GRAHAM Ragg’s ’68 Monaro might look like it had just been dragged out of a field but the coupe just about lived on the cruise route and was the picture of reliability. He bought the iconic two-door almost a quarter-century ago but didn’t get around to touching it until his brother got in his ear.

“It’s a basic 186 HK Monaro, not an S, with three-on-the-tree manual ‘box,” says Graham. “I found it in a shed in West Wyalong 25 years ago, and that guy had it in his shed for years before that. I dragged it home to Liverpool near Sydney and stuck it in my shed for another 24 years before my brother dared me to get it going for Summernats last year.”

“When I bought it the car didn’t have an engine, but I had a 186 in the garage that was the first engine my brother built at TAFE 20 years ago so we ran with that. I also upgraded all the safety features and put in an oversized alloy radiator so I knew I could drive it without a problem. Other than that it is pretty much un-touched, except someone had put the HT grille and dash in it before I got it.

“I’ve had a bunch of different cars over the years and this is actually the second Monaro I’ve had. I’m putting together an injected 5L for it which I will dummy fit into another HK parts car I have to sort out the tailshaft, throttle linkage and all that jazz, before I put in into the Monaro. Eventually I might get to fixing the HK up, but I’m enjoying driving it too much after 25 years to pull it off the road!”