First published in the June 2008 issue of Street Machine

Remember the ugly duckling? The story of Stuart Lewry’s stunning blown HT Premier starts out in a similar way. When Stuart found it, it was dark brown and had been sprayed in a garage so the finish was less than perfect. It had a weird red and orange interior and cost the then 18-year-old apprentice mechanic $2500. But there was a sizeable diamond in the rough: a 350 Chev, exactly what Stuart wanted.

“I only bought it ’cos it had a V8 in it,” he says.

With the deal done, the HT was brought to Stuart’s dad’s house where the project began.

In a state of enthusiasm familiar to every car builder, Stuart got stuck in and predicted a short rebuild: “I told my mates it would only take me six or eight months; it took 11 years!”

The engine, gearbox and the interior were pulled out of the HT, then Stuart and some mates stripped all the paint off.

“Me and my mates used to have paint-stripper fights, to see who could stand the pain the longest before we wiped it off,” he remembers.

With the car back to the bare rolling shell, some GTS flutes were added to the front quarters before it was repainted. At the same time the engine got a coat of paint and some Edelbrock bling to brighten it up. A Gilmer belt drive was also added.

After a few disappointing attempts at Summernats — either problems at the event or not even making it — Stuart ironed out the bugs and drove the wheels off the HT for two years, using it as his daily driver.

But it only took that long for the building bug to come back, so Stuart felt it was time to take the HT off the road again. Rather then simply freshen up what had already been done, he made the bold decision to completely strip the car back and start from scratch. Again.

With the car back to its underwear, mini-tubs were added to the rear end to swallow some much bigger rolling stock — monstrous 19in (front) and 20in (rear) Showwheels Hammer 5s, wrapped in equally massive Nankang Ultrasports rubber. Every bush in the suspension was replaced with new blue neoprene gear, and Pedders shocks were added to damp the standard V6 front coils and rear leaves, the latter fitted with one-inch lowering blocks.

For stopping power, there’s a pair of 330mm front rotors clamped by Wilwood four-spot calipers, which assist the standard rear drums.

Out the back, the original 10-bolt diff was sent to the scrap bin — in its place sits a Ford nine-inch unit housing a nodular centre and 35-spline Mark Williams axles. Making sure the rear end stays where it’s supposed to is a Panhard rod, while a rear anti-swaybar helps keep the big car on track.

With the undercarriage work nicely in hand, the shell, differential housing and suspension components were completely resprayed. Smeaton Grange Paint & Panel laid on the sumptuous two-pack Blue Light paint, a colour usually found on a Nissan Pulsar Q. The dash and steering column also wear the Japanese body colour.

Inside, Stuart returned the interior to the original vinyl style, using standard front and rear seats trimmed in light grey vinyl. The same material was used to trim the door cards, kick panels and the top of the dash. Dark grey plush-pile carpet keeps things cosy underfoot and a Billet Specialties wheel points the big Prem in the right direction. A Hurst V-Matic shifter grabs the gears while silver-faced Auto Meter Prolite gauges keep Stuart abreast of what’s happening under the bonnet.

Speaking of what’s going on in the engine bay, the 350 he bought the car for was tossed — Stuart built a brand new combo from scratch. Starting with a new Motown block, he added a Scat steel crank, Eagle conrods and Arias flat-top pistons. Up top is a pair of Dart II heads, fitted with Yella Terra roller rockers. Cam is a Crow roller unit and compression was kept at 8:1, in readiness for the 6/71 Blower Shop huffer. Two Holley 750 double pumper blower carbs fuel the fire, being fed the premium unleaded by a Magnafuel electric fuel pump. An MSD ignition system generates the sparks, and Pacemaker headers into a twin three-inch exhaust system dump the spent gases at the diff.

With a hefty 23psi boost, the 350-cube screamer pumps out 710hp at 8000rpm. Making sure all those ponies find their way to that bulletproof diff is a 3500rpm Transmission Centre converter mated to a fully rebuilt and manualised Powerglide gearbox and a custom 3½-inch tailshaft.

Stuart hasn’t blasted her down the quarter-mile yet but plans to in the near future. With that much grunt on tap, you’d expect a pretty decent timeslip.

He says that he’s now finished the HT and is enjoying driving it — just reward for all the hard work. But while he doesn’t plan to do any more work on this car, he’s looking at a new project.

“Maybe an XP for the missus,” he says. We wonder if she’ll have to wait 11 years for that.

STUART LEWRY
1969 HT HOLDEN PREMIER

CHEERS
My wife and kids for their patience and input; Peter Woodlands, trim (0428 281 198); Shaun’s Custom Alloys; Panthers Auto Electrical; Smeaton Grange Paint & Panel; Shaun, Liverpool Customs; Nev, Hercules Engines; Wayne & Kath, South West Instruments; Street Car Fabrications; Advanced Performance .