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NARROGIN REVHEADS

On the other end of the West Aussie show scale is Narrogin Revheads. Smaller, wilder, essential.

NORM HARDINGE

Norm and his partner Vicky not only supply most of the country’s street machines, hot rods, burnout cars and drag sedans with high-quality radiators via Aussie Desert Cooler, but they’ve built stacks of outrageous rides of their own, supported shows across the wide brown land, raced at Bonneville, and helped keep Aussie land speed racing firing on all eight cylinders through countless hours of volunteer labour.

NORM LONGFIELD

Norm’s ’Vette graced the first issue of the mag where SM was given top billing – the Oct/Nov ’81 edition. Before that, he’d built one of the best T-buckets this country has ever seen and has continued to push the envelope ever since, as evidenced by his insane rear-engined Model A pick-up, his groundbreaking pro street Willys, the incredible restoration (twice) of the Jocko Liner, and his nitro-powered dragster.

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PARO

The late Geoff Paradise was the founding editor of Street Machine, turning the much-loved but neglected Van Wheels into a surprise success. A car guy to his bootlaces, Paro won respect for the mag throughout the wider industry, to the point where he was able to help stave off the extinction of the Holden V8 through the V8s ’Til ’98 campaign. Four decades after the first issue, Paro’s vision remains essential to SM’s DNA.

PAT FAY

The late Mr Fay was a Holden spare parts guru, owner of Australia’s most famous hearse and a big part of what made Street Machine Summernats so special.

PETER HANENBERGER

Top German bloke who made Holdens handle in the 70s. When he was made top dog in 1999, Peter helped turn the secret two-door Monaro project into production reality and exported Holdens around the world.

PHIL SCOTT

The second guy to pilot Street Machine, editor Phil Scott professionalised the mag, took it from six issues a year to nine, and drove sales through the roof, blasting our in-house rivals at Wheels out of the water. His relentless campaign of giveaway cars no doubt helped the cause!

PINKY

The gravelly tones of Gordon ‘Pinky’ Fellows were an essential part of many car shows up and down the east coast throughout the 2000s. After getting his break on the mic at the 1997 Street Rod Nationals, Pinky was tapped by Chic Henry to work at Summernats, where he became the voice of both Horsepower Heroes and the tattoo comp.

PLANKKMAN

The Deacon of Dunedoo, Brian Plankkman is many things to many people – Street Machine’s spiritual guru, the bane of car company executives, the ultimate budget builder, and the biggest cheerleader for the venerable Holden red motor. Like The Phantom, he’ll never die. ​

PREM70

Fresh from taking out Top Street Machine at the 6th Street Machine Nationals, Ian Hazel’s HG wagon was a sensation when it appeared in the Jun/Jul ’84 issue of SM. Ian’s less-is-more approach influenced guys like Rex Webster and Ron Barclay and thousands more builders around the country.

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READERS’ ROCKETS

Our editor’s favourite regular feature has long been our readers’ rides pages, and I reckon a fair few of you think the same.

REDMOND

The most prolific letter-writer to ‘Your Stuff’ of all time, Redmond has also contributed his wit as a guest editor and columnist before taking on the world of podcasting as one half of The Thongslappers.

ROD HADFIELD

Hands-down the most prolific creator of mind-blowing hot rods and street machines Australia has ever seen. Between car building, drag racing, salt racing on two continents, designing his own engine and creating a high-performance empire with wife Carol, you have to wonder if Rod actually ever sleeps. His biography – the Mad Scientist of Australian Hot Rodding – is mandatory reading.

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SHONKY

The late Craig Brewer was the pilot of Australia’s toughest HR Holden van, a stalwart of the Pro Street scene and helped more cars go straight down the track than most of us have had hot dinners.

STAN SAINTY

Insanely talented Aussie engineer who could make just about anything he set his mind to – including three-valve Top Fuel donks.

STREET MACHINE SUMMERNATS

The single greatest automotive event in the world.

STREET MACHINE OF THE YEAR

The world’s greatest modified car award.

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TAPPY

Geelong lad Chris Thorogood is the renaissance man of the Street Machine team. Besides photography, Chris dabbles in the arts of slow meat preparation, tortoise rescue, Volkswagen crash-testing and Weber restoration. We’d be lost without him.

TONY RABBITTE

Along with fellow photographers Bates and Guy Bowden, Tony helped define the look of Street Machine features for a couple of decades and influenced a new generation of snappers.

TWO HANDS

Another essential Street Machine flick. Full of memorable quotes and starring the most bad-arse XA Falcon GT hardtop – later owned for a time by FM radio star, Merrick Watts.

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VAN WHEELS

Despite criminal neglect by management and a revolving door of part-time editors, Van Wheels was enormously fun, gonzo magazine-making. Rising out of the ashes of The Australian Hot Rodding Review, Van Wheels in turn died so Street Machine could live. Poetic, eh? We brought the title back for an encore a few years ago, with issue 11 of Van Wheels embedded into the June 2015 issue of SM. Grab a copy if you haven’t seen it – it’s one of my favourite issues.

VICTOR BRAY

One of the most successful Aussie drag racers of all time and arguably the most famous, Victor was our in-house drag racing columnist until COVID ended the party last year.

VOLVOS

We loved to take the piss out of the infamous Swedish brick, with Paradise writing one of his most memorable editorials about battles with Volvo-driving plonkers in his Chrysler By Chrysler in the Feb/Mar ’84 issue. He called it ‘Battleship Colossus’ – do a search on streetmachine.com.au for the yarn. Nevertheless, some of you figured out that Swedish bricks actually make good subjects for engine swaps, and we started featuring them in limited numbers in the mid-90s. And now we have a 1JZ-powered example as a Carnage car!

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WAYNE & VICKY

The second-greatest automotive cartoon in the history of the world – first place must go to Fred Gassit of Australian Motorcycling News fame – ‘Wayne & Vicky’ was the brainchild of the awesomely talented and deadline-averse Brendan Akhurst. Wayne Clodpole’s ribald adventures graced the early issues of Street Machine before jumping ship with Mac Douglas to Street & Custom and later Super Street.

WILD BUNCH

If you think the current crop of radial racers are cool, try to imagine the impact the first generation of Wild Bunch racers had on impressionable drag fans. Particularly once John ‘Stomper’ Winterburn enticed the crème of US sedan racing royalty to match-race with our boys Down Under. Not long after, Top Doorslammer racing was born.

WILLIAM PORKER

The nom de plume of Noel Tuckey, who remains an essential part of Street Machine’s technical think-tank and author of the immortal ‘Dirty Stuff’ column.

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YELLA TERRA

Founded by ‘Dyno Dave’ Bennett, Yella Terra set new standards for what the Aussie aftermarket scene could achieve.

YOUR STUFF

Our letters page, where readers have been battling over age-old controversies – including what should be considered a street car – since the mag first lobbed. Your Stuff is also the place to celebrate the big milestones in life, call out excellent behaviour, and to generally philosophise.

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ZAHABI

As in Rob and Cooper, the boys behind Rides By Kam on the Gold Coast.Builders of multiple cover cars, at least two of which have been exported Stateside.

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The final, unloved chapter of the Commodore’s once-proud story.

ZZ TOP

Along with Motörhead, Queens of the Stone Age and AC/DC, the little ol’ band from Texas has got the Street Machine team through many a brutal deadline.