PRO-STREET

The team at Les Hunter Automotive of Kaiapoi are working on a Holden HQ ute that, when finished, will no doubt become one of the toughest and fastest street cars in the country. Not much remains of the original ute, but, with its mean looks, this is going to be one hell of a car when completed. Bodywork has been left in the hands of Brian Boyd, who has turned his skills to replacing the sills, modifying the radiator support panel, and widening the rear wheel openings by 100mm — just for a start. The base of this this pro-streeter is a chassis that was designed by Les Hunter Racing Products and custom fabricated by Art Morrison, before being expertly welded together by Murray Buckingham. Sitting in the engine bay, between the Art Morrison–supplied custom suspension, is a 526ci Keith Black Hemi wearing a 14-71 Littlefield supercharger. A custom bellhousing allows a Turbo 400 trans to mate up to the Hemi. Out the back is a 41-inch-wide nine-inch diff, sporting 3.5:1 gears, 35-spline axles, and a billet Detroit Locker by Strange Engineering. Rear suspension consists of a fully-adjustable four-link with coilovers supplied by Art Morrison Enterprises. To help with streetability, the ute wears Wilwood discs all round, 11¾ inch on the front and 12¾ inch on the rear. An electronically boosted master cylinder has been fitted, mainly due to the lack of room up front. The huge wheel tubs at the rear will hide Weld Racing AlumaStars fitted with Mickey Thompson Sportsman rubber measuring 33x19.5x15 inches, while the pointy end gets Weld Racing Pro Stars with 28x7.5x15-inch Mickeys. Stay tuned for this one, as we will bring you a full feature on the final product.