A STAUNCH 60s-style gasser roars to life before lurching into first to noisily idle its way to the start line, leaving a dust haze from the uncorked headers in its wake. Hundreds of eyes eagerly follow its course, hungry for the anticipated display. Quickly, the lumpy idle becomes a bellowing roar as the tyres blaze into plumes of burning rubber. Backing up over the twin blacks that’ve just been created, the driver and wide-eyed passenger prepare for the launch before slingshotting off the line.
Welcome to the reborn Chopped – ‘The Asphalt Era’! After a two-year hiatus, Chopped was back at the new venue of Maryborough Harness Racing Club in Carisbrook with its focus shifted from dirt and mud to tarmac and tyre smoke. Any entered car or bike that met the pre-’65 or invited criteria, with a helmet-wearing driver, could send it down the blacktop as many times as they liked!
“It’s so much better than the dirt drags,” organiser Ryan Ford beamed as we stood at the startline while Richard Townsend’s show-and-go 60s-style gasser roared off into the distance. Richard used the opportunity for a bit of seat time, as did the drag-spec ‘Tall 28’ Model T pick-up, which passed countless test launches.
This story is from the January 2020 edition of Street Machine Magazine.
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This story is from the January 2020 edition of Street Machine Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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
