Innehållsförteckning för July 2022 från Street Machine

CANBERRA turned on a fine, crisp autumn day on 6 May to see off one of the city’s most prominent figures, Anthony Robert ‘Chic’ Henry. An event organiser to the last, Chic stage-managed his celebration of life down to the last detail. It was held in the Budawang Pavilion, better known to most Street Machine Summernats fans as the Elite Hall. Outside was a mini car show, which featured some prominent vehicles from the history of the Summernats and its predecessor, the Street Machine Nationals, including Chic’s famous ’62 Impala, Peter Fitzpatrick’s FC, Gary and Jake Myers’s Mustang and Glenn Munday’s HQ SS. The service was attended by many hundreds of Chic’s family and friends, including Summernats staff and entrants, colleagues from Canberra Health Services, and politicians including ACT Attorney-General…

WHEN troubled teen Jack Hooper (Lodder) lands himself in hot water in Sydney, he and his widowed mum, Christie (the eternally spunky O’Connor), pack up and head west to Busselton on the WA coast, hoping for a fresh start. Plagued by the untimely death of his dad (Perkins) a few years earlier, Jack is lacking the direction needed to traverse the often-rocky terrain towards adulthood. But he has a good heart and promises his mum to change his ways. A chance invitation to the local go-kart track piques his interest, and he is soon befriended by Colin (Jefferson), a likeable kid copping grief from local bullies, and Mandy (Bampos), a poor little rich girl but naturally gifted kart engineer trying to make her own way in the sport. Jack’s natural…

WHEN you gaze upon Nathan Young’s mental 1500rwhp XB Falcon coupe, a very extreme example of one of Ford’s most iconic Aussie muscle cars, you could be excused for jumping to the conclusion that he’s a dyed-in-the-wool Blue Oval devotee. Not so, as it turns out. “I’m not one to take sides; I’m not a Ford guy by any means,” Nathan explains. “I’ve also got a Nissan GT-R and a Valiant, and I’ve owned a VF GTS, too. But an XB coupe has always been my dream car.” So when this hardtop popped up on Facebook Marketplace, Nathan went to take a squiz at it at his earliest possible convenience. What greeted him was an ex-drag car that had been tubbed and fitted with a ladder-bar rear-end and Lexan windows.…

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NESTLED in the ancient sandstone amphitheatre of the Burrong Basin, east of the Grampians in western Victoria, the Stawell Motor Sports Club reverberates to the 150dB din of angry engines. A throng of tough cars have assembled here, and their drivers have but one thing on their minds: murdering tyres. Spectators sit on rocky outcrops amongst the shady trees, heads and shoulders silhouetted against the dense fog of atomised radials. Welcome to the inaugural LOO5EFEST. The event is put on by Russell Harris, famous for his blown and injected VL Commodore burnout beast, LOO5E. He also organises the annual LOO5ENATS, which takes place at the same venue over the Melbourne Cup weekend. LOO5EFEST was a lastminute addition to the calendar this year as a warm-up for the main event in…

IF NOT for the Geoff Paradise-penned feature it received in the December ’81-January ’82 issue of Street Machine, you’d be hard-pressed to believe Trevor Cass’s ultra-classy EH was finished way back in 1978. And you might think that it’s probably undergone a rebuild or freshen-up in the 40-odd years since. Well, strap in for this: Other than a couple of minor paint touch-ups in 2016, Trevor’s EH – dubbed ‘Starfire’ – remains exactly ‘as was’. It’s the same car that dragged home a cabinetful of silverware from events like the South Australian Hot Rod & Custom Show and the Victorian Hot Rod Show. Awards included Top Exhibition, Top Engine Bay, Top Paint and Top Street Machine. At the 5th Street Machine Nationals in Canberra in 1982, it scored Top Sedan…

HENRY MEETS THE GENERAL TIM N O SKE 1973 FORD F100 “I’VE been building this 1973 F100 for around 18 months now, and I’m pretty happy with the progress. It’s intended as a daily driver, so I’ve gone with an L98 and 6L80 – yep, I’m putting an LS in a Ford! That’s mainly due to things like the torque characteristics of an LS and how compact they are, but let’s face it, everyone either Barra- or Coyote-swaps F100s these days, so I thought I’d do something different. It almost looks tiny in the engine bay, but that just means there’s plenty of room for – ahem – ‘activities’. For suspension, it has an IFS conversion in the front and I’m looking to put a four-link coil-over set-up at the…

PAUL ROBSON 1968 CHEVROLET CAMARO “I DELIVERED Chris Spaulding a skeleton of a Camaro – to be honest, there wasn’t much to it at all – and he gave me back an incredible machine that had received a complete restoration with all-new body panels, floor and sills. Chris completed the project in Perth and then shipped the car back to me. I couldn’t be happier with what he’s done – it is my dream car. The RHD conversion was completed before dropping in the 355ci smallblock Chev, which boasts a steel crank, forged pistons, roller cam and Quick Fuel 750 DP carby. Backing the motor is a TH350 with a 3500rpm converter, and a 35-spline Moser axle-equipped nine-inch diff with 3.5 gears. I wanted the car to handle like a…

THE last time Heathcote Park Raceway hosted a championship round of Top Fuel racing was over 30 years ago, when Jim Read and Bob Sherry did battle in their dragsters at the 1989 running of the Nationals. Top Fuel has run in Melbourne sporadically since then, with the fuellers last seen at Calder Park in 2017. That all changed on the weekend of 21-22 May, when six Top Fuel dragsters rolled into the staging lanes at Heathcote Park Raceway in front of a massive crowd. They were there to compete in round five of the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship, the star attraction at Heathcote’s first Summernats Slam event. Besides the fuel cars, Summernats Slam offered a star-studded Burnout Masters qualifying round and a full complement of support…

LETTER OF THE MONTH VALE CHIC I’D JUST like to add my thoughts on Chic Henry. We had never met Chic before the ’86 Nats in Canberra, but I managed to win the photo contest he was having at the event. It was of a red ’36 Ford coupe burning out on the then-burnout area (before they had the dedicated pad). I also took a photo of a ’62 Chev about to enter the arena. Both of the pics were published in the Oct-Nov ’86 edition of Street Machine (pictured right). Chic was really great to talk to, and took us into Canberra to present me with the prize for winning the photo comp (which was a brand new Nikon camera), and he had the photos enlarged to poster size!…

WE WERE just as stunned as you probably are now when we first laid eyes on Brendan Turner’s beautiful ’72 Plymouth Barracuda. Especially once we learned that, despite the build quality and finish, this wasn’t a big-dollar workshop project built to take silverware at Australia’s premier car shows. “I never built it to be a show car like that, which is why it was never unveiled at one,” Brendan says. “I just built it at home on my own, with the idea of making it a tidy cruiser I could enjoy in my local area on the weekends.” Brendan’s love affair with Mopars and building cars was fostered early on as a child of a motoring family. “My dad was a development engineer for Ford, but before that he did…

THINGS can get pretty hectic when a fully armed honeybee flies into a moving car. A flick can send it back out the window or, in Levi Chitty’s case, directly under his old man’s double-plugger-clad foot. “We were in Dad’s Tonner,” Levi recalls. “It ran a 327ci four-speed and was a nice ute.” Well, it was until his dad, Jack, recoiled from the bee sting, dropped an f-bomb and crashed into a Stobie pole. Young Levi and his father were both okay, but the HQ One Tonner was worse for wear. “We put it back on the road but never matched up the new panels,” Levi says. “It was pinched about three months after and we never saw it again.” When Levi was able to purchase his own wheels a…

CANBERRA’S Steve Santos is a man of many talents. While some enthusiasts knock out a ton of killer builds with a common style or brand, Steve takes a broader brush to his art – everything from 1000hp Walkinshaws to killer ProCharged Falcons, and even a turbo slant-six AP5 Valiant wagon (SM, Apr ’22). That Mopar was built as a present for his father, though his dad was originally meant to get this sweet EJ wagon. “The EJ was purchased locally in the ACT to build as a surprise present for Dad’s 70th birthday, but these plans changed during the build, as I believed the car wouldn’t be appropriate for Dad,” Steve says. Luckily, Steve was able to knock out that awesome Valiant for his dad instead, and now gets to…

I WANTED TO HAVE A GOOD, TOUGH STREETER I COULD TAKE TO CAR SHOWS, DO A BIT OF DRAG RACING IN AND JUST ENJOY THOSE in the drag racing fraternity are likely to know Paul Fava for his exploits in KILLAQ, his LSA-powered HQ Kingswood that’s partial to a serious wheel-lift once in a while. While the 1000hp Quey is perfect for mauling quarter-miles, in early 2020 Paul found himself wanting a more road-friendly ride to cruise around Victoria. “I just wanted to have a good, tough streeter I could take to car shows, do a bit of drag racing in and just enjoy,” the Echuca bloke explains. As car markets fell into chaos in March 2020, Paul made his move on this HK Monaro. “At the very start of…

SPEAKING with Rebecca Hadjakis, you’d swear she is a long-term car enthusiast, but actually she was catapulted into the scene only two years ago. Ever since, she’s made it her mission to be hands-on with her Eleanor-kitted ’66 Mustang coupe, learning every step of the way and sharing her journey on her Instagram page @becs66_mustang. How did you come to own the Muzzy? My hubby Anthony bought it for my 40th birthday two years ago. As I didn’t have a party due to lockdowns and COVID, he decided to buy me this instead, sight-unseen. I love silver tones, and this colour is unbelievable! Wow! Did you hint that you were after a Mustang? No, I really was not into cars before that. When he gave it to me, I was…

Send your favourite funnies to: LOL, Street Machine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166 or email them to: streetmachine@wheelsmedia.com.au. GAG OF THE MONTH TAKE A LETTER A TRUCK loaded with worcestershire sauce is driving through the Welsh town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch when it collides with a Nissan Qashqai. The truck then careens down the road and hits a car from Rhosllannerchrugog, injuring the two otorhinolaryngologists inside. One of them, suffering from schistosomiasis, has a myocardial infarction and dies. A bystander witnesses the entire event and quickly calls the ambulance on his Huawei. The emergency operator asks the bystander, “Can you explain to me what happened, sir?” The bystander replies, “Well, it’s hard to say.” E Nunciate, email DOUBLE TAKE A MAN is driving home after a long day at work. Frustrated…

AFTER exploring a string of different project styles that scratched various car-building itches (see last month’s Snap Shots), Brisbane’s Dave Gregson seems to have found a more permanent groove with his recent builds. This issue we take a look at Greg’s current fleet, stop by some of his more recent rides, and take a trip back through his earlier years with a couple of cars that are forever ingrained in his DNA. 01: THIS XW GT was owned by Dave’s older brother Michael in the early 80s. It was his daily driver with its factory 351, Top Loader and nine-inch driveline. “He was a chippy, so its boot was always piled full of tools,” Dave says. “Michael is 10 years older than me, so he had his licence and cool…

THERE’S nothing quite like heading into the bush for a wellearned camping holiday in your 4WD, right? Well, not so much if you were these blokes, who found themselves and their off-road machines in the firing line of a Victoria Police blitz over the Easter long weekend, with multiple vehicles issued with defect notices while on specific off-road trails. Well-known fabricator Lachy Poole’s 79-Series Land Cruiser, POOOLY, was defected for a suspension lift that already had approved VicRoads engineering certification. We shared the story on our Facebook page; here’s what you had to say about the blitz. John Bajada – I’m sure they could be out catching real criminals. They would have a field day at the local Coles car park if they want to put canaries on cars. Darren…

THE COST OF REBUILDING THE 289 WAS SIMILAR TO SIMPLY BUYING A FRESH BLUEPRINT ENGINES 347CI WINDSOR CRATEY THAT MAKES 400HP OUT OF THE BOX NOT many can attest to their family buying them a project car for their birthday, so we reckon John Davidson is one lucky fella, having been gifted this XP-fronted XM Falcon coupe for his 60th. John’s wife Brenda and two sons Luke and Todd were keen to surprise the birthday boy with a project but weren’t sure what model to go for, so they decided to clue him in on their generous gift. Once the shock subsided, John knew exactly the kind of car he was after: “I had always liked the design and shape of the early Falcons and believed they would make a…

A MIGHTY Boy has been crowned Motorvation Grand Champ. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d ever be writing, but that was the big news earlier in the year when Simon Birch’s Battleship Grey Suzuki wowed everyone at Motorvation 36. There were plenty of puzzled looks, slack jaws and shaking heads – mine included – when the car was unveiled at Motorvation and everyone realised they were looking at a Suzuki Mighty Boy, of all things. Once that initial shock wore off though, people started to really appreciate the amount of time and effort that had gone into the car. I SET OUT TO BUILD A $20,000 SKID CAR AND FAILED MISERABLY What possessed Simon to build such a thing? “I set out to build a $20,000 skid car and…

IF YOU weren’t lucky enough to have been raised in a hands-on gearhead family, tearing into your first project car can be a daunting task. So, on the back of our Young Street Machine of the Year competition (see page 92 for more!), we thought we’d compile some quick and easy workshop tips that novices may find useful when spinning spanners on their rides. One bloke who has more projects on the go than most is Scott Barter, whose ’56 Chevy pick-up featured in the SM 2020 Yearbook. Here, he shares some of his greatest hacks for newbies, and we’ll also add a few of our own. 1 HANG IT UP KEEPING your work area organised is a key part of a successful build. A clear workspace means you’re not…

WHEN your old man is Russell Harris, who runs a successful mechanical workshop and pilots the well-known LOO5E VL Commodore burnout weapon, there’s a damn good chance you’ll be into cars. And at just 13 years of age, Kaleb Harris can certainly skid with the best of them, putting on a great showing in his VX Calais at the recent LOO5EFEST in Stawell – an event put on by his dad. Kaleb’s automotive future certainly looks bright – and smoky. You threw down some killer skids at LOO5EFEST. How long have you been doing burnouts? I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now. I reckon I’ve done 50 or so skids. I’ve been driving cars at the farm since I could reach the pedals, so I’m used to…

TO QUOTE legendary former SM columnist Darryl ‘Beefs’ Savage, “Geez, a lot of things cheese me off.” My latest eye-roller is modern-day do-gooders grasping established, innocent, simple pleasures and throwing a negative spin on them. As a kid in the 1980s, I and many other kids enjoyed giving the arm pump to passing truckies in the hope of copping a blast from their horns. I was a repeat offender in this activity, even copping a lick of the cane after ignoring multiple warnings about standing at the fence every lunch break trying to instigate an air-horn symphony. As the years have marched on, the whole armpump thing seems to have become a forgotten art, much like the ever-faithful chucking of one’s brown-eye. However, just like mullets and Hawaiian shirts have…

CHARLIE Sant might only be a pup, but he’s already built a kick-arse street car in his HK Kingswood (Young Gun, SM, Sep ’18) and now has an even spicier project on the go. His HSV-styled VN will be more aimed at drag racing and events than regular street use, and this turbocharged LS is what’s going to power it. Charlie works at ProFlo Performance in Sydney, so he pieced the mill together himself, with help from his dad and ProFlo bossman Paul. It’s a budget-minded combo built largely from bits left over from other projects, but it’s sure to power the VN to plenty of smoky good times at Powercruise. The block is a cast-iron LQ9 job, topped with 241 cathedral-port LS1 heads that were ported and treated to…