It starts...

1994, I purchased this amazing HK GTS Monaro, fitted with a 400ci small block chev. It ticked all the boxes at the time: I wanted something cool, fast, and well looked after.

I got that with this car, purchased for $9800 off the previous owner, Tony.

From the details I remember, it had been painted with 2k primer, acrylic top coats, and had won "Top Paint" and a few other trophys at various shows. During my ownership, it took out "Top Street Machine" at Big Al's Poker Run, against 700+ cars. I was pretty happy with that :)

In 1998, after a dozen or so defect notices, a small electrical issue, and a sloppy steering box, myself and a friend decided to strip it back and give it a new look inside and out.

At the time, most Monaro's were 'hot rodded'. Street machines. Originality wasn't high on owners mind, they needed to look tough, sound tough, and seemingly most important, be unique. But I wanted to try and restore it back to at least a fairly accurate original specification: Warwick Yellow, Black stripes, 327ci, factory interior, etc. 

We stripped the car of all its parts, engine, driveline, and dropped it off to a trusted local painter. We agreed on a price to strip back to bare metal, with me painting the underside and inside, and the paint shop handling the outside. I was assured they would be providing a paint job that "will give them a name in the trade". Sounds great!

Six weeks later, I popped in to check the progress, and absolutely nothing had been done. I even considered just taking the car back and reassembling. The proprietor wasn't in at the time, so i visited again first thing the next morning. The car was in primer, with patches of bog over the primer. It hadn't been stripped back to  bare metal. He'd sold the rims.  The front  valance/stone tray was all dented (it still had the Holden part sticker on the back, it was NOS). 

I decided right then and there to take the car back. With nowhere to store it, it sat under a tarp for a few years. When i had storage space, i didn't have the time. When i had time, money was an issue. Rinse. Repeat.

Finally, in September 2019, my wife encouraged me to get started. We had the space. Time was more available. And we could afford to do the car justice.

​So, let's begin!