READERS’ ROCKETS
MATT WILSON 1975 LH TORANA
MATT’S 1975 LH Torana is his first build, consuming two years of shed time to completion. Starting with a healthy sixcylinder car with clean white body and good interior, Matt set about building himself the SL/R 5000 he had always wanted. The Barbados Green Aussie muscle car now sports a 308 with a Crane 286 cam, big-valve heads and an Edelbrock manifold, all topped off with a double-pumper 650 Holley. A 3200rpm stall converter sends power through the T350 to the Truetrac nine-inch running 3.55:1 gears. Convo Pros in 15x10-size fill the flared guards on the back, while 15x7s on the front help Matt steer the fourdoor rocket. Matt likes the stock look of these muscle cars and has stayed true to tradition as best he could. Photos: Caprice Photography
JEREMY MILLAR 1985 VK COMMODORE
“I HAD always wanted a VK since my dad had sold his black HDT Berlina many years ago. When he passed away six years back, I bought an old six-cylinder Berlina and have slowly been building it into what it is today. It’s running a 355ci stroker with Walkinshaw twin throttlebodies, making a healthy 320rwkw, with a Getrag four-speed behind it and a shortened, modified rear end with Truetrac and 31-spline axles.” Photos: Ben Hosking
RICHARD THOMPSON HOLDEN HQ ONE TONNER
“IN 2015 my son and I purchased this HQ One Tonner for a project car off ebay. It was advertised as 99 per cent rust-free, but after stripping the car back we found rust throughout and body filler. So the body panels were stripped, and a close friend of ours, Glen, hand-filed, panel-beated and repaired all the panels. All the work and fabrication on the car and the tray was carried out at home in a shed, not in a workshop. All the parts from the car and chassis were removed and powdercoated or painted in 2K. All new interior, new front and rear glass, rubbers and chrome body bolts were fitted. A new crate engine was purchased along with AFR heads, Comp blower cam, Comp roller rockers, a Blower Shop 6/71, Don Garlits hat, Turbo 400 transmission with a B&M 2500rpm stall and a PWR radiator. The car was entered in Summernats 32 and made it into the finals of Street, but a fuel issue stopped the car from being judged on the Saturday morning.”
JOEL RICKETTS VF VALIANT COUPE
“HERE’S my VF Valiant coupe. It has a 408 stroker that makes 550hp, with alloy heads, a solid cam and all the good gear. The gearbox is a 904 with a 4000rpm stall converter, and has been fully manualised. The rear has been minitubbed and has a Castlemaine Rod Shop nine-inch diff, plus a 200-shot of nitrous hiding in the boot.”