Horsepower-loving families in Sydney are spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting a fun weekend for Father’s Day. There’s the East Coast Nationals at WSID, the Muscle Car Masters at Eastern Creek and — somewhat more quietly — Rat Day at Taren Point.

First published in the November 2007 issue of Street Machine

The latter is hosted by stalwart rodders Nick Rees and Ray Flaherty in a small industrial complex and the neighbouring park. Despite the name, the show isn’t restricted to rusty wrecking-yard refugees. While the rats are the stars of the day and are allocated the best power parking spots, all the usual rod-run fare is welcome, and more besides. Customs and trad rods dominate, though there are plenty of street rods, muscle cars, American iron, bobbers and even Volkswagens!

The best feature of Rat Day is the selection of new and unfinished projects brought out into public view for the first time. This year’s wildest debutant was Graham Bush’s in-the-build Hemi-powered ’37 Chev. Graham’s project is nothing less than inspirational — after purchasing the car, it fell off the transporter on the way to his home in Bathurst, leaving Graham with a simple choice: abandon the project or learn some new skills, including metal forming and custom body work. The result is simply stunning and had everyone’s eyes out on stalks.

While it takes cash and a special kind of dedication to complete a project on the scale of Graham’s Chev, a few younger rodders debuted cars that prove you don’t need a mortgage to build a horn hot rod — just a willingness to learn and a lot of scavenging time.

Andrew Smith is a young mechanic and pin-striper who won Top Open Rat in his little ’27
T-Model roadster pick-up — registered and driven down from Newcastle.

“I found the chassis and the grille at the Cessnock Swap-Meet for $90,” says Andrew. “My mate’s dad gave me the cowl and the rest of the body is other people’s left-over junk.”

Andrew made his own bonnet, roof and tray and adapted a ’28 Chev tub and doors. A suicide front end has the perches raised seven inches to get it sitting nice and low, while out back there’s a four-bar and transverse spring combo. The driveline is budget-friendly too, with a 149 Holden six, four-speed and Commodore diff.

“It didn’t cost me much but the time involved is massive,” Andrew says. “The bottom line is that if you can learn to weld, you can do just about anything. I’d like to finish it as an early 60s-style show rod but I’ll probably get distracted and build something else.”

Harley Jones is even younger than Andrew — he’ll have just turned 17 by the time you read this — but he turned up with a not-quite-finished ’30 pick-up. How bitching? Well, the body has been channelled eight inches and chopped four, with the back rails stepped down 12 inches. Add a set of rear airbags and the roofline sits a mere 47¼ inches (1200mm) off the deck!

Given that Harley’s dad, Mark Jones, built FAT57 and FATGTO, you might think the young fella had the car handed to him.

“I can see how people would think that but Harley has been around this kind of thing all his life. I make the boys do as much work on their cars as possible,” says Mark. “Harley did all the welding on this car and painted it too. He’s starting an apprenticeship as a panel beater this year, so when he has some runs on the board he’ll paint it jet black.”

The car runs a commercial grille, four-bar front, and a 283/TH350/9in combo.

“If we run into trouble with him being able to drive it, we’ll drop in a Chev V6 until he can legally drive the V8. Young guys are the future of the sport so I think it’s great to be able to encourage them to build some cars and make good use of the junk lying around the shed.”

From what we heard, there should be a few more father/son/daughter projects at Rat Day next year but if you want to see them, you’ll need to get there early. The vast majority of cars arrive by 8am and the whole deal is done and dusted by lunchtime. See you there!

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Paul Falzon’s ’50 Buick won the Top Custom prize and is one hell of a sweet ride without needing many mods.

2. Darren Fogwell was keen to race his mates at WSID but was reluctant to subject his super-shiny ’68 Dodge Charger to the rigours of competition. So he bought a ’68 Plymouth Superbee as a thrash car. The beast runs a 440, with an 833 four-speed and 83⁄4in posi-track rear end.

3. Ron Zelukovic’s ’51 Ford was built in three weeks, including the 6in slanted chop. It was driven up to Rat Day from Orange.

4. Andrew Koraca’s ’59 Chev runs a neat set of Keystone mags that came with the car when he bought it. “I’m going to let it rust a little more,” he says. The car runs a 283 mill and VT discs, with a 6/71 in the shed, ready to fit.

5. The Bug is a tiny hydroplane, powered by a screaming-hot 202, complete with a trio of 45mm Webers. Built in 1968, the boat is now owned and raced by Andrew Petty, who says it’s an exciting ride. “She does about 140km/h. It’s really got too much power for its size and you sit straddling the prop shaft. I love it!” The Bug’s tow-car is cool too — a neat ’51 GMC.

6. The newest HAMBster on the block belongs to Matt Hale, powered by a Buick straight eight!

7. This nasty little ’27 roadster pick-up runs a 149 Holden six, four-speed ’box and a Commodore diff. Owner Andrew Smith drove it from Newcastle and back and took home the Top Open Rat trophy for his troubles.

8. Murray’s Studebaker is looking a whole lot lower since we featured it in the Hot Rod Annual 2006, thanks to a set of airbags. “It was just too low to drive the way it was,” says Murray. He’s been doing some miles and collecting trophies too, taking out a Top 10 spot at the Bright Rod Run, Top Wild Custom at Wintersun and King of Kustoms at John’s Picnic.

9. Justin Goddard’s HG GTS 186S Monaro was a 21st birthday present from his dad, with only 78,000 miles on the clock! “Dad bought it new as his first car.”

10. Keith Torkington ’28 tourer is the 28-year-old’s first rod and a beaut example of a budget ride, with a 302C/C4/Centura driveline. Build time was just 18 months.

11. Tim, Christine and Blossom with their ’52 Golden Anniversary Cadillac Coupe. “It’s a factory RHD car, built in Antwerp for the 1952 London Motor Show,” says Tim. Mods include door buttons, sunken aerial, tasteful scallops and a 360 Chrysler donk.

12. ‘Cuban Style’ is a ’55 Cadillac coupe that Kevin bought smashed up for $8K, sight unseen. He spent another $7.5K and had it on the road! Mods include wire rims and Neo Dutch stripes.

13. Ray Payne’s ’63 pillarless Chev looked super-sweet in factory Valley Mist Green duco and Astro Supreme rims.

14. Graham Bush’s amazing ’37 Chev coupe. Besides the blown 354 Hemi, Graham has treated the Chev to a staggering amount of metal work, as well as late-model Corvette front suspension and airbags all ’round. The grille, floor, firewall, boot, bonnet hinges, steering wheel, rear bulkhead and wheel tubs were all hand-formed.

15. ‘TIKI’ is a ’65 Buick Riviera mild custom. Slammed on airbags, the car runs its factory 425ci Nailhead V8, has had excess chrome removed and wears a coat of the heaviest metalflake you are ever likely to see splashed on the roof.

16. Harley Jones’s ’30 pick-up has a righteous stance thanks to a 4in roof chop, 8in body channel, 12in step in the rear rails and a set of rear airbags. Up front is a commercial grille and four-bar set-up; driveline is 283 Chev/TH350/9in. The rod was towed to Rat Day by Dad’s sensational 510ci ’54 Chev cab-over.