Tag: strobist

FLASHBACK: 2006 and the First Reader-Voted SCOTY

...and a V6 Won!

FLASHBACK to 2006. It was the first year that we opened the Car of the Year awards up to a public vote. I was editor of Street Commodores at the time. We had a custom trophy designed and built for the purpose by Danny Hoang from Cyber Motorsports, from memory. It turned out so nicely, but given the state of decay that ran through Express Publications in the 2010s, I hate to think what happened to it.
We courted controversy by having the winner chosen by public vote. The first winner was a twin-turbo V6, which sent some of the diehard V8 guys into a tailspin. I even had one former cover car owner call me one night claiming all sorts of conspiracy theories and making personal attacks.
Frankly, the car was a pioneer and a deserved winner and life continued on.
I continued on at Express until 2010, when I went freelance – contributing to most of the Express motoring titles until the bitter end. It was sad seeing the magazines being allowed to peter out of existence, but I’ll always be grateful for the experience I gained and the people I met.

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Feature Car: Mark Caruana's HK Holden

Flawless 700hp N/A Beauty

Mark Caruana found a unicorn when he stumbled across this genuine 11,000-mile survivor that had already been through one ground-up resto. A truly ‘only driven on Sundays’ situation, much of this car’s interior is actually original!

It was a quick build, with the final rush from painted shell to Summernats taking just three short months. Find a copy of the November 2024 issue of Street Machine to read all about it.

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Feature Car: Simon Fawcett's 1946 Chev'

Aussie-Built '46 Chevrolet Truck

Simon Fawcett and Karen Savage’s 1946 Chevrolet truck is a rare machine – an Australian-built ute that boasts numerous stylistic points unique to the model.

Built by the teams at Image Vehicle Manufacturing and Woods & Woods, the car has been some 12 years in the making and the results are incredible.

It’s also about the fifth or sixth car I’ve photographed from the IVM stable. The photo shoot was featured in the October 2024 issue of Street Machine.

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Feature Car: Chris Palazzo's Mopar Pair

Killer Barracuda and Charger Combo

Sorry folks, I’ve been a bit slack with updating the blog lately. Let’s get things re-started with some style here: Chris Palazzo’s killer pair of Mopars as featured in the October 2024 issue of Street Machine!

What is there to say about these two, except that both crawled happily enough through afternoon traffic to our shoot location and backagain without drama 🙂

Looking sleek and menacing all at once in their straight black paint, both machines grabbed bulk attention on Sydney roads.

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Feature Car: Anthony Saf's VK Commodore

Blown LS-Powered and Blingin'

I last ran into Anthony Saf some eight years ago when I photographed one of his earlier builds (also a VK) for the front cover of Street Commodores magazine. Both cars have distinct personalities, however both are powered by supercharged LSx-variants.

Whereas the last car was a comparatively subdued-looking gunmetal HDT-clad beast with an LSA-style forced induction setup, this latest build takes a custom Brock path – although it’s well-enough removed from being a Blue Meanie clone to keep things interesting.

perhaps the biggest element with this car is the use of gold plating and lowrider-style engraving, as you can see in the photos.

My shoot appeared in the May issue of Street Machine.

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Cover Car: Tim's 1000hp Ford Falcon

1000hp Blown and Injected Cover Star

I got to end the year with a bang, shooting my second front cover in a row for Street Machine magazine. Not yet seen by the public at the time, the car was unveiled at Summernats this month.

Stay tuned for some more images from the shoot soon. 

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Feature Car: Adam Francica's Ford Fairmont

451ci 825hp Street Weapon

This isn’t the first time Adam Francica’s gorgeous blue Ford Fairmont has been in front of the cameras for Street Machine magazine. It first appeared back in 2007 when Adam was still a teenager.

Plenty has changed since then, with the car undergoing an almost complete rebuild. It now boasts an 825hp naturally-aspirated 451ci Clevor setup and beautiful attention to detail.

I photographed the car in Adam’s then-brand-new shed before any tooling or cabinets had been installed – a rare thing!

The November issue of Street Machine is currently still on sale. Go grab a copy now and read the whole story. 

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Cover Car: Tim Laidler's HSV SV88

14/71-Blown 540ci HSV SV88

Tim Laidler’s insane HSV SV88 mixes rare HSV genes with stupendous mechanical prowess to forge something truly nutty.

It boasts the same slightly-odd two-tone metallic blue paint as the original, as well as a modified OEM-style trim… but the similarities end there. Gone is the Holden V8, replaced by a monster 540ci big-block, crowned by a mechanical injected 14/71-blown setup that Tim says he can remove to use the car on the street.

The mag is still on sale now, so go grab a copy today and read all about the build! 

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Feature Car: Steven Thrift's EH Holden

350ci EFI Small-Block EH Streeter

The NSW Central Coast has always been a hot spot for custom cars and Steven Thrift’s EH Holden sedan is a fine example of the quality street cars that lurk in garages all over the coast.

Wearing a super dark Cherry Black paint scheme, coupled with a black interior and largely blacked-out engine bay, the car is almost sinister. Add to that an injected 350ci small-block that is expected to run 10s and it’s a formidable street car, to be sure.

The shoot was featured in the August 2023 issue of Street Machine.

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Feature Car: Rocky Sarkis' LH Torana

388ci Dart Turbocharged LS Torana

It can be very hard to stand out from the crowd when it comes to building a Torana. Generally, it’s all been done before. And while it sits there on a set of Simmons FRs in a suit of dark metallic red, you’d think the exterior combo would make Rocky Sarkis’ LH blend into the mass as well, but the execution is perhaps what sets it apart.

The stance, for a start, it not messing about. It sits perfectly. The diameter and offset of those 20x10s. The subdued – kinds of mature looking – dark red and lack of flares… it all combines to make this Torana seem head and shoulders above so many others.

Open the bonnet and you’re faced with a 388ci Dart-based LS force fed by a big BW S480 turbo. The combo hasn’t been fully pushed yet (Rocky has only recently welcomed his first child), but it’s fair to say the combo will be good for some serious numbers.

With it’s simple satin balck aesthetic, it’s again, seemingly more mature and refined. The same thing happens inside, where a brownish-tan leather and suede interior, complete with a few billet additions makes for a serious, adult cabin. It’s almost like some foreign exotic housed within a humble 70s Aissue shell.

The shoot appeared in the July 2023 issue of Street Machine.

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