something that was rapidly disappearing. Then
there was the not insignificant task of getting
the car painted.
The colour is a custom mix by PPG, which
they’ve dubbed Chopit Blue, a choice that was
more to do with Dave’s job as a boat mechanic
than anything else: “I wanted it to be sparkly
blue like an 80s ski boat.” Unfortunately there
wasn’t enough time to do the full bass boat
giant-metalflake treatment on it, but there’s
still a bunch of sparkly stuff in the paint and
it’s a pretty nice job thanks to Joel Smith, a
good mate. “He painted it about midnight on a
Friday night in late December, wearing a pair of
thongs, half-pissed,” Dave laughs. “I just think it
makes for a cool story because everyone sees
it and says: ‘Man! Who painted it? They did
a good job.’ It just makes it sound funny, like
the car is supposed to be.” The fact Howard
and Joel then spent hours colour-sanding andpolishing the paint probably helps explain the
impact it has.
Although the budget did blow out to twice
what the guys had initially planned, it’s still a
pretty cheap way to have a bunch of fun. “We
had a budget of $5000 when we started and
ended up spending $10,000,” Dave says. “A
whole pile of people have given us stuff for free;
that’s the only way it happened.” So make sure
you have a read of the thank you list to see who
helped out.
After a pretty hectic month, all the work paid
off; Dave and Robert were cruising the Stato at
Summernats 31. But that’s not all: The car even
made it into the Top 60 hall, something no one
was expecting! It just goes to show that with a
good idea, some wheeling and dealing and not
much money, you can build a high-impact car
without breaking the bank – and have a great
time doing it. sUMBRELLA: Dave reckons
the pub umbrella was a
stroke of genius. Plenty of
shade and no restriction to
the flow-through ventilation
BODY: To get some
strength back into the car
after lopping off the roof,
the doors were welded
shut. Getting the sides of
the car back into shape and
looking this good took a fair
bit of work!
WHEELS: TSW supplied a
set of its Stowe wheels.
They’re 20x8.5 all ’round
and wrapped in 245/35/20
rubber
INTERIOR: The stock
console was modified to suit
the B&M Pro Ratchet shifter,
which is attached to a
manualised Turbo 400 built
to handle any abuse thrown
at it. Finding another set of
Caprice seats for the rear to
match the fronts was one of
the toughest jobs