STYLE COUNCIL
IN A recent two-part story on our website, Simon Major reminisced about some of the classic – and cringe-worthy – style trends and mods from street machining history. And it seems that plenty of you could relate to his tales of drop pipes, fluoro wipers, wild graphics, slapper bars and letterbox scoops…
Grant Pearson – “The epitome of the bucket-seat conversion, contoured Recaros with mesh headrests were numero uno, and you knew you’d made the big time if you had them fitted in the back as well.” Didn’t know I’d hit the big time ’til now!
Ross Perna – Remember in 1980 the old man’s HJ Kingswood 202 went in for a muffler change and came out with extractors and twin dump pipes? Sounded cool then; today, not so sure.
Ozzie Collett – Still sounds cool mate! My hot 202 has a dual two-inch system with cut extractors. Nathan J Parsons – Why wouldn’t it sound cool now lol?
Ozzie Collett – People think Holden sixes sound like a fart with dual pipes. Ford precross flow sound tough-as.
Michael Titmarsh – I worked in an exhaust shop back in the era and I was the drop-pipe king! EH to HG was the ‘in’ thing; I did a few HQS, but more on the early girls. But back then they weren’t that early!
Jason Jablonski – I have a lot of these classic 80s mods still on my ute: chrome, murals, graphics, turbines, Gilmer drive.
Kerri Timms – Great read Simo, both parts 1 and 2. We had a giggle over a few that we did back in the day, and still do to our cars.
Richard Ebsworth – My XT Fairmont:
drop pipes, high-rise with Bug Catcher, Top Loader, flared guards, TAS and custom console. Gee I miss that car.
Graham Kebblewhite – I had a Can-am dual system on my Hr186s/four-speed Premier. Linda Vesperman – Makers of the Hotdog muffler. Graham Kebblewhite – That’s right! Sounded like a well-tuned V8.
Linda Vesperman – Remember the Can-am Rat Trap? It was a Hotdog cut in half with a big fat chrome tip.
Allan Mills – Had a Can-am twin system on my 202 LJ two-door Torana S. Those Hotdogs got me on a first-name basis with the local coppers!
Ozzie Collett – 15-inch Dragways with dish, hot 202 with cut extractors, dual two-inch pipes with 16-inch-long Hotdog mufflers, Smiths gauges where the stereo used to be in my VH Commy.
Symon Floyd – I remember when a Sig Erson Hi-flow 1H in a Cleveland meant you were serious. Miss the old stuff.
Dave Emm – VH Commodore, XD S-pak and a Valiant VF coupe – I had drop pipes on them all. Dragways on the VH, 12-slotters on the XD and tramp rods on the Val. Hijacker shocks on the VF, centre roof-mount aerial on the XD, venetian and tinted headlight covers on the VH – good times.
Brett Mulligan – My first car was a gold HX panel van with a worked 308, tunnel ram, dual four-barrel Holleys with 2.5-inch drop pipes.
Jenny N Duane Young – Real cars had sidepipes, nobody liked drop pipes.
Anton Kraus – What a great read! Voxson rocks on!