A year ago this very issue, our Young Gun was Mudgee lad Joe Box, who we caught up with while he was campaigning his tough, farm-fresh HZ ute at the Holden Nationals at Heathcote. This issue, it’s the turn of his brother Andy, who we found putting his own Holden hay-hauler through its paces at the NPRA Gunfight at Gunnedah meet.

First published in the July 2026 issue of Street Machine

G’day Andy! Tell us about the ute.

It’s a 1971 HQ Belmont ute, and I bought it when I was 15. Back then, it had a 202 and three-on-the-tree, so I got my Ls and drove it around for a year or so. That’s when I got the 383ci small-block Chev for it, which was built by BG Engines and makes about 500hp. We picked the engine up two days before Christmas, and we had it in the car and fired on New Year’s Eve. We put a Turbo 400 and nine-inch in it and the Street Pro wheels, and we had it finished and at Powercruise in mid-February, so it came together pretty quick.

Did it look that way when you bought it?

Yeah, old mate who I bought it off did the bodywork, then painted it with a roller, and I think he might have got the paint from Bunnings. I know this because I stuck the rear quarter into a barrier at Bathurst Autofest, and I repaired it and got a tin of paint from Bunnings to touch it up – it matched perfectly!

A love for Holden utes and drag racing must run in the family.

We’ve always been around cars ever since we were younger. After seeing Joe get his car and build it, I knew I wanted to do the same – as soon as you have a drive of a car with a lot of power, you want to get into one yourself. You learn a lot of skills from mucking around with cars, and that started when we were kids helping Dad build his HG ute and crew on it at events. That car is getting a new rear end over at Warhorse Motorsports and a new BG engine as we speak.

Between eighth-mile stuff at Bodangora and Gunnedah, and events like Kandos and Bathurst Autofest, there’s plenty to do out west at the moment!

Yeah, there’s heaps – it’s definitely growing. The NPRA events bring people from all over – as far away as Melbourne. They’re about to do one at Bodangora, which will be interesting. Then there’s the Motorfest and Can Cruise events that happen in Mudgee – I did those back when the car had the 202 in it. There’s monthly cars-and-coffee events in Mudgee, too, plus I’ll take it out for breakfast or to local footy games. I drive it quite a bit.

How did the Quey go at Gunfight at Gunnedah?

She went pretty good! I made it all the way to the final and won the race, but went too fast and broke out. It was a cool experience. Winning some money always helps, too.

What’s next for the ute?

I’m in the process of putting a 100-shot of nitrous onto it, so it’ll hopefully run some quicker times and make some more power. It’s gone a best of 7.7 seconds to the eighth-mile at Sydney so far. Being a Belmont, it had drums on the front, and they’ve actually worked all right, but I think I’ve finally cooked them, so I’m in the middle of a front disc conversion using parts that I’ve just gathered from people around town. I’ll probably put some suspension in it and get it riding better.

BE A YOUNG GUN!

Aged around 21 or younger and have a neat ride? Email high-resolution images (2mb+ each) and details of your car to gday@streetmachine.com.au.