Triple Threat

Gary Myers takes out the valvoline street machine of the year – for the third time.

- Simon Telford

OUR sport has no shortage of high achievers who have maintained an enviable output of memorable cars and projects over a number of decades. Rod Hadfield would have to be near the top of the list, not only for the sheer number of convention-busting cars he has created, but for the scope of his ambition – from high-speed salt lake racing on two continents to building the world’s most powerful registered street car, to playing a pivotal role in the growth of the Australian aftermarket industry.

Norm Longfield is a hot rodder cut from a similar cloth, while on the street machine side, names like Astill, Fitzpatrick and LeBrese come up every few years with some new creation that blows our minds.

But in many ways the closest bloke to Hadfield is Gary Myers. He’s still got a bit of catching up to do in terms of volume of cars built, but the broader list of what Gary and his wife Deby have managed to pull off from their home in Narrandera in rural NSW since the early 90s is simply inspiring.

Gary made his name in the early days of the Street Machine Summernats with a black ’66 Mustang wearing the number plates GM-176 – a car he has owned since he was 18. The Mustang was a strong contender among early burnout competitors from the get-go, but soon became a dominant force, taking Gary to his first Summernats Burnout Championship victory in 1992, as well as several Go-toWhoa wins, the Burnout Championship of the World at Summernats 13 in 2000 and two Burnout Masters crowns.

With its signature flame job, the Mustang became an attraction at events all over the country. The car got a significant birthday at the turn of the millennium – which was rewarded with Gary’s first Street Machine Of The Year win in 2001. The same year he took the car to Lake Gairdner and ran 170mph – impressive stuff from a basic 302 Windsor.