Bill Taylor

AS HEAD honcho of the Brisbane-based Asphalt Demons car club, it’s a given that Bill Taylor should have a history (and a shed) filled with tough cars. After many years spent tinkering away on all manner of cool rides with his late father Dennis, Bill continues the tradition, building and maintaining the family fleet with son Ashley. Whether it be Ford, Mopar, Chev or even Morris, Bill sets his sights on respecting a particular era and building cars to suit.

01: AT 17, Bill’s first daily driver was an HQ sedan with a hot red motor. “I lost my licence, so I figured I’d spend that time dropping in a worked 307 Chev; you know, the old: ‘I can’t drive for a year because of speeding so let’s make it quicker’ thought process,” Bill laughs. “Years later I went to a car show in Nambour and saw a chopped Chev and thought it would make a cool daily, but early-50s Chevs and Fords were too dear. Instead I found this ’54 DeSoto for two grand and drove it home. Over the years I lowered it, frenched the headlights, gave it a two-door conversion and a cranky 383 big-block, fitted new taillights and chopped it six inches in the front and nine at the rear. Dad and I sat a Mercury Hot Wheels car on a ladder in our line of sight and used that to get the proportions right! I eventually fitted a stock 318 and air-bagged the rear, and that’s when the car was at its best; it was easy to drive and so much fun. In 2015, after 17 years of ownership, I sold it to a guy in Victoria.”