More Glasurit Inauguration goodness from Meguiar’s MotorEx 2024!

Ron Barclay – 1967 Chev Camaro

Street Machine readers will fondly recall Ron Barclay’s HQ ute as one of the most influential Aussie street machines of all time. Ron was back at MotorEx 2024 to yank the sheets of his latest project – a jaw-droppingly stunning ’67 Camaro. As we’ve come to expect from Ron, the Camaro is a masterclass in detail and restraint.

Dubbed ‘Plain Jane’, it’s powered by the factory-fitted 327ci small-block, backed by a T5 cog-swapper and 10-bolt rear end. It’s by no means wildly modified, but the level of finish in and out is superb. “My goal was to treat every part the same; it doesn’t matter whether you see it or not,” said Ron.

The original hue, Nantucket Blue, was applied by Ed Miller at Darred Bodyworks. He did a commendable job, too, with Plain Jane picking up Top Paint on debut.

“For the past 13 years, all anyone has heard about is this car!” Ron joked. “After MotorEx I’ll start it, get it registered and drive it.”

Barry Conran – XB Falcon

Pat’s Pro Restos did a full 180 from the FORGED vibe at this year’s MotorEx, bringing along Barry Conran’s concours-level Tropic Gold XB GT hardtop. While there’s no wild mods, it’s finished to an exacting level basically on-par with the XY. “It’s good doing a different style,” Pat enthused. “The main thing was research and finding the original bits and pieces. We’ve got a couple of guys that really know their ford stuff, so that made it easier.” It’s a super early production coupe with factory goodies like a/c and power windows, which Baz has owned since 1995. 

Daniel Fitzpatrick, 1984 Honda

Daniel Fitzpatrick pulled the covers off a super-cool Honda CB1100, which he bought as a $1000“toasted piece of crap” from Gumtree. Noel at Black Cycles played a big role in getting it done, blending and hotrodding design cues with a Ferrari-esque styling. “There were a lot of conversations about why I was going so far, but who is he to talk,” Daniel laughed, referencing chats with dad Peter. “It’s a bit scary to ride because you don’t want to drop it, but it really goes. It makes 100 at the tyre which doesn’t sound like much, but it only weighs 110kg so you’re almost at 1000hp per tonne!”

Zac Palmer, Model A Ford

Zac copped a few setbacks with his blown 383-powered, five-inch chopped ‘30 Tudor, but it didn’t stop him from reaching the hall. Its first engine was a crate job which burned down, and then its custom-ordered wheels were lost in transit between California and Australia! At the eleventh hour he painted the roller wheels instead. Best mates Mitch and Alex helped with the build, with paint by the latter, culminating in plenty of 20-hour days. “We didn’t finish it until we rolled it into the trailer,” Zach laughed. “It’s been a big effort from all my friends and family to be here.” He made the hard-won even more special by proposing to girlfriend, who tearfully accepted.     

Marion Breski, 1967 Mustang 

Murray has owned his sweet coupe for four years, and visited Paul Sant after a fire made a mess of its engine bay. The repair job soon turned into a full rebuild! A BDS 8/71-blown and injected 370ci Windsor hangs proud, managed by a FuelTech FT550. The rear is mini-tubbed and four-linked sheetmetal nine-inch, all handled at Proflo. C&J Custom Paint sorted the panels and doused them in custom grey, which sets off the Raw Hide Interiors-trimmed red leather and suede interior wonderfully. It’s packed with Speedflow fittings right through, anodised in red to match the cabin.

Bob Grambau, 1934 Ford Coupe

EH legend Bob has owned this coupe for the last 30 years, and has spent the last six putting it all together. “It’s a big-block Chev with an 8/71 blower, floating rear end and four-wheel discs,” he said. George Haddad built the rat motor, which is hooked to a Turbo 400 and 3500rpm converter, with 3.7 gears out back. An extensively modified chassis and Wilwoods mean it’s ready to be ticked off by an engineer. “To build a car that’s a bit of a head-turner and complies with Vicroads is super, super hard,” Bob pointed out. “You’ve gotta have a window-washer, middle stop light, pushbike reflectors, everything! Everything works and complies now, so we’re happy!”    

Brian James,  Model A Ford

“Modified to within an inch of its life,” Brian James’s Tudor rides on a custom chassis, with a flathead taken to 255ci via a Mercury crank. A Baron manifold and heads are topped with a sweet set of billet throttlebodies, controlled by a Wolf ECU. Just as cool is the Tremec five-speed manual and early Jag rear end, the former of which was originally specced to a TVR sports car. “I first imported one that was too good to cut up, so I sold it and bought an even better one,” Brian said. Other steering and stopping bits include IFS, a Commodore rack, coil-overs and disc brakes.