Innehållsförteckning för October 2024 från Street Machine

EARLIER this year, Street Machine Summernats launched the Pro Burnout Series, with more than $70,000 in total prize money on offer at the inaugural Pro Burnout Grand Final at Summernats 37. So far, 32 drivers have qualified for ’Nats 37 throughout 2024 at Pro Burnout Series events across Australia and New Zealand, including Motorvation, Rockynats, Powercruise and many more. There are now only a handful of events remaining for diehard tyre-shredders to snare a spot at Summernats 37, which takes place 2-5 January 2025. There, the full field of qualifiers will face off for a shot at winning $50,000 cash and becoming the very first Summernats Pro Master! For the fans, Pro Burnout Series socials are now up and running, too. You can catch live streaming of series events on…

> LETTER OF THE MONTH ’VETTING PROCESS HEY Street Machine, I’m Brody Dixon, a 13-year-old car enthusiast. I am writing to ask if you could do something for my dad, Steve Dixon. He’s been in a previous magazine of yours in his old Monaro (SM, Mar ’86). I would like to know if you could include his current car, a custom 1974 Corvette Stingray. He’s had this car for around 20 years. It was his 60th birthday on 24 July, and I think he would really like this, as he and I are both massive car-lovers. They have always been something that we have bonded over. The Corvette has a big-block in it, with around 600hp and 620lb-ft of torque. He’s put custom matte black side-exit exhausts on it, and…

CAN you believe it’s been 10 years already? Time really does fly when you’re having fun, and the 10th birthday of Red CentreNATS was a shindig we couldn’t wait to be part of – even if it was going to be stinking hot! For those late to the party, Red CentreNATS descends upon Alice Springs every Father’s Day weekend, offering a four-day bonanza of burnouts, drag racing, elite show cars, show ’n’ shine and a whole lot more, right in the heart of Australia. The Summernats team works in tandem with the Northern Territory Government to make it all happen, and their alliance makes one of the coolest aspects of the event possible: the RCN permit system. Got a wild drag car or a 1000hp burnout beast that would never…

THOUGH YOU CAN’T SEE THEM, THE MILL IS FED BY A PAIR OF HIDDEN GTX3582 TURBOS, WHICH SEES IT PUNCH OUT 992HP AT THE WHEELS AT AROUND 20PSI THOSE in the Melbourne car scene would know the friendly face of John Ricca, owner of Race Parts Melbourne and enough enthusiast dream cars to make even Jay Leno envious. When you’ve got VL Commodores, R34 GT-R Skylines, rotary Mazdas and even a twin-turbo Lamborghini to choose from (just to name a few), how do you decide which car to take cruising? Well, John decided to fix that problem by acquiring another car – this stunning LX Torana. “It came up after Boosted Fabrications had just finished building it, and I could see it was a well-built, quality car,” says John. “A…

FOR Simon Fawcett and Karen Savage, the unveiling of their 1946 Chevy coupe utility at the 2024 Sydney Hot Rod & Custom Auto Expo marked not only the triumphant end of a gruelling 12-year build, but also the culmination of Simon’s long history with this rare model. Simon first encountered a ’46 coupe ute some four decades ago, when a friend presented one to him after discovering it on a rural scavenging run. That ute served Simon well until he reluctantly had to part with it, vowing to one day own another. Around 2011, Simon made good on that promise when he acquired a supposedly fully restored example. The initial plan for ’46 coupe utility #2 was a simple hot rod transformation: big engine, black paint and some mags. However,…

AFTER making a big splash when it launched a couple of years ago, Ford’s 7.3-litre Godzilla small-block has been building a solid fanbase. Aftermarket companies have scrambled to develop new parts for this iron-block, alloy-headed, pushrod V8, and many street machiners are beginning to see the potential in the OE Ford architecture. Cars like Nathaniel Ardern’s 1300hp XA sedan and Tim Cross’s 1200hp Capri both rock Harrop-blown Godzilla combos and are running numbers, while Drag Challenge veteran Phil Edmondson currently has a Whipple-blown ’Zilla going into his XA coupe. Riot Lab’s Danny Howe debuted his twin-turbo Godzilla-powered XE Falcon (SM, Dec ’23) at our most recent Drag Challenge, and is about to step things up even further. Frank Marchese of Dandy Engines has built a few tough Godzillas, so we…

THIS is the second small-block Ford out of BK Race Engines we’ve brought you in as many issues, but it’s fair to say they’re not much alike. Last month’s mill was about as cutting-edge as a carbied pushrod V8 can be, with modern, high-end parts, computer-controlled coil-near-plug ignition, and plenty of custom billet hardware. This Cleveland is decidedly old-school by comparison, but that doesn’t mean it ain’t stout. “This engine goes with the overall theme of the car,” says BK’s Bill Kaglatzis, referring to his customer’s XY. “It’s like if a concours-restored Falcon GT had 15in Simmons wheels, Recaros and a tunnel ram put on it at the dealership back in the day. That’s the look the guy is going for.” Bill initially pieced together the 393ci Clevo for the…

IT ALWAYS warms the cockles of our hearts to see classic Aussie muscle cars competing on the world stage. In the case of Andrew and Mandy Sinclair’s stunning Valiant Charger, it is technically a Kiwi muscle car, since it was originally assembled by Todd Motors in its Wellington factory. Nevertheless, we were filled with ANZAC pride to witness the achievements of Team GSD (Get Shit Done) at this year’s Speed Week on Lake Bonneville in Utah, USA. After doing his four licensing runs, Andrew qualified for the event on the Thursday with a 251.1mph run, only to have the time pulled due to a technical difference of opinion over the rear spill plates. With that fixed, he came out again and qualified successfully with a 251.6mph pass. The race was…

I’VE HAD PRO MODS AND EVERYTHING, BUT I’M EXCITED ABOUT GETTING BACK TO MY ROOTS WITH THIS CAR WOLLONGONG’S Simon Kryger probably requires little introduction to the readers of Street Machine, but we’ll give him one anyway. He’s owned and built countless pro street toughies over the years ranging from regularly street-driven machines to out-and-out race cars, but the common denominator has always been nitrous. Lots and lots of nitrous. His eight-second LJ Torana, INOCNT, graced the cover of SM in September of 2001. Eight-second street cars were few and far between back then, and Kryger’s was the quickest hydraulic-cammed car in the world. Before that came a slew of Cortinas and an LX Torana that was running bottom-10s in the mid-90s. The 2000s saw Kryger build and campaign yet…

TAKE a trip across the Tasman and you’ll find the first weekend of August boldly marked in shed calendars across New Zealand, as thousands of Kiwi revheads anticipate the 2024 Prowear Chrome Horsepower Festival at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. For prospective entrants, the lead-up to this annual extravaganza of all things automotive is always a medley of emotions: frustration, despair, exhaustion, and, for the lucky ones, triumph, as spanners are hurled across garages and midnight oil supplies dwindle. So, why all the effort? Silly question, really – when you have the chance to access a world-class race track and be safely irresponsible with your mates for a whole weekend, it’s a no-brainer. Just rolling through the gates and being assaulted by the sound of wild idles and big revs, along…

SINCE forming his first automotive memories in his grandfather’s Duchess Gold Quey as a kid, HQ Holden Run organiser Scott McAlinden has owned a few of the iconic breed. They’ve had some cool combos, including a revvy 355 Holden stroker, but the sneaky force-fed LS under this one’s bonnet is the spiciest by far! Scott operates Willy’s Wash ’N’ Wax in Underwood, Queensland, so he has an eye for slick paint and fine detail, but when he bought this car, it boasted neither of those things. “It was painted before I owned it, and as a guy that does paint corrections, it was horrifying,” he says. “I use the word ‘painted’ lightly. I’m pretty sure a monkey had its paws in the prep – do monkeys have paws or hands?”…

THERE’S always a handful of men and women who we can count on to throw their hat in the ring for our Drag Challenge marathons, and one of those is Donnie Zurcas. He’s taken on every Victorian DC we’ve run since 2017, kick-starting his campaign in his beautiful, low-10-second EK sedan, which he brought back again for DC 2018. Since then, the same 434ci small-block Chev has been shoved into his 1974 Mk1 Capri, a car he’s owned since the mid-90s. “I got it as a drag car project, and it’s had several engine changes and upgrades over the years,” says Donnie. “For this combo, the firewall has been recessed, and it has a larger tunnel to fit the Powerglide transmission.” More recently, that engine has been fed by Holley…

TRISH PROCTOR LJ TORANA “HERE is my pride and joy. My LJ Torana was originally sold in Caboolture, Queensland, and it finally found its way back to Caboolture when I bought it two years ago, following a complete restoration in Melbourne by Chris Day. She runs a Holden 383 engine, two-speed Powerglide, full-spool nine-inch and 275-wide rear tyres. She’s an absolute pleasure to drive. I’m an advocate for more women to be involved in the car scene; it truly brings a sense of joy into your life.” Photos: Cars Cocktails Culture NOAH SCHEFE 1970 CHEVY IMPALA “HI GUYS and gals! Here’s my 1970 Impala. She’s a turbo LS-powered car that runs low 10s on the weekend at Springmount, with a road trip to and from Townsville either side of the…

LATE in a fairly long line of Burt Reynolds car-chase movies, Stroker Ace was yet another collaboration with director Hal Needham aimed at wringing every last drop out of a successful formula. Stroker (Reynolds) is a popular, albeit ego-driven, stock car racer, chewing through sponsors and race teams with his best mate and trusty mechanic Lugs (Jim Nabors) in tow. When his options for a season drive start to thin dramatically, Stroker signs up with sleazy fried chicken magnate Clyde Torkle (Ned Beatty), and finds himself quickly smitten with Torkle’s promotional director, Pembrook Feeney (Loni Anderson, Reynolds’s real-life partner at the time). Stroker quickly becomes the butt of chicken jokes from his fellow racers and fans, and soon begins to tire of his hectic, contracted ‘Chicken Hut’ promotional schedule. His…

MADDXY EARNING a place in the Meguiar’s MotorEx unveil hall is a huge feat. Taking something as often-built as an XY Falcon with GT stripes and still making a stand-out impression? That’s a whole different game, but if anybody was going to do it, Southern Rod & Custom would be a prime suspect. Serg De Rose first crossed paths with the SR&C lads when they fitted his late-model Mustang with a killer widebody kit, and his repeat visits eventually led to this XY’s inception. “We’d built one a year before that was nearly identical, but in yellow,” SR&C’s Scott Briant explains. “Every time Serg came in, he’d say he loved the yellow XY, so as soon as we finished the Mustang, we got into this one, and we knew exactly…

AS THE bossman of his own project management and design business, and a marketing guru in the performance parts industry, Chris has been close to many high-end car builds and exposed to the latest trends and componentry. So, when he has the time to craft his own rides, it’s a safe bet that they’ll raise the bar high and keep it there. “I feel like my shed is the car version of Noah’s Ark,” Chris says. “There seems to be two of everything – two hot rods; two Mustangs; two Willys coupes; two Camaros; these two black Mopars – everything comes in pairs.” That’s not a bad problem to have when you have an eye for detail and a passion for V8s. And as far as the latter goes, Chris…

YOU might look at this HK Monaro and think that it’s a pretty wild rig, with its pro street stance, turbo LS and blacked-out rims. But for owner Milan Stefanovich, it’s his mild cruiser for the street. He was in the middle of building a different HK hardtop at Advanced Race Fabrication when he got wind of a bloke that might be selling a black one, so he sold off the more race-inspired build and started working his charm to get a hold of the car you see on these pages. It took a few months, but Milan ended up sweet-talking his way into a deal and became the proud owner of a pretty solid HK GTS. It was an older build and a little bit tired, but it had…

THERE’S not much that hasn’t been done with the almighty Falcon hardtop over the past five decades. As one of the toughest shapes to roll out of an Aussie car plant, builders have turned XA, XB and XC coupes into everything from SEMA-grade stunners to out-and-out drag missiles. NSW bloke Scott Medhurst’s vision of what a two-door Falcon should be has brought together the best of both worlds, melding timeless style cues with an injected, big-cube Cleveland, resulting in an XC Fairmont with awesome street presence and heaps of shove. That said, when the XC first came to Scott’s attention, it was in a sorry state. “I bought the car from a friend in Taree,” he recounted. “He found it stored in an old dairy on a farm. He had…

OH SNAP! MATT HULL 1984 TOYOTA MR2 “MY VERY early AW11 MR2 was built in the third month of production in 1984; they didn’t start selling MR2s until 1985 in Japan and 1987 in Australia. It started life as an aspirated auto in two-tone Jade Green and silver. However, after being left in a field for 16 years, it had rusted out. It then bounced between several owners for a few years, but they were all scared off by the amount of rust and the problems it had. Then my dumb arse bought it! I have now finished all the rust repairs, including replacing much of the floor, roof, firewall, scuttle panel, boot, wheelarches, and behind both doors. My plan is to fully rebuild the car myself with no professional…

> GAG OF THE MONTH FULL OF GRACE? THE Mother Superior of a convent wakes up one morning feeling wonderful. She gets dressed and heads out to the breakfast hall. On the way, she encounters Sister Mary. “Good morning, Mother Superior,” says Sister Mary. “Did you perhaps get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?” The Mother Superior responds, “Why no, I’m feeling very happy this morning.” Next, the Mother Superior encounters Sister Rebecca. “Good morning, Mother Superior,” says Sister Rebecca. “Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?” “No, Sister Rebecca, I’m feeling quite content and joyful this morning,” the Mother Superior replies. Then the Mother Superior meets Sister Sarah, who says, “Good morning, Mother Superior. Did you get up on…