Rhianna Lougher had little chance of escaping the wonders of car life. Her Iron Maiden appearance means that the whole Lougher family – Rhianna, dad Gareth (SM, Oct ’19), mum Alison (SM, Apr ’13) and brother Reece (SM, Oct ’18) – have now had their cars in Street Machine. With that sort of pedigree, something mild was never going to cut the mustard for 17-year-old Rhianna, and her iron lion-powered sleeper LC Torana is anything but.

First published in the September 2023 issue of Street Machine. Photos: Jordan Leist

Rhianna, I reckon it’s pretty obvious where your influences came from.

Yeah, I’ve been around cars my entire life – I think it started in the womb! I remember going across the Nullarbor a few times for shows with Dad or Mum’s cars. And after being surrounded by old-school cars, I knew I wanted one for myself. As a 12-year-old, I was on the Summernats burnout pad with Mark ‘Happy’ Williams as he accepted the Grand Champion award. From then on, I wanted to achieve something like that with my own car.

And Torries are your preference?

Mum has an award-winning LH Torana, and I wanted something similar to her car. Dad found my LC through a friend; he swapped a car we had for this grandma-spec Torana with great trim and paint. I was only seven years old at the time, and I remember sitting in the passenger seat when Dad told me that the LC was my car.

Tell us about the 308 conversion.

Dad and Mum were driving my LC around with the standard six-cylinder; then one night two years ago, Dad and his mate Lennard Vidot decided they should swap it out for a V8! It was a shock to know I was getting a V8, but now the LC sounds great and it drives so much better.

What else has been done to the Torry?

Dad also went through the suspension, adding new bushes and lowering it for a better feel. The trans is a Trimatic with a small stall converter, which we’ve kept as a column-shift, and the diff is a nine-inch with LSD and 3.10s. I helped out as much as I could, scraping the old paint and sealer off. I learnt that it’s a lot of work to build a car!

When was the conversion finished?

We debuted the Torana at the WA Hot Rod & Street Machine Spectacular in November 2022, where it won Top Street Machine Sedan Modified. Now that I’m on my Ps, I drive it when I can, though I’m still learning how to drive an old car with a carby and a big-ish cam. We cruise with the Torana Club and also with mates but are yet to get all of the family cars together.

What’s next?

I will keep the LC as-is, as that’s how Dad built it for me, though we may add Holley Sniper EFI for a smoother drive. Other than that, I would like an SL/R 5000 in the future, but it would be more of a show car, something I can display and maybe even win trophies.

Anyone to thank?

My father for sure; Mum; Dad’s mate Lennard; my brother Reece for the wiring; Phil Wall for the interior; and Evan for the engine.

Girls — wanna be famous? Send pics, car details and contact details to: Iron Maiden, Street Machine, Unit 9/3-5 Gilda Court, Mulgrave, Vic 3170. Or email: [email protected].