I got my first taste of Rare Spares Rockynats 4 yesterday, spending a day checking out the rides coming through scrutineering – and scoring a sneak peek at the beauties that will be unveiled for the first time tonight.

ELDER STATESMAN

One thing I love about regional show like Red CentreNATS and Rockynats, is that they seem to bring out more survivor street machines than events in the big smoke.

Darren Bradley’s HQ Statesman is a perfect example. Built in 1997, the Stato is perfect example of a nice street car of the era, with 327 Chev power, a set V5 Simmons, a Hornet scoop and plenty of cool details throughout.

Darren and his wife brough the HQ down from Townsville, which turned into an 11 hour trip thanks to a dud coil. They’ve done plenty of miles in the car over the years, including multiple trips to Street Machine Summernats.

OLD HOLDENS NEVER DIE!

Ben Taylor’s EJ caught my eye straight away! Decked out in Mazda Soul Red, the old girl is a fresh build, packing a nitrous-assisted LS1/Turbo 700/9in combo. There’s a set of mini tubs in the back, along some Gazzard Bros goodies and a 4.11 Truetrac to help turn power into traction. Other niceties include disc brakes all ’round, electric power steering, a Haltech 2500 ECU and iC7 dash. The trim job is a ripper, with false floors and a decked-out boot. The whole build was done by Ben and his mates, bar the wiring and exterior paint. We’re looking forward to seeing the EJ strut its stuff in the street drags.

FRIGHTENING FAIRLANE

Mark’s Toyota turbo-fed 1UZ-powered Fairlane has been a regular feature on the Skid Factory channel for a while now and it has just had a birthday, with a new engine build and a set of proper extractors replacing the old log manifold. Without any other changes to the car, the result was 746 on 26psi, compared to 670 on 28psi previously. Neat! And as Mark says, the car sounds like a V8 now!

HOT SIX

We were wrapt to see Kadin Berry’s Chev in the metal! The ’46 almost burned to the ground on the way to Rockynats last year, but she is back better than ever this year and has proved something of a media sensation, with TV coverage and newspaper front-cover stories galore.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Other cars we’re pumped to see include Sam Eyles’s insane XC Falcon, HQFORU (we never get tired of drooling over that one!) and Brett Benz’s famous VL.

Today is going to be huge, starting with what is promising to be a MASSIVE street parade, burnout qualifying, dyno runs, pro wrestling, mower racing, some killer live bands and the elite unveils at 5pm. For more info, check out the Rockynats website here.