STEVE McPHEE
MORRIS MINOR

“Here are some progress pictures of my 1950s Morris Minor rat rod project. It has been chopped and couped on a custom chassis, with airbag suspension all ’round, a four-link in the rear with a HiLux diff, and a custom cantilever set-up in the front with VK Commodore disc brakes.

“It’s going to use a Holden 253 backed by a Trimatic transmission, and the radiator is rear-mounted. The car also has an all-new sheet-metal floor and transmission tunnel.

“This is my first build, and it has been a lot of fun, and while I have it entered in Street Machine Summernats 39 next year, I’m hoping to make it to Chopped in September this year as well.”

PAUL COOPER
LX TORANA HATCH

“I bought my LX Torana hatch around 10 years ago, planning for a 12-month build. After moving house twice, starting up a new business, buying another and getting married, it’s finally almost done – just nine years later than I planned!

“The body and paint were handled by the experts in Holden Sting Red, with two NOS rear quarters used, a trimmed and smoothed engine bay, and plenty of rust repairs done. A mate of mine made the bonnet scoop out of a single sheet of steel with his English wheel, replicating the same profile as an A9X one, but just a bit longer. Being a motor mechanic in my early work years, I was eager to build my own engine, and I’ve gone with an old-school 308, but it’s now a 355 with later fuel-injected heads, a Crane Cams 300 flat-tappet bumpstick, and 11.5:1 compression.

“It breathes through a Craig Bennett intake and a custom set of 1⁷/₈in stainless four-into-one headers followed by a twin 3in system dumped at the rear. On the engine dyno it made 555hp at 7000rpm. The transmission is a manualised TH350 with a 5300rpm stall converter, and behind that is a fabricated 9in diff with a 3.9:1 Truetrac centre. The trim is being done in original Golfball Slate material. The wheels are 15×4 front and 15×9 rear Weld Draglites. I only need a couple of bumpers and a visit to the panel shop to tidy up a couple of assembly marks, and then it’s off for rego!”

PETER SALMON
1947-48 FORD PREFECT

“I found this Prefect in a paddock up near Canberra in February last year. The story goes that someone started fixing it up 30-odd years ago, then walked away, and that’s where it ended up.

“I’m doing all the work on it myself. I’ve totally rebuilt and combined the floorpan and body into one.

“It has LC Torana front and rear suspension, and a US 3.8L Buick engine and TH350 transmission.

“The chassis has already been inspected by an engineer, and the body was done as well.”

CHARLES TORCASIO
HQ HOLDEN

“I have owned my Holden HQ SS since I was 16 years old, and we have never parted, despite many attempts to do so over our 46 years together. She has survived divorce, a family feud, and my business collapsing, just to name a few.

“After all that, the car went into the panel shop in 2021, but came back to my garage last year only in primer, despite me having paid for the full job.

“This year, I have done lots of work on her myself, because I didn’t want to give up. This is the car that inspired me to keep positive and go forward in all the hard times. I have managed to spray the boot, chassis, firewall, the guards, and the insides of the doors and bonnet all in underliner.

“As a young dude, I have always worked with friends in panel shops and mechanics, so I have some good knowledge, and now I’m applying that myself to try and get the car done, because I don’t have another 46 years left to wait to enjoy her!”

RUSSELL TIMMS
INTERNATIONAL KS5

“My build is a five-tonne International KS5 Harvester truck cab and front clip, now placed on a Holden HQ One Tonner chassis.

“It has a VR Commodore SS 5.0L V8 with the T5 five-speed manual, and a BorgWarner M78 disc-brake rear end that now uses a Lokka auto-locking centre.”

GARETH FEINT 
VALIANT REGAL

“I bought this 1975 Chrysler Valiant Regal sight-unseen – all I had was a couple of photos from the seller in NSW. After supplying a couple of Aperols to my darling wife to soften the blow, I transferred the cash that night, and the car was on a truck bound for our home in WA.

“I had plans for a 318 and a T5, until I unloaded it from the trailer and got it in the shed. The hoon in me wanted to continue with my plans, but the purist saw something worth preserving, so I’m keeping the factory driveline of a 245 Hemi six mated to a column-shift BorgWarner 35 auto.

“The Val is in Alpine White with a Saddle brown roof, Saddle interior (which is complete bar the carpet), knee-freezer air con and a few other factory options of the time. The previous owner pulled the old vinyl roof off, which has exposed a few patches of brown stuff and holes to be rectified.

“I’ve been chipping away at this for a while now, as I intend to put the vinyl back on. As a mechanic for work, I have the running gear tickety-boo, so with just a little more body sanding, some paint, and everything put back together, she’s on track for rego in the next few months, ready for me to be tough-arming it into spring!”

Got a sweet ride that’s currently in the build and want to share it with our readers? Email photos of it (2MB+ each) along with some details on the build to inthebuild@streetmachine.com.au.