Among all the amazing finished machines on display at Meguiar’s MotorEx each year, you’ll always find one or two gems still under construction that are just as worthy of your attention.

In 2024, it was Rob Fekete’s 1970 Ford F100 pre-runner that sparked our interest, and at this year’s event, we were captivated by the SsCustom Mazda 800 ute in the Mobil 1 Performance World hall.

Owned by SsCustom frontman Stacy Smyth, the little Mazda affectionately known as ‘Delilah’ is a fun side project to showcase what his business’s fabrication tools can do. “I found it on Marketplace, and being a Kiwi, I love Mazdas,” he says. “I started out by building the chassis for it, which is all completely new and different; the only things the same as the original are the body mount positions and the wheelbase.”

That body is still in as-found condition, and while she looks a bit rough, Stacy says there’s no structural rust. “I have the tub as well to match, which will go on, and I plan to leave it looking just how it is, because I’m going to drive the hell out of it,” he says.

Originally, Stacy was planning on chucking a humble 12A rotary in the ute, until the desire for something more became too great. “That wasn’t enough, so now we’re going with what’ll be a turbocharged 20B, and a TTI six-speed sequential,” he says. “The billet 20B will be built by GIPP Engines, and the main reason we’re going turbo is because it’ll be easier than trying to fit a proper set of headers!”

Stacy is still tossing up between Haltech or Link for engine management, and with the turbo the package should be good for north of 800hp.

It’s common practice at SsCustom to 3D-print parts and tools to help with mock-up for fabrication, and for this project, Stacy printed a 20B engine before getting the real deal to help mount it in the ute. “It’s a big part of what we do; it keeps stuff cheap and accessible,” he says.

After piecing the chassis together after hours, Stacy sought out Thomas Stokes at Traditional Fabrication & Engineering in Canberra for help with the project’s next stage. “I needed a hand modifying the firewall and floor to fit the engine and ’box, and I saw Tom’s work, so I got in touch to see if he’d help.”

You may recognise Thomas as one of the hosts of the BackyardBuilds YouTube channel, where you’ll find several videos documenting his part of the Mazda build.

“Stacy came to me for the sheet-metal work, and so far, I’ve made the firewall, the trans tunnel and modified the floor,” Thomas says. “The trans tunnel was a big one; I had to make an almost birdcage-looking structure, which was a challenge, but it was the only way to do it and make it fit.”

Stacy can’t speak highly enough of Thomas’s work thus far. “I can’t do the stuff he does with basic sheet metal tools, so seeing the firewall and the effort he put into the tunnel is amazing,” he says.

The ute has been under construction for three years now and is currently back down in Melbourne with Stacy for more parts fitment, after which it will head back to Thomas in Canberra. “Stacy is going to sort more of the wiring, plumbing, suspension and brakes, and then it’ll come back to me to finish the sheet-metal work,” Thomas explains.

“I’m hoping to have it done in the next 12 months,” says Stacy. “We’ll drive it, drift it, do burnouts, and maybe even drag-and-drive as well! I just want to use the hell out of it.”