First published in the January 2003 issue of Street Machine

GreazeFest is a celebration of rat rods, cool customs and hot rockabilly music, held each year in the sleepy seaside town of Redcliffe, just north of Brisbane. The action takes place over three days, centring around the retro-style Fishbowl Hotel, an appropriate venue, as it has been decorated in the style of an American diner from the 50s and has a fine collection of 50s memorabilia and fashion.

Poodle skirts twirled to the sounds of a bunch of rockabilly bands brought in from interstate and overseas to give GreazeFest a great party vibe.

The centrepiece of the event is the Rat-a-Rama hot rod show where the emphasis is on the retro-cool, rather than show-standard detail, although there were plenty of sweet cars, including the King Rod, Gary Linfoot’s ’46 Ford coupe and Brian Lembruggen’s sweet ’54 Ford Victoria.

The winner of the coveted King Rat award was the chop-top 1936 Plymouth belonging to the Ashphalt Demons club, which featured a barbed wire grille and distress finish bodywork.

In-your-face primered rat rods were very popular, as were brightly-painted customs, many with pinstriping.

Flames were everywhere, on everything from a Morris wagon to a pet dog, and American iron was well represented with Caddys, Pontiacs, Buicks and Chevs aplenty. Among them were some nicely modified Australian examples, such as a selection of smoothed over early Holdens and Falcons. Not only did these babies fill the display area to the brim, but they also flowed out into the surrounding streets.

Similar to the American nostalgia scene, it was the genuine survivors from the golden age of rods and customs that drew a lot of interest. One such car was the EK wagon owned by Lindsay Wilson, which sported all of the 60s hop up gear on its 138 sideplate six, including an Aussie-made Norman Supercharger, Ivan Tighe Cam, SU carb, and Ron Dawn cast-iron headers. The 60s fad of lace paintwork adorned the exterior, while the newest parts being the Amos Mag wheels and the Impala gear shifter, both being made in 1968.

In conjunction with the car show, there was plenty to look at with a collection of 50s clothing and art vendors displaying works, plus a Lowbrow Art Show which featured hot rod art, slot machines, car part robots, 50s-style oil paintings and heaps of pinstriping. In short, just about everything a modern day greaser could hope for!