Rare Spares Rockynats 5 has already been the biggest one to date, and after a huge Street Parade of over 1100 cars burling through the centre of Rocky infront of a packed crowd, we got stuck into the elite unveilings at the showgrounds.

Covers were pulled off seven cars, seen in public for the very first time. A bunch of them will be leaving the hall on Sunday morning to take on the Road to Rockynats Champion driving events, but for now here’s a closer look at the top brass!

Jim McLaren – HQ Holden Monaro GTS

Anton Duval and the crew from MCR Gold Coast have gone big once again in the elite unveilings for Rockynats, showcasing Jim McLaren’s gorgeous HQ Monaro GTS. 

Jim has owned the car for around 10 years, originally fitting a 350 Chev to it for a nice cruiser. However, the rebuild with MCR unintentionally began with a crusty shell: “Once it was sandblasted, I was a bit sad about how much car wasn’t left!” says Jim. “So, it took a lot to get it back to a car again.”

Anton and the lads went to town make subtle changes to the body. The nosecone is moulded, and the windscreen trims for the front and rear windows are deleted, with custom front and rear glass to make up the difference. Jim requested the flush exterior door handles, and also worked with Anton to modify the Audi green metallic colour to suit the car. 

Poking out of the bonnet is a renovated LSA, which should pump out upwards of 700hp one the big ‘Q is run in right. “I’ve only driven it 150km since it was finished, so I’m excited to have a crack in the grand champion events on Sunday and give it a steer,” says Jim. For a three year build, it’s a bloody stunning piece of kit.

Matthew Dixon – 1971 Ford ZD Fairlane

Matty Dixon’s ZD Fairlane has been 10 years in the making, a labour of love and hate he endured himself. “I had Brett Armstrong do the body and paint, but besides that and the engine, I’ve done most of it myself,” he says. “I even built the first engine, but that didn’t go all that well!

The new mill is a 427ci Clevor, with CHI Cleveland heads, Dart 427ci Windsor block that’s good for 770hp in its all motor form. As for the colour, it’s a premium Blue Corsa nicked from a 2018 Ferrari, offset nicely by the light coloured interior. “I wanted to keep it mostly original looking, but with the pro street styling,” he says. “The goal now is to just have fun in it and drive the hell out of it!”

Chris Kaarsberg – Holden LX Torana

Chris Kaarsberg’s SUB12 Torana is a regular front runner at our Street Machine Drag Challenge, a consistent top 10 finisher and Seven Second Club member. The LX has done countless hours down the strip, so Chris has treated the old girl to a well earned birthday.

“It got damaged in transit to Rockynats last year, so we did Drag Challenge 2024, and then straight after pulled it down to a shell,” says Chris. He sent it off to be repainted in its signature Mint Julep Green, and then once he got the shell back it was a four month thrash with his good mate Shane Baker to get it done for its Rockynats unveil. “We finished it the Thursday morning at 8am, then drove from Warwick to get it here for this,” says Chris.

The twin turbo LS combo is largely unchanged, just refreshed with a pair of new GT42 turbos. You can read more about Chris’s Torana here, and we’ll see it in action in the Road to Rockynats Champion on Sunday, as well as in the dyno hall!

John and Christine Finch – 1934 Chevy Tudor

Built right here in Rockhampton, John and Christine Finch’s ‘34 Chevy Tudor uses a repro body with a two inch haircut to the roof, along with widened fenders and running boards for a lower and fatter look that was all handled by Warren Burggraaff from Wazrodz Rockhampton.

“Not a single thing on this car is old, it’s all brand new and made for this exact build,” he says. “The body was made seven years ago, and it’s a ground up process.”

Underneath is a Rodtech IFS conversion in the front with a shortened VH Commodore steering rack, while in the rear is a nine-inch diff. That rear end is needed to cop treatment from a tickled LSA under the bonnet, allegedly capable of 800hp. It’s backed by a 4L80E, and nine inch diff. Between it and the ground is a Billet Specialties Street Lites, measuring 15×6 for steering and 15×10 for grunt transfer.

Waz has built the car as a driver, incorporating cruise control and air con so John and Christine can live their best lives using the Tudor. “It could be daily driven if you want, so I expect you’ll see it running around Emerald plenty in the future,” says Waz.

Seith Ramke – 1978 Holden LX Torana hatch

If you love your LX hatches done in 90s style with a dash of pro tourer, Seith Ramke’s 1978 LX is right on what you’d be looking for. A factory V8 hatch, Seith took a very run down shell and knocked together all the sheetmetal work himself to rectify the swiss cheese, which took around 800 hours of hard yakka. 

His original plan was to fit an LS, but then the pull to stick with the iron lion was too great for him. “It just didn’t feel right, so it’s got the old school 308,” he says. Behind it is a Trimatic, and a full floater nine-inch diff. “We did spend a lot of time on the rear end, it’s all setup to take those big rear wheels,” says Seith.

Those Hotwire wheels are 17×10 in the rear, measuring 17×8 in the front. Those, combined with the Recaro stools and three spoke Momo steering wheel give off the 90s touches Seith was after.

Jesse Marios – 1970 HQ Holden Kingswood sedan

Luke Mitchell and his team at Advanced Motorsports threw together this blown, 1970 HQ Holden Kingswood in just nine weeks for its grand debut at Rockynats for Jesse Marios and the OZwheels diecast model car crew.

The lads wanted something built to do burnouts, so Luke shoved the HQ with 427 cubes worth of Dart LS, taking boost from a 8/71 BDS blower through a pair of Brodix BB3 heads. 

The wrap on top of the green lick of paint replicates the OZwheels Series 2 launch day model car, so this real deal HQ was modeled off a Matchbox-sized toy. “Normally a model car is based off of a life size version, but for this car we did the opposite and based a full size one off a model!” says Jesse. 

He’d been kept in the dark about the car during the build, so the unveil night was his first time seeing his HQ in the metal. “I’m blown away, I just want to scream with joy – it’s better than I could’ve imagined!”

The HQ will take on the Rockynats Champion driving events on Sunday, where the lads fully intend to give the 1140hp-capable donk a decent workout.

Steven Harper – 1977 LX Torana sedan

Shod in a nice lick of PPG Slate Brown is Steven Harper’s LX sedan. “This thing was supposed to be unveiled here two years ago, but dodgy engines meant we haven’t been able to get it together till this one!” he tells us. That engine in question is now a good ol’ Holden 355 stroker, making a modest 456hp. “It’s all you really need, I just want it to be a nice driver,” he says. 

Performance Paint & Panel did the hard yards for the paint and body in the beautiful but subtle metallic brown, while under the skin you’d find coilovers, a nine-inch diff, Wilwoods and a Turbo 350 ‘box. The wheels are another unique part of the build, GT Wheels on the Gold Coast building Steven a custom set of three-piece Street Pro look alike wheels, but with enough difference to keep punters guessing.