There are two forces that drive the Street Machine juggernaut ever-onwards, helping us overcome adversity, exhaustion and the duties imposed by civilised society. The first force is an immutable one: deadline, so named because if you miss it, you’re dead. The second force is more of a carrot than a stick: FOMO – Fear of Missing Out. FOMO scratches away at the brain of every journalist and photographer who knows there’s a tasty event happening soon that they could conceivably attend.

And so it was FOMO that drove me and publisher Telfo to attempt to cover both Cooly Rocks On and the 56th Winternationals on the same weekend in June. Common sense would dictate that a massive nostalgia festival and a history-making celebration of drag racing – with almost 200,000 spectators between them – would be spreading ourselves too thin, but then again, common sense has never been our strong point. After all, Willowbank Raceway and the seaside border town of Coolangatta are only 133km apart – it was just too tempting to do both! You can check out our Winternationals story here, but for now, let’s dive into the world of hot rods, customs, rockabilly music and poodle skirts galore.

“Everything is allowed, and everyone’s passion is respected, regardless of what they drive,” event director Mark Duckworth said. “What’s so beautiful about the event is that everyone is welcome to come and see it. Each year, we reach out to new car clubs and work on adding more cool stuff for people to see.”

The 2023 Cooly drew record-breaking crowds, and that milestone was again smashed this year, with some 160,000 punters rocking up, cementing the event’s reputation as Australia’s largest nostalgia festival.

The action began on the Wednesday with the Pin-up Pageant and Nostalgia Markets getting underway, along with a car run to Garage 25 at the Coomera Marina.

On Thursday, the Earlybird Show ’n’ Shine saw everything from panel vans to hot rods rolling into the beachside car park. All things 50s, 60s and 70s were encouraged, with the fashions as loud and vibrant as the paintjobs on some of the slammed sleds. Among Thursday’s display were chrome-bumper Cadillacs, a handful of Toranas, and a staggered, stack-injected ’34 Ford. The afternoon’s activities included round one of the Elvis Tribute Artist competition, followed by a Moonlight Swing Dance in the evening.

The Earlybird Show ’n’ Shine grew even larger on Friday as more entrants arrived, and the Kustomville area opened for the weekend, showcasing 60s-style customisation via a collection of hand-selected cars that had been chopped, slammed, or painstakingly pinstriped and painted to exude an individual flair. The live music also ramped up on stages across the precinct and the surrounding hotels and surf clubs, including acts like Bang Bang Betty & The H-Bombs and Jake & The Cadillacs.

Saturday was all pistons and poodle skirts as punters flooded in rocking their most stylish threads. The ladies’ pinned curls and red-stained lips perfectly complemented the sea of polka-dot dresses, while the gents sported pinstriped shirts, pompadours and dancing shoes. The festivities stretched two streets back from the beach to Goodwin Park.

Here we met Craig Cameron, who has been coming to Cooly with his wife and two daughters for 10 years. This year, 16-year-old Kaitlyn was behind the wheel of the family’s Hemi-powered C10 Chevy – L-plates and all! “There’s something so cool about old cars; it just makes people smile,” Craig said. “For us, it’s really brought our family together, and we love sharing it with other people.”

The Kustomville precinct once again proved one of the most popular spots among the bustling crowd, second only to the pub. The Beatniks Car Club was back, hosting rounds of rocker cover racing for participants of all ages, along with live demonstrations showcasing the club members’ craft as they performed a roof chop on one of their hot rod builds.

As the sun set and temperatures cooled, spectators gathered along the beachfront roads for a prime view of the Saturday-night cruise. Rock ’n’ roll echoed from the Queen Elizabeth Park stage as a delightfully varied convoy of cool rides passed by for the cheering crowd to admire.

Sunday’s schedule was just as busy, with renowned Elvis tribute act Dwight Icenhower from the USA kicking off a massive line-up of live performers rockin’ out all over the precinct until late. Kustomville was again buzzing from 9am, and the show ’n’ shine opened for the final day for keen onlookers to enjoy. Meanwhile, the Shannons Hub featured a 60th-anniversary Mustang display, and the Indian Motorcycle HQ showcased a range of classic bikes. Finally, after plenty more rockin’ good times blasting from the live music stages, the curtain came down on another epic Cooly Rocks On.

If you missed this year’s go-’round, there’s always next time, which is locked in for 4-8 June 2025. Whether you’re a purist, hot rodder, racer, prefer to cruise low and slow, or simply love the music and fashion, Cooly Rocks On really does have something for everyone.

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Adam Sommerville brought both his stroker SBC-powered HJ Premier and blown HT Belmont ute to Cooly. He’s part of the Fossil Fuelers Inc car club, whose members brought 15 cars to the show.

2. Known for his signature ‘True Fire’ style of airbrushing, the late US artist Mike Lavallee did the eye-catching paint on Drue Hutchy’s slick ’51 Merc.

3. In stark contrast to the patina-clad paint on Byron Wolff’s meticulously built 1970 International, the tidy engine bay houses a 6.0L LS powerplant! The truck also rocks airbags on all corners, with a four-link out back.

4. Enzo Stagliano brought his blown 1936 Chevy pick-up all the way from Melbourne. The street rod has a set of twin 650 Holleys sitting atop a 400ci small-block Chev, backed by a TH400 gearbox and 9in rear.

5. Gary Burns’s beautiful gold HZ panel van oozes period cool, albeit with a modern finish. The look, combining bubble windows with Sandman, Statesman and GTS styling cues, is on-point, and Holden V8 power grumbles away via a pair of chrome sidepipes.

6. Deano Webb has been a regular at Cooly – and Wintersun before that – for 30 years. This year, he brought his Ford Thames van, ‘Boogie Nights’. The 70s-inspired van runs a 186 Holden motor up front, while the back resembles a gentleman’s club, replete with purple velvet trim, smoke machine, and a pole – for stability, we assume.

7. Ashleigh Randall poses in front of partner Jamie Cutrupi’s heavily chopped 1926 Studebaker in the Kustomville precinct.

8. This 766hp, turbo Barra-powered 1942 Ford ‘Jailbar’ is owned by Alister Spong, and acts as a shop truck for his business, OPM Fabrications. The ex-army truck turned rat rod rests on a custom chassis, with a HiLux front end and 9in rear.

9. One of our favourite rides was Hayden Oliver’s slammed 1959 Chevy Brookwood wagon. The longroof is powered by a 6.0L L98, with a TR6060 ’box for banging gears. A full AccuAir e-Level airbag set-up takes care of the attitude, while a Legacy Products sliding ragtop lets the sunshine in.

10. Brock Keegan worked until 4am Saturday morning to finish off his 350 Chev-powered EH wagon in time for the Cooly show ’n’ shine. Over 10 months, he installed airbags all ’round, shortened the diff, and added rack-and-pinion steering from a VL, along with a TH350 and 2600rpm stall converter.

11. George Mulder’s stunning custom 1967 Cadillac Coupe de Ville has had a 3in roof chop, the door handles shaved and the quarter windows deleted. A 429ci Caddy V8 sits behind the custom grille, surrounded by Vortex Gold paint. The airbag suspension set-up can be viewed through a window in the pearl-white boot, and a set of chrome Smoothie rims with whitewalls completes the look.

12. Vic Stojanovic’s tough 1969 HT Monaro runs a stroked 383ci small-block topped with a 6/71 blower, pumping out 730hp. With a Powerglide, 9in and tubular front end, it’s a serious bit of gear.

13. We spotted Mario Spiteri cruising the streets in his 1950 Chev cab-over. The truck is running an LS and TH400, and sits on a C30 chassis. The cab is fully custom-made, while the fenders were modified to fit the smaller wheels.