Run by Street Machine, the competition is solely selected by the street machine community.
This means that Matt and Echuca Service Centre needs you to vote for his HQ Statesman.
“I built that car, it took me five years to build it in my workshop at Echuca Service Centre,” Matt said.
“I’ve built plenty of cars over the years for customers and I just thought I’d build a good one for myself.
“It took a long time to build it.
“We took it to Summernats at Christmas time, to be unveiled.
“The car had not been seen before, we had kept it hidden for the last six months of building it.
“And we were very surprised by the reception we got for it.”
At Summernats 35 in January, Matt and his team from Echuca Service Centre blitzed the Elite Judging claiming Top Engineered, Top Bodywork, Top Undercarriage/Driveline, Top Engine Bay and Top Pro Custom.
“And Top Judged Elite which is the biggest award you can get there,” Matt said.
“We are all so proud to be acknowledged for the great work that we have done, because it took so long to do it.
“I wanted a HQ Statesman and the reason I wanted a HQ Statesman is it is the era I am from.
“Dad had a couple of Holdens when I was a kid and I spent plenty of time in the back seat.
“They weren’t Statesmans, but they were Kingswoods, so I’ve been brought up around Holdens.
“I wanted a four door that you could put four people in, as I have had a lot of two doors and they are hard to get in the back seat.”
The fully restored HQ Statesman has been modified with bigger wheels and engine, and is set lower to the ground.
“Its condition when we started was pretty good, it still did have a bit of rust, as they do and needed a lot of work, but we were prepared to do the work,” Matt said.
“We wanted a good body to start with.
“The hours into that car, we haven’t logged them all, but it is unbelievable.
Voting for Matt McIntosh and his team at Echuca Service Centre’s HQ Statesman for Milwaukee Street Machine of the Year 2023 closes soon, so you need to vote now.
On the voting page Matt’s HQ Statesman is the last car listed, so you will need to scroll down to find it.
To vote for Matt’s HQ Statesman go to https://www.streetmachine.com.au/events/smoty/smoty-vote
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