LETTER OF THE MONTH
LEGEND REBORN
GREAT to see my mate George Anthony’s old XB on the cover of the May issue of Street Machine. I’m from Cooma, and worked with George for many years both in his father’s shop and then in the Cooma Retravision shop that George ran. I always wondered what happened to the car when he sold the rolling stock many years ago and have always watched out for it to appear again in some form.
Having ridden in this XB when it was both a two-tone brown family car and when it was the yellow tubbed beast in Cooma, I was happy to see it’s taken on another life for new owner Sam Gauci and looking awesome in red.
I also found the hard-cover Street Machine book [Street Machine Legends Volume 1] with photos of George’s XB in it. That car could move!
David Dougherty, email
TRUE REVHEAD
MY 10-year-old son Jake is highfunctioning autistic. He lacks some social skills and is not the most practical child, but he is very smart and he gets right into stuff that interests him. He loves factual information, and he absolutely loves muscle and burnout cars.
I recently got him a subscription to your magazine and he looks forward to the new one coming each month, as it’s about the only thing he gets in the mail. He reads them all the time and sticks the posters up on his bedroom wall.
He wanted me to send you this drawing of a Pro Stock car (left), which he is hoping he gets to see in one of your magazines.
He is really not happy with the current COVID-19 situation, as the Sa/victoria border has been closed and all the Portland burnout events (the closest ones to us in SA) that he was very much looking forward to have been cancelled. He’s even more disappointed as one of our mates has just finished doing up his burnout car and was about to take it down for its first run when COVID restrictions hit.
Anyway, cheers for the great magazine.
Jodie Solomons, Mount Gambier, SA
LETHAL WEPN?
I HAVE read various articles on how Vicroads has decided to deem Peter Hansen’s WEPN number plates offensive (Broadcast, SM, Aug ’20). It seems that only overpaid, fat-cat bureaucratic imbeciles can decide what is and what is not offensive.
Rather than just sweeping this under the rug and copping it on the chin, why doesn’t Street Machine print the names of these Vicroads people so the general public knows who they are?
What next? Banning fuzzy dice, or maybe the lighted valve caps?
Alex Lenci, email
FREE EXPRESSION
G’DAY crew, I was lucky enough to attend the Kenda Expression Session drags at Willowbank as a crew member for a mate, up from Sydney. Even though there weren’t a lot of cars and there was no crowd, it was like having the coldest beer at the end of the hottest day’s work.
I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed race events, cruises and just hanging out in the shed with mates. It was kind of a wake-up call for me and a reminder to reach out to my mates who are more isolated than most during this crazy time.
Thanks to the event promoters, Willowbank and the track staff for their efforts and determination to make the event proceed in a safe manner. See you on the other side.
Luka Handley, email
SPEAKING ENGLISH
I READ with interest William Porker’s Dirty Stuff article on the Rochdale coupe (right, SM, Sep ’19). I would very much like to follow this up with William, having written and published a number of articles on this English car manufacturer and its business highs and lows. If you could kindly pass this letter on to him it would be much appreciated.
William Alan Hoverd, Director,
Minor Mods
HI WILLIAM, sure, I’ll be in touch with you. The coupe is an interesting oneoff; a typical Ford Ten-based English build. – William Porker