Brad Thompson
1985 Chevy Corvette C4

“The ’85 ’Vette was a giant-killer of its time, sticking the wind up Ferrari, Lamborghini and other supercars, so my idea with my C4 was to take out as much weight as possible, strip out the fuel injection and a/c and free up that 350 SBC. The car now weighs under 3000lb.

“It’s still the factory engine, topped with a 750 Holley and sending exhaust out via Hedman Performance long-tube headers; it’s never been opened and still has great compression after 40 years.

“I rebuilt the TH700 auto with a stage three shift kit and heavy-duty clutches, and the factory Dana 36 rear has been retained, running 2.73:1 gears. At test-and-tune meets over the quarter, I only need first and second gear to hit 170km.

“Future mods will include a fresh 383 and a 3:73:1 gearset for the rear end. My goal was to beat the C4’s stock quarter-mile time, and now I think it can run in Super Street.

“You don’t see anybody drag-racing these cars, and I drive mine all the time – everybody looks and loves it.”

Rod Duff
Holden HG Kingswood

“I bought my HG Kingswood around 27 years ago from a mate, who’d put in a worked 283 Chev V8. I then rebuilt the car for Street Machine Summernats 14 with a cranky 327 Chev and a full respray.

“In 2013, I swapped the 327 out with a 383 Bowtie motor from the States, and it now makes a healthy 527rwhp.

“In 2020, I decided to undertake another resto on the car, stripping it back to bare metal on a rotisserie, completely shaving the engine bay, and cutting out and replacing anything that looked like rust. I have done 90 per cent of the work myself, aside from the paint, but I did do a lot of the prep work for that.

“The trans is a Craig’s Automatics fully manualised, reverse-pattern TH700R4 auto built to handle 1000hp, with a 3500rpm Dominator converter. Rounding out the driveline is a Ford 9in diff with 3.55:1 gears.

“The interior has been completely retrimmed to HK Premier specs in black, with bucket seats, a Monaro dash cluster and steering wheel, and an Aeroflow Bang Shift Pistol Ratchet shifter.

“I finished the restoration in 2024 and have been taking it to plenty of shows and events. It’s my pride and joy!”

Vince Crocitti
2005 Holden Monaro CV8

“This is my ’05 VZ Monaro with a twin-turbo LS. It was a one-owner car prior to me purchasing it in January 2024. Since then, it has undergone an extensive list of modifications, with the overall aim of building a well-thought-out street-and-strip car.

“The mods include a Dart 427ci LS with twin GTX35 turbochargers, custom exhaust manifolds and a water-to-air system. It’ll be using a FuelTech FT550, and it has a rollcage fitted while keeping most of the original interior, apart from race seats and the dash pad.

“The original IRS is gone, replaced with a fabricated 9in full-floater diff. The car is about 90 per cent to my liking now, but I still need to do body and paint work and a final tune. All going well, the car should make 1200rwhp on around 25-30psi, which should get it into low 8/high 7sec territory down the strip in the right hands.

“This is my first serious car build, and I’m quite excited to enjoy it once completed. I’ve not raced before, so there is both trepidation and excitement about that, but my hope is to compete in Drag Challenge in the car – perhaps not this year but in the near future.

“I’m very thankful to Dynomotive in Bayswater, Melbourne for completing the car in full.”

Jayden Boucher
Toyota Crown

“My 2007 Toyota Crown was imported into Australia in late 2022. I always liked the idea of the VIP Japanese scene, so I bought this car from a dealer in South Australia and brought it back home to Victoria.

“I’ve owned plenty of slammed, long cars in the past, including an LS1 Caprice I had engineered on airbags, but these Crowns have factory airbags, and someone in Japan had fitted a controller for them on mine, so I could already slam it as soon as I got it! These also come standard with the 4.3L 3UZ-FE V8, so it’s a great cruiser.

“So far, I’ve cleaned it up, added a few things to the interior, and changed the wheels out for a set of Leon Hardiritt Waffe rims in 19×8.5 +12 and 19×9.5 +12.

“Future plans include redoing the airbags so I can get it lower and have more adjustment, and I am looking into putting a supercharger kit on the V8 as well.” Photo: Shawn McCann

Russell Mardon
Holden HT Brougham

“Following a 10-year gap after I traded an LH Torana with a quick 186 in it for a Honda Accord (I know; what a mistake now), it was time for another Aussie classic, so I got this 1970 HT Holden Brougham.

“I came across an older gentleman who was selling the car, which he’d owned for 21 years as his daily family car. It was still fitted with the original 308 engine and two-speed Powerglide, so I snapped it up and drove the tired 308 300km home, with a trail of blue smoke following me the whole way!

“I drove it around like this for six months, and then the vinyl roof was removed, which was the start of a bare-metal respray and colour change.

“All the work was done in the shed at home with the help of my brother, who was a car painter back in the day.

“Good things take time, so 10 years later, after a full panel and paint overhaul and a rebuild of the factory 308 with an Edelbrock four-barrel carb, this is the end result.

“The rest of the drivetrain is all original, too. The wheels are 17×7 up front and an inch wider in the rear. Broughams were a step ahead at the time with the electric windows and power steering, and this car still gets looks and comments wherever it goes.”

Want your pride and joy featured in the mag? Just send some photos of your car (minimum file size 2MB each) and a few details of what went into the build to [email protected].