AS THE proprietor of MPW Performance, Adam Rogash is not new to building show-quality, big-power cars to tight deadlines, but his new street-and-strip Capri is next level. It also represents a change of tack from Adam’s previous projects, as he elected to build the car largely at home rather than at the shop, allowing his wife Kelly and young kids to be heavily involved.
Not only did Adam and the family choose to depart from the Commodore platform and twin-turbo LS engine combination that has served them so well over the years, they gave themselves just six months to build it. Lunatics.
“I was keen to do a Fox-body [Mustang], but the missus liked the shape of the Capri,” Adam says. “We found one in Queensland that was engineered for a big-block, so that seemed like a sign.”
The car turned out to be a bit like a Tinder date – it presented pretty well in photos online, but when Adam and Kelly laid eyes on it for real, it was barely recognisable. “It was f*cked,” says Adam, bluntly. The years had not been kind to the Capri, with dodgy rust repairs and liberal helpings of body filler among the hidden ‘gems’ awaiting the Rogashes as they began to tear the car down.
Adam, Kelly and the kids spent every spare evening and weekend tinkering on the car together – family time that Adam is grateful for. “The car was pretty bad, but it gave me the opportunity to get the kids involved with rust repairs and bodywork and teach them the process,” he recalls fondly.
This story is from the August 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 August 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
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