SMOTY-winning Memphis Hell pick-up is going racing!

Aaron Gregory is transforming his trophy-magnet Chev pick-up into a serious pro tourer

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Photographers: Shaun Tanner, Chris Thorogood

Metal magician Aaron Gregory is in the midst of a comprehensive rebuild of his 2020 Street Machine of the Year-winning ’51 Chev pick-up, affectionately known as ‘Memphis Hell’. The goal is to get the Elite-level truck racing at the pointy end of the Australian pro touring scene, at events such as Optima Ultimate Street Car Australia.

First published in Street Machine’s Yearbook 2024

Since debuting at MotorEx in 2012, Memphis Hell has twice placed in the Summernats Top 60, in addition to its 2020 SMOTY crown. Aaron has tirelessly cruised the truck up and down Australia’s east coast, and in 2019, he undertook a motorsport-inspired reimagining of the Chev that included some weight saving, aero upgrades and whopping great tyres. We took the chance to check out the mods in the Rare Spares Pavilion at Summernats 37.

“We rushed to make the car’s debut in 2012, and since then, every show we’ve been to and every round of modifications has been a last-minute dash,” Aaron says. “The plan was always to give the car a 10-year birthday.

“I like tinkering on it after hours, and to be honest, all these modifications are the kinds of things I wish my customers would ask me to do!” he laughs. “It’s been very heavily influenced by John Dennis’s Escort [SM, Jan ’21] and Gary Reid’s C10.”

Memphis Hell’s current make-over does away with the airbag suspension – a staple of the truck until now and a legacy of Aaron’s days as a mini-trucker. The entire front end is custom, still employing the Rodeo chassis but decorated with coil-overs and custom arms, with the factory steering box ditched for a neater and more precise rack.

Out the back is a whole other level of madness, with the rear cradle from a WRX STI holding a Toyota 86 independent rear end in place. “Some drifting mates recommended the BRZ [Subaru version of the 86] diff because they’re relatively strong, and the STI cradle made sense because of the amount of parts like adjustable arms that already exist in the aftermarket,” Aaron explains. “I could have easily adapted the factory-style MacPherson struts, but doing a centre-mount coil-over set-up was a bit of a fabricator’s flex! It will also make them easier to adjust once the tub goes back on.”

The Holden 5.0L that previously motivated the Chev has been turfed for a more modern LS conversion. “I’d go out cruising with mates, and their LS-powered vehicles wouldn’t only be faster, they’d use half as much fuel as my Holden motor,” explains Aaron of the motivation for the swap.

The decision to turbocharge the new mill came after a ride in Justin Mitchell’s turbo LS-powered HQ Kingswood. “Justin took me for a run in his car one Saturday afternoon, and he reckoned I was smiling like the Cheshire Cat,” Aaron recalls. “The very next day I bought the turbos.”

Rather than go too large with the snails and be plagued with turbo lag, Aaron sized them to provide great response and work happily with the six-speed manual transmission.

“The front end will go back on, and there’ll be a tub of some description,” Aaron says. “It might be entirely made out of composite materials to keep the weight down; we’ll just have to see what the engineer says.” Employing skills learned from his boat building trade, Aaron has already made several snazzy carbonfibre pieces for the truck, fostering a GT3-inspired aesthetic.

The build has already been garnering interest from the aftermarket, with plenty of brands keen to support the latest iteration of this iconic street machine. “Haltech is on board with a Nexus VCU, sensors and dash,” Aaron says. “I’ve also got to thank the team at Car Builders, who put the pressure on me to get it done, and they helped put me in contact with Rotiform wheels and Falken Tyres, which are also supporting me. Huge thanks also to Scott Barter from Oxytech Powder Coatings, who cut his holidays short to powdercoat everything for me.”

Photographers: Shaun Tanner, Chris Thorogood

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