THis year’s Milwaukee Street Machine of the Airfield was one of the toughest in recent memory. We are talking about four cars. Street Machine Two of the Summer Nets Elite Top 10 and Top 20, just for starters!
Among the elite crew were some tough muscle cars that are already famous in their own right, including Jason Mansvito’s Grand Champion and People’s Choice winner XW Falcon, Trent Carter’s Top Judged Barracuda and Jovan Batar’s stunning HK Monaro.
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There were also some less traditional SMOTY finalists in the pack, including Michael Allard’s fast Corolla, Simon Burch’s Motorsport Grand Champion-winning Suzuki Mighty Boy, and Anthony Fuller’s stunning Wild Custom FJ Holden Coupe.
The winning vehicle – Jasmine ‘Jazzy’ Green’s HiLux – has both elite and unorthodox credentials, having finished in the top 20 at Summernets 34 but becoming the first Japanese car (and the first Mini) to win a SMOTY in the award’s long history. truck) as well. .
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Thanks to some secret organization by Jasmine boss Greg Maskell Street Machine The team – along with Jasmine’s parents, her fiance Michael Warren, their husky dog Bolto, Michael’s parents and a group of colleagues – surprised her with the news of SMOTY’s win at their workplace at Maskell’s Customs and Classics in Shepparton. done.
After the official proceedings were over – including the cutting of a HiLux-themed cake – and the shock wore off a bit, we sat down with Jazzy to hear her story.
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How does it feel to know you’ve won a Milwaukee SMOTY?
I’m actually still shaking. [laughs]. Greg referred me to a film crew from VACC [Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce] Some were coming out to do some filming, so he made sure I took the ute to work. I had no idea!
How did you rate your chances?
I was really surprised just to be nominated. I never thought Hilux would reach this level. I didn’t think I would stand a chance against some of the really strong cars in the field. But once I found out I was nominated, people started sharing it on social media and I decided to give it a go and promote it as hard as I could. I just took the car out and showed what it can do. I even did a burnout video, and it surprised me how well it went.
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How did your journey with Lux begin?
Hilux was my first car. I’m into dirt bikes and needed something to ride them on, so I bought the Hilux.
So it was never meant to be an award-winning show car?
It just evolved over time. When I first got it, I didn’t know much about cars, but I was used to working on dirt bikes, rebuilding engines. Hilux did some head gaskets and blew some engines, so I started learning how to fix this stuff. Then I wanted to learn to weld, so I started by shaving off the door handles and all the usual mini truck stuff. Then I learned to paint, and as I kept cutting and modifying the car, I kept repainting it. And so it went for the whole build as I did the engine swap and chassis stuff. I learned as I went.
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Same with clipping?
Yes, I couldn’t afford to pay someone to trim the car and I like to do everything myself, so I taught myself the basics on YouTube. I wasn’t able to go to trade school during COVID, so I rebuilt the whole entry through my apprenticeship and pretty much ticked off all my modules.
You have mastered very well. How did you decide to focus on carving for your apprenticeship?
I think carving kind of ties all the different skills into one. To be a good trimmer, you need to understand the structure of metal and how a car comes together. 3D design and printing really go hand in hand with carving these days, and I’m loving using this technology. I will be adding a lot of it to my next build, a 1964 Toyota Stout.
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What’s the plan with Stout?
I have three of them. I am collecting them; They are all old farm utes. One has a birdbath roof, one is quite rusty and one has a nice chassis, so I’ll build one of the three. I’d like to make it better than the HiLux – design the chassis on the computer and go a lot more crazy with the bodywork.
Instead of cutting or assembling panels, I’d rather make them from scratch. And I want to put it on hydraulics – I think that would be cool.
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This is definitely a SMOTY winner that is driven, not hidden!
I have driven the Hilux throughout the build. As each stage was completed, I would take it outside and take the wheels off of it, then take it apart again and repeat. It has been on East Coast cruises to Tasmania and Jindabyne numerous times.
We even took her to Adelaide to pick up our new dog, Bolto! I just love driving it. You have to get out there and enjoy them. I never planned on showing this car, but there was a point where I realized I had done a lot with it and I might as well show it off. And I’m glad I did!
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So what are you going to do with $20,000 in prize money from Milwaukee?
This is the highest amount I have ever seen in my life. [laughs]. I think I’ll put most of it back in the Hilux – I’d like to do an engine rebuild and cam swap.
I only spent money where it was absolutely necessary, so it would be nice to refresh the LS, put a cam in it and make it really reliable. I would also like to put power steering in it! And get a head start on the stout.
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