POWER AND GLORY

ONE of the biggest hits at Street Machine Summernats 33 was Kevin and Jo Mantach’s army-themed ’50 Chevy coupe – partially because it was completely different to anything else at the event, but also because it is an exceedingly cool build with a tonne of clever touches and design features. While the prevailing trend of burnout car builds over the past few years has been turning the newest car you can find into a tyre-destroyer, Kev has flipped that on its head with one of the earliest cars built to this level.

While all manner of cars have been built over the years with an army theme, more often than not they have USA markings – a white star on the door, for instance – but not this time. Instead, Kev’s inspiration