Innehållsförteckning för April 2019 från Street Machine

Street Machine|April 2019

TELFO

I DUNNO about you guys, but I love an underdog – win, lose or draw. Think the Chickadee Racing team of Allan Grice and Graeme Bailey defying the odds to win Bathurst in 1986 – arguably the last privateer victory in the Great Race. Or Mark ‘Happy’ Williams taking out the Grand Champion gong at Summernats 31 in his shed-built, just-finished One Tonner. And when it comes to great Aussie automotive underdogs, none lost more spectacularly than the Leyland P76. Besides having room in the boot for a 44-gallon drum, the P76 was in many ways ahead of its time compared to its Holden, Falcon and Valiant rivals, boasting an optional 4.4-litre alloy V8, front disc brakes as standard and a bunch of innovative safety features. It was impressive enough…

2 min

Street Machine|April 2019

SPIT AND POLISH

24 MAR, ASCOT, WA Shannon’s Classic Car Show, Ascot Racecourse. Search ‘Shannon’s Classic Car Show’ on Facebook. 24 MAR, HEALESVILLE, VIC Veterans Car & Bike Show, Healesville Sporting Complex. Call Kerry 0408 322 620. 24 MAR, WEST END, QLD Shannons Cars & Coffee, 305 Montague Rd.Visit shannons.com.au/club/events. 24 MAR, GEEVESTON, TAS Wheels In The Park, Heritage Park. Call Marlow 0417 881 838. 24 MAR, KOROIT, VIC Swap Meet & Show ’n’ Shine, Victoria Park. Call Bruce 0435 366 451. 24 MAR, MUDGEERABA, QLD Superswap and Show ’n’ Shine, 115 Worongary Rd. Call 0490 376 164. 24 MAR, THORNBURY, VIC Northern Gal’s Kids On Cruisers, 1 Matisi St. Call 0407 567 556. 24 MAR, NATHALIA, VIC Nathalia Show ’n’ Shine & Swap Meet, Nathalia Recreation Reserve, Park Street. Call Anthony on…

3 min

Street Machine|April 2019

BREAKDOWN

VEHICLES: 1973 Buick Centurion, 1973 Chevrolet C20, 1957 Chevrolet 210, 1970 Dodge Challenger, 1976 Dodge Coronet, 1971 Dodge Tradesman, 1958 Edsel Ranger, 1965 Ford Mustang, 1947 Ford Super De Luxe, 1974 Jeep Wagoneer, 1975 Mercedes-Benz 450SL, 1969 Mercury Cougar STARS: Kurt Russell, Jack Warden, Deborah Harmon, Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae, Joe Flaherty, David L Lander, Michael McKean, Al Lewis DIRECTOR: Robert Zemeckis ACTION: All of the unadulterated crashes and frivolities you’d expect from this golden era of American car movies. Whether it’s trashing ’57 Chevys or blowing up a near-new Mercedes, everything is fair game PLOT: A sleazy yet kind-hearted used car salesman takes on a local bigwig in a high-stakes car-yard war AVAILABLE: DVD, digital download…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

LETTER OF THE MONTH

FUEL FOR THOUGHT THANKS for Carnage; it’s a great show that I enjoy a lot. I learn lots of tips and tricks so it’s well worth my time. Quick question for Scotty, as he has experience tuning an LPG-fuelled engine for performance. I have a 1987 Toyota HiLux with a 2.2-litre 4Y engine with 8.8:1 compression ratio, running primarily on LPG with a gas converter/throttle-plate system. This engine was only rated for 70kW (94hp) on petrol. I live in the Blue Mountains, and the puny power output of the 4Y is used to the fullest every day climbing our steep roads. How much ignition timing advance do you reckon I can give it considering LPG has a 100-110 octane rating? I did retain the petrol fuel system, and I only…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

STREET OUTLAW

WITH thousands of comments and many thousands of shares, this HT Monaro nearly broke the internet when images of it surfaced in the lead-up to its debut at Street Machine Summernats 32. When it hit the cruise route, the hype wound up past 11! IT STILL SCARES THE SHIT OUT OF ME – IT’S QUITE INTIMIDATING. SURE, I’VE HAD TOUGH CARS BEFORE, BUT THIS IS NEXT-LEVEL! “Paul and the crew from ProFlo Performance had been thrashing for 10 weeks to get it done – and we only just made it,” says the car's proud owner Brett Hewerdine. “Every time we cruised, the crowd would start chanting for me to do a skid. But with the car so fresh and the concrete barriers so close, I didn’t want to tag the…

7 min

Street Machine|April 2019

SCHOOL’S OUT

FOR a long time, human beings have sought balance. A balanced diet; a good work-life balance; even the elusive, perfect balance of Vegemite and butter on toast. One kind that often eludes car enthusiasts is the balance between the cars they own and the cars they actually want. It’s the ultimate automotive unicorn: A perfect mix of street car, show car and muscle car. It’s practically unheard of! So listen up. The owner of this 1970 XW Ford Falcon had only a few requirements when he delivered it to Frank and Roy Velardi at V Resto Garage in Western Sydney. THIS WAS MEANT TO BE A SHOW-QUALITY CAR THAT YOU COULD TAKE OUT EVERY DAY IF YOU WANTED TO “The car rolled in as a soda-blasted shell on the Simmons…

6 min

Street Machine|April 2019

ACING DC

WE HAVE a great video interview with Warick at Drag Challenge 2018 on our website, where he suggests that prospective DC entrants give themselves 12 months to build their car and get it done three months before the event to allow for plenty of testing. Does he heed his own advice? “That was for other people – not for me,” he laughs. “I hope to give myself a head-start for this year, as it’ll be a bit more serious, being ’caged. I hope I’ll get time to get it tech-inspected and test it first.” Head to whichcar.com.au/streetmachine to watch the video.…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

TONY WEBB 1972 HOLDEN LJ TORANA

Paint: GM-H factory Chocolate Metallic ENGINE Brand: 372ci Torque Power Holden Little Paw Induction: COME Racing twinthrottlebody ECU: Holley Dominator EFI Turbo: BorgWarner 84mm Heads: Higgins VN 304 EFI Holden Camshaft: Custom solid-roller Conrods: Oliver Pistons: Diamond Crank: Steel OE Oil pump: Peterson Fuel system: 2400cc injectors, Enderle fuel pump Exhaust: Pro Street Industries custom Ignition: MSD TRANSMISSION Gearbox: Powerglide, Reid case Converter: Dominator Diff: 9in, 35-spline Strange axles SUSPENSION & BRAKES Front: Pedders springs, Pedders shocks Rear: Pedders springs, four-link, mini-tubs, radial shocks Brakes: Commodore discs and calipers (f), Strange Engineering discs and calipers (r) Master cylinder: Wilwood WHEELS & TYRES Rims: Weld Racing AlumaStar; 15x4.5 (f), 15x10 (r) Rubber: M/T front-runner (f), M/T Radial Pro 275/60 (r)…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

LEMON LORE

THE Leyland P76 should have been a contender. Released by British Motor Corporation Australia in 1973, the P76 was roomy, economical and technologically advanced. It’s easy to view the Kingswoods, Falcons and Valiants of the time through rose-tinted glasses, but truthfully, they were all compromised in design and quality. If the developers of the P76 had adequately addressed these issues, the car might have changed the Australian automotive landscape for the better. BMC’s failure to do so left it remembered as Australia’s Edsel. It ‘could have’ and ‘should have’, but ‘clearly didn’t’. Where did it all go wrong? Throughout the 1960s, British Motor Corporation Australia had enjoyed considerable sales success with compromised products; the Mother Country was seen as the go-to for economical buzzboxes, regardless of their technological and quality…

8 min

Street Machine|April 2019

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

LORD Stokes, head of British Leyland Motor Corporation, had terrible trouble following the internal codes bestowed upon the various projects his company had in progress. BMCA’s Model B project was coded YDO26 for the sedan and YDO27 for the coupe. “Why don’t you call it something like P76?” he asked BMCA manager Roger Foy in desperation. Not wanting to disagree with the boss, Foy applied the P76 name to the project and it followed the car through to production. Legend has it that P, 7 and 6 were the first three characters of Stokes’s British Army ID number.…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

76 PROBLEMS

IAN Thomas was Leyland’s state service manager for Victoria and Tasmania during the time of the P76, and has more than a few grey hairs to show for it. He recalls that the P76’s significant sealing problems were his biggest headache. “There was no ledge along the sill for the door to seat against, so most days I’d arrive at my office at Airport West and there’d be a bunch of owners waiting, sometimes six or more. Sill to sill, the cars’d be full of bloody water! The owners would ask me what I was going to do about it, and I’d tell them that the first thing we’ll do is drill some holes to let the water out. “The bodies just didn’t fit together well; we’d have heaps of…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

WHITE HEAT

THE HQ coupe is one of the greatest shapes ever to roll off Holden’s production line, with big, swooping lines and a presence on the road that is hard to top. Dave Steele has always been a Holden man, so when he got his hands on his HQ Monaro LS coupe in 2017 he always planned on giving it the five-star treatment. We doubt, however, that even he could've predicted the quality of finish that he would end up with two-and-a-half years later. Luckily for Dave, he started out with a pretty solid base for the project. It’d been owned by a family friend of his since new, and aside from a blower sitting atop the factory-fitted 350ci Chev, the car was pretty much the way she rolled off the…

6 min

Street Machine|April 2019

Pleasure CRUISE

WHAT did you do on Australia Day? Get your hands dirty on the never-done project car? Work for the man? If you were in the vicinity of Geelong, hopefully you managed to join me, Street Machine shutterbug Chris Thorogood and a few hundred other car nuts for a day on the road. Kev’s Australia Day Cruise was the place to be, with 400 cars of all kinds and more than double that number of people eager to hit the streets with their mates. A SURPRISING NUMBER OF FORMER STREET MACHINE FEATURE CARS WERE PRESENT, PROVING THE GEELONG CAR SCENE’S PROPENSITY FOR TURNING OUT MEAN MACHINES Kevin Boland began holding his Australia Day meets so that car people could hang out with friends and cruise around the southern countryside. The entry…

6 min

Street Machine|April 2019

THE DEAL WITH WHEELS

WHEELS can make or break a car. They’re often the first thing to be purchased for a car build, regardless of the design of the project. There they sit against the wall, with a huge dish that you can put your head into. They look sexy, but will they fit, and will they be in track? For a tough-looking ride, owners often want rear wheels with big outer offsets, but that usually means they’ll be illegally over-track. So what exactly is wheel track? Track is measured from the centre of the tyre on one side of the car to the centre of the corresponding tyre on the opposite side. So when you bolt your chosen wheels onto your build, if the track varies by more than an inch from the…

6 min

Street Machine|April 2019

STAGE WRITE

ONE of the cars at last year’s Drag Challenge that impressed me was Jason Davidson’s 3606lb, 10.63-second HQ One Tonner. The innocuous white 253/four-speed sleeper was bought off a chicken farmer for $125, and has completed five DC events. The humble Holden was covered in chook poop and full of rats’ nests when Jason acquired it. The original running gear was turfed out and fitted with a $500, 1999 5.7-litre LS from the wreckers and a B&M transbraked, two-speed Powerglide for its first venture south. From farmhouse to running mid-10s took eight weeks, and the total cost to build was around $8K. Jason is a fitter by trade and performed nearly all the work himself. For instance, the Ford F100 diff had all the brackets removed, narrowed and new saddles…

4 min

Street Machine|April 2019

DRAG CHATTER

CRAZY COROLLA! KRISTIAN and the guys from Goleby’s Parts in Queensland have set themselves a real task in preparation for this year’s Drag Challenge Weekend. Kristian has bought back his 1978 Corolla wagon as a rolling shell, which used to have a 700hp 1JZ and ran in the high eights. He plans on throwing another built 1JZ VVTi donk back into the little ’Rolla, force-fed by a Precision 72/75 turbo. With both E85 and a Haltech Elite 2000 in hand, Kristian is aiming to crack over 800rwhp this time and push back into the eights during DCW. The car already has a ’cage and ’chute ready to go, so Kristian’s time will mostly be spent on fab work to get the rest of the car up to scratch. He’s floated…

2 min

Street Machine|April 2019

ARBY CHAT

QUICKEST AUSSIE WADE Wagstaff has become the world’s quickest Australian radial racer, after running an incredible 3.79@196.47mph in his twin-turbo, Noonan-powered 1957 Chev at Lights Out 10 in the USA in February. “Our plan was to try and run into the 3.80s after qualifying in the top 32 cars, but we managed a 3.79,” Wade said after the event at South Georgia Motorsports Park. NEW RIDE FOR LEWIS WOLLONGONG racer Craige Lewis is in the final stages of the build on his new Fox-body Mustang that should comfortably run into the mid sixes. The ex-USA race car has already run into the 4.40s over the eighth, but after seeing the quality of some of the fabrication work when the car arrived, Craige has elected to strip the car, cut the…

2 min

Street Machine|April 2019

READERS’ ROCKETS

MATT WILSON 1975 LH TORANA MATT’S 1975 LH Torana is his first build, consuming two years of shed time to completion. Starting with a healthy six-cylinder car with clean white body and good interior, Matt set about building himself the SL/R 5000 he had always wanted. The Barbados Green Aussie muscle car now sports a 308 with a Crane 286 cam, big-valve heads and an Edelbrock manifold, all topped off with a double-pumper 650 Holley. A 3200rpm stall converter sends power through the T350 to the Truetrac nine-inch running 3.55:1 gears. Convo Pros in 15x10-size fill the flared guards on the back, while 15x7s on the front help Matt steer the four-door rocket. Matt likes the stock look of these muscle cars and has stayed true to tradition as best…

2 min

Street Machine|April 2019

SUPERCHARGED 355CI HOLDEN V8

IF ABSOLUTELY everyone was out to LS the world, the world would be a boring place. There’s been a noticeable resurgence in the development of aftermarket go-fast bits for Holden’s humble homegrown bent-eight of late, and we reckon that’s a beautiful thing. Aussie performance giant Harrop recently launched its TVS2300 positive-displacement supercharger kit for the Holden V8, and if this Sam’s Performance-built 355-cuber is anything to go by, the blower transforms the iron lion into a formidable performer. Harrop had Sam’s screw the engine together as a testbed for the blower kit, and it consists of a VR block with Harrop’s own four-bolt mains conversion and stroker crank. To this, Callies Compstar H-beam rods and Diamond pistons were added, for a 9.5:1 compression ratio. The heads are CNC-ported items from…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

WEEKEND WARRIORS

WE’RE back, baby! For the second year running, our shortened version of Drag Challenge, Drag Challenge Weekend, will be returning to Queensland in early May. Much like last year, the racing will take place over three days, 4-6 May, but this time we’ll have a sign-in and scrutineering day on Friday 3 May, with racing starting Saturday and finishing on the Monday public holiday. Both the sign-in day and Day One racing will take place at Willowbank Raceway, before the circus heads to race at the eighth-mile Warwick Dragway on Sunday and then back to Willowbank on Monday. Don’t be fooled though – just because DCW is a shorter affair than the main five-day Drag Challenge, it doesn’t mean it’ll be any easier.DC mastermind Scott Taylor has planned a mandatory…

2 min

Street Machine|April 2019

KEN SANDHAM

“People keep asking me when I’m going to paint it, but I have no intentions of painting it” WE BUMPED into Ken Sandham and his old-school-cool Fairlane at the 2019 All Ford Day. Having seen the car at the drags a number of times, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to grab Ken for a quick chat. How did you get into cars? I’ve always been into cars for as long as I can remember. Just about all of my family have worked for Ford at some point, so I’ve always had Fords at home. I’ve owned an XW ute, a ’63 two-door Fairlane, a 351 XF ute and heaps of others. I’ve only got one non-Ford, which is a ’41 Willys pick-up with a Hemi, but I think that’s…

2 min

Street Machine|April 2019

DAVE GREENE

WE ALL know that person whose head is jammed so full of cool car ideas that it’d be a damn-near travesty for them not to build and own as many as possible. Dave Greene from Melbourne is one bloke giving this concept a good nudge, and although his more recent passion is for the Chrysler marque, he is far from being a one-eyed Mopar maniac. In fact, he doesn’t commit to any form of brand allegiance, as the following slice of his car life will attest. 01: THIS HR Holden Premier was Dave’s first car in 1977. “It was the very last of the 1967 models and was a bit of an odd-bod really – my grandfather bought it brand new and it came delivered with 14-inch HK wheels, HK…

5 min

Street Machine|April 2019

RODS OUT

RECENTLY Ford announced a new 7.3L V8 petrol engine to power its new 2020 range of F-series pick-up trucks, which made headlines as it’s the first pushrod Ford V8 since the early 90s. Unlike the complex and physically large quad-overhead-cam V8s Ford makes now, these should be more LS-like in the way they can be shoehorned into the front of other cars, which could make for some neat engine swaps in the future. We posted the new engine on our Facebook page to see what you thought. Brendon Chatfield – Ha ha ha, it’s a Ford LS! Christopher O’Sullivan – Pushrods are back! Matt Algie – Finally, Ford gives us something with some actual displacement. Only came 20 years too late. I’ll buy a new Mustang if they can shove…

2 min

Street Machine|April 2019

FITTING TRIBUTE

BRETT Hewerdine and Simon Rasic had been very close friends for many years. A few years after Simon’s passing in 2014, the family was looking to sell his collection of bikes and cars, including the Monaro. “Simon had been building it for a lot of years and I didn’t want it to disappear,” Brett says. “I made the decision to do the right thing: buy the car and finish it the way I know Simon would have wanted – as a tribute. Having built several bikes for him, I know what Simon liked. I’m pretty sure he would be happy with how the car turned out – right down to the number plate. “I’m missing him every day, and that’s why the Monaro will always be there; it’s not going…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

Royal RUMBLE

WHEN people talk about must-do events on the street machining calendar, there are several that always rate a mention, including the Bright Rod Run, Chopped and Summernats. Well, if your kind of weekend is made up of family, mates, old cars, great food, great weather and a top location, then the three-day Queenscliff Rod Run in early February might be your jam, too. My 2019 Queenscliff weekend kicked off on the Friday night with ‘Spit & Beers’, held at Big L’s Chop Shop down on the Bellarine Peninsula near Geelong. A few years ago my good mate, talented fabricator and all ’round top bloke Leon Davies decided to have a few mates with customised cars around to his shed for a private prelude to the Rod Run. A couple of…

6 min

Street Machine|April 2019

WARICK MELDRUM 1967 CAMARO SS

Paint: Cortez Silver ENGINE Brand: Ford Barra FG XR6 Turbo 4.0L Manifold: FG Ford Turbo Turbo: Cummins Holset HX40 ECU: Haltech Barra Elite Pro Plug-in Head: Factory Cam: Factory Pistons: Ross Racing forged Crank: Factory; ACL Race Series bearings Conrods: Spool Oil pump: Atomic; modified sump Fuel system: Bosch 1650cc injectors, Carter Black pump, surge tank, dual Bosch 044s Cooling: Camaro radiator, Saab thermos, Chinese-made 3in-core intercooler Exhaust: 3½in dump, 3in mandrel-bent system Ignition: Factory DRIVELINE Trans: TH400, manualised, reverse-pattern, transbrake Converter: SDE 3500rpm Tailshaft: 3in,1330 unis Bellhousing: Dellow Conversions Diff: Commodore BorgWarner, full spool, 3.45:1 gears, 31-spline billet axles, 78 Series flange SUSPENSION & BRAKES Front: Hotchkis springs, Koni adjustable shocks Rear: Viking coil-overs, triangulated four-link Bushes: Nolathane Steering: Strange close-ratio box Brakes: CPP C5 Corvette 330mm discs and…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

THANKS

My wife Yvette; my crew chief, best mate and son Connor; Kon and Joanne from Wollongong Automotive Services; Matt Marsh from Pro Street Industries; Todd and DCR Auto Electrics; Aaron McCabe for all the tows; Dave Gregson for all his help crewing, cooking and drinking; Malcolm McIntosh who has just joined our crazy bunch; Shantelle from Light ’Em Up Electrical; Michael Lloyd from The Works Detailing; Mick Cole Auto West Paint Supplies; Fred Soleiman from Protrans; Dario Cardamone from each and every person that comes to say g’day at cruise nights and race meets…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

ENGINE ROOM

LEYLAND’S lightweight and tuneable all-alloy V8 started production life back in 1961, not with BMC, but with General Motors. But the 3.5-litre turned out to be expensive to produce and was shelved after only two years. Rover’s managing director later chanced upon the design and entered into a licensing agreement with GM to produce the engine. The mill was fitted to the Rover P5B and P6B, creating the quintessential British sports sedan, shaking off the company’s stodgy image in the process. For its application in the P76, Leyland Australia was able to simplify and cost-cut the engine, replacing cast-alloy rocker covers with basic pressed steel items and the twin SUs with a single Bendix-Stromberg carburettor. The result was an engine quite different to the Rover and Buick parent, with only…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

FORCE FIELD

NAMED for a savage summer storm, the Force 7V was to be Leyland’s Monaro. Although a hardtop coupe in profile, the car featured a large rear hatchback, fold-down rear seats and completely bespoke external panels; visually, it shared nothing with the P76 sedan. Initially conceived in three luxury specs – the six-banger Force 7, midrange manual V8 Force 7V and top-spec luxury automatic Tour de Force – budget constraints meant only the mid-spec model was greenlit for production. In the end though, only a handful were manufactured before the entire project was canned. Although the press at the time was exuberant about the chances of the Force 7V turning around Leyland’s fortunes, it was never going to save the P76. The aggressive front end was markedly more attractive than that…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

TRUCK YEAH!

HOT rod pick-up trucks have been a thing since the 1950s, and with their unique blend of fat stance and practicality, it is easy to see how Queensland’s Maurie Pickering fell in love with them. Maurie is the lucky bloke who carries the keys to this ’55 F100 pro tourer, built by Charlie and Rhea Fakes of Fakes Engineering on the Gold Coast. “Maurie came to us with just an idea that he wanted a restomodstyle ’55 F-truck,” says Charlie. “He wanted it to be like a brand new car – all modern drivetrain gear in it and under it – but it had to look old. He saw Sylvester Stallone’s truck in The Expendables and wanted that. “We found an Aussie-delivered ’55 cab, which came with heaps of bits…

6 min

Street Machine|April 2019

SMOOTH OPERATORS

DESPITE the high level of build quality, it didn’t take the usual 10-plus years to piece together Dave’s Monaro that such builds often demand. The whole process only took around two-and-a-half years, with the car never getting stuck in limbo in between jobs. “I just kept everybody in the loop and things went really smoothly,” Dave says. “We were never waiting on an engine or any other work; it all flowed really well and I can’t thank all the guys enough for being transparent with me to get the job done.” It was an important build for Dave; 15 years ago he was involved in a car accident that had him in and out of the hospital dozens of times, and he even flatlined twice on the operating table. After…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

PURPLE HAZE

LIKE a fine wine, John Urquieta’s VH Charger keeps getting better – and quicker – with age. It’s not surprising, considering he has spent the past 21 years improving and developing the car to the stage it’s at now. “I’m happy I can say I still have my first car!” says John of his Charger. “I’ve got some great memories and had some awesome times in it from my teenage days to now. It was a neat car to start with, but I wanted it nicer, so I stripped it and got it painted in 2000.” Like many Aussie Mopar fans, John found it hard to go past a triple-Webered 265 Hemi and single-rail four-speed for a driveline – but that lasted about two months. “I found a 440 big-block…

6 min

Street Machine|April 2019

ATHENA HILTON

ATHENA Hilton grew up around cars. Not that this guaranteed she’d end up getting into modified rides herself; some kids rebel, don’t they? Thankfully, Athena loves cars, and has been around car shows, cruises and related businesses her whole life. In fact, her pristine VT sedan isn’t the only custom Commodore in the shed; her partner Adam Wheeler owns the super-smooth, twin-throttle VL that we featured in our April 2018 issue. How long have you owned the VT? I bought it as a stocker in 2007, having owned an ex-police VP before that. I was still on my Ps at the time. This was way before I met Adam, and I used it as my daily for years. I started modifying it pretty much straight away. Apparently you come from…

2 min

Street Machine|April 2019

DIRTY STUFF

I HAVE real bad memories of an Easter Thursday, and a Renault. I have an auto sparky mate who needs a hand when he has too much work in, so I go in for a few days until the panic returns to normal. So it was in this week before the Easter break; we were steadily getting rid of the urgent stuff, until the Thursday was looking almost clear and we were talking of getting away early. There was one still to come, some guy with a Renault with a starter motor problem, booked in at one o’clock. So this white front-engined thing arrived, which, from painful memory, I identified as a 12. But I soon got to call it something else after I got the job of removing what…

4 min

Street Machine|April 2019

IN GEAR

01 TUFFENING UP TUFF Mounts makes proven engine mounts for high-horsepower applications, from classic muscle to new metal. The 2018 Camaro has barely landed on our shores and Tuff Mounts already has superchargers on the brain with its new engine mounts to suit this latest version of the classic Chev muscle car. The new shackles allow up to 15mm of adjustment to help you sneak a blower under the bonnet, while the use of some fancy 83 Duro bushes help keep torque deflection at a comfortable level. For more visit tuffmounts.com.au. 02 PUMP UP THE JAM SO, YOU’VE just shoehorned a powerful donk into your 40-year-old car, and now you need a modern in-tank fuel pump to feed it. The problem is, your tank has no provision for one because…

3 min

Street Machine|April 2019

JET TAKES OFF

UNLESS you have been living on another planet, you would have heard about Jeremy ‘Jet’ Martin’s incredible recent accomplishments in the USA in his 4000hp, twin-turbo, 526ci 481X-powered VB Commodore. Late last year he had a whirlwind ride to the quarterfinals of the greatest radial event in the world, No Mercy. “We kept the car here in Sydney for Grudge Kings, which meant we were on a really tight timeline to get it ready once it landed in Savannah, Georgia,” Jeremy says of his rushed preparation for the event. “We literally had two weeks from landing to be racing at No Mercy. Luckily the car was only in customs for one day before it went to Pro Line, where they basically did everything: four-link radial weight package, changed the converter,…

2 min

Street Machine|April 2019

LOL

JUGGLING ACT #1 AN ENGLISHMAN, a Frenchman, a Spaniard and a German are walking down the street together. They see a juggler performing on the street and decide to go watch, but there are so many people around that it’s very difficult for the four men to see the juggler. Recognising that the four men and many others in the audience are struggling to see, the juggler steps onto a high platform and asks: “Can you see me now?” The Englishman, Frenchman, Spaniard and German answer: “Yes.” “Oui.” “Si.” “Ja.” Lynov Site, email JUGGLING ACT #2 A HIGHWAY patrolman pulled a car over that was speeding. “Any reason why you were exceeding the speed limit, sir?” he asked the driver. “Sorry officer, but I’m a juggler on my way to…

3 min

Street Machine|April 2019

NICE BIT OF KIT

HARROP’S positive-displacement Holden 5.0L V8 supercharger kit features a water-to-air intercooled Eaton TVS2300 rotating group, and Harrop-designed housing, manifold, bracketry and drive system. It accepts 90mm, L76-bolt-pattern throttlebodies and comes loaded with an 80mm blower pulley, but a range of pulleys are available to suit your desired boost level. Commodore owners will probably opt for the version of the kit with the intake angled towards the factory airbox on the passenger side of the engine bay, but those favouring an over-the-radiator style intake will prefer the forward-facing version, which can also accept an aftermarket 102mm throttlebody with the TVS2650 version.…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

HOT GOSSIP

TOOLED UP WE TEAMED up with our mates at Hare & Forbesat Street Machine Summernats32to give away a $4000 garage pack to one lucky punter. Queenslander Doug Diprose was the winner of the killer prize, which consists of an auto parts washer, bench grinder and linisher, tool chest and roll cabinet, and a set of vehicle jacks, among other handy garage hardware. “I’m building an XE Fairmont Ghia with a 545ci big-block at the moment, so it will definitely come in handy!” said Doug. “I’ve wanted to get a toolbox for home for a while because all my tools are at work, so it’s really helped me sort a few things out in the shed.” A big shout-out to Hare & Forbes for assembling such an awesome prize pack! ARBY…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

USED CARS 1980

IT’S pretty much a sure thing that when you tuck into a 60s, 70s or 80s movie it’ll yield a swag of cool rides to feast your eyes on. Even a bad flick can be brimming with cars, trucks and motorbikes in the background, even the most uninspiring of which would be deemed cool nowadays. It’s even better when the movie is an absolute ripper, as is the case with the 1980 action-comedy, Used Cars. Rudy Russo (Russell) is the selfish lead used-car salesman at New Deal Motors, who dreams of spreading his inherent dodginess to the big-time world of politics by standing as the next local senator. With backroom deals and political corruption rife, his candidacy is a shoo-in if he can generate enough funds to seal the deal.…

2 min

Street Machine|April 2019

YOUR STUFF

YOUNG WHIPPER-SNAPPER I AM contacting you on behalf of my son Harley, who is a very keen car enthusiast. He visits many car shows and events and has developed quite a talent for car photography. He would like to know if Street Machine would be interested in any of his images to use in your publication – which he subscribes to yearly and reads as a bible! I have attached some of his work for your interest. I hope you appreciate his young talent and if you are at all interested in seeing more we look forward to hearing from you. Harley & Kalena O’Brien, email HEY Kalena! Best starting point for Harley is to submit some high-res images to our Sunday Too Far Away section and go from there.…

3 min

Street Machine|April 2019

MASTER CLASS

COMPETITION-STYLE CARS ACTUALLY FINISHED AND DETAILED TO SHOW STANDARDS WERE UNHEARD OF TO MANY HERE IN AUSTRALIA…

2 min

Street Machine|April 2019

BRETT HEWERDINE 1970 HOLDEN HT MONARO GTS

Paint: Spies Hecker Black ENGINE Brand: 510ci Donovan Hat: Big & Ugly Blower: Littlefield 14/71 Inlet manifold: ProFlofabricated Heads: Big Chief Pistons: JE Crank/Conrods: LA Enterprises Kryptonite Ignition: Bosch Electronic Fuel system: ProFlo EFI with eight 2000cc injectors ECU: Haltech Elite 2000 Oiling: Dry sump Radiator: Shaun’s Custom Alloy Preferred fuel: E85 TRANSMISSION Gearbox: Full-manual TH400 Diff: Strange alloy, 35-spline Third member: 3.55:1 Detroit Truetrac Tailshaft: ProFlo SUSPENSION & BRAKES Front: Rod Shop IFS shortened Front: Viking coil-overs Rear: ProFlo four-link, Strange coil-overs Brakes: Wilwood; six-piston (f), four-piston (r) Master cylinder: Wilwood WHEELS & TYRES Rims: Weld Racing; 17x4.5 (f), 15x14 (r) Rubber: M&H P185/55R17 (f), M/T Sportsman Pro 31x18.5-15LT (r) THANKS Paul Sant and the ProFlo Performance crew; Mark Sant (Ontrak Auto Electrical); Adam (Just Engine Management); Anthony Caronna…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

BARRA OF FUN

WARICK Meldrum is a purist’s nightmare. The skilled-up larrikin is a massive fan of bolting turbocharged Barra donks between the rails of GM rides, which tends to work up certain keyboard warriors into full-blown hissy fits. Warick’s first offense was successfully campaigning his now 10.0-second Barra-powered VP Commodore at the 2017 Street Machine Drag Challenge. But then he upped the game by chucking the whole Barra shebang from that car into his dream ride: a 1967 SS Camaro. Warick grabbed the keys to the factory, vinyl-roofed SS in April 2018. “I really wanted to do Drag Challenge 2018 in my Camaro, but I didn’t have an engine and transmission that was up to the task other than the Barra driveline. So it just made sense to combine the two,” he…

6 min

Street Machine|April 2019

KING BROWN

WHEN it comes to epic Aussie radial street cars, Tony Webb’s brown CULPRIT LJ Torana, known as ‘Leroy Brown’, is one of the sentimental favourites thanks to it winning a swag of X275 events using unconventional engineering and a whole bunch of nous. Having run deep in the eights on Holden power, Webby’s first-gen Torry is something of an icon for fans of radial racing, particularly thanks to its sleeper appeal. “I purchased Leroy off eBay out of Sydney with a tired 304 and T700 ’box about seven years ago,” Webby explains. “Apparently it was the seller’s dad’s car, and I didn’t think I’d get it for the price I paid. Originally I just wanted something I could jump in and drive, not like some of my other cars.” WEBBY’S…

10 min

Street Machine|April 2019

TONY WEBB 1977 HOLDEN LX TORANA

Paint: Custom Brown ENGINE Brand: 565ci Brodix big-block Chev Induction: Holley manifold, 110mm throttlebody ECU: Holley Dominator EFI Turbos: 88mm Pro Mod Heads: Dart Dash-One CNC Camshaft: Custom solid-roller Conrods: Alloy custom Pistons: Custom Crank: Callies billet Oil pump: Dailey Engineering dry-sump Fuel system: 16 injectors, Waterman fuel pump Exhaust: Pro Street Industries custom Ignition: Holley Smart coils TRANSMISSION Gearbox: TH400, Reid bellhousing Converter: M&M Pullapart Diff: 9in, Romac floater, 40-spline axles SUSPENSION & BRAKES Front: Santhuff strut, PMJ springs Rear: PMJ four-link, Menscer two-way shocks Brakes: Strange discs and calipers (f & r) Master cylinder: Wilwood WHEELS & TYRES Rims: Weld Racing; 15x4 (f), 15x12 (r) Rubber: Moroso front-runner (f), M/T ET Pro (r)…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

LEYLAND P76 TARGA FLORIO

THE P76’s success in Special Stage 8 of the 1974 World Cup Rally, a torturous event that saw competitors travel from London to Munich via Spain, the Sahara Desert, Sicily, Turkey and Yugoslavia, was cause for much celebration within the Leyland world. Evan Green and John Bryson smashed the stage, held at the Targa Florio circuit in Palermo, Sicily, by several minutes in the Brut 33-sponsored P76 sedan, ‘Big Brut’. A limited batch of 500 P76 Targa Florio editions commemorated the win. Available in three colours – Omega Navy, Aspen Green and Nutmeg – with a silver stripe package, alloy wheels and a Force 7-style sports steering wheel, the V8-only Targa Florio provided a popular boost towards the end of the P76’s production run, quickly selling out.…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

CAR OF THE YEAR?

IT’S often speculated that Wheels magazine’s annual Car Of The Year award must be a farce, thanks to the Leyland P76 winning the prestigious award for 1973. Decades later, it’s easy to forget that the cars were highly likely to have had a significant amount of reworking before being handed over to the press; it was the same process for any Aussie manufacturer. Furthermore, Wheels was very specific that the award was for the V8 variants only. These days, all variants of a particular car must deliver the goods to win the award; a crappy base model is enough to strike a vehicle off the shortlist.…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

PERFECT 10

HAS it really been 10 years since the Myers family first brought Gazzanats to WA? According to my records that seems to be the case, and this year proved that the West Aussies still love heading to Collie for the three-day event to smash tyres and cut hot laps around the Motorplex circuit. Ten years ago, Gary Myers’ son Jake was still riding shotgun, probably barely able to see over the dashboard, while these days he’s leading the charge in the S1CKO Mustang, throwing helis down the main straight in a demo superskid and doing great burnouts. There’s no doubt the apple didn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to driving skill and showmanship. It’s a big ask to bring a show like this to a small country…

10 min

Street Machine|April 2019

DAVE STEELE 1971 HQ HOLDEN LS MONARO

Paint: Glasurit white ENGINE Brand: 427ci Dart Chevy Induction: Edelbrock Carby: Quick Fuel Heads: AFR CNC-ported Camshaft: Custom solid-roller Rockers: Jesel Belt Drive: Jesel Conrods: Callies H-beam Pistons: SRP/JE forged Crank: Scat forged steel Oil pump: Melling billet-drive Fuel system: Aeromotive pump Cooling: PWR radiator Exhaust: 3in ceramic-coated Ignition: ICE Power: 650hp TRANSMISSION Gearbox: Turbo 400 Converter: SDE 3000rpm stall Diff: Race Products 9in, 35-spline, 4.11:1 gears SUSPENSION & BRAKES Front: QA1 coil-overs Rear: QA1 coil-overs Brakes: Wilwood discs; 355mm (f), 310mm (r) Master cylinder: Wilwood WHEELS & TYRES Rims: Boyd Coddington; 18x7 (f), 18x10 (r) Rubber: 26x8 (f), 28x12 (r) THANKS Mick and Damo at BG Engines; Mick, Dave and Scottie at Street Cred Differentials & Fabrication; Bill at Hy-Tone Motor Trimming; Derrick at Clearview Windows; Justin at ProWire;…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

FLASH IN THE PAN

THESE days there are a range of aftermarket oil pans available for most popular engines. However, repairing or modifying your factory sump may also be an option. This issue we’ll give you a brief rundown on one way to upgrade a factory pan into a very basic high-volume sump with a baffle. For this application we will be using an existing Cleveland engine’s stock oil pan, which will find its home on a mild 302ci street engine. STEP 01 A decent degrease and sandblast makes short work of bringing the old steel back to its former glory STEP 2 The cleaned-up pan then finds its way to the bench, and with the bench already levelled, a few measurements are made and the laser level set. From here, the unwanted metal…

3 min

Street Machine|April 2019

WILD AT HEART

THERE’S a race meeting coming up at US131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan in late June that’s being billed as the richest in the history of drag racing. The winner walks away with a cool US$500,000. No, that’s not a misprint – $500,000. The runner-up pockets US$25,000, and semi-finalists each take home US$10,000. I reckon if you lived within 500km of the track you would want to go there to either race or just have a look. There are races already offering US$100,000 to win, but US$500,000 takes the cake. Obviously, there is a smart promoter and PR team behind the event, and I bet they will be praying for good weather and a good crowd. GOOD TO SEE PETER XIBERRAS MAKING A COMEBACK TO TOP FUEL AFTER HIS MASSIVE…

5 min

Street Machine|April 2019

BLOCKBUSTER

AT SWAN HILL ON DAY TWO OF DC 2018, THE VL MANAGED AN 8.30@160MPH NOSING OVER IN THE TOP END – SOMETHING WASN’T RIGHT BRENDAN Cherry is a veteran of Street Machine Drag Challenge. He entered the very first event back in 2014 when we had just 18 cars, and he’s been at every DC since. From 2014 to 2016 he competed in his stunning HQ Monaro, powered by a couple of different turbo LS combos. But at the beginning of 2017 he sold off the monster HQ to fund his dream car – an HK Monaro. The HK was already a bit of a weapon when Cherry bought the thing, having been built into an elite-level show car by its previous owner and equipped with a Merlin 572ci big-block…

3 min

Street Machine|April 2019

KING OF THE SKIDS

ANYONE who has ever been to Powercruise in Sydney would almost certainly know of Trent Smith and his absolutely killer hatchback Torana. His speciality is the powerskids, Powercruise’s signature dish, which he has won 10 times in the past 15 years. Powerskids are held on the main straight at Sydney Motorsport Park. From a standing start, the objective is to smoke the tyres as far as you can without using the brakes to slow the vehicle. If your speciality is helis in the Macca’s car park on a wet night in a stock V6 Dunnydoor, more than likely this is not an event for you. At a minimum, you need a tough car, big pills and the ability to drive/drift at high speed. While it has never been exactly measured,…

3 min

Street Machine|April 2019

CALENDAR

CALDER PARK 13 APR King Of The Hill Grudge Racing calderpark.com.au Phone (03) 9091 0777 SYDNEY DRAGWAY 27 MAR Race 4 Real 03 APR Race 4 Real 06 APR Mega Race 10 APR Race 4 Real 13 APR ATURA Championship 17 APR Race 4 Real sydneydragway.com.au Phone (02) 9421 0700 WILLOWBANK 23 MAR Test ’n’ Tune 29 MAR Test ’n’ Tune 30 MAR QLD Championships 03 APR Test ’n’ Tune 07 APR Queensland Autospectacular 12 APR Friday Night Lights 13 APR Street Series 2019 17 APR Test ’n’ Tune 19 APR Santo’s Super Thunder willowbankraceway.com.au Phone (07) 5461 5461 HEATHCOTE RACEWAY 31 MAR Test ’n’ Tune 06 APR Holden Nationals heathcoteraceway.com.au Phone 0416 072 478 PERTH MOTORPLEX 23 MAR Nitro Heaven 27 MAR Honda & Nissan Night 03 APR Hour…

1 min

Street Machine|April 2019

GAG OF THE MONTH

FINAL EXAM FOUR university students were taking an organic chemistry class, and each had received top marks for their assignments and exams so far. Now the final exam was approaching, but the four friends were so confident they’d do well that on the weekend before the exam they decided to go on a road trip to the coast to party with some friends there. They had a great time, so much so that they didn’t get back home until early Monday morning – the day of the exam. Extremely the worse for wear after their weekend of revelry, they decided that rather than take the exam then, they would track down their lecturer afterwards and explain to him why they missed it. They explained that they had gone to a…

1 min