MSecond nature has wreaked havoc on the car events calendar lately, so we were relieved to see blue skies peeking through the clouds at the annual Harrigan’s Rod & Custom Show on Sunday, October 16.
Around 450 cars took to the waterfront at Harrigan’s Drift Inn in Calypso Bay, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, to enjoy South East Queensland’s largest one-day automotive show, now in its 14th year. Is.
Sitting among an impressive variety of hot rods was a dazzling display of high-horsepower toughs and elite-level show cars.
Last year’s show winner Charlie Harley returned in his pro-touring 1957 Chev, Peter Sauer’s wild twin-turbo HG Brougham sat politely on display, and Tony Wilson took home some trophies with his ’32 Ford, CHOODA.
You can see this year’s results below, but here are our top 10 picks.
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We dig Mark Smith’s 1959 Gesser-style FCUT! The street-registered Holden was a complete rotisserie bare metal build, all done by Mark and his father. Up front is a worked 202 with forged pistons, ARP studs and a 149 closed chamber head. An HR front end, custom pipes and a set of custom dragway billet wheels tie the Gasser together.
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This ’72 Camaro is stone cold amazing. Rob Zahabi and his crew at Rides By Kam are responsible for the custom Pro Charger installation and EFI injection setup on the 502ci big block.
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Danny Debono’s tough XT Falcon has gotten a serious makeover. After 13 years of hitting the power pedal, Danny’s plans to lick the purple paint turned into a complete nuts and bolts rebuild. The XT sits down on a new set of bedlocks with a short diff and mini-tub, and rocks an 8/71-blown 393 Clio with an E85 carby setup, good for 950hp.
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Matt Olver’s Mean ’34 Ford won Top Car of the Show. Since making the top 20 at the Summer Nets 34 Elite Hall, the blown 383ci Shave-powered coupe has been showing up all over the country, including at Showcars Melbourne, Rocky Nets and Motor Madness.
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We liked the new RC Components rims on Todd Sorensen’s Summernats 33 Grand Champion-winning ’67 Impala.
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Wayne Turner spent three years building this eye-popping ’76 HX Holden panel van in his garage. Blown up short block shave and candy orange doco is a killer combo.
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Tim Hempinstall’s heavy cut Model A Tudor, BUCKSKN, is a real head turner.
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Lorne Cooper’s freshly-built, loaded Chevy pickup gets a thumbs-up from us!
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White walls, a two-tone color combo and a matching surfboard on the roof rack make Nigel Epps’ 1958 Shave Yeoman Wagon one of our top picks.
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Drag Challenge contestant Dales Hertsch cruises out in his single-turbo LS-powered HZ Statesman.
Trophy list 2022
| Kind of | Sponsor | Enter # winner | the car |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entered first. | Fuel design | #1 – Ross Wedding | 1973 HQ Holden |
| A selection of pin-ups | Pin-ups of Australia | #14 – Rod Choker | 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air |
| Photographer’s Choice | Rick Millington Photography. | #243 – Sasha | 1969 Dodge Pickup |
| Head Turner Award | Cloakwork Customs | #216 – Hayden Oliver | 1959 Shave Brookwood |
| Best representative club | Cruise Magazine | Gold Coast Muscle Car Association | |
| Above Paint – Motorcycle | Bowdens Own | #121 – Rob King | 1996 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail |
| The top American bike | Harley Davidson | #236 – Nick Elkington | 2000 Harley-Davidson |
| Top custom bike | Harley Davidson | #35 – Russ Bromley | 1946 Harley-Davidson Nickelhead |
| Top Old School Bike | Harley Davidson | #376 – Mitch Mitchell | 1996 Harley-Davidson Old Boy |
| The top bike | Harley Davidson | #236 – Nick Elkington | 2000 Harley-Davidson |
| The best chrome | Details of Scruba | #14 – Rod Choker | 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air |
| Excellent engineer | Speed and Custom Automotive | #51 – Dan Heidke | 1934 Chevrolet Tudor |
| Upstairs entry | Image cropping | #184 – Charlie Harley | 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air |
| Top engine bay | CB Automotive | #15 – Patrick Foley. | 1968 HT Holden Premiere |
| Top paint | Bowdens Own | #16 – Tony Wilson | 1932 Ford Tudor |
| Top custom paint | Details of Scruba | #148 – Tony Cairns | 1970 VG Valiant |
| The best convertible | Fuel design | #139 – Rob Downing | 1969 VW Manx |
| Top Modern (Post 1980) | Details of Scruba | #169 – Deb Elliott | 2001 Holden VU Ute |
| Top Europeans | Custom Dream Industries | #18 – Dwayne Wright | 1966 Jaguar E-Type |
| Top American | Image cropping | #184 – Charlie Harley | 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air |
| Top Australia | Custom Dream Industries | #155 – Isabella Harvey | 1967 HR Holden |
| Best Pre-79 | Speed and Custom Automotive | #15 – Patrick Foley. | 1968 HT Holden Premiere |
| Excellent pre-48 | Cruise Magazine | #61 – Michael Connors | 1934 Ford Coupe |
| Top Commercial – Third Place | Penrite oil | #59 – Andy Hunt | 1935 Ford ute |
| Top Commercial – 2nd Place | Speed and Custom Automotive | #119 – Lorne Cooper | 1955 Chevrolet 3100 |
| Top commercial | Image cropping | #181 – Daniel Kilpatrick | 1956 Ford 5100 |
| Top Hot Rod – 3rd place | Australian Rod and Customs | #131 – Tim Hempinstall | 1931 Model A Tudor |
| Top Hot Rod – 2nd place | Australian Rod and Customs | #215 – Peter Elliott | 1930 Ford Coupe |
| Top Hot Rod | Australian Rod and Customs | #61 – Michael Connors | 1934 Ford Coupe |
| Top Street Machine – 3rd place | Rocksolid Auto Body | #27 – Matt Maher | 1970 HT Holden |
| Top Street Machine – 2nd place | Rocksolid Auto Body | #43 – Clive Newman | 1971 Holden Monaro |
| Top Street Machine | Rocksolid Auto Body | #92 – Clint Wilkins | 1968 HK Monaro |
| Top 10 | Seven 82 Motors | #184 – Charlie Harley | 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air |
| Top 10 | Seven 82 Motors | #61 – Michael Connors | 1934 Ford Coupe |
| Top 10 | Seven 82 Motors | #181 – Daniel Kilpatrick | 1956 Ford 5100 |
| Top 10 | Seven 82 Motors | #14 – Rod Choker | 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air |
| Top 10 | Seven 82 Motors | #51 – Dan Heidke | 1934 Chevrolet Tudor |
| Top 10 | Seven 82 Motors | #203 – Darren Cahill | 1934 Ford Coupe |
| Top 10 | Seven 82 Motors | #148 – Tony Cairns | 1970 VG Valiant |
| Top 10 | Seven 82 Motors | #27 – Matt Maher | 1970 HT Holden |
| Top 10 | Seven 82 Motors | #206 – Josh Cronin | 1932 Ford Coupe |
| Top 10 | Seven 82 Motors | #46 – Cameron Dewsbury | 1976 Holden Torana. |
| People’s choice | Rocksolid Auto Body | #35 – Russ Bromley | 1946 Harley-Davidson Nickelhead |
| Harrigan’s Choice | Roche Group | #340 – Tony Bennett | 1928 Ford Roadster |
| Top Elite Show Car | Bowdens Own | #16 – Tony Wilson | 1932 Ford Tudor |
| Top car of the show | Seven 82 Motors | #19 – Matt Olver | 1934 Ford Coupe |