Ethan Guymer of Pat’s Pro Restos wins the 2026 Laurie Starling Memorial Scholarship

For over a decade, the Laurie Starling Memorial Scholarship has been recognising and fostering
talented young car builders – an enduring tribute to the late Laurie Starling, whose fabrication
talents earned him a spot on the Summernats judging team as the event’s youngest ever
judge.

The Starling family set up the scholarship in Laurie’s honour, and every year they select a
deserving recipient of a $4,000 grant that can go towards furthering their education or on tools
to help with their trade.

And even better, the scholarship is now supported by the gurus at Image Vehicle Manufacturing.

2026’s winner Ethan Guymer is on the tools at Pat’s Pro Restos; expert tutelage for a young
fabricator looking to make their mark on the street machine and custom scene. We caught up
with Ethan to learn more about his love of cars, and where the scholarship will take him:

Tell us how you got started building custom cars:
I grew up playing with cars in the shed with my Dad. I got to a stage where I didn’t want to be in
school anymore and looked at getting into a trade. We walked in to Pat’s and they offered me
work experience, and it went from there

What kind of cars were you and your Dad mucking around with at home?
Mostly F100s and Mark I and II Ford Zephyrs

What part of the trade did you gravitate towards?
Not any one section more than any other, I was keen to learn as much as I could

What’s it like working at a shop like Pat’s, building some of the country’s top custom cars?
It’s a lot of fun. It can be challenging at times, but that’s part of what I love about it most. It’s
really rewarding when you get so see builds like FORGED or Andrew McCartney’s Camaro from
start to finish

And where do you want to take your trade? Do you see yourself drilling down and getting even
more specialised, or go the opposite way and learn more?
I want to get pretty broad with it and be able to do the bodywork, suspension design, I want to
be able to paint well and I want to be able to build the motors. I like having my hand in every
part of the build

You’ve got a $4,000 scholarship that’s associated with Laurie’s award. Is it going to go towards
more training or more tools?

I’m leaning more towards tools, I’m trying to increase my tooling and learn how to use them on
the way through. I’ll try and get some stuff for home too so I can keep working on my projects
after hours

And have you got a project of your own that you’re working on?
I may have a couple! I’ve got a 67 F100 with a Mark III Zephyr six-cylinder in it. It’s not going to
be fast but it sounds cool, and you’ll never see another one like it. I’ve got two Zephyr utes as
well. I want to make one of them pretty low and the other I’m giving to my dad

Where does the Zephyr obsession come from? Is that from dad?
Yeah, it’s all his fault! Dad learned to drive in one that his father bought for $600. Dad kept it for
so long that I learned to drive in the same car.