DIY DREAM

MONIQUE O'GARR'S EH WAGON WAS THREE DECADES COMING, BUT AN ELITE HALL DEBUT MADE IT ALL WORTHWHILE

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SCORING top brass at Street Machine Summernats on a modest budget is a rare feat, but Monique and Rob O'Garr did just that with this gorgeous, home-built EH wagon. Even more impressive? They reckon it cost them less than $50,000 to build.

"It just shows you don't need to spend hundreds of thousands, or millions of dollars on cars like this, which I think is something people really need to hear during these difficult times," owner Monique says. "People loved it at Summernats because they found it quite relatable - something they could actually achieve themselves."

Monique's husband Rob has built plenty of custom cars in his time, starting in Western Australia before the pair relocated to Portland, on Victoria's southwest coast. Rob still churns out the odd car under the Pro Street Performance banner, the EH being an after-hours job.

Monique's love affair with her wagon started decades ago, buying it as a cheap runaround car for just $200. Then a young mother and aspiring hot rodder, she couldn't resist fiddling with the thing, so before long it had a hot 186S and Celica four-speed 'box. "Then I met Rob in the early 90s, and we decided to do what was meant to be a quick respray," Monique says. "That turned into pulling the whole car apart, and once life got in the way it took 30 years to get it finished!"