W
E STOPPED by Delux Kustoms
at Dandenong in Melbourne to
check on the progress of The
Sorcerer makeover we told you
about last month (SM, Dec ’17, p10), and were
very impressed with their digs. We chatted to main
man Sasha Hollenbach about cars and customs,
and the amazing work of this quiet achiever.Oh man, my heart just skipped a beat – that
is John Zeigler’s epic Sorcerer ute!
It has that effect on people! I’m giving it a makeover
for his son, John Jr, who owns it now. It’s crazy;
it’s had such a strong and positive impact on so
many people over the years that it’s still worshipped
today. It draws people in like a magnet and was
the car that put John Sr on the map. I’m a Mad Max
and Running On Empty kid, so grew up knowing all
of the ‘star’ cars, so yeah, it’s pretty surreal to be
working on it, that’s for sure.
Is this type of build your normal bread
and butter?
I specialise in Volkswagens and early Porsches, butwill try my hand at just about anything, and that has
led to a few rotary builds, a couple of Falcons and
an EK panel van. I’ve even built a few Vespas too.
If I’m interested in it, I’ll do it, and am fortunate to
have built up a great customer base.
What got you started with cars?
At 14, I bought a 1973 VW Type 3 fastback –
super-rare with a factory sunroof – and at 16 built
a ’65 Type 3 notchback that I painted blue with
scallops. That was 26 years ago, and I’ve been
playing with cars ever since. I’m pretty much self-
taught and actually studied a Bachelor of Business
majoring in marketing, but worked at Volkspower
as a floor sweeper through high school and uni,
which got me a leg-up into the industry. That was
a great experience and the boss even let me build
one of my Beetles there; that car was featured in
Fast Fours & Rotaries back in the mid-90s when
I was 17. I spent all my time reading car mags
when I should have been studying and, well, here
I am [laughs].
How long has Delux Kustoms been around?
I started back in 2002 – when spelling customwith a ‘K’ was still cool [laughs] – and have been
keeping busy ever since. We built a split-screen
Kombi 23-window microbus that took out Best
Modern Classic and People’s Choice at last year’s
Motorclassica in Melbourne. It’s been a cover car
for a few different magazines and a career highlight
for both me and Delux Kustoms, but I still enjoy the
grassroots stuff as well.
What’s next for Delux Kustoms?
First up for the shop is a ’66 Mustang, then we’re
back into Porsches, with five on the cards including
a 356 and a ’74 930 Turbo. Porsches are an
incredible car, but I don’t have the coin for one of my
own, so just have to enjoy everyone else’s [laughs].
We also have a few VW projects of my own on the
go. There’s a 1961 Beetle that I’ve owned since I
was 15 that will score a serious elite-type resto, and
a Type 3 fastback that I’ll tackle after. I still have a
race-spec Alfa 105-series Guilia Sprint GT Veloce
that I spent a decade restoring between the ages
of 16 and 26, which is due for a tidy-up. So yeah,
between that, my XL ute and the Volkswagens, my
tastes are pretty eclectic. sPEOPLE LIKE US
STORY SIMON MAJOR PHOTOS ALASTAIR BROOKSASHA HOLLENBACH
MELBOURNE, VICTORIA
The Sorcerer draws people in like
a magnet and was the car that put
John Zeigler on the map. It’s pretty
surreal to be working on it