Our good mate Matt Barnsley dropped a video yesterday about his LX Torana hatch that got us right in the feels.

Matt was a Street Machine Young Gun back in 2009 and did some photography for us as well. Back then, the hatch was looking sharp in XR5 Focus Electric Orange duco and powered by a 253 stroker and Trimatic combo, with Convo Pro rims and HZ disc brakes all ’round.

Since founding The Render Garage, Matt has helped a stack of our feature-car owners ideate and plan their builds, including Heath van der Waerden’s SMOTY-winning Torana hatch, James Bullions’ Mazda R100, the Khazi brothers’ RIVAL XE Falcon, Cam Waters’ XB Falcon coupe, and many more.

He’s also been the perfect guy to help us interpret the latest and greatest trends at the SEMA Show each year.

And the Torana? It scored a 355 repower a few years ago, and then a whole new identity as A9-XHDT. The LX became the perfect promotional vehicle for Matt’s business – until disaster struck.

Almost two years ago, Matt pranged his hatch on a wet road in the Dandenong Ranges. “The cops said the people in this type of accident don’t usually walk away, they leave in an an air ambulance and go straight to hospital,” says Matt in the video. “As devastated as I was looking at my car in that state, I had to tell myself I was lucky to walk away.”

The car itself didn’t fare as well. It took a huge hit to the rear quarter and snapped through an old rust repair in the C-pillar. The impact rippled the boot floor and more.

The question then became, what do to with the car? Start with a fresh shell? Junk it? Or fix the wreck?

“The car has a lot of sentimental importance to me,” says Matt. “It was my first car; I met my wife because of it; I’ve been through a lot with it – I’m not just going to let it die. The smart thing to do would be to buy another Torana and do what I want to do to it, but it wouldn’t be the same car. So we’re going to bring it back to life, bigger and better.

“I’ve shifted from being sad and sorry about the car,” he continues. “The rebuild is more than just repairs; we’re going to take it to a new level.”

Matt has teamed up with Dale Ward from Ward Paint & Fabrication to not only repair the hatch, but also explore what its next iteration will look like. “I don’t want to build a full-on race car, but I do want something I can take to the track.”

We can’t wait see what the boys come up with! Subscribe to Matt’s channel to join him on the journey.