THE GREAT UNCOVER – SUMMERNATS 31

We check out some of our favourite new cars on debut at Street Machine Summernats 31

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Photographers: Chris Thorogood

THE Great Uncover is one of the highlights of the Street Machine Summernats and we reckon this year’s field was one of the best in recent memory. 

Jason McGrath of Gear Exchange in Smithfield NSW debuted this knockout LC Torana at Summernats 31, and despite it earning a spot in the Elite Hall, he swears blind that it’s every inch a street car. With a tough, carby-fed Holden V8 and three pedals, we dig Jason’s classic approach to the driveline.

At Summernats for the first time, the body on Kim Argaet’s ’74 XB Falcon hardtop appears standard at first glance, but a carefully-curated selection of beautifully executed mods really sharpen the car up. The 427ci, all-alloy Windsor is good for around 600hp and is nestled in a stunning engine bay.

With its brutal old-school pro street styling and stunning build quality, Matt Morgillo’s HQ Statesman has been a hit with the punters at Summernats 31. The thing is big, from the 1046hp, 632ci tall-deck Chev up front, to the 31×18.5in tyres on 15x15in Center Line Autodrags in the back. Tough!

Modified early Commodores aren’t exactly thin on the ground nowadays, but Craig Morrow’s VH is packed full of innovative ideas, making it stand out from the crowd. It’s also a real toughie, with a RHS-blocked LS topped with a massive Whipple blower yielding north of 1000hp.  The interior treatment is wild, with a bench seat, factory SL/E single-spoke tiller, and dash-mounted shifter.

One of the stars of the Meguiars Great Uncover, Michael Connors’s ’34 Ford coupe rests on a Rod City chassis with a coil-over independent front end and a four-link rear, which will make it a dream to drive. Draped in Aluminium Silver paint and rolling on Billet Specialties Outlaw wheels, it’s a stunner.

Another Meguiars Great Uncover car, David Xuereb’s TC Corty is built to an impeccably high standard, with every inch detailed to perfection. Powered by a stout, Dart-blocked Windsor, it is mini tubbed and rolls on Schott Tomahawk wheels.

An unveil car, Daniel Beauchamp’s WILDFB ticked big points for us with the sweet teal paint and two-door conversion. Under the tilt front-end lies a twin-turbo Toyota 1UZ 4.0-litre quad-cam V8.

Shane Keene’s EH ute was a toughie packing a blown 400ci Chev small block, manualised TH350 and full floater 9in. Built at home the bright red paint worked well with the simple trim and the 17×7 and 18x11in Schott Americana wheels.

Chub Townsend’s 1931 Ford coupe is typical of the stunning rods created by the Townsend clan, from Glen Innes, NSW. Dripping with cool custom mods, a rare Pines Winterfront grille and a healthy chop, the eight carb-fed big block Chev is the crowning jewel.

Owen Rice’s FRIED made a big splash on debut. The car was built by Matt Sims, with imput from Lowe Fabrications, Fuelworx, Killer Fabrications, Winner’s Circle Refinishers and many more. 

This sweet late ’40s GMC pickup floated our boat with period-style colours, windscreen visor and interior, plus 17in salt flat racer-style wheels. It has been offset with a small block Chev dressed with Edelbrock dual four-barrel carbies on a polished Edelbrock manifold.

Jem’s turbo 202-powered LC GTR Torana has been a hotly-anticipated car in the Street Machine office. Check out the engine set up here.

Stephen Sherry has owned his LJ Torana for a long time and ran some wild Joe ‘Bad Image’ Webb murals. Now Stephen has given it a major revamp, putting as much GTR XU-1 goodness back into the car as possible.

Yet another killer early Torana on debut! This one belongs to Darryn Wishart.

Shaun Horton has given the ex-Jody Vincitorio chopped HQ Monaro a serious birthday. We’ll have a video coming on this one soon!

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