First published in the September 2012 issue of Street Machine

Twenty-twelve has been a big year for 25-year-old auto electrician Chris Bywater. Not only have he and his missus, Jess, welcomed their first baby into the world but they’ve also bought themselves a home — complete with a six-car garage. Right now, Chris’s super-sharp HT Premier is sitting in that garage with a busted engine, evidence that he made good use of it while he was still rugrat and mortgage-free.

Before the Prem he had an LH Torana.

“A bloke saw the LH at Performance Car Mania,” Chris says. “We’d just come third in the burnout comp and he offered me good money for it. I already had my eye on the HT, so the day I delivered the LH, I picked up the Prem.”

The LH was tough alright, packing a nitrous-fed 383ci small-block, but Chris wanted something on a whole new level for the HT.

With that in mind, Chris stripped the Prem to a bare shell and took it to Craig Brewer of Pro Pipes & Race Cars. Craig punts a seven-second Pro Street HR van known as Frogstomp, a calling card that’s pretty well self-explanatory.

The rear end got the tub and four-link treatment, with the nine-inch differential shortened, then a
six-point rollcage was fabricated and installed before they swapped the steering box out for a rack and pinion unit.

The body looked almost perfect and when it was sent to the soda blasters they confirmed that it was in great nick, with no evidence of accident damage or rust and only a few minor imperfections here and there. Cleaner than you’d expect from a 42-year-old car.

Chris’s brother Adam, the proprietor of Hi-Gloss Bodyworks, was commissioned to straighten and smooth not only the bodywork but also the engine bay. While the body is fabulous, the engine bay is quite simply a work of art — it’s a shame to cover it with a bonnet. There’s not a wire or auxiliary component noticeable anywhere.

While Adam was colouring the Prem with a Mercury Silver hue, Chris was busy making up a to-do list and began accumulating parts so work could commence once the car arrived home. The biggest ticket item — the engine, naturally — was found close to home.

“When I had the car at Craig’s place getting the chassis done, he was talking about selling the motor out of his van so he could upgrade to a new 632ci engine. The van was running low eights with C16 and nitrous, and low nines aspirated, so it was always going to be enough for me.”

Chris’s goal was to have the HT ready for Summernats 24. “It returned from Adam’s shop in late November, and with a few mates we worked around the clock to complete it. I suffered sleep and cash deprivation but I knew the end result would be worth it.

“By late November it was almost complete, l couldn’t help myself, l had to take it out for spin. I did a few laps of the block followed up by a massive power skid. I recall my eyes throbbing — that’s the last time I drive a car without a windscreen!”

The last part Chris purchased was the billet steering wheel, which arrived the day before they were leaving for Summernats.

“l couldn’t believe my luck — it wouldn’t fit so I had to machine a boss kit to fit the wheel to the column. It after midnight when I packed and headed for Canberra.

“There were a lot of ups and downs during the 12-month build but the attention it drew when I drove through the gate at Summernats was well worth the effort.”

The HT picked up a couple of trophies in Tuff Street, including an Engineering Excellence award. “I loved the Supercruise too. I was glad I left the bench seat in it — we packed seven of us in there!”

Back home in Melbourne and still on a high, Chris loaded up the boys, primed the Prem with methanol and hit the pub. The night cost him 600 bucks in fuel plus a set of rear tyres.

“It was worth every penny! There’s nothing quite like hitting the streets in a 700hp big-block Chevy with your mates.”

The next outing was last year’s Ultimate Burnout Challenge at Avalon Speedway. The day started well enough, pulverising a set of rear tyres to the applause of the appreciative crowd, but it all went south after that. The car suffered a severe bout of oil surge, a rod went AWOL and took the whole bottom end with it.

And so it remained for a while. But with the house sorted out, plans are underway for a new engine combination. Chris is staying tight-lipped but says it’ll be more powerful, louder and faster. Looks like 2013 could be quite a year too.

CHRIS BYWATER
HT PREMIER