As anyone who’s read more than a few Street Machine mags would know, there’s been some ripper HK Monaros built over the years. But it’s interesting to watch trends change when it comes to colour schemes. Warwick Yellow was the hero colour chosen for all the HK ads back in the day, but nowadays Silver Mink paint with Goya Red trim has become de rigueur for a tough HK Monaro build. Just ask South Australia’s Andrew Middleton; while his stunning HK is now resplendent in custom gold, it was wearing Silver Mink when he picked it up as a tidy streeter more than a decade ago.

First published in the June 2026 issue of Street Machine

“Eleven years ago, my heart was set on buying a ’68-’69 Camaro, but on the way to inspect a car, I noticed a ’68 HK Monaro parked on the street in our local area,” says Andrew. “The owner happened to be my hairdresser, and within 30 seconds I told him the car was sold. It was Silver Mink and full 90s-spec with Simmons wheels, grey velour-style trim, and an injected 5.0-litre Commodore driveline.

Once the Monaro was in Andrew’s safekeeping, the injected mill and overdrive transmission were the first things to go. “Since then, the car has had extensive work completed to bring it to its current form,” he says. After trialling an era-correct, HK-spec 307ci small-block Chev in the engine bay and Goya Red trim in the cabin, Andrew wanted some more spice on his chicken, so he upgraded to a stout, big-inch small-block.

“Within a year, we had a 434-cube small-block built, starting with a World Products Motown block filled with all the fruit,” he says. “We were given some Dart Pro 1 Race 20-degree heads and an intake, which finished the combination off nicely. With a hydraulic-roller cam, it was making good power.”

Dave Lee Race Engines filled the Motown block with SRP pistons and Manley crank and rods, with Trend 3/8in pushrods, PAC springs and Manley valves also getting the nod. A Melling oil pump and Moroso sump were also added to keep the spicy mouse motor alive.

After a few years on the road, Andrew decided to pull the 434 to give it a birthday, and the snowball started rolling. What began with smoothing the HK’s engine bay led to plans to mini-tub the car and install chassis connectors. Soon, the Monaro had been stripped, dipped and blasted to reveal all the secrets under the skin.

“While the engine was being re-honed and the bearings replaced, I talked to Dave Lee about running a twin-carby manifold,” Andrew says. “After researching, I contacted Jake Bain from Bain Racing and purchased a custom-length, sheet-metal tunnel ram. I sent a spare block and the AFR heads off to him to begin manufacturing the intake, which is an absolute work of art. We are now running twin 750cfm APD centre-squirter billet carburettors, a set of 245 AFR heads, a custom Howards solid-roller cam, and BAM lifters.”

While the engine was being worked up, Mitch at MJM Fabtech added chassis connectors and mini-tubs, and also slicked out the engine bay and installed the Rod-Tech independent front suspension. Mitch modified it to get the towering Chev V8 sitting as low as possible so that the twin carbs could be tucked under a four-inch reverse-cowl bonnet, thereby escaping the wrath of the South Australian Highway Patrol.

Once he’d made ample real estate down the back, Mitch set up a split mono-leaf and CalTracs system from Gazzard Brothers, with adjustable Koni shocks to control the oscillation of the springs. He then used a bare engine to make symmetrical headers and a full three-inch twin stainless exhaust system to evacuate the exploded dinosaurs.

“Once Mitch had completed the modifications, the next stop was to send the car off to have body and paint done, with only one decision to make: do I stay with Silver Mink or change the colour completely?” says Andrew. “It went off to Elite Street Cars in Adelaide to have Pep Minutolo and his team apply their craft, meticulously reworking the car.”

The lads placed the HK on a rotisserie and spent countless painstaking hours on the undercarriage, removing all the unnecessary holes and brackets, along with any damage the car had sustained over its nearly 60 years of life.

“I discussed my vision with Pep and he agreed I should change the colour. Gold was the winner, and Pep sprayed out some of my old panels to see if it was the way forward for me. After a few attempts, we arrived on the custom gold we were both happy with; it blew my mind and exceeded all of my expectations.”

Frank Intini Race Engineering put the fresh 434 on the dyno, and after some tweaking of the jets and metering blocks, it made 700hp at the flywheel on 98 premium unleaded. It was time for it to go back to Dave Lee’s workshop to be reunited with the HK’s freshly painted body.

“I can’t emphasise how meticulous Dave Lee is when it comes to assembling a car; ‘magic’ is an understatement of what this guy can do,” enthuses Andrew. “Dave has come up with ideas to improve the build, and cosmetically, he made it the best it could be.”

Andrew also shouts out Simon Pinnegar from the HKTG Garage for being a huge help during the build. “Simon was always available to supply everything I needed, from clips to screws – you name it. It was awesome to have someone of Simon’s knowledge and ability on my team.”

Andrew’s refreshed, reimagined HK took out Top Modified Coupe and Top Tough Street at the 2025 HK HT HG Nationals, along with Elite Top Five, Runner-Up in Elite Engine Bay, and Runner-Up in Elite Undercarriage & Driveline at the 2025 Fuchs Extreme Auto Expo.

But wait, there’s more! While he was building the HK, Andrew nabbed an HG Monaro as a roller, and is already well underway building it for his wife to drive. Watch this space!

ANDREW MIDDLETON
1968 HOLDEN HK MONARO

THANKS
Dave Lee at Dave Lee Race Engines; Pep Minutolo at Elite Street Cars; Mitch Maclean at MJM Fabtech; Vicki Aforozis for the upholstery; Simon Pinnegar at HKTG Garage; Nick at Classic & Muscle Restorations; Matt at Pure Refinishers; my friends and family for their support.