Ballarat bloke Leigh Roberts has recently been bitten by the drag racing bug. Sure, he’s long been a car enthusiast who’s owned a few sweet classics, but he never felt the desire to hurl one down the strip until he acquired this behemoth ’58 Plymouth Belvedere.

First published in the February 2026 issue of Street Machine

Unusual car to start your drag racing hobby with, Leigh!

My brother Mick races an XC wagon, and he was trying to convince me to drag my ’28 Chev hot rod. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it and was worried about crashing. But when I swapped my 2003 Ford F350 for the Plymouth in 2024, I fell in love with the idea of racing. The Plymouth is set up better for racing too, with a stroker 410ci Chrysler engine, nine-inch diff, big rear tyres and E85 – it’s got a fair bit of horsepower for what it is, though it’s pretty thirsty! I honestly never knew of these Plymouths before seeing this one, and I love it. Once a month I take it to Ballarat Cars ’n’ Coffee. It’s pretty well known around here now.

And you’ve hooked up with a few different crews?

I’ve joined the Australian Nostalgia Racers – they’re a fantastic lot. I’m pretty active in a few clubs, including Shits & Giggles Racing, with my brother. I’m not racing for fast times; it’s really just for the great people and the atmosphere. The Plymouth isn’t set up for the quarter, and my best is 6.25sec on the eighth-mile. So far, I’ve raced at the Ballarat races, Mildura, The Bend and a few local drag-and-drive events, too. I headed off on one drag-and-drive event just after we’d had an electrical fire at home, leaving my wife and four kids home with no power, and paddocks with no electric fences. So, our cows kept escaping and my family would need to herd them back. They weren’t too impressed with that!

You seem handy on the tools. Do you have a trade?

I’m a qualified diesel mechanic, and I love fabricating and engine building on my own stuff. And I run a wind turbine labour business, along with my hobby cattle farm.

What else have you got in the shed?

I’ve always been into cars, and when I was younger it was Holden utes. Then I moved on to hot rods. My steel ’28 Chev ute was a 70s build from Townsville, which my uncle ended up buying. I’d always loved utes, and eventually I had the opportunity to purchase the rod. During the 15 years that I’ve owned the Chev, I’ve resprayed it and done a twin-turbo 350 Chev and nine-inch for it. I also have vintage bikes, including my ’67 Suzuki X5 T200. My daily is an HJ ute with a 304ci VN motor, five-speed, and a five-post bullbar, so I take it along to the ute musters. I’m currently building the HJ into a drag-and-drive car with a blown LQ4 6.0-litre and six-speed manual, and I’m fabricating a nine-inch for it. I think I’ll take that one on Street Machine Drag Challenge.