Brown Sugar

STEVEN HARPER TOOK THE ORIGINAL 1970s LX TORANA RECIPE, KEPT THE CORE INGREDIENTS, AND TWEAKED IT JUST ENOUGH TO MAKE IT AN EVEN TASTIER DISH FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

- STORY KIAN HEAGNEY PHOTOS ASHLEIGH WILSON

MANY people embark on building their dream car in a quest to relive their youth, and that's certainly the case with Steven Harper and his LX Torana. He owned his first Torry six months before he'd even got his licence, so when this one came to him through good fortune, he knew he had to snap it up.

“My wife sees a lot of elderly people at her work, and we live in a small town, so people know we like our cars,” says Steven. “One day, one of the older men called her work asking for her, and said he was ready to sell his Torana,” he continues. “I was interested no matter what, and it's fair to say the price was a bargain — I nearly dropped the phone! I couldn't get down there fast enough!”

It wasn't as if he'd got a complete dunger, either. Sure, the 202 in the thing catapulted coolant all over Steven's driveway after he drove it home, but the car itself was as solid as a bet on tax increases. “When we stripped it back for paint, there was no rust; the body was basically mint,” says Steven.

From the outset, Steven's goal was to create a nice, old school-style cruiser. However, when it came time pick the colour, the scope of the build soon escalated. “The car is originally Persian Sand brown, but that colour looks rubbish with modern paint,” says Steven. “So, we wanted something that paid tribute to that, but not the same. When we saw the sample for the Slanted Brown, we actually thought it was gunmetal grey until it was held up in the light! But it's what we went for; something different without going crazy.”