RAFAEL STAR
1965 FORD MUSTANG

“I bought my Mustang in 2023 from country NSW. It’s my dream car; I’ve wanted one since I was a kid. It was actually built for export and delivered to Gatton in rural Queensland in 1965, so it’s factory right-hand drive and has been in Australia its whole life, which I think is pretty cool.

“A lot of the work had already been completed before I bought it, but there was some mechanical work that still needed to be done. The brakes needed attention, so the master cylinder and brake booster were both reconditioned. The carburettor was retuned, the electrical wiring was tidied up, and a new air filter, radiator, ignition module and starter motor were also installed.

“I’m the fifth owner of the car; I’ve managed to speak to every previous owner except the first, and from my research, it appears the second owner did most of the modifications and was responsible for the paintwork. Currently it runs a 302 Windsor, 2.5in exhaust, C4 auto, a 9in in the rear, and rack-and-pinion steering up front. It sits on 17in rims all ’round. Down the track, I’d love to stroke the engine to a 347, create a mean and lumpy-sounding exhaust, add a Shelby bonnet scoop and GT fog lights, and repaint the car red with white stripes.

“I bought the Mustang to be a daily driver, so I use it for everything from going to work, to doing the grocery shopping, to heading to the beach to go surfing. I’m a filmmaker, so the Mustang was showcased in my feature film Manhunt, a mystery/thriller partly inspired by the classic film Bullitt.”

DENNIS WHITING
XY FALCON

“Here is my 1971 XY Falcon 500 that I found in a barn in Shepparton in 2017. It was a non-matching, six-cylinder car in Yellow Ochre, with plenty of rust that I spent countless hours cutting out and repairing, completing that restoration in 2022.

“I did around 80 per cent of the work myself with some help from my brothers, but I outsourced the auto electrics and the custom-mix paintjob, which is a Midnight or Rothmans Blue with a coarse metallic through it.

“The car now runs a 363ci Windsor, built around a 347 Dart block filled with a Scat crank and rods, JE pistons and a hydraulic-roller cam.

“It uses Dart Pro 1 heads and a Weiand 174 blower and intake, fed by an APD carby. Behind the engine is a Tremec TKO600 five-speed manual, a Geelong Differentials Truetrac 9in, and CalTracs bars.

“It has a rack-and-pinion conversion up front, and runs disc brakes all ’round.”

KRISTIAN DOWTHWAITE
VH COMMODORE SS

“I bought my genuine VH SS in June 2020 off a guy in Silvan, Victoria. He had driven to Queensland in 2012 with a trailer to buy it, and on the way back to Victoria, his tow car started to overheat.

“So, he decided to take the VH off the trailer and use that to tow the trailer and tow car, but not far down the highway, the VH got the wobbles and jack-knifed with the trailer, destroying the car.

“He’d held on to the car for eight years with plans to rebuild it, which never eventuated, so I’ve spent the past five years restoring it.

“It has had a bare-metal rotisserie rebuild, and being a panel beater by trade, I have done the strip-down, assembly, and panel and paint myself. Along with the damage, I found quite a lot of rust, which I rectified using NOS rear quarters and a NOS beaver panel.

“It’s had the sills, parcel shelf, left wheel tub and more all replaced, and it was finally finished in November 2025.”

AARON BARNES
WB HOLDEN UTE

“I undertook an eight-year resto on my 1982 WB ute, which I documented on YouTube, and now it’s finished, I don’t know what to do with myself!

“It is running a Tony Knight-built 355 Holden stroker making 459hp, backed by a Paul Rogers-built TH350. Inside, I’ve done a few modifications including an LCD screen, an LED-lit Bang Shifter, and aftermarket GTS gauge mounts from Unicq Parts.

“The paint colour is Anthrazitbrau. You can see the full build series on my YouTube channel, Barnesy’s Builds.”

JAIDYN McINTOSH
VT COMMODORE

“This is the second time I’ve built my 1998 VT Commodore, as I just wasn’t happy with it the first time around. This time I’ve taken the car back to a bare roller and rebuilt it from the ground up.

“It features a fully shaved engine bay with a complete wire tuck, and the cammed LS1 is controlled by a Haltech Rebel LS ECU paired with an iC-7 digital dash. The underside has been fully Raptor-lined for durability and a clean finish, while the interior was given a full custom retrim in red and black suede.

“The car was built with attention to detail from front to back, with my dad, best mates and heaps of other great blokes helping me along the way. Next step will be a 6/71 blower out of the bonnet!”

BENJAMIN HANLEY
VN BERLINA

“This is my 1991 VN Berlina. I bought it as a rolling shell that had seen better days; it was pretty rough. I told myself I’d build it over the next 12 months, so I managed to get a cheap LS1 and matching transmission.

“First, I stripped the engine down and put a full VCM 710 cam package in it. The gearbox got a 3500rpm stally, and we fitted the whole lot using a Rod Shop conversion kit. It has a 3in exhaust from Advance Headers.

“My best mates and I did all the work over a few cartons and pizza nights in just three months. It now makes 380rwhp, and is a great summer cruiser with the kids.

“The build was countless hours and nothing but headaches, but it was well worth it in the end.”

Want your pride and joy featured in the mag? Just send some photos of your car (minimum file size 2MB each) and a few details of what went into the build to readerscars@streetmachine.com.au