NEWS FRONT
JANUARY 2018: ALL THE NEWS THAT MATTERS
STORY AND PHOTOS SHAUN TANNERTOP SHOP
CASTLEMAINE ROD SHOP PUTS ON ANOTHER CRACKER OF AN EVENT FOR ITS 2017 OPEN DAY
T
HE crew at Castlemaine Rod Shop sure
know their way around the spanners,
but they also know how to put on an
awesome show. Their annual Open
Day, held on Saturday 18 November,
featured top-level burnout demos every hour,
workshop tours showcasing current builds, live
music, a bar and barbeque area, and all topped
off with a show ’n’ shine.
The 2017 Open Day built on the popularity
of last year’s event, with crowd numbers up
significantly.
“The show was massive; we’re really happy,”said Rod Shop co-owner Marc Waddington.
The burnout demonstrations were extremely
popular. Every hour patrons were entertained
by two cars disposing of tyres in double-quick
time on the Rod Shop’s very own purpose-
built pad. CRS’s in-house project car, the
bare-metal Real Deal LC Torana, was kept
for the finale to wrap up the day. It was its
first public appearance out on the pad, and it
didn’t disappoint.
Head inside and the entire workshop was
open to walk through, with Rod Shop staff
on hand to give some insight into what it isthey do. A huge range of custom or purpose-
built goodies were on display such as front-
end conversion kits, diff conversions, brake
packages and much more – all good stuff to
help bring your old girl into the future.
A noteworthy addition to the event this year
was being able to get up close and personal
to the latest Rod Shop project, War Bird. A
1965 XP Falcon powered by a 565ci Chev,
War Bird should be good for around 1800hp.
If everything comes together, the car could be
headed for SEMA next year before hitting the
burnout scene. s