KERRY WHITE
FJ HOLDEN UTE

“THIS is my dad Kerry’s FJ ute, which he got a while ago. After it was let go a bit and went unregistered, we have now got it back to ‘almost rego’ stage.

It’s called ‘The Pig’. We have replaced all the bushes, pipes and brake system, rebuilt the 186 and changed the cam spec from ridiculously huge to a 30/70. It has a Yella Terra Bathurst head, roller rockers, shift-kitted Trimatic, B&M shifter, chrome-plated 3.55:1 banjo diff, HR front end and Torana brakes.

We have now added a collapsible billet steering column, custom velour interior and a Commodore fibreglass hard cover, cut-and-shut to fit. We have done pretty much all the new fabrication, with only the paint being done by a mate. Just a nice, clean, old-school build!” Words: Johno White

AARON CLARK
1963 FORD FAIRLANE

“THIS is my rat rod-style ’63 Compact Fairlane. It’s now running a 289 Windsor, C4 auto and updated disc brakes on the front. My dad bought it in 1998 during his first mid-life crisis. He let the rego lapse in 2001, and it sat around until I got it registered in 2019.

It’s a work in progress and definitely not to everyone’s taste, but it makes me smile!”

ANDREW MOORE
1968 CHEVROLET CAMARO

“I AM the second owner of my Camaro; I bought it off an importer who got it from an 81-year-old lady in California. It is all matching numbers, including the 327 and Powerglide.

When I got it, it was basically tidy but well-worn and rough around the edges, so I have been going through it and improving things. The period race car signage was made by scanning the letterhead from the original receipts.

Everything has been done so it can easily be returned to original.”

WARREN GIBSON
VJ CHARGER

“G’DAY from Invercargill, New Zealand! Here’s my VJ Charger, running a stroked 512ci big-block with FiTech fuel injection backed by a 727 Torqueflite trans.

In the rear is a good old nine-inch fitted with a Truetrac centre.”

CARLOS DE OLIVEIRA
2005 VZ COMMODORE

“HERE’S my VZ Commodore Executive, an LS1-powered ex-Queensland police car (I’ve always had a soft spot for ex-police V8 cars). I did the usual top-end work to the LS – mild head porting and a nice VCM cam; dual Manley springs; exhaust – and added a high-stall converter and upgraded the diff. With these mods, the car saw 438hp at the hubs.

It was a great cruiser, but when reading an LSX Tuner magazine, I came across Joel Burgess’s LS1-powered ute with the GM LSA supercharger, and thought the latter would make a great mod for my VZ. So I sourced and fitted an LSA blower and changed the accessory drive system to VF, while still retaining the original VZ power steering and air con. The car then made around 560hp on E85 at 8psi.

It was a great combo until the standard 4L65E let go just six days after being tuned! So I stepped up to a monster 4L80E with the extra overdrive gear and had it rebuilt as a reverse-pattern manual by Josh at LSX Powertrain. We also added a TCE torque converter. With all that in the car, a couple of minor fuel system changes and a Powerbond 10 per cent overdrive, we had it retuned by Shannon at Tune Corp and made around 590hp at the hubs. It’s a quiet cruiser – until you put your foot down!”

MARK CRAWFORD
1969 MERCEDES-BENZ W108 280 SE

“THIS is my ’69 Mercedes. I’ve done quite a few things to it, all built and fabbed by myself (a signwriter!). I replaced the sills and rails (as they were rusty), added US-spec headlights, installed BC Fab airbags on all four corners, and gave it an RB30 conversion with a refreshed, steel-wheel Nissan T3 turbo.

The custom intake is by Steve at Sykes Automotive, while the VLT tune in the Nistune ECU was tweaked by Shane at CMS Performance. The catch can/overflow bottle and stainless pipes were fabbed by my mate Nath.

I wanted to make it all as factory-looking as possible, and with all of the above, you can literally turn the key and go for a spin!”