Blog

Jun 19, 2023

Readers' Rockets: Barn

“I bought this car as an unregistered, rusty little barn find, as it was

"I bought this car as an unregistered, rusty little barn find, as it was identical to one I had when I was young. I just wanted to make him useable, but it ended up being a complete rebuild – sandblasted, all rust removed and painted, all new rubbers fitted, and the interior completely redone.

We used the original engine and transmission, just fully overhauled, with a slightly bigger cam and 2500rpm converter. I even had 10mm leads made for him, because why not?

I bought new extractors and had them chrome ceramic- coated with a full new exhaust fitted, plus a fully rebuilt set of triple SU carbies.

He was never meant to be a show car, but we think he turned out pretty nice and fairly close to original. Most importantly, he's a great car to drive that handles beautifully and is a pleasure to cruise around in. Hope you like him!"

"I thought I’d send some pics of my LS-powered XG, sporting an L98 six-litre put together by TOCA Performance that runs a 950 APD carby, ported Victor Jr manifold and Higgins heads.

It's backed by a full-manual TH350 with an SDE 5000rpm converter. A Castlemaine Rod Shop LS conversion kit was used, and the twin three-inch pipes were done by Exhaust Innovations."

"This is my 1JZ-swapped 350Z. The car runs a fully built 1JZ by ASG Motorsports, with 272/278 Kelford cams, G35-1050 Pulsar turbo, Go Fast Bits wastegate and fuel pressure regulator, and Plazmaman intake manifold, completely controlled by a Haltech Elite 2500 with an iC-7.

It's got IGN1A coil packs and a hood-exit exhaust done by Fat Pipes Custom Exhausts. The car was built to be a competition drift car.

It's so great to be able to partner with such amazing Australian businesses to represent Aussie-made products!"

"Here is my late father Ralph Angove's 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1. It was always a dream of his to own a ’69 Mach 1, and I’m so glad he got to enjoy her for the two years he owned her.

He purchased the car from a guy in WA who had imported it from California. The car was resprayed 22 years ago in the original Meadowlark Yellow and is still in mint condition.

It has an RHD conversion and runs a 351 Windsor with a Crow cam, PAC valve springs, Gilmer drive, Holley four-barrel double-pumper and MSD ignition system. It also sports Koni shocks, a 3.55:1 nine-inch diff and a B&M shifter.

We went to many car shows with my dad – he won a few trophies along the way – and we hope to carry on his legacy with the grandkids. These pics were taken at this year's All-American Day, held at Macarthur Square in Campbelltown."

"G’day, here's a couple of photos of my VL Commodore, a 1988-model Berlina turbo that runs an LS combo. The turbo is a GT42, and it drinks E85, with all Raceworks fittings. It runs a Powerglide and Borgy diff, and out back are split tubs with 275/60R15 tyres.

There are also old-school Auto Meter gauges, Convo Pro wheels, and a four-inch reverse cowl. Cheers!"

"Hey team, this is my 1965 Buick Riviera. I’ve owned it since 2013; it was bought the day I found out my wife was pregnant with our first-born.

We upgraded the suspension back in 2018 with the help of my club, Death Dodgers Western Sydney, and Emu Plains Speed Shop. The wheels are 20-inch Boss Motorsports items that were made to fit.

The car spent the last part of 2022 doing formals and donating every bit of the money to my Shitbox Rally entry, all supporting The Cancer Council. We managed to raise just under $2000 in four weeks. The Buick also had the pleasure of attending Todd's Day by Grassroots Garage at SMSP last year, doing laps of the track (and probably the slowest laps ever done).

When she's not helping raise money, she's a weekend cruiser adored by the family or out with the club."

"Hi there, I would like to surprise my dad, George Katrakilis, by putting his car in the magazine.

He owns a 1990 VN Holden Commodore with a 304 stroker and a 6/71 blower hanging out of the bonnet. It's a beautiful car, and my dad and I would love more people to see it!" Words: Patricia Kats

"I’m 19 years old, from Geelong, Victoria. My dad had this 1972 HQ One Tonner in the shed for over 10 years, so I decided to buy the car off him and begin a full nut-and-bolt resto. It was a two-year build with the help of my dad. The colour is HK Monaro Silver Mink, sprayed at T&M Panel & Paint.

It has a built VN 304 in it with VN heads and a 600 Holley carby built by Norm at Johnny Dyno Engines. It's backed by a stage two TH350 gearbox with a 3500 stall converter built by DTM Automatic Transmissions, a custom tailshaft by Peter Smith at A1 Automotive, and a 10-bolt Salisbury diff.

It's tagged as an HQ but has an HJ GTS dash and HJ front end. It has GTS Monaro bucket seats inside."