YACHT ROCK

PRO STREET luxury cars may as well be a religion unto themselves in Victoria.

- TAS MCMILLAN

Many Fairmonts, Regals, Statos and LTDs have worn big-and-little wheels over the years, and a select few have picked up Street Machine Summernats Top 60 trophies along the way. Chris Courouzou's SIRZD Fairlane is one such toughie, sporting fat meats and old-school propulsion, not to mention a beastly side profile. Go on, take a few seconds to just drink in the acres of claret-coloured real estate on display here.

"My old man had a show car in the 80s: a Vintage Burgundy XT wagon with a Fairlane front," Chris says. "I always loved the shape of the Fairlanes, so when this one popped up in the same colour, I picked it up straight away." The ZD was a K-code car (factory 351 Clevo power, for those unfamiliar) with a sunroof, T-bar auto, a/c and bucket seats. Though it languished in his backyard for a while, Chris eventually began a protracted resto.

The car was put on the backburner more times than Chris cares to admit over the 11 years that followed, with several other projects happening concurrently, but a Summernats 36 unveil deadline kicked him back into gear. Chris runs Thomastown repair shop BBG Autobody, and he'd already stripped the Fairlane down to its undies, repaired the rust, straightened the slab-like panels and covered the whole lot in several coats of Protec Vintage Burgundy and Glasurit clear, including under the bonnet and inside the boot. The underside is covered in a thick layer of stone guard, as Chris intends to drive the wheels off the ZD.