{"id":823261,"date":"2026-07-25T16:30:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/823261\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T16:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:30:28","slug":"readers-rockets-te-gemini-wagon-vl-turbo-commodore-falcon-xa-gt-xb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/823261\/","title":{"rendered":"Readers\u2019 rockets: TE Gemini wagon, VL Turbo Commodore + Falcon XA GT & XB"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tJordan Fawell
Holden TE Gemini\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my 1980 Holden TE Gemini wagon. It\u2019s taken us around two years to get the car to this stage, as it was in a very rough state, full of rust, bog and dodgy repairs. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut we decided to give it a crack and completed all the rust repairs, bodywork and paint ourselves, with help from a good painter I know \u2013 my dad! <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe colour is BMW Marrakesh Brown. Exterior mods include a CDT-style front spoiler, ZZ\/R Gemini bonnet vents, shaved rear end, tidied-up engine bay, and a set of 15\u00d77 Rota wheels. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe engine and driveline are all standard refreshed or rebuilt items, except for electronic ignition, a Weber carby, and custom extractors\/exhaust that I made myself. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI have plans to drop a built Isuzu 1.8L and LSD rear in it soon to spice it up. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe interior boasts standard Caramel seats for that factory look, with custom door cards, boot-area carpet and rooflining done by me and my old man. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cMy girlfriend and I have been cruising the hell out of the Gemini anywhere we can point it and have been loving every minute of it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt Caple
Holden VL Commodore\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cMy 1988 VL Turbo got a full resto in 10 months to have it ready for the 2024 Street Machine Summernats<\/a>. Now it does cars-and-coffee events all over the Hunter Valley, and we\u2019ve entered it in Summernats 39. <\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, the car was stripped back to a bare shell, sanded back to bare metal and epoxy-coated in a mate\u2019s shed. While this was in the works, I splashed some cash at Rare Spares and ordered all the parts for a complete make-over. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter many months, we handed the VL over to Atkinson Autobody, where the usual rust was found, so these guys had some work to do. <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 200 hours of toil, the car was ready for paint, and we decided to stick with the factory Marlin Blue. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it was at the painter\u2019s, I obtained a new turbo diff, and had the automatic transmission rebuilt and the head spiced up by Pryce Engines. The factory turbo has also been rebuilt and high-flowed. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe interior was treated to a new set of seats from Rare Spares, along with a rear seat trimmed to suit, and finished with new carpet, rooflining and custom door trims. We also fitted new bumpers and tail-lights, and painted the undercarriage with Raptor coating. <\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe engine bay was kept standard, and it probably gets the most attention, as it\u2019s rare to see a factory turbo set-up. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe car rolls on 17in BCI chasers. It gets used most weekends, and my son will own it when he\u2019s old enough; he\u2019s only 12, but he has his own Instagram page dedicated to the car scene @jacks_garage_rpm<\/a>. You can see more of the VL on my own Insta @88thebuildvl<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terry & Lee Grieve
Ford XA Falcon GT\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 36 years old, and my parents Terry and Lee have owned this XA GT for two years longer than I\u2019ve been alive! <\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s done drag racing, school runs, been driven to the 1988 Summernats from Rockhampton, and it was even used for my wedding a couple of years ago. <\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a proper survivor, with mostly original Ultra White paint (with no bonnet black-outs), and matching-numbers Cleveland and FMX, although the engine has now been stroked to 406ci with ported 4Vs, 11.5:1 comp, Scott Cook dual-plane intake and a Pro Systems carb. <\/p>\n

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\u201cBefore my wedding, it hadn\u2019t been running in 20 years, but after many long nights we got it going again. It still gets driven regularly; my dad drove it 100km in the wet on drag radials to Rockynats 4 (because he is insane!). He\u2019s still on the fence about whether to take it to the Winternationals this year, but I suspect if he sees it in the mag, he\u2019ll feel compelled to give the GT a proper run!\u201d Words: Joel Grieve<\/p>\n

Simon Dalton
Ford XB Falcon\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my XB GT tribute. I\u2019ve owned it for 20 years and slowly got it to the stage it is now, but as we all know, it\u2019s never finished. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt runs a standard-stroke 351 with alloy heads, hydraulic-roller cam, and all the supporting mods to get it making 570hp. <\/p>\n

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\u201cBehind the engine is a C4 and a 9in LSD with 3.7:1 gears. It has a factory black interior with power windows, and rolls on 15\u00d76 front and 15\u00d710 rear Street Pros.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want your pride and joy featured in the mag? Just send some photos of your car (minimum file size 2MB each) and a few details of what went into the build to readerscars@streetmachine.com.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

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