QUINN CALCOPIETRO
20, SYDNEY, NSW
QUINN Calcopietro has always preferred the look of older cars, and has coveted the HQ-WB models in particular since he was six. His dad Angelo is a Holden man, having owned a heap of Calais and Statesmans and currently with a WM in the shed with only 20,000 kays on it. Now, Quinn continues the family tradition with this very tidy HZ sedan.
Great-looking HZ, Quinn!
Thanks! Initially, Dad found a pretty original HJ, which I thought was for me. I was a bit upset when I found out it was for a friend of his who was looking for one! But we bought this HZ for me to do my Ls in – I did the full 120 hours in this car. We drove it out to the beach, through the city, down the coast – everywhere. Funny thing is, not long after getting my licence we pulled it off the road for a full rebuild. This took three years; it’s only been back on the road less than a year – I’m 20 now.
It’s a bloody nice car for a 20-year-old!
Yeah, I have to thank my dad for that. I was working as a draughtsperson, plus studying at Nirimba Collage Quakers Hill for a Diploma of Building Design. I spent countless afternoons and weekends doing teardown, cleaning, stripping, lots of rubbing down – a lot of of hands-on stuff. However, Dad, with his mechanic brother Tony, own Instant Motor Body Repairs, so the fantastic bodywork is thanks to Dad. Also, a huge thanks to their painter, Rick D’onofrio, who did a great job for me. Same for Owen Webb for the American Legend Thunderbolt billets, and Steve from Alltrim with the interior. He modified the original seats and spiced it all up.
What colour is that?
It’s custom – we didn’t want anybody else to have the same. Dad’s favourite colour is red and mine is orange, so this was a good compromise. The idea was to look a bit like candy but not be candy. Dad went to PPG and got a few options mixed up. We then sat down and made a family decision; Mum even helped choose the final colour.
What’s next?
I’ve only just got started. We built it as a cruiser – a mild cam and extractors is all we did to the 202. However, we put the big nine-inch diff and Wilwood brakes in it. Big thanks to Pino Cicciarello for the mechanical upgrades; we spent a lot of nights and weekends in his shed. Now that I’m off my Ps, graduated and working, there’s a couple of things I want to do, such as an LS conversion. I’ve already got an LS2 stroked to 406 – I’m even thinking about turbocharging it. I’ll see how much further I want to take it. Oh yes, and put heaps more kays on it – I’ve only done about 1000 so far.
NOW THAT I’M OFF MY PS, I’D LIKE TO DO AN LS CONVERSION. I’VE ALREADY GOT AN LS2 STROKED TO 406 – I’M EVEN THINKING ABOUT TURBOCHARGING IT