ONE of the biggest drawcards at Street Machine Summernats is the Elite Hall unveilings, where the public gets to lay eyes on incredible new creations for the first time. And the line-up of Elite-level debutants at Summernats 34 is set to be one for the books.

“This year’s Great Meguiar’s Uncover is by far the biggest unveiling of brand-new cars we’ve ever had, anywhere in Australia,” says ’Nats chief steward Owen Webb. “There’ll be over 20 cars on the Friday night, and it’s so big that we’re having to bump everyone in over the preceding two nights. Even though we have so many cars, we still want to make it really special, because it’s such a big deal for these people. We’ve been working really hard on that behind the scenes.

As a long-time Summernats judge, Owen has seen build trends come and go, but he reckons the pendulum may be swinging back to full-tilt Elite builds. ”The genres of cars that people build are cyclical,” he says. “We haven’t seen many full Elite builds in recent years, but this year we have half-a-dozen full-blown, well-built Elite cars. We also have a couple of concours restored cars, and some very highly modified stuff, from hot rods to muscle cars.

So far, all the works-in-progress set to be unveiled at ’Nats ’34 are on target to make the deadline. “All the builds are tracking really well; a lot of these cars are four- or five-year builds,” Owen says. “And with the break we’ve had from shows recently, it seems like everyone has had the time and the resources to finish these cars to an even higher standard.”

Here’s a small slice of some of the killer metal that will be having the covers pulled off on the Friday night, and to say we’re keen is a massive understatement. In the meantime, check out Jason Mansweto’s mental XW on page 36 – it is also getting an unveiling, but you can read about it here first!

HUD JOHNSTON – 1934 FORD COUPE

FROM the early 90s right through to the debut of a wild custom FJ Holden at Summernats 24, Hud Johnston and his late father Rod brought a series of cool, budget-built creations from their home in the tiny NSW town of Wongarbon to unveil at the ’Nats.

Rod passed away in 2016 at the age of 79, and since then, Hud has been hard at work completing a ’34 Ford coupe that Rod began building many years ago. The coupe actually sat inside the Johnston homestead for many years, with a wall needing to be pulled down to extricate the car!

Like all Johnston creations, the coupe is bristling with custom touches and fastidious metal polishing, and is powered by an old-school Falcon six, just as Rod intended.

NATHAN GIUNCO – XE FALCON

KEEN-eyed readers will remember Nathan Giunco’s stunning Barra from Mill of the Month, circa December 2019. Screwed together by ProFlo Performance, the BA-blocked combo runs a 88mm Precision turbocharger and bulletproof internals, and features next-level detailing. The car itself also features a stack of ProFlo mojo, so you know it is going to be crazy-neat and tough as hell.

“The XE has been in the build for roughly 10 years now,” Nathan says. “I had three main goals for the build: to get 1000hp at the tyres, run an eight-second pass, and powerskid the whole main straight of Eastern Creek at Powercruise.”

DELUXE ROD SHOP – FX HOLDEN

STEVE Alldrick and the crew from Deluxe Rod Shop are no strangers to the Great Meguiar’s Uncover, having unveiled 10 customer cars in 10 years!

For Summernats 34, they’ve got a sleek, aspirated LS-powered FX Holden in the works, tipped to be built with a pretty serious sleeper theme. Steve and the crew know how to build Elite-level drivers, so we wouldn’t be surprised to find this thing in the Grand Champion race as well.

JOVAN BATAR – HK MONARO

JOVAN’S FATXE Falcon was a Top 60 car at Summernats 33, but for his latest build, he’s jumped shipped to the General with a stunning HK Monaro.

Jovan is targeting a tough-as-nails outlaw street car vibe, with an injected ProFlo rat motor up front and massive rubber on the rear – but with a healthy does of GTS styling as well.

MICHELLE WHITE – HOLDEN HZ PREMIER

MICHELLE White is a proper, dyed-in-the-wool car chick. Her HZ Premier has been her pride and joy for years, and many Western Sydney readers will have spotted it parked outside her work at Rare Spares in Prospect at one time or another.

Well, it’s probably not going to be her daily driver anymore, with the gurus at ProFlo Performance having treated it to one hell of a blown and injected birthday, along with the good looks to match the grunt.

“I’ve put my heart and soul into this car, and she will be a complete reflection of my personality,” says Michelle. “I’m excited to show it to the world!”

FULL THROTTLE CUSTOM GARAGE – HOLDEN VL CALAIS

THE team at Full Throttle Custom Garage in Newcastle have gone full VL Turbo on this incredible Calais. Rolling on enormous Simmons FRs, the car will have a considerable grip on the earth, and it’s going to need it too, as it’s packing what we can only describe as a no-expense-spared RB engine package, built around a billet block.

In true Calais style, it will feature all the bells and whistles despite having monstrous amounts of power, and is being built as a genuine street car.

As you read this, the team will be putting the finishing touches on the car ahead of its debut at Summernats. “It’ll be down to the wire!” reckons Full Throttle’s Adam Lever.

STREET ELITE INDUSTRIES – HOLDEN LC TORANA

COREY Phie from Street Elite Industries in Brisbane knows a thing or two about building seriously gnarly street cars, and his latest creation bound for the Elite Hall is said to be his best yet.

The car in question is a genuine LC GTR Torana, rocking an LS7, paddle-shifted auto and a pair of huge 68mm turbos hidden underneath the raised rear floor in front of the diff. The cooler piping for the twin-turbo system is routed within the extended sills, while the whole body sits on a brand-new chassis from BMV Engineering.

TRENT CARTER – 1970 PLYMOUTH ’CUDA

RIDES By Kam’s latest blockbuster is a ’70 ’Cuda for customer Trent Carter.

The car is being built to a high-end pro touring theme, with an R5P7 NASCAR mill tied to a four-speed Richmond Super T-10 ’box, along with mouth-watering custom bodywork throughout.