Muscle car nirvana!

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With the history of muscle cars encompassing about 50 years (always contentious when the first one was), it’s always a thrill and very convenient when a large collection of these high horse power beasts are gathered in one place. The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne once again played host to the Gasolene TV inspired spectacle seeing a fantastic array of Australian and American muscle cars from the earliest perceived machines to the latest high tech muscle on show in all their prime and glory! Well, not quite all but more on that later! SONY DSC

SONY DSC Put on by Mick, Lisa, Nes and the hard working team and volunteers of the Channel 74 show (check guides for details), Gasolene TV, this event is the brain child of the producers and we are definitely the beneficiaries!

The three day event gave the curious doting public and diehard enthusiasts a chance to peruse amongst the legendary and archetypical high horse powered machines not often seen on our streets, taking in the splendour of gleaming paint and go stripes, bulging bonnets and guards, over stuffed engine bays and buckle yourself in interiors! Sporting racing rubber detailed with white lettering and twin pipes extruding from the undercarriages, one could be excused for drooling down one’s self as they leaned forward to take it all in!

With over 100 vehicles on show, punters were treated to the meticulously restored to better than new condition cars through to those wildly modified for street or strip use. Notable classics such as a Marauder, Cyclones, XY GTHO Phase 3 and one offs shared the polished timber floor with much loved favourites like the 1965 Mustang, GTs and Toranas. Spread amongst these were the much revered Mopars, ever popular Monaros and other GM manufactured brands of muscle.

SONY DSC Complementing the gleaming muscle cars is an array of special guests as well as a fantastic Mad Max display thanks to a dedicated band of enthusiasts who’s passion is Mad Max and dress accordingly allowing us to reminisce back to a time in movies where CGI was just a futuristic idea and film producers had to physically create their mad machines.

Special guests such as racing legends, Ian Tate and Murray Carter were on hand to sign posters alongside AFL legend and muscle car enthusiast, Sam Newman SONY DSC and Australian drag racing legend, Paul Rogers. SEN’s own Shibecs was on hand to do a one on one interview with each guest throughout the day adding to the muscle motorized atmosphere. Other notable guests included Mad Max stars, Cundalini and Starbucks as well as stuntmen from the movie, Terry Gibson and Max Aspin although the most eye catching stars of the weekend would have to have been the ever beautiful Gasolene TV twins! More pictures were taken of Kimberly and Kristy than any individual car and I’d do it all again too!

As I mentioned earlier, not all machines on show were of the pristine variety! Age has a way of causing wear while eager young owners are guaranteed to cause tear having purchased the muscle bred machine for just that purpose! Down the back of the historic building could be found a collection of barn finds, those that had been used but were subsequently put to one side with good intentions but never to be executed. They have a story of their own to tell, be it a rev heads’ dream purchase or a daily driver with family history. These old girls also show those unfamiliar with automotive restoration, just where some of the immaculately presented rides came from, starting with something that may be better suited in a wrecking yard than in someone’s garage.
SONY DSC Going by the huge crowds who ventured through the hallowed doors of the historic Melbourne landmark, you can be sure the Gasolene team is already planning for next year, so, if you have a muscle car you think would be perfect for the expo, jump on their site and shoot them an email. Stay tuned to the site for details of when the episodes will go to air and book it in your calendar for this time next year when it will no doubt happen again!