In The Build: Dad & Daughter Holden Ute Burnout Car

“It was all her idea!” laughs Steve Sines, famous for his constantly evolving (and currently pink) HZ Kingswood KINGER. “We started talking about some ideas and got it drawn up the way she wanted it, now I’m tasked with pulling it all together!”

The build originally started with procuring a ute as a donor vehicle from a mate, and while the shell was beyond repair, the Sines’ were able to pillage it for the hard-to-find bits and pieces that aren’t available in the aftermarket. “Then we found a ute in a paddock. We paid $500 for it and got to work!” he exclaims.

Rescuing old Holdens that are approaching their fiftieth birthday is no cake walk, with Steve admitting to spending over 140 hours on the bodywork and rust repairs alone.

“Neil Moneypenny from Exclusive FX helps heaps by giving me advice and how to do the work, but I’m largely self taught. I’ve never had any experience welding or fabrication before, I’ve just watched and learned a lot over the years,” continues the Diesel Mechanic by trade, who has even completed a turret swap as part of the build, a notoriously difficult undertaking.

“Apparently I’m a really patient guy, and patience helps a lot!” he laughs. And all the while, Steve’s daughter Lacey is beside him in the shed helping make the artists rendering a reality.

“She’s not too keen on the sparks from the grinding but she’ll happily sit there and sand panels with me for hours. I think it’s important to try and teach them more life skills than just sitting there playing computer games,” he adds.

As far as the combo’ goes, the ute will run a 6L LS2 that’ll be blessed with DRP cylinder heads and a two-piece Higgins intake manifold that’ll support a carby, bidding farewell to the LS2’s factory EFI.

“We’ll set everything up so that we can step it up in the future. I keep entertaining the idea of pulling the blower of the Kingswood and returning it to street trim, but my daughter insists that the two cars have to be finished and displayed at a show together before I can do that!”

“Ultimately, I’ll step away from the driver’s seat of the ute and let my daughter take the reins,” explains Steve, the consummate family man.

“Car shows for us are different these days - it’s a passion we share as a family, and if I can’t have my wife or daughter at a car show with me, we just don’t go anymore.”