RODS OUT IN SYDNEY

> THE SYDNEY HOT ROD & CUSTOM AUTO EXPO HITS NEW HEIGHTS

WHILE it was a bummer that the Sydney Hot Rod & Custom Auto Expo and Meguiar’s Motorex fell on the same weekend, they were both cracking events. The highlight of the Sydney deal for us was the inclusion of the Nostalgia Lane exhibition. Organised by Outkasts CC members Andy Colalillo and Sean Hagerty, the Lane brought together trad-style rods, customs and race cars in an orgy of old-school goodness.

One car in particular got our hearts pumping – Joe Kurtovic’s blown 202powered dragster (pictured top). The car has been built to meet Ihra-specs but maintain the profile a classic 60s digger. Smith Concepts added wild custom paint, but this thing ain’t no show pony – expect to see it on the track chasing records soon.

As a nice contrast, there was also a genuine piece of drag racing history on show at the Expo, namely the Mooneyes Dragster (right), on the second leg of its three-stop Australian tour. The Potvinblown Sbc-powered machine is an icon that combined speed and style in a way that has only been occasionally achieved over the past few decades of drag racing. Mooneyes USA owners Chico Kodama and Shige Suganuma were on hand to chat to the punters and fire up the car, while Mooneyes art guru Hiro ‘Wildman’ Ishii signed autographs and performed some public pinstriping.

At trophy time, the wild Mercury of Wasyl Rosati swept all before it on debut. Dubbed ‘Black Diamond’, it contains trad body mods and paint by Andy’s Restorations, a healthy sprinkling of 24-carat gold plating, and massive horsepower in the form of a Procharged Keith Black Hemi!

We shot a handful of cool videos at the show, including Joe’s FED, the Mooneyes Dragster, and Charlie Saliba’s restored Aussie Charger E38 (main). Search for them on whichcar. com.au/streetmachine.