We hosted cars-and-coffee events at Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse stores all over the country in late August to celebrate our Young Street Machine of the Year competition. Cars of all makes and models were welcome, and it was a chance for their owners to enjoy a quality brew and a chat. At the Brisbane event, we bumped into Josh Soxsmith and his 1977 Trans Am, and discovered a man who’s doing his bit for the South East Queensland car community.

First published in the October 2025 issue of Street Machine

That’s a tidy Pontiac, mate! How did you come across it?

I found it on Facebook Marketplace, and it was incorrectly listed, so I got it for a bit of a steal. I was looking for a two-door V8, but Monaros have all become unobtanium. So, I was looking at Camaros, and this popped up. I wasn’t actually a fan of these, but when I saw the red-on-red interior, I was sold!

Have you done much to it?

Only a few weeks into owning it, I spun a bearing in the original engine. So, we rebuilt it; it’s now a 461-cube stroker. We haven’t dynoed it, but it should be good for around 450-500hp. It has a Turbo 400, and it’s a great cruiser I can take racing occasionally.

We did spot the drag radials!

They made a big difference in the 60-foot, for sure. I’ve done some no-prep stuff at Lakeside, which is also where I spun the bearing. They don’t do any timecards there, so I’m keen to get it out to Willowbank and have a proper run down the quarter. I’m hoping for low 12s, so we’ll see how it goes.

Do you have any other cars in the collection?

I have an HG wagon I’m building, which I’ve had since I was 17. It’s my first proper full fabrication build. It’s getting a Barra swap, with a goal of 900-1000hp and doing drag-and-drives, because there’s a few up here, and it seems like a lot of fun.

Tell us a bit about your business, Redcliffe Muscle & Kustom.

It’s a side business doing custom parts and merchandise, and it’s also the brand I run my socials, cruise nights and so on under. I’ve just finished making a bunch of Barra parts, including carbonfibre oil and water line holders, rocker cover dress-up parts, and upgraded water pumps, which have been a big hit.

You run a fair few cruise nights around Redcliffe; tell us about those.

I moved here around three years ago, and there just wasn’t much going on. I wanted to change that, so we host regular cruise nights, and we also partner with events as well. I did it for the Pontiac Nationals this year and got a nice cruise going, and our events sometimes see over 500 cars, which is great. It’s like they say: build it, and they will come.

And you have a YouTube channel as well?

Muscle and Kustom, the same as on Instagram. I’ve loved connecting with people and making some content; it shows how much life there is in the scene. Events like this one today are great, and it gave me an excuse to head in and buy some tools as well!