Street Machine

BAD news travels fast, so odds are you have already heard about the tragic passing of our mates Harry Haig and Andrew Baumgartner in a recent road accident. Fellow Drag Challenge veteran AJ John was also badly injured, but if there’s one positive to take out of an otherwise awful situation, it’s that AJ is out of hospital and on the mend as we go to print. It’s a devastating loss for the car scene, but even more so for the families and many mates of these two fantastic blokes. Everyone at Street Machine extends our deepest condolences, thoughts and support to those who knew them best. Harry’s life was like a movie, and we’ve been fortunate enough to have been present for many of his adventures and misadventures, capturing them for…

IT ALWAYS warms the cockles of our hearts to see classic Aussie muscle cars competing on the world stage. In the case of Andrew and Mandy Sinclair’s stunning Valiant Charger, it is technically a Kiwi muscle car, since it was originally assembled by Todd Motors in its Wellington factory. Nevertheless, we were filled with ANZAC pride to witness the achievements of Team GSD (Get Shit Done) at this year’s Speed Week on Lake Bonneville in Utah, USA. After doing his four licensing runs, Andrew qualified for the event on the Thursday with a 251.1mph run, only to have the time pulled due to a technical difference of opinion over the rear spill plates. With that fixed, he came out again and qualified successfully with a 251.6mph pass. The race was then on…

SOUTHBOUND & DOWN! OUR mates at Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse have just opened a massive warehouse and showroom on Cheltenham Parade in Woodville, Adelaide. The 4300m2 store has all the latest HAFCO gear on display for you to check out, as well as a dedicated sales team ready to kit out your home workshop or business with all the equipment you could ever need! Drop into the store or give ’em a bell on (08) 9373 9969. WIN WITH SHANNONS! FANCY winning a brand-new Indian 101 Scout motorcycle and a ripper trip to Germany and Belgium? Shannons is giving away just that! You and a friend could experience an exhilarating taxi lap of the legendary Nürburgring in a Porsche GT3 RS, attend the Fanatec GT World Challenge at the 24 Hours of Spa,…

EARLIER this year, Street Machine Summernats launched the Pro Burnout Series, with more than $70,000 in total prize money on offer at the inaugural Pro Burnout Grand Final at Summernats 37. So far, 32 drivers have qualified for ’Nats 37 throughout 2024 at Pro Burnout Series events across Australia and New Zealand, including Motorvation, Rockynats, Powercruise and many more. There are now only a handful of events remaining for diehard tyre-shredders to snare a spot at Summernats 37, which takes place 2-5 January 2025. There, the full field of qualifiers will face off for a shot at winning $50,000 cash and becoming the very first Summernats Pro Master! For the fans, Pro Burnout Series socials are now up and running, too. You can catch live streaming of series events on the Pro Burnouts…

WE FELL in love with this 80s custom-style ’69 F100 as it pulled up to the Showcars Melbourne Acland Street Father’s Day spectacular. Owner Tim Kemp jumped out, gave it a quick detail and headed off to check out everything else on show in St Kilda. Luckily, he was pretty hard to miss, so we plucked him from the crowd later in the day for a chat. This is a bad-arse truck, Tim! How long have you owned it? I’ve only had this one for six or eight months. I’ve always liked the F100s, especially the 50s models, and I’d always wanted a big-block. This one came up, and I really loved the colour and the graphics. It’s got a big-block in it – a 428 Cobra Jet! I’m not sure if…

LATE in a fairly long line of Burt Reynolds car-chase movies, Stroker Ace was yet another collaboration with director Hal Needham aimed at wringing every last drop out of a successful formula. Stroker (Reynolds) is a popular, albeit ego-driven, stock car racer, chewing through sponsors and race teams with his best mate and trusty mechanic Lugs (Jim Nabors) in tow. When his options for a season drive start to thin dramatically, Stroker signs up with sleazy fried chicken magnate Clyde Torkle (Ned Beatty), and finds himself quickly smitten with Torkle’s promotional director, Pembrook Feeney (Loni Anderson, Reynolds’s real-life partner at the time). Stroker quickly becomes the butt of chicken jokes from his fellow racers and fans, and soon begins to tire of his hectic, contracted ‘Chicken Hut’ promotional schedule. His poor attention to…