Terry & Daniel Hayden
Ford XY Fairmont & XY Falcon

“My father Terry bought his 1971 Fairmont wagon in 1995, stock as a rock! He lost his leg back in the late 80s and built a lot of the car himself the first time ’round. However, driving it daily for years took its toll on his body, so it came off the road for a rebuild. We have rebuilt basically everything ourselves, short of laying the paint. It’s running an EFI five-litre Windsor with a four-speed automatic trans and disc brakes on all four corners.

“Dad has had the interior retrimmed factory-style in Saddle Tan, with the addition of Recaro front seats. Being semi-retired now, he loves driving it as much as he can and gets it out as much as the weather allows him to. Next to it is my 1971 GT mock-up.

“My parents bought this car back when I was in high school, and at the end of year 10, I ended up with a school-based apprenticeship, and on my 18th birthday, the keys were mine! VicRoads changed the rules on driving V8s so it sat around for years until I was allowed to drive it.

“A few years later, I found out that if it was club-regoed, I could drive it, so the tinkering began! It’s running a 351 Clevo with a hydraulic-roller cam, shift-kitted C10 with a 3800rpm stall, and a shortened Borgy to fit the deep-dished Convo Pros. It’s far from perfect, but it looks the goods and turns heads wherever I drive it!” Words: Daniel Hayden

Sean Sullivan
Chrysler Valiant Charger

“I have a ’71 VH Charger known affectionately as ‘TicTac’. Originally a 265/770 car, it’s now a tribute to my first R/T that I bought in ’89, which was stolen and smacked into the side of a house in Canberra! When I grabbed this in 2006, it was destined to be a stock car until I bought it sans-interior, running gear, front panels, paint – you get the drift!

“I spent three years building it in my driveway, and it’s pretty much been on the road every single day for the past 15 years. I used to clock almost 1000km per week driving it from the country to my work in Melbourne, and it’s well known as the sticker-clad, daily-driven banger! It runs a warm 318 with a 600 Holley and twin 2.5-inch exhaust, bolted to a 904 trans.”

Anthony Critescu
Holden HK Premier

“I’ve built this ’68 HK Prem with my dad over the past three years. It runs an LS3 and Harrop 2300 supercharger. I’ve been a long-time reader since I was a kid and have always dreamed of having a car in your magazine!”

Rocco Nardi
Holden HX Kingswood

“This is my HX Kingswood, which I’ve had for 10 years now. In that time I traded the mighty 202 for a tough carb-fed five-litre I built myself, backed by a Turbo 700 and built Salisbury diff.

“It’s still got the original interior, including the bench seat. I put the Welds on it as a present to myself after finishing chemo, to help it look as tough as it sounds. It gets thrashed whenever I drive it!”

David Dines
WB Holden One Tonner

“This is my 1981 Holden One Tonner. I have owned it for a year now. It is painted in Blueprint from the Ford AU and BA Falcon ranges. It has a custom tray with marine-varnished wood on top, while up front is a mildly built 308, running back to a manualised Trimatic and 3.55:1 diff.

“The whole car has undergone a full rebuild during the year, so it should drive well and I shouldn’t have any problems with it – hopefully.”