Brent Livermore has a private passion outside his demanding public role as captain of Australia's gold medal winning men's hockey team - his beloved 1964 EH Holden Station Wagon.
However with the Kookaburra's rigorous match and training schedule leading up to the Commonwealth Games and the needs of his wife Belinda and two year old daughter Kyra, the automotive love of his life until recently has been forced to take a back seat.
That's soon about to change, as his once slightly shaggy country cruiser is currently undergoing a major metamorphosis at Brisbane's Oz Rods into a cool Custom that Brent hopes will turn heads wherever it goes.
Brent, now 29, bought the EH when he was 16 from a lady in his hometown of Grafton, NSW.
It's been an on-going project since that has seen the former six cylinder 'three-on-the-tree EH grow into a much more capable vehicle with a VS Commodore V6 engine, stainless steel exhaust, a T500 automatic transmission rack and pinion steering, and an HR disc brake front end.
'Now it's time for a tough new look,' said Brent. 'I want a real 'wow' factor.?
Luckily for him, specialist repairer and restorer Oz Rods has been commissioned by Shannons to customise his pride and joy.
The Oz Rods team of Steve Loone and Trish and Graeme Parmenter took possession of Brent's EH in September and are currently well advanced in transforming a typical 1970s hotted up Holden into a tough Street Rod.
The Slacks Creek, Brisbane shop certainly has the credentials on the board to deliver the goods. Started 12 gears ago, Oz Rods are serial trophy winners at Rod and Custom shows around Australia with the vehicles that have received their magic ranging from T Buckets to spectacular Customs and over-the-top promotional cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Amongst the 16 or so vehicles currently being completed in their busy show is a sensational 1950 Chevrolet Ute that has been widened by nearly 30cm to resemble a tough FJ for high energy soft drink company Red Bull.
This has included massively flaring the mudguards, widening and extending the bonnet, re-shaping the doors, drip rails and rear window and fitting a huge Esky behind the front seats - a total of over 700 man hours of specialised work. But the knockout feature of this tougher than tough ute will be its flat black all-over paintwork.
After that, Brent's EH will be easy!
Oz Rods' Steve Loone insisted that the project couldn't start until Brent had chosen the wheels for the Wagon, as these set the overall tone for the project and in turn determined the appropriate paint scheme. The final decision looked like going to 'Old Skool' 16 or 17 inch wheels supplied by Keith for Wheels.
'You have to visualise the final look of the car and all its features have to reflect that,? he said. 'Different themes suit different colours and some colours and more in fashion than others. It's the most important part of the project.
'Basically, we're looking for an attention grabber.'
The starting point is to strip the EH's body back to the metal. Out goes the sunshield and headlight guards, the number plate surrounds and wind deflectors on the driver's door, with flared guards, a late model fuel filler and tinted windows likely to be part of the finished project.
The engine bay will also be tidied up to hide the wiring.
Inside, the seats and doors will be re-trimmed, the dashboard colour coded but the Venetian blinds - perhaps in a matching colour rather than their current white - may go back in.
'I can't wait,' said Brent. 'I love surfing and I'd love to take it down to the beach with my mates. But that may have to wait until after the Commonwealth Games!'
