Deni Najdovski
Ford XR Falcon

“Here is my 1967 XR Falcon that’s nearly ready to hit the streets once again. It used to have a 10-second 347ci Windsor driveline, but now I’ve dropped in a Coyote with direct port injection.

The motor is currently with Tim from TJH Performance to get a few little things done to help with the extra power, but we’re still keeping the stock bottom end for now. To get the big DOHC V8 into the XR, we had to cut towers out and run coil-over struts. The combo will also run twin Aeroflow 67mm turbos and a Plazmaman intercooler, and the driveline is rounded out by a two-speed Powerglide and a 35-spline rear end with a 325 rear tyre.

We’re in the final stages now, with the bay painted and all piping coated and ready for final assembly. I’m hoping to run eights as-is and in time turn the boost up for a seven!

All the work has been done by myself and my weapon of a mate, Dougie.”

Craig Taylor
Holden VZ Clubsport

“I’m currently building a mini-tubbed, blown HSV VZ ClubSport R8 over here in New Zealand. It’s still running the original LS2, but it’s copped a fair bit of work.

It’s a 6.7-litre stroker with a Harrop TVS2300 blower and eight-rib belt conversion. I’m aiming for around 600rwkW and a heap of torque. I imported a four-link and nine-inch from John at Monro Racecars that has 35-spline floater hubs; I believe I’m the first one in NZ to do a job like this to the rear end.

I’ve got a fuel cell system in the boot and some custom airbrushing by Dr Airbrush under the bonnet. This is going to be a street-legal build, so we’ve gone through all the certification stuff we need to do here in NZ.

I can see the finish line with it, so hopefully I’ll get to enjoy some nice, sunny-weather cruising.”

David Corrochano
Chrysler VF Valiant hardtop

“I’m 28 years old, and I’ve had this ’69 VF hardtop since I was a 21-year-old P-plater. These hardtops have always been my dream car; I even had Arby’s WAR440 on my bedroom wall as a kid.

I got this VF with a mild 360 in it, but unfortunately the rest of the car had seen better days. After getting it registered and driving it around a bit, I decided to start tackling all the issues it had to make it a bit more reliable, but it ended up snowballing.

I’ve spent the past few years rebuilding it in my shed by myself, with brand-new suspension, Wilwood brakes, shaved engine bay, mini-tubs up to the original chassis rails, an Extreme Driveline nine-inch diff with Gazzard Brothers suspension, and a 6.4-litre Gen III Hemi with an aftermarket stick up front. Gearbox is a fully manualised 727 trans with a 3500rpm stall converter.

The wheels are 15×4 in the front and 15×10 up back with M/T radials. When I shaved the engine bay, I painted it in Alpine White, which is the colour the rest of the car will be painted by my mate Matthew.

A ton of quality parts have been thrown at this thing over the years, but I’m glad to be on the home stretch now.”

Josh Blundell
Holden LX Torana

“This ’77 LX Torana is an original 202/four-speed car that started its life as a club rally car. The original owner raced it for a few years before selling it to my dad in 1987. Dad sold it to his brother about four years later, and my uncle drove it every day until I bought it off him in 1999.

It was still an all-original car, but the paint had seen better days, so in 2000 I repainted it. Just three months later, it was damaged and needed to be repaired, so I decided to do a full resto on it.

I pulled the whole thing down to start the process, but unfortunately I got very busy in life and the car got put in storage; I could never sell it, as it has been in the family for so long. Last year, I finally was able to start getting it running and driving.

I took the 202 out and started building a nice little 253 for it that I had left over from my HQ. I wanted the car to look as original as possible without modifying it or cutting the body, so I kept all the Holden running gear.

It’s not fast, but it sounds good, which is all that matters! I also rebuilt all the suspension, driveline, brakes and so on. It still has the original interior – Slate Grey with Houndstooth inserts. It’s currently getting the panelwork done, and I should have it back soon.”

Damien Cameron
Ford XG Falcon ute

“This is my 1995 XG XR6 replica ute, which I bought as my first car for $1200 five years ago, just after I turned 15. A local joinery company had used it for tip runs, and when I got the car it wasn’t being used and had sat under a tree for a while.

It’s a five-speed manual, base-model pov-pack with no options at all, but I learnt to drive in it and slowly started adding stuff. It now has FG XR6 seats, an all-genuine XG XR6 front end with the quad headlights, and 14×8 Road Rebel alloy wheels.

I went a bit crazy with the suspension, sticking in Castlemaine Rod Shop tubular upper and lower control arms, castor rods and Viking coil-overs. I’ve also installed a Whiteline 27mm front sway-bar, a Truetrac diff centre and a rebuilt AU Falcon LPG Intech engine. I kept the standard bottom end but fitted a shaved XR6 head from an EF with a Stage Four Crow cam, Aussiespeed four-barrel manifold, Holley 465cfm four-barrel carby and MSD 6AL ignition.

I’m in the middle of respraying the whole car, and the end goal is to compete in motorkhana events with a radical-handling and fun street car.”

Natalie Webb
HD Holden

“I grew up surrounded by Holdens; I have so many childhood memories like sitting on the air cleaner of Dad’s Monaro at a car show. Because of that, I bought my first Holden in my late teens – an HD. Dad had never had an HD, so as well as wanting to be different, I couldn’t help but fall in love with those beautiful sharp lines.

After I bought it, with plans to restore it, I caught the bug and bought a few more until I found this Premier, which is what I ended up choosing to restore. After it had sat in the shed for eight or so years, we finally started stripping her down. We found so much rust and so many dents! Slowly but surely, my dream car with my chosen colour scheme of metallic navy blue with a white pearl roof started coming to life.

So far it’s been three years in the making, with blood, sweat (mostly from Dad) and lots of tears (from me) to get to where we are now. It’s been a bare-metal restoration, with Dad doing all the paint, panel and mechanical work.

We’ve nearly finished restoring what is my most treasured possession, and I have no one but my amazingly talented Dad to thank. He fuelled my love of classic cars, and has worked tirelessly bringing my dream car to life. I’ll be forever grateful to him, and hopefully the car will be on the road this year!”

Robert Audsley
Chrysler VC Valiant

“This is my 1966 VC Valiant project. It’s my second VC, as I had to sell my first one to fund our house deposit back in the day. She’s a factory slant-six/auto car but will be built with a 318ci Chrysler small-block V8 and manual.

I’m doing all the body and paint myself and learning as I go. As with all Valiants, I found she had quite a bit of cancer when I started stripping her down. The body will have a few custom touches to set it apart, and the interior will be based on the original with a few mod cons to add some comfort.

The 318 is being built by my old man, who is an engine builder from the late 70s. My daughters also love to get out and lend a hand every chance they get.”

Got a sweet ride that’s currently in the build? Send photos of it along with some details to: In The Build, Street Machine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166 or email [email protected]. Please note: Send us copies of your prints as we are unable to return photos.