AUSTRALIA’S pro-touring scene is really building momentum at the moment, with an ever-increasing amount of aftermarket support and the world’s premier pro-touring event, the Optima Search for the Ultimate Street Car, returning to our shores in 2021.
With that in mind, we thought it appropriate to chat with one of the pioneers of Australian pro-touring, Mark Sanders. Mark’s aluminium P76 V8-powered LH Torana (SM, Apr/May ’91) and stunning big-block HK Monaro (SM, Oct/Nov ’94) were both landmark builds back in the early 1990s and well ahead of their time – and he’s still tinkering today.
How did the car bug bite you?
Although Dad wasn’t into cars, he took me to a few Touring Car races. When I saw Brock’s dominant Bathurst ’79 performance – he won by six laps and broke the lap record on the last lap – I was hooked. I’ve been into Holdens and going fast ever since. Ian Hazel lived a block away and his PREM70 HG wagon left a lasting impression – so subtle, yet so detailed, so well finished. A lot of the Monaro was inspired by PREM70. Later, I met Colin Townsend when I concreted his garage. He taught me a lot and taught me to learn a lot. Colin was part of a group building mega-fast cars that were registrable in South Australia, which was not easy. Many never got finished; mostly just Colin’s FJ, LEGAL8 (the EH I built for Neville Philips) and my Torana.
So it’s all Colin’s fault?
Ha! He’s a clever man who had a lot to do with the original Torana build and me starting my business, RPM. For me, it was all about the engineering – how it worked rather than how it looked. Howard Astill and Ron Barclay changed that. Howard led me down the path of show cars, trophies, marketing and sponsorship.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2020-Ausgabe von Street Machine Magazine.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2020-Ausgabe von Street Machine Magazine.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
ARBY’S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE HIS VG VALIANT’S 60-FOOT TIMES YIELD PROMISING RESULTS IN THE RUN-UP TO STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE
ANIKA HODGES
THE CAR DROVE INTO OUR SHED AS A CREAM 202CI VC AND DROVE OUT AS A SILVER CAR WITH A 355 V8
STAGE FRIGHT
IT TOOK OWEN SCOTT MORE THAN 20 YEARS TO BUILD A TROPHY-WINING, 600HP EH HOLDEN UTE THAT WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME
THE Ummmal SUSPECT
FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT MINI-TRUCKS. THIS SUMMERNATS TOP 60 HILUX IS A PROPER STREET MACHINE
FULLY UTILISED
HARDWOOD ROD & CUSTOM TURNS DARREN ISON'S HAND-ME-DOWN HT INTO A SMOOTH OPERATOR
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
ARBY’S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE HIS VG VALIANT’S 60-FOOT TIMES YIELD PROMISING RESULTS IN THE RUN-UP TO STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE
PEOPLE POWER
WE TAKE A LOOK BACK AT 36 YEARS OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS - AND MOST DEMOCRATICALLY AWARDED - HONOUR IN OUR SPORT: STREET MACHINE OF THE YEAR
OUT-AND-OUT MAYHEM
STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE IS ALREADY A ROLLICKING GOOD TIME, BUT WHAT CAR EVENT CAN'T BE MADE EVEN BETTER BY ADDING A BURNOUT COMP? INTRODUCING OUR INAUGURAL RODS OUT!
BAD TO THE BONE
THANKS TO HIS SON, ANDY, THE LATE MARIO COLALILLO’S 39 PLYMOUTH COUPE IS BACK ON THE ROAD AND STILL ONE OF THE BADDEST HOT RODS IN THE COUNTRY
THE CHALLENGE IS REAL
FROM TRACK DRAMAS TO SOARING TEMPERATURES, DRAG CHALLENGE 2024 THREW US SOME OF ITS TOUGHEST TESTS YET, BUT IT ALSO BROUGHT SOME OF THE QUICKEST TIMES THE EVENT HAS EVER SEEN
