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I WEBSITE streetmachine.com.au EMAIL streetmachine@aremedia.com.au

STREET MACHINE MERCH shop.streetmachine.com.au FACEBOOK streetmachinemagazine INSTAGRAM streetmachinemag YOUTUBE STREETMACHINETV MAIL Street Machine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166 EDITORIAL (03) 9567 4200 SUBSCRIBE streetmachine.subscription.com.au m.auu (03) 9567 4104 9am-5pm (EST) Mon-Fri

’VE just returned from the launch of the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 at Sydney Motorsport Park. It’s a ripper car – a track-focused, factory hotrodded Mustang, inspired by the original ’69 Mach 1. If you’re interested in my thoughts on it, check out the review at whichcar.com.au.

But it got me thinking about the newcar landscape in Australia in this postlocal manufacturing era. For us lovers of V8-powered, rear-drive performance cars, the truth is, it’s pretty bleak. With the Camaro no longer available and Chrysler’s decision to discontinue the 300 SRT in Australia this year, the Mustang stands alone as the only affordable option.

Street Machine is not a new-car mag, so it’s not something we spend a lot of

car that I’m personally very excited about, with a driveaway price nudging $190,000 for the entry-level 2LT coupe, it’s one I’ll never likely be able to afford.

Even the iconic AMG C63, which has for years been known for its bellowing V8 exhaust note and tyre-melting rear-drive fun factor, is being castrated. From 2022 on, it’ll be a hybrid four-cylinder with allwheel drive. Eww. It’s little wonder then that Ford has sold so many Mustangs since bringing them to Australia in 2015, and thank goodness they have. In factory spec, they represent outstanding value, are fun and engaging to drive, and have just the right amount of retro appeal.

The Coyote is an exceptional platform for modification, too, as you’ll see when you

THE 2021 MUSTANG MACH 1 IS A RIPPER – A TRACK-FOCUSED, FACTORY HOT-RODDED CAR INSPIRED BY THE ORIGINAL ’69 MACH 1 time contemplating, but it will become a problem in 10 or 20 years’ time when stocks of used Commodores and Falcons, already fetching big money on account of supply and demand, completely dry up.

I worry about what cars we will have available to us as the foundation for building tough street cars in the future.

Traditionally, the cars we’re passionate about as adults are the ones our parents drove us to school in as kids, and for the next generation, that’ll be dual-cab utes and mid-sized SUVs – pretty mindnumbing stuff.

Mustang (and arguably Kia Stinger) aside, the only modern muscle cars available today are European unobtanium, and while the incoming C8 Corvette is a

come across Wayne Lineker’s 2017 Ford Mustang GT on p. 126 of this issue. With little in the way of powertrain mods other than a ProCharger, aftermarket oil pump, torque converter and driveshafts, it makes 750rwhp and has run 9.70@149mph, all while remaining wonderfully streetable.

I think we should get used to seeing modified Mustangs, because looking well into the future, there is going to be precious little else to work with. Here’s hoping the big three American manufacturers are able to keep churning out muscle cars long into the future, and local legislation continues to allow them to be privately imported once they’re of age.

Cheers, Broads s

C O NT ENT S JULY 2021 | VOLUME 41 | ISSUE 7

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> FEATURES

46 NORTHERN NATS

Far North Queensland’s fifth running of the three-day horsepower extravaganza

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GEELONG ALL FORD DAY The 30th-anniversary instalment of the iconic Blue Oval showcase almost didn’t happen

100 RETROSPEED WILBY SPRINTS

110 CONVERSION THERAPY Manuel Thomason switched sides to put together a stonking XP Falcon

Classic racers flock to northern Victoria for the fourth Wilby Park Sprints

GRUNT HUNT: BLOWN 7.3L 116 GODZILLA Harrop Engineering combines its TVS blower with a Ford Godzilla V8, with spectacular results

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142 1447HP TURBO LS VK

Amien Zeitoun goes to extreme lengths to beatt his mates with this 7sec VK Commodore

> REGULARS

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07 BROADCAST 12 NEWS FRONT 16 PEOPLE LIKE US 18 SNAPSHOTS 22 FANGING FLICK 24 YOUR STUFF & PRIVACY NOTICE 122 TIME MACHINE 126 DRAG CHALLENGE 130 IN THE BUILD 134 SLEEPERS 138 IRON MAIDEN 142 URBAN WARFARE 146 DIRTY STUFF 148 IN GEAR 150 READERS’ ROCKETS 156 LOL 158 SUNDAY TOO FAR AWAY 162 MILL OF THE MONTH

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134 RAGE IN BEIGE 355 cubes of Vortech-blown Holden sleeper glory

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THE LAST DETAIL This radical, wide-body HQ Monaro build took eight years of exacting work by Down Town Kustoms

STRAIGHT ARROW A 10-second ’74 Dart made all Max Phillips’s cross-country road trips worthwhile

WORM BURNER Glenn Smith’s blown Miami-powered ’79 F100 keeps it on the down-low

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BLACK IS THE NEW ORANGE

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50 SHADES DARKER

It used to wear orange, but after a thorough overhaul, this 368ci Windsor-powered Mustang is back in black

058 With a 598ci big-block Chev under the bonnet, this sinister, all-black HG Monaro means business

084 092

NEW IMPERIALISM Tim Cress chose to embrace his EH wagon’s show car heritage

PHOTO: ASHLEIGH WILSON DIRECTED BY Andrew Broadley STARRING Leah Gionis SPECIAL GUEST STAR Povi Pullinen SCRIPT EDITORS Brett Collingwood, John Panazzo BASED ON THE BOOK BY Scott Taylor BEST BOY Kian Heagney KEY GRIP Mary Lee STUNT CO-ORDINATOR Paul Cronin EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Simon Telford ALSO APPEARING Mark Arblaster, Tom Baker, Chez Images, Iain Curry, Carly Dale, Darren Shaw Photography, Jacqui Dean, Kian Heagney, Ben Hosking, Jack Houlihan, Joseph Hui, Luke Hunter, John Jackson, Iain Kelly, Warwick Kent, Jordan Leist, Simon Major, Shawn McCann, Tas McMillan, Craig Parker, Cheryl Poulson, Damion Smy, Shaun Tanner, Chris Thorogood, Steve Titcumb, Noel Tuckey, Boris Viskovic, Ashleigh Wilson

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COVER IMAGE Ben Hosking COMMERCIAL CONTENT DIRECTOR Matthew Rice (02) 9263 9706, mrice@aremedia.com.au COMMERCIAL MANAGER – ENTHUSIAST Joseph Lenthall (02) 8114 9421, jlenthall@aremedia.com.au VICTORIAN SALES MANAGER Kim Simonsen (03) 9567 4311 QUEENSLAND SALES MANAGER Todd Anderson 0409 630 733 SA & WA SALES MANAGER Nick Lenthall 0439 485 835, nick.lenthall@aremedia.com.au AGENCY SALES MANAGER Max Kolomiiets (02) 8275 6486, max.kolomiiets@aremedia.com.au ADVERTISING PRODUCTION Karyssa Arendt karyssa.arendt@aremedia.com.au

PRODUCTION SERVICES Di McLarty DIGITAL MANAGER Tim Kenington EMAIL MARKETING SPECIALIST Katie Bastion CIRCULATION MANAGER Stuart Jones FINANCE MANAGER Cain Murphy CONTENT DIRECTOR – ENTHUSIAST Simon Telford ARE MEDIA AUTOMOTIVE CEO Andrew Beecher

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J U LY 2 0 2 1 : A L L T H E N E W S T H AT M AT T E R S STORY SIMON TELFORD PHOTOS SM ARCHIVES

EXPRESSION SESSION IS BACK! > ONE OF THE MOST REQUESTED COLUMNS IN STREET MACHINE HISTORY IS COMING BACK, JUST IN TIME FOR OUR 40TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE IN SEPTEMBER! HE September issue of Street Machine is going to be a 244-page extravaganza, celebrating the 40th anniversary of this esteemed journal of record.

We’ve got a stack of fun stuff planned, but one thing we’re really pumped for is the return of our much-loved Expression Session column.

Kicking off in the March 1997 issue of SM, Expression Session was a showcase for wild concept car ideas, featuring artist Jeff Haggarty on the crayons, journo Glenn Torrens on the words and engineer Werner Ihle adjudicating on the legality of what was being proposed.

Jeff went on to a long career with Holden, where he worked on some amazing projects, including Efijy, the VZ Monaro, the SST Commodore show car and the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro.

Jeff’s last issue was the January 2002 mag, after which the Expression Session easel was initially taken over by Michael Menzies. By that time, John Varetimidis was in charge of the engineering duties and the whole deal was overseen by Craig ‘TUFFXY’ Parker. Craig introduced a massively popular reader section, where the punters would respond to Michael’s concepts from previous issues with their own take on the brief. The office was always flooded with mailing tubes containing the latest entries.

Ryan Carter was the next artist in the hot seat, and stuck around for a decade or so before hanging up his pens for a new career that saw

T

him work at The Chop Shop, followed by his own business, United Speed Shop.

Expression Session then went into hiatus, but we rebooted it in 2012 as Muscle Car Makeover, this time to focus solely on readersubmitted concepts. Queensland artist Aden Jacobi was behind the drawing board this time, with Simon Major explaining it all on page.

Aden also did a series of killer concepts for the Street Machine Hot Rod Annual.

For the return of Expression Session, we’ve teamed up with 21-year-old young gun, Aidan

but he already counts ProFlo, Moits Motorcars, Deluxe Rod Shop and Pat’s Pro Restos among his suite of happy customers.

“As a kid, the work of artists in Expression Session dramatically inspired and shaped my career,” Aidan says. “Over the years, Street Machine has featured work from artists and designers like Aden Jacobi, Jeff Haggarty and Ryan Carter, who have had so much influence in the industry, and to have my work feature in the mag is something I’m immensely proud of and excited about.

“I’d encourage readers to be creative with their submissions.

If you have an idea for something radical, send it through! Most of the work I have on at the moment is centred around pro street and pro touring-style builds, and the really radical stuff is exciting to work on. That being said, muscle cars with slightly modified exteriors, updated drivelines, suspension and modern wheel and tyre combos have always been trendy; I think they’re cool because they’re the most relatable.”

So if you’d like Aidan to create a custom render for your next project, shoot us an email at streetmachine@aremedia.com.au. Include as much detail in your brief as possible, including body mods, colours, trim, rims and stance. Reference images will also come in handy! Get us inspired by your ideas and you’ll have a big chance of your submission being selected. s

I’D ENCOURAGE READERS TO BE CREATIVE WITH THEIR SUBMISSIONS. IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR SOMETHING RADICAL, SEND IT THROUGH!

BELOW: Troy Trepanier dreamed up this 1955 Plymouth Plaza concept for Ryan Carter as part of our Celebrity Expression Session series

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Donald of Aidan’s Design & Illustration. This time around, you guys will have the chance to get your project brought to life by this clever Queenslander.

Aidan is currently in the third year of his industrial design studies at Griffith Uni, but is already working with some of Australia’s leading shops to generate concepts and renderings for custom car builds. He also stays busy by designing one-off custom 3D-printed and billet components for clients, from brackets to bespoke wheel designs and custom billet grilles. He may be a young punk,

> HOT GOSSIP ENTER SANDMAN GREG Maskell and his team at Maskell’s Customs & Classics are flat-out working on a very special HZ Sandman replica project. “John and Glenda McCue approached us early this year about finishing the restoration of their late son’s van,” says Greg. “Luke was 18 and had just started his auto electrical apprenticeship. He’d already built up a One Tonner and had just started on the van when he passed away in a traffic accident. The family wanted to complete the van in his honour, and once we’d heard about Luke and what an incredible young man he was, the whole team here wanted to get involved.” Greg has also had a lot of support from folks in the industry, with the likes of KBS, Resto Country, Harkrome, PPG, Brilliant Polish and Bendigo Electroplating all offering their assistance unprompted. Look out for the completed project towards the end of this year.

ABOVE & LEFT: One of the earliest concepts Jeff Haggarty did for Expression Session was the Mod Rod Torana. The car was built for real by Chris Varney and debuted at MotorEx in 2015. Jeff went on to a stellar career at Holden BELOW: At just 21 years of age, Aidan Donald already has an impressive client list, including ProFlo Performance, Pat’s Pro Restos, Delxue Rod Shop and Moits Motorcars. His own ride is a neato Walky tribute, which we’ll feature in Young g Guns soon!

RARE SPARES SOLD RARE Spares has been purchased by GPC Asia Pacific, owners of automotive brands including Repco, Napa Auto Parts and Sparesbox. The move will see GPC complete the purchase of 100 per cent of Rare Spares shares by mid-year.

It won’t affect Rare Spares stores or staff, but will enable customer access to Rare Spares parts though Repco’s national network, as well as quicker-to-market product development. “There is only upside to this,” Rare Spares managing director Lance Corby says. “You won’t really see a change in the Rare Spares brand at all. Rare Spares will still be Rare Spares. It will still be run by the team running it now, I will still be the general manager, and my support leadership team will still be in place. All of our staff will be retained at our Campbellfield head office, doing what we do best.” Customers will still be able to shop at their local Rare Spares, including a recent new flagship store at Slacks Creek, Queensland, but will also be able to special-order parts from Repco outlets.

NEXT! THE August issue of Street Machine will be chock-a-block with beaut car content, so don’t miss it! We’ll bring you coverage from the Hot Rod & Custom Auto Expo, Joe’s Diner cruise night in Brisbane, and the sensory feast that is Rattletrap. We’ve teamed up with Ben ‘Mechanical Stig’ Neal of Benny’s Custom Works to compile a guide to prepping your car and trailer for SM Drag Challenge.

Having enjoyed success at DC and in the US at Hot Rod Drag Week, Benny is well-placed to give you the skinny on how to ensure you go the distance in our five-day street car torture test. We’ll also bring you a bumper crop of feature cars – Holdens, Fords, a Chev and a super-tough Mopar – plus all the regulars you know and love. The August issue of Street Machine goes on sale 15 July. Get you some!

S T RE E T MA CH I N E

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N E W S F RO N T

J U LY 2 0 2 1 : A L L T H E N E W S T H AT M AT T E R S STORY KIAN HEAGNEY

COVID CLASSIC CRUNCH > AUCTION RECORDS CONTINUE TO BE SMASHED, INCLUDING PETER BROCK’S PERSONAL VK SELLING FOR OVER $1 MILLION!

I

T’S a phrase sellers are loving and keen buyers are dreading: COVID tax. It’s hit all areas of the car market pretty hard in the past 12 months or so, but the worst by far has been the skyrocketing classic market.

The recent results from a Grays classic car auction are stone-cold proof of this, the major headline being Peter Brock’s personal HDT VK Group A road car, which sold for $1,057,509 before buyer’s premium.

It was joined by a V8 XE Fairmont, which was not only the last XE fitted with a V8 before Ford canned them, but had also never been sold privately. With just 60km on the ticker, it went for $354,759, along with a shed-find RPO 83-spec XA GT hardtop, which reached $276,009 – both those prices before BP. Other results from the same auction included a genuine 351-powered XC Falcon Cobra that sold for $268,759 (plus BP), as well as a

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super-rare Leyland Force 7 which was passed in at a smidge over $100,000.

Now granted, many of you will be saying that those cars are rarified one-offs that would’ve commanded good coin in any climate.

However, just weeks before the Grays auction, a genuine LJ GTR XU-1 smashed the auction record for a road-going XU-1 by over $100K when it sold for $295,000 at Burns & Co Auctions. It had just 24,847 miles on the clock and was in superb condition, but still outsold the previous record-holder XU-1, which was far more historically significant given it was painted in the infamous Strike Me Pink and was the first-ever road-going LJ XU-1 to roll off the production line.

If you thought shopping new would make life easier, then we’ve also got bad news for you.

More auction headlines include one of four HSV GTSR W1 Maloos, which sold at auction

to the guys at LMCT+ for $1 million – the same mob who won the aforementioned Peter Brock VK Group A. Prices for everything from worn-out BA XR6 Turbos to CV8 Monaros and VF SS Commodores have jumped substantially. As we went to press, we were unable to find a decent VF II SS for sale online for less than $70K, well above the original sticker price Holden asked for them only a few years ago. That’s not to say that is the price they end up selling for, of course.

Unique Cars editor Guy Allen has been carefully watching the market change for over 12 months now, and says this is more than just a quick COVID-induced pricing bubble.

“While so-called COVID tax has had an effect on the market, I think it’s a much bigger thing than that,” he says. “I highly doubt it’s a shortterm trend, and I’m not entirely sure when or how it’ll burst.” s

PE O P L E L I KE U S STORY KIAN HEAGNEY

PHOTOS CHRIS THOROGOOD

CHRIS STUTTARD > LARA, VICTORIA

W

E SPOTTED Chris Stuttard’s BADLH8 1974 LH Torana in the pits at the recent Tuff Mounts Holden Nationals at Heathcote Park Raceway. We hit him up for a chat about his 10-second, all-motor, streetdriven Torry.

How long have you had the Torana?

I got it around five years ago. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid to own a Torana.

I’ve always been into Holdens because it’s always what my dad had growing up.

I actually missed out on an LC coupe just before I bought this one, so I jumped on the LH straight away!

What condition was it in?

It had a 355 stroker in it, but it was a bit sad. It was already painted in the HSV Cherry Black paint – that was done around 20 years ago – and it already had the flares on it as well.

What’ve you done to it so far?

I’ve had the 355 rebuilt twice now,, because the first rebuild was absolutely terrible. The 355 in it now is an HQ 308 block with VN heads built by Wayne Cartledge at Racecomp Motorsports, and it’s been awesome. It probably makes around 440hp at the wheels, and I did 12 passes at the Holden Nationals with no dramas at all. I’ve also rewired the whole car, because that was a basket case when I got it, and there’s a bunch of other stuff I’ve changed on it over the years.

What’s the rest of the driveline?

It’s got a Trimatic built by DTM Transmissions and a nine-inch diff with 3.7:1 gears. I want to redo the rear end with an anti-roll bar and some other upgrades to get it a bit faster.

How did the Holden Nationals go for you?

It was awesome! I’ve done Holden Nats a few times before, and this one was just as good.

I got a PB with a 10.64@126mph, but in the racing the same thing happened as 2019:

I won my first elimination, but then in the second round I spun the wheels and just lost to the other guy. But that’s why I love dial-in racing; you don’t need an eight-second car to be competitive, and I just race to have fun.

Do you use it much on the street?

All the bloody time! I was cruising the car around on Sunday the day after Holden Nationals, and sometimes I even take it to work. I organise a lot of charity meets down here in Geelong, so I love getting my car out and using it on the street. Being a four-door, I can put the kids in it, too.

Any other projects on the go?

I’m restoring my dad’s EJ Special sedan as a tribute to him; he passed away from cancer around six years ago. It’s got 47,500 miles on the clock and I’ve got it to the stage now where the original grey motor is running. I just need to finish off the bodywork. I’m restoring it to be as original as possible, and hopefully I’ll get it on the road soon. s

IT PROBABLY MAKES AROUND 440HP AT THE WHEELS, AND I DID 12 PASSES AT THE HOLDEN NATIONALS WITH NO DRAMAS AT ALL

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T R O P S R O T O M l l a e r e Wh ! p o h s S L A N O I S S E F O R P Our reputation is built on supplying our customers with the best products from the af\mkljq k d]Y\af_ ZjYf\k g^ `a_` performance parts for their application and the best technical support.

stocked brands include: TRAY COOL ANNE and I wanted to thank you and your staff so much for adding our HQ ute (above) to the June edition of Readers’ Rockets. We were utterly thrilled to see it in print; it’s a definite bucket-list moment for me.

We’re looking forward to the completion of our newest project, a 1972 HQ One Tonner. I’m trying to accomplish as much as I can with this on my own this time around. Perhaps I can send you some pics for In The Build?

Thanks again!

Anton & Anne Brown, emaill

COLLECTOR’S EDITIONS I JUST saw the pictures of Mark Allen’s Street Machine collection in the letters section of the May issue – lovely!

Here are some pictures of my own collection (right); the mags on the floor are from 1986 ’til 2017. Lots of lovely cars there indeed.

Robby Simpson, emaill

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HI, hoping you can print this drawing in your awesome magazine – it’s a picture of Louis Younis’s Torana drawn by my son George, aged nine. George has been reading your mags for the past year and is hooked on the idea of getting a V8 custom in the future. Thanks guys!

Howard Tomlin, emaill

SN A P S H OT S STORY SIMON MAJOR

1

2

3 t r a P MARK PARSONS > RIPLEY, QUEENSLAND

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HE street machine scene stepped up a serious notch by the late 1980s, with the first Summernats laying an annual foundation for the explosion in build styles coming in hot for the 1990s. Mark Parsons was still deep in car projects at the time, elevating his game with a view to future show and drag-strip success. “I’ve never gambled and I’ve never smoked,” he says. “Money was always precious to me so I could funnel it into cars.”

We take up the third part of Mark’s car journey during this period, showcasing some builds that would still draw plenty of admiration today.

01: SIX-HUNDRED bucks bought Mark this grubby blue XB GS as a parts donor for his Fairmont family car. “It was fully optioned with air and steer, and was a factory 302 Clevo with a C4 and BorgWarner rear,” he says. “I was mainly going to rob it for the sports grille, sports dash and nostril bonnet, but with a boot spoiler and Speedy chromies, it looked okay, and I started to realise that underneath all the

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mess it was actually in really good nick. The white vinyl interior looked disgusting, but my wife Sonja and I scrubbed it to within an inch of its life and it was just in perfect condition. We decided it was too good to wreck, so we sold it a few weeks later for $1200.”

02: WITH Mark’s Austin A40 hot rod project blown apart, he got busy with a Model A roadster build. The new fibreglass A-body was grafted to his A40 chassis, while the Torana front end and EH rear were finished up properly for engineering. The 327 Chev from his old Model A bucket was put back into service, and virtually everything that could be unbolted was sent off to be chromed. “My mate, Mark Merrin, owned Nepean Chrome, and always looked after me on my builds,” Mark says. The roadster was coming together, but with a new business venture on the horizon, Mark was getting itchy for another panel van project, so the hot rod was sold as roller in ’89 for $5800 and the small-block Chev went into a ’34 roadster

hiboy. I love the stars-and-stripes tailshaft Mark had lined up for this: “I saw the idea in a Yank magazine and loved it; at least if you ran someone over they’d remember you!”

03: BY THE late 1980s, the popularity of panel vans was waning, but Mark could see the appeal of building one with a street machine flavour. He found this primer-patched ex-NRMA HQ in Unique Cars magazine for $1900 and set to work. “It was owned by a house painter, who I swear must have driven it around with no lids on any of the tins – the cargo area and tailgates were just covered in thick, multicoloured layers of paint; it made colour fleck look plain!” Mark laughs. “I could see the potential in it though, and he accepted my offer of $1500. It had a Statesman front nose and had been converted to 253 at some stage, and looked to have been a show-type build originally that had been put back to work. My mate Brett resprayed it in Cyan Blue, I dropped the front end to give it the right amount of rake

then the project snowballs into a full tear-down rebuild. And DTK didn’t initially feature in the build plans back in 2012.

“The car went to a normal smash shop to fix the rust and have an LS fitted, but it was too much work for them, so the shop owner suggested to

making stuff.”

SHQRP was one of the first builds we saw completely de-skinned of exterior panels so the rotten inner structures could be removed and replaced with hand-fabricated pieces.

While high-end show cars of the time typically

Building from the centre out, the whole car has been ‘wedged’, which makes for a mega-fat look that many mistake for DTK chopping the coupe’s roof!

“We had to keep the essence of the HQ’s design, especially with the reverse line through

THIS HQ WAS TOTALLY RUSTED AND WE HAD TO REMAKE EVERY PIECE OF THE INNER AND OUTER STRUCTURES Peter that I should do it,” says Graeme. “This HQ was totally rusted and we had to remake every piece of the inner and outer structures until halfway up the bodyline. It was all swiss cheese, and we barely had enough to jig off, but we managed to do that and then we started

WINDOWS “All the glass is stock, but the side glass has been sanded to change the shape so it fits better, as stock HQ glass doesn’t fit great,” said Graeme. “The door weather seals are stock, but the top moulding on the door and rear-quarter weather seal is custom. We went to the wreckers to find something close, then we’d order new ones and cut them up to make them work” DOOR HANDLES “The door handles are a popper on top of the door, which is a machined part welded into the door with a flush-fit button. Inside that pocket there’s a pin that connects to the latches, but it has a nylon sleeve with a spring to make its activation nice,” explains Graeme. “It is loosely based on old minitruck techniques, but made much nicer”

featured smoothed, sheeted-over structures, Graeme and DTK added OE-style swages, lips and folds to add strength and rigidity that an original HQ coupe couldn’t dream of. But this is only the tip of the epic engineering inherent in this car.

the rear guards that most people body-work out, but we wanted to enhance it and push further than what other people had done,” Graeme explains. “We pushed the front of the front guards 10mm wider so the back of those guards came out 30mm, then the doors were wedged

SHQRP-DRESSED MAN YOU need to have a special vision to commission a build of the size and scale of SHQRP, and Peter Sharp is exactly this kind of rad cat. What is even more impressive is that he has done this while living in Hong Kong, a world away from the sleepy township of Taree.

Having already restored an HG Premier and deciding to move on from his motorcycle hobby, Peter began the SHQRP project one night as he was browsing eBay. “I’ve always loved the HQ, and in 2009 I found two Monaro coupes on eBay,” he explains. “This car came from Coffs, and I bought another car from Wyong. The Coffs car was in better condition than the car from Wyong, so we put all the good parts on the Coffs car and sold the Wyong car for what I paid for it.”

While the end result is epic, Peter wasn’t initially out to build the most radical, street-beating HQ two-door that could be dreamed up.

“The wide-body came about because I wanted big wheels,” he says. “However, I didn’t want them sitting under the car with a tubbed look and the associated impact that would have on the rear seats, so this is how it morphed into the car it is today. We thought about how I wanted to use the car and the engineering required to make that work, and then found solutions that worked stylistically to suit.”

So, after eight years, is Peter stoked?

“This car became what it is because of Graeme and his crew’s skills,” he asserts. “Graeme’s great because of his creativity as well as his tenacity to find solutions to problems.”

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remember. The Prem was still in its original cream with a brown interior, and ran a 253 with column-shift Trimatic and Elstar wheels. I offered them $600, and it became our family cruiser for the next six months. I was woken early one morning by the sound of someone revving the shit out a V8. I walked out to the front of the house and looked up and down the street and saw nothing, then wandered into the backyard to find my then five-year-old son Ricky hanging off the steering wheel and mashing his foot up and down on the accelerator!” It was a sign of things to come – almost 30 years on and Ricky has his own big-block HQ that’s run a street-trim 9.80@139mph.

06: AFTER selling his green V8 TD Cortina a few years earlier, Mark got keen for another street sleeper build, so he picked up a tidy eraspec white-with-brown-interior TE Corty. The original six-cylinder and auto were replaced with a 302 Cleveland and C4, while Ghia

wheels were added to keep it looking plain. The plan was to keep it stock but lightweight, so he removed as much extra weight as possible and geared up to start racing again, this time at the newly opened Eastern Creek Raceway. “I loved the look of the TF Cortina Pro Stocker that Dave Missingham used to race – it was supertough – so I was inspired by that,” he says “I eventually realised that the 302 wasn’t a tough engine anyway and felt like I was wasting my time, so I sold it on. I did do a heap of burnouts in the backstreets with it though.”

07: MARK’S main project throughout this period was this 1936 Ford coupe with ’35 front sheet metal. Originally built by Alan Lang in the 1960s, Mark picked it up in 1989 from Greystanes for $12K. The five-window body featured a five-inch roof chop and through the ensuing decades had been outfitted with a tunnel-rammed 302 Windsor, Top Loader and Jag front and rear ends – all chromed, of course.

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Mark did the show scene and rod runs for the next five years, initially painting it flat black and adding a set of Dragways, before a rebuild that included Mazda Mach Green paint. “I rushed the paintjob to make it to the ‘muddy’ 1991 Hot Rod Nationals in Penrith, and it came back to bite me with a few areas that soon blistered,” Mark recalls. “I was so frustrated with myself because I just sanded it back and sealed it, but didn’t bare-metal it like I knew I should have. After the Nats, I had it sandblasted and the roof chop was a bogged-up mess – it was that bad that I actually planned to do a Mercedes cloth-type Carson top instead. I got as far as tubbing it and fitting bigger rear wheels, but sold it unfinished because one of my dream cars came up for sale. Man, that roof chop was pretty severe; I went through a Macca’s drive-through once and ended up with my arm stuck through the window holding the drinks tray; the cups were too tall to pull back through!” s

STORY DAMION SMY

PHOTOS CHRIS THOROGOOD

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU CAN’T FIND A BLACK MUSTANG? BUY AN ORANGE ONE AND START LOOKING FOR ANY EXCUSE TO REPAINT IT

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GET READY TO RIDE THE SHOWSTOPPING 2021 TOURING LINE-UP. DON’T MISS OUT, PRE-ORDER NOW AT YOUR LOCAL H-D® DEALER OR VISIT H-D.COM *Overseas model shown. ©2021 H-D or its affiliates. HARLEY-DAVIDSON, HARLEY, H-D, and the Bar and Shield Logo are among the trademarks of H-D U.S.A. LLC.

YOU R ST U FF

Write to: Your Stuff, Street Machine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166 or email streetmachine@aremedia.com.au. au.

Make sure you include your address (not necessarily for publication). Keep it short and sweet!

> LETTER OF THE MONTH OIL BURNIN’ HI GUYS! Firstly, great mag – I have been collecting and reading every issue from the start.

I just finished reading the May issue, and I have a question regarding the Urban Warfare article about the GSL Fab diesel Land Cruiser. It said that in 2018 the Cruiser ran a 10.95@119mph pass to be the quickest diesel in Australia at that time. Just wondering where you got those numbers from? Not to take anything away from them, but my best time in my diesel dragster (right) of 10.64@123.93mph, set on 15 February 2012, is still quicker than the time you quoted.

Don’t get me wrong, I take my hat off to Luke and Scott from GSL Fab. I have followed them from the start at the Diesel Assault race nights. They have achieved a staggering amount with a diesel car and promoted their business in the process. And as stated in the article, GSL Fab now has the current diesel record in the bag at 8.93 – for an 1800kg Land Cruiser, that’s fast!

I’m just a hobbyist who loves diesel power, and due to this new record I have booked my dragster into a local fab shop for some upgrades. It should run 7.9 or quicker with a Cummins 24V 6BT diesel, F3-136X ProCharger, zoomie pipes, 36-inch tyres and nitrous. We’ll see how that goes.

Stephan Vanderhee, email

OOLD LLD SCH SCHOOL HOOL

A REAL DRAG?

HI GUYS, I was wondering if you could help me out. I’m looking for two co issues of the mag from the mid-80s. iss One was with Mark Dall’acqua’s first On V8 Escort (the white one), and the other issue featured Chez Dellunto’s oth yellow EH ute (left). ye Both were shot at the workshop I B did my apprenticeship in. My boss at the time is now in respite care and not well, and I would love to be able to we show him the mags if I can track them sh down before he passes. Thanks for do your help! yo Wal Roberts, email HEY mate! Mark’s Escort was in the HE Jul/Aug 1989 issue, while the Jan/Feb Ju 1990 issue featured Chez’s ute. You 19 may be able to track down secondma hand copies of these online; eBay’s ha probably your best bet. – Telfo pro

GEEZ, Aussie drag racing is in a weird place. On one hand, we have more cars being built than ever – every chassis shop and engine builder I know is flat-out. Big events like the recent Nitro Thunder meeting in Sydney had big crowds, and Drag Challenge sold out in less than a day. Heathcote Park seems to be going from strength to strength, and there are plenty of new tracks being built or upgraded.

This is all despite the war between the IHRA and ANDRA sanctioning bodies. It looked like ANDRA was on the ropes last year, but now that they have the operation of Perth Motorplex and have announced the Australian Drag Racing Championship, it looks like they’re building up a head of steam. Although, it must be said, IHRA has the edge in terms of having the most modern tracks.

Who knows where it will end up, but it can’t be good for racers, tracks, sponsors or fans.

George Franks, email

3-5 ENTER NOW REDCENTRENATS.COM.AU

SEPT

2021

Graham Hilton’s stunning 197 5 HJ Holden wagon spectacularl y lifted its wheels on the strip. “It’ll go better when it gets a bit coo ler; it’s hot out there!” he said. An LS3 with Magnuson supercharger ma kes 750-800hp at the tyres via a Turbo 400 and 9in diff. “It’s fully str eetregistered and driven,” Gra ham said. “I drive it to Woolies to get the shopping, then go racing”

THE DRIVERS LOVE IT. THEY’RE PUSHED IN THREE BURNOUTS, AND IF YOU MISS ONE AND DON’T SCORE THEN YOU WON’T WIN

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MAX DECIDED THE 440 THE CAR CAME WITH JUST WOULDN’T CUT THE MUSTARD, SO HE BOUGHT ANOTHER 440 THAT HAD BEEN STROKED TO 500 CUBES

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ENGINE: Brad didn’t muck around when it came to engine choices, stuffing 598 cubes of big-block Chev between the rails. Thanks to well-planned routing of hoses, fuel lines and wiring, the mill appears to float in the bay – Brad credits Dicker’s Speed Shoppe for the fine work. An Edelbrock tunnel rams sits atop AFR

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Magnum 357 heads, while twin QFT 1050 Dominators keep up the supply of E85 to the thirsty beast ABOVE: One of the reasons Brad bought the car was because it was already mini-tubbed. It easily swallows up the 15x10 Welds and 295/55 ET Street rubber

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RITING feature articles on cars built

by Down Town Kustoms is normally quite a task, as the Taree workshop led by Graeme Brewer has built a solid reputation for constructing genre-busting machines overloaded with cool features. It’s never easy to squeeze all of these little details into a concise story, but I

of its build process,” he sighs. “This car has been a massive mental load, because every modification creates 10 other things you need to find solutions to, and there’s thousands of mods, so it extrapolates out.”

Coming up with ideas for mad mods is one thing, but working out how to integrate them cohesively into a whole car is a tougher ask.

get stressful, because I don’t always have the answers right there and then.

“These days we know the problems that we will likely face in a build of this stature, and we can fix them before they pop up. But back when we were building this car, we had so much more trial-and-error in the process. Funnily enough, we didn’t have many redos, apart from part of

COMING UP WITH IDEAS FOR MAD MODS IS ONE THING, BUT WORKING OUT HOW TO INTEGRATE THEM COHESIVELY IS A TOUGHER ASK found it particularly daunting in the case of Peter Sharp’s SHQRP Monaro, thanks to the sheer scale of the work involved in making this radical, wide-body HQ. Still, my own professional struggle doesn’t compare to the strain Graeme Brewer has felt over the past eight years. “It feels like a weight has been lifted now it’s coming to the end

Building something in a style that hasn’t really been done before is an even spicier burrito to unwrap.

“With a car of this level, there’s no textbook to solve these issues for you, so you just have to think and think and think about it,” Graeme explains. “It just consumes you; I would take it home and it would creep into my brain. It could

HEADLIGHTS “Every light in the car is LED, except the headlights, which we had custom-made in the USA to match the original size of the HQ items,” Graeme said. “We had this done years ago, a long time before LED headlights were so commonly available. They actually bolt into the same place they’re found on a stock HQ, but people think they’re different because the grille tricks their eye”

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TAIL-LIGHTS “The tail-lights would have been one of the first things I did in CAD,” says Graeme. “Initially I drew up original tail-lights but was going to make them slimmer, but the squareness of them dated them badly, so I ended up coming up with this style after mucking around on the computer”

the floor to accommodate the twin three-inch exhaust after the engine stepped up from the naturally aspirated LS1 to the supercharged LSX.” While it stands as a unique, coachbuilt vehicle today, Peter Sharp’s HQ build actually started off the same way as many others do: Bloke buys car with an idea of a quick tidy-up and repower;

3

DUE TO THE SNAP LOCKDOWN, IT LOOKED LIKE WE WERE GOING TO MISS OUT ON THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE’S LARGEST FORD GATHERING

4 There were quite a few SM feature cars dotted around the Eastern Park grounds, as Geelong has long been a breeding ground for tough Falcons. Darren Schembri’s mental 1400hp XY Fairmont was on the cover of our April 2021 issue, and was parked alongside his brother Jason’s gorgeous XT (SM, May ’21)

Victor Koroneos’s 302 Windsor-powered XY Fairmont GS is so ridgey-didge it’s still wearing the factory paint. About the only significant part that’s been replaced in the 50 years since it rolled off the production line is the front carpet. “I like the Windsors because you can get to the sparkplugs,” Victor chuckled

Mitchell Wallace’s tidy XP hides a lot of good gear behind its ruler-straight turquoise panels, including a Castlemaine Rod Shop rack-and-pinion front end, four-link, Wilwood disc brakes at every corner and a 420hp, 302ci Windsor. “It weighs less than 1200kg and handles really nice, so it’s a real driver’s car,” Mitchell said. The XP’s been in the family for 45 years and was even Mitchell’s daily for 10 of those

Darren Hapgood has owned his XA since he was 16, 20 years ago. KILRXA runs an Arrow-block 408ci Clevo, Top Loader and a 9in full of Moser goodies, and puts out about 490hp at the rubber. Darren’s choice of vehicle might have had something to do with his upbringing: “Dad had an XA coupe, my sister had an XA Superbird and Mum used to drop me off at school in a Wild Violet XA” S T RE E T M AC H I NE

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CABIN N FEVEER WHILE others have tried swapping latemodel interiors into classic cars, DTK has done a fantastic job of integrating the VZ Commodore interior into a car with radically different shapes. From the very beginning of fab work, the HQ was being built to accommodate Peter’s tall height, as he wantedd to be b able bl to circumnavigate i i the h continental mass of Australia in his handbuilt street machine.

“We knew we were going with a VZ Commodore interior, but one thing we did ahead of time was sizing the cabin,” Graeme says. “We knew Peter liked the ergonomics of the VZ ute he drove up here one time, but we had to lower the floorpans to give him a good amount of room in the cabin.

“When we built the transmission tunnel, nel, we made sure the VZ dash, Commodo Commodore pedal assembly andd late-model lt air conditioning system fit at that point, and we used all the parts from the VZ donor car we had. SHQRP actually has a VZ Commodore bulkhead installed where the plenum is on the HQ, so we knew the VZ air conditioning hardware would fit in perfectly and work like a modern car.

“We modelled the whole interior off that era of Commodore; that’s why the dash was positioned low compared to the HQ dash, as the floor in the HQ is higher than the VZ. “When the car was in Melbourne having the rear quarters made, we sent it around to DCI to have all the soundproofing and insulation worked out at their shop. When it came time to install the interior, we just opened the boxes in the right order and it all fit in perfectly. It made the whole job incredibly easy.

“The interior was initially roughed in with help from Todd from Eastside Kustom Trim in Newcastle, before Brent Parker up here took over the job and laid the finishing touches to the point you see here.”

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then the project snowballs into a full tear-down rebuild. And DTK didn’t initially feature in the build plans back in 2012.

“The car went to a normal smash shop to fix the rust and have an LS fitted, but it was too much work for them, so the shop owner suggested to

making stuff.”

SHQRP was one of the first builds we saw completely de-skinned of exterior panels so the rotten inner structures could be removed and replaced with hand-fabricated pieces.

While high-end show cars of the time typically

Building from the centre out, the whole car has been ‘wedged’, which makes for a mega-fat look that many mistake for DTK chopping the coupe’s roof!

“We had to keep the essence of the HQ’s design, especially with the reverse line through

THIS HQ WAS TOTALLY RUSTED AND WE HAD TO REMAKE EVERY PIECE OF THE INNER AND OUTER STRUCTURES Peter that I should do it,” says Graeme. “This HQ was totally rusted and we had to remake every piece of the inner and outer structures until halfway up the bodyline. It was all swiss cheese, and we barely had enough to jig off, but we managed to do that and then we started

WINDOWS “All the glass is stock, but the side glass has been sanded to change the shape so it fits better, as stock HQ glass doesn’t fit great,” said Graeme. “The door weather seals are stock, but the top moulding on the door and rear-quarter weather seal is custom. We went to the wreckers to find something close, then we’d order new ones and cut them up to make them work” DOOR HANDLES “The door handles are a popper on top of the door, which is a machined part welded into the door with a flush-fit button. Inside that pocket there’s a pin that connects to the latches, but it has a nylon sleeve with a spring to make its activation nice,” explains Graeme. “It is loosely based on old minitruck techniques, but made much nicer”

featured smoothed, sheeted-over structures, Graeme and DTK added OE-style swages, lips and folds to add strength and rigidity that an original HQ coupe couldn’t dream of. But this is only the tip of the epic engineering inherent in this car.

the rear guards that most people body-work out, but we wanted to enhance it and push further than what other people had done,” Graeme explains. “We pushed the front of the front guards 10mm wider so the back of those guards came out 30mm, then the doors were wedged

SHQRP-DRESSED MAN YOU need to have a special vision to commission a build of the size and scale of SHQRP, and Peter Sharp is exactly this kind of rad cat. What is even more impressive is that he has done this while living in Hong Kong, a world away from the sleepy township of Taree.

Having already restored an HG Premier and deciding to move on from his motorcycle hobby, Peter began the SHQRP project one night as he was browsing eBay. “I’ve always loved the HQ, and in 2009 I found two Monaro coupes on eBay,” he explains. “This car came from Coffs, and I bought another car from Wyong. The Coffs car was in better condition than the car from Wyong, so we put all the good parts on the Coffs car and sold the Wyong car for what I paid for it.”

While the end result is epic, Peter wasn’t initially out to build the most radical, street-beating HQ two-door that could be dreamed up.

“The wide-body came about because I wanted big wheels,” he says. “However, I didn’t want them sitting under the car with a tubbed look and the associated impact that would have on the rear seats, so this is how it morphed into the car it is today. We thought about how I wanted to use the car and the engineering required to make that work, and then found solutions that worked stylistically to suit.”

So, after eight years, is Peter stoked?

“This car became what it is because of Graeme and his crew’s skills,” he asserts. “Graeme’s great because of his creativity as well as his tenacity to find solutions to problems.”

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Locally made Blue Oval rides certainly ruled the roost, though: genuine race-spec GTHOs; slammed G6Es; well-loved daily drivers; pristine restorations; and rumbling street/strip toughies. With so many different cars in the mix, everyone could find something to float their boat.

After everything that was thrown at them, the AFD team knocked it out of the park to reorganise and operate a show of this size in the limited time they had; that so many people from all around the country made the trip to be there was the icing on the cake.

Who knows what will happen next year, but barring further lockdowns, the 31st Geelong All Ford Day should be another ripping show, with the team looking to crack the 1500-entrant mark. s

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WHEELS The custom Forgeline 19x9in and 19x14in ZX3P three-piece wheels are totally filled by the beefy Harrop six-pot and four-pot big brake kit.

A Commodore booster has been recessed into the firewall, working a Wilwood master cylinder

THIS CAR WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE SOMETHING I COULD DRIVE AROUND AUSTRALIA of his ideas and efforts, he actually relishes hearing what people think.

“I really like hearing honest feedback,” Graeme states. “I think this car has so much to look at and it’s so far away from what we’re used to seeing with an HQ Monaro that it might go over peoples’ heads. But I’m incredibly proud of what the boys and I have achieved, and I hope Peter loves it.”

In a cruel twist of fate, Peter hasn’t been able to get home to check the finished product out,

PETE PE TERR SHAR TE SHHAR ARPP 1972 HOL 1972 19 OLDE DENN HQ DE H MONA MO NARO LS NARO NA Pain Pa int: in t PPG t: PG Mer erce cede ds de Brig Br ight h Sililve verr

ECU U: GM M LS LS33 Bllower owe : Har arro ropp HTV2 HTV2 V230 3000 Cooling: g: PWR radia addia iato tor to Exhaust: Custoom DT DTK, 2in primaries, twin 3in system

ENGINE

TRANSMISSION

Typ : 6.2L GM Type LSX33766-B15

Gearbox: 4L60E fourspeed auto

as he lives in Hong Kong (see sidebar, p. 35).

Still, he’s rapt with SHQRP. “I think it is a work of art,” he says, “but I love the fact it isn’t a show car: it is a fully functioning vehicle. The intention was this car was always going to be something I could drive around Australia, and that is still the plan with my wife. I’d even love to take it to the US and drive it around for a few months, because my son lives in Los Angeles. I can’t thank Graeme enough, and I just cannot wait to get home to take it for a drive.” s

Diff: 9in, Truetrac a LSD, fullll-f fu -flo loat atin ingg ax axle less

SUSPENSION & BRAKES Front: ShockWave air struts, AccuAir air manageme m nt, custom IFS Rear: ShockWave

air struts t , Accu cuAi Air ai airr manage mana geeme ment nt,, cu cust stom trianggulated four-lilink nk Brak Br akes es:: Har arro ropp si s x-pot (f), Harrop four-ppot (r) Master cylinder: Wilwood

WHEELS & TYRES Rims: Forgeline ZX3P;

PAINT Early renderings showed SHQRP in a bold green-and-silver two-tone, but this changed to a straight Mercedes Bright Silver for the final paintjob.

Before the PPG paint was laid down, the body was gone through with Melomotive splines for perfect lines.

While the front bumper is a carefully shaved and tucked original item, the rear is a fully fabricated piece

19 (f)), 19x144 (r) 19x9 Rubb Ru bber er:: Pirirel e li P Zero Ze ro;; 2445/ 5/45 45R1 45 R199 (f (f), ), 355/300R119 (r (r))

THANKS Graeme Grae me and the he Dow ownn T wnn Kus To usto toms ms cre rew w fo forr all their th though ghtftful ul har ardd work and dedication to

qquality; Speedflow for thei th eirr su s ppor o t;t Jamie Doown wnie ie and n Nat a e Brow owne nee at Kus usto tom to m Ga Gara rage gee foorr the he rear re ar guaard rds; s; Hea eath thh Mooore at Har arro r p; ro p For orge geliliine ne;; DC DCI;I; Linda Vesp Vesperrma m n annd Benn Be nnyy Ma Maxw xwel ell fo f r the rend re nder erin ings gs;; Br Bren entt Pa Park rker er for the trim

STORY DAMION SMY

PHOTOS CHRIS THOROGOOD

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU CAN’T FIND A BLACK MUSTANG? BUY AN ORANGE ONE AND START LOOKING FOR ANY EXCUSE TO REPAINT IT

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E RIDES a black Harley. He drives a black Camaro ZL1 and his tow-car is a black Dodge Ram. So what on earth possessed Ross Pontonio to buy an orange Mustang? “I used to go down looking around at the cars up for auction, and I saw this orange fastback and just fell in love with it. I don’t know why; I mean, orange is not my favourite colour!” Ross had passed up a black fastback 18 months earlier, but something about the orange 289 ’Stang grabbed him. “I was hell-bent on getting it.”

Get it he did, but alongside his black Ram and Camaro, the Mustang’s orange paint was an eyeful. There were no plans to dip the

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fastback in a fresh coat of black when it landed at Ross’s place, though. “I drove it around for five-and-a-half years in the orange. It definitely stood out. You couldn’t go anywhere without being asked, ‘What colour orange is it?’”

Despite sticking with the colour, Ross did make some other changes, most notably under the bonnet, where a 347ci V8 now rumbled.

“The 289 was too sluggish,” he said. “I’m not saying it was unreliable, but it didn’t feel great on the road. You’d put your foot into it and it would pick up – eventually. The 347 fixed that.”

Then, washing the bright orange Mustang one Sunday, Ross noticed a spot of rust, so he headed to KB Prestige & Restoration in

Moorabbin. “It was just going to be a bit of a clean-up of the rust in the door, and it ended up being a full-blown spray job,” Ross says.

“The resto done prior was a little shoddy.

Underneath the paintwork, it wasn’t great; it wasn’t a top-end restoration.”

Ross was secretly glad. Now was his chance. “I knew I was going to end up with a black Mustang at some point,” he admits. “I did contemplate getting that little bit of rust fixed and getting it blended in, but you know what?

I’ve always wanted black.” The orange was doomed. “I was warned that if you go black it’s going to take a lot of work, it’s got to be absolutely super straight and it’s hard to keep

O

NCE DERIDED as purely practical workhorses, pick-up trucks are finally finding their space in the street machining scene. Today we think of them as super-cool, practical sleds that can look epic jacked into the sky on muddies or laying rail on big-inch wheels.

It was this ground-pounding style that captured Glenn Smith’s imagination, though his path to this righteous, supercharged dentside Ford F100 actually began when he tried to buy a Chevy truck!

“I had put a deposit on a Chev 3100 in Queensland, but he sold it out from under me within a day of me going to get it,” says the Sydney detailer. “I love the slammed, ’bagged, low-riding trucks like KC Mathieu’s ‘Red Morning’ F100 and Aaron Kaufman’s bumpside truck, so I found this F100 in Victoria. I paid for it sight-unseen, and then a mate and I flew down to Melbourne and Roadkill-ed it home in this mystery truck I’d just bought.

“I’m the third owner, and it was a real beast; it had the canopy on it, a four-bolt 351 Cleveland with 3V heads, and a big four-speed manual that I later converted to C6 with my daughter. I got Dream Beams lowered I-beams and made up a front airbag receiver and mount, and I did a mini-notch with a four-link out back. That sorted me out for around 18 months.”

Bigger things were to come, though. Street Machine readers may remember a teaser of Glenn’s F100 in the November 2019 issue, when it was being worked on at Down Town Kustoms in Taree, which should have given the game away as to the direction the truck was heading in.

“Being a detailer and being around the scene, I’d seen plenty of work from different shops, so I spoke to DTK’s Graeme Brewer and he was on board with my plans,” Glenn says. “I think he liked that it was different. Everyone was doing Chevs because there are heaps of parts out there, but there are none for Fords of this era. It was

POWERED BY FORD’S 315KW, SUPERCHARGED 5.0L MIAMI MOTOR, GLENN’S TRUCK NOW HAS WAY MORE GRUNT THAN WHEN IT ROLLED OFF THE LINE

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OPPOSITE PAGE, BOTTOM: The standard bonnet? “Too flat,” Ross says, with an ‘Eleanor’ hood now covering the 368ci mill. A blacked-out grille gives a menacing look, a theme set off by the chromeedged black finish of the Street Pro wheels

DEPENDING ON WHAT I GET DOWN THE QUARTER, THERE MIGHT BE A LITTLE NITROUS HAPPENING DOWN THE TRACK was possible, I dropped a level and thought, ‘Okay, I’ll go the Dart block, do a bit more to the heads and see if I can nudge 11 seconds.’”

True to the plan, a Dart block now underpins a 368ci Windsor, with its strong bottom end filled with with Scat crank and conrods and SRP forged pistons, while up top are Edelbrock ported heads and a port-matched manifold. The lumpy Comp cam brings a mean burble as the Quick Fuel 650 delivers the juice, with the dyno sheet now reading 511hp. An upgraded C9 three-speed auto and nine-inch rear do the rest. “The 347 was good, but now it’s instant!” Ross enthuses. “You put your foot in it and you’re frying the tyres!”

An electric power steering set-up makes it easier to rumble around town, which the new engine package manages with ease. “I don’t believe you have to be a purist to enjoy a car,” Ross asserts. “I mean if you want it to go, it’s got to go. If you want it to steer, it’s got to

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steer properly, and you want a few creature comforts, I think, to make it more enjoyable.”

Part of that was ensuring the Mustang could sit in traffic without running hot, Ross not needing to keep an eye on the temp gauge in the Dakota Digital instrument pack he’s added.

There’s also a new TCE shifter, but Ross has kept the wood-rimmed steering wheel that was on the car when he bought it, while the cream-coloured standard seats, hoodlining and carpet remain, too. Was Ross tempted to go black inside as well as out? “Even for me, that would be too much,” he admits.

Ross wasn’t sure if the Street Pro wheels that worked so well with the orange would match the new paint, though, but they set the tone perfectly for the smooth blend of black and chrome throughout. Side on, the chrome window surrounds have been maintained, but the rest of the details have been removed or painted black. At the rear, the chrome

badging and brightwork surrounds of those classic triple tail-lights gleam against the dark paintwork.

The exhaust tips, bumpers and mirrors are chrome, too, yet up front there’s a blacked-out grille and ‘Eleanor’ bonnet hiding the engine bay – which is also blacked out apart from the two chrome braces. “I’ll probably black those, too,” laughs Ross.

While he tends to change cars every few years, the fastback isn’t going anywhere apart from the quarter-mile to chase that timeslip.

“Depending on what I get down the quarter, there might be a little nitrous happening down the track,” he says. “I would love to have a timeslip showing 10s – I’ll frame it!”

Regardless of the ET, the real hero for Ross is that reflective black paintwork. “It’s an absolute mirror, such a classy black. I’m rapt.”

To his joy, too, no one asks what colour it is anymore – it’s definitely black. s

COLOUR CODED The radiator and thermo fans help with the ‘trafficability’ that Ross wanted, and, along with the Quick Fuel 650 and the two strut braces, are one of the few items not brushed black

UNDER THE BONNET The factory 289 was swapped first for a 347 and now a 368ci Windsor. The 347’s old 302 block cracked, which saw Ross go for a Dart block for the 368ci in the name of longevity and peace of mind

Diff: Strange 9in, 31-spline ROSS PONTONIO 1967 FORD MUSTANG axles, 3.5:1 gears FASTBACK SUSPENSION & Paint: Glasurit Straight BRAKES Black Front: Standard, lowered 2in ENGINE Brand: 368ci Ford Windsor Rear: Standard, lowered 3in, CalTracs anti-roll bars Induction: Quick Fuel Brakes: Wilwood 330mm 650cfm Heads: Edelbrook E-Street, discs with twin-piston calipers (f & r) ported Master cylinder: Wilwood Camshaft: Comp Cams Steering: Electric 245/245 Conrods: Scat WHEELS & TYRES Pistons: SRP Rims: Street Pro II 15x8 Crank: Scat (f & r) Oil pump: Melling Rubber: Mickey Thompson Fuel system: Holley Sportsman S/R 185/60/15 mechanical fuel pump Cooling: Custom radiator, (f), Mickey Thompson ET Street SS 255/60/15 (r) twin Spal thermo fans Exhaust: Ceramic-coated 1¾in Pacemaker headers THANKS into twin 3.0in system, diff George Lyras at KB Prestige & Restoration; dumpers Danko Knezevic at Adicted Ignition: MSD Performance; Pat at Empire Auto Electrics for TRANSMISSION wiring the car; Ash at Gearbox: C9 Converter: TCE 4200rpm Sunset Shine Detailing S T RE E T M AC H I NE

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THE TRUCK IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN EXPECTED, AND IT IS DEFINITELY GOING TO BE A DRIVER – I WANT TO ENJOY IT

ABOVE: Glenn is keen to get Clifford back from engineering and get it on the road – wait, ‘Clifford’?

“Yeah, the truck is named Clifford after my grandfather, who I spent a huge amount of time with growing up,” says Glenn

While DTK has plenty of runs on the board creating some of Australia’s most well-finished street machines that can haul epic amounts of tinware at shows, Glenn always wanted a driver, and that meant keeping a survivor-style finish to the bodywork. “Underneath, everything is fresh, right down to every bolt, but up top it looks like a survivor,” Graeme explains. “That took a lot of working out, because we’re used to going the whole hog on a car’s build. It was a little difficult to stop at a point to leave that authentic survivor finish up top.”

“I had a pretty good vision in my head of what I wanted,” says Glenn.

“I liked the vibe of the truck, but I wanted it enhanced. Graeme did convince me to go up to the custom 20-inch steelies, whereas I had wanted to stay with the 15s, but I’m over-the-moon happy with how it’s turned out.

“The truck is so much better than expected, and it is definitely going to be a driver – I want to enjoy it.”

The Effie is currently going through engineering, so it won’t be long before Glenn can do just that. We can’t wait. s

Diff: 9in, Truetrac LSD, 31-spline axles, nodularPaint: Ford Snowshoe White iron case

GLENN SMITH 1979 FORD F100 ENGINE

Brand: Ford Miami 5.0L Blower, heads and internals: Standard Oil system: Standard wet sump ECU: FG Exhaust: Custom twin 3in exhaust Ignition: Standard coil packs

SUSPENSION & BRAKES

Front: Slam Specialties airbags, KYB shocks, DTK front end Rear: Slam Specialties airbags, KYB shocks, custom rear clip and triangulated four-link, AccuAir air management Brakes: Wilwood discs TRANSMISSION Gearbox: ZF six-speed auto (f & r)

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Master cylinder: Wilwood

WHEELS & TYRES Rims: Custom smoothies; 20x8 (f), 20x10 (r) Rubber: Pirelli P Zero; 225/40R20 (f), 275/50R20 (r)

THANKS Graeme and the DTK team; all the boys for putting up with me during the build; my late mum Robyn and late grandfather Clifford; my partner Sheena and my daughter Mia

STORY IAIN CURRY PHOTOS AS HLEIGH WIL SON

BURNOUT BIG GU NS, DRAG STRIP WEAPONS AND TOUGH POWERSKIDDERS HEA FAR NORTH QUEE D TO NS FOR THE EPIC TH LAND REE-DAY HORSEPOWER BL OWOUT OF NORTHERN NATS 5

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PRINGMOUNT Raceway, host to Northern Nats 5, isn’t an easy place to reach. Circled by mountains, the Far North Queensland strip is over an hour by twisty road from Cairns, itself some 1700km from Brisbane or 2500km from Sydney. Sure, it’s a sunny escape as winter arrives, but the event still needs a substantial dangling carrot to attract the big guns from down south.

The answer lies in cold, hard cash. At Northern Nats, there’s gold in them thar skids. Across the three days of competition, $25,000 in prize money is on offer – the sort of cash you’d otherwise only see at Summernats for Burnout Masters. The winning skidder finds a $15,000 cheque heading their way, while seconds takes

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home $4000, third $3K, fourth $2K and fifth $1K. Best Modified Burnout grabs $500, while the same amounts go to the weekend’s Powerskid Champion and Car of the Show. We know most only do it for the love, but hey, a decent wedge of cash on top doesn’t hurt.

Northern Nats is the biggest horsepower festival in this tropical region, featuring drags, roll racing, powerskids, go-to-whoa and show ’n’ shine. Around 500 cars entered this year, with many coming from interstate despite the ever-bubbling threat of COVID restrictions.

Most of the competing Pro Burnout cars had travelled mighty distances, but it made for a high-calibre line-up over three sessions – the highlight being Saturday night in front of some 10,000 spectators. “The standard’s as good as

you’ll find anywhere,” said organiser Lee Harvey.

It takes talent and consistency to come out top dog. Burnout scores are combined over the Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon sessions. “It’s like a marathon and not just a single burnout to win it,” Lee said. “You really have to perform, and it shows how well your car is set up. The drivers love it. They’re pushed in three burnouts, and if you miss one and don’t score then you won’t win.”

Most drivers we spoke to agreed. Defending NN champ Rick Fuller, performing in his LSONE VK Commodore, said the three-day format suited him: “My car and driving has always been pretty consistent, so I like it.” The other preevent favourite, Jake Myers in his blown, 302 Windsor-powered S1CKO ’66 Mustang, was

ABOVE: Show ’n’ shine winner John Owens’s 1976 Torana has had a seven-year resto. Born an SL, John has rebuilt it as an A9X-inspired Targa car, running a Dart-block 400 Chev making 650hp at the flywhee l.

“I wasn’t expecting this win with the amount of really nice cars here,” the Cairns local said

AT NORTHERN NATS, THERE’S GOLD IN THEM THAR SKIDS, WITH $25,000 IN PRIZE MONEY ON OFFER

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TYRES: Two-inch-wide whitewalls on the front and three-inchers on the rear provide that lovely whitewall stagger INTERIOR: Inside, there’s now no hint of the wagon’s 80s show car vibes. Instead, there’s a bunch of fresh, modern fitments thanks to AJ Trim. Tan leather covers most surfaces, including the LC Torana buckets and SAAS tiller. Auto Meter Phantom gauges flank an original EH speedo, while tucked out of sight is a Bluetooth stereo

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COMPETITORS UNANIMOUSLY AGREED THAT SPRINGMOUNT RACEWAY’S PAD IS AN ABSOLUTE CRACKER

BELOW: Townsville’s Jay Chun Tie didn’t need to travel as far as most of the Pro Class entrants to reach Springmount Raceway, and the crowd went nuts for his ’78 Suzuki Carry with its mid-mounted LS1. Its extended chassis always makes the ute’s tip-in spectacular, and it was up there with the smokiest, loudest and most entertaining under lights

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STYLING: “The EH has always been a head-turner; I think the fact that it used to have a seethrough window in the bonnet caught a lot of people’s eye,” Tim says of the bubble-topped bonnet the wags sported at its show peak. That old bonnet needs a new bubble, but Tim hasn’t ruled out fixing it to run at shows in the future ENGINE: Adelaide Motorsport Fabrication put in the hard yards to get the EH done on a tight timeline. Up front, they spannered on the 350ci Chev and B&M TH700 before getting it all to fit where much smaller items once sat. While they were at it, the lads also whipped up a custom alloy drop tank and a burbling twin exhaust PRE-WEDDING JITTERS: The EH was running and driving a week before Tim and Bec’s wedding, but then it seemed to have second thoughts. “The alternator shit itself the morning of the wedding,” Tim recalls.

“The battery was completely dead and we needed the battery charger constantly. Bec was 25min late to the ceremony and the thoughts running through my head while waiting at the end of the aisle were agonising to say the least!”

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BELOW: Luke Matthews’ tough 196 6 Mk1 Ford Escort runs a 406 Chev backed by a Turbo 350, 9in diff and Gazzard Bro thers rear end. At Northern Nats it was a favourite at the drags and roll racing, lifting its nose in a wall of sound. The Mt Isa local has previously run a 9.6@141mph, and despite the hot weather slowing him, he’s a huge fan of Northern Nats

MOST OF THE PRO BURNOUT CARS HAD TRAVELLED MIGHTY DISTANCES, BUT IT MADE FOR A HIGHCALIBRE LINE-UP OVER THREE SESSIONS BELOW LEFT: Townsville ’s Tom Martens brought his restored an d modded ’74 Monaro GTS replica. “It wasn’t original when I bought it – it sta rted life as a sixcylinder auto – so I wasn ’t concerned about modifying it,” he said. He’s shoved in a VE Commodore L98 V8 and added a carburetted top end for the old-school look, tuned for a bit over 400hp

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Graham Hilton’s stunning 197 5 HJ Holden wagon spectacularl y lifted its wheels on the strip. “It’ll go better when it gets a bit coo ler; it’s hot out there!” he said. An LS3 with Magnuson supercharger ma kes 750-800hp at the tyres via a Turbo 400 and 9in diff. “It’s fully str eetregistered and driven,” Gra ham said. “I drive it to Woolies to get the shopping, then go racing”

THE DRIVERS LOVE IT. THEY’RE PUSHED IN THREE BURNOUTS, AND IF YOU MISS ONE AND DON’T SCORE THEN YOU WON’T WIN

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Jessie Barbeler’s 1150hp SKEATA Suzuki Mighty Boy was fresh from second place at Cairns’s Tropical Meltdown 7. With a blown 408 LS up front, this little ’Zook smoked, screamed and spun spectacularly, despite its titchy size. Jessie made the car famous at Northern Nats two yea rs ago with a mental tip-in that sent it into the barriers. No such dramas this time !

final effort. It was young Jake and S1CKO that took it out in the end – by a single point. “His smoke thickness was more than Rick this year, so I assume that’s what won it for him,” Lee Harvey said. “It was so close. Incredible.”

The overall win adds to Jake’s Street Machine Summernats 32 Burnout Masters, Steel City Nats and Bathurst Autofest titles, cementing the younger Myers into burnout legend alongside his old man, Gary. Townsville’s Bubba Lofts was third in his LS-powered ORWHAT ’02 Calais, the same car also claiming second in the Mod class, just behind a stellar showing by Keelan Heit in his ’75 HJ One Tonner, SKRTLIFTA. Not one to let Junior steal all the tyre-smoke thunder, Jake Myers’s dad, Gary, has been a

ABOVE: Jayden Gray’s NASTI1 1969 a Camaro is a complete weapon, with k bloc bigt Dar Gray’s Racing-built 580ci os. turb 9R 470 GTX and twin Garrett Gen II sed Backing the stout mill is a manuali 9in, ed icat fabr 00, three-speed TH4 coilGazzard Brothers shocks and front ng raci ial rad for overs valved

feature of Northern Nats since the first event.

He’d won the powerskids three out of the four previous Nats – twice in his AGROXA ’72 XA coupe and once in his blown 2005 Ford Mustang, 2INSANE. With a For Sale sticker on the back window, 2INSANE was fired up for the first time in four years at NN5, keen to show prospective buyers exactly what it’s capable of.

Up against Joel Sykes in his stunning blown small block-powered LETSGO HK, Gary’s experience edged it, just inching out Sykes after two high-quality runs in the final. Some consolation for Joel came with the HK being awarded Car of the Show, reflecting the Belmont’s looks, performance and Joel taking part in practically everything he could across

the three days. “The car’s a 1968 boat, but I’ve put a new front end in and can now actually steer where I want to,” he said.

There were few takers for the final day of powerskids, no doubt due to Saturday’s frightening accident for Cairns’s Greg Smith in his nine-second 1970 Datsun coupe. The Datto rolled against the strip wall causing massive panel and front-end damage. “It was like I got bucked off a motorbike; the left-hand rear wheel went off the ground, and when it landed it bit and just shot me into the wall,” Greg said. Thankfully, he walked away, but the car’s a mess; however, Greg said the chassis looked straight and will be repaired.

On the strip, Cairns local Jayden Gray won

Daniel Di Bella’s DNTLOSE XB Falcon 500 is powered by a twin-turbo Coyote.

“It’s still the only twin-turbo Coyote in an X-series in Australia,” the Ingham local said. Running 10psi for Northern Nats’ drags and roll racing, it was pulling around 600hp, but upped to 20psi, Daniel said he’d be seeing closer to 1000hp S T RE E T M AC HI N E

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THERE’S A SUPER-LONG RUN-IN THAT IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER. IT GIVES YOU THAT ADRENALINE RUSH BEFORE YOU TIP IN ABOVE: Winner of Top Interior, Top Restoration and runner-up in the show ’n’ shine, this Aussie-built, RHD 1967 Chevy is still in the same family after 54 years, still with a matching-numbers 327 small-block.

Joe Torrisi, son of the Impala’s first owners, rebuilt the engine himself and kept everything original besides adding disc brakes up front, air con, and sitting it a bit lower

ABOVE: Rick Fuller was 2019 Northern Nats burnout champ in his FULLON VF Commodore ute, and this year it was the turn of his blown LSONE VK. The Summernats 33 Burnout Master punished the pad and smoked the crowd, making him one of the favourites at Springmount

Quickest ET with 7.38 and also notched Highest MPH at 187.34mph in his turbo 509 BBCpowered 2NASTI ’69 Camaro.

Roll racing victor was Brian Bull in his LSAconverted VB Commodore street car. Brian had a grin from ear to ear, as the new motor had only been dropped in four days ago. Top prize in the show ’n’ shine went to local Cairns restorer John Owens and his immaculate 1976 Torana A9X replica. With a 400ci Chev, Top Loader ’box and 650hp at the flywheel, it was built as a Targa car, but to such a level that it was too good not to show. It’ll be at Targa Great Barrier Reef later

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this year proving its performance chops.

In keeping with the tropical vibe of Northern Nats’ location, drivers said they enjoyed the event’s laidback and cruisy nature. Hopefully that’ll help attract many more of Australia’s best to future editions, joining the likes of Tristan Ockers, who this year made the journey from Bargo, NSW to show and demonstrate his six-second, street-registered MINCER Capri.

Powered by a 2500hp, blown, injected 510ci Oldsmobile big-block, the pro street icon was like nothing many locals would have seen before. “That sort of vehicle just doesn’t happen

up here,” organiser Lee said. “It’s amazing to have it.”

Hot days, smoke-filled nights and thousands of entertained North Queensland fans made Northern Nats 5 a memorable one. The sixth edition has already been confirmed, with organisers planning to make use of the hundreds of acres of vacant land behind the drag strip to introduce a four-wheel-drive course. Racing in the mud to add to the drags, powerskids and one of the richest burnout events in Australia?

Sounds good to us! It’s a long way for many to get there, but totally worth it. s

STORY STEVE TITCUMB PHOTOS LUKE HUNTER

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STRAIGHT ARROW

440 DART

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I WANTED THE TUNNEL RAM AND THE CARBS OUT THE BONNET – THE OLDSCHOOL LOOK ENGINE: A Rod Shop conversion kit got the Eagle Auto Parts 347ci V8 between the strut towers. Manuel and Wazz tricked it up with a host of improved top-end parts, including the tunnel ram and twin 450cfm Quick Fuel carbs for an estimated 500hp, before Mark at PROcoat covered just about everything in black BONNET: The underside of the bonnet was sheeted over for a smooth, seamless look BRAKES: Manuel also ordered a Rod Shop Wilwood front disc-brake conversion kit that features fourpiston calipers and 320mm detachable-hub rotors. The rear retains the factory drums S T R E E T M AC H I N E

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OU could say Max Phillips jumped in at the deep end when, as a young bloke of just 20 years, he made the decision to fly across the country and buy a big block-powered, left-hand-drive US muscle car.

“I had a VX Clubby as a P-plater and got sick of that,” Max says. “It was pretty expensive to modify, it made no power and it was slow, so I thought, ‘I’m getting rid of this and getting an older car and making it fast.’”

Enter this ’74 Dodge Dart, which Max tracked down via an internet forum, when they used to be a thing. “It was for sale a few months earlier, but I hadn’t sold my other car at the time, so I couldn’t buy it,” he says. “Lucky for me, the new owner sold it within a few months after doing some ‘improvements’. I bought it as quick as I could and used all the money I had as an apprentice to fly me and a mate, Mike Roycroft, over to NSW to go look at it.

“I couldn’t afford a rental car or accommodation, so we just winged it on public transport and slept at the airport on the floor.

Looking back, that was such a good trip and basically how the build has gone – just winging it and spending all my money.”

While the owner claimed the 440 in the car made 500hp, Max and Mike knew the guy might have been stretching the truth a little bit when it couldn’t even spin the tyres on gravel.

But Max didn’t care; he’d already fallen in love with the car and it was heading west.

It took a few months before the car arrived in WA, and Max started putting his own touches on it shortly after, adding a 750 Holley, replacing the Mallory ignition with an MSD 6AL-2 (now upgraded to a 7AL-3), fitting a MagnaFuel pump and regulator as well as an electric water pump. After those changes, it was time to have some fun.

“I took it to Gazzanats and Good Fryday and

had a lot of fun, but I ended up breaking the front suspension and came to the realisation that the car needed more power and had to handle a lot better,” Max says.

At this point Max decided to park the car up for a bit and put together a plan. He was now a tradesman and working FIFO, so it was time to get a bit more serious. “I ordered a new sheet-metal nine-inch, some 15x10 Pro Star rims and an engine plate. The diff ended up with 35-spline Moser axles, a full-spool Strange centre and 3.25 gears,” Max recalls.

“I took the car up to Cronic Customs and they mini-tubbed it, built the diff to suit the new rims, installed some chassis connectors and mounted the engine to the new engine plate.”

With the back half of the car underway, it was time to start on the front. Max opted for a Reilly Motorsports AlterKtion kit, which removes the torsion-bar suspension and replaces it with tubular A-arms, coil-over shocks and rackDIFF HOUSING: A sheet-metal 9in with 3.25:1 gears and Moser 35-spline axles is kept off the ground by 15x10 Welds with 275 Mickey Thompson radials, which hook up just fine thanks to the Gazzard Brothers leaf spring and traction bar set-up BOOT: The boot houses the nitrous bottle, MagnaFuel pump and filter and the 31L fuel cell built by Nelg’s Ali Mods ENGINE: The 440 RB big-block has been stroked to 500ci and features Indy heads and intake topped by a monster Pro Systems 1050 Dominator carb. The engine bay has been smoothed over and new inner guards were fashioned to delete the shock mounts and free up space

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MAX DECIDED THE 440 THE CAR CAME WITH JUST WOULDN’T CUT THE MUSTARD, SO HE BOUGHT ANOTHER 440 THAT HAD BEEN STROKED TO 500 CUBES

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MAX PHILLIPS 1974 DODGE DART

440 DART

Paint: Chrysler Green Go

ENGINE Type: 500ci Chrysler RB big-block Inlet: Indy single-plane Carb: 1050cfm Pro Systems Nitrous: Nitrous Express 200-shot Heads: Indy 440-1 Valves: 2.19in (in), 1.81in (ex) Cam: Comp solid-roller Pistons: CP forged Crank: Eagle forged Conrods: Crower forged Radiator: Aluminium radiator, twin EL thermos Exhaust: Custom 2 1/4in headers, twin 3.5in exhaust Ignition: MSD Pro Billet dizzy, MSD 7AL-3, MSD HVC2 coil

SHIFT Gearbox: Paul Rogers Reid-case Powerglide with transbrake Converter: Converter Services 4500rpm stall Diff: 9in, 3.25:1 gears, 35-spline Moser axles

BENEATH Front: Reilly Motorsports AlterKtion K-frame, coil-overs Rear: AFCO shocks (r) Steering: Reilly Motorsports rack-and-pinion Brakes: Wilwood discs (f & r)

ROLLING STOCK Rims: Weld S71 17x6 (f), Weld Pro Stars 15x10 (r) Rubber: Continental 175/55R17 (f), M/T ET Street 275/60R15

THANKS My good mate Mike Roycroft; George Separovich at Blown Motorsports; Glen at Nelg’s Ali Mods; Terry at Shift Transmissons; Adam at Cronic Customs; my other mates who helped whenever I needed it: Josh Herridge, Matt Haines, Josh Barron and the boys; whoever else I have forgotten

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WITH ITS TVS SUPERCHARGER PROGRAM, HARROP ENGINEERING PROVES THE CAPABILITIES OF FORD’S 7.3L GODZILLA V8 STORY IAIN KELLY

PHOTOS SHAUN TANNER

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50 SHADES STORY BORIS VISKOVIC

PHOTOS JORDAN LEIST

DARKER HOW DO YOU IMPROVE ON AN HG GTS MON ARO? THROW IN A 900HP BIG-BLOCK AND WRA P THE WHOLE THING IN THE BLACKEST OF CLOAKS

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OR plenty of people, owning a Monaro is a lifelong goal, something they’ve dreamed of since they were kids. Perth’s Brad Durtanovich, on the other hand, was always more of a Torana guy: “My first car at 17 years old was a genuine GTR XU-1, and then it went bad from there,” he laughs. “I went through basically every form of Torana, and the only thing I wasn’t that keen on in the early days was Monaros!” The Torana affliction culminated in a four-door A9X that Brad restored; it was awarded Best Four Door at the A9X Nationals in 2003.

But don’t worry, Brad didn’t turn into some rivet-counting restorer after that. In fact, he’s built a couple of seriously tough cars since then, including an EK Holden and a ’57 Chev, both featuring blown small-blocks.

The HG GTS Monaro you’re looking at now entered the picture around 10 years ago. “I bought it from Karratha, sort of on a whim,” Brad says. “A few mates had Monaros at the time and one of my mate’s sons showed me the ad. It was already mini-tubbed and had a small-block in it. I believe it was at Motorvation sometime in the 90s, and it already had 15x12s on it back then.”

When Brad purchased the car, it was fitted with a small-block, but it wasn’t long before he had the late Jeff Clarke build a mild big-block for it. Brad drove it around like that for two or three years before pulling it off the road for a full rebuild. “It was starting to get a bit ragged around the edges and a bit of rust was coming out here and there,” he explains.

IT WAS AT MOTORVATION SOMETIME IN THE 90S AND WAS ALREADY MINITUBBED AND HAD 15X12S ON IT To whip it into shape, Brad entrusted the car to Neil Moneypenny at XclusiveFX. Neil had the car for around seven months, during which time the rear quarters were repaired, and new guards and bonnet, supplied by Todd at Rare Parts, were fitted. It also scored a colour change: “There wasn’t really any intention to go black; it was more about making it a respray in a decent colour, as it was white when I got it,” Brad says. “Neil’s probably the most reliable guy that I’ve ever come across in terms of knocking out a paintjob in a reasonable amount of time for a reasonable amount of money.”

A rare statement from a feature car owner, that’s for sure!

ABOVE: Everything may have been blacked out, but areas like the bumpers and other selected parts of the trim were treated to a paint finish that emulates black chrome, adding contrast and highlighting the overall look INTERIOR: Rare Parts provided the Sandalwood interior for that factory

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fresh look. While the interior is essentially original in style, Brad did colour-match the dash and carpet to the Sandalwood trim instead of using black as the factory would have. The gauges are all stock and cover off all the vitals, although Brad added a shift light to the top of the column to keep the big-block off the limiter

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REAR END: The tail-lights are from an ’85 Corvette and suit the bumperette-style rear bar. Other body mods include stretched rear arches to accommodate the huge Mickey Ts, and the billet grille, which sits inside a nose that has been stretched 3in, accentuating the car’s extreme rake

THE RAISED FRONT S CROSSMEMBER TAKE A BEATING, BUT AS I T LIKE TO SAY, “IT’S NO A PART Y ’TIL THE CROSSMEMBER SCRAPES!”

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STANCE: The massive nose drop is thanks to a raised crossmember, custom-fabbed A-arms and lowrider-style hydraulic rams over coils, with 6in of total lift – Gary’s Camaro pre-dates airbags.

The back half comprises a full chassis, custom four-link and coil-overs

ENGINE: Brad didn’t muck around when it came to engine choices, stuffing 598 cubes of big-block Chev between the rails. Thanks to well-planned routing of hoses, fuel lines and wiring, the mill appears to float in the bay – Brad credits Dicker’s Speed Shoppe for the fine work. An Edelbrock tunnel rams sits atop AFR

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Magnum 357 heads, while twin QFT 1050 Dominators keep up the supply of E85 to the thirsty beast ABOVE: One of the reasons Brad bought the car was because it was already mini-tubbed. It easily swallows up the 15x10 Welds and 295/55 ET Street rubber

KEEPING A TALLY JUST as we were finishing our conversation about the Monaro, Brad mentioned he’d just purchased the late Adrian Tally’s LC Torana. The brown more-door with a white roof might not sound like something a bloke with a 900hp Monaro might want, but the little Torry holds a special place in the hearts of many West Aussie street machiners, as it was a legendary performer at Motorvation and other burnout competitions throughout the 90s, and was a regular at Ravenswood Raceway as well, running 11.006@125mph with a nitrousfed junker 308 back in 1996!

What sets this car apart from all the other killer black Monaros out there is what’s in the engine bay. Nestled between the gloss black firewall and inner guards is a beautifully detailed 598ci bigblock Chev. While it’s not polished, chromed and smoothed to show car standards, there isn’t a single thing out of place in the engine bay, and the mix of satin and polished aluminium ties in really well with the black surroundings. The centrepiece is that awesome Edelbrock tunnel ram that was polished to perfection

by Wheelgleam, to which Brad added a couple of Quick Fuel

solid-roller cam gets the massive 2.30 and 1.88 valves moving in the AFR Magnum 357 heads, which dump out the waste and sweet sounds through a set of two-inch headers from Castle Headers.

Mufflers R Us then finished off the exhaust with a set of twin 3.5inch pipes that run all the way to the back of the car.

On C&R Motorsport Developments’ engine dyno, the motor punched out over 900hp, which resulted in 748hp at the tyres when the car went to George Separovich at Blown Motorsports for a final tune-up – I would call that ample.

NESTLED BETWEEN THE GLOSS BLACK FIREWALL AND INNER GUARDS IS A BEAUTIFULLY DETAILED 598CI BIG-BLOCK CHEV Technologies 1050 Dominator E85 carbs. All those cubes needed a healthy diet of corn juice, which is stored in a massive 100-litre custom tank that was beautifully crafted by Nelg’s Ali Mods. An Aeromotive fuel system makes sure the fuel gets to where it needs to go.

The mill was screwed together by legendary West Aussie engine builder Derek Paulik, who started out with a Dart Big M block punched out to 4.600 inches and then filled it with a Scat 4.500 stroker crank, Scat H-beam rods and Diamond pistons. A Crane

The rest of the drivetrain is just as bulletproof, and features a Reid-case Powerglide, a Dominator converter with 4500rpm stall, a driveshaft from Final Drive and a nine-inch filled with a 35-spline Strange centre, Truetrac and 3.5:1 gears.

Brad’s obviously got the show and the go parts covered, but how about the whoa? Yep, that’s all good too, thanks to a Wilwood braking system that includes drilled and slotted rotors on all four corners, and a Wilwood master cylinder. Even the handling has been improved with a Southern Chassis Works front end, rackS T R E E T M AC H I N E

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Where did the idea of the full-metal interior come from?

Well, I built the car with Chris Tietge from Tietge’s Hot Rod Garage – his fabrication skills are awesome. I didn’t want any sharp edges, so we smoothed out the frame and the engine bay. When Chris started on the interior, all the metal looked so good it seemed a shame to cover it up. Besides, I was young back then – I had a lot more time than I had money, and a good interior costs ya. So I said, “Why don’t we just paint it all?” Chris liked the idea and set about making the dash flow into the firewall, then into the floor and tunnel, before flowing up into the tubs. It was a lot of work, but it’s held up all these years. After being painted, it was obvious it needed something. I thought, “What’s the one thing you’d never expect to see sitting inside? A wrench.”

So I got Bob Maynard to airbrush that into the driver’s floor.

Bob reckons of all the airbrush work he’s done, it’s the one people comment on all the time.

What’s changed on the car since the 90s?

Nothing! The car has been repainted on the outside a couple of times from rock chips, small scratches and stuff. I know many people tear their cars apart and change everything, but this car was cool in 1994 and still turns heads today – why change something that works, right?

What’s one thing no one ever notices about it?

No shifter. Like the stereo, the Vintage Air controls and all the switches, the shifter is mounted up under the dash – it’s actually mounted upside down, but it works fine. I used to be able to reach under there to operate it. Now that I’m over 50, I pretty much stick my foot under there and hook it into gear. The other thing is, the young ones asking me what type of car it is. Then you realise that GM built this car 30 years before they were even born, so I suppose I can’t be too hard on them.

What’s it like to drive?

We drive it everywhere to heaps of shows – we’ve done over 50,000 miles in it and had a blast. For one show, we drove it from Dayton, Ohio across to Sedalia, Missouri – 10 hours each way – no problem. The front is hydraulic, over coils. I raise it up four inches for driving and it rides like a Cadillac. The tyres are really tight on the quarters, so the rear is somewhat stiff. The ride is firm, but far from terrible. The shaved and raised front crossmember takes a beating – there’s no paint left on it – and it was reinforced for this reason. But as I like to say, “It’s not a party ’til the crossmember scrapes!” s

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INTERIOR: The only soft bits you’ll find in here are the Flo-fit buckets and halfwrapped Boyd Gullwing steering wheel. Trick billet pieces include the Dakota Digital dash, door handles, window winders and pedals

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THE BLUES 072

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FOR D XD FALCON PA O LO B O N I

“THIS is my Barrasw XD Falcon build th apped at is almost finished. It has a TBRE-built motor with a GTX42 turb o on a 6boost exhaust manifold . It breathes through a Plazmam an intercooler and intake manifo ld, and made 730hp on the runin tune on 23psi.

The driveline is m ade up of a Gilroy’s TH400, go ing to a Gazzard Brothers rear end with a 35-spline nine-inch diff.”

1972 A M C JAV E LIN ND MMOOND BAZ HAMM

“I’VE owned this AMC Javelin for 10 years; I’d always wanted one since I was a kid. It was an Aussieassembled RHD AMI car that was featured in Street Machine’s Readers’ Rockets section many years ago – I recognised it from there when I first saw it. The car was very ordinary when I purchased it; it had to go back to bare metal due to humidity blisters all over it. The paint and panelwork has slowed down the project, but thankfully it’s home now. The running gear was also a mess; the block was full of Chem-i-Weld and kept overheating. When it’s back together, it will run a fresh AMC 401/410 engine being built by Dalgleish Engines.

It’ll also have a manualised 727 trans, 4000rpm stall and Dana 4.56:1 rear end. Wheels will be Auto Drags – 15x6 up front and 15x8.5 rear.”

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A

FTER most of 2020 crawled by without any car events on the radar, we automotive obsessives have been hankering for any opportunity to return to the race track, drag strip or local car meet with our fellow deviants. Drooling over perfect paint, enormous engines and wicked wheels online just doesn’t quite feed the soul the way wandering around ogling shiny metal in person does. So, when the original date of 14 February for the 2021 Geelong All Ford Day copped a smack with the cancel gavel due to the snap February lockdown, it looked like we were going to miss out on the southern hemisphere’s largest Ford gathering for the first time in 30 years.

However, with the lockdown over and a revised COVID plan in hand, the AFD team were granted authority to proceed with the show on a new date in April. They had their work cut out for them to organise the event in one month rather than the usual six it takes to put something this big together, but a new venue, Geelong’s beautiful Eastern Park, was secured and more than 1200 cars were

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DUE TO THE SNAP LOCKDOWN, IT LOOKED LIKE WE WERE GOING TO MISS OUT ON THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE’S LARGEST FORD GATHERING

4 There were quite a few SM feature cars dotted around the Eastern Park grounds, as Geelong has long been a breeding ground for tough Falcons. Darren Schembri’s mental 1400hp XY Fairmont was on the cover of our April 2021 issue, and was parked alongside his brother Jason’s gorgeous XT (SM, May ’21)

Victor Koroneos’s 302 Windsor-powered XY Fairmont GS is so ridgey-didge it’s still wearing the factory paint. About the only significant part that’s been replaced in the 50 years since it rolled off the production line is the front carpet. “I like the Windsors because you can get to the sparkplugs,” Victor chuckled

Mitchell Wallace’s tidy XP hides a lot of good gear behind its ruler-straight turquoise panels, including a Castlemaine Rod Shop rack-and-pinion front end, four-link, Wilwood disc brakes at every corner and a 420hp, 302ci Windsor. “It weighs less than 1200kg and handles really nice, so it’s a real driver’s car,” Mitchell said. The XP’s been in the family for 45 years and was even Mitchell’s daily for 10 of those

Darren Hapgood has owned his XA since he was 16, 20 years ago. KILRXA runs an Arrow-block 408ci Clevo, Top Loader and a 9in full of Moser goodies, and puts out about 490hp at the rubber. Darren’s choice of vehicle might have had something to do with his upbringing: “Dad had an XA coupe, my sister had an XA Superbird and Mum used to drop me off at school in a Wild Violet XA” S T RE E T M AC H I NE

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pre-entered for display. While that number isn’t quite as large as some previous years, it was still an achievement given the circumstances.

Eastern Park consists of three ovals and several open areas dotted with trees, all linked by tree-lined roads that allowed easy access to the 50 separate club displays. The easternmost oval also contained vendors and food trucks to supply hungry people with tucker, as well as a display featuring the ridgey-didge 351 Windsorpowered EA GT, a barn-find Model T and one of Dreamtech International’s BA coupes.

As anyone who’s ever washed their car only to have it immediately rained on knows, the success of outdoor car shows relies on inclement weather deigning to take the day off. Fortunately, though there were a few drops of rain and the sky was fairly overcast, the 7000 people who walked or drove through the gates were treated to a pleasantly warm day with little wind.

Once inside the gates, spectators were greeted by a sea of Fords from all years and origins, from Escorts to XHs and Mustangs to Model As.

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SPECTATORS WERE GREETED BY A SEA OF FORDS FROM ALL YEARS AND ORIGINS, FROM ESCORTS TO XHS AND MUSTANGS TO MODEL AS

4 It only took Stephan Livera two years to transform his XT from stock white Falcon 500 into the slammed, 302 Clevo-powered Teal Glow cruiser it is now. “I was into Jap stuff growing up, but my old man had a Cortina and I always wanted an old-school Ford,” he said The Falcon faithful were robbed of a true 90s hero when the 351W-powered EA GT project was canned, and the production EB and EL GTs were a great deal flabbier than many expected. The concept car, which some crafty Ford employees saved from the crusher, still resides at the Geelong Museum of Motoring & Industry, and was trucked over to Eastern Park for AFD It seems Dick Tierney’s got a thing for blue XMs, judging by his Weiandblown coupe (SM, Jul ’14) and this Blueprint sedan delivery that he uses as a runabout and parts hauler. The

van has been completely rebuilt and runs a Vortech-blown AU 5.0L pushing 442rwhp through a C10 and shortened BorgWarner diff Michael Taranto’s two-door ’56 Victoria sticks out like the dog’s proverbials with its sinister black paint, beautiful red interior and the 30x12 Mickey Thompsons doing their best to squeeze under the rear guards. The tough stance is backed up by a 630hp Clevo from ALIPWR, with 300hp worth of nitrous on hand when things need to get really exciting Bob Harrison brought two cars to AFD: his ’53 F100 and his Mk3 Zephyr.

The Effy is a recent purchase and runs a 302 Windsor with an AOD trans. Bob has a much longer history with the Zephyr; having owned it since 1978, he sold it in the 2000s before buying it back nearly two decades later. It packs a warm 289, Celica five-speed manual and 9in LSD

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LOCALLY MADE BLUE OVAL RIDES RULED THE ROOST: GENUINE RACESPEC GTHOS; SLAMMED G6ES; RUMBLING STREET/STRIP TOUGHIES

2 Veteran hot rodder Norm Hardinge showed up to AFD with his new ’32 roadster. The fibreglass body and new reproduction chassis were set up by Elvis at Rod Bods, and motion is provided by a stock LS1 and T56 straight out of a Commodore. “It’s been a six-year build, but it came up good,” Norm reckoned Corey Povey brought along his super-tidy XD Fairmont Ghia with its matching-numbers 351 and FMX driveline. “I bought it from Cairns in 2018,” he said. “It was rebuilt by a father and son, who then sold it to me. The only thing I had to do was replace the radiator. I bought it to drive it; I don’t want to park it up and not enjoy it”

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This ’64 F100 was parked up in 1985 by the original owner, so when Beau Boucher picked it up a few years ago, it only had a touch of surface rust.

The truck lays frame thanks to a custom

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chassis fabricated by Mick’s Speed Shop, and is propelled by a 351 Clevo, FMX and a four-linked 9in rear end Tereasa and Paul Roaden’s XH pano didn’t always look this good – it was a column-shift, bench-seat, six-cylinder car that had been driven around Australia. There are lots of goodies to spot now, including the XH XR8 front end and T5 manual, ED XR seats and Sundowner-style full rooflining. The old Windsor’s breathing is assisted by a Raptor centrifugal ’charger for greatly increased oomph Matt Cahoon’s tough, GXLfronted Fairmont packs a whopping 950 naturally aspirated ponies. The Toca Performance-built, 440ci smallblock comprises a Dart block, Yates D3 heads, Scott Cook Air Supremacy intake and steel roller rockers, and spins to 8500rpm. Although he hasn’t taken it to the strip yet, Matt’s on the hunt for a low 9sec pass

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Locally made Blue Oval rides certainly ruled the roost, though: genuine race-spec GTHOs; slammed G6Es; well-loved daily drivers; pristine restorations; and rumbling street/strip toughies. With so many different cars in the mix, everyone could find something to float their boat.

After everything that was thrown at them, the AFD team knocked it out of the park to reorganise and operate a show of this size in the limited time they had; that so many people from all around the country made the trip to be there was the icing on the cake.

Who knows what will happen next year, but barring further lockdowns, the 31st Geelong All Ford Day should be another ripping show, with the team looking to crack the 1500-entrant mark. s

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THAT SO MANY PEOPLE FROM ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY MADE THE TRIP TO BE THERE WAS THE ICING ON THE CAKE

4 Shelby Graham’s XE S-Pack is in surprisingly good shape considering its history. “It was sitting in a paddock in Albury for 20 years before a mate found it,” she said. “He chucked a starter and battery in it and drove it home.” The week before driving it to AFD, Shelby swapped out the crossflow and auto for a 302 Clevo and XF T5 transmission

Peter Georgey has owned this mean little Escort for seven years and likes to take it for a blast around the twisties on weekends. Stripped out, ’caged and set up for tarmac rally use, the Esky runs a 160hp Pinto mill and English LSD with 4.11s.

“I’m building a 2.0L Zetec for it that should be good for 230hp,” Peter said

Hayden Matthews’s Polynesian Green ED XR6 wagon is the genuine article, although with a 490rwkW SOHC mill feeding a Mal Wood-prepped T56, it’s packing quite a bit more punch than the factory offered.

Hayden ran a PB of 11.2 at Drag Challenge 2019 with less power, so with a new twin-plate ceramic clutch fitted, he’s on the hunt for a much lower number

Simon Andrus just completed a four-year rotisserie resto of his XB sedan and has been enjoying taking it to a few shows before it sees regular use on both road and strip. Under the bonnet is a 393ci Clevo backed by a C10 and a four-link rear end.

“My brother’s a mechanic and he’s been a big help with the build; we did most of it at home,” Simon said

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mate Phil Berry helped to design and mask the scallops. Daniel Cassar painted the black with DNA candy Spilt Blood red, which complements the factory interior.

Tell us what she’s running.

It has an injected 327ci Chev with AFR heads, a roller cam and a stock bottom end. Behind is a rebuilt TH350 with factory diff and 3.08 gears. It’s ’bagged with an e-Level and Air Ride suspension, which is all engineered and mod-plated.

Cool tray!

My son Curtly suggested that the spotted gum would look good in the tray. I sanded and polished the timber; then Anthony added the stainless strips and customised the bed to allow access to the airbags. Many parts were difficult to find, so Anthony, who’s a toolmaker, made them. He’s a clever guy!

It seems like your family are mad-keen enthusiasts.

Dad had a T-bucket and a ’34 Ford roadster, and was also a speedway driver. Anthony is a car man; we clicked due to our love of cars and we’ve built a few now. Anthony’s son has an HK and I have an HQ ute that I’ll be building with Curtly. Cars are our main hobby – it’s who we are.

And you’re looking to get more women involved?

The El Camino rocks; I take pride in it being my car, though people often think it’s my dad’s or husband’s car, which is so frustrating. Women can build cars too! As an early childhood educator, I get young girls engaged in ‘tinker time’ and similar experiences so they realise that they are capable. s

PEOPLE OFTEN THINK IT’S MY DAD’S OR HUSBAND’S CAR, WHICH IS SO FRUSTRATING. WOMEN CAN BUILD CARS TOO!

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fitted to the block with a Ridgecrest copper gasket and a beryllium fire ring by Jeff Ramsay Engineering.”

Troy went with an off-the-shelf Kelford cam (240/246@50; 117 LSA; .660in lift) and decided on a hybrid head set-up – essentially a Higgins LS3 head but with only four head bolts instead of the six you would usually run with that head. The advantage of this arrangement is the ability to run 1.8:1 LS7style rockers and geometry with an LS3 valve configuration, which means not only bigger valves but better valve angle.

The 10.5:1 deal is sealed with a set of ARP 2000 head studs and a Plazmaman billet inlet, but if Amien wants to charge hard into the bottom sevens, he will need a six-bolt block upgrade to keep the heads on.

BBS Fabrication reworked the hot side with a single 60mm Turbosmart wastegate and a massive GTX55R 94mm Garrett turbo, while Northmead Auto Centre handled the cold side.

The ECU was upgraded to a MoTeC M130, while the fuel system comprises a 50-litre rear cell, Bosch 044 single primer pump, Siemens 2400 injectors and an Aeromotive 15gpm mechanical pump matched to a Holley fuel pressure regulator.

The MoTeC controls all engine functions and datalogging, and the standard LS ignition coils have been upgraded to smart coils.

Backing up the mega-mill is a bulletproof Powerglide by Joe

from A Class Transmissions, with a Reid case, 1.8:1 straightcut gearset, 10-clutch drum and PTC bolt-together converter.

The rear end was also given an upgrade, including a fabricated nine-inch housing with a Strange centre in 3.0:1 ratio, AFCO double-adjustable shocks and Pro9 control arms, which have since been adjusted by Street Car Fabrications after the 7.82-second pass.

“It’s been a lot of fun getting the car sorted out,” says Tyson Munro, head tuner at Northmead Auto Centre. “The engine makes a load of power, and we stopped pushing it on the dyno, as it was clearly blowing through the converter at around 1447rwhp.

“We had a bit of fabrication work to do on the car to get it finished and decided to finish tuning at the track. It destroyed the converter first pass, so we had the bolt-together PTC built and went back to the track. We had it set up pretty safe and left on 7psi, then ramped in 26psi over 1.5 seconds, with 29psi the maximum.

“Now we have some good data, we are really going to crank on it,” Tyson continues. “I think it’s got a 7.40 in it at around 185mph on 35psi. We know it will go 1.1 in the 60, so 7.40 is very achievable on 35psi.”

With a number of private track days in Sydney on the agenda, it’s going to be interesting to see what the Northmead boys can get out of this thing. s

NOW WE HAVE SOME GOOD DATA, WE ARE REALLY GOING TO CRANK ON IT. I THINK IT’S GOT A 7.40 IN IT AT AROUND 185MPH ON 35PSI. WE KNOW IT WILL GO 1.1 IN THE 60, SO 7.40 IS VERY ACHIEVABLE

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PHOTOS BEN HOSKING

STORY IAIN KELLY

WORM BURNER THIS BLOWN MIAMI-POWERED ’79 F100 CAN GET DOWN LOW AND GO, GO, GO

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NCE DERIDED as purely practical workhorses, pick-up trucks are finally finding their space in the street machining scene. Today we think of them as super-cool, practical sleds that can look epic jacked into the sky on muddies or laying rail on big-inch wheels.

It was this ground-pounding style that captured Glenn Smith’s imagination, though his path to this righteous, supercharged dentside Ford F100 actually began when he tried to buy a Chevy truck!

“I had put a deposit on a Chev 3100 in Queensland, but he sold it out from under me within a day of me going to get it,” says the Sydney detailer. “I love the slammed, ’bagged, low-riding trucks like KC Mathieu’s ‘Red Morning’ F100 and Aaron Kaufman’s bumpside truck, so I found this F100 in Victoria. I paid for it sight-unseen, and then a mate and I flew down to Melbourne and Roadkill-ed it home in this mystery truck I’d just bought.

“I’m the third owner, and it was a real beast; it had the canopy on it, a four-bolt 351 Cleveland with 3V heads, and a big four-speed manual that I later converted to C6 with my daughter. I got Dream Beams lowered I-beams and made up a front airbag receiver and mount, and I did a mini-notch with a four-link out back. That sorted me out for around 18 months.”

Bigger things were to come, though. Street Machine readers may remember a teaser of Glenn’s F100 in the November 2019 issue, when it was being worked on at Down Town Kustoms in Taree, which should have given the game away as to the direction the truck was heading in.

“Being a detailer and being around the scene, I’d seen plenty of work from different shops, so I spoke to DTK’s Graeme Brewer and he was on board with my plans,” Glenn says. “I think he liked that it was different. Everyone was doing Chevs because there are heaps of parts out there, but there are none for Fords of this era. It was

POWERED BY FORD’S 315KW, SUPERCHARGED 5.0L MIAMI MOTOR, GLENN’S TRUCK NOW HAS WAY MORE GRUNT THAN WHEN IT ROLLED OFF THE LINE

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ENGINE: While Ford’s 5.0L DOHC Coyote has gained worldwide popularity in recent years, the American home market never got the supercharged Miami variant – that was an all-Aussie invention for our Falcon platform! Packing a rear-entry HTV1900 blower developed

by Harrop Engineering, the Miami also scored an upgraded fuel system. The 315kW versions made 4.9psi, while the 335kW-rated engines made 5.8psi through the twin-vortices blower

“All the R&D Graeme has done just works,” Glenn says. “He’s made the thing work perfectly and I can’t wait to take it on a road trip.” The truck rides on 20x8 and 20x10 custom steel wheels hiding Wilwood disc brakes all ’round

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SUSPENDED ANIMATION THERE seems to be a never-ending stream of social media engineers who can’t fathom how a ride like Glenn’s F100 navigates speed humps, so we asked Graeme of Down Town Kustoms how he went about reworking Ford’s legendary pick-up.

“The suspension height range from aired out to full lift is about 220mm, with an everyday ride height of 120mm,” Graeme says. “We needed to make sure the handling characteristics performed as it should at ride height, like having enough camber gain to take corners but not too much so it didn’t over-camber at full drop. It needed to have zero bumpsteer, especially when lowering the truck down for a lower ‘skate’ height, which can be as low as 10mm off the ground.

“It also needed to be able to get full lock without any components clashing, such as caliper to control arm; ball joint cup to brake rotor; steering arms to sway-bar linkages. And, of course, the wheels and tyres could not scrub on anything.

“The rear has also had a lot of thought put into it to allow the bag-on-arm set-up to give the lift we needed, make it a comfortable ride and also have very little squat in order to get the power down, which it does beautifully.

“We do this all in SolidWorks; we simulate the whole chassis and check full bump and full droop at full lock, both ways, when the bump stops are in it. This allows the truck to rest at 40mm when fully laden and 220mm off the ground when lifted, and with enough suspension travel to ride at 120mm ground clearance with no problems.

“When Glenn wants to show it, he can pull the bump stops out and lay the Ebony Texture-powdercoated frame flat on the deck, as the body was spaced up 10mm to stop damage to the sills when aired out.”

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back to the drawing board and starting fresh for DTK, but I knew I was in the right hands with them.”

Powered by Ford’s 315kW, supercharged 5.0-litre mod motor known as the Miami, Glenn’s truck now has way more grunt than when it rolled off the line. Behind the spicy five-oh is a factory ZF six-speed auto that will make the Effie run sweet on the street.

“A lot of my mates had started building bigger, tougher street cars, so I figured the dirty old farm truck didn’t cut the mustard,” Glenn laughs.

“I found a whole conversion listed on eBay with parts from a 2011 FPV GS that had copped a rear-ender in Canberra. It had been put into a ’67 Mustang, but that guy pulled it back out to go with a more era-correct 427, so I jumped on it.

“It had everything – even the a/c parts, wiring, transmission, radiator – just not a computer! I ended up sorting out a stock FG GS ECU, thankfully. The conversion was so complete, even down to the power steering and air con lines, which are all FG GS bits, and that means they’re off-the-shelf parts if I need spare parts as well. The only custom lines are really the hardlines for the air suspension.”

While F100 twin I-beam front ends are legendary for hauling heavy loads, they’re a massive impediment to getting the tar-scraping ride height Glenn longed for, so Graeme and the DTK team got to work designing a new, carefully engineered front end (see sidebar). Out the back is a complete DTK chassis clip, with Slam Specialties airbags mounted on the triangulated four-link arms. AccuAir management keeps the ’bags level and legal, and a nine-inch from Geelong Diffs handles the grunt.

“Making everything fit wasn’t too bad with Glenn’s truck, but it’s not just a ’bag job to make it sit flat on the ground,” Graeme explains.

“Because he wants to drive it everywhere, I spent extra time in CAD to simulate the chassis so it would drive perfectly, get the power to the ground and be reliable and useable. And it really drives great.”

UNDERNEATH, EVERYTHING IS FRESH, RIGHT DOWN TO EVERY BOLT, BUT UP TOP IT LOOKS LIKE A SURVIVOR INTERIOR: While the interior looks almost factory-fresh, there are some key upgrades, including the Lokar floormount handbrake. “The original bench seat has been retrimmed, and I have put in a power window kit and Vintage Air,” Glenn says

GAUGES: “The gauges are a one-off Dakota Digital dash that has been customdesigned to run with the Miami motor,” Glenn explains.

“It was a bit of a stress because we sent it over at the start of COVID, just as Dakota shut down. But they nailed it; it looks almost original but with a digital flavour”

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THE TRUCK IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN EXPECTED, AND IT IS DEFINITELY GOING TO BE A DRIVER – I WANT TO ENJOY IT

ABOVE: Glenn is keen to get Clifford back from engineering and get it on the road – wait, ‘Clifford’?

“Yeah, the truck is named Clifford after my grandfather, who I spent a huge amount of time with growing up,” says Glenn

While DTK has plenty of runs on the board creating some of Australia’s most well-finished street machines that can haul epic amounts of tinware at shows, Glenn always wanted a driver, and that meant keeping a survivor-style finish to the bodywork. “Underneath, everything is fresh, right down to every bolt, but up top it looks like a survivor,” Graeme explains. “That took a lot of working out, because we’re used to going the whole hog on a car’s build. It was a little difficult to stop at a point to leave that authentic survivor finish up top.”

“I had a pretty good vision in my head of what I wanted,” says Glenn.

“I liked the vibe of the truck, but I wanted it enhanced. Graeme did convince me to go up to the custom 20-inch steelies, whereas I had wanted to stay with the 15s, but I’m over-the-moon happy with how it’s turned out.

“The truck is so much better than expected, and it is definitely going to be a driver – I want to enjoy it.”

The Effie is currently going through engineering, so it won’t be long before Glenn can do just that. We can’t wait. s

Diff: 9in, Truetrac LSD, 31-spline axles, nodularPaint: Ford Snowshoe White iron case

GLENN SMITH 1979 FORD F100 ENGINE

Brand: Ford Miami 5.0L Blower, heads and internals: Standard Oil system: Standard wet sump ECU: FG Exhaust: Custom twin 3in exhaust Ignition: Standard coil packs

SUSPENSION & BRAKES

Front: Slam Specialties airbags, KYB shocks, DTK front end Rear: Slam Specialties airbags, KYB shocks, custom rear clip and triangulated four-link, AccuAir air management Brakes: Wilwood discs TRANSMISSION Gearbox: ZF six-speed auto (f & r)

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Master cylinder: Wilwood

WHEELS & TYRES Rims: Custom smoothies; 20x8 (f), 20x10 (r) Rubber: Pirelli P Zero; 225/40R20 (f), 275/50R20 (r)

THANKS Graeme and the DTK team; all the boys for putting up with me during the build; my late mum Robyn and late grandfather Clifford; my partner Sheena and my daughter Mia

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STORY CARLY DALE PHOTOS TROY BARKER

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HAVING DISCOVERED THAT HIS OLD EH W AGON HAD SOME 1980S SHOW SCENE CRED, TIM KRESS DECIDED TO BUILD ON IT

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TYRES: Two-inch-wide whitewalls on the front and three-inchers on the rear provide that lovely whitewall stagger INTERIOR: Inside, there’s now no hint of the wagon’s 80s show car vibes. Instead, there’s a bunch of fresh, modern fitments thanks to AJ Trim. Tan leather covers most surfaces, including the LC Torana buckets and SAAS tiller. Auto Meter Phantom gauges flank an original EH speedo, while tucked out of sight is a Bluetooth stereo

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F

EASTING my eyes on Tim Kress’s striking ’64 EH Holden wagon at the Adelaide Auto Expo earlier this year, I was intrigued by the mix of styles on what looked to be a fairly fresh build. Bubble windows; sunroof; flares – oh my!

As it turns out, this wagon has 80s show cred, having been formerly known and shown in Queensland under the name ‘Imperial’. And, while some owners may have rebuilt it to that spec, Tim decided he could have his cake and eat it too. He set about creating a neat family cruiser with modern appointments to suit his tastes, while also retaining elements of the car’s history.

“I wanted to keep the sunroof, bubble windows, louvre-vented front guards and flares, while also putting my own touches on it,” he says. “Create new history and keep the legacy alive.”

And if that’s not interesting enough, the story of how Tim came to acquire the wagon is quite a tale too. In 2005, the then-16-year-old

spied the 186-powered EH in the Trading Post. “Dad drove me to see the car and it was in very rough shape, but I didn’t care; I loved it,” he recalls. “I was sold and my dad was sold.”

Everyone was on board the EH train except for Tim’s mum. She reckoned that a Gemi or newer Commodore would be a safer option for her beloved son. Tim begged and pleaded for a week until finally she cracked and told him to go and buy the car. Only thing was, he’d missed his chance, with the EH selling a mere five minutes earlier.

“Tears were shed, and I didn’t speak to Mum for weeks after that,” Tim says.

A year later, Tim took a call from his old man. Not only had his dad spotted the EH for sale at a local tyre shop, the legend had also bought it for his son. “Tears were shed again!” Tim says. “Excited is an understatement; I was in absolute disbelief. Owning this car was definitely meant to be.”

I GOT UNDERNEATH AND NOTICED THE CHROMED DIFF AND THE WORD ‘IMPERIAL’ PAINTED ON THE FUEL TANK

full console and Quadrasonic audio system were noteworthy cabin mods, while the ISSUE #23 of Custom Vans & Trucks body mods of flares, guard vents, bubble features the Imperial wagon as built by windows and sunroof remain to this day.

Robert Walker. Photos display the thenTim also owns the old bonnet that sported Dark Carmine Metallic EH sporting a plethora of chrome appointments, including a see-through bubble, though the perspex hasn’t stood the test of time. Issue #7 of a 192ci bored six with triple Weber carbs Supercar magazine also offers a feature, swinging off a Warneford 7in manifold. A providing a great insight into this EH lush custom interior of leather and velour covered most surfaces. HiAce buckets, a wagon’s glamorous past.

PAST DUE

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Tim wasted little time in checking out his new possession, and that’s when he spied a few telltale signs of the car’s previous life. “I got underneath and noticed the chromed diff and the word ‘Imperial’ painted on the fuel tank,” he explains.

With a bit of research and the help of social media, he soon learned that it had been a show car in Queensland in the 80s.

“Many people remember the car; one in particular knew the old owner and remembers seeing it in car shows in Queensland,” Tim says. “Another bloke gave me his own copy of one of the magazines it was in!”

Given Tim’s age and lack of funds, a quick budget build was in order, and soon he was piloting the cruiser, making a bunch of sweet teenage memories. The wagon remained a trusty steed for many years, before a lack of shelter saw tinworm rear its ugly head. It was

put into storage in 2012, where it sat waiting for the right moment to come along.

“After I asked my girlfriend Bec to marry me in 2016, I decided that I wanted the EH to be our wedding car – I wanted the girl of my dreams to roll up in the car of my dreams,” Tim says. “We had approximately 12 months to do a full restoration. It was a big ask.”

Adelaide Motorsport Fabrication in Wingfield, SA did the heavy lifting on the wagon early in the process. The crew there put in some serious work to turn its frown upside down, and then worked even harder when Tim and Bec’s wedding date was moved forward three months due to a venue stuff-up.

The AdMoFab lads wrenched on a 350ci Chev cratey before shoehorning it, along with a B&M TH700 trans, into the EH’s relatively small engine bay. They enlarged the trans tunnel and

I ASKED BEC TO MARRY ME AND DECIDED THAT I WANTED THE GIRL OF MY DREAMS TO ROLL UP IN THE CAR OF MY DREAMS

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STYLING: “The EH has always been a head-turner; I think the fact that it used to have a seethrough window in the bonnet caught a lot of people’s eye,” Tim says of the bubble-topped bonnet the wags sported at its show peak. That old bonnet needs a new bubble, but Tim hasn’t ruled out fixing it to run at shows in the future ENGINE: Adelaide Motorsport Fabrication put in the hard yards to get the EH done on a tight timeline. Up front, they spannered on the 350ci Chev and B&M TH700 before getting it all to fit where much smaller items once sat. While they were at it, the lads also whipped up a custom alloy drop tank and a burbling twin exhaust PRE-WEDDING JITTERS: The EH was running and driving a week before Tim and Bec’s wedding, but then it seemed to have second thoughts. “The alternator shit itself the morning of the wedding,” Tim recalls.

“The battery was completely dead and we needed the battery charger constantly. Bec was 25min late to the ceremony and the thoughts running through my head while waiting at the end of the aisle were agonising to say the least!”

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LOL

Send your favourite funnies to: LOL, Street Machine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166 or email them to: streetmachine@aremedia.com.au.

> GAG OF THE MONTH SNORE NO MORE A COUPLE owns a dog that snores in its sleep. Annoyed because the dog’s snoring keeps her awake, the wife takes it to the vet to see if he can help.

The vet tells the wife to tie a ribbon around the dog’s testicles at night and he will stop snoring.

The wife is dubious about the vet’s advice, but a few hours after going to bed, the dog is snoring as usual, so she decides it’s worth giving the ribbon idea a try. She grabs a piece of ribbon from her sewing drawer and ties it around the dog’s testicles. Sure enough, the dog stops snoring. The wife is amazed!

Later that night, the woman’s husband returns home drunk after being out with his mates. He climbs into bed, falls asleep and begins snoring very loudly. The wife wonders whether the vet’s advice might work on her husband, too, so she gets another piece of ribbon and ties it around his testicles. Amazingly, it works – the husband’s snoring stops! The woman then sleeps very soundly.

The next morning, the husband awakens with a hangover and lurches into the loo to pee. Looking down, he sees a blue ribbon tied around his privates.

Confused, he finishes up and walks back into the bedroom, where he notices a red ribbon around his dog’s testicles.

He shakes his head, looks down at the dog and says to him: “Syd, I don’t remember where we were or what we did last night, but hey, we got first and second place!”

Ivana Kontest, email

TRACKING TWO blondes were having a disagreement over some tracks they found in the forest. One insisted they were dog tracks. The other was sure they were fox tracks.

They were still arguing when the train hit them.

Ms D Trane, email

LANGUAGE OF LOVE A MAN goes into a French restaurant and is seated, and he soon notices that all the waitresses are gorgeous. One particularly alluring one comes up to take his order.

“What would you like, monsieur?” she asks.

The man glances at the menu before scanning her beautiful frame top to bottom, and answers, “I’d like a quickie.”

The waitress turns and walks away in disgust.

Shortly, another very attractive waitress

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> FUNNY FOTO OTO

Hole in one, or one in the hole?

approaches. “What would you like, monsieur?” she asks.

Again the man thoroughly checks her out and answers: “A quickie, please.”

Horrified, the waitress slaps him across the face and storms away.

Just then, a man sitting at the next table leans over and whispers to the first man: “Um, I think it’s pronounced ‘quiche’.”

Sue Flay, email

TOILET HUMOUR TWO drunks are in a bar. The first one says to the other, “Do you know they have golden toiletsh here?”

“No way!” the second drunk slurs. “You’re making that up.”

“I shwear it’s true,” the first drunk insists.

“Check for yourshelf – end of the hallway, shecond door on the right.”

The second drunk goes to check, but quickly returns. “I knew you were full of it,” he says.

“It’sh jusht a regular toilet.”

So the first drunk unsteadily motions to the bartender. “Tell thish guy I’m not making it up.

I came here yeshterday and I shwear you had a golden toilet.”

The bartender yells to his boss in the office: “Hey Frank, I think I found the guy who took a dump in your tuba!”

Brassie Komode, email

SHORT & CURLIES I TOLD my son to stop playing Russian roulette, but you know how it is with kids – in one ear, out the other.

MY WIFE claims I’m the cheapest person she’s ever met. I’m not buying it.

IF I LIVED in medieval times, I’d be a tavern guard. I’ve always been known for my innsecurity.

MY Bluetooth speaker wasn’t working, so I threw it into the lake. Now it’s syncing.

IF YOU make money selling Indian bread, you run a naan profit organisation.

HOW many surrealists does it take to change a lightbulb? Fish.

MY SISTER bet me a hundred dollars I couldn’t build a car out of spaghetti. You should’ve seen the look on her face when I drove pasta.

Dadge Oaks, email

LIE FOR A LIE A CABBIE picks up a nun. As they drive along, the nun notices that the cab driver won’t stop staring at her. She asks him why, and he replies, “I have a question to ask you, but I don’t want to offend you.”

“Don’t worry,” says the nun, “when you’re as old as I am, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I’m sure there’s nothing you could ask that I would find offensive.”

“Well,” the driver replies, “I’ve always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me.”

She responds: “Well, let’s see what we can do about that. First, you have to be single.

Second, you must be Catholic.”

“Yes, I am single and Catholic!” says the cabbie excitedly.

“All right then,” the nun says, “pull into the next alley.”

So he does, and the nun fulfils his fantasy. But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying. “What’s wrong?” the nun asks.

“Forgive me sister, but I have sinned,” the cabbie replies. “I lied to you before; I’m married and I’m Jewish.”

“That’s okay,” the nun replies. “My name is Kevin and I’m on my way to a Halloween party.”

Nas D Habbett, email

> THOUGHT OF THE MONTH The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education – Albert Einstein

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E V I T C A RETRO A CAVALCADE OF PERIOD-STYLE RIDES FLOCK TO NORTHERN VICTORIA FOR THE FOURTH RETROSPEED WILBY PARK SPRINTS

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STORY STEVE TITCUMB PHOTOS LUKE HUNTER

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

PHOTOS CHERYL POULSON, JACQUI DEAN & TOM BAKER

HEY GOOD-LOOKIN’ SEXY billet hardware abounds, including the Pro Billet tunnel ram, APD carbs, Shaun’s Custom Alloy rocker covers,, timing cover, belt drive system, CVR alternator tor and Lowe Fabrications alternator bracket. But ut how’s this for going to extremes to ensure the engine looks the part? “A lot of race engines require the e inlet manifold to be removed frequently for maintenance, nce, so we often machine O-ring grooves into the inlet faces aces of the cylinder heads to make that quicker and easier,” asier,” says Damian. “In this case it was more for looks. ks. The runners on the tunnel ram are CNC-machined to the shape of the ports, so if we were to use factoryorystyle inlet manifold gaskets, it’d look pretty ty ugly. By using O-rings, we can do away with the manifold gaskets for a much cleaner look.”

350CI HOLDEN V8 > BG ENGINES, NORTH RICHMOND, D, NSW

N

OT everyone is out to LS the he world.

According to Damian Baker er of BG Engines, the Iron Lion is still alive and kicking. “The Holden side of things is still extremely strong; at any given n time we probably have six to 10 of them in the shop shop,”” he explains. “This one in particular has a couple of really cool features.”

For starters, the block is a brand new VT roller item that had never fired a shot, meaning that BG had the luxury of retaining the standard 4.000in bore. With a Scat steel crank, Scat I-beam rods and SRP forged flat-top pistons, the displacement ends up at 350ci, rather than the 355ci more commonly associated with stroked and bored Holden V8s. Because the brief called for an engine suitable for regular street use with a manual gearbox, compression was limited to a modest, pump fuel-friendly 11.7:1.

The lads at BG Engines have literal decades of experience with Holden V8s, and so they tended to the usual weak points with oiling system modifications, a small-block Chev rubber rear mains seal conversion, and one of their in-house CNC-machined billet mains girdles, which is compatible with the baffled Aeroflow pan.

The alloy heads are Yella Terra castings,

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which were ordered blank.

The BG team selected suitable valve sizes for the application before cutting the seats and hand-blending the ports to suit. The heads are decked out with Yella Terra Platinum shaft roller rockers, COMP Cams valve springs and steel retainers, with Crow moly pushrods and BAM diamond-coated bushed lifters also used.

The camshaft is a mechanical roller, and was specced according to the owner’s desire to make decent grunt while retaining suitable road manners. It sports 249/255 degrees duration at .050 lift on 108-degree centres, and 0.620in of total valve lift. Like all solid-cammed Holden V8s, it sounds properly angry.

“This is a street cruiser with a bit of grunt, but the customer wanted some bling in the form of one of our in-house tunnel rams,” Damian grins.

“The car itself is an absolutely stunning VK being built by the guys at Image Conversions, and the motor had to match.”

The beauty of your engine builder also fabricating your inlet manifold is that variables such as plenum volume and runner length can be properly optimised to suit the application.

“The engine is only 350ci, which is quite small in

today’s terms,” Damian says. “We made the CNC-machined d runners quite ite long long, which helps with driveability, especially with it being a manual. You don’t have the luxury of a slippery converter helping it come on song, so we had to get it right. The manifold comes into play a lot with that; I’ll ask a customer 30-odd questions when we come to designing them. And all the experience we now have doing lots of street driving at Street Machine Drag Challenge has taught us how to tailor these set-ups to be driveable.”

But it still makes plenty of stonk, right? Yep, 627hp at 7400rpm, which is a very healthy number indeed for a pump-fuel, 350ci all-motor Holden.

“We tried not to get off track with this engine and wreck the driveability; maintaining that was really important,” says Damian. “It made 500ft-lb of torque; they drove the car around the block the other day, and I’m told it just wants to get the tyres off all the time!” s

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RIGHT: Heath van der Waerden’s 1975 911S was one of the Porsches put in their place by Shannon Heraud’s Torana. “It’s got a 3.0L motor swapped in, fatter rear Carrera a wheelarches with the Turbo Fuchs wheels and a few styling g features that make it look more like a mid-80s model,” he said. “I love the feel of this event; being woken up by cold-starting, cranky motors in n the morning is my favourite!”

and Saturday nights, with the sprints taking place on the Saturday.

The event is organised each year via the Retrospeed Facebook page by brothers Stewart and Ross Perry. “The goal is to put on an event that feels like you’re at a track day back in the 70s,” Stewart said. “The cars are semi-period correct – they need to appear correct but not necessarily original in the drivelines.”

Track days are an awesome way to test how well your car performs without falling foul of the law. That said, some events that run multiple cars and classes at the one time can be a potential recipe for disaster, particularly for owners of valuable classics.

Retrospeed eliminates this risk by running one car at a time on the approximately one-

A ABOVE & LEFT: One of the sstandout cars was Noel Wilcox’s 1929 De Havilland W Gipsy special, running a 6.0L G four-cylinder engine from a fo Tiger Moth biplane. “The car T has been built from bits and h pieces on a Standard Flying p Nine chassis,” the 76-yearN old said. “It’s the only aero o engine-powered car still e ccampaigning in historic rracing in the country”

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LEFT: Nathan Elder’s GT Cortina replica has been C built for hillclimbs, circuit b work and street duties w on historic rego. It runs o a Ford Crossflow 1600cc ffour-cylinder opened up tto 1830cc using a Datsun ssteel crank and rods. “I llike the track, as it suits tthis car,” Nathan said. “It doesn’t run out of legs d ccoming down the straight llike it does at places like Sandown Park” S

RIGHT: Shannon Heraud is better known for his TUF253 3 Escort burnout car, but this Torana was actually the original TUF253, and used to compete in burnout comps with a blown thongslapper before being returned to street duties. It now runs a new 253 combo, backed by a T5 BorgWarner gearbox from an EL XR6 and d a 9in diff with 3.9:1 gears.

Shannon snagged his third Wilby win in a row with a 37.97sec lap time

TH A WI ES CH RS PO 1 91 G IN AT BE E LIK ITE QU G IN TH THERE’S NO THONGSLAPPER-POWERED TORANA! RIGHT: Event co-organiser Ross Perry owns this completely stock-standard 1967 E- Type Jag. “I bought it looking pretty much as it sits, but I’ve done a lot of mechanical work to it and it gets driven a lot,” he said.

“I have a Chevy Nova wagon sitting in the shed at home that I’m building up as well”

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LEFT: Event co-organiser Stewart Perry towed his period-style caravan up to the event behind his original XB GT, which he’s owned since he was 19.

“We’re really happy with the mix of cars and variety of ages of everyone that participated,” he said

CAR UR YO LL WE W HO ST TE TO Y WA E OM ES AW AN E TRACK DAYS AR PERFORMS WITHOUT FALLING FOUL OF THE LAW

RIGHT: Mark RIGHT Melbourne’s M lb ’ M k Schwarze has owned this genuine LJ GTR Torana for just over 23 years now.

“This is my first time here; it’s a fun, tight little circuit and there’s a good mix of vehicles to look at,” he said. “Mechanically, the car’s been upgraded to XU-11 specs with a worked triplecarb 202, but other than that, it’s pretty original”

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RESULTS RIGHT: Diehard racer ‘Gricey’ y’’ from Wodonga was having a ball on the track in his 1968 Isuzu Bellett sedan. “I paid $50 for the car and just built it up for a bit of fun,” the 74-year-old said. “It’s had a 1600cc GT motor with twin carbies and extractor fitted. I like the format of this event, as you don’t have to worry about other cars being out on n the track with you”

1ST SHANNON HERAUD HOLDEN TORANA (37.97SEC)

2ND KEVIN KOSA MK2 FORD ESCORT (38.15SEC)

3RD PETER MURRAY HOLDEN UC TORANA (38.19SEC)

kilometre Wilby circuit – similar to hillclimb events where drivers pitch themselves against the clock rather than each other.

The racer with the fastest lap for the day is declared the outright winner.

“We like people being able to have a passenger in the cars so everyone can get involved, and we only run one car at a time to keep it safer and to time the laps,” Stewart explained. “We’d like to get a few more cars along, but we still want to keep it small so everyone gets lots of runs.

“The onsite camping is great fun. We put on a roast dinner on the Saturday night and then sit around the campfire having a quiet drink and talking cars late into the night.”

Shannon Heraud should be well known to Street Machine readers for his wild

ABOVE & RIGHT: Simon Trewella (left) had his turbo Barra-powered VE Valiant Wayfarer ute out for its first shakedown run, having only recently completed the build with good mate and co-driverr Steven Dobson (right).

“The motor is a stock BF Series II Barra with an FG log manifold,” Simon explained.

“The firewall has been recessed and the motor set back 300mm.” A BF Falcon ZF six-speed auto runs to a shortened XD Falcon BorgWarner diff

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RIGHT: Third place went to Peter Murray in his sixcylinder UC Torana, proving that a well-sorted car can be more important than outrightt power at events like the Wilby byy Sprints. “It’s a solid-cam, triple-carb 202 with a Celica five-speed and BW 78 diff,” Peter said. Unusual touches include the HSR Mikuni carbss and heavily modified HDT VH H Commodore front spoiler

T WHERE RETROSPEED IS A LAIDBACK, GRASSROOTS EVEN FUN VE HA D AN R HE OT CH EA LP HE TO E ER TH T OU IS EVERYONE 253-powered Ford Escort burnout car (SM , Aug ’18), but at Wilby he was piloting his Torana, with a new alloy-headed 253 combo under the bonnet. He posted the event’s fastest time for the third year in a row.

“There’s nothing quite like beating 911 Porsches with a thongslapper-powered Torana,” Shannon laughed. “Retrospeed is a good, laidback, grassroots event where everyone is out there to help each other and have fun. It’s great for people who just want to have a crack at pulling their car on a race track without much risk of damage.”

If you’re keen to have a crack at the next Wilby Park Sprints, jump onto the Retrospeed Facebook page. s

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LEFT: Kevin Kosa’s ’78 Ford Escort runs a 2.0L Pinto engine, and was his first car and daily driver until he converted it to a track weapon. “I don’t get to use the car much, so it was good to get out to do some laps,” he said. “It’s a pretty laidback event – how it should be!” Despite being Kevin’s first visit to Wilby, he walked away with second place overall

STORY & PHOTOS BEN HOSKING

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CONVERSION THERAPY A LIFELONG HOLDEN MAN, MANUEL THOMASON TOOK ONE LOOK AT THIS BARN-FIND XP FALCON AND PROMPTLY TRANSFERRED HIS AFFECTIONS

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W

HEN Manuel Thomason went looking for a project car to build with Wazza, his mate of 25 years, his first thought was to find an HQ. After all, the 48-year-old concreter considered himself a dyed-in-thewool Holden man, having owned an HQ ute with a 327ci SBC, an HR Premier and a Torana running a hot six.

But all that changed when he and Wazza found an XP Falcon sedan hiding under a rotting tarp in a Penrith shed. The car had been sitting there for some 25 years, unloved and untouched, just waiting for someone to rescue it. Manuel took one look at it and handed over the cash.

While the XP came with six-cylinder running gear, Manuel had a clear vision for what he wanted the car to look like, so the old hardware was promptly binned and the credit card got a good workout. “I wasn’t inspired by any other cars exactly; it was probably more an era that I was inspired by – stuff I grew up liking,” he explains. “I wanted the tunnel ram and the carbs out the bonnet – the old-school look.”

Though Manuel is self-effacing about his ability on the tools, he and Wazza took a mere 18 months to take the XP from a dusty barnfind to a bona-fide beauty. “We got stuck into it almost as soon as we had the car back home in the shed,” he says. “We stripped it down and got the shell sandblasted. Thankfully it was in pretty good shape.”

Manuel and Wazz performed the rust repairs themselves before handing the shell over to the crew at BLVD Customs for panel and paint. “We replaced both sills and cut out a few other areas,” Manuel says. “BLVD Customs said we did pretty well with it ‘for a couple of concreters’!”

Returning to the shed smooth and coated in layers of Lightning Blue metallic from a 2018

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Mustang, the XP had been transformed from a neglected hulk into a thing of beauty. It was also the start of a mechanical journey that Manuel says taught him a lot. “It takes a bit of time to get things right,” he says. “Like, doing things twice – doing it and realising it’s not right and having to take the part off again and redo it.”

With limited experience when it came to working on engines beyond simple servicing, the pair tackled the job of selecting and fitting all the new parts they needed to achieve that old-school look that Manuel had in his head.

Using a 347ci BluePrint Windsor V8 long motor from Eagle Auto Parts as a base, they screwed on a big old tunnel ram intake and a pair of 450cfm vac-sec carbs from Quick Fuel on top. Completed by a belt drive and a set of Pacemaker headers, the whole lot was squeezed into the Falcon engine bay using a conversion kit from The Rod Shop.

“The Eagle Auto Parts engine was rated at about 415hp, and we think the other bits we added will be good for about another 100hp,” Manuel says.

It’s probably a good thing, then, that Manuel ordered a Wilwood front brake upgrade from The Rod Shop at the same time. With four-piston calipers and 320mm detachable-hub rotors, they help pull up all those extra ponies and fill up the space behind those classic-looking 17-inch American Racing Rodder wheels. “What was good for us, being pretty inexperienced, was that all the Rod Shop stuff was pretty spot-on,” Manual says.

Aesthetically, the XP is quite understated. Mark from PROcoat lathered just about everything under the bonnet in black or textured black, as well as coating a lot of the undercarriage. His handiwork also extends into the cabin, where the billet steering wheel and hydro-dipped dash

I WANTED THE TUNNEL RAM AND THE CARBS OUT THE BONNET – THE OLDSCHOOL LOOK ENGINE: A Rod Shop conversion kit got the Eagle Auto Parts 347ci V8 between the strut towers. Manuel and Wazz tricked it up with a host of improved top-end parts, including the tunnel ram and twin 450cfm Quick Fuel carbs for an estimated 500hp, before Mark at PROcoat covered just about everything in black BONNET: The underside of the bonnet was sheeted over for a smooth, seamless look BRAKES: Manuel also ordered a Rod Shop Wilwood front disc-brake conversion kit that features fourpiston calipers and 320mm detachable-hub rotors. The rear retains the factory drums S T R E E T M AC H I N E

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fascia help tie things together visually.

CMac Custom Upholstery is responsible for the grey and blue interior fit-out. It features a custom centre console, door cards and XR6 front buckets, as well as the original rear bench – all boasting a timeless pleated pattern. “The rear bench looked like no one had ever sat on it,” Manuel says. “It’s comfortable and has plenty of room for getting the family or the lads in for cruising.”

Manuel says that the hardest part of the entire build was bolting it all back together without scratching anything – certainly no easy feat when you consider the typical clearance between those strut towers and braces.

Ultimately though, the build was a great chance for a couple of lifelong mates to work on something together.

“This was my first project car,” Manuel says.

“I used to muck around with cars as a young bloke, but nothing this extreme. It was great to do something with Wazz; we’d always talked about doing something together. He’s a strong Ford guy, though – I don’t think I would have been able to get his help if I’d bought a Holden!”

Since its recent completion, Manuel has already cruised the car from its native Central Coast home to Newcastle a few times, and tries to get it on the road every weekend, work permitting. “It gets a lot of attention,” he says.

“Thumbs-up and waves from other drivers. My young fella says I should put a blower on it, but that’s not happening!” s

THE BUILD WAS A GREAT CHANCE FOR A COUPLE OF LIFELONG MATES TO WORK ON SOMETHING TOGETHER

INTERIOR: A pair of latemodel XR6 front buckets take pride of place in the sedan’s custom interior, with the grey and blue theme retaining a relatively period look.

A custom centre console runs through the middle and houses the Pro Ratchet shifter, Alpine stereo and some Dolphin

gauges, while more of PROcoat’s handiwork can be seen in the hydrodipped instrument fascia BOOT: As well as handling the interior, CMac Custom Upholstery also decked out the boot of the XP, including a neat storage compartment that hides behind a sliding door

MANUEL THOMASON TRANSMISSION 1965 FORD XP FALCON Gearbox: C10 auto Paint: Ford Mustang Lightning Blue

Converter: 2800rpm stall Diff: Truetrac, custom tailshaft

ENGINE Type: BluePrint Ford 347ci V8 Induction: Alloy tunnel ram intake manifold, two 450cfm Quick Fuel carbs, 2in spacers Heads: BluePrint alloy heads Camshaft: Hydraulic-roller, 0.554in lift Conrods: Scat I-beam Pistons: Forged Crank: Scat Oil pump: Melling Cooling: Twin thermo fans Exhaust: Extractors, twin 2.5in system Ignition: MSD

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SUSPENSION & BRAKES Front: King Springs, Monroe shocks Rear: Leaf springs Brakes: Wilwood 320mm rotors and four-piston calipers (f), drums (r) Master cylinder: Wilwood

WHEELS & TYRES Rims: American Racing Rodder 17in (f & r) Rubber: 205/45/17 (f), 243/45/17 (r)

THANKS BLVD Customs; Mark at PROcoat

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WITH ITS TVS SUPERCHARGER PROGRAM, HARROP ENGINEERING PROVES THE CAPABILITIES OF FORD’S 7.3L GODZILLA V8 STORY IAIN KELLY

PHOTOS SHAUN TANNER

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S

TEP aside Barra, Mod Motor and LS fanboys, because the new king of the stock bottom end is here, and its name is Godzilla. Ford’s 445-cube small-block has been making news since it debuted under the bonnet of the medium-duty truck range back in 2019, with a tough, deep-skirted iron block, six-bolt mains, forged crank, and deepbreathing, pushrod heads.

Melbourne’s Harrop Engineering got together with Dandy Engines to test out what a TVS blower can make on a stock Godzilla long motor, and the answer is:

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serious steam! How does 800hp on 98 RON and 1015hp on E85 catch you – all through stock valve springs, stock cam and a totally OE-spec bottom end? And this is just the first phase of the program’s development!

“Our Godzilla program started over 12 months ago, around April 2020, when we got our 7.3 motor from Harrop USA,” explains Harrop’s general manager, Heath Moore. “It’s a very impressive engine – a modern, old school-style engine – and Ford has clearly put a lot of work into refining the cam-in-block pushrod design. There will be so many trucks fitted with these, and in

years to come there will be a huge supply of these engines both at the junkyard or parts distributors, so I foresee a very healthy aftermarket.”

The test engine was first fitted with an ATI balancer and an 87mm drive-by-wire throttlebody from an S550-generation GT350 Mustang, as it offers a 7mm-larger throat compared to the factory throttlebody.

Frank Marchese and the Dandy Engines crew then plugged in a FuelTech FT600 ECU. The standalone computer was needed to control the Godzilla’s variable cam timing and variable-pressure oil pump, and it

RIGHT: One key upgrade made when the blower was bolted on was to the fuel injectors. “We ran 1000ccc injectors on the engine Heath says, “but we haven’t dyno,” dyno dyno, d yno ” H He finished ffi ni h hed d sspeccing out what we’ll fit in n ou our k kitt yyet, because a customer’s ccar a can c va vvary so much depending on what w ha fuel uel they’ll run and the like”

LEFT: LEFT LEF T “One “O One off the tthe good d th things things abo about b t the it the Godzilla Godz G d ill l a is is that that because becaus b it has h been don’tt been designed designe for for a truck, truck uck yo you u don have you ha e the he space spa e cconstraints onstr nt yo u get in a Camaro Camaro or Mustang,” Mustang Mus ang,” g ” Heath ssays ays y of the high-profile he decision d cis on to rrun un the high g pr p profile of le billet b l et blower lid. llid d. “We “We ccan ge g get a g grea great plenum p enum volume vo um in n our ou kit, k kitt, and it flows lows far more don’t more efficiently ef ic ent y iff you don’ don t hav have a low-profile llow p lowprofile offille lid. llid d. The The intake i t ke ttemps int em mps were incredibly the fi first phase i redibl d bly low l during d duri g th fir t p h hase off tuning” ttuning uning””

“We went with an inverted vverted erted ted supercharger design ign gn to o simplify impl p fyy the air path through rough ough gh tthe he uni unit unit,, w with th the large intercooler brick ntercooler n tercooler ercooler ercoo ler br b ick k ins iinside id de ooler oo for efficiency,” Moore iency,” ency, e y,”” Heath He Heat eath th hM oo e says. ays.

“Eaton R&D on is i still s iilll in i the th R &D phase h o off developing butt eveloping veloping ve loping a larger larg l g lar gerr rotor oto pack, pa pack k, bu b that future hat is part par of o the he plan plan an in n the fu re for really really max-effort m max-ef ax efffort ort set-ups. se set-ups -ups We haven’t cylinder headss haven hav n’tt dug dug g into in o the the cy yl nder head or valvetrain val tra n yet, yyet, so s w we’re we e’re e looking ooking ga att the there”” he huge h g potential p ent pot po ential al ther

expedited the testing process by making the engine’s cam syncing and crank triggering simpler to work out.

While the mill is rated at 430hp in production trim, once Frank had played with the variable cam timing and fuel trim, it made 550hp aspirated in the Dandy cell on 98 RON pump fuel. But then it was time for boost.

Frank and Harrop’s R&D manager, Clayton Stairmand, fitted Harrop’s all-new invertedstyle TVS2650 blower unit, where the intercooler sits above the Eaton four-lobe TVS rotor pack like in a factory-supercharged

LS and LT. The locally developed blower features a sexy prototype billet lid, which does pump up the installed height of the Godzilla for those scared of cutting the bonnet, but we reckon the look of the new lid is worth it.

On the 8psi low-boost setting, the twisting force was reading around 750lb-ft, and Frank saw 780hp. With smaller pulleys stepping boost up to 12psi – fairly spicy on a stock production pick-up truck motor – the big-inch SBF stepped up to the challenge and threw down just over 800hp. Amazingly, Frank says he did 30 runs without lifting a

HARROP AND DANDY TESTED WHAT A TVS BLOWER CAN MAKE ON A STOCK GODZILLA LONG MOTOR, AND THE ANSWER IS: SERIOUS STEAM! S T RE E T MAC H I N E

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TOP RIGHT: “One technical hurdle is that there is no keyway on the crankshaft – a bit like an LS3,” says Heath. “We’re going to have to find a way to pin or keyway y y the b balancer al er to tthe he ccrank ank for or lon long long-term g te term m durab durability l tyy when w hen we we’re we’re e leaning eani g on it it”

ABOVE: “The factory 7.3 throttlebody is fairly small [80mm], so for the max-effort combos we’re looking at 112mm-115mm throttlebody options,” Heath says. “We do have an integrated 115mm throttle for inverted 2650i kits and 110mm integrated throttles for the traditional-style 2650 set-ups, so we will consider how this throttle size works on the 7.3 down the track”

WE CHANGED OVER TO E85, ADAPTED A 102MM THROTTLE AND PUSHED IT PAST FOUR DIGITS TO SEE 1015HP ON 20PSI 120

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valve cover or having to pick up the rods off the dyno room floor, and he was running the donk to 6000rpm.

“The fundamentals of the engine are optimised for durability thanks to its life in commercial vehicles,” Heath explains. “That makes it a fantastic base for performance upgrades, which is always our goal.

“Compared to this new engine, a Coyote isn’t a great packaging solution for those who want a modern Ford V8 in their project vehicle,” he continues. “There is a degree of simplicity in the 7.3’s packaging and

engineering, plus they are very accessible price-wise as a crate engine. This is also a far more capable engine out of the box for boost compared to a Windsor or a smallblock Chev. The block and cylinder casting process is more accurate and consistent compared to 40 years ago.”

Several days later, the 7.3 was back on the Dandy dyno and ready to rip with boostfriendly fuel in the tank. “We changed over to E85 and crept the boost up to 18psi over 30 dyno runs, to make 944hp with the 87mm throttle,” says Heath. “But we saw vacuum

FFRANK EXCHANGE FRA DAND Engines’ Frank Marchese was the DANDY DAND m driving the dyno for the stage-one ma man Harrop Har HHarro o tests. The 2018 Drag Challenge winner winne w nn and noted Blue Oval guru is excited bbyy FFord’s Fo new V8 platform.

“We W ordered a Godzilla engine a few We months mont mo m t ago for us to build,” he says.

“They’re ““They They a great new platform for the They D Challenge scene. We’ll be running Drag oone ne at a Drag Challenge with a Harrop 2650i supercharger, and we want to see what it ssuper upe ccan an do d – not for an outright win, but as a and cost-effective combo. We fun, ffun un reliable r want w nt to come up with a combo that can go 99.5s .5s or o eights on the quarter but be easy and drive. tto maintain ma m “We’ve had heaps of enquiries, and “We W We think I thin th n it ticks the boxes for someone thi wanting wanti w nt to spend around $30,000, instead with a 50-year-old Cleveland ooff working wo w split a bore or something,” he tthat h might ha m continues.

“The bottom end is better so far ccontin ontti tthan ha anything else we’ve seen in the past from a factory engine. Plus it’s ffew ew years y ggot ott all a the good stuff to make a 1000hp like a factory crank trigger ccar ar reliable, rre set-up sset-u e -u and a modern coil-based ignition system. ssyste ys e “They’re a new platform, so some of the “Th Th pparts ar s can be expensive to order right now, arts especially working out the front drive and eespec spe ssump umpp options, but there aren’t too many ttricks ickk to them.

“There’s an electric motor that controls “Th Th the tth he oil o system, but with the FuelTech ECU we can w ca c control that and the variable cam titiming, ttiming min so that opens up cam-swap options as as well. we w We’re going to tear one down and do rods and some work with the do pistons, pis variable vvariab ariab cam timing.”

behind the throttle blade, so we adapted a 102mm throttle that Dandy had there, and it picked up around another 40hp seeing 19psi.

Then we leaned on it a bit harder and pushed it past four digits to see 1015hp on 20psi.

“The head gaskets and head bolts must be something special from the factory, and the cam did well, too! There would be over 60 runs on this engine, and I thought we’d lift a head, pick a ring or throw a rod, but instead of the next stage of development being fixing this motor with upgrades, we’ll move to upgrading the valvetrain for boost.”

Despite having already upped the throttle size twice from the stock 80mm unit, Heath reckons there’s more potential in the Godzilla platform with a bigger-still throttle unit. “It needs more throttle blade diameter, so, like our LS 110mm and 115mm packages, we’ll be working on a specific large-diameter Harrop solution to maximise the blower potential,” he says. “Even with the 102mm throttle, we were seeing a decent amount of vacuum behind the blade, so these 7.3s definitely need a big throat. Working closely with Dandy Engines, we also have some development cams on

the way from the USA to test, and we’re assessing a dedicated belt drive that can accommodate a wider belt for the seriouseffort engine packages, as this motor is still using the factory six-rib belt set-up.”

All in all, the Harrop crew are fairly stoked with how this new big-inch small-block has performed. “As a pure power-adder to a platform, we’re thrilled with the result,” Heath says.

As soon as Harrop and Dandy Engines start pushing their Godzilla, we’ll let you know just how hard this big lizard can stomp. s

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STORY CRAIG PARKER PHOTOS WARWICK KENT & JOHN JACKSON

REAR END: The tail-lights are from an ’85 Corvette and suit the bumperette-style rear bar. Other body mods include stretched rear arches to accommodate the huge Mickey Ts, and the billet grille, which sits inside a nose that has been stretched 3in, accentuating the car’s extreme rake

THE RAISED FRONT S CROSSMEMBER TAKE A BEATING, BUT AS I T LIKE TO SAY, “IT’S NO A PART Y ’TIL THE CROSSMEMBER SCRAPES!”

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STANCE: The massive nose drop is thanks to a raised crossmember, custom-fabbed A-arms and lowrider-style hydraulic rams over coils, with 6in of total lift – Gary’s Camaro pre-dates airbags.

The back half comprises a full chassis, custom four-link and coil-overs

>W WITH ITS RAKED STANCE, SUPERSSANITARY A STYLE AND WILD ALLMETAL INTERIOR, GARY BUCKLES’ M CCAMARO A BUCKED THE LAIRY 90S PPRO R STREET TREND

A far as pro streeters of the era go, your As Camaro really was something different.

C Ca a Years ago, Hot Rod magazine ran an article Y Ye aalong al lo the lines of ‘10 rules of pro streeting’.

H Ha Had to have a blower – nope. Had to have a full ’c ca – nope. Had to have a trailer – nope. All ’cage tthese rules, and we broke just about all of them. th Y Ye e the car still gets huge interest wherever Yet we w e take it.

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Where did the idea of the full-metal interior come from?

Well, I built the car with Chris Tietge from Tietge’s Hot Rod Garage – his fabrication skills are awesome. I didn’t want any sharp edges, so we smoothed out the frame and the engine bay. When Chris started on the interior, all the metal looked so good it seemed a shame to cover it up. Besides, I was young back then – I had a lot more time than I had money, and a good interior costs ya. So I said, “Why don’t we just paint it all?” Chris liked the idea and set about making the dash flow into the firewall, then into the floor and tunnel, before flowing up into the tubs. It was a lot of work, but it’s held up all these years. After being painted, it was obvious it needed something. I thought, “What’s the one thing you’d never expect to see sitting inside? A wrench.”

So I got Bob Maynard to airbrush that into the driver’s floor.

Bob reckons of all the airbrush work he’s done, it’s the one people comment on all the time.

What’s changed on the car since the 90s?

Nothing! The car has been repainted on the outside a couple of times from rock chips, small scratches and stuff. I know many people tear their cars apart and change everything, but this car was cool in 1994 and still turns heads today – why change something that works, right?

What’s one thing no one ever notices about it?

No shifter. Like the stereo, the Vintage Air controls and all the switches, the shifter is mounted up under the dash – it’s actually mounted upside down, but it works fine. I used to be able to reach under there to operate it. Now that I’m over 50, I pretty much stick my foot under there and hook it into gear. The other thing is, the young ones asking me what type of car it is. Then you realise that GM built this car 30 years before they were even born, so I suppose I can’t be too hard on them.

What’s it like to drive?

We drive it everywhere to heaps of shows – we’ve done over 50,000 miles in it and had a blast. For one show, we drove it from Dayton, Ohio across to Sedalia, Missouri – 10 hours each way – no problem. The front is hydraulic, over coils. I raise it up four inches for driving and it rides like a Cadillac. The tyres are really tight on the quarters, so the rear is somewhat stiff. The ride is firm, but far from terrible. The shaved and raised front crossmember takes a beating – there’s no paint left on it – and it was reinforced for this reason. But as I like to say, “It’s not a party ’til the crossmember scrapes!” s

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INTERIOR: The only soft bits you’ll find in here are the Flo-fit buckets and halfwrapped Boyd Gullwing steering wheel. Trick billet pieces include the Dakota Digital dash, door handles, window winders and pedals

GARY BUCKLES 1971 CHEVROLET CAMARO Colour: PPG Bahama Blue Engine: 1989 Corvette 350ci Tuned Port Transmission: 700-R4 Front suspension: Hydraulic rams and springs, custom A-arms Rear suspension: Coil-overs, stainless-steel four-link Rims: Boyd Coddington billet; 15x6 (f), 15x14 (r) Rubber: 205/60R15 (f), Mickey Thompson 33x21.5x15 (r)

ENGINE BAY: The Tuned Port 350 engine and 700-R4 trans were donated by an ’89 Corvette. Other than the Summit SLP runners and wild, log-style headers, the engine is basically stock. This, combined with the overdrive auto, has provided Gary with many thousands of trouble-free cruising miles TIME CAPSULE: The car remains beautifully preserved to this very day. Other than a fresh lick of paint, nothing has changed

WHEN CHRIS STARTED ON THE INTERIOR, ALL THE METAL LOOKED SO GOOD IT S SEEMED A SHAME TO COVER IT UP

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

PHOTOS SHAWN MCCANN

BLUE > WAYNE LINEKER’S 750RWHP MUSTANG PROVES THE METTLE OF FORD’S COYOTE V8

W

HO would’ve thought that one day we’d be writing about a ninesecond, completely useable street car that makes over 750rwhp with an unopened engine?

Well, that’s exactly the case with Wayne Lineker’s 2017 Ford Mustang GT. The car he originally bought to be his daily drive now packs a ProCharged punch, but retains all the standard Mustang driveline bits and has run a PB of 9.70@149mph.

“It’s awesome to see what you can do these days with standard stuff, and it shows how capable these cars are for the money,” says Wayne.

The six-speed transmission remains untouched, as does the factory LSD, with the only major

The D-1X ProCharg er sits nicely in the ’Stang’s en gine bay, and Wayne had it fitte d with billet gears to keep the whine down, making for a nice r driver on the road

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driveline modifications being an upgraded Circle D 3200rpm converter, a Spicer one-piece aluminium tailshaft and Driveshaft Shop 2000hp driveshafts.

As for the mighty Coyote donk, the only upgrade is the MMR oil pump. “It probably didn’t even need the oil pump, but it’s easy enough to do so we just decided to do it for some insurance,” Wayne says.

Cams, rods, pistons, valve springs – the whole lot remains as Ford intended it.

The key to the Mustang’s spicy power figure is the D-1X ProCharger strapped to the side of it, compressing around 16psi of boost. All that was needed to get the Mustang boost-happy was a fuel system upgrade, using a return twin-pump system with upgraded DeatschWerks DW95 injectors.

ld Apart from the wor is is th s, ar rc pe of su gine one of the few en at th bays you’ll see h uc retains this m factory get-up yet 0 cranks out over 75 es ni po el rear-whe

IT RE TAINS A L L T HE S T A ND A R D M B I T S A ND H USTANG DR A S RU N A P I V E L IN E B OF 9.70@ 149MPH

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r fit-out is ABOVE: The interio the only ng, still factory Musta being ns tio ca ifi od major m of the e the rollcage in plac racing nt oi back seat, a four-p gauges t ke ar harness, afterm ance trigger and a GT Perform shifter

E THING M O S ’S E R E H T W O N K S Y P E O P L E A LW A E A ND IN H W E H T R A E H Y E H T GOING ON WHEN SEE THE INTERCOOLER

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WAYNE LINEKER 2017 FORD MUSTANG GT Class: Vibrant Performance Dial Your Own

SPECS

Engine: Ford 5.0L Coyote Boost: ProCharger D-1X Internals & ECU: Stock Intake manifold: 2018 Mustang Gen 3 Oil pump: MM R high-volume Fuel system: DeatschWerks DW95 injectors, Fore Innovations twin pump Exhaust: 3in twin stainless Transmission: Standard sixspeed auto Converter: Circle D, 3200rpm Diff: Standard, 3.55:1 gears Previous PB: 9.70@149mph Best DC Pass: N/A

The ’Stang still uses its original brains with a tune for either E85 or 98, with all the hard work and tuning done at GT Performance in Melton.

The suspension has been kept super-basic, too. The rear still uses the factory IRS, while Eibach lowered springs and Viking adjustable shocks occupy all four corners. Sitting under the arches are Forgestar F14 wheels, measuring 18x5 up front and 17x10.5 in the rear, wrapped in meaty Mickey Thompson 305/40/17 radials on the back for putting all those ponies to the ground.

Wayne hasn’t done a whole bunch of passes since the car was knocked together, but it does see its fair share of street duties. “I’ll take it out to the odd car show here and there, and people always know there’s something going on when they hear the whine and see the intercooler,” he

laughs. “I think it’s mainly the colour that grabs a lot of attention though.”

This year will see Wayne’s first crack at a Drag Challenge marathon, and he’ll be taking his son as his crew member for the week-long trek. “I’ve got some smaller pulleys to try to get some more power out of it, and we’re also going to be putting a proper drag-style wing on it in place of what it has right now,” he says. The parachute mount will be re-engineered to double as a tow bar so Wayne can drag a trailer around for the five days.

“It’s something we ummed and ahhed about for a bit, but we decided now is as good a time as ever to give it a crack,” Wayne says. “It should be a great experience for my son and me. I’ll head out to Heathcote this weekend for some more testing and then work our way towards October.” s

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MASTE R

A LI A R T S U A F O EDS H S E H T M O N G FR I K A M E H T PI E C E S I N

HOL

P U O C Q DEN H

E

KE DA NNY CL AR -block HQ coupe

“HERE’S my big 0hp, 565ci project. It’s running an 80 400 ’box. It’s Dart Big M engine and TH boot floor m been tubbed, and a custo gineering En S has been added. The CD rs, a ve l-o coi rear end uses Viking f with dif h nc e-i nin 35-spline Strange s. ke bra d oo lw Wi Moser axles, and s ha l ne tun d an or flo The rest of the es us end been raised, and the front r arms ula tub op Sh d United Spee s RetroRack with coil-overs. It also ha h Rod power steering, along wit der the rear Un .

Hadfield drop spindles r Lines nte Ce guards sit 15x10 satin en it’s Wh s. ial with Nitto 325/50 rad een Gr s do rba Ba done, it’ll have a ed GTS pir ns y-i tor fac d GTS exterior an houndstooth interior.”

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FOR D XD FALCON PA O LO B O N I

“THIS is my Barrasw XD Falcon build th apped at is almost finished. It has a TBRE-built motor with a GTX42 turb o on a 6boost exhaust manifold . It breathes through a Plazmam an intercooler and intake manifo ld, and made 730hp on the runin tune on 23psi.

The driveline is m ade up of a Gilroy’s TH400, go ing to a Gazzard Brothers rear end with a 35-spline nine-inch diff.”

1972 A M C JAV E LIN ND MMOOND BAZ HAMM

“I’VE owned this AMC Javelin for 10 years; I’d always wanted one since I was a kid. It was an Aussieassembled RHD AMI car that was featured in Street Machine’s Readers’ Rockets section many years ago – I recognised it from there when I first saw it. The car was very ordinary when I purchased it; it had to go back to bare metal due to humidity blisters all over it. The paint and panelwork has slowed down the project, but thankfully it’s home now. The running gear was also a mess; the block was full of Chem-i-Weld and kept overheating. When it’s back together, it will run a fresh AMC 401/410 engine being built by Dalgleish Engines.

It’ll also have a manualised 727 trans, 4000rpm stall and Dana 4.56:1 rear end. Wheels will be Auto Drags – 15x6 up front and 15x8.5 rear.”

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19 8 6 V L C

ALAI S

DAVID GATES “I HAVE a 1986 VL Calais that I’m currently swapping a fully built Toyota 1GZ-FE 5.0-litre V12 into. It’ll have twin Proboost GTX3076 turbos, forged rods and pistons and Darton sleeves. The driveline will use a TH400 trans and a built Borgy diff. It’ll have a six-inch reverse cowl to fit the engine, but other than that the exterior will look stock when it gets resprayed in the factory colours, and it’ll have Weld Magnum wheels. The inside will also stay relatively standard with the Madeira trim. The plan is for a debut at Drag Challenge in 2022, so wish me luck!”

TOYOTA C R O W N TASH WELTSC H “ON BOXING Day last year, ar, my husband b dB Brenton on and I started on a crazy journey to pull my beloved ovved d Toyota Crown off the road and remove the trusty styy but very slow 4M motor and ’box to make way fo for or the slightly more powerful LS1 and 4L60 gearbox. bo ox.

With lots of planning, the project has been running nning g pretty smoothly, with only a few hiccups along g the way. Currently we are at final mock-up stage ge e of the accessories to make sure everything fitss before painting parts and final assembly. We ha had ad to custom-make a mid-hump sump, and have also added new engine mounts, radiator mounts, ntss, trans mount, custom headers – the list goes on. n.

All the work has been done in-house by Brenton on and myself, working nights and weekends. There’s ere e’s still a little more work to be done, including making an airbox, plumbing the remote oil filter er and cooler, and the dreaded task of wiring in the he e custom standalone loom. I’m proud of the amount oun nt of progress we’ve made so far, and we’re aiming ng g to have it ready to be fired up in the next few weeks.” kss.”

194 5 I NTE R N A TI O N A L KB5 CR AIG DOOIG IG

“THIS is my 1945 KB5 International tow truck. I started with just a cab, but due to the original DUNEDOO 24HR TOW ING signwriting still visible on the doors, I decided to build myself a hot rod tow truck. It’s powered by a Ford 292 Y-bl ock with a three-speed manual trans. It’s got a custom intake with four two-inc h SU carbs, water-cooled marine exhaus t manifolds and plenty of period item s throughout. Rear wheels are 18x15.5 in but with dual tyres on handmade adapters. It’s still not finished, but getting get g cclos lose e.” .

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L J TO R A N A TIM RE HN

“I BOUGHT my LJ Torana on my 15th e birthday in 2006 and planned to hav ’t didn t Tha Ps. my for it on the road happen. I cut the rust out, replaced the smashed front panels and rear quarter, and resprayed it in the d, original Purr Pull in my parents’ she rs yea 15 then parked it for nearly while life got in the way. I bought a set of Ford-pattern Mawer wheels at the start of 2020, which meant changing stud pattern, so I’ve gone with P76 discs and Wilwood calipers on the front and a cut-down XR6 diff in the back. It’ll have a hot 202 with two-inch SUs, backed by a Celica five the e driv speed, and I can’t wait to wheels off it soon.”

R E SV O D O M M O C VY

8

SIM ON WO RM INGTO N

“HERE’S my 2004 VY SV8.

It’s running an LS1 with a Proboost 42 turbo and TH400 conversion, making a healthy 600hp. I’m planning on taking it to the drags this year to see how quick it’ll go. Most of the work on the car has been done at home in the garage with my mates, the missus and my four-year-old son all helping out. The tuning was done at Edge Automotive & Performance in Toowoomba.

Future plans include minitubbing it and possibly a installing a rollcage. Then we’ll be seeing how far we can push it and having a go at Street Machine Drag Challenge.”

FORD F100 AADAM AD DAM THOMAS “THIS is my 1969 F100 project. It’s a US import that sat with a mate for about 20 years. Running gear is from an HSV VF GTSR, including the LSA engine, TR6060 transmission, full rear cradle and third member, pedal box and booster, all rotors and calipers, wheels and bimodal exhaust. I toyed with using the front strut set-up, but after talking to Curley from Southern Chassis Works, I decided to go with one of his custom front ends manufactured to my dimensions, with a torsion sway-bar sourced from the US. Extras include a Vintage Air unit, Dakota Digital analogue gauge cluster, Hurst shifter, keyless start and electric/hydraulic power steering. It’s currently in the wiring and plumbing stage. Being a spray painter and engineer, I’ve done all the work myself with the guidance of a VASS engineer.”

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SL EE P ER S STORY BORIS VISKOVIC

PHOTOS JORDAN LEIST

RAGE BEIGE

> ON FIRST GLANCE, IT LOOKS LIKE A NANNA-SPEC VK COMMODORE – BUT WOULD WE DO THAT TO YOU?

A

T THE ripe young age of 17, Zac Luk was already the proud owner of two VK Commodores. He’d found a mint one-owner six-banger, complete with sunvisor, and had plans to slot in a V8. But then he came across the one gracing these pages.

“This one came up and it was perfect, so I convinced Mum and Dad to let me buy it,” Zac says. “It was a 308 car, but I took the motor out and sold it.”

That might seem like a strange decision, but Zac had a plan. The motor out of ACCUSED, a VN that had graced the cover of Street Commodores, came up for sale, and Zac jumped on it. “I was going to do a 355

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package with the original motor – I was never keen on an LS swap – and then this one came up but with a blower. A no-brainer for a young, dumb kid, really.”

The VT roller motor already had all the fruit, stroked out to 355 cubes with a Harrop crank and topped with a COME Racing twinthrottlebody intake. It also sported forged internals and that all-important Vortech V-2 S-Trim blower.

“The motor was pretty dirty when I got it, so every day after work I’d be in the workshop polishing it like a mirror,” Zac says. “I pulled it down to go over everything and got the blower serviced, and then spent a million dollars on anodised fittings and hose.”

One of the really neat tricks in the engine bay is the braided hose from the firewall that hides the engine wiring, which was carried out by Amain at A&I Auto Electrical. It might cost a bit more than a few rolls of electrical tape, but it sure does look trick.

With the car almost finished, the heat suddenly turned way up – literally – when it got caught in a factory fire. “I was on my way to work on a Saturday morning and I saw the smoke and thought, ‘Unlucky for those guys,’” Zac recalls. “Then I got the call at 8am that I needed to get to the workshop.”

At the time of the fire, the car was pretty much complete. The engine bay had been smoothed but was still in primer, and the

Got a car that looks mild, but goes wild? Send pics, car details and contact details to: Sleepers, Street Machine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166.

Or email: streetmachine@ aremedia.com.au.

BOOT: Not much room in the boot for the shopping anymore thanks to the generous fuel cell, battery and Holley Dominator fuel pump ENGINE BAY: The engine bay was smoothed and relieved of all the factory clutter to highlight the beautifully detailed, Vortech-blown 355 Holden stroker. Even the catch cans are hidden. Jayden and the team at Rev Up Auto created the pipework, fitting it all in without cutting any holes in the bay. They also did the 3in stainless exhaust

original paint and interior was so good that Zac was going to leave it alone.

“After the heartbreak of the fire, and basically falling out of love with the car, my partner Kayla convinced me and reminded me how much I loved it, and, well, it snowballed from there,” Zac says. “It took me a while to start the build again after sorting out what I needed, but I was super-lucky, as it was mainly blistered paint and melted trim.”

For the new paintjob, Zac wanted to stick with something close to the factory Almond colour, but it’s been tweaked a bit so it’s not as bland; he’s dubbed the colour ‘Nanna’ Cream.

The majority of the build was performed at Nathan Quadrio’s workshop, Quads Mods.

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The colour-coded Calais trim and tail-lights add some class to the low-key affair, although Zac opted for hubcaps rather than factory alloys. The stance is a bit lower than stock, and the rear tyres are just a touch fatter than the fronts, but otherwise you’d never know there’s almost 500hp at the back wheels!

ABOVE: Zac worked with CJ Trim Co to come up with a modern take on a Calais interior using black suede and body-colour stitching. Auto Meter gauges and a B&M shifter give the game away a little bit BELOW: The trans cooler has been mounted at the rear, while a locked 9in with 3.9 gears and billet axles gets all the grunt to the ground. The twin 3in dumpers let everyone know this isn’t your nan’s Commodore

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THE CAR’S ANGRY WHEN IT NEEDS TO BE BUT DRIVES LIKE A FUEL-GUZZLING DAILY THE REST OF THE TIME

“We didn’t intend for the car to become as showy as it is really, but Nath just went above and beyond with the build and made it the pretty beast it is,” Zac says. “Nathan did 95 per cent of the build, both pre- and post-fire, and he would come to me with an idea and I’d just be like, ‘Yes! Let’s do it.’ We would just bounce ideas off each other and somehow Nathan understood what I meant and made my visions happen.”

The interior had also copped a bit of damage, but rather than just restore it, Zac added a few more of his own touches. “The dash was slightly melted and the driver’s seat had slight charring, so a full custom re-trim was in order there. I loved the Calais style and stitching, so I worked with Cam at CJ Trim Co and he came up with a more modern approach and style. We also incorporated the body colour into the stitching,

ZAC LUK VK COMMODORE Paint: ‘Nanna’ Cream

DONK Type: 355ci Holden Inlet: COME Racing twinthrottlebody ECU: Haltech Elite Blower: Vortech V-2 S-Trim Heads: VN ported and polished Valves: Stainless

and the suede – well, that’s just classy, simple and cool.”

Zac wanted to keep the appearance of a stock car both inside and out, so he went to great pains to keep the big intercooler hidden and avoid cutting the bumper. That meant the trans cooler went to the back and a fuel cell was fitted in the boot along with the battery. The interior did get a few upgrades from stock, with a full set of Auto Meter Pro Comp gauges replacing the stock dash and a B&M shifter cleverly integrated into the original console. To finish it off, Zac was lucky enough to score a re-issue of a Momo HDT steering wheel from Roman Auto-tek.

“I wanted it to look stock as a rock, nice and simple. It keeps the police away,” Zac says. Of course, all that sleight of hand goes straight out the window once he hits the key and the 480 horses find their way to the rear wheels.

Cam: Custom hydraulic-roller Pistons: ACL forged Crank: Harrop Radiator: Custom PWR radiator, single thermo Exhaust: Pacemaker headers, dual 3in stainless exhaust Ignition: MSD

SHIFT Gearbox: Turbo 350, Stage 3 shift kit

Converter: Custom AllFast Diff: 9in, 3.9:1 gears, 31-spline billet axles

BENEATH Front: King Super Low springs, Monroe GT shocks Rear: King Super Low springs, Monroe GT shocks Steering: Manual rack-andpinion Brakes: Slotted discs (f & r)

It might look nanna-spec, but it sure doesn’t sound like it!

The final touch was to get Finest 1 Detailing to work their magic on the paint. “When I first saw it after the boys had it, the love was well and truly back. It looked the same car I originally had before the build,” Zac says. “They really got the paint popping, and at first glance I thought they had got it resprayed!”

Zac’s had more than his fair share of ups and downs, and while the original plan may have been an engine swap that took three months, it ended up taking almost five years of actual build time over nine years: “I had some issues with tuners and getting the car running, but then Mike at WA Performance got her running like a dream.

The car’s angry when it needs to be but drives like a fuel-guzzling daily the rest of the time.”

Sounds just about perfect. s

ROLLING STOCK Rims: 14in stockies and caps (f & r) Rubber: Maxtrek Maximus 185/75R14 (f), BFGoodrich T/A 225/60R14 (r)

THANKS Nathan at Quads Mods for the majority of the work; Harris at Finest 1 Detailing for getting the paint popping; Amain at A&I

Auto Electrical for the full custom wiring job; Cam at CJ Trim Co for the amazing interior; Jayden at Rev Up Auto for the custom fab work; all the painters for their hard work; Mum and Dad for the cheap board and garage spot; my partner Kayla for the support throughout the build and putting up with all my whining ST RE E T M A CH I N E

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I RO N MA ID E N S T O R Y C A R LY D A L E

PHOTOS CHRIS THOROGOOD

THE FEELING OF KNOWIN G I’M PART OF THE ’59 IS A THAT MAZING; I NOW KNOW HOW IT ALL WORKS

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Girls — wanna be famous? Send pics, car details and contact details to: Iron Maiden, Street Machine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166. Or email: streetmachine@ aremedia.com.au.

JOANNE DARWIN > BALLARAT EAST, VICTORIA

J

OANNE Darwin is a passionate car enthusiast keen to encourage women to work on their own rides. A country girl at heart, Joanne knows first-hand the joy and sense of accomplishment that comes from doing something yourself. Most recently, she’s been wrenching, prepping and doing a bit of everything else on her enviable ’59 Chev El Camino pick-up.

How’d you come across the El Camino?

I was sick of driving my partner’s cars, so I wanted one of my own. When I wasn’t having any luck finding the ’68 Pontiac that my heart was set on, my husband Anthony suggested I look at his mate’s ’59 El Camino. Although the car was pulled apart and in primer, it was love at first sight. I loved the ute style, the shape, the grille – everything! I bought it on the spot.

So it was a bit of a project, then?

Yeah, the chrome was pulled off and it was missing the rare bench seat. I did a lot of work, with Anthony’s support. Anthony also suggested that we start from scratch to make sure the car was done properly. The feeling of knowing that I’m part of the ’59 is amazing; I now know how it all works.

The paintjob is a cracker.

It’s a factory black car, so I wanted to retain that yet add Larry Watson styling. Anthony and I prepped the car, and then our

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mate Phil Berry helped to design and mask the scallops. Daniel Cassar painted the black with DNA candy Spilt Blood red, which complements the factory interior.

Tell us what she’s running.

It has an injected 327ci Chev with AFR heads, a roller cam and a stock bottom end. Behind is a rebuilt TH350 with factory diff and 3.08 gears. It’s ’bagged with an e-Level and Air Ride suspension, which is all engineered and mod-plated.

Cool tray!

My son Curtly suggested that the spotted gum would look good in the tray. I sanded and polished the timber; then Anthony added the stainless strips and customised the bed to allow access to the airbags. Many parts were difficult to find, so Anthony, who’s a toolmaker, made them. He’s a clever guy!

It seems like your family are mad-keen enthusiasts.

Dad had a T-bucket and a ’34 Ford roadster, and was also a speedway driver. Anthony is a car man; we clicked due to our love of cars and we’ve built a few now. Anthony’s son has an HK and I have an HQ ute that I’ll be building with Curtly. Cars are our main hobby – it’s who we are.

And you’re looking to get more women involved?

The El Camino rocks; I take pride in it being my car, though people often think it’s my dad’s or husband’s car, which is so frustrating. Women can build cars too! As an early childhood educator, I get young girls engaged in ‘tinker time’ and similar experiences so they realise that they are capable. s

PEOPLE OFTEN THINK IT’S MY DAD’S OR HUSBAND’S CAR, WHICH IS SO FRUSTRATING. WOMEN CAN BUILD CARS TOO!

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U RBA N W A RF A RE STORY MARK ARBLASTER

PHOTOS JOSEPH HUI

PEER PRESSURE > AMIEN ZEITOUN’S MOTIVATION FOR BUILDING THIS 1447RWHP, SEVEN-SECOND VK COMMODORE WAS SIMPLY TO BEAT ALL HIS MATES!

W

HILE at first glance it may appear to be an 80s survivor car with its fair share of war wounds and far-from-show-quality paint, Amien Zeitoun’s VK Commodore has recently joined the elite ranks of seven-second genuine Aussie street cars.

On its first pass following a full rebuild, it cranked out a healthy 8.2-second pass, destroying the converter in the process.

Reloaded with a new PTC converter, it smashed out a 7.82@176mph on its next hit

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at Sydney Dragway!

Nothing about the car’s exterior suggests an incredible 1447rwhp from the turbocharged, 403ci LS under the bonnet, nor its potential to run mid-sevens on 275s with a bit more development.

Cars like this don’t get built by accident, but in Amien’s case, he reckons it’s all his mates’ fault!

“A bunch of my mates I grew up with have all made it a competition to see who has the baddest street car, and right now, they all have either bottom eight-second or high seven-

second cars,” he says.

“About four years ago, all I wanted was something to go cruising in, do Powercruise events, rip it up on Saturday nights – all that kind of deal. I saw this thing for sale, and it already had a turbo LS, Powerglide and nineinch. But it was a bit of a slapper – a pretty simple deal with a Chinese turbo that made 800-ish at the tyres and ran high nines over the quarter.

“I really struggled with the car for a long time after buying it. I moved from tuner to tuner

and none of them could keep the heads on it, and it all eventually went pear-shaped when I destroyed one of the heads. I was over it and went to see Troy Worsley at Warspeed for a whole new engine.”

But it wasn’t just a new motor; Amien basically ditched the entire driveline, fuel system, and hot and cold sides. “When I think about it, there is nothing left of the car I bought but the body and trim,” he says. “I told Troy I didn’t really have a plan to run a specific number; I just wanted to make sure I was faster than my mates, the car could be driven anywhere at any time, and if it could dip into the mid-sevens on a 275, that would be pretty cool.”

I DIDN’T REALLY HAVE A PLAN TO RUN A SPECIFIC NUMBER; I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I WAS FASTER THAN MY MATES AND THE CAR COULD BE DRIVEN ANYWHERE AT ANY TIME

The engine is an LS enthusiast’s wet dream – and all without going to an aftermarket block.

“Amien came to me with his motor, and it was a mess,” Troy says. “A lot of people don’t measure the combustion chamber on heads when selecting head gaskets – only the bore size. When you get up around 4.125, you have gaskets overhanging the chamber by 100thou, and this can lead to massive detonation issues.

Among other things, it had blown the exhaust port out of the AFR head, as they are pretty thin there, so there was clearly a tuning issue.

“We reloaded with an LY6 factory block with a Callies DragonSlayer crank, Oliver boost rods and CP pistons. We had a receiver groove S T R E E T M AC HIN E

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fitted to the block with a Ridgecrest copper gasket and a beryllium fire ring by Jeff Ramsay Engineering.”

Troy went with an off-the-shelf Kelford cam (240/246@50; 117 LSA; .660in lift) and decided on a hybrid head set-up – essentially a Higgins LS3 head but with only four head bolts instead of the six you would usually run with that head. The advantage of this arrangement is the ability to run 1.8:1 LS7style rockers and geometry with an LS3 valve configuration, which means not only bigger valves but better valve angle.

The 10.5:1 deal is sealed with a set of ARP 2000 head studs and a Plazmaman billet inlet, but if Amien wants to charge hard into the bottom sevens, he will need a six-bolt block upgrade to keep the heads on.

BBS Fabrication reworked the hot side with a single 60mm Turbosmart wastegate and a massive GTX55R 94mm Garrett turbo, while Northmead Auto Centre handled the cold side.

The ECU was upgraded to a MoTeC M130, while the fuel system comprises a 50-litre rear cell, Bosch 044 single primer pump, Siemens 2400 injectors and an Aeromotive 15gpm mechanical pump matched to a Holley fuel pressure regulator.

The MoTeC controls all engine functions and datalogging, and the standard LS ignition coils have been upgraded to smart coils.

Backing up the mega-mill is a bulletproof Powerglide by Joe

from A Class Transmissions, with a Reid case, 1.8:1 straightcut gearset, 10-clutch drum and PTC bolt-together converter.

The rear end was also given an upgrade, including a fabricated nine-inch housing with a Strange centre in 3.0:1 ratio, AFCO double-adjustable shocks and Pro9 control arms, which have since been adjusted by Street Car Fabrications after the 7.82-second pass.

“It’s been a lot of fun getting the car sorted out,” says Tyson Munro, head tuner at Northmead Auto Centre. “The engine makes a load of power, and we stopped pushing it on the dyno, as it was clearly blowing through the converter at around 1447rwhp.

“We had a bit of fabrication work to do on the car to get it finished and decided to finish tuning at the track. It destroyed the converter first pass, so we had the bolt-together PTC built and went back to the track. We had it set up pretty safe and left on 7psi, then ramped in 26psi over 1.5 seconds, with 29psi the maximum.

“Now we have some good data, we are really going to crank on it,” Tyson continues. “I think it’s got a 7.40 in it at around 185mph on 35psi. We know it will go 1.1 in the 60, so 7.40 is very achievable on 35psi.”

With a number of private track days in Sydney on the agenda, it’s going to be interesting to see what the Northmead boys can get out of this thing. s

NOW WE HAVE SOME GOOD DATA, WE ARE REALLY GOING TO CRANK ON IT. I THINK IT’S GOT A 7.40 IN IT AT AROUND 185MPH ON 35PSI. WE KNOW IT WILL GO 1.1 IN THE 60, SO 7.40 IS VERY ACHIEVABLE

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The Kyle Hopf/Terry Seng Camaro ran a PB of 3.83sec at Kenda – the quickest turbo radial pass in Australia. However, they failed to make the Outlaw Radial final

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D I RT Y S T U F F WILLIAM PORKER

T

HOSE barn finds are still out there, people. Had a discovery recently on a rural Gympie property, where a rare Ford Falcon RPO 83-spec GT had been sitting untouched for 40 years under a basic carport, with just 98,000 miles racked up in its earlier years. It was destined to be auctioned. Bought new in 1972, this XA two-door coupe was in remarkably good condition, still owned by the ex-truck driver, who is not real well now. It was burgundy in colour and fitted with air con and alloy wheels.

Of course, the tyres were flat and the left front wheel was locked solid when they went to pull the GT out of there, and the trees fronting the carport had grown to block the driveway. A chainsaw fixed that problem and the car was off to auction, where it fetched a whopping $276,009.

I’m not surprised it made good coin, as I have only seen one other RPO 83 coupe in my time on planet Earth.

That was when I was working as a Gold Coast Ford pre-delivery manager, when the GTHOs were the kings of Bathurst. Then came an idiot media blitz about ‘supercars’ that put the kibosh on the XA Phase IV GTHO program. This ignorant and biased campaign made great headlines and went on and on until Ford announced no more GTHOs would be built and Holden stopped development of its V8-engined Toranas.

Ford had already produced four Phase IV GTHOs, and got rid of the rest of the go-fast bits on the RPO 83 cars. We took delivery of three of them: two four-door sedans and one two-door coupe. They all came with the Handling Option suspension changes, larger four-barrel carburettors, four-slot manual ’boxes and tube-steel, free-flow exhaust manifolds. We sold them quickly, for they were very desirable stock, and I don’t think the price was above normal GTs. Preparing a car for a long-term sleep requires special attention. Over a lengthy storage period, the rings in the pistons will seize, as the upper cylinder bores will be dry and prone to surface rust. Best way to avoid this is to fog the internals with oil, done by taking off the air cleaner and dribbling light oil down the intake throats while the engine is idling. When the blue smoke gets really thick out of the exhaust pipes, switch off, because that job is done.

The oil in the sump also needs to be drained

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because of combustion acids that will, at least, etch the crankshaft journals. Refilling with clean, new oil will solve that problem.

Gearboxes and diff gears also need protecting, as acids in EP oils are not good for gear teeth – better to drain the oil completely; otherwise the exposed teeth clear of oil will suffer corrosion.

Brake systems will rapidly seize pistons in cylinders, calipers and master cylinders. The go here is to flush all the water-attracting fluid out, replacing this with the dearer synthetic stuff. Brake hoses will perish internally as they all have rubber cores, so fit new parts if they are showing their age via external

without air, which will inevitably leak out over the years.

If the machine is to stand on a concrete floor, buy a set of jack stands to place under the front suspension arms and rear axle, so all four wheels are clear of the concrete. If you are stuck with a dirt surface, use large wooden blocks, as steel jack stands will sink into the earth.

Upholstery can be covered, but remember that rats and mice can get inside through the smallest of holes.

Exterior paint is best protected by spraying with liquid wax. Most cars have underbody rust traps, but a good clean and a coating

FORD PRODUCED FOUR PHASE IV GTHOS, AND GOT RID OF THE REST OF THE GO-FAST BITS ON THE RPO 83 CARS. WE TOOK DELIVERY OF THREE OF THEM

cracks or hardening.

Best you can do with power steering systems and automatic transmissions is to drain and refill, for even automatic transmission fluid dies from old age. Manual clutches will rust to flywheels and pressure plates, but there is not a lot you can do about this without dropping the ’box and removing the clutch assembly.

To avoid water jacket and radiator corrosion, cooling systems will need a drain and refill with a top-quality anti-rust fluid like grade-four Tectaloy.

Tyres? They all go off as they get older, and deform and stuff their case if they sit

of fish oil or one of the many commercial anticorrosion products will help stop the metalmunching ants here. Plastic light lenses will also deteriorate if exposed to strong sunlight, and chrome will corrode unless protected by a heavy wax coating.

So if you are planning to go away on an extended world cruise whenever the COVID bans lift, don’t leave your classic car to suffer, as it will probably be seized and undriveable when you eventually return! s

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BRIGHT SPARKS AEROFLOW Performance’s 8.5mm universal ceramic sparkplug wire sets have been designed with high-temperature applications in mind. They feature ceramic lead boots fitted in straight, 90° or 135° orientations to resist the intense heat (up to 1090°C) generated by close-fitting headers and turbos. The other end is kept open, ready to be trimmed to your desired length. Aeroflow also offers ceramic LS ignition lead sets with 135° plug boots and pre-crimped 45° boots to suit LS coils. For more info, head to aeroflowperformance.com.

PUT A RING ON IT IT’S NO surprise that the bulk of engine friction comes from your piston rings. Hastings Manufacturing Company knows this too, and has developed a series of ultra-thin piston rings to cut down on power-robbing friction. Hastings’ stainless steel-series ring sets are gas-nitrided for extra hardness, and measure up at just 1.2mm thick. Hastings rings are lapped in a cylinder to create a convex surface shape, eliminating the need to ‘break in’ the rings after assembly. Steel ring sets (1.5mm thickness) are also available. Secondary rings are made from spheroidal graphite cast iron for durability and ability to flex without breaking. Both the stainless steel and steel ring sets include a 3.0mm Flex Vent Control oil control ring, which meters the cylinder wall oil film for optimum lubrication. You’ll find more information on the Hastings range at summitracing.com.

MOUNT UP AS THE prices of chrome-bumper Aussie metal continue their upward climb, more and more punters are turning to 90s machines as viable projects. With this in mind, The Rod Shop is now producing LS-series conversion engine mounts to suit EF and EL Falcons. These kits will allow you to bolt a GM bent-eight straight into the Ford K-frame without sacrificing the factory LS starter and front-hump sump.

With a lifetime warranty, they’re the perfect option for your tough streeter, drag car, burnout machine or drift missile. You’ll find them at rodshop.com.au.

SMELL OF VICTORY WHEN the sweet scent of E85 fills the air, you know you’re in for a good time. We don’t recommend keeping an open can of the stuff in your lounge room, though. Fortunately, ManBougie has developed a race fuel-scented candle that allows you to breathe in track-day aromas without even leaving the house. Also available is the BackFire candle, which emulates the candy-scented fuel additive loved by many. They’re the perfect gift for any revhead and available in small and large sizes. They’re available at manbougie.company.site.

LIGHT MY WAY NOBODY likes fumbling around in the dark, especially when there’s fiddly or fragile things that need attention. Ryobi’s ONE+ LED area light is a lantern-style unit with an integrated hanger, perfect for use both indoors and out. Powered by Ryobi’s standard 18V battery, it also features a USB port to charge phones and other small devices. With a 5.0Ah battery plugged in, the area light will provide up to 70 hours of runtime, making it the ideal camping or travel companion. You’ll find more details at ryobi.com.au.

GREASE IS THE WORD A QUALITY grease has as many uses as the day is long. Whether you’re putting together a car, bike, mower or just about anything else with parts operating under friction, Valvoline Ceramic Grease is great to have on hand.

It’s been created specifically to treat parts exposed to high heat and heavy workload. The grease is metal-free, making it environmentally friendly, and comes in a can with a jet-spray nozzle, making it easy to deliver plenty of grease to a targeted area. You can find out more at valvoline.com.

WASH & GO HAFCO’s benchtop parts washer is the ideal solution for stripping parts of oil, grease, or basically any other form of detritus. The washer has a removable shelf, sealed recirculating motor and flexible hose to reach in and around awkwardly shaped components. The 240V pump is capable of pushing 113 litres per hour. With a 22-litre tank capacity, it’s compact enough to be stored under a workbench. Find out more at machineryhouse.com.au.

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> ADVERTISER INDEX Aeroflow

154

Air Ride Suspension

154

Aussie Desert Cooler

115

Australian Rod & Custom Components

6

Automotive Performance Distributors

28

Chicane Tools

4

Eagle Auto Parts

164

Earl’s Performance Products

154

Gasoline Alley

154

GJ Drivelines

157

Hare & Forbes

147

Harley-Davidson Australia

23

Hoppers Stoppers

157

Lowe Fabrications

154

McDonald Bros Racing

99

Oxytech Powder Coatings

39

Ozzy Resto

154

Pacemaker Headers

27

Performance Wholesale

26

Rare Spares

2

Red CentreNATS

25

Rocket Industries

15

RRS

163

Shannons Insurance

17

Street Machine Subscriptions

82

Street Machine Summernats

29

The Mob Detailing

154

The Rod Shop

71

Tru-Fit Carpets

57

Tuff Mounts

91

Valvoline

11

Victorian Speed Pro Wheel Pros

109 21

ST RE E T MAC H I NE

149

RE A DE R S’ R O C KET S

SEND photos of your car and a few details of what went into the build to Readers’ Rockets, Street Machine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166 or email readerscars@aremedia.com.au. Please note: Send us copies of prints as we are unable to return your photos.

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KYLE BRAY HK HOLDEN UTE “MY UTE was bought as a bog-stock, one-owner car with a 161 and three-on-the-tree. It wasn’t long before that was ditched for a carby 304, TH350 and nine-inch. After a short stay, the car was pulled apart for a quick coat of paint and new trim, which quickly got out of hand. The 5.0-litre was ditched for a stock LS1 conversion, before becoming the 600hp turbocharged weapon it is today. It runs a 75mm turbo, Holley Terminator X EFI and E85. It makes for a cool street car that turns some heads, and I can’t wait to get it out on the drag strip very soon!” Photos: Luke Hunter

S T RE E T M AC HI N E

151

DYLAN WELSH 1959 BUICK INVICTA “HERE is my Buick Invicta coupe. I’ve airbagged the car with Slam Specialities ’bags and AccuAir e-Level, using hardline air lines. It has the Buick 401ci Nailhead V8 and Dynaflow trans. I love this car and it gets comments everywhere I go.”

MATT GARNER HX HOLDEN UTE “I BOUGHT this 1977 HX Kingswood project at the start of the first COVID quarantine in May last year. I gave it a full bare-metal respray including the chassis, and it was completed and registered at the end of January this year. It runs a high-comp 253 thongslapper with a lumpy cam and head work. The donk uses an Edelbrock manifold with a Holley 600 carb, running back through a three-speed Trimatic gearbox. My future plans are to get rid of the 253 and three-speed and put in a 355 stroker and Aussie fourspeed, or at least just a manual swap with the 253 for now – that should get it moving a bit better.”

JESSE DUNLOP 1990 TOYOTA CELICA “I AM the lucky owner of this Celica GT-R! It’s equipped with a four-wheel steering system from the factory, and it’s a Japanese import that arrived in Australia in 2002. Since then, it has been engine-swapped with a Gen 4 3S-GTE four-cylinder. I have repaired the paint and panel, and when I resprayed it I added in a little bit of a colour-shift pearl in the clearcoat. Right now I’m waiting for the paint to harden before facing it off and polishing. The idea is for it to be an unexpected little sleeper and handle like a weapon on the track. If drag racing was to come back to Tasmania, I would love to work towards getting the car into the 11-second zone; I currently don’t know what it is capable of over the quarter.”

SHANE S E MCDONALD O 1963 CHEVROLET IMPALA “I’VE owned my wagon almost six years now since I purchased it out of Melbourne. I have airbagged it with the best from Air Zenith, Slam Specialties, AccuAir and Air Ride. I have also swapped in a crate 350 Chev, using FiTech EFI, and a TH700R4 tranny behind it from a Commodore for doing plenty of long drives. The outside was custom-painted back around 2000 in LA, and has held up pretty well since then. I’ve clocked up thousands of kilometres in this thing and plan on doing many more.”

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RICHARD PUDNEY 1968 CHEVROLET CAMARO “I FOUND this on eBay and imported it from northern California about 10 years ago. The ’68 ran a stock 350/350 combo – it needed to be stock with the left-hand-drive rules at the time. It now has a slight cam, 600 Holley and Hotchkis suspension. The only other modifications were removing the chin and tail spoilers, replacing a sports steering wheel with a factory one, and adding a RetroSound audio system that feeds some hidden speakers for a factory look. I used Corvette eight-inch rims on the back with lowering blocks for a better stance, and fitted seatbelts in the back for the kids. It has been a tidy, reliable cruiser ever since, with factory air con. One of the best investments I have ever made.”

Photo: Darren Shaw Photography

HEATH BOWES 1999 AU FALCON XR6 “ “HERE is my AU XR6, to which I’ve given a B Barra turbo conversion. At the moment it’s m making 323rwkW (433rwhp), and I have tried to keep it looking as stock as possible while g getting the power and keeping it tidy. The list o things I have done is never-ending! I have of o owned this car for 11 years now; it was my fi car.” first

BLAKE FREEDEN XB FALCON COUPE “THIS is my XB coupe, which is currently running a 427ci Cleveland and manualised C4 gearbox. It was running a 393ci V8 until the bottom end let go.

I drive this car regularly; it’s no show car, but it’s good fun.”

JOE DIMASI HQ GTS MONARO “I BUILT my HQ over 10 years. It’s a genuine GTS, and underwent a full nut-and-bolt restoration, including engine, trans, diff and suspension. It’s fully engineered and street-legal. It has a 500hp, 427ci BBC that all sits under the bonnet, connected to a TH400, custom nineinch diff and custom three-inch exhaust. Colour is the original Phantom Grey Metallic MkII with a custom mix.

The interior has been semi-customised, and the seats are trimmed in black leather. She is a real nice and smooth street cruiser. I haven’t entered her in any shows yet or raced her, but that’s because I’m thoroughly enjoying driving her – but I’m sure she would hold her own!”

ST RE E T M AC H I NE

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www.musclegarage.com.au

LOL

Send your favourite funnies to: LOL, Street Machine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166 or email them to: streetmachine@aremedia.com.au.

> GAG OF THE MONTH SNORE NO MORE A COUPLE owns a dog that snores in its sleep. Annoyed because the dog’s snoring keeps her awake, the wife takes it to the vet to see if he can help.

The vet tells the wife to tie a ribbon around the dog’s testicles at night and he will stop snoring.

The wife is dubious about the vet’s advice, but a few hours after going to bed, the dog is snoring as usual, so she decides it’s worth giving the ribbon idea a try. She grabs a piece of ribbon from her sewing drawer and ties it around the dog’s testicles. Sure enough, the dog stops snoring. The wife is amazed!

Later that night, the woman’s husband returns home drunk after being out with his mates. He climbs into bed, falls asleep and begins snoring very loudly. The wife wonders whether the vet’s advice might work on her husband, too, so she gets another piece of ribbon and ties it around his testicles. Amazingly, it works – the husband’s snoring stops! The woman then sleeps very soundly.

The next morning, the husband awakens with a hangover and lurches into the loo to pee. Looking down, he sees a blue ribbon tied around his privates.

Confused, he finishes up and walks back into the bedroom, where he notices a red ribbon around his dog’s testicles.

He shakes his head, looks down at the dog and says to him: “Syd, I don’t remember where we were or what we did last night, but hey, we got first and second place!”

Ivana Kontest, email

TRACKING TWO blondes were having a disagreement over some tracks they found in the forest. One insisted they were dog tracks. The other was sure they were fox tracks.

They were still arguing when the train hit them.

Ms D Trane, email

LANGUAGE OF LOVE A MAN goes into a French restaurant and is seated, and he soon notices that all the waitresses are gorgeous. One particularly alluring one comes up to take his order.

“What would you like, monsieur?” she asks.

The man glances at the menu before scanning her beautiful frame top to bottom, and answers, “I’d like a quickie.”

The waitress turns and walks away in disgust.

Shortly, another very attractive waitress

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> FUNNY FOTO OTO

Hole in one, or one in the hole?

approaches. “What would you like, monsieur?” she asks.

Again the man thoroughly checks her out and answers: “A quickie, please.”

Horrified, the waitress slaps him across the face and storms away.

Just then, a man sitting at the next table leans over and whispers to the first man: “Um, I think it’s pronounced ‘quiche’.”

Sue Flay, email

TOILET HUMOUR TWO drunks are in a bar. The first one says to the other, “Do you know they have golden toiletsh here?”

“No way!” the second drunk slurs. “You’re making that up.”

“I shwear it’s true,” the first drunk insists.

“Check for yourshelf – end of the hallway, shecond door on the right.”

The second drunk goes to check, but quickly returns. “I knew you were full of it,” he says.

“It’sh jusht a regular toilet.”

So the first drunk unsteadily motions to the bartender. “Tell thish guy I’m not making it up.

I came here yeshterday and I shwear you had a golden toilet.”

The bartender yells to his boss in the office: “Hey Frank, I think I found the guy who took a dump in your tuba!”

Brassie Komode, email

SHORT & CURLIES I TOLD my son to stop playing Russian roulette, but you know how it is with kids – in one ear, out the other.

MY WIFE claims I’m the cheapest person she’s ever met. I’m not buying it.

IF I LIVED in medieval times, I’d be a tavern guard. I’ve always been known for my innsecurity.

MY Bluetooth speaker wasn’t working, so I threw it into the lake. Now it’s syncing.

IF YOU make money selling Indian bread, you run a naan profit organisation.

HOW many surrealists does it take to change a lightbulb? Fish.

MY SISTER bet me a hundred dollars I couldn’t build a car out of spaghetti. You should’ve seen the look on her face when I drove pasta.

Dadge Oaks, email

LIE FOR A LIE A CABBIE picks up a nun. As they drive along, the nun notices that the cab driver won’t stop staring at her. She asks him why, and he replies, “I have a question to ask you, but I don’t want to offend you.”

“Don’t worry,” says the nun, “when you’re as old as I am, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I’m sure there’s nothing you could ask that I would find offensive.”

“Well,” the driver replies, “I’ve always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me.”

She responds: “Well, let’s see what we can do about that. First, you have to be single.

Second, you must be Catholic.”

“Yes, I am single and Catholic!” says the cabbie excitedly.

“All right then,” the nun says, “pull into the next alley.”

So he does, and the nun fulfils his fantasy. But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying. “What’s wrong?” the nun asks.

“Forgive me sister, but I have sinned,” the cabbie replies. “I lied to you before; I’m married and I’m Jewish.”

“That’s okay,” the nun replies. “My name is Kevin and I’m on my way to a Halloween party.”

Nas D Habbett, email

> THOUGHT OF THE MONTH The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education – Albert Einstein

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S UN D AY TO O F AR A W AY

Send your photos of fun with cars to: Sunday Too Far Away, Street Machine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166, or email high-resolution images (1mb+) to: sundaytoofaraway@aremedia.com.au. Please send copies of prints as we are unable to return your photos.

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PAUL WHITEHOUSE

CHARLEY BREEN

KIRSTY MURRAY CHEZ IMAGES

JONATHON JONES

S T R E E T MA CH I NE

159

CHARLEY BREEN

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S T R E E T M A C HI NE

CHEZ IMAGES

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PAUL FELIS ANDREW COUTTAS

S T R E E T M AC H I NE

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

PHOTOS CHERYL POULSON, JACQUI DEAN & TOM BAKER

HEY GOOD-LOOKIN’ SEXY billet hardware abounds, including the Pro Billet tunnel ram, APD carbs, Shaun’s Custom Alloy rocker covers,, timing cover, belt drive system, CVR alternator tor and Lowe Fabrications alternator bracket. But ut how’s this for going to extremes to ensure the engine looks the part? “A lot of race engines require the e inlet manifold to be removed frequently for maintenance, nce, so we often machine O-ring grooves into the inlet faces aces of the cylinder heads to make that quicker and easier,” asier,” says Damian. “In this case it was more for looks. ks. The runners on the tunnel ram are CNC-machined to the shape of the ports, so if we were to use factoryorystyle inlet manifold gaskets, it’d look pretty ty ugly. By using O-rings, we can do away with the manifold gaskets for a much cleaner look.”

350CI HOLDEN V8 > BG ENGINES, NORTH RICHMOND, D, NSW

N

OT everyone is out to LS the he world.

According to Damian Baker er of BG Engines, the Iron Lion is still alive and kicking. “The Holden side of things is still extremely strong; at any given n time we probably have six to 10 of them in the shop shop,”” he explains. “This one in particular has a couple of really cool features.”

For starters, the block is a brand new VT roller item that had never fired a shot, meaning that BG had the luxury of retaining the standard 4.000in bore. With a Scat steel crank, Scat I-beam rods and SRP forged flat-top pistons, the displacement ends up at 350ci, rather than the 355ci more commonly associated with stroked and bored Holden V8s. Because the brief called for an engine suitable for regular street use with a manual gearbox, compression was limited to a modest, pump fuel-friendly 11.7:1.

The lads at BG Engines have literal decades of experience with Holden V8s, and so they tended to the usual weak points with oiling system modifications, a small-block Chev rubber rear mains seal conversion, and one of their in-house CNC-machined billet mains girdles, which is compatible with the baffled Aeroflow pan.

The alloy heads are Yella Terra castings,

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S TR E E T M A C HI N E

which were ordered blank.

The BG team selected suitable valve sizes for the application before cutting the seats and hand-blending the ports to suit. The heads are decked out with Yella Terra Platinum shaft roller rockers, COMP Cams valve springs and steel retainers, with Crow moly pushrods and BAM diamond-coated bushed lifters also used.

The camshaft is a mechanical roller, and was specced according to the owner’s desire to make decent grunt while retaining suitable road manners. It sports 249/255 degrees duration at .050 lift on 108-degree centres, and 0.620in of total valve lift. Like all solid-cammed Holden V8s, it sounds properly angry.

“This is a street cruiser with a bit of grunt, but the customer wanted some bling in the form of one of our in-house tunnel rams,” Damian grins.

“The car itself is an absolutely stunning VK being built by the guys at Image Conversions, and the motor had to match.”

The beauty of your engine builder also fabricating your inlet manifold is that variables such as plenum volume and runner length can be properly optimised to suit the application.

“The engine is only 350ci, which is quite small in

today’s terms,” Damian says. “We made the CNC-machined d runners quite ite long long, which helps with driveability, especially with it being a manual. You don’t have the luxury of a slippery converter helping it come on song, so we had to get it right. The manifold comes into play a lot with that; I’ll ask a customer 30-odd questions when we come to designing them. And all the experience we now have doing lots of street driving at Street Machine Drag Challenge has taught us how to tailor these set-ups to be driveable.”

But it still makes plenty of stonk, right? Yep, 627hp at 7400rpm, which is a very healthy number indeed for a pump-fuel, 350ci all-motor Holden.

“We tried not to get off track with this engine and wreck the driveability; maintaining that was really important,” says Damian. “It made 500ft-lb of torque; they drove the car around the block the other day, and I’m told it just wants to get the tyres off all the time!” s

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