The PT Cruiser is as popular with street machiners as a fart in a spacesuit, but some brave souls like Dominic Costa see potential in the model. Dominic took a burned-up wagon and chopped it down into a big-block-powered ute. We caught up with him at the 2025 Hawks Nest Motorfest to find out the back story on his ‘PT Bruiser’.

First published in the May 2025 issue of Street Machine

This thing is off its head, Dominic! How did you get the idea to build a V8 PT Cruiser ute?

I’ve played around with other hot rods, but I wanted to build a one-off car. I’ve always been a Chrysler man, right back to the late 60s, so this started as a write-off with an engine fire. I decided the ultimate idea was to put a V8 in there, as everyone said there was no room for it, but I figured there would be a way to do it.

What is the base car and parts used?

It’s a 2000 Chrysler PT Cruiser shell with a ’33 Dodge chassis, a 440ci big-block, 727 Torqueflite transmission and BorgWarner diff. I wanted the shape of the PT, and it had to be Chrysler the whole way through, so I put a 1933 Dodge chassis under it, as it’s a bulky chassis.

Seems pretty simple when you say it like that.

I like to keep it one brand, and I wanted it simple as I hate clutter. If it’s got balls, you don’t need gimmicks.

Why did you start with a wagon and not a convertible?

I don’t like how Americans chop wagons so they look like a PT Cruiser convertible, so I cut mine four inches [101mm] lower on the body. There’s no fibreglass in it; it’s all steel.

Did you get much help building it?

The car was built in my garage, and apart from the paint, all the mechanical work, electrical work and tuning was done by me.

Have you done much to the engine?

I rebuilt the engine last year, so now it is a 440 stroked to 496 cubes with a forged 440 Source crank, rods and pistons set. We didn’t need a big cam, so it’s a mild flat-tappet. The heads are alloy Edelbrock units, and it has 11:1 compression. The intake is an Offenhauser dual-quad single-plane, with two Holley 475 mechanical carburettors.

How does she go?

It’s a bit of a handful, as it’s got a lot of pep. It has run 12.2 previously, but since then it has the new engine and a four-link rear-end, so it handles 100 per cent better.

Have you hidden any cool tricks in it?

I don’t have room for a/c in the front of the car, so I had to design my own electric air conditioning system, which is mounted in the tray and controlled via an infrared remote from inside.

Does it see much use apart from cruising to shows?

It isn’t a show car. I have a towbar on the back and I take it to Bunnings all the time. It actually hauled a tandem trailer to move our five-acre property from Sydney up to Port Stephens three hours north, and the PT pulled it like it didn’t even know it was there.

What’s your trade background?

I did an automotive engineering course in the 60s, and I’ve worked on trucks, planes, buses, and just about everything in between ever since. Back when I was doing my engineering course, we had a teacher with a Standard Ten who put a 186 Holden engine in it. He taught us that anything can be done.