THE CONCEPT WAS REALLY QUITE SIMPLE: IT'S NOT A GT OR A TRIBUTE, OR A PURIST'S RESTO - IT'S JUST MY VISION OF A TOUGH STREETER
FOR Simon Pickrell, a childhood trip to Exhibition Park in Canberra cemented his passion for tough, top-quality Blue Ovals. "I first went to Summernats 25 years ago," the 46-year-old recounts. "I'd always had a love for cars growing up and a soft spot for Fords, but when I got to the 'Nats for the first time, that's when the bug really hit. Ever since then, I've wanted to build an Elite-level street car that I could take."
But as many of us have learned, life has a habit of getting in the way, and it would be another couple of decades before Simon could realise his dream. "This build has been a 25-year itch that I've only just scratched!" he laughs. "The concept was really quite simple; it's not a GT or a tribute, or a purist's resto - it's just my vision of a tough streeter."
The build kicked off in early 2020 with Simon scouring the nation for an ideal canvas. "I spent about six months and endless kilometres searching and inspecting cars to no avail, until I found this XW listed on Marketplace," he says. "I flew into Sydney and hired a car, drove to a small town just outside of Camden and met a guy named Gino. He was a super-nice bloke and had a couple of interesting-looking cars lying around, and more parts in his shed than you could possibly imagine." The XW in question was in reasonable shape, with a non-running 351 Cleveland in the engine bay. "After a bit of negotiating, we struck a deal and I was back on a plane on my way home and sending a truck to pick it up."
Once the car had landed in his garage on the Gold Coast, Simon got stuck into stripping the Fairmont before having it blasted and primed. It was then hitched to a dolly and handed over to Yatala's Rust Rat Kustoms for the full treatment.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2022 من Street Machine Australia.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2022 من Street Machine Australia.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
ROYAL CARRIAGE
BENNY ROYAL TOOK A FAMILY HEIRLOOM TOYOTA CORONA, SHOVED A 1JZ IN IT AND HEADED OFF FOR FIVE DAYS OF DRAG-AND-DRIVE
DEBUT TOUR
WITH A SCREAMING HOLDEN SIX, DEAN TROUNSON'S HOME-COOKED HR STEERS WITH THE BEST OF 'EM
FULLY FRANKED
A SNEAKY 670 HORSES OF FRANK MARCHESE POWER MAKES ROB GORGIEVSKI'S CONCOURS XW A PROPER TREAT
NOMADIC LIFESTYLE
DON'T BE FOOLED BY ITS DEMURE APPEARANCE THIS '57 CHEVY NOMAD IS A RAUNCHY RESTOMOD PACKING MODERN MUMBO
PERFECT 10 '!!!!
THE SYDNEY HOT ROD & CUSTOM AUTO EXPO TURNS 10
VAN WILDER
PETER MARRIOTT BUILT THIS TOUGH, 350 CHEV-POWERED HK PANEL VAN IN TRIBUTE TO THE LONG-LOST HT VAN OF HIS YOUTH
EXPRESS DELIVERY
IF YOU'VE ever been to the Bright Rod Run (and you damn well should've), odds are you've seen Joel Beatson lapping in an early Falcon.
RED HOT & BLUE
A REBORN PROGM8 SHOOTS FOR THE TITLE OF AUSTRALIA'S BEST SHOW-AND-GO COMMODORE
PEOPLE LIKE US
WHEN Michael Gonzalez isn't busy making eight-second passes in CHOCTOP, his street-driven, LSA-fed VC Commodore, or cruising one of the many other cars in his collection, he can be found managing Springmount Raceway, home to Far North Queensland's biggest horsepower hoedown, Northern Nats (see p. 48 for full feature).
DRIVING INNOVATION
EVER WISH YOU COULD HAVE A BRAND-NEW VERSION OF AN ICONIC 1970s AUSSIE MUSCLE CAR, FULL OF THE LATEST TECH? DRIVE SOUTH IS WORKING TO MAKE THAT A REALITY