Ron Barclay has accumulated an impressive catalogue of street machining accolades, including Street Machine of the Year, Summernats Top Judged and Summernats People’s Choice – and those were just in 1990 alone! His greatest hits include a super-neat XG panel van, a show-winning ’32 Ford (SM, Mar ’05), an iconic, SMOTY-winning HQ ute (SM, Apr-May ’90), and his latest build, a stunning, elite-level ’67 Chevy Camaro (SM, Dec ’24).

First published in the January 2025 issue of Street Machine

Ron is well known as the king of detail, and that trait can be traced all the way back to his very first major build as a fresh-faced 23-year-old – this Nutmeg Metallic, 253-powered HQ Premier known as LOPREM. We caught up with Ron for a great chat about the car that started it all.

What was your background before you built LOPREM?

Window cleaner – no formal training of any kind. I’ve always been good with my hands and have always had plenty of help from good mates along the way. I can’t tell you how many lifelong friends I’ve made through the street machine scene.

Had you built any cars before this one?

Nothing special. I’d had an EH wagon and some other shit. As a kid, I raced mini-bikes and used to muck about working on them. At about 17, my mates and I switched from bikes to cars. We went to the 1980 Street Machine Nationals in Narrandera, and I was hooked; I wanted to build a car to be part of that scene. That’s how LOPREM got started.

Where did you build the car?

We had a vacant block next to our house. After starting the build in Mum and Dad’s single-car garage, they made me build a shed on that block. I built the Prem, my ute and my hot rod in that shed. It’s gone now – Mum and Dad sold the property.

Why did you go with the factory Nutmeg Metallic paint?

Originally it was going to be Jade Green, then silver, but these were too common – nobody was painting their car brown, so… Back then, I was deliberately doing stuff differently. I could have had a Monaro coupe for the same money, but they were common back then – everybody had one – and that’s why I deliberately bought a four-door Premier.

Did you set out to build a trophy winner from the start?

My mate’s brother-in-law, who painted LOPREM, introduced me to hot rods. I was reading every hot rod magazine I could get my hands on. I’d seen an article by Boyd Coddington on how to smooth an engine block and heads, so that’s what I did. When we put the motor in, it was too nice for the engine bay. Back out it came so I could plate and smooth the chassis and spray the engine bay. Now it was too nice for the engine! Things just spiralled out of control from there.

It must have been hard finding the dollars for the build at age 23?

I’d get paid Monday and go straight to Preston Motors and spend all my money – I’d be broke for the rest of the week. To be fair, parts were so cheap: $24 for brand-new tinted door glass; $80 for an HJ rear window with a demister; a genuine GTS steering was like $53; and it was only $36 for brand-new bumpers!

What non-factory bits did NOPREM have?

Lloyd Moss, who did all the springs for the race cars, custom made the four-inch lowered coils. Center Lines were way too dear for me, but I found the fronts cheap at a swap meet. The motor had a Sig Erson TQ20 cam, 500cfm Holley and Accel twin-point dizzy – it still had the factory intake, which I polished up.

How did it go on the show scene?

At my very first show, it won Top Engine Bay and Top Street Machine. That was the ’84 Victorian Street Machine Show, which as the state’s biggest street machine event – I was only 23! I took it back in 1985 and won Top Four-Door Sedan.

“I sold it to a bloke in Canberra in 1986 and never saw it again. I got $8500 for it, which was good money at the time”

Did you sell the Premier to build your famous HQ ute?

Yes. The ute belonged to Mum and Dad, and I used to tow LOPREM to shows with it. I really liked all the highly detailed cars that were coming out of South Australia at the time – there was Paul Atkins’s PREM67 HR, Steve Dobson’s HG van, Trevor Cass’s EH and Ian Hazel’s HG wagon. After seeing Ian’s wagon, I knew I wanted to build a car to that level, which is why I sold LOPREM. I kept the clock out of it, which I put into the ute.

Do you know where LOPREM is these days?

I sold it to a bloke in Canberra in 1986 and never saw it again – it disappeared. I got $8500 for it, which was good money at the time. As a comparison, a mate sold his neat HK Bathurst Monaro that ran 11.8 for $9000 around the same time – only $500 more!

HOLDEN ON

As we mentioned in our December 2024 feature story on Ron’s latest build – an exquisite 1967 Camaro called ‘Plain Jane’ – his 1990 SMOTY-winning HQ ute (pictured above) came back into his possession a while back, and he’ll be rebuilding it after helping his mate Ed Miller finish his ’58 Chev Apache!

RON BARCLAY
1973 HOLDEN HQ PREMIER