Brad Smith
Holden VH Commodore

“I have been building my dream for the past 15 years. Like all builds, it started out as a small project and got way out of hand, but I’m hoping 2022 will be the year!

The engine is an injected and stroked 308 making 700hp, built by Brenton
from Marusic Inductions. It’s running a MoTeC ECU and has been future-proofed for a blower that may make its way on there some day.

Power goes through a Turbo 400 and gets to the ground through a full-floater nine-inch diff, which sits inside a pair of mini-tubs. The idea is to have it fully engineered in South Australia, and so far it has passed its torsional test with flying colours.

The paint is a Euro Platinum Grey, and it’ll be sitting on a set of Simmons rims with 275 tyres in the rear.”

Georgina Wilkinson
1964 Chevy C10

“This is my childhood dream car! I had it imported back in February last year, and I’ve been driving and constantly modifying it since then.

The week it arrived, I hooked into a disc-brake conversion and fuel tank relocation, C-notched the chassis for airbags, fitted a HEI distributor and manifold, and upgraded the carby and 12-volt alternator.

I’ve recently pulled it back off the road for ‘stage two’ of the build, which’ll involve fresh paint and wood for the bed floor. I’ll also be rebuilding the 350-cube small-block Chev with alloy heads, a lumpy cam and roller rockers, as well as adding air con and a bunch of other things.

’ve been doing everything mostly myself so far, including welding up excess firewall holes, fabbing up my own drip rails and all the other bodywork. Soon it’ll head off for paint, where it’ll be getting sprayed in a turquoise with two different pearls, which should look really nice.

I’m absolutely winging it so far and it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions, but it’ll be worth it in the end! You can follow all my progress on my Instagram, @that.aussie.c10.”

Gordon Hodgson
Ford XB Falcon

“I got my XB coupe after doing three road trips across the USA in Grant Hodgson’s supercharged red XC coupe. I joked that I would really like a coupe too, and as soon as we got back home the hunt was on.

I ended up getting very lucky and committed to a rolling shell already painted back in 2019, which is where the project began. I had a spare 408 crank and rods from my last build lying around, so the Cleveland I’m building for it will be a hell of a lot more lively than its original 302.

The aftermarket sunroof has been removed and the engine is awaiting pistons, and then I’m looking forward to doing all the assembly work.”

John Page
1965 Ford Mustang

“Here is the fastback that my son and I are working on together. The motor is a 363-cube Dart built with solid internals and set up for 550rwhp, along with an extra 150-shot of gas.

The gearbox is a T56 manual, running back to a Truetrac rear end with 3.7:1 gears. The car has been mini-tubbed to fit the 275 Mickey T tyres on the 17-inch rear hoops.

The front end also copped a makeover and is now an independent deal, with Wilwood brakes all ’round.

The paint is Designo Grey from a Mercedes-AMG, and once the car’s back from getting that finished up and polished, we’ll start assembling it with all-new parts.”

Nadine Hollies
Holden VL Calais

“I bought this car in 2019 with the intention of building a weekender, and it’s happening! Originally I was going to get it painted purple, but after seeing so many purple ones, I changed my mind to pink.

It’s very out-there and definitely not one of my go-to colours. The driveline package is an injected 346ci small-block Chevy, freshened up with heaps of new goodies including ported heads, a huge cam and all the supporting mods.

It’s also got a bigger converter and a VL Turbo disc-brake rear end. It’s been a long haul, with many setbacks, but it’s worth it.

It’s still not quite complete, but I’m determined that it’ll be coming out of the shed before 2023.”

Kramer Cuolahan
Holden WB One Tonner

“Here is my 1982 Holden One Tonner project. It was my grandfather’s car before he gave it to me in March 2020, saying that he’d never get the time to finish it.

So I’ve taken on the challenge to fix it up and make it into a cool weekender. It was sitting in his shed for 20 years, and because it was a farm ute, it was a bit rusty.

All the COVID lockdowns gave me the time to get out in the shed and get some work done. I’ve done all the chassis work, all the rust work on the cab is completed, and we’ve almost finished work on the other panels.

I’ve learnt so much from the restoration work so far, and I’ve been lucky to have some guidance and shed space from my father, Simon. I’ve spent most of my money from my part-time job on it, and I hope to be able to take my grandfather for a ride once it’s done.”

Mark Olsen
Nissan Skyline

“This is my 2001 Nissan Skyline HV35 300GT. Originally it came with a 3.0-litre V6 and five-speed auto, but now it’s undergoing a swap to a 6.0-litre L77 LS and TR6060 six-speed manual from a VF Holden ute.

With the help of some mates, the engine and gearbox went in pretty easily, mainly because we used a Fueled Racing USA basic conversion kit. It also has a custom single-piece tailshaft and a new LSD for the independent rear end.

It’s booked in to get some fab work done later this year, which’ll include things like mounting the clutch pedal, lines, shifter relocation, headers, the intake and that kind of stuff.”

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.