AUSTRALIA’s aftermarket performance industry has always punched above its weight and shown the world just what our little island continent is capable of. One thing that many of our local aftermarket pioneers share is that their careers grew out of their hobby; names like Bennett, Hadfield, Splatt and Cowin all honed their craft by tinkering in home sheds.
A similar grounding has seen Andrew Holdsworth forge a 40-year career as the man behind ET Performance Products, High Energy Oil Pans and Kool Wrap. We chatted to Andrew about cutting his hot-car teeth with an iconic XR Falcon sedan, and how he turned a ‘temporary’ post-uni job at a speed shop into a full-blown career.
What sparked your interest in cars?
I was your typical eight-year-old kid, racing Matchbox cars around the polished wooden floors of our house in England; I’m sure that is where my interest in cars started. We immigrated to Australia in 1967 when I was 11, and when we visited Australia House for an interview, I was eventually asked if I had any questions. I said: “How old do you have to be to get your licence?” In my early teens I used to make plastic model hot rods, including Ed Roth-type customs, which also sparked an interest in drawing cars.
The cars here must have been a lot different to what you were used to in the UK.
この記事は Street Machine Magazine の February 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Street Machine Magazine の February 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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