You know what really warms my heart? Project cars. It’s proof that our hobby will be healthy for years to come, and you only have to peruse our In the Build section and YSMOTY contenders to know we’re in good hands.

First published in the May 2026 issue of Street Machine

I’d been following one particular build with very keen interest, and no, it hasn’t been on YouTube or any of the social media platforms, but literally on the side of the road. This young bloke has been toiling away on a WH-era Statesman on the street in front of his house in one of Brisbane’s north-west suburbs. He’s out there most afternoons and weekends when the weather allows – and sometimes when it doesn’t – tackling all manner of panel, paint and mechanical jobs, relying on good ol’ newspaper to help with the masking and a car cover to protect his pride and joy from the elements.

And I have to hand it to him – his street is on a hill and the road is a busy connector between suburbs. He trudges in and out with a collection of 20-litre buckets filled with tools and parts to keep things moving forward.

One Sunday, I paused long enough to tell him “good on you” and that I was enjoying his progress. He seemed genuinely chuffed by the feedback, thanked me, then held up a pair of school scissors he was using to strip back some wires. “I’m just doing the best I can with what I’ve got,” he said. Amen to that.

I know that home garage builds are still the norm, but rarely do I see people working on, building or wrecking cars out in streets or driveways like I used to. C’mon! We’ve all seen the photos of a bunch of mates hoiking a motor out on the front lawn.

Thirty-odd years ago, it felt so ‘normal’; you could follow someone’s build just by going past their house. You’d see a car arrive; then a set of flash wheels and some spots of primer would appear before ultimately a respray. It was that easy to stay on top of who was building what in your neighbourhood.

It was common in my street too for the dads to get together with their lawn chairs and a few tallies, to slip a head gasket into old mate’s HQ, or redo the brakes on someone else’s wife’s Datto. Hell, I can even remember one group swapping a good runner 250 six into a Transit van in the gutter – from underneath!

These days, its absence is an unfortunate sign of the times. Council and environmental laws have changed for the worse, and so has the tolerance of neighbours. I’ve been pipped a few times over the years, mainly for noise and the odd bit of spray painting, but I usually remind them that their six-month, seven-days-a-week house renos made more noise and mess than I ever could. The whole house versus car rebuild tolerance is the biggest double standard when it comes to what is deemed appropriate in suburbia.

I got to test the driveway work theory again recently with the arrival of a new Dodge truck project. My dad worked at Chrysler/Mitsubishi from 1965-80 in truck engineering, so he knows them inside and out, and I figured it’d be a great project to share with him.

We managed to score a D5N 300 jammed full of Perkins 354 diesel and a few other mods. As a side deal, we sourced a nearly-rolling AT4 truck chassis to supply some front springs, a diff and a few other brackets and bits we needed. We had no choice but to strip the chassis in the driveway in full view of everyone. I figured a Saturday was all we’d need to get it apart before the rest could go for scrap. I swear, while working on it during that Saturday, we had more random people stop by for a positive chat than ever before.

So, maybe there is still a glimmer of hope for the home builder. So go forth and multiply those projects! It will only serve to make our scene even stronger for the long-term.