING

THIS bloke is driving around and decides to
stop at a fancy restaurant to get a bite to eat.
However, the restaurant host stops him: “I’m
sorry, sir, but you can’t come in here. You
need formal clothing.”
The bloke goes home to get his suit, then

returns to the restaurant. “I’m sorry, sir,” the
host says, “but you still can’t come in. You
need a tie to go with your suit.”
Now this bloke is getting pretty annoyed.
He doesn’t want to go all the way back
home just to get his tie, so he grabs a pair of
jumper cables from the boot of his car and
puts them around his neck instead. He then
returns to the restaurant.
“So, can I get in now?” he demands of the
host.
“Okay, yes, now you can come in,” the host
replies. “But don’t start anything.”
Ig Nishun, email

WAIT FOR IT...

THERE are 503 bricks on a plane. One falls
off. How many are left?
502.
HOW do you put an elephant in a fridge?
Open door, put elephant in, close door.
HOW do you put a giraffe in the fridge?
Open door, take elephant out, put giraffe
in, close door.
A LION is having a birthday party. All the
animals are there, except one. Which one?
The giraffe. He’s in the fridge.
SALLY has to get across a large river that’s
home to many hungry crocodiles, yet she
swims across safely. How?
The crocodiles are at the lion’s birthday
party.
SALLY dies anyway. Why?
She got hit in the head by a flying brick.
Woz Intwerth-DeWaite, email

> THOUGHT OF THE MONTH
I did not attend his funeral,
but I sent a nice letter saying
I approved of it – Mark Twain

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S U ND AY TO O FA R A WAY

EMAIL your high-resolution images (1mb+) of fun with cars to sundaytoofaraway@streetmachine.com.au.

JET SIX IMAGES

KID GAMBLE BARBERSHOP

INSTINCT MEDIA

142

ST RE E T MA CHI NE

BRENTEN DWYER

MALCOLM SCHOCH

JET SIX IMAGES

DANIELA GIGS

JET SIX IMAGES

ST RE E T MA C H I N E

143

EW
MADDISON FR

CARLY DALE

JET SIX IMAGES

144

S T RE E T M AC H IN E

NICHOLAS STUBBS

JET SIX IMAGES

STEVE LAUGHTON

COLIN

NATHAN MAYS

STEVEN GORDON

S T RE E T M AC H IN E

145

M I L L O F T H E M O NTH
STORY ANDREW BROADLEY

PHOTOS CHRISTIAN ANGILLETTA

BLOCK PARTY

UP FRONT, there’s a Jesel
belt drive with an Innovators
West crank trigger and MSD cam
sensor. The oiling system is quite
simple and straightforward –
just a single-stage external
pump and a wet sump

403CI TWIN-TURBO SMALL-BLOCK FORD
> BK RACE ENGINES, BANKSTOWN, NSW

M

ICHAEL Haimandos’s Mustang
is the quickest small-block Fordpowered car in the country, with a
PB of 6.33@227mph. That was on
his old engine, so you can imagine this new one
will be something special!
“We were previously running Brodix heads,
and that was the limiting factor,” explains Bill
Kaglatzis of BK Race Engines, the man who
heads up the engine program for Michael’s
Mustang. “The old engine had 2.125in inlet
valves, and now we have 2.275in, so there’s
been considerable enlargement in terms of
valves, ports and manifold.”
The move was deemed necessary because
the old combo, while willing and able to rev to
the stratosphere, would nose over up the pointy
end of the rev range. “The sweet spot was
always between 8800 and 9000rpm, no matter
how much boost we’d throw at it,” Bill says.

146

S TR E E T M A CHI NE

“The thing would go crazy-fast to 9000rpm, but
even though we’d turn it past 10,000, it would
just run out of air. Even though the engine had
all the gear to get to 10,000rpm, it wouldn’t
make power past 9000.”
In addition to the new billet Ultra Pro cylinder
heads, Bill opted for a Dart billet block (a
Windsor-style block with a 9.2in Cleveland
deck height) to ensure he had a strong
foundation. The rotating assembly consists of
a Bryant crankshaft, GRP rods and Diamond
pistons to withstand the monumental 70psi of
boost that Bill plans to fetch out of the twin
88mm Precision turbochargers.
The Bullet camshaft is a monster, sporting
almost .900in lift and 270/286 degrees
duration at .050in. It acts on Jesel lifters, and
the heads are fitted with T&D rockers and PSI
springs. The inlet manifold is from CID, with a
Wilson billet elbow and throttlebody. As you

might imagine, it’s a pretty fearsome-sounding
thing. “Yeah, it’s a dirty, nasty-sounding, highrevving little small-block,” Bill grins.
The CID inlet manifold runs two sets of fuel
rails, which at the moment are loaded with
the Precision S225 and S550 injectors from
the old engine. Time will tell if this combo will
require more methanol than the injectors are
able to deliver.
“The whole idea now is to spin it to 10,000rpmplus and put an extra 15-odd pound of boost
than we used to run,” Bill explains. “We were at
52psi and showing around 2200-2300hp in the
car with the last combo, so we’ll put near 70psi
in it and rev to 10,400rpm. There’s potential
to make some power! We’ve probably freed
up another 300-500hp, but what will start to
fatigue now? You start pushing them this hard
and you begin to expose those weak points, so
we’ll see what happens!” 

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