THE winner of this year’s Valvoline Street Machine Of The Year award – Henry Parry’s FB Holden – is a great example of the benefits of having a clear vision for a project and some great concept drawings.

Having former Street Machine Expression Session guru Ryan Carter on board was clearly a big plus – just check out his re-imagined Holden press material, cleverly modified to include Old Love’s many modifications.

If you’ve never seen the car before, here’s a quick rundown of the main mods. Underneath, the Chop Shop boys fabricated a tubular chassis-strengthening structure and plated the original chassis rails and K-frame. To that, they added a parallel four-link rear-end and Panhard bar out back, with a CAD-designed double A-arm set-up up the front, using tubular arms and HQ stub axles.

The steering uses a Flaming River power rack and the brakes are monster Harrops all ’round. All of this was designed to give Old Love a bitching stance, without the need for airbags and without rubbing. Power comes from an LS1 crate motor and 4L60E four-speed auto.

Body mods included converting the car (originally an EK) to FB-spec, eliminating the strip that once ran between the front and rear doors, deleting the drip rails and quarter-vent windows, and fashioning the custom single-bar grille.

Inside, Old Love has power windows, central locking and air conditioning, just for starters. Other mods include the two-piece fibreglass hoodlining, which is held in place by a central billet strip that also incorporates the rearview mirror. Front seats are highly modified Ford Territory items, with the whole lot covered in Scottish leather by Stitched Up Trim.

Watch the late Laurie Starling talk us through the car in the video here.

There is a heap more to the car, too; you can read the whole story at smoty.streetmachine.com.au and check out the build pics above.