Performance World. I took it to the 4th Street
Machine Nationals in Narrandera, Easter 1980;
that was a huge show. I did the first two Street
Machine Summernats in that car, went in all
the driving events – even the burnouts held on
the main drag.
“The ute was my first car ever featured in
a magazine – Custom Vans & Trucks,” h e
continues. “It was also David Featherston’s
last-ever Aussie shoot for Street Machine (Jan/
Feb 1986). He photographed the car and flew
back home to the States the next day. David
and I still regularly catch up whenever I go over.”
Owen was stoked to see that the ute is still
in good shape and seemingly still in the hands
of the bloke he sold it to in Ulladulla way back
when. “I sold it in the early 1990s, to fund a
’38 Ford coupe project,” he says. “The only real
changes are that it has 12-slotters back on it,
XY tail-lights and a shaker. Other than that, it
looks exactly the same!”
While Bruiser was Owen’s first streeter,
his most famous build remains his XY sedan,
Wild Thing, which was a Summernats Top
10 car and the March 1988 Street Machine
cover star. sABOVE: Unlike many famous
street machines of the 80s,
Bruiser has survived in great
nick and with few changes from
Owen’s original buildBELOW: While Bruiser was highly
detailed for its time, Owen’s XY
that followed it, Wild Thing, was
on another level. Comparing
Bruiser’s mild custom theme
to the XY’s pro street vibes and
wild graphics neatly shows how
quickly street machine trends
evolved through the 80s
HOT GOSSIP
GET CENTRED
RED CentreNATS is hands down one of our favourite
events, and Australia’s leading lunatic, Matt Mingay,
is set to add yet another highlight to an already
packed program. Following an inspirational recovery
from a potentially career-ending crash, Mingay is
hauling an impressive array of toys to the event
(1-3 September), including his Hot Wheels Stadium
Super Truck, Mustang drift car and a pair of stunt
bikes, as well as a Polaris buggy for his son, Madzy.
“I’ve travelled to some weird and wonderful places
around the world and perform in front of millions
of people each year, but I always love putting on
a show at home here in Australia,” Mingay said.
“I can’t wait to turn it on and do my thing for
the petrolheads in Alice Springs.” Tickets for Red
CentreNATS are on sale now!LSX TUNER #
THE latest instalment of LSX Tuner is out now! It
is rammed with goodness, including 15 brand-new
feature cars, as well as fuel system tech and an
update on Scotty Barter’s LS1-into-HJ one-tonner
story (SM, Feb ’17), with brutally honest, detailed
costings for the whole shebang.NEXT!
IN THE July mag, we kick off the next Sidchrome
project car. We’ll also check out the Drag-Ens
inaugural Rattletrap beach sprints from beautiful
Crowdy Head on the NSW mid-north coast, drink in
the rubbery delights of the Ultimate Burnout Challenge
and bring you all the action from the Holden-Powered
Nationals at Heathcote Park Raceway. Feature cars
will include a killer Barracuda, a famous Bedford
panel van from the days of yore and another classic
street machine from the glory days that has survived
and thrived. The mag goes on sale 22 June, and in
the meantime, check out streetmachine.com.au for
daily doses of horsepower.WHITENOISE
NO 5NERWHWH
tunerYOUR LS ENGINE BIBLE6.0L L77 into a Toyota 86!swap ls into hq-ZLS-powered Mazda RX-
monster gemini gts-r w1 LS1 turbo troop carrierLSX454R wildest-ever crate motor!1000rwhp 403-cube turbo LS ToranaWHAT LAW TORANAL77 TOYOTA 86
TURBO TROOP CARRIERTHE TRUE COST OF LS SWAPS,!3BD0A6-aafeef!:k;rgHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
nerBIBLErrreX-
monster ergeminigeminini gts-r w1 Le--8dd 80 rrwwWHITENOISE
NO. 5LSX
TUNERWHIWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOISEOOOISE
tunerYOUR LS (^) ENGINE BIBLE
6.0L L77 into a Toyota 86!
swap ls into hq-Z
LS-powered Mazda RX-
monster gemini gts-r w1 LS1 turbo troop carrier
crate motor!LSX454R wildest-ever
ed -8 6
a
1000rwhp 403-cube turbo LS Torana
WHAT LAW TORANA
L77 TOYOTA 86
TURBO TROOP CARRIER
THE TRUE COST OF
,!3BD0A6-aafeef!:k;r