IT MAY have been grey and damp outside for the 23rd WA Hot Rod & Street Machine Spectacular, but it was a riot of colour and lights indoors with over 200 vehicles on display, including dozens of motorbikes spanning over 100 years of manufacturing.

Special guests included Jack and Keith Zee, who dragged their ‘Speedbox’ 1938 Fordson van across the Nullarbor after conquering all at MotorEx so that the West Aussie public could also enjoy it. Also in attendance was Kengo Kimura from Heiwa Cycles in Japan. This was his second visit to the show, and this time he brought three amazing custom bikes, including a brand new build for a local customer.

Some amazing builds debuted at the show, including Gareth Lougher’s super-sano HR Holden, which cleaned up in the awards, taking out Top Street Machine Overall and People’s Choice. Owen Webb was also there to make his picks for Meguiar’s Superstars, and along with Gareth’s HR he chose Mark Celenza’s ’40 Ford tudor (full feature in SM Hot Rod #20 – on sale now!) and Mark Hainsworth’s LS-powered ’28 Ford pick-up.

A big hit this year was Koolsville, a kustom kulture-inspired pavilion full of old-school cool, a whiskey bar, eclectic market stalls and live tattooing. It was an awesome place to hang out for a few hours or the whole weekend – as some people did. Another attraction – or attractions – were the entrants in the Miss Koolsville pageant. The judging criteria involved choosing “a classy broad that brings a certain authenticity to the Hot Rod Show, a bit of sass and a bit of mystery” according to Sam Treloar, the driving force behind the whole Koolsville concept.

Another new initiative this year was the Lowbrow & Kustom Art Auction featuring some amazing art from all over the world, including works by Max Grundy, Dawn Frasier and Hot Rod Jen from the USA as well as several local artists. Magnus Danger Magnus was thoroughly entertaining as the auctioneer and all funds raised were donated to Orana House, a charity that offers support to women and children experiencing family and domestic violence. All up, the auction raised $4000 and that figure was matched by the show organisers for a total of $8000. An amazing effort by everyone involved.

Mark a spot off on the calendar for mid-June next year for the 2020 WA Hot Rod & Street Machine Spectacular. See you there!

Tony Wong poses with his new bike ‘Chilli Mussel’, built by Kengo Kimura from Heiwa Cycles. “We discussed the build over chilli mussels at Gino’s; it was the first time he ate it,” Tony says

On its first outing since a 12-month tenure at the Petersen Museum in LA, Kengo Kimura’s ‘Dirty Pigeon’ is a stunning piece of two-wheeled art. His eye for detail and proportion is outstanding, and all of the bikes that come out of his Heiwa Cycles workshop are equally impressive

Another example of Kengo’s work is ‘Bull Pigeon’, a unique take on a Shovelhead Harley. If nothing else, Kengo’s visit might inspire a few local builders to think outside the box when they build their next Harley

Craig Kilgallon is going to have to come up with a new name for his formerly yellow ‘Banana’ HQ ute after its recent makeover and eye-searing pearl green hue. I know what I call it – Killer!

Gareth Lougher unveiled his stunningly understated HR sedan at the show. Built to Street Elite level, everything on the car is either white, black or shiny. Check out that engine bay shot – clinically clean

Rachael from Durbz Kustoms put together this amazing pedal car to raffle off and raised almost $8000 to help out our friends at Oxytech. The winner? Damien ‘Chubby’ Lowe!

Bonnie Biscotti impressed the judges – one of the tough jobs I had at the show – with her stage presence and overall style to be crowned Miss Koolsville 2019

There wasn’t much in it when it came to the final scores though, with Miss Mon Mon awarded Miss Koolsville 2019 Runner-Up

Kengo Kimura was a special guest at the show for the second time, and was more than happy to pose with Miss Koolsville winner Sophia Stante and runner-up Miss Mon Mon

The lovely Michelle Dolan, last year’s Miss Koolsville runner-up and Mrs Galaxy 2019, and Bettie Butcher, the Hostess with the Mostest, unveil Colin Richardson’s ’33 Plymouth coupe

It might say RUSTY 58 on the plates, but I’m fairly certain there’s none of the dreaded tinworm left in this beauty. Built for Russell Conley by Neil Anderson at Street Rods & Customs, this FC now sports a twin-turbo RB26 under the bonnet, backed up by a Tremec six-speed and 9in. Mod cons include power steering, a/c, power windows and power mirrors

Alan Wells is a long-time hot rodder and bike builder with a knack for doing high-quality work on a low-dollar budget. His latest creation, a Yamaha RD200 dubbed ‘Crackl’in Rosie’, built for his good mate Wayne Mould, caught the eye of legendary Japanese builder Kengo Kimura of Heiwa Cycles, who gave it his pick of the show

Although it’s hard to tell, Jarred Fiorenza has been constantly improving his XL Falcon ute. While it’s unlikely we’ll ever see it with a show-quality paintjob, the car has been treated to tubs in the rear, and up front, the 250 crossflow now sports a mechanical injection set-up on the 6/71 Newby blower

Spotto Owen Webb taking a photo of Mark Hainsworth’s freshly finished ’28 Ford pick-up. The LS-powered and all-steel truckster obviously impressed, as it earned an invite to the Meguiar’s Superstars finals at MotorEx 2020

It’s tough to beat the clean and simple look of a white car with a black interior, although in the case of Peter and Sandy Hutson’s HK sedan, the paint has a subtle silver pearl overlay for a classy touch. It sports a set of Convo Pros with a proper size stagger – 15×4 up front and 15×8.5 out back – and a very tidy installation of a tough 406ci SBC under the bonnet

Brad and Brendan Kanters’ EH sports a classy red and black colour combo and a supercharged V6 under the bonnet. A Turbo 700 and LSD BorgWarner make up the rest of the driveline

One of the features in the Koolsville Pavilion this year was a pedal car build-off. Imagination ran wild as people came up with all sorts of radical ideas, from drag-inspired to tail-draggers!

Rob Winsall of the Knights Car Club had his Improved A on display in Koolsville. With a very cranky-sounding flathead and a ton of traditional styling cues, the roadster impressed the judges enough to take out the Top Roadster award

It’s always cool when two generations can enjoy a car show together, and it doesn’t get much cooler than the Cromey family, with dad Alasdair rocking up in his super-low ’55 F100 along with son Lewis, who had just got his ’59 Chevy wagon registered at 4pm on Friday!

They don’t come much cooler than the ’55 Chevy gasser of Mark Lazarus. It was imported from the USA pretty much as-is, but Mark has since spent time getting the car sorted and does hit the track on occasion for a few wheels-up passes

David Rodman of Lego Masters fame (make sure you check out the Legend article in the August issue of SM, out 18 July) came along as part of the Bricktober stand put on by the Rotary Club of Ascot. Apart from shaking hands with all his fans, David used the time to get some more work done on the Lego version of his LS-powered VP Commodore SS

David Heaton’s Torana hatch seamlessly blends the old with the new, with LS power, a custom interior featuring a VY dash fascia and VE gauges. The massive Hotwires measure up at 19×9 and 19×11 and cover equally massive AP Racing brakes

Joe and Sue Carbone’s ’42 Ford jailbar pick-up is practically unrecognisable with its custom grille inspired by the wild show rods of the 1960s. It’s also copped a 3in roof chop, 4in channel and a 351 Clevo for power

Dan Clemesha’s home-built ’37 Ford Business Coupe is the business. With a set of Kaase Racing Boss Nine heads on the BBF, the coupe has already run into the high 10s

John Churchman’s ’34 Chev sedan is all class with its gunbarrel-blue paint and chrome wires

This ’65 Mercury Comet Cyclone is a genuine racer from the late 60s built by a couple of brothers in Atlanta, Georgia, and was imported and restored by Greg Dale. It features a 427 FE big-block with a Holman-Moody high-rise intake, big-spline Top Loader and a 9in filled with 4.56 gears

Winner of the pedal car challenge was Chad Atkinson from Silver Aces. We’ve been featuring his metal-working skills recently in SM, so it’s no surprise that he fabricated the whole car from scratch

We featured Peter and Keith Hahn’s mini-rods in SM Hot Rod #17, when this particular ’32 roadster was still in the build. It’s all done now, and the amount of work that Peter puts into getting all the details right is astounding. Many of the parts are handmade from fibreglass, and yes it does drive, through a small petrol engine behind the seat

Aaron Aldridge’s HQ will be killer when it’s done. Under construction at Advanced Race Fabrication, there’s some really cool metalwork already done in and under the car. With a blown LS up front and a three-light bumper, it just doesn’t get much better

Ben Forster hit the red cordial extra hard over the past 12 months to get his wild ’42 Harley Servi-Car done in time for the show. Unveiled to many oohs and aahs, ‘Zeitgeist Killer’ features stunning custom paint by Stewart Parris. When Greg Maskell looks at it and goes: “Fark, that guy can paint,” you know he’s done a good job

Brad Miskiewicz was on double duty as our photographer and trophy-winning entrant. He’s been tweaking his ’99 Fat Boy, with the latest addition a set of ape hangers. That wild custom paint was applied by Brad at home – pretty sure it was in the lounge room. All that hard work paid off with the Top Street Bike trophy

With a complete BA Falcon XR8 powertrain, including the ‘Control Blade’ IRS, Jessie Kent’s ’67 Mustang convertible will be one hell of a nice cruiser that will be able to stop and turn as well as go fast in a straight line

The Lowbrow & Kustom Art Auction with Magnus Danger Magnus as the auctioneer raised $8000 for Orana House, a charity that helps and supports women and children suffering domestic violence