And it’s this pointy-ended feature that lured in Dan and Monika Appleby while they were on the hunt for a tidy weekend cruiser. Monika was keen on a muscle car, while Dan preferred a custom, and the locally sourced, big block powered 1972 Buick Riviera coupe they found neatly ticked both boxes.
As the Rivi arrived in project form, it toured the local shops for paint, panel, airbags, diff and donk before returning home for assembly. “That’s when I discovered the limitations of my tools and abilities,” Dan shrugs.
After spying an article on Ben Erdahl and Lucky’s Speed Shop within this very magazine, Dan was amped to get the Lucky’s team on the project. A deal was struck, and with it came a complete rethink of the Buick’s direction.
“Ben had me focus on the vision, on what I wanted to achieve,” Dan says. “I started to build a tidy and mildly customized cruiser, yet deep down I wanted something more complete – a full custom with handcrafted workmanship. My vision was for a European styled American grand tourer, which meant that almost everything had to be redone.”
It might seem like an extreme measure, but you can’t obtain perfection by making compromises. “I have learnt the difference between a good enough job and a great job,” Dan says. “Virtually nothing is off-the-shelf – Lucky’s made the car, and it shows, as the attention to those details is phenomenal. Everything down to the fasteners and brackets has been hand-made or modified.”
Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av Street Machine Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av Street Machine Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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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