Bruce Haines
HR Holden ute

“I bought this HR Holden ute off eBay back in 2007 for just $600 as a project.

All the metal fabrication has been done by BMV in Yandina, with the car now sporting new RHS rails and a custom floor all the way underneath. It’s also got a Rod Shop coil-over front end and a four-linked, nine-inch rear that has an Eaton Truetrac centre.

The engine is a first-gen, four-bolt 350 small-block, stroked to 383 cubes and built to make around 530hp. At this stage we’ve just got the motor in, and the next big jobs are the wiring and sending the car off to get the fitment sorted for the carpet and rooflining.”

Tim Noske
1973 Ford F100

“I’ve been building this 1973 F100 for around 18 months now, and I’m pretty happy with the progress.

It’s intended as a daily driver, so I’ve gone with an L98 and 6L80 – yep, I’m putting an LS in a Ford! That’s mainly due to things like the torque characteristics of an LS and how compact they are, but let’s face it, everyone either Barra- or Coyote-swaps F100s these days, so I thought I’d do something different.

It almost looks tiny in the engine bay, but that just means there’s plenty of room for – ahem – ‘activities’. For suspension, it has an IFS conversion in the front and I’m looking to put a four-link coil-over set-up at the back. Fingers crossed I’ll get it finished this year!”

Heath Bellette
Holden HQ One Tonner

“This is my HQ One Tonner in the build. It’s getting a 600hp+, 400ci small-block Chev, along with a Powerglide ’box with a 5000rpm stall converter. The rear end includes a Race Products nine-inch diff housing and Gazzard Brothers leaf springs, and the Tonner rolls on Weld Pro Stars.

The brown paint was done by Scott at Excel Panel & Paint in Toowoomba, Queensland. There’s still a long way to go – I still need to build a custom flat tray for it – but I’ll get there!”

Anthony Temple
Budget-built XC Falcon wagon

“I’m 17 and this is my 1976 Ford XC Falcon wagon project. It’s still a crossflow car, backed up by a manual three-on-the-tree.

The car was originally my nonno’s, which he drove around for a bit. In 2003 he passed away, and the car got locked up in the shed and was left sitting for a few years. At the start of 2021, my uncle told me he was going to put it up for sale for $500, so I asked him if I could buy it off him, and he just gave it to me.

When I got the XC home, I couldn’t stop working on it every day after school. I gave the interior a proper clean-out and then got the car running after a bit of basic maintenance. Now I’m on to the bodywork.

It is a very budget build, and sometimes I even have to borrow tools from my teacher at my tech college, as I don’t have heaps of tools. So far I’ve only spent $780.35 on the car, and my goal is to get it done before I get my Ps and at some point get it featured in the magazine.”

Anthony Mills
Ford XY Falcon

“Work on this ’71 XY Falcon GS is well underway, with the idea of keeping the car as a rusty survivor but with some tough running gear. So far it has fabricated rear tubs and a chrome-moly, four-link rear end.

The diff itself has an HRP nine-inch housing with Mark Williams 35-spline axles and a 3.89:1 Strange alloy centre. The donk will be a Dart-block 429-cube Henry, backed by a custom C4 ’box. Bodywise it needs a few rust areas fixed, and after running the ratty look for a bit, it’ll eventually get a full respray when some spare funds can be found.”

Jason Frendo
HG Holden

“I bought my HG Kingswood a year ago with the aim of building a tough-looking streeter. The idea is to do it once and not take any shortcuts.

It’ll be running a 350ci Dart-block SBC with a 6/71 supercharger, backed by a Turbo 400 and nine-inch Truetrac rear end. A Motor Fab rear end and a Rod Shop front end sort the suspension, and it runs Wilwood discs all ’round.

It’s also been mini-tubbed and has a fair few other mods in the works. At the moment, it’s getting fitted up at Grimas Garage, and then it’ll be off to the painters. Fingers crossed we’ll be done and cruising by 2023.”

Rod Walker
Ford XF Falcon ute

“This is my 1990 XF ute. When I got the car, it was powder blue with the ubiquitous late-80s baby-poo brown interior, factory buckets and a floor-shift auto.

I stripped it back and started cutting and welding, did a T5 five-speed manual swap and redid the interior in black and alloy. Because it had been sitting for a while before I got it, it needed a good going-over. I replaced all the worn-out bits and rebuilt a 250 crossflow for it.

It’s lowered all ’round and sitting on some steel wheels that had been widened back in the day. The fronts are 14x9s with 265/50 tyres, while the back runs 15x11s with 295/50 rubber.

The old girl has a good grip on the world! She is a work-in-progress, and while the crossy goes okay, I’ve finally given in and have a Barra out of a BF Falcon to go into it – or maybe I should look for a V8 for it!”

Got a sweet ride that’s currently in the build? Send photos of it along with some details to: In The Build, Street Machine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166 or email [email protected]. Please note: Send us copies of your prints as we are unable to return photos.