Chris Pearson has adored the shape of Holden’s HQ ute since he was a young whippersnapper, so when he was looking to build a big, bad street bruiser, there was only ever one model that would fit the bill. “I had one with a small-block when I was a kid but sadly sold it before I could make it what I wanted,” Chris says. “This car is the realisation of the dream I had back then.”

First published in the September 2024 issue of Street Machine

He found this gem of a ute locally, with just its second owner. “It was a 253 car in poo brown, and the original idea was just to stick the big motor in it and have it as-is,” he says.

There was only one issue with that plan. As the owner of Corporate Autobody, a panel repair shop in Thomastown, Victoria, Chris had all the tools at his disposal to turn the big ’Q into a minter, and the temptation to do just that quicky got the better of him. “We found a rear quarter repair that wasn’t the best, and before we knew it, the car was all bare metal,” Chris laughs.

The ute wasn’t restored to its original guise, either – Chris’s good mate Jeremy Clausen worked with Chris McDonald and the McDonald Brothers Racing team to refine the HQ’s metalwork. “The radiator panel, the inside of the ute tub, and the underside of the bonnet were all smoothed, and they also did new wheel tubs in the front and rear,” Chris says. A new firewall was made, and McDonald Brothers reinvented the suspension with Air Ride ’bags under all four corners. They also mounted the driveline and sorted custom suspension arms to help fit the big Simmons spinners.

The ute’s new lick of colour is HOK Black Gold, but it wasn’t the initial choice. “We painted it bright green first, but I came in the next day and hated it,” Chris says. “So, we tore up five grand’s worth of paint and went with this, which I reckon suits it perfectly with the silver blower and wheels – now that’s a look!”

The ute’s cockpit certainly sets it apart from other HQ interiors – it’s no GTS repro. “In my opinion, the VF Commodore has the best interior Holden ever did, so I decided we should fit it to the ute,” Chris says. “I understand retrofitting interiors is a big gamble, but I think we pulled it off this time.”

Significant modifications were made to the dash, door cards and centre console to jam them into the HQ’s cab. “We had to take 200mm out of the dash alone,” Chris says. “Then we handed it to Manny at The Trim Shop to get the upholstery done.”

Chris is six-foot-five, so he finds it a tight squeeze. “People often ask me about that, so I just tell them I built it for my wife; she’s only five-foot-five,” he laughs.

For power, Chris wanted old-school, imposing grunt with new-age versatility, so a 468-cube fatty built by Big Al’s Toy Box in the US was given a once-over by Chris at McDonald Brothers. The rotating assembly is all forged goodness, and the bumpstick is a biggie from Crow Cams. To ensure the ute fully embodied the old-school muscle brief, Chris had the combo topped with a Weiand 6/71 air pump and Joe Blo injector hat. It runs EFI with a Haltech Elite 2500 ECU, which was wired, installed and tuned by Adam Rogash at MPW Performance & Race Fab. At the time of writing, it’s yet to make a truly representative power figure, with Adam set to retune the package on ethanol soon. “It’s about a 600hp combo; it’s more about cruising than outright performance,” Chris says. “It lumps around and hunts and makes a lot of noise, which is the feeling I wanted.”

After a five-year build, the HQ got a grand unveiling at MotorEx in Melbourne last year, with punters struck by its mean stance and eye-catching interior. “It was a great feeling,” Chris says. “Owen Webb was keen to get it there from when I first told him about it, and people loved it.”

Though the Quey may look like a show hall queen, after doing MotorEx again this year, Chris is ready to hop in and hit the streets. “I’m glad we did it, but I reckon we’re done with shows; I built it to cruise it so that’s what we’ll do!” he says. “This car is a realisation of that childhood dream – old-school grunt and presence in a tough 70s shape – and I reckon we nailed it.”

CHRIS PEARSON
1972 HOLDEN HQ BELMONT UTE

THANKS
Chris McDonald and the crew at McDonald Brothers Racing; my shop, Corporate Autobody for the body and paintwork; Jeremy Clausen Designs for the custom body mods; Manny at The Trim Shop; Sebastian at Amazing Dents N Detail; Adam Rogash at MPW Performance & Race Fab for the wiring, ECU installation and tuning; my beautiful wife Demi.