HISTORYHIS REPEATING
NOSTALGIA STALWART RT DEAN KUBLER BREATHES INTO ONE OF LIFE AUSTRALIA’S MOST ICONIC DRAG CARS
One of Australia’s most historically histo significant drag cars has been brought back to life
THE custodians of Australia’s hotcar legacy are a small yet dedicated bunch, passionate about keeping the six decades’ worth of our local hot rod, street machine, panel van and drag racing history alive. Brisbane’s Dean Kubler is one of them, a bloke whose finger is definitely on the pulse when it comes to the importance of preserving classic builds of the past.
Shortly after the passing of drag racing stalwart and Summernats legend Milton ‘Milty’ Adey back in 2010, Dean learned that a mate had the remains of Milty’s old Super Stock ‘Hawkeye’ Pinto in his backyard. His love for nostalgia – along with nudging from his father, Ashley, who told him that he absolutely needed to restore this car – was just the prompting Dean needed to seal the deal.
“The Pinto arrived in Australia in the late 70s or early 80s as a tired USA race car,” Dean explains. “Milton had been campaigning his well-known Hawkeye 105E Anglia for a number of years by this stage, initially as a four-cylinder street car before evolving it into a 302-powered, roofchopped, competition-only racer.”
Milton was keen to step up his game within the drag racing ranks and had started work on a dragster chassis when he learned of a Pinto up for grabs near his hometown of Brisbane. Both the Anglia and dragster were sold off to fund this new purchase, and a fresh Hawkeye build commenced.
Following a two-year makeover, the Pinto hit the strips of Surfers and Castlereagh throughout the 1980s, running a 10.22 best in SS/A class. Unfortunately, an accident en route to race at the final-ever Surfers meeting wrote off Milton’s tow car, a borrowed trailer and, sadly, the Hawkeye Pinto.
The wreck was eventually sold and the driveline transplanted into different cars over the years, while the roller floated from owner to owner, many of whom tried to resurrect the build and return it to its former glory. But it was all to no avail.
“It was fair to say that the car was in pretty bad shape when I got it.” Dean says. “The Pinto was meant to be a relatively simple build, so I put my XL Falcon ute gasser project on hold and got busy. We stripped down what was left of the car, but sandblasting revealed a whole heap of pain ahead.”
By this stage, Dean had begun researching the car’s history and people came out of the woodwork supplying photos and information about both Milton and the Pinto. After rubbing through five layers of terrible paint schemes, Dean came across the remains of the original white hue with blue, red and yellow stripes, along with the Hawkeye graphics on the doors. It was a pivotal moment; Dean knew he was the custodian of a very special car with some real drag racing history, and it had to be presented just as Milton had done.
WE STRIPPED DOWN WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE CAR, BUT SANDBLASTING REVEALED A WHOLE HEAP OF PAIN AHEAD
Work began in earnest, with Dean and good mate Nik Bence whiling away the hours repairing and straightening the chassis and rollcage assembly, before coating it in a fresh splash of the original Milty-spec blue.
Fabricated front A-arm suspension was refitted and matched by a ladder-bar rear, with both assemblies sprung by adjustable coilover shocks. A factory nine-inch housing was drastically shortened to fit within the compact confines, while the original Pinto manual steering
rack was retained, topped by a Dean-made steering column and a period ‘The 500’ wheel.
A 351-cube Cleveland was the chosen donk back in the Pinto’s heyday, so Dean contacted Milton’s original engine builder, Geoff England, to pick his brain on a suitable replacement that balanced ample horsepower with the correct nostalgic appeal.
An original Ford engine casting was Hardblokfilled and treated to a Scat crank and Eagle conrods that retain a 351ci capacity. A Comp Cams solid camshaft and lifter package activate Manley chrome-moly pushrods, which in turn transfer the action north to Harland Sharp rockers and Ferrea stainless valves nestled in Iskenderian valve springs. The latter three are housed in cast-iron, closed-chamber 4V cylinder heads that feature raised exhaust ports. An Edelbrock Torker intake and 835cfm Holley carb sit atop the package.
The Clevo is backed by a Powerglide built by Custom Transmissions, sporting an UltraBell Sfi-rated bellhousing, Vasco input shaft, 10-clutch steel top gear and myriad billet internals, fronted with a 5000rpm stall converter from The Converter Shop.
A custom tailshaft sends the action rearwards to the stumpy nine-inch housing, which has been treated to a Romac full spool, 4.55:1 gears and 35-spline Moser axles.
The Center Line Auto Drag rims (15x3.5 front and 15x12 rear) are true to Milty’s original vision and are clad in Moroso 560 and Hoosier 32x12.50 rubber respectively.
To describe the Pinto’s body as ‘poor’ when Dean first acquired it is likely the understatement of the year – rusty, wrecked, crashed and bent would be more fitting. He invested countless hours to restore it to its former glory. “There was grass growing through it too,” he laughs. “The bodywork literally took years. I replaced the pillars and door skins, did a swag of fibreglass repairs and replaced the gearbox tunnel, along with then all the generic bodywork you do to prep a car for paint.”
Although Dean earns a crust as a plant operator, you’ve probably realised by now that he’s a pretty handy guy who’ll turn his hand to anything – yep, he also laid down the Ford Snow White paint before recreating Hawkeye’s blue, yellow and red graphics, before flowing the lot with ample coats of clear. The original door lettering and ancillary stickers were recreated, and Milton’s name once again takes pride of place on the doors to pay homage to his love and commitment to our sport.
Inside is all business, with the sparse cabin sporting a lone race seat atop the fabricated floor, while a Hugo’s shifter and a brace of period gauges will keep Dean abreast of the Clevo’s actions once the Pinto returns to the drag strip this year.
“It’s been a very long and intense eight years to get this car built, but many people have contributed, including people involved in the Pinto’s career, and of course my family and friends,” Dean says. “The project was extremely difficult at times, but so rewarding, and I can’t wait to get racing in the Nostalgia brackets. Remember the XL gasser project I put on ice nearly a decade ago? I think it’s time I gave that some love, too.”
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MILTON’S NAME ONCE AGAIN TAKES PRIDE OF PLACE ON THE DOORS TO PAY HOMAGE TO HIS LOVE AND COMMITMENT TO OUR SPORT