motorculture

The action wasn’t happening all inside the dome this year. The guys from All Stars turned it up a notch by gracing the walkway into MotorEx with a plethora of cars – stuff ranging from JDM through to stanced-out VIP rides. Honda Civics with the right wheels and ride height certainly still look awesome. Both of these examples were wearing quality wheels and were both very US-inspired. A sacked Aurion, parked behind an Integra and then on to numerous hot rods and a Trans Am? This is what you can expect at MotorEx. It’s rare to see all so many different car cultures unite and park side by side to be appreciated. The All Stars boys really rounded up a great selection of rides. Countless people were walking around checking out all of the metal on display. Matte finishes are starting to become ever so popular, with the rise in vinyl wrapping technologies. This IS Lexus was ‘murdered out’ sporting black accents everywhere. Kelvin’s Ruckus was a unique car on display. Not many people in Australia have yet to modify their Ruckus’ in the fashion Kelv has! Getting low seems to be the go! For more pictures from the day, click HERE to check out the official gallery!

The judges were hard pressed to pick category winners at this years’ 2012 MotorEx event. With top shelf machines all gunning for that title prize, each ride was placed under the microscope and truly examined to the Nth degree. We bring you the some of the class and category winners from the event, just in case you missed the announcements on the day! Meguiar’s Superstar Awards Best of Breed “Hot Rod” Ewan McDonald – 1934 Ford Coupe ‘SR’ Best of Breed “Street Machine” Paul Bennett – 1958 Borgward Goliath ‘GOLIATH’ 3M Street Elite Showcase Pinnacle Awards – Hot Rod colin Benton – 1946 Bedford Pickup Pinnacle Awards – Street Machine Paul Soumo – 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Pinnacle Awards – Tuner Jamie Marchione – 1999 Subaru WRX Pinnacle Awards – Custom Euro Aaron Vumbaca – 2001 BMW M3 Pinnacle Awards – Custom Cruiser Lenny Giallongo – 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Keep your eyes peeled for further updates including more coverage from the event filled with top-notch photos! Click HERE to visit our website with a NEW updated gallery from MotorEx!

Annnnd we’re one sleep away from the greatest car show on earth! We’re all about taking things to the next level here at MotorEx. Having a worlds’ first at the show is just a taste of what you can expect at this weekend’s event. Exotic Graphix in Melbourne have stepped it up a notch by chrome wrapping one of the five Lexus LF-A’s in the country. This is going to be a sight not worth missing! We cannot reveal all the surprises however. There will be a total of TWELVE, yes TWELVE unveils over the course of the weekend! With killer names such as Gary Myers and Joe Russo pulling out the stops this year and getting their cars ready for the show, you can expect nothing bar solid gold. Here is a list of the unveils which will be occurring over the weekend: Gary Myers 2005 Ford Mustang GT “2INSANE” Steve Nogas 2010 Chevrolet Camaro “KILLA B” Gareth Davies Custom Harley Chopper & Michelle Davies 1976 Holden LX Torana Hatchback Damian Horner 2002 Holden VY Commodore Ute “FINEVY” Dave Keen 1955 Holden FJ Coupe Dave & Katrina Martin 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Joe Tanti 1965 VW Beetle “GILTEE” Karen Keves 1972 Holden HQ Monaro “Mission Impossible” Troy McInerney Custom Chopper Paul Soumo 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Joe Russo 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Mick Fabar 1967 Ford XR Falcon “ZERO’D” No car show is complete without pretty ladies, right? Don’t worry; there will be plenty of promo girls out and about representing the numerous traders dotted around the show. It’s always nice to be able to take something home with you to remember the day. Mat Egan busted out some sweet pin striping, which has found its way onto a rather limited edition House Of Kolour T shirt. What’s even cooler is that $10 from each shirt sale (they’re $35) is going to Camp Quality! This is even more of a reason to buy one. You guys have no excuse NOT to come! So who’s coming? For further information CLICK HERE to visit the MotorEx homepage!

One minute with Jody Vincitorio and ‘CHOPPT’ Jody and his car are the definition of passion. Well put it this way, he had to postpone his wedding for eight months until the car was finished. Don’t we all wish our wives-to-be could be so understanding! Over $100,000 later and nearly three years in the making, ‘CHOPPT’ tickled the judges’ fancy at Summernats earlier this year. The candy apple green HQ Monaro is simply a work of art, and pictures do not do it any justice. Come check it out this weekend at MotorEx! Here’s a short clip with the man himself.

MotorEx 12 – 2 minutes with Greg Maskell Greg Maskell is known around the hot rodding and custom car scene for building some super tough rides. First starting out as Revhead restorations, later changing the shop name to Maskell’s Customs and Classics, Maskell started modifying cars at the ripe young age of 17. Kicking his career off with an LC Torana, he has progressed from toying with his own rides to on to running a complete workshop which has, on a good day, at least 11 rides getting plenty of custom work. From concourse show cars to elite street vehicles, there isn’t nothing this guy and his team of four cannot tackle. One particular car that seems to catch the lime light wherever it goes, is the ‘PSYCHO’ XF Falcon. Interested to see what he has to say about a car which has had over 10,000 man hours put into it? Check out the clip below. Visit www.motorex.com.au for more information on the event!

MotorEx Superstars – Profiled! The Meguiar’s Superstars class is the pinnacle of automotive achievement. It’s where the greats of the modified car scene are pitted against each other and whoever comes out on top, and win a share in the prize pool of $55,000 cash. So one can imagine the judging and cars selected for these categories are customised like no-other. The top class is divided into two sub classes – Hot Rod and Street machine. Let’s have a peak into what can be expected in both categories of these super-elite builds. Top Hot Rod qualifiers. Phil Robinson‘s’39 Ford Tudor was awarded entry into the Top Hot Rod class at Summernats this year. Wearing classic billet rolling stock and finished in a quality emerald green paint scheme, Phil’s Tudor is right up there with the best. Venturing all the way from Western Australia is the one and only “SASSYLADY’ ’32 Tudor owned by Pamela Quinn. Built by TC Hot rods in the back of a tiny shed, this masterpiece takes the old school American rodding style and mixes it up with some Australian flare. Andrew Gibson’s ’32 Ford Pickup is something a little different for the class. Rodded tray backs and getting scarce in the scene, so it’s wicked to see one that made the cut into this class. From head to toe the car is detailed, including a full polished and painted undercarriage that’s clean enough to eat your brekkie from. Street Machine qualifiers Mark Tarabay’s ‘Sublime’ S15 stands out for one reason in particular. No, it’s not the insane candy green paint. Nor is it the suicide door conversion. It’s the 13B engine conversion that gets conversations going with this car. Possibly one of the more controversial modified imports in this category, people either love it or hate it – which is why it made the cut. ‘choppt’ is unlike another other HQ Monaro to date. With its lowered roofline and massive tubs, Jody Vincitorio’s ride looks super west-coast and tough as nails. The staggered trumpet setup takes the cake however, and is possibly the most crazy intake setup we’ve seen in a long time! You cannot have a Street Machine category without a good old Prem’. Sam Caruana and his ’75 HJ Premier sport the quintessential Australian style of building a tough streeter – Billets, A injected and blown eight and some trick bodywork. This one’s definitely a crowd pleaser, that’s for sure. With the other entries stacking up to be just as quality, the competition is stiff and everyone will be gunning for that number one spot. Wonder who will earn themselves a share in the $55K and title of Best of Breed Hot Rod and Street Machine Champion for 2012? Head down to MotorEx and be there to witness it firsthand. Ticket and date info can be found at www.motorex.com.au !

We’re getting closer and closer to Meguiar’s MotorEx – The car show that should have been marked on your calendars since the start of the year! This year’s event is going to be huge. The quality of metal being put on display is second to none, and it’s already shaping up to be something special. We’re able to bring you a sneak-peak of what you can expect to see inside the dome. Across all classes there have been a number of spectacular entries, so the judging panel is going to have a hard time selecting winners from such a collection of fine automobiles. Kicking things off is Kevin San’s Hakosuka Skyline. This stout piece of JDM muscle has a huge fan base across internet forums and it’s not hard to see why. Packing a stroked L series power plant with triple carbs hanging off the side, we’re sure a lot of people will come just to have a peep at this thing. All stars founder Sergio Capozzi and his Vertex Ridge widebody S15 will also be attending the show in the Street Elite category. Proudly wearing its Midnight Purple duco and a fat set of 20-inch Work Meisters, this car means business and leaves a huge impression wherever it goes. Making his way up from Canberra is Nathan Ross in his Toyota Supra. Rocking a genuine TRD widebody kit and pumping out 600 horsepower at the rear bags, this streeter is a super neat all round package. It’s purposeful build and balanced approach is something you don’t see too often with Supra’s and there’s nothing it can’t do – Cruise, drag or circuit. Yonas Liu from JDMyard will have his race-prepped DC5R racecar at the event. Sporting a plethora of Mugen bits and pieces, this car is certainly one for the diehard Honda fans. If that isn’t enough for you, just peer inside and get a look at the insane roll cage work and stripped interior – certainly a hardcore track weapon. Matt Robinson’s time attack S14 is more racecar then anything out there. Rocking tough aero put together via a combination of Vertex Ridge parts and custom SX developments diffusers and spoilers, the main aim for this machine is to punch out ridiculous lap times wherever it may roam. Under the hood lies a full NIZPRO-built forged engine with ancillaries such as the turbocharger upgraded to a HKS item. And last but not least, proudly waving the European flag is Aaron Vumbaca in his BMW M3. With a list of modifications too long to even start on, this Bavarian beast is just simply one of the toughest M3s getting around on Sydney’s streets. With DTM touches such as the vented guards, it pays homage to the cars roots in motorsport and wouldn’t look out of place at all on the Nürburgring. This is just an appetizer on what will be on display at MotorEx this year. There will be plenty more drool-worthy cars dotted around inside, and the only way to really experience it is to come on down and check it out for yourself! Keep an eye on this thread as we’ll be updating it with more fresh content on what you can expect to see at MotorEx this year. Check out www.motorex.com.au for further details

World famous custom car builder John D’Agostino will make a special trip to Sydney’s Olympic Park Dome to cast judgement on Australia’s finest customised cars, in the first staging of the ‘Kavalcade of Kustoms’ display at Meguiar’s MotorEx 12 on July 21-22. Californian-based D’Agostino, who owns Kustom Kars of California and has won more major awards than anyone in the history of car customising, will cast his critical eye across 40 of the best ‘kustoms’ ever assembled in Australia. The inaugural Kavalcade of Kustoms will also including ‘Mercury Lane’ – 10 highly customised Ford Mercury classics lined up together, with some still in their bare sheet metal and others partly-built to give MotorEx visitors a rare insight into the workmanship required to build these incredible cars. The Kavalcade of Kustoms is sure to impress guest judge D’Agostino, who will not only meet and greet show goers but also join the judging panel and present a special handmade trophy to the owner of the car he chooses as his personal favourite. The huge display is presented with the support of local award-winning custom car builder Mario Colalillo, whose Aussie-built ‘Wild Cad’ ’59 Cadillac won the prestigious ‘King Of Customs’ at the 2011 Sacramento Autorama in the US. John D’Agostino’s presence at MotorEx 12 is a huge honour for event organisers and a big attraction for modified car enthusiasts, as he is widely regarded as a king of car customising on a global scale. Born in California, D’Agostino started building and customising scale models as a child, so his destiny was sealed from an early age. Since then his incredible hand-crafted cars have been displayed at more than 1000 shows worldwide and featured in almost every automotive publication throughout the world. His unique kustoms have also won ‘World’s Most Beautiful Custom’ car honours and countless ‘Best of Show’ and ‘Most Popular Car’ awards. D’Agostino has also been inducted into the Academy Awards of Automobile Excellence, the San Francisco Rod and Custom, Kustom Kemps of America and the Sacremento Legends of the Autorama. In total, he has seven Hall of Fame honours, including the Oakland Grand National Roadster Hall of Fame and Darryl Starbird Hall of Fame. World famous toy car maker Mattel has even immortalised some of D’Agostino’s work in miniature by producing 1:64 scale versions of his cars as part of its collectable Hot Wheels range. And most of his customs are on display at the famous Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California and Darryl Starbird’s Hall of Fame Museum in Afton, Oklahoma. Custom cars are distinct from hot rods, being based on later model classic cars from the 1950s and ‘60s with extreme levels of modification – particularly to the standard bodywork and paint – to make them look unlike any other car. Customising has also created its own unique terminology, including ‘lead sled’ (molten lead used to form smooth panel joins), ‘chopping’ (lowering the roof), ‘sectioning’ (narrowing the car’s side profile) ‘channeling’ (lowering the body on its frame) and ‘frenching’ (making lights, aerials etc look sunken into the body) to name a few. This exacting car craft has also created some of the wildest developments in paint technology, which started in the 1960s with the deep transparent look of ‘candy-apple’ and ‘metalflake’ finishes that produced brilliant effects. This burgeoning garage-based industry soon inspired rapid development of the highly advanced commercial paints available today from some of the world’s top automotive paint manufacturers.

The TIth brothers have done a sublime job on putting together a short clip on the MotorEx street meet which was held in Orange Grove, Sydney. Despite the cold weather, many avid enthusiasts braved the winter chills and brought their pieces of metal out to put on display. There was not a sector of the scene left untouched. From old school Aussie muscle through to candy painted Rotaries; there was something for everyone on the day. On top of the wicked display, the Meguair’s MotorEx managed to raise over $2800 for charity, which is one hell of an achievement. We’re looking forward to more events of this calibre!

To support the great event of MotorEx, we are proud to present to you the official ‘2012 MotorEx Photo Competition’. This competition is for anyone and everyone who likes to take photos of amazing cars! If you’re unsure about what we’re looking for in each category, just have a look at some of the examples we’ve uploaded on each page! There are 3 categories; Car Photo’s, People Photo’s and MotorEx choice PRIZE POOL TOTALING $3,000 CASH! CONDITIONS OF ENTRY – PHOTO 1. Photo/s must be from the 2012 Meguiar’s MotorEx show. 2. At our discretion – the MotorEx logo will be added to all photo entries. 3. Images must be at a MAXIMUM width of 1600 pixels wide & MINIMUM width of 800 pixels. 4. Images must be sent as JPEG format 5. 3 photo entries max. per entrant. 6. All photo’s subject to approval. 7. You MUST be the photographer of the photo & own the rights to the image. Note: Competition opens Saturday 21st of July and closes 12am 31st of August 2012. Winners will be announced on Friday 7th of September 2012. PRIZES We are offering up a substantial PRIZE POOL TOTALING $3,000 CASH! Prizes will be awarded for the following: 1. Most Liked “Car” Photo: (the photo with the most votes). Prize: $1,000 CASH 1. Most Liked “People” Photo: (the photo with the most votes). Prize: $1,000 CASH 1. MotorEx’s Choice: (Chosen by MotorEx based on the photo that best represents the 2012 MotorEx). Prize: $1,000 CASH TIPS FOR ENTRANTS 1. The quicker you submit your entry the longer it will have to receive votes and views. 2. Use social network platforms like facebook and youtube to boost votes and views. 3. Use car enthusiast forums to boost votes and views. 4. Email your friends the link to your submission and tell them to vote for you. Submit your entries to: photocomp@motorex.com.au – you must include the your full name and a title of your photo. More at http://www.motorex.com.au/gallery/photo-competition/

Hey guys come and check out the street meet being held by MotorEx for Camp Quality on the 9th of June at Liverpool in Sydney’s west. All cars welcome! Details below

Call out for All Car Enthusiasts. Enter your car in MotorEx 12 for your chance to WIN! MotorEx needs no introductions. It is Australia’s largest and most prestigious motoring enthusiast event of its kind. Now in its 12 year, MotorEx is looking to make it bigger and better than before. Times have changed and the direction of car modding and styling has moved towards “less is more” and simple effective quality mods that look good but also has a strong performance value being a major priority and factor. What is Street Elite? : Street Elite is the exciting category created for modified car owners and builders to compete with the current styling and build trends. It will reward current styles and encourage future trends and grow with the whole custom automotive industry. The most significant change with car building over the last few years is that owners want to show their cars and be competitive but still use them regularly. Therefore with good planning and preparation of the build and focus on cleaning and maintenance after completion this can be achieved. People are still looking for elite finish on engine bay, body, paint, interior but much more usable undercarriage. Therefore with the undercarriage the judges will be looking for well executed legal engineering, innovative coatings without the high level of smoothing and detail associated with Super Elite Showcars in the engineering and concept, planning and innovation awards. Basic Requirements: All Street Elite entries will have to have current registration where an annual inspection is compulsory, blue slip or engineers report (for new vehicle) to be eligible for judging. Street Elite is designed for the owners and builders who genuinely want to compete in this category and cars will be expected to be presented in the spirit of the competition it is designed for. For more information and judging criteria visit: http://www.motorex.com.au/entrants/3m-street-elite-showcase-entrant-information/ Click here to download the 2012 Entry Form : http://www.motorex.com.au/files/2012_ENTRANT_FORM.pdf The 5 classes: Hot Rod (Pre ’48) Street Machine/Muscle Car (’48 to current) Tuner (Post ’86 Japanese) Custom Euro (Customised BMW, Mercedes, Ferrari’s etc) Custom Cruiser (Heavily body customized cars built for cruising. Majority will be 50’s and 60’s vehicles) There is provision to add further categories as the custom industry progresses and develops. PRIZE MONEY & AWARDS : There will be 5 Pinnacle Awards with the each winner receiving a Billet trophy and cash component of $3,000. HOT ROD STREET MACHINE/MUSCLE CAR TUNER CUSTOM EURO CUSTOM CRUISER There will also be a total of 21 Medals of Excellence in: BODYWORK PAINTWORK INTERIOR ENGINE BAY ENGINEERING IMPACT AND DISPLAY DESIGN AND EXECUTION With cash component of: Gold $1,000.00 each Silver $750.00 each Bronze $500.00 each Winning a Medal of Excellence will reward your effort knowing you have achieved this award against all the categories represented at the show.

Team SAU would go onto taking out the honors for Australia’s Best Forum, Opel Aus and Gripshiftslide came in at a respectable second and third. Forum Battle would like to say a thank you to all the dedicated competitors and supporters who stuck it out and made the effort to show up and compete. Thank you to the volunteers from the Victorian MG club for flag marshaling, scrutineering and the admin work. Last but not least thank you to all the ForumBattle Sponosors. With the dedication and your passion for the cars Forum Battle would have not been possible. The weather may have not been on our side, but the dedication and passion that was shown by all that was involved means that the car scene is alive and kicking strong. Forum Battle was a great success, and can now only get bigger and better next year.

Steve Reed for Team OZMPS took fastest Pro FWD class, while in the fastest Street FWD Class saw Rory Hollingworth from Team OPEALAUS take the award. Manny from MELBS15 took out the fastest street RWD Class award and was a consistent competitor all weekend. One Lap Dash Results: Motorkhana: Johnathan Green in his blue Evo for Team Fullboost took out top honors for fastest outright and 4WD Pro class. While Reece McIntosh for Team SAU got fastest outright and RWD street class. Phouc pushed hard and took home the fastest street FWD car and Marty From Might Car Mods being the only FWD in the Pro class took top honors for being the fastest FWD in Pro Class.In the Motorkhana event, 10 competitors competed for honors. The course layout being 2 sets of chicanes, linked up with a U-turn on the end and with minimal run off and tarmac area after the finish line saw some very close calls as competitors played chicken with the finish line. Some came off second best, like John in his White AW11 MR2 having a near miss and running into a tyre wall earlier on into the session ( better then a concrete barrier), followed by Phouc in his black Civic slightly tapping a barrier, damaging his front bar trying to find the limit of his tyres and brakes. Motorkhana Result : Show and Shine Out of the 7 Major categories in the show and shine, Team SAU took out 4; Best Presented , Best JDM , Cleanest car and the Historic awards. Best Australian built went to Boosted Falcon, Best Euro was Opel Aus and Gripshiftslide took the out the award for best street car. Sunday’s show and shine was all blue sky and sunny weather (unlike Saturday). A total of 40+ cars were on display and Team SAU, OPELAUS , Gripshiftslide, Melbs15, Supra and AE86 were out in force and all wanting to take the win. Each team offering a variety of modified cars for spectators and judges to see. The quality of cars were outstanding and made it a difficult job for the judging panel to choose the winners.

The Official Forum Battle aftermath Despite the bad weather on Saturday Forum Battle went full steam ahead (as early as 6am) the admin office was full of buzz and had a line of Forum Battlers eagerly waiting to sign on and compete in the first ever inaugural Forum Battle event. By 9.30am, drivers were signed in, tools unloaded and pit crews ready for service… then the rain started! A decision was made during the driver’s briefing to alter the Time Attack event into a single lap dash. Rain and bad weather conditions ultimately saw Time Attack along with the Drags officially cancelled. An early causalty by Ovi in the Red Advan Evo aquaplaning into a concrete barrier which was a warning signal to all competitors of the tricky track conditions, testing even the most experienced drivers. An early withdrawal was seen from the drivers of the Rx7(s), who decided the conditions were less than ideal. They packed up and left for home and who would blame them, 600hp on a wet track is certainly a scary day at the office. Team SAU stayed on and with little persistence took top honors in the Pro and Street group; Chris Thompson, Adam Newton winning 1st and 2nd respectively and each winning their classes ( fastest Pro 4WD class and fastest Pro RWD class). Ash Cosgriff got the overall win for the street class group and took out the fastest 4WD street class .