Jordan Fawell
Holden TE Gemini

“This is my 1980 Holden TE Gemini wagon. It’s taken us around two years to get the car to this stage, as it was in a very rough state, full of rust, bog and dodgy repairs.

“But we decided to give it a crack and completed all the rust repairs, bodywork and paint ourselves, with help from a good painter I know – my dad!

“The colour is BMW Marrakesh Brown. Exterior mods include a CDT-style front spoiler, ZZ/R Gemini bonnet vents, shaved rear end, tidied-up engine bay, and a set of 15×7 Rota wheels.

“The engine and driveline are all standard refreshed or rebuilt items, except for electronic ignition, a Weber carby, and custom extractors/exhaust that I made myself.

“I have plans to drop a built Isuzu 1.8L and LSD rear in it soon to spice it up.

“The interior boasts standard Caramel seats for that factory look, with custom door cards, boot-area carpet and rooflining done by me and my old man.

“My girlfriend and I have been cruising the hell out of the Gemini anywhere we can point it and have been loving every minute of it!”

Matt Caple
Holden VL Commodore

“My 1988 VL Turbo got a full resto in 10 months to have it ready for the 2024 Street Machine Summernats. Now it does cars-and-coffee events all over the Hunter Valley, and we’ve entered it in Summernats 39.

“First, the car was stripped back to a bare shell, sanded back to bare metal and epoxy-coated in a mate’s shed. While this was in the works, I splashed some cash at Rare Spares and ordered all the parts for a complete make-over.

“After many months, we handed the VL over to Atkinson Autobody, where the usual rust was found, so these guys had some work to do.

“After 200 hours of toil, the car was ready for paint, and we decided to stick with the factory Marlin Blue.

“While it was at the painter’s, I obtained a new turbo diff, and had the automatic transmission rebuilt and the head spiced up by Pryce Engines. The factory turbo has also been rebuilt and high-flowed.

“The interior was treated to a new set of seats from Rare Spares, along with a rear seat trimmed to suit, and finished with new carpet, rooflining and custom door trims. We also fitted new bumpers and tail-lights, and painted the undercarriage with Raptor coating.

“The engine bay was kept standard, and it probably gets the most attention, as it’s rare to see a factory turbo set-up.

“The car rolls on 17in BCI chasers. It gets used most weekends, and my son will own it when he’s old enough; he’s only 12, but he has his own Instagram page dedicated to the car scene @jacks_garage_rpm. You can see more of the VL on my own Insta @88thebuildvl.”

Terry & Lee Grieve
Ford XA Falcon GT

“I’m 36 years old, and my parents Terry and Lee have owned this XA GT for two years longer than I’ve been alive!

“It’s done drag racing, school runs, been driven to the 1988 Summernats from Rockhampton, and it was even used for my wedding a couple of years ago.

“It’s a proper survivor, with mostly original Ultra White paint (with no bonnet black-outs), and matching-numbers Cleveland and FMX, although the engine has now been stroked to 406ci with ported 4Vs, 11.5:1 comp, Scott Cook dual-plane intake and a Pro Systems carb.

“Before my wedding, it hadn’t been running in 20 years, but after many long nights we got it going again. It still gets driven regularly; my dad drove it 100km in the wet on drag radials to Rockynats 4 (because he is insane!). He’s still on the fence about whether to take it to the Winternationals this year, but I suspect if he sees it in the mag, he’ll feel compelled to give the GT a proper run!” Words: Joel Grieve

Simon Dalton
Ford XB Falcon

“This is my XB GT tribute. I’ve owned it for 20 years and slowly got it to the stage it is now, but as we all know, it’s never finished.

“It runs a standard-stroke 351 with alloy heads, hydraulic-roller cam, and all the supporting mods to get it making 570hp.

“Behind the engine is a C4 and a 9in LSD with 3.7:1 gears. It has a factory black interior with power windows, and rolls on 15×6 front and 15×10 rear Street Pros.”

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 readerscars@streetmachine.com.au.