The year was 1975. The location: the small NSW country township of Griffith. Here, some 103 entrants gathered for the very first Street Machine Nationals. Hosted by the ’55-’56-’57 Chevrolet Club of Australia, this landmark event is widely considered to be the catalyst for the explosion in popularity of street machining here in Australia.

First published in the December 2025 issue of Street Machine

With 2025 marking half a century since that formative first event, a significant celebration was in order, so the organisers of the Griffith’s Biggest Lap charity event were approached about incorporating the 50th-anniversary commemoration of the Street Machine Nationals into their 2025 event. As luck would have it, they loved the idea!

And so, a select group of around 30 iconic street machines and personalities were invited to take part in the anniversary event, timed to coincide with Griffith’s Biggest Lap over the weekend of 4-5 October. Invitees took part in a massive cruise along the main street of Griffith on the Saturday night, followed by a show ’n’ shine at Solar Mad Stadium on the Sunday.

The invited cars represented a broad spectrum from across the 50-year history of street machining Down Under, and several had been entrants at the very first Nationals in 1975. These included Tony Ross and his Top Street Machine-winning FC Holden, DREAM ON; Bob Grambau’s GRUMPY EH Holden (SM, Apr-May ’82 and Oct-Nov ’87); multiple Summernats Grand Champ Peter Fitzpatrick, whose tough EH won Top Engine Bay; and Aussie street machining and hot rodding royalty Rod and Carol Hadfield, who brought their wild Lincoln lowrider (SM, Jun ’89) along for the celebrations.

Mixing it with those legends were plenty of street machining big guns from more recent years of the sport, including Mike Davison’s Summernats Top 10-placing, blown SBC-powered ’54 Chev Bel Air (SM, Yearbook ’23); theTuxedo black, eight-stack-injected LX SS hatchback of Stephen Barrie and Helen Wynants (SM, Jan ’18); Stephen Booth’s Summernats Top 60 HR Premier (SM, Oct ’12); and Stephen’s son Nathan’s 2015 SMOTY-winning, turbo RB25-powered HR ute (SM, Dec ’14).

The event was also about paying homage to the late Chic Henry’s invaluable contributions to our sport. Before creating the Street Machine Summernats in the late 80s, Chic was involved with the organising committee of the first four Street Machine Nationals and ran the fifth in 1982 as event director, and his daughter Angie was present at the anniversary celebrations with Chic’s famous black ’62 Chev.

“Without Chic’s unrelenting drive and profound passion, it’s unlikely that Australian street machining would be what it is today,” said fellow legend Peter Fitzpatrick. “We all have a lot to thank Chic for.”

For many of the attendees, the chance to catch up with old friends was just as important as the cruising and car show. New friendships were also forged, as the anniversary pulled together those who had always known of each other but had never actually met. As one participant commented, “We all might be a bit older, but the stories and laughs were better than ever.”

Now, isn’t that one of the best things about our sport?

PEER REVIEW

There was no formal judging during Sunday’s 50th Anniversary Show ’n’ Shine. Instead, five legends of the sport were each invited to make a custom trophy (below) to present to their favourite car of the show.

The trophy creators (L-R): Peter Fitzpatrick, Rod Hadfield, Tony Ross (rear), Owen Webb, and Chic Henry’s daughter Angie. Meguiar’s also supplied buckets filled with $200 worth of goodies for each legend’s runner-up pick.

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Tony Ross shows off his Top Street Machine Overall trophy from the inaugural Street Machine Nationals 50 years ago, which he won for his FC Holden, DREAM ON. After the car had passed through a few owners, including his brother, Tony finally got the FC back in 2014, and after an extensive, two-year makeover, DREAM ON was returned to its former glory (Time Machine, SM, Aug ’22).

2. The late Chic Henry’s well-known 1962 Chevy Impala (SM, Apr-May ’82) was just as big a part of his life as was his other passion, Street Machine Summernats. Now in the loving care of Chic’s daughter Angie, the Chev has been part of the Henry family for nearly five decades, and she proudly showed off the ‘Longest Distance Travelled’ trophy awarded to the then-Queensland-based Chic at the ’75 Nationals.

3. Peter Fitzpatrick’s incredible FC, TRILOGY, is a six-time Summernats Grand Champion winner and was Street Machine of the Year in 2011, among many other accolades. “I started my street machining journey at the first Street Machine Nationals in 1975, where I won Top Engine Bay in my EH,” said Fitzy. “Most of all, I’ve enjoyed meeting people in our sport over the past 50 years – and that’s the main reason why I do this”

4. Jason Sandner and his Group C-inspired LX Torana (SM, Nov ’18) were standouts on the show ’n’ shine oval. With its fat, sticky rubber, rollcage, hip-hugging buckets, AP Racing brakes, coil-overs and dry-sumped 378ci Donovan alloy Chev, the Meguiar’s Superstars and Summernats Top 10 Torry is as tough as it is detailed

5. One of the earliest blown big-block HK-HT-HG conversions, Steve Langham’s ‘G Force Junkie’, was a heavy hitter at the third Street Machine Nationals in Shepparton in 1978. Bill and Carol Stevenson have owned the HK (with HT grille) for the past 43 years – it was Bill’s first car! As well as appearing in Australian Street Rodding, it was also featured in America’s Car Craft magazine.

6. Winner of Top Street Machine Overall at the ’84 Nationals, Alex Garrard’s Premier wagon has covered over 40,000km since its completion. Other than a few paint touch-ups, plus upgraded wheels and suspension in 2001, the Balhannah Green, triple-Webered EH remains virtually unchanged.

7. No street machine anniversary of any kind would be complete without Rod and Carol Hadfield. Attendees of the first Nationals, they brought along their 1969 Lincoln lowrider (SM, Jun ’89) for the anniversary. This was one of the very first cars in Australia with hydraulic suspension, and certainly the first with remote-controlled hydraulics!

8. Angelo Salvestro’s gunmetal grey ’71 Chevelle was Tony Ross’s pick. “All ’round, it was a very neat car,” said Tony. “It had period-style wheels and a big-block. It was great talking to Angelo and his dad about how it came about. They’d gone to Melbourne to buy another car, but then spotted the Chevelle, and that was that.”

9. Peter Fitzpatrick’s choice was Shane Scott’s WILDHJ. “The car’s tough look and bright colour is what initially caught my eye,” Peter explained. “I then got talking to Shane and really liked his story and chose him for my award. His dad was an entrant at the first Nationals, and Shane was displaying the poster and signs from that event in the HJ’s back window. Thanks to his dad, Shane has been into modified cars all his life.”

10. Street machines don’t get much more left-field than Glen Bavaresco’s International truck, and it was Angie Henry’s pick, representing her legendary dad, Chic. “Dad always liked stuff that was different, so that’s why I chose it; it stopped me in my tracks,” Angie enthused. “I knew immediately that it would have done the same to Dad.”

11. Rod Hadfield’s pick was Colin Pettigrew’s orange and white FC Holden, which has been in his family for 26 years. “They’re getting a lot scarcer,” commented Rod of the FC. “What also grabbed my attention was how he looks to have put it together using readily available parts. It made the engine swap look like a factory install that would be easy to work on.”

12. David Armanini’s HR Premier was Summernats head judge Owen Webb’s choice. The past Summernats trophy winner features a 186 X2 six-cylinder, Celica five-speed gearbox, 3.08 banjo diff and a very sanitary interior. “I really liked how he’d kept the paint looking in such great shape for over 20 years,” said Owen.

13. Peter and Michelle Fitzpatrick organised for all the attendees to sign and write a short message on this 50th Anniversary promotional banner. At the conclusion of Sunday night’s dinner, they presented it to a slightly teary-eyed Angie Henry (centre).

14. Craig Helmers was involved in the Street Machine Nationals from the sixth event, as well as the early days of Summernats. Craig bought this VC HDT Brock in 1990, eventually restoring it in the 2000s.

15. Glenn Munday’s 400ci small-block Chev-powered HQ SS was in the thick of things at the very first Summernats in 1988 (Time Machine, SM, Sep ’22), and it was looking as juicy as ever at the 50th-anniversary celebrations. Glenn was a good mate of Chic Henry’s, which saw him involved in the final days of the Street Machine Nationals and the early years of Summernats.

16. Despite finishing a full makeover of his immaculate PREM67 (SM, Apr-May ’82) in 2012 (SM, May ’13), Paul Atkins decided to drive the highly detailed and beautifully finished HR Premier all the way from Adelaide for the 50th-anniversary bash. Many of the original 80s build features like the HQ wagon tail-lights, HZ guard flutes and HQ front door handles have stood the test time, as have the tough 192ci Holden six, M21 gearbox and 10-bolt diff.

17. Rob Gardner brought along his son Justin’s Vortech-blown, Holden V8-powered INFLUENCE EH Holden (SM, Apr ’11), which the pair built together. It’s been part of the Gardner family for over 25 years and has been a regular Summernats Elite and Meguiar’s Superstars trophy winner, and it still looked the goods in the show ’n’ shine arena.

18. Kathi Behncke’s uber-cool FE Holden was part of a convoy driven to the show from Adelaide. Kathi has been a major force in SA’s modified car community for over four decades, and despite her old Holden’s demure looks, you’ll find a 350 Chev set back into the firewall and a TH700 in the raised tunnel.

19. Simon Battocchio’s subtle 2V 250-powered gold XB is one of those rides that draws you in for a closer look. Detailed to the nines, the Falcon scored runner-up Top Contemporary at Summernats 6 in 1993. The slick XB has been driven to every show it’s ever attended, racking up more than 60,000 kays since being painted in 1991.

20. Griffith local Douglas Scott entered his KE11 Corolla in the inaugural ’75 Nationals, and he proudly sported his original, 50-year-old entrant T-shirt at the anniversary – and still fit into it!