We all have visions don’t we? Visions of the perfect job, the perfect house or for most of us reading this mag, visions of the perfect car! But how many of us are able to turn this vision into fruition? Well, one such person who was able to accomplish this is John and his vision involved one of the classics from the United States; a 1956 Chev! But visions don’t just happen! They’re created from experiences in the field of desire as we make our way through previous visions such as a modified 1968 Toyota, Jags, Fords, a t-bucket and 34 rod John had previously owned. Not that he’s complaining about owning these cool rides but ultimately they were the stepping stones to his final dream pieced together from these experiences. Read More →
Browsing Tags elite
A club for one and all!
On our travels, we stopped into the 401K club in Anaheim, CA to check out their work and, as it was an open day, there was a car show to check out as an added bonus! The 401K club is a hot rod shop catering for all facets of rod construction from custom body and chassis fabrications, custom paint and vinyl graphics through to electrical wiring, collision repairs and maintenance of your pride and joy. Read More →
Conquering cancer with cool rides!
For only its third show, this Show N Shine event has outdone itself seeing the Werribee Civic Centre car park and surrounding grounds filled to capacity. Raising funds for cancer and supported by the Cruzin Knights car club, it holds its own among the primary events listed on our car show calendar. With perfect weather and energetic eagerness, Read More →
Beyond the big blue Galaxie!
When we talk of Yank tanks of the 60s, the Ford Galaxies must come up amongst the top for sheer size and statue, what with their stack headlights as well as stacked parkers, big square tail lights not to mention just the size of the panels themselves! It was the era of opulence and nobody did it better than the Americans. With the big bodies came big motors, big interiors and big brightwork. The suspensions were soft and the steering was light. Read More →
John’s XTGT Oz Tuff, Italian pride
The impact our teenage lives can have on us creates a lasting impression for the rest of our time on this mortal coil shaping our destination and decisions during that period. For those of us reading this mag, most likely it’s to do with the wheels we prefer, be it two or four, Holden, Ford or other and the style we prefer them to exemplify. Read More →
Danny’s reborn 1966 Mustang
So what’s your flavour when it comes to Mustangs; coupe or fastback, classic or wild, red, white, black…….or how about yellow? The list of options is endless and when you buy one that has no identifying colours at all and is the equivalent of a blank canvas, your list of options is completely up to you! Wow! Too much to think about! This is exactly what 19 year old Danny Sammut faced when he gazed over the newly acquired project parked before him in his garage!
Let’s step back a moment and see how this all came about. We all remember when we were 19, newly licensed and a head full of ambition and drive with our desire for that elusive piece of automotive art seemingly just out of reach! Well Danny was in the same predicament, not 100 percent sure what he wanted yet was ready to get his teeth into something! All he knew was that it had to be a Mustang. An annual trip to the Queenscliff Rod Run cemented in his mind the desire to own a 1966 Mustang fastback and within a week of the seed being planted, he had located one, checked it out and laid down the folding stuff! The overall condition of the Pony ride was questionable to say the least but Danny, with the help from his Dad, Nick knew what they were getting into. So dedicated was Danny that he even turned up late to his own 19th birthday party to buy it! “All the family were at my house waiting for me to attend my party and I was out with Dad picking up the car.” Upon seeing the classic fastback arrive home on a trailer, his Mum just cried thinking what have they done!
Purchased in Templestow, the classic muscle originally came from California where its final days in America were spent as a chicken coop (no pun intended) housing the flightless birds for a local Mexican farmer. The years of neglect and chicken manure weren’t kind on the metal leaving the floor corroded out beyond repair. The rest of the car seemed to be a mismatch of different panels and parts, perfect for a complete ground up rebuild. The bonus about taking on a dilapidated vehicle like this with your own ideas for its finish is you don’t feel guilty about destroying a piece of preserved history. Danny would actually be breathing new life into the old girl while customising it to his own personal taste.
As in all builds, Danny started with the strip-down to see what needed to be done and Danny’s Dad, handy with the welder, built a rotisserie to mount the body onto for ease of work. The majority of the body work was done in house by Danny and thanks to Nick’s skills in metal work while Danny was learning fast along the way. The whole floor was relaced while the rest of the body and panels weren’t too bad and cleaned up nicely. With the body work completed, it was now time to choose a colour. “Colour was the hardest choice” say Danny and I’ve got to say, it’s a bold choice too especially when combining the silver stripes. I asked him where he got the colour idea from and he informs me he saw another Stang on the Net in the USA with a similar colour while Photoshop helped decide the colour choice for the stripes. He wasn’t going in blind on this decision!
Paul from Chase Customs and Restorations was given the job of spraying on the bright yellow with silver stripes. To really go that extra step, a custom pearl mix was added complimenting the classic lines to perfection.
Once back home again, a new black Deluxe Pony interior was installed paying tribute to the Ford designers of the era who designed the popular muscle car while a custom billet dash and B&M shifter tells the viewer it’s no stocker.
The mechanicals of this 60’s beast have been treated to the full show quality detail, again allowing Danny to decide what he wanted to do. A highly detailed stroked 302 Windsor with alloy heads boasting 480 HP on the dyno resides under the hood followed by a C10 auto with stage 2 shift kit. Down the back is a True Track nine inch while a twin three inch stainless exhaust system lets other road users know he’s coming. With so much power under foot, common sense says this ride needs decent brakes and Danny fitted 300mm twin piston callipers and slotted rotors all round. Ride is courtesy of King coils and KYB shockers. As Danny is an electrician by trade, it was only natural that he would also handle the electrical duties. The whole car was rewired using a Classic Auto Wire update kit giving him piece of mind while on the road.
With a standout colour scheme, no ordinary wheels are going to cut it so Danny opted for 18 inch Intros all round fitted with Falken tyres. If you don’t hear it coming, you’ll definitely see it coming!
Taking approximately two and a half to three years to complete, this immaculately presented ride is no trailer queen and spends many a weekend at car shows receiving the deserved accolades along the way. While a car like this may have a dollar value on it, you can’t put a price on the father and son bonding time spent together working long hours consumed by their love of all things automotive. Danny also gives a big thank you to other family members including his partner Jess who, like most dedicated partners, tolerated the life of a garage widow while Danny burned the midnight oil to complete his dream.
PSRA (Performance Street and Race Autoshow) 2013
This long weekend in June saw the inaugural opening of the Performance Street and Race Autoshow, known as PSRA, come to fruition showcasing new cars, new performance products and a fantastic array of hi-performance showcars and bikes. This will become Australia’s version of SEMA, a similar event held in the United States, and will be an annual show utilizing the facilities at the Royal Melbourne Show grounds for hopefully many years to come.
The layout showcased a mix of old school rides and equipment mixed with the latest high tech gear available for today’s modern machines which had a strong showing as well. An automotive enthusiast could purchase him or herself some serious equipment for their ride covering everything from the ground up, from the latest sticky boots, big rims, wild wrap around vinyl, performance gear from engine to differentials, interior mods including bass driven stereo systems.
Spending motivation came from the many custom and wild rides, old and new, found spread throughout the large pavilion including a good selection of the wild two wheeled varieties known to most as Harleys or “hogs”. Cars and bikes alike showcased the skills of the professionals as well as the DIYs with their polished and pristine finishes leaving many a punter heading home with reinvigorated enthusiasm and fresh ideas.
The ambience was befitting such an event with the deep base of stereos and a DJ pumping out the latest driving tunes broken up periodically by the high revving exhaust note of a performance vehicle being put through its paces on the dyno.
The three day event closed with the customary trophy presentation and thank you speeches by the organisers and promising to continue the professionally run event next year so, if you missed out on this one, check out the pics, mark it in your calendar for next year and start saving your pennies!
Keep on cruisin’
Cheers,
Greg
Keilor car and vintage bike show 2013
This time of year sees the weather turn decidedly chilly for those of us still out perusing the car show circuit and the turnout today at the Keilor car and vintage bike show proved that nothing will deter an enthusiast from what they enjoy most. The Rotary club of Keilor once again put on a spectacular event behind the Keilor hotel filling all areas quickly and by mid-morning new arrivals were lucky to find themselves a spot. The variety on show to the public was vast from all manner of Australian and American makes and models to European and Japanese rides including a great array of bikes to boot.
The popularity of this event grows every year thanks to the professionalism and expertise of the Rotary club and detailed judging done by those who are in the know. The layout lends itself well to a family friendly atmosphere with multiple areas filled with polished and pristine rides discovered around every corner. It’s great to see the regulars turn up each year while new faces and rides come to see what all the fuss is about guaranteeing their return next time too. Congratulations to those who were lucky enough to take home their respective category trophies and a big pat on the back for the organisers.
This event could well be celebrated as the grand finale of the car and bike show circuit for the season with winter around the corner and most of us set to head for hibernation, be it in the shed or catching up with family till September. Don’t fret though as we can always find something automotive related on in this state so keep an eye out for my “what’s on this weekend” listing and you’ll still get your fix somewhere!
Keep on cruising,
Cheers,
Greg
Great displays deserve great photography
ShowcarsMelbourne car show 2013
Once again the ShowcarsMelbourne car show team led by Elvis put on a spectacular event for its second year running showcasing the high quality of vehicles and bikes that can be found throughout Melbourne as well as interstate. This indoor/ outdoor event located in Altona catered for all genres of vehicles from classic rods,street rods, American and Australian muscle through to high tech Australian, American and Import rides. A variety of custom Harleys could also be found dispersed throughout the Sporting Complex.
Noted display vehicles that the punters could peruse over was the environmentally friendly Zeroed, the high tech vehicles of Ovakil and FINEVY as well as the burnout beast of KILLA-B (although no demonstration was on hand). A variety Chev and Ford’s finest were on show while Holden’s elite held its own.
Outside saw plenty of polished pride on display too, bathing in the glorious autumn weather while food and beverage stands catered for the enthusiastic attendees. With forty trophies on hand for the high quality show, judges had their work cut out for them selecting which rides take home the coveted silverware.
All in all, the event went off without a hitch seeing many people mark this occasion as a regular in their automotive calendar guaranteeing they return next year. I’ll certainly be there I look forward to seeing you there too.
Keep on cruising,
Cheers,
Greg
AOMC All American Day 2013
Never have I seen a car show utilize the size of the area this show has to the point of having turn vehicles away but that is what happened today. The All American car show put on by the AOMC and sponsored by Shannons Insurance had such a huge turnout of classic, custom, old and new and covering all American marques and models that by 11am they had no choice but to shut the gates. My estimate would put the number of vehicles to over 1200 with reports of another smaller car show starting out in the car park from those turned away. Even those looking to simply attend in person had to line up due to the popularity of this mega-event. With perfect autumn weather in Melbourne, the order of the day was to find an outside activity and anyone with a strong interest in this vocation could be expected to attend this automotive spectacular among others found in and around Melbourne.
Mustangs lined up for row after row while the bowtie enthusiasts occupied another large part of the manicured lawns of Flemington Racecourse. Other sections catered for Ford, Buick, Chrysler and other marques. A number of clubs set up their displays showcasing the quality of their member’s rides while individuals filled out the rest of the grounds with polished up prides and joy. Covering everything from hot rods through to the latest muscle cars, there was something for everyone while trade stands and children’s activities complimented the fantastic family day out.
This social occasion also makes it a great opportunity to catch up with fellow automotive enthusiasts and shoot the breeze on what’s been going on or recent shows attended. I look forward to the next event on our car biased calendars to seeing what new, old or different in our scene! One thing’s for sure, these shows just keep growing in stature and size!
Keep on crusin,
Cheers,
Greg
An image speaks a 1000 words!
