PURPLE REIGN

OVER NEARLY THREE DECADES, JUDITH MENSO’S IRON LION-POWERED LX HATCH HAS MORPHED INTO A HOME-BUILT ELITE SHOW CAR

Judith Menso’s Whipple-blown LX wears a shade that would make even Prince blush

THANKS to passionate Holden-loving elders, Judith Menso’s fate was sealed from an early age. Enveloped in Monaros, Commodores and H-series dailies, it was pre-determined that Judith would have petrol pumping through her veins – and she’s proud of it, too. In 1992, a young Judith had her sights firmly set on a 308ci-powered Barbados Green LX Torana sedan. But her dad was having none of it. Instead, the then 17-year-old was strongly persuaded to invest in an under-powered four-pot Torana hatch.

“The hatch was bought for $5000. My parents were happy to contribute $3000, but I couldn’t put in a V8 until I owned it. Hence I paid them back as soon as I could,” Judith laughs.

Over the past 29 years, the Torana has copped a raft of modifications, including Judith’s desired V8. “A friend and I put in a 308ci over a long weekend – it was still my daily driver so couldn’t be off the road,” she explains.

Later, Judith’s hubby Rodney – who’s owned the ex-street Machine giveaway HQFORU for the past 25 years (see p. 36) – put his panel and paint trade to work dousing the LX in BMW black with a gold pearl, and later black with pink flames. “The pink highlights were added as I was tired of being asked if it was my boyfriend’s car,” Judith says.

The hatch went from daily driver to weekend cruiser before deterioration saw the tired LX eventually parked up.

Fast-forward to Easter 2019, when Judith and

Rodney hatched fresh plans for the weary LX. Initially the idea was to just give it a quick freshen-up for the 2019 Toranafest. “Now here we are after a two-year, full-on rebuild. We went a bit off track!” Judith smiles.

The pair decided to step up to an Elite-style build, setting their sights on Summernats, an event Judith was keen to sink her teeth into. The short

I BOUGHT THE LX HATCH FOR $5000; MY PARENTS WERE HAPPY TO CONTRIBUTE $3000, BUT I COULDN’T PUT IN A V8 UNTIL I OWNED IT

turnaround was thanks to Rodney’s passionate desire to see the project completed quickly and to an exceptional level.

“About 75 per cent of the build was done in our shed,” Judith says. “Rodney did an awesome job of the body and fabrication work. The LX doors and underneath were beaten up worse than what we thought; it looked like someone had been out

THE FLARES WERE TWEAKED AND THE RIMS AND RIDE HEIGHT PLAYED WITH UNTIL THE TORRY SAT JUST SO

bush-bashing before I owned it.”

Rodney fabricated a fresh firewall, cowl panel and bespoke radiator support, and re-engineered the mounts from inner guards to fenders with hidden fasteners. Externally, a ton of subtle mods make the hatch look and sit just right, including both the rear spoiler and A9X scoop moulded to the body. “We also spent a long time deliberating on the stance; the flares were tweaked and the rims and ride height played with until the LX sat just so,” Judith says.

Next, Rodney set all of the gaps, getting the LX lines nice and crisp before laying down the Holden Morpheus Purple from roof to undercarriage. “I’ve always loved the colour; my everyday driver is a Morpheus Purple SS VE Commodore,” Judith explains.

Yet perhaps the most striking element of the car now is the show-spec lilac leather trim. “I wanted a clean, fresh, light colour that was different but still complemented the body,” Judith says. She had a vinyl sample in the exact hue she was after, but after exhausting all local leads on correctly matched hides, the lilac furniture leather was imported from Italy. Michael from Resurrected Auto Upholstery then trimmed Judith’s dreams into sumptuous reality.

Under the moulded A9X scoop now resides a 304ci from a VR Stato, thanks to Judith’s brother Jeffrey. “We kept a Holden motor but added the Yella Terra Whipple blower for something different. I wanted to keep the motor reasonably tough but didn’t want anything sticking out of the bonnet,” she says.

Underneath gained more than an immaculate paintjob, with the entire suspension and braking system receiving a decent overhaul. There’s a Castlemaine Rod Shop IFS with Viking coil-overs, a Rod Shop chassis kit, and Wilwood stoppers all around.

Team Menso set an ambitious target of debuting HER LX at Summernats 2021. The event’s

I WANT TO KEEP THE CAR ELITE FOR A WHILE, BUT SOON I’LL BE GETTING INTO THE DRIVING EVENTS

cancellation and the shift in focus to a Rockynats unveiling worked greatly in their favour. “We were still rushing and doing things the night before we left on the seven-hour drive to Rockynats,” Judith admits. There, HER LX wowed the punters and judges alike, collecting a sought-after Motorex Superstars invite.

“Now we’re fixing some of the rushed areas; Rodney tucked the front bumper and moved the number plate underneath just before this shoot,” Judith says of the continuous improvements.

“I want to keep the car Elite for a while, but soon I’ll be getting into the driving events – I like doing that sort of stuff,” Judith says. “I’ve been an enthusiast since I was a teenager, and it hasn’t stopped.”

Make sure you get to check out HER LX in the metal before Judith firmly plants herself behind the tiller and drives off into the sunset.

PAINT: Morpheus Purple is a world away from the Absynth Yellow that the LX was born with, yet the striking colour works well with the bold late70s muscle car styling ENGINE: Judith has kept with a Holden V8, now fed by a Whipple blower. The surrounding bay is show-spec thanks to Rodney’s bespoke fab work coupled with neatly hidden necessities BONNET: The A9X scoop was seamlessly smoothed into the factory bonnet, while the front guards were attached underneath by hidden fasteners HATCH: Rodney spent around 40 hours smoothing out the hatch compartment, including the fibreglass work underneath the hatch lid

INTERIOR: Triton seats replace the factory offerings for a fairly simple reason: “I’m tall, and these seats sit a bit lower so I’m not going to hit my head on the roof,” says Judith. “They’re quite similar, and still tilt forward”

UNDERSIDE: More crazy detailing resides underneath, with ‘HER LX’ lasered into the rear lower four-bars and on the front crossmember, all surrounded by a mix of satin-based Morpheus, gloss black and silver

RIGHT: “Our cars were part of our wedding day, too. HER LX was BLK 08 back then – and it overheated going up the hill, of course,” Judith laughs

BOTTOM LEFT: “I chiselled off the undercarriage deadener and sanded the radiator support panel; they were some of the few things that I could help with,” Judith says. “I’m sure Rodney was sick of me asking what I could do to help out with the car!”