AUSTRALIAN CUSTOM FORDS & CHRYSLERS

WHILE Holden was the maker of choice for many budding Australian customisers of the 1960s and early 70s, Ford and Chrysler products from the preceding decades were also popular and cheaply available once they had a few years under their belts.

BRYAN & TRACEY LITTLE - BRIBIE ISLAND, QUEENSLAND

WHEN we heard there was some unique metal rolling around this year’s Cooly Rocks On festival (see p.42 for full feature), we set out on a mission to spot Bryan and Tracey Little’s split-window Kombi and Ford Sunliner convertible amongst the thousands of assembled cars.

ON THE WAGON

OUR CARNAGE 1UZ V8 SLEEPER WAGON PROJECT IS FULL STEAM AHEAD!

QUEY TO THE CAPE

TOM CARRIERA'S MASSIVE FUNDRAISING ODYSSEY ENDED WITH A BANG!

BOWTIE BADDIE

JOSH MESSINEO BLENDED LS GRUNT, AN AP5 VALIANT AND 80s STREET MACHINE STYLING TO CREATE A 100ORWHP DRAG-AND-DRIVE WEAPON

DARK & STORMY

DRENCHED IN ACRES OF BLACK AND PUNCHING OUT NORTH OF 800HP, ROB HERRINGTON'S ALL-MOTOR XY IS A STREETER TO FEAR

DUTCH COURAGE

STEVE HOLLAND OF DUTCHY'S GARAGE BUILT A CAR THAT'S THE VERY DEFINITION OF FUN, WHETHER ON THE STREET OR THE TRACK: A 1961 MINI THAT GOES LIKE A WRX!

THE MEMORY REMAINS

MARK ATTARD'S TOUGH-AS-NAILS, 1050HP HJ HOLDEN IS THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF THE PRO STREET DREAMS OF HIS YOUTH

CHARGING INTO RETIREMENT

RUSS SCOUGALL WON'T BE SLOWING DOWN WHEN HE QUITS THE NINE-TO-FIVE; HE PLANS TO GO FASTER, CHASING EIGHTS IN THIS TWIN-TURBO V8 CL CHARGER

Modern-Day HERO

THIS PERFECTLY CONTEMPORISED TOP 60 TORANA PROVES JUST HOW GOOD A CLASSIC MUSCLE CAR CAN BE IN 2023

BEAST MODE

SIMON ANDRUS PUT TOGETHER HIS DREAM XB FALCON PRO STREETER AND UNLEASHED A 620HP BEAST

WHITE GOLD

CRAIG MCKENZIE REVIVES A LEGENDARY HR SHOW UTE WITH SOME MODERN TWISTS TO HAVE IT ONCE AGAIN CLAIM TOP TINWARE AT SUMMERNATS

CUSTOM FE-HR HOLDENS

RESEARCH for our recent deep dive into custom FX-FJ Holden history uncovered a number of very cool later-model custom Holdens built in the 1960s and 70s.

DRAG NATION

IT HAS BEEN A MASSIVE MONTH FOR AUSTRALIAN DRAG RACING!

HARD to TOP

THIS CLASSIC-LOOKING '55 CHEVY BEL AIR HIDES A WEALTH OF MODERN TOUCHES UNDER ITS TWO-TONE PAINT

ENCYCLOPAEDIA MECCANICA

STELIO BIRBAS BEGAN HIS VF VALIANT COUPE BUILD AS A TEENAGER. TWENTYFIVE YEARS AND MANY MISSED DEADLINES LATER, THE CAR IS FINALLY COMPLETE AND WORTH THE WAIT

STRAIGHT SHOOTER

LLOYD TAYLOR'S SHOWSTOPPING, ARROW-STRAIGHT HT MONARO WAS BUILT 1000 MILES AWAY FROM THE NEAREST BIG CITY

BLOWN 427CI WINDSOR V8

PROFLO PERFORMANCE, CAMPBELTOWN, NSW

THE SAFETY DANCE

ARBY PROVIDES SOME POINTERS FOR READYING YOUR RACE CAR FOR A TECH INSPECTION

NEW NATIONAL DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

THE NEWLY ANNOUNCED NATIONAL DRAG RACING CHAMPIONSHIP PROMISES A UNIFIED SPORT INCLUDING ALL GROUP ONE CATEGORIES SUCH AS TOP FUEL AND NITRO FUNNY CAR

SHAKER RUN 1985

THE DEADLIEST CARGO, THE ULTIMATE CHASE

CUSTOM FX-FJ HOLDENS Part 3

FROM the pioneering days of a young Dale Fisher customising youthful FX and FJ Holdens in the 50s and 60s to the sceneshattering legend that was Rex Webster’s FJ in the mid-80s, Holden humpy builds have evolved with the times – Kevin Baird’s elitelevel, Deluxe Rod Shop-built FX (SM, Sep ’22) is a perfect example of current trends

RON SMITH

IT'S RUNNING A 302 WINDSOR THAT I BUILT FOR IT IN THE 90S, AND IT'S BEEN SO SOLID I JUST HAVEN'T NEEDED TO CHANGE IT

BLUE Diamond

PETER LEWIS'S KAASE-POWERED, ASTILL-BUILT XC IS A TECH-PACKED AND STREET-READY MASTERPIECE

BLACK MAGIC

A PERFECT FINISH AND BLOWN LSX376 GRUNT DEFINE TIM MARTENSTYN'S ULTIMATE HK GTS

DREAM THEATRE

FANTASIES SOMETIMES COME TRUE, AS THIS NEAR-1000HP LC TORANA PROVES

THE KEEPER

SERDAR KARABULUI IS USED TO BUYING A CAR, DOING IT UP AND SELLING IT OFF. BUT THIS 855HP XY FALCON AIN'T GOING ANYWHERE

INSIDE JOB

THIS EPIC HARROPBLOWN LS-POWERED '64 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE WAS BUILT BY ONE OF STREET MACHINES LONGEST SERVING CONTRIBUTORS

TAMING THE BEAST

JOE ESPOSITO'S TWIN-TURBO BIG-BLOCK '68 CAMARO WILL SOON BE A STREETDRIVEN POWERHOUSE

BACKYARD Blitz

JASON BEHAN BUILDS YET ANOTHER SUPER-COOL VALIANT FOR RADIAL RACING AND CRUISING THIS TIME A TURBO LS-POWERED VG UTE