DENNIS & LUKE DEANE

1962 PONTIAC LAURENTIAN

JUNE 2016

AT 2130 kilos, there’s a whole lotta car to love in Dennis and Luke Deane’s Canadian-stamped Laurentian sedan. It was built by Real Steel of Queanbeyan, and joint-owner Jason Bobruk admits: “When it came in, it was pretty ugly-looking! However, we were confident we could turn it into a real head-turner.” Considering the stunning black Pontiac was the talk of Summernats 29 and grabbed a spot in the Elite Top 10, you’d have to say his confidence has been validated!

Initial ambitions were familiar: clean it up, body, paint and a straight re-trim. “Dennis and Luke got as far as pulling a few things off and paint-stripping it before realising it was too big a job,” Jason explains.

What catapulted the build into the stratosphere was the purchase of a low-kilometre VY Clubsport donor car. Real Steel’s Steve Mommsen takes up the story: “We just wanted the engine and ’box from the rolled Clubby, but Dennis was keen to use as much of the car as possible, including the interior!”

The body copped tidy-ups and modifications galore, many being hard to spot given the rare nature of the Laurentian. Awkward factory bits were massaged, blended and reworked, and the bumpers alone consumed bulk hours to get right.

Up front, the Ontario orphan has been updated with the latest GM gear; a 376ci Bowtie LSX and Harrop HTV1900 blower nestle in a custom ’bay, bolted to a heavily modified chassis and backed by the donor Clubby’s T56 manual.

Although initially against the idea of including the Clubsport interior in an old Pontiac, the Real Steel boys integrated the modern trim surprisingly well, although they ended up creating a rear bench from scratch.

Underneath, the boys fabbed up a custom double A-arm front end stout enough to support the old girl’s portly kerb weight, along with a four-link rear end bolted to a set of fat ’bags.

All in all, you’d have to say Real Steel and the Deane boys’ vision of a Canadian/Aussie pro tourer that mixes with the best has come off pretty well, eh?