TROPHY HUNTER —

HQ BUILT TO HAUL

The life of a shift worker in the Australian outback can be an interesting one. You’ve got to have the right sort of mental fortitude to be able to go to work for a few weeks, then back home again for a few, on a cycle that repeats indefinitely. It’s hard work, but the pay is good, and if you can make the most of your weeks off, then it all becomes worthwhile. This is the position Graham Espiner was in seven years ago. Sure, he may sound a bit like an Aussie, but he’s a true-blue Kiwi at heart. Looking for something to fill in the weeks between work, Graham decided that the ‘Aussiest’ of

Aussie cars, an HQ One Tonner, would be a good project. Of course, countless others up in the same remote part of the outback had the same thought too, and the oncecommon One Tonners were in hot demand — so much so, that there was simply none for sale. While on this hunt, he continued keeping fit by doing plenty of walking, and one day on his regular walking route, he came across the HQ you see here. Graham tells us: “It was sitting on a front lawn for about six months, and as I was walking past one Saturday, a bloke was trying to get it going. We started talking and I asked if he wanted to sell it.” A handshake later, a deal was done, and at last Graham had his project.

What he didn’t realize, though, was that the Aussies had dealt him an underarm bowl. While he knew the car needed work, the extent required was well and truly beyond the initial description. The engine issues, as bad as they were, were the least of his problems — and that’s saying something, considering that the rear main seal was, as Graham tells it, leaking like an oil can without a lid. Easy fix though; engine out, sump off … shit … metal filings in the oil! Luckily, it was just a 253 block, so, while it wasn’t ideal, it probably worked out well in the long run, as he could swap it out for the Aussie icon that is the legendary 308. “Never trust an Aussie,” he now laughs. As you probably guessed it, despite the seller’s assurance she was “bonza”, “smicko”, and “as honest as a robber’s dog”, it was far from it. Aussies: two; Kiwis: nil.

The pushrods were as bent as K Road’s finest and the crank was equally as useful to him. At least someone had started on the rust repairs the body needed. It would have been better if they hadn’t though: sanding it back revealed what looked like rings on a tree trunk, as the various different layers of bog were exposed.

By now, royally in the shit, but still equally as keen on the idea of a project as he was at the beginning, he knew that the only way forward was by taking many steps backwards, beginning from the start and doing it all right. While he may have been working driving road trains at the time, and driving a truck these days, he wasn’t afraid to use his time between shifts to sort out the rust himself — it was, after all, meant to be a project rather than a job that would involve paying people to do things. Since it needed new floors, sills, quarter panels, a cowl panel, and the bottoms of the doors replaced, Graham assembled a rotisserie for it to go onto. It was on this that the shell would be delivered to Kalgoorlie Blast N Paint. Thankfully, after blasting, enough metal came back to make it worthwhile continuing; it certainly got close to the point at which it wouldn’t have been.

Every hour at home over the next 14 months was consumed by bodywork: cut, fold, roll, weld, grind, repeat. It was a slow and tedious task, but, looking at the end result, it’s clear that Graham had both the time and skill to make it right. Even once removed from the rotisserie, the bodywork continued on, with a total of two-and-a-half years spent on it. He may have had no skin left on his fingers at the end of it, but boy did Graham have a smile on his face the day that the sandpaper was finally put down.

Included in all that bodywork time were a few subtle modifications too, such as the bumper bolts being shaved off for a smoother look. Rather than keep the stock bumpers, though, the rear was taken from an HQ Station wagon and the front from an HZ. Of course, you’d only know that if you were an old Holden aficionado, but they do make a difference to the overall look, even if some people can’t pick what that difference is. In a similar manner, the door handles were shaved, along with the hooks off the side of the tray, as,

SANDING IT BACK REVEALED WHAT LOOKED LIKE RINGS ON A TREE TRUNK, AS THE VARIOUS DIFFERENT LAYERS OF BOG WERE EXPOSED

the way that the build was heading, it looked unlikely that it’d be hauling a whole lot in the future. But this didn’t stop Graham from creating a custom hardtop from scratch to drop on, and a smooth custom tray floor to match.

Before sliding the chassis back below the reworked body, every millimetre of it was smoothed and painted, which obviously meant that no old bushes or suspension components could be used. Instead, King Springs Superlow coils were fitted up front and stock, albeit painted, leaf springs and lowering blocks slotted in the rear, along with new shocks all round. Rather than go all out on the brake system, the same mantra of making sure everything looked as good as could be, was followed. For this, Graham put just as much effort into detailing the stock calipers and rear drums as he did into preparing the body.

Clearly, the goal of not paying people worked out well, as that flawless paintwork that covers the body was sprayed by Graham himself. While obviously plenty of work has gone into the paint, what’s not so obvious is that it flows through to the underside too, where the same custom green hue has been applied.

Around this time, the shift-work lifestyle started to lose its appeal. Sure, it had allowed Graham the freedom to work on the ute, but with it nearing completion, the sacrifices were no longer needed. Rather than stay in convict country, the plan was to move back home to the Manawatu, bringing the almost-completed project with him. For that, it needed to be able to roll, which meant wheels were required. Scouring every catalogue he could get his hands on, he ended up with a set of Intro Twisted Vistas, selecting 17x7s for the front and 18x9.5s for the rear, with both ends wrapped in Achilles ATR Sports.

Thankfully, the ute made the journey across the Tasman with the rest of the Espiners’ possessions unscathed. Now on Kiwi soil, an interior was all the HQ needed before it could hit the road, or more specifically, the show scene. Luckily for Graham, being based in Palmerston North meant that Chris Pocock at Classic & Custom Motor Trimmers was nearby. Graham had already done the groundwork for the custom door skins he wanted too. In a bit of a twist, they were devoid of any speakers, as these were instead placed in the custom centre console. Chris still had his work cut out for him though, modifying and covering the later model Holden Scheel seats and the custom dashboard. For a small cabin, there’s plenty of soft surfaces, all of which have been expertly coated in leather. Hard surfaces include a Billet Works steering column–and–steering wheel combo, a B&M shifter, and custom gauges. Graham had

the gauges manufactured in the States to include a small skull logo, something that would be replicated by airbrush in the now-completed engine bay.

Five years after the ordeal began, he was finally ready to unveil it to the public in completed form. A long way from the outback of Perth where it all began, it was that Tararua Rodders Chrome N Custom Auto Festival in Levin that would be the car’s first outing. As you can imagine, it was a hit with the crowd and show judges alike, and Graham walked away with his fair share of tinwork to reward him for his efforts.

With the debut done and dusted, the pressure is now off a bit, but Graham is planning to keep the Holden in show condition and score a few more trophies with it before beginning to clock up the street miles and reaping the rewards for all the hard work. Although the Aussies bowling him an underarm may have started this all, we think it’d now be fair to say that the Kiwis have ended up the winners!