We all encounter roadblocks during a build, but we’d wager that few of those would be as challenging as what Gold Coast resident Graham Broome has faced. Multiple Sclerosis was making it difficult for him to finish his LS-swapped HR Holden build, so the car community rallied to help him get it over the line.

First published in the September 2026 issue of Street Machine

“I remember I hadn’t even met John Bonanno before, and when he walked in and saw me prepping to do a layer of primer, he instantly agreed to help and do the paint,” Graham recalls. “Even when I was in better shape, all I could really do was paint and panel, so to have everyone else band together to get the car done for me, I really can’t thank them enough.”

Graham has had a few classic Holdens in his time, including an LJ GTR Torana as a young fella, and a VL Turbo. As for the HR, it was given to him by his former father-in-law 20 years ago. “It’d been used to get to the mines near Muswellbrook, NSW, and with all the bore water around, it rusted the car pretty badly,” he says. 

As part of the resto, all the door skins, floorpans, transmission tunnel, boot floor, dog legs, bonnet and bootlid skins were all binned and replaced. John Meyers took care of all that repair and the panelwork, before John and Kynan Bonanno from Ultimate Vehicle Refinishers got stuck into giving the HR a respray in its original Grecian White over Finisterre Green.

“The colour is tweaked slightly,” Graham says. “I did have a hand doing some of the spray working, including the primer and base colour.

“It’s funny; John posted online about the car, and some people cracked it, because we’d supposedly ruined it,” he continues. “Once he posted a video of me spraying the car in my mobility scooter, it shut them all up pretty quickly!”

Given Graham’s physical impediments, it was Casey Leonard of Essential Auto Electrical who took the reins to get the HR back on the road – this time with V8 power! “He was really the brains behind the build,” Graham says. “He did the LS conversion, built the pipes, and basically project-managed the whole thing.”

The LS1, GM ECU and 4L60E ’box were taken from a cheap 2003 WK Holden Statesman. “I bought it off a mate for $2500; it’d done I think 294,000km, and had been used to tow a horse float,” Graham recalls. 

The engine was kept standard, but even a stock LS1 is more than enough to haul the a lightweight HR Holden up the road. A shortened BorgWarner live-axle diff sorts getting power to the ground, and to make sure it can steer and stop to match the new shove, the car was retrofitted with HZ front disc brakes, along with rack-and-pinion steering from an LJ Torana.

“It drives really nice; it cruises well, which is what the main idea was for the build,” Graham says. “I had no interest in the old 161 six. I’d always wanted a turbo V8, but time and definitely money wasn’t on my side. Still, the LS is more than enough for a cruiser.”

Since the car’s completion at the end of a five-year build, Graham has enjoyed getting out and about in the HR, including a trip to the Cooly Rocks On festival. “That was very cool,” he enthuses. “We had three blokes in the back, so a mate got a photo of it sitting nice and pretty. It’s great for things like that; you can just get in and drive it anywhere. I have a mate who drives me around in it now, and even my wife has taken us out in it.”

We’re stoked Graham has got to use and enjoy the HR in its rejuvenated state, and wish him and his family all the best in his fight against MS. 

GRAHAM BROOME
1966 HOLDEN HR SPECIAL

THANKS
Casey Leonard at Essential Auto Electrical – the brains of the whole build; John Meyers for the panelwork; John and Kynan Bonanno at Ultimate Vehicle Refinishers; Steve Jackson at Cutting Edge Motor Trimming; Steve Leonard; Scott at Willy’s Wash ’N’ Wax; Jason at Gear Exchange Services; Robbie Holmes at A to Z Imports; my wife Lauren and my kids