WHEN this HT Monaro showed up at the 2022 WA Hot Rod & Street Machine Spectacular, a lot of punters were trying to figure out which big-dollar custom shop had built it and, more importantly, who had done the arrow-straight panel and paint. Well, no big-dollar custom shop was involved, and the bloke who did the panel and paint was the same person who did 95 per cent of the other work: Lloyd Taylor.
Lloyd’s a pretty laid-back bloke, humble about his talents but more than happy to talk at length about what went into making one of the nicest HT Monaros you’ll ever lay your eyes on. Admittedly, it’s not exactly a ‘backyard build’, as Lloyd and his wife Caroline own Precision Collision in Karratha, a coastal town 1500km from Perth in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, famous for its iron ore, rust-red dirt and notso-flash roads.
That’s partly why you won’t see the Monaro cruising the streets of Karratha, but mainly it’s because the car earned a Superstars invite to this year’s Meguiar’s MotorEx in Melbourne, so Lloyd has been trying to keep it as pristine as possible but also tidying up a few things on the car he wasn’t quite happy with. If you’re still counting, it’s almost 4500km from Karratha to Melbourne.
So, how does a bloke, miles away from any other custom, high-performance or even parts shop, build a car to this level? Well, it does take time – around five years, to be precise, but even by city standards, that’s not too long. Keep in mind, too, that the build was done mainly on spare weekends in between Lloyd and Caroline running their business and bringing up two kids.
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Street Machine Australia.
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
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Street Machine Australia.
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
