A Holden HG GTS Monaro that was once buried in the Tanami Desert is set to take on one of Australia’s toughest streetcar events, with Western Australian car builder Aiden Stampalia preparing the battered 1971 coupe for Street Machine Drag Challenge this October.

The Monaro, nicknamed TANAMI, was dug out of the Northern Territory in 2019 after spending years buried almost halfway up its body in the desert floor.

Aiden first came across a photo of the car on Instagram and, after doing some digging of his own, found more photos showing just how far gone the old Holden really was. When he eventually went to see it in person, the reality was even wilder.

“It was literally buried almost halfway up the car in the ground,” Aiden said.

“So, we knew the floor would have been in pretty bad shape. And yeah, it was definitely a lot of work and still is a lot of work.”

When the Monaro was brought home, it was completely stripped down and unpicked before Aiden’s mate Vaughn Galbraith took on the painstaking task of fitting an entire new floorpan and completing the metalwork needed to bring the body back to life. The dents were worked out, the rust was dealt with, and the battered body was given a second chance.

“It’s been through the rougher side of life for sure,” Aiden said. “It’s covered in bullet holes!”

Now finished in its natural rust-and-patina state, TANAMI wears its history proudly.

Under the skin, however, things are very different. The car runs a built LS3 on E85, backed by a six-point rollcage, Kirkey seats and Mickey Thompson Pro 5 wheels. The bay has been smoothed and the wiring hidden, while the original GTS trim keeps a connection to what the car once was.

After sitting for around four years while Aiden worked out what he wanted to do with it, the Monaro finally has a purpose: Drag Challenge.

From Tuesday 27 October to Saturday 31 October, Street Machine Drag Challenge will see some of Australia’s toughest street cars take on five days of racing and road driving, starting and finishing at the revamped Victorian Motorsports Park in Central Victoria.

Competitors will race at multiple tracks across the week before driving their cars back to VMP, with no tow vehicles or support crews. Making it to the finish is just as important as outright pace.

Aiden tackled last year’s event in his HQ streetcar with his dad and brother, ticking off a bucket-list item and reigniting an old love for drag racing.

“It was the best thing I’ve ever done in a car,” he said.

“I had a nine-second Commodore when I was younger, probably about 12 or 13 years ago,” he said. “And when Drag Challenge became a thing, I always wanted to do Drag Challenge. It was one of my bucket list things.”

For Aiden, the appeal goes well beyond the racing itself.

“There’s nothing else like it really, as far as cars and motorsport go in Australia,” he said. “It’s the adventure side of things and the challenge. I think Drag Challenge, from a car builder’s perspective, showcases the skill of being able to build a car that can stand the test of making it to the end.”

That test will be particularly interesting with TANAMI.

The LS3 has been assembled from parts Aiden, and his mates had sitting around, including an engine block that came out of a mate’s scrap bin. He’s aiming for a nine-second pass in the naturally aspirated 235 class this year, with plans for a bigger combination down the track.

It’s familiar territory for the Summernats regular, who has built plenty of cars over the years, including his well-known WRECKAGE LX Torana.

This time, though, the goal is to turn a car that once sat abandoned in the desert into a genuine street-and-strip weapon. And Aiden won’t be doing it alone.

His partner Elissa and daughter Elouise will be along for the trip as his pit crew, joined by his dad and his brother, who will also be racing the HQ. This wouldn’t happen without good mates like Tomo, who has donated a stack of new parts to get TANAMI this far.

“You can’t do something like this on your own, that’s for sure,” Aiden said.

“You have to have good people behind you.”

Aiden only really got stuck into the build recently, after finishing customer cars to fund his own project.

“I only really got into the build last week because I needed to finish the customer’s cars to be able to afford to build my own car,” he said.

“So yeah, now is the big thrash for Drag Challenge and we’ve got a lot on our plate.”

For anyone considering heading out to watch, Aiden reckons the racing is only part of what makes Drag Challenge special.

“If you’re just seeing Drag Challenge at one racetrack, that’s only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

“It’s the people you meet along the way, the memories you make pulling up at pubs with some of the fastest street cars in Australia, the scenery that you see along the way and the memories that you create.”

“There’s no other motorsport event in Australia that you can make the memories like you do with Drag Challenge.”

For TANAMI, it’s the next chapter in a story that started buried in the desert.

Now the old HG GTS is heading across the country to see whether a car that survived the Tanami can survive Drag Challenge.