Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2024 i Street Machine

STREET Machine Summernats 37 will rock Canberra into the new year with two huge nights of live music on both Friday and Saturday. Friday night will be the big one for rock fans, with Eskimo Joe, Thirsty Merc and Jet (pictured) all hitting the stage. Thirsty Merc kicks things off at 8pm, followed by Eskimo Joe, and then Jet will close the night in true rock ’n’ roll style in what will be their Summernats debut. Saturday night sees Hot Dub Time Machine, aka DJ Tom Loud, return, following an incredible performance at ’Nats 36 earlier this year. He’ll take music fans on another journey through some of the greatest hits of all time, covering all genres and eras as he does oh-so-well. “I had an epic time at Summernats…

IT WASN’T just the heat that was blazing at Hidden Valley Raceway during Gazzanats Darwin; hundreds of smoking tyres fell victim to the burnout pad as a massive line-up of 52 pro skid cars stormed the NT capital in June for two days of play. Superskids, roll racing and go-to-whoa driving events were among the delights served up by the Myers family at their annual bash, but the main event was, as always, the burnout competition. It was my first time heading to a Gazzanats event, but having spent years photographing Jake Myers obliterating tyres in the family’s famous ’66 Mustang, S1CKO, I knew it was going to be a wild couple of days. Once gates swung open on the Friday morning, I was keen to check out the top-notch…

IT SEEMS we’re in a renaissance of hot American truck builds, and this Meguiar’s MotorEx was a feast for lovers of modified American pick-ups. High among them was Adam Bickerstaff’s incredible 1956 F100, fresh from the maestros at Viking Hotrods in Bomaderry, NSW. Greg Hammond and the Viking crew have turned out quite a few killer trucks in recent years, and Adam got in touch with them as he started homing in on the perfect blank canvas. While most second-gen F-trucks feature sloped A-pillars, the more upright look of the final-year ’56 tickled his pickle just right. “I searched for months with no luck,” Adam says. “I almost settled on a ’55, but one of the guys at Viking was like, ‘Mate, if you’re gonna build this truck, make sure…

THERE are some crazy people out there. Take Martin Micallef, for instance: he decided to tackle the seemingly impossible task of transforming this XB GS from a run-down wreck that’d give you tetanus at 10 metres into a terrific Tango Orange trophy-hauler, all in less than a year. The truly mad part is that, armed with the right combo of cohorts, he achieved it! Martin stumbled upon the Falcon while cruising through eBay one day in 2011. It was in ratty condition to say the least, and although the tags said it was a factory Tango Orange car, it had been repainted black with the usual GT silver accents. “It was very sad,” Martin says. “It wasn’t running, the tyres were flat, and the interior was all black velour that…

FOR over a decade, Mother Mopar has owned the latemodel V8 horsepower war with its Hellcat and Demon blown Hemis, but Chevrolet has just laid a king-hit on Team Dodge with the release of its C8 Corvette ZR1. That’s because the new LT7 V8 that powers the 2025 ’Vette is the most powerful production engine ever produced in America. Boasting 1064hp at 7000rpm and 828lb-ft of torque at 6000rpm, the 5.5-litre, DOHC LT7 is boosted by two turbos, making the C8 ZR1 the first-ever factory-turbocharged Corvette. To put the new donk’s performance into perspective, it not only produces more power than the 2023 Dodge Demon 170, but also bests hypercars like the Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918, Mercedes-AMG ONE and McLaren Speedtail! While it shares the familiar Chevy small-block (and LS…

STEVE GUS XE FAIRMONT “MY FACTORY V8 XE Fairmont Ghia has been in the build for five years so far. I’ve only ever driven it 20 metres to move it from the transporter to the garage, where I immediately started pulling it apart. This is truly a backyard build and has been a huge learning curve for me at every stage. My aim is simply to turn it into a nice streeter, and so far, I’ve done all the restoration work myself except for engine machining, seat trimming and blasting the body. The driveline will be a 351 Clevo, BorgWarner T5 ’box and Borgy LSD from an EF Falcon.” MATT GARNER HX HOLDEN UTE “MY 1977 HX Holden ute has been a work-in-progress over the five years I’ve owned it,…

Email your favourite funnies to gday@streetmachine.com.au. > GAG OF THE MONTH DUCK TALE A DUCK walks into a pub and orders a pint of beer and a ham sandwich. The barman is incredulous and says, “But you’re a duck! And you can talk!” “I see your eyes and ears are working,” replies the duck, rolling his eyes. “Now, if you don’t mind, can I have my beer and sandwich please?” “Certainly, sorry about that,” says the barman, and pours the duck’s pint. “It’s just we don’t get many ducks in this pub. What are you doing around this way?” “I’m working on the building site across the road,” the duck explains. “I’m a plasterer.” The flabbergasted barman has a million questions, but he can tell that the duck just wants…

CHRIS Pearson has adored the shape of Holden’s HQ ute since he was a young whippersnapper, so when he was looking to build a big, bad street bruiser, there was only ever one model that would fit the bill. “I had one with a small-block when I was a kid but sadly sold it before I could make it what I wanted,” Chris says. “This car is the realisation of the dream I had back then.” He found this gem of a ute locally, with just its second owner. “It was a 253 car in poo brown, and the original idea was just to stick the big motor in it and have it as-is,” he says. There was only one issue with that plan. As the owner of Corporate Autobody,…

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FOR years, my mates Stewart and Ross Perry and I have dreamed about getting our classic Aussie muscle cars together and making a pilgrimage from Melbourne to Bathurst, NSW, home of the iconic Mount Panorama race circuit that cemented these cars in Australian folklore in the 1970s. Happily, in October 2023, the Bathurst Light Car Club’s Speed Weekend presented us with the perfect opportunity to make that dream a reality. Each year, the BLCC’s Speed Weekend offers regular punters the opportunity to race on the famous track, perfectly encapsulating the spirit of true ‘roadcar’-style 70s touring cars. This suited our street cars and racing budgets perfectly, and it was refreshingly cheap to enter, too! I’ve known brothers Stewart and Ross since high school. Like me, they’ve each got a few…

I DON’T mind telling you that there’s a real sense of occasion when you lower yourself into the driver’s seat of an 11,000hp Nitro Funny Car – even if it happens to be parked on stands in a workshop with no cylinder heads on it at the time. “These cars don’t make a lot of sense,” observes funny car pilot and Rocket Industries CEO, Morice McMillin. “You’re never at ease when you strap in; you’re never comfortable. The second you lose absolute respect for these cars, they’ll try and hurt you, and that’s why we love them.” I’m at the Aeroflow Nitro Funny Car HQ in Western Sydney to meet the team and get acquainted with these beasts. It’s a Tuesday night ahead of the final round of the championship…

I FIRST spied Michael Moug’s weatherbeaten XL Falcon at the end of a very long queue for Skid Row at Motorvation 38. “What’s this old shitbox doing in the line?” I thought to myself with a chuckle. “The guy must be lost.” The car’s ground-hugging stance looked cool, but otherwise it seemed like a stocker that had seen much better days. However, as I got closer, I spotted eight throttlebodies in the open engine bay, and with a few more steps, I noticed they were bolted to an LS1. It really hit me that something cool was going on when I saw that the boot housed not just the compressor set-up for the airbags, but the airbags themselves. Michael had clearly spent a bunch of time and money doing some…

To have your product featured here, call Kim Simonsen on 0439 422 285 or email kim.simonsen@streetmachine.com.au. 01 BLOCK PARTY EAGLE Auto Parts now offers the Mopar Performance 392ci Hemi crate long block, capable of 485hp and 475lb-ft of torque. With a 103.9mm bore and 94.6mm stroke, the cast-iron block features four-bolt powdered-metal caps, and comes with a forged steel crank, powdered-metal conrods, hypereutectic aluminium pistons, a nodular-iron camshaft and aluminium Hemi heads. To grab one for your Mopar, call Eagle Auto Parts on (03) 8710 3000 or visit eagleautoparts.com.au. 02 SPRING INTO ACTION IN SEARCH of a valve spring upgrade for your LS mill? Look no further than the PAC Racing Hot Rod Series dual valve spring kit, available now from Performance Wholesale. The kit comes with all the components you’ll need…

WE HAVE IGNITION BILL is very tight-lipped when it comes to the ignition coils used on this Ford small-block. “Let’s just say that they’re NASCAR-style coils that were very hard to come by,” he laughs. “Good luck to anyone who tries to track a set down!” THIS is the second small-block Ford that Bill Kaglatzis of BK Race Engines has built for this customer – the previous one was mercilessly beaten on for 20 years and counting! “I built him a 630hp Clevo that did everything: the Snowy Mountains 1000, no-prep stuff at Coota, drag racing, circuit stuff – you name it, he’s done it!” says Bill. “It lasted him 20 years and was still going strong. He ended up selling it for more than I charged him to build…

FASHIONED after Thunder Road and other moonshine-running flicks of the 1950s and 60s, 1996’s Moonshine Highway is a more modern take on the ‘drivers versus feds’ theme of those earlier films. In 1957, decorated WWII veteran, hotshot driver and serial cigarette-bummer Jed Muldoon (Kyle MacLachlan) carts moonshine in his hotted-up Lincoln tanker from his pappy’s (Leslie Carlson) mountain property by dawn, and canoodles with local hottie Ethel (Maria del Mar) by night. Unfortunately, Ethel is the estranged wife of the crooked Sheriff Miller (Randy “shitter’s full” Quaid), who is struggling to take their break-up with any grace. With his palm regularly greased by other local moonshiners to have him look the other way, Sheriff Miller is hellbent on nailing Muldoon alone for the crimes. However, pressure from a visiting federal…

WITH A ProCharged Fox-body Mustang racer, street-driven twin-turbo TD Cortina, and now a nitrous-huffing, 427-cube XY Falcon 500 on his hot-car résumé, it’s pretty clear that Craige Lewis has a type. No matter the number of doors or nation of origin, his retro Fords pack megatough drivelines with a smooth finish and killer stance. THE CAR WAS MINT – A FULL DAY OF WORK WOULD’VE COVERED THE RUST With the ’Stang and Corty in hibernation, Craige had an uncompromising vision for a cool streeter, and his existing Falcon didn’t fit the bill. “I had a freshly built Phase II replica in Surfer Orange, with a wind-back sunroof and everything,” he says. “I did a wedding in Sydney and drove it around for three hours with the Top Loader. I got…

THERE aren’t many car builds that go exactly to plan, but Western Australia’s Mitchell Rando could have been forgiven for thinking his EH Holden just didn’t want to be brought back to life. Just about everything on the car had to be done twice – not because of shoddy workmanship, but rather just plain bad luck. It’s not like Mitchell doesn’t know what he’s doing. This is his second car to be featured in Street Machine in the past 12 months; his stunning pro touring ’69 Camaro appeared in our October ’23 issue after being crowned Motorvation 37 Grand Champion earlier that year. He almost made it back-to-back Grand Champ wins, too, with his EH making the final three at Motorvation 38 before being pipped by the late Nigel Warr’s…

BUILDING bulk horsepower into our rides has never been easier thanks to modern turbo and blower combos. But don’t think for a second that there aren’t still legends like Steve Carkeet out there crafting traditional Aussie street machines that are harder than a stolen blood diamond. If you want proof, check out Steve’s latest build, this super-clean HG ute, which runs eights with a carb-fed small-block Chev. It might be a looker now, but the ute wasn’t always quite so glamorous. In fact, Steve describes it as a “paddock-basher and absolute rubbish” when he bought off Gumtree back in 2011. “This one popped up at the right time, so I grabbed it, even though it was rough as guts,” he says. “I put a tough driveline in it, but that…

WHEN Matt Turner told us he found his VG Valiant Pacer in the longdefunct Trading Post paper, we realised this 440-powered, streetand-strip toughie has not been a short-term mission. “As a kid, my parents had Valiants, and I bought this as a 16-year-old with the big-block in it,” the now 44-year-old says. “A mate of mine found it, and it was a rust-free body, so it was a very good base.” Matt couldn’t drive the 440-swapped car while on his Ps, so he bought a Charger to cruise around in while the Pacer went for paint and mini-tubs with eventual two-time Red CentreNATS Grand Champion Brent Murray (SM, Mar ’16). That was back in 2000, and work, home ownership and general life duties put the Pacer on the back-burner not…

OVER the past four decades, Wendy Cockroft has navigated the rigours of kiddos and work, but she’s never lost ownership of her beloved ’73 HQ GTS Monaro. The Munro has been a foundational rock throughout Wendy’s life, and it’s now been given a glow-up to continue the inseparable pair’s journey. It’s impressive that you still own this Monaro after all these years! Yep, I’ve owned my HQ for 39 years; she’s my baby and I love her – she’s part of me! I bought her in June 1985 for $2500, which included 12 months’ rego. And the mechanic who did the HQ’s roadworthy at the Holden dealership back then is now my husband, Steve, although we only realised that after we got together in 2005! Did you do any mods…

IF YOU’RE familiar with Sydney’s streetcar scene, you’ve probably heard of Louis Younis. He’s well known for the string of tough Toranas he’s prowled the suburbs in over the years, and his latest creation, an LX sedan, continues that lineage. With its 700hp Dart small-block and 235 rubber, this Torry is Louis’s version of a simple street car, and he certainly tested those credentials when he subjected it to the week-long, 1600km drag-and-drive road trip of Drag Challenge 2023. “It only had around 100km of street driving on it before the event, so we were pretty much crossing our fingers we’d make it!” Louis laughs. “I never intended to win anything; we just wanted to have fun and finish.” When Louis purchased the car from Kevin Foster in early 2021,…

WANT your pride and joy featured in the mag? Just send some photos of your car (minimum file size 2MB each) and a few details of what went into the build to readerscars@streetmachine.com.au. BRAYDEN SKERRY VZ SENATOR “I PURCHASED my 2005 VZ Senator from North Queensland in 2017; it had been sitting in a backyard unregistered, with some terrible wheels and no books. I drove it 20 hours home and got started on bringing it back to life. Incredibly, I found the original owner through some paperwork in the glovebox, and he still had the complete HSV folder and certificate the car was delivered with, so he posted it all to me. That’s how I learned it was a rare car – one of only 30 painted Glaze out of…