Mechanical shop service manager Anika Hodges has been around modified cars all her life thanks to her car-mad dad. Kris Hodges won Top Overall Street two years running at Summernats 17 and 18, and his XB sedan and XA hardtop were featured in Street Machine (Sep ’92 and May ’03, respectively). Judging by Anika’s sweet VC Commodore, U WAIT, mechanical nous and a passion for all things automotive is hereditary.
First published in the December 2024 issue of Street Machine

How’d you come across the VC?
I spent about nine months looking for a VH Commodore project when I came across this 1981 VC in late 2022. It was in pristine, stock condition – a little old lady’s car that still had the bingo stamp in the centre console, where I’ve left it. There was 130,000km on the clock and it was running the original 202 with stock trans and diff.
At first, I was going to keep it as a neat streeter with a V8. But I did one modification, and that led to the next. Now only the interior remains original. Doing up the car has divided people; some say, “Why did you touch it?”, while others say, “Good on you.”



Who built it?
Myself and my partner, Brandon. The car drove into our shed as a cream 202ci VC and drove out as a silver car with a 355 V8. We’ve painted a few cars now – we’re self-taught. The body wasn’t too bad to start with, and I love the silver – it’s such a crisp colour. But it took six months before I found the right shade – it’s from a late-model Volvo.

Nice engine bay!
I was going to leave it as it was, but Brandon had done the bay in his VL Calais, and it looked mint. So, I slowly started cleaning up the VC bay, and by the end, it was all shaved and symmetrical. There’s 50 hours’ work between us in the engine bay – it can be an under-rated area.

Tell us about the engine.
It’s a 308 block with 304 heads, which Dad and I built into a 355ci stroker. It’s nothing crazy, but I can have some fun and still get parts for it. Behind that is a TH700 with strengthened internals, a two-piece tailshaft and nine-inch diff.


What’s the story behind the U WAIT plates?
I wanted number plates that are readable, and I get asked if it’s my boyfriend’s car a lot, as I’m five-foot-one, blonde and quite girly, but I actually built the car. So, it’s ‘you wait until you find out’!

Are you happy with how the VC’s turned out?
It exceeded what I’d envisioned, though I half-wish I’d tubbed it. The powertrain has been great, and I’m really enjoying the car. When I first got it on the road, it lost brakes at low speed thanks to a broken caliper cradle caused by my line locker sticking on. I ended up walking into a pub to borrow a shifter and fixed what I could on the side of the road. I removed the broken caliper and drove home with the locker on. Since then, I’ve had next to no issues – touch wood!

Girls — wanna be famous? Become an Iron Maiden! Email car details, pics (2MB+) and contact deets to [email protected]. You and your ride could appear in the mag!
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