If all the custom cars being built around our wide brown land, only a small percentage make the cut to be unveiled at one of our top indoor car shows. These builds are part of a realm where undercarriages are finished to a higher standard than the paintjobs on many new cars, and the finer details are taken to extreme levels. To carry out the work required of an elite show-car build takes time, and plenty of it.

First published in the December 2025 issue of Street Machine

So, how did Rob and Jeremy Guljas of Geelong’s Automotive Creations manage to build their blown, big block-powered, elite-level 1970 HG Holden Premier in less than half a calendar year? And why would they subject themselves to that kind of pressure?

“We built the car from start to finish in just under six months, as we are building a number of show cars to be unveiled for customers,” Jeremy says. “We sat back one Friday arvo and thought, why not give ourselves a challenge and see if we can get the HG done for Summernats 37?”

Building a car to such an impeccably high standard in that puny timeframe was a monumental undertaking, as every little piece that now makes the HG stand out from the pack had to either be customised or custom-made from scratch.

“There were a lot of key decisions that needed to be made quickly, most of them in the fabrication stage before paint,” Jeremy explains. “But we also had to get the Prem into body and paint as soon as possible to start on the biggest part of doing a car to this level.”

The HG that Rob and Jeremy have turned into BLWPRM was a spontaneous post-Summernats purchase. It was a tired old thing, but it was dry, which saved the duo plenty of time they otherwise would have spent rectifying rust, allowing them to get straight into the fun stuff.

“Metal fabrication is what I love; when it comes to doing all the fab work, my brain just runs wild,” Jeremy laughs. “I look at every part of the car I want to customise, like the bonnet: it is all hand-made out of steel. I can’t make two scoops the same; every one I fabricate, I make sure it’s completely different to the last.”

Once Jeremy got into making custom panels, the project quickly took on a life of its own. First, he and Rob decided the Prem’s factory bodylines in the bonnet and wiper panel areas needed extensive tweaking. “I made a new wiper scuttle panel that didn’t have the factory lines, plus I also got rid of the factory wiper panel vents,” Jeremy explains. “With the bonnet scoop the way it is to clear the blown big-block, I made the underside of the bonnet all flow together, with air vents letting the air out the back of the scoop.”

The eye-catching radiator cover was hand-made from steel. “I wanted to cover the radiator and fans but not to just stop at the blower belt, so this is what I came up with,” Jeremy says. “It flows up to the supercharger and really gives the engine bay a neat look.”

The front and rear bumper bars were cut and tucked into the body for a neater look while not compromising the HG’s identity. Down the back, the beaver panel has been modified to give it sharper lines that blend nicely with the bumper bar and number plate aperture.

One of the more subtle touches is the front doors, which have had the quarter-windows deleted, replaced by one-piece glass Rob and Jeremy designed. It gives the Prem an impeccably clean, modern look, and also serves to better showcase the interior.

The boot area was treated to custom billet-aluminium bootlid hinges with gas struts, designed in-house, while the underside of the bootlid was smoothed out to match the bonnet. While the boot floor looks stock, it also hides a bucketload of work.

“The rear end has a big tyre, but it looks factory when you open the boot and even has the factory fuel tank,” Jeremy says. “One of the first jobs on this car was to get the tyre to fit the way we wanted but without doing generic mini-tubs.” To achieve that goal, he and Rob cut the factory tubs and shortened the boot floor down the middle from the rear seat all the way back; they even shortened the factory fuel tank. “We then fabricated pieces for both sides to make it all look like factory, but with wider wheel tubs.”

Fat rear meats were definitely required thanks to the 540ci Dandy Engines-built big-block up front, which wears a monster Harrop TVS2650 supercharger for good measure. Built off a World Products Merlin block, it spins a Scat crank and rod combo, with JE slugs and a Comp Cams solid-roller cam. The Brodix cylinder heads house Jet pushrods, Victory valves, and PAC springs.

Loaded on the engine dyno with a conservative 16psi belt set-up, the engine spat out an impressive 1333hp at the crank, and offers up bulk grunt from idle.

Despite its extremely short build time, Rob and Jeremy’s immaculately realised creation has netted them a tonne of tinware, including a Top 20 plate and Top Sedan gongs at Street Machine Summernats 37; a spot in the Super Six and 3rd Top Engine Bay & Components at Meguiar’s MotorEx 2025; and Top Modified Street Machine Sedan and 3rd Modified Street Machine Paintwork at this year’s Sydney Hot Rod & Custom Auto Expo.

Six months of work to produce a car of this quality is an astounding achievement, as attested to by the many plaudits the HG has received. But we certainly wouldn’t blame Rob, Jeremy and the rest of the Automotive Creations team if they all needed a good lie down by the end of it!

JEREMY & ROBERT GULJAS
1970 HG HOLDEN PREMIER

THANKS
Our crew at work: Bailey, Keith, Thomas, Mitch and Tassie; Frank Marchese and the boys at Dandy Engines; Matt and Marcus at Speed Pro; Thomas; everyone who helped out with the build; Lucy and Mel for putting up with six months of long days and late nights working to get the car done.