Duncan Allen
1960 VW Beetle

“This is my 1960 VW Beetle. Recently it was at Rockynats in the Super Street class, where it surprised many and hurt some egos, but before its racing life, it was my daily driver while I was on my P-plates.

“It received a 2387cc engine, which has been revised twice, and has had four different gearboxes in the past 14 months. Only one of them broke, though; the others were just changes that had to be made as well as trialling different gear ratios.

“Every time the car has made an appearance, we have changed something major, whether it be engine, gearbox, fuel system, suspension or tyres. It has slowly progressed from a stock street car to a little Bug with lots of punch, heavily influenced by the early days of VW drag racing in the H and I gasser classes in America – especially Darrell Vittone’s ‘EMPI Inch Pincher’.

“Eventually, the car will be covered front to back with 70s-inspired pinstripes and paintwork. All the work has been done by me or my dad, except for the current gearbox, which was built by good friend Aaron Roberts from Aaron’s Speed Shift Autos.

“The car is still powered by an aircooled, naturally aspirated VW flat-four, and shifts gears via an H-pattern manual ’box. It also retains all stock body panels and full glass. Its best ET over the eighth-mile is 8.15@78mph, and the best at Rockynats was 8.23@83mph. It hasn’t run on a prepped surface in this new configuration yet, as last time it struggled to keep the front wheels on the ground, but now that the suspension is sorted, we have plans on running it down the quarter very soon.”

Peter Christopoulos
Holden LX Torana

“I bought my Torana eight years ago, registered and engineered with a 350 Chev. I kept it for a few years before deciding to freshen the paint.

“I was in hospital at the time for a big operation, so Andrew from Braeside Smash Repairs painted it. He knew I was going to cruise it heaps and I told him I didn’t want anything special, but he went above and beyond to make it look great.

“I then took the engine to Con at Pro Race Engines for a freshen-up and cam change. It’s still a 350-cube affair with two-bolt mains, Aeroflow alloy heads, 11:1 comp, a solid-roller cam, and a 750 Quick Fuel carb with all the fruit.

“The Chev mill is backed by a manualised TH400 with an SDE stall, and a 4.3:1-geared 9in diff with 28-spline axles. It’s run a best of 11.1@120mph at Heathcote, and after making a few changes, I’m hoping to run a 10-second pass soon. The car doesn’t miss a beat and gets driven everywhere.”

Steve Collins
1999 HSV VT XU8

“My Sting Red HSV XU8 is build 145 of 161. I became the car’s second owner in 2001; at the time it still had new-car warranty and only 40,000km on the clock.

“My wife used it as a daily driver for a year, and then the upgrades began. This included a six-speed Mal Wood T56 conversion with an S1 sequential shifter and custom-built twin-plate clutch. A one-piece Gibson tailshaft connects the gearbox to a PowerTrax Grip Pro diff with 3.7:1 gears and G-Force axles. The engine bay has been smoothed out and had all holes filled. The rear is airbagged, while Pedders coil-overs live up front, and it rolls on 20in Simmons rims. Inside is custom leather trim and a polished half-rollcage.

“I’d like to thank Steve Collins Automotive for the build; Kev Pryce Engines for the engine build; Clint at Spray Paint Perfection; my brother-in-law Paul for the many hours spent on the bonnet; my wife for letting me spend the money and time; and Jake Drury at Trucks N Toys for the wiring.”

Matt Caple
Holden VL Commodore

“This is my 1988 VL Commodore. It is stock at the moment, but it’s definitely a long-term project. It is going in for a fresh paintjob and interior upgrade to get it ready for Summernats next year.

“I purchased the car for myself and my 10-year-old son Jack, who is a massive revhead like me. I eventually want to roll-race and drag-race the car in the Super Street class.

“The VL will be handed over to my son when he is old enough to drive – definitely a cool ride for him! – and we are already doing cars-and-coffee and car shows with it. He would get a kick out of seeing it in Street Machine.”

Mike Proctor
1963 Chevrolet Bel Air

“My 1963 Chev Bel Air is a right-hand-drive car powered by 6/71-supercharged, carburetted, 6.2-litre LS3, which has been forged, ported and polished. It sits on airbagged suspension and 19×9.5 Simmons rims, with everything new underneath. I spent two years building it, carrying out 95 per cent of the work myself, including building the engine.”

Ethan Ellul
1985 Toyota Corona

“I’m A 21-year-old qualified mechanic and apprentice panel beater, and this is my beaten-up 1985 Toyota Corona ST141 drift wagon.

“I bought it about a year ago for a measly $750. I started by removing the old 2S-C four-cylinder and automatic, before test-fitting my dad’s old Holden 253 V8 from his VH Commodore. My nannu (Maltese for granddad) then made up and welded in some custom engine mounts for the V8, as well as making supports for the alloy radiator.

“My father and I then stripped the engine and sent it away to get the block, heads and crank machined and cleaned, as well as getting 60thou flat-top pistons. We re-assembled the engine with a brand-new H264 Comp Cams cam kit, before installing it in the car along with a Holden Trimatic gearbox. The engine ran great, but the rear main seal kept leaking oil, even after replacing it three times, so we ended up getting another 253 that’s a lot more stock and swapped it into the car until we can inspect the crank.

“I then spruced up the interior with a quick-release steering wheel and boss kit, a working Monster tacho along with vacuum and oil pressure gauges, a racing bucket seat for the driver, and a regular bucket for the passenger.

“I also installed a B&M T-bar Megashifter, as I’ve always wanted one in a car ever since I can remember. And just for fun, we got a second bonnet and fitted a Bug Catcher to the carby. We also installed a solid-axle diff out of a Volvo 240 with an LSD centre, which was custom made with mountings to fit in a Corona.”

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].