Innehållsförteckning för November 2022 från Street Machine

THE 2023 S650 Mustang was launched in Detroit last month, and luckily for us, there have been three versions already confirmed for Australia, including two V8 burlers. Ford has said the S650 is more of an evolution than a revolution of the current S550, with loosely the same engine, gearboxes and core body carried over for the new model, albeit heavily renovated. For the V8 GT, the 5.0-litre Coyote has been upgraded with twin throttlebodies, new exhaust manifolds and timing tweaks for more power. We don’t know exactly how much grunt just yet, but Ford says it’s a decent stab more than the 339kW/556Nm in the current GT. You can still choose from either a six-speed manual or ‘improved’ 10-speed auto, with LSD diff and Brembo brakes. The turbo four-pot…

IF THERE’S a cooler character name than Gator McKlusky, I’m yet to hear it, so 1973’s White Lightning already has something going for it – especially as said character is played by the late, great Burt Reynolds. A talented mechanic and driver, Gator is doing time for running ‘white lightning’ – that’s moonshine, folks – in his home state of Arkansas. When he learns that his younger brother Donny has been murdered by the crooked Sheriff JC Connors (Ned Beatty), Gator is hellbent on revenge. So the local feds seize the opportunity to channel his rage into helping them nail Connors once and for all. Gator is released from prison early and handed the keys to a hotted-up, big-block/four-speed ’71 Ford Custom (don’t look too close), and he soon establishes…

SEEING BLOWN BURNOUT CARS AND PRO TOURING STUNNERS HITTING THE MACCA’S DRIVE-THROUGH NEVER GETS OLD AUSTRALIA is a very different place to the one it was a year ago. Travel bans are a thing of the past and state borders are wide open, allowing car nuts from every corner of the country to make a pilgrimage to Alice Springs for Red CentreNATS 8. As a result, the 2022 event featured more cars than ever, with a stonking 1030 rides signing up to make the heart of Australia their home for an extra-long weekend of horsepower glory. “You say all the time that it’s the best event, but this really was,” said veteran judge Owen Webb. “Last year a lot of us couldn’t get here – it was pretty much a…

DEERK Van Der Kooi has been a long-time fan of European Sports Pack (ESP) Fairmonts, having owned one since he was about 20 years old – he’s almost 40 now. But that’s not the ESP you’re looking at on these pages: “I had a silver roller in the garage but could never afford to make it how I wanted it,” Deerk explains. So, one day while a little bored at his missus’s work Christmas party, Deerk started doing some window shopping and dreaming, and came across this stunning charcoal XE ESP for sale. “When I found this one, it was the colour I always wanted, and the interior was flawless in it. I instantly jumped out of my chair and said, ‘Babe, I’m going to Melbourne!’” Deerk says. “There and…

I’M SURE I’m not the only one who, when they think about VEs or VFs, picture Valiants. Others, of course, might picture the similarly monikered Commodore models with a hot LS motor up front. Well, here’s a car that blurs the line between the two: a VF Valiant Regal packing a stonking, single-turbo, 6.0-litre LS. Right about now, some of you Pentastar fans might be spitting chips in disgust. But the VF’s owner, Keith Fabian, is certainly not averse to Mopar-powered Vals, as evidenced by his blown 340-powered VG (SM, Feb ’20). For this VF Regal build, though, Keith was after something more late-model – something that wouldn’t break the bank if he hurt it and could put up a good showing at Street Machine Drag Challenge. “I was thinking…

GETTING stuck into a project-car build at home without the right equipment is a sure and quick path to frustration. But while we can dream of having one of those bright, clean, fully stocked workshops you see on TV shows, plenty of people have built righteous rides with far humbler set-ups. Here’s how you tool up for success. RESEARCH & DEVELOP SHEDS in residential areas can have some crucial limitations around the type of equipment you can bring in, so do some research on what’s allowable. Before you bash a hoist in, you’ll need to scan the concrete slab to make sure it’s the correct density (MPA rating) to hold one up, and not a tensioned slab with cables running through it. Another trap for young players is power. If…

WE SPOTTED Rebecca Griffin laying down some epic aspirated burnouts on our recent jaunt to Darwin for Gazzanats 2022, earning both the Iron Maiden award for best female entrant and the Best Ladies Burnout trophy. We caught up in the pits to see what makes Bec – and her eye-popping VS ute – tick. Love the ute! What’s the story behind it? I was gifted a shell with no running gear in it. It’s now got an LS1 with a Victor Jr manifold and a 750 Holley carby on it. It’s pretty basic and standard. I haven’t really done many upgrades; I just put a trunnion kit through it, double valve springs and a 232/234 cam. It runs a Turbo 400 that’s not massively built. The keg in the back…

01 GET A GRIP THE Borgy diffs found in our much-loved Commodores and Falcons aren’t exactly known as strong and reliable units. Luckily, RTS’s all-new True Grip is a gear-driven, limited-slip differential designed to be among the strongest and most durable available – perfect for replacing your worn-out LSD or open centre. It combines the smooth operation of a limited-slip diff with the strength of a fully machined, forged steel case. Available for M78, M80 and M86 Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore models. Get yours today from VPW at vpw.com.au. 02 LIGHT UP FOR years, VH Commodore SL/E owners have had to either settle for their original faded or cracked tail-lights or pay out of the arse for rare NOS replacements – and that’s if they can find them. Fortunately, Rare Spares…

AFTER a long battle with ill health, legendary show announcer Gordon ‘Pinky’ Fellows passed away in September at the age of 76. Pinky is best remembered for his long stint as the voice of the Street Machine Summernats Horsepower Heroes and tattoo competitions, as well as countless other car shows up and down the east coast. The somewhat-unlikely son of a magistrate, Pinky was born in Grafton, NSW in 1946. His roots in motorsport go back to his days racing short-track speedway and dirt bikes in the late 1960s and early 70s. This included a stint in the Australian short-track team, which saw Pinky race for his country against England, picking up three first-place spots and a second. Pinky also immersed himself in Sydney’s cruising and street racing scenes and…

LETTER OF THE MONTH WHERE THERE’S A WILL I’M WILL, a 13-year-old who has an obsession with burnouts, drags and tough cars. In lockdown last year, I began a business called Lowered & Lifted Car Drawings. It started with a few recreational drawings I did that my mum posted on Facebook, and she had people from as far away as Switzerland asking where to get them. So I started a business around my drawings. It was difficult at first, but after I figured out a system, I had it down to a science. Back then, I was selling them for $10 a pop, but I still had people – even mates – saying that I was “charging too much” and that my business “isn’t going to work”. They tried to…

I SOON DECIDED I HAD TO RESTORE THE CAR TO ENSURE IT WASN’T YET ANOTHER PIECE OF AUSSIE RACING HISTORY THAT WOULD BE LOST IT’S long been said that it’s easier to modify a car than to carry out a factory-perfect concours restoration. So, melding the two by undertaking a concours resto of an already-modified car presents a whole new level of difficulty. You’d have to contend with a lack both of benchmark original cars and purist know-alls to tap into for detailed information, compounded by the mystery of parts used or specifications that might only be known to a few people. It’s a seriously daunting task, and it would be easy to let the details slide given that 99.99 per cent of people would be none the wiser. Fortunately,…

MOST of us have a particular make or model of car that stopped us in our tracks during our formative years that we have lusted after ever since. For Brisbane bloke Jason Mant, that car was the second-generation Chevy Nova. He needed one in his life but never thought he’d be able to make it happen. But then, when he least expected it, the perfect example came along and he pounced on it. “When I saw this red Nova for sale, I knew it was the one for me, and with the support of my now late wife Bronwyn, off to Victoria I went,” Jason explains. “After flying to Melbourne to view the car, I purchased it in January 2015 from Chris McDonald of McDonald Brothers Racing.” The Nova was…

IF, LIKE me, you couldn’t get to Red CentreNATS over the first weekend of September, Melbourne was undoubtedly the place to be, as the ninth annual Showcars Melbourne Father’s Day Car & Bike Festival took over St Kilda in epic fashion. Almost 700 cars descended on Acland Street, Shakespeare Grove, O’Donnell Gardens and surrounding streets, all against the iconic backdrop of Luna Park. A brace of movie cars were posted up in front of Luna Park’s gaping maw, ranging from obligatory Mad Max Falcons to a Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine, and even a Mazda MX-6 dressed as a convincing Lightning McQueen. In true Melbourne fashion, the Sunday started as a grey and drizzly affair, but crowds held out for what became a glorious early-spring day. Unlike many shows where owners tend…

IT IS a well-established fact that AU Falcons can do incredible things, but how does a 9.90@139mph quarter-mile pass strike you? And all because Brett, Chris and Connor from Gawler Mechanical in South Australia decided to do something different with their Drag Challenge-tested AU wagon. You see, while many would be expecting to see a turbo Barra or Intech six under the 2002 AU’s bonnet, these enterprising lads chose to anger the masses by slapping a stock-bottom-end 6.0-litre L98 up front. How the heck did they come up with a force-fed, LS-powered AU Falcon wagon as a Drag Challenge rig? “The point of this project was to have a laugh, really,” Brett explains. “We’re definitely not passionate Ford men. We’ve got a dyno here, so we muck around with a…

JAMIE WICKS 1969 CHEVROLET CAMARO “I BUILT my ’69 Camaro SS over the past 18 months. The extensive rebuild included a new 355 crate motor with alloy heads, roller cam, Victor Jr manifold and 650 Holley carb. The gearbox was rebuilt and a 2500rpm stall converter fitted. All suspension components were replaced from front to back, and the car now has Corvette front brakes. The seats have been re-foamed and the interior retrimmed in leather and Alcantara, giving it a modern feel but still retaining the classic look. A Dakota Digital dash and a custom boot and stereo were also fitted. It rolls on a set of US Racing wheels with 18x8s up front and 18x10s on the rear to fill out the guards. A full respray was done in…

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@wheelsmedia.com.au. Please send copies of prints as we are unable to return your photos.…

THIS issue we wrap up our four-part look into South Australia’s street machine scene via the photo collection of Adelaide hot-car historian, Adrian Portaro. It’s been both a pleasure and a challenge to jam nearly four decades of SA’s best into a mere 30 choices, but one element has been consistent among all the rides Adrian has documented: timeless quality. For this final instalment, we threw it open to Adrian to share nine of his faves, chosen for no other reason than having left an indelible mark on his car journey. 01: SEV Scarponi from The Muscle Car Shop has owned the PRO32 three-window Ford coupe since the early 90s, and it is one tough hot rod. It has had more stout engine combos than you could poke a stick…

ASK Darwin’s Paul Tinning about his astounding Dodge V10-powered XP coupe, and he’ll tell you the build was almost preordained. “I was having a few beers with [local drag racer] Matt Abel and he mentioned he had a second XP coupe he didn’t want anymore, so I asked him what he wanted for it,” Paul explains. “I went over the next day with some money in my pocket and took it away a couple of weeks later.” Most of the coupe was missing, save for two door skins, but the body was in pretty good shape – a suitable starting point for the radical overhaul Paul had in mind. “There’d be purists out there cursing me for doing what I’ve done to this car, but that’s their problem, not mine,”…

SAVE on the cover price FREE delivery to your doorstep PLUS free digital access to Street Machine DIGITAL ACCESS INCLUDES: Access to all magazines since 2015 – that’s over six years of Street Machine! Early access to the latest issue before it goes on sale Browse from any device SELECT A PACKAGE: 6 ISSUES $59 SAVE 17% INCLUDES 6 MONTHS’ FREE DIGITAL ACCESS 13 ISSUES $99 SAVE 36% INCLUDES ONE YEAR’S FREE DIGITAL ACCESS 26 ISSUES $179 SAVE 42% INCLUDES TWO YEARS’ FREE DIGITAL ACCESS Scan the code or phone our new Australian-based call centre on (02) 8315 2092 or visit shop.whichcar.com.au/streetmachine Offer valid until 30 November 2022. Prices shown are in AUD and available for Australian Delivery only. Discounts represent the percentage saving on the cover price. Digital-only access available for $59…

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS BLOWN SET-UP AND THE ASPIRATED STUFF I USED TO RUN IS NIGHT AND DAY LOOKING at it now, it’s hard to believe that Shane D’Amato initially thought of his VS ute as a mere stop-gap machine. “I traded an engine for it; it’d had a new rear quarter put on that was in primer, and all I was going to do was paint it and then sell it off,” says the Victorian. “But then I got inspired after Summernats one year and decided to pull my VH apart, so I put the LS into the VS as a fill-in while I built the VH. Ten years later, it’s still here!” Shane took care of the entire build himself, and while the ute has gone through a…

RYAN Finlay’s journey with this 1965 Mustang began when he was 15, having saved up every spare dollar he had to buy his dream machine – his very first car. Of course, back then it was quite some way from the blown 770rwhp behemoth it is today. “I obviously wanted a V8, but given I was going on my P-plates soon, my dad wasn’t a big fan of that idea, so I got a six-cylinder instead,” Ryan says. Now 33, Ryan has since added another five Mustangs and a few classic Falcons to his arsenal. But his first car is still the crown jewel. “I’ve obviously always loved my Mustangs, and even though we’ve sold off a few cars recently, this is one I could definitely never get rid of,”…

SAILING THE C GEORGINA WILKINSON 1964 CHEVY C10 “THIS is my childhood dream car! I had it imported back in February last year, and I’ve been driving and constantly modifying it since then. The week it arrived, I hooked into a disc-brake conversion and fuel tank relocation, C-notched the chassis for airbags, fitted a HEI distributor and manifold, and upgraded the carby and 12-volt alternator. I’ve recently pulled it back off the road for ‘stage two’ of the build, which’ll involve fresh paint and wood for the bed floor. I’ll also be rebuilding the 350-cube small-block Chev with alloy heads, a lumpy cam and roller rockers, as well as adding air con and a bunch of other things. I’ve been doing everything mostly myself so far, including welding up excess…

I TICKED a big one off the bucket list recently with a trip to Boise, Idaho in the good ol’ US of A for one of the No Prep Kings rounds, presented and produced by the Discovery Channel. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past handful of years, Street Outlaws is a television series originally founded in ‘the 405’ in Oklahoma, and it’s grown into a worldwide drag racing phenomenon. America’s List, Cash Days, End Game and No Prep Kings (aka NPK) are all spin-off shows that see the quickest of the quick slugging it out in different formats, with a mix of turbo, nitrous and screw-blown cars on unprepared roads and race tracks. No-prep racing has become enormously successful for the Discovery Channel. At Boise…

GAG OF THE MONTH FUEL CRISIS DAVE and Pete are a couple of drinking buddies who work as aircraft engineers in Darwin. One day the airport is fogged in and they are stuck in the hangar with nothing to do. “Man, I wish we had something to drink!” Dave says. “Me too,” Pete replies. “Y’know, I’ve heard you can drink jet fuel and get a buzz. D’ya wanna try it?” So they pour themselves a couple of glasses of high-octane booze and proceed to get thoroughly smashed. The next morning, Dave wakes up and is surprised at how good he feels. In fact, he feels great – no hangover, no bad side effects. Then the phone rings. It’s Pete. “Hey, how do you feel this morning?” he asks. Dave says,…

THE humble Holden V8 has plenty of detractors these days, but one thing everyone seems to be able to agree on is that they sound amazing. Here’s a tip: They sound even better with a belt-driven inlet manifold fitted. This particular example of positively charged plastic finery was built by Westend Performance for Andrew ‘Macca’ Mcallister’s HT Kingswood. “The brief was for a reliable street cruiser-type engine, but it still makes decent power,” says Westend’s Sam Fenech. The combo is based on a factory VN-style block and heads, and weighs in at 355ci with around 9.5:1 compression. “We do a heap of these Holdens, so we started out with all the usual block prep you do to them like squaring the block up, a four-bolt conversion with Milodon caps, clearancing…