Our friends at Dakota Digital turned us on to a custom car builder from south of the equator that has been creating show winning custom automotive designs for more than 20-years. Kam Motor Tinning, which is downunda speak for custom automotive fabrication.

We’ve loved the Aussie slang from the first moment that we heard “Men at Work” sing about “fried out kombies,” so forgive us as we put on our best Ocker and take a fair suck at the sauce bottle while we give the lingo a go.

Ocker to English translation

• bag – an ugly woman
• barker’s eggs – dog poo
• beaut – great, fantastic, terrific
• bewdy – beauty
• biffo – a brawl or fist fight
• bitser – dog of mixed parentage, mongrel
• blood is worth bottling – helpful person
• bonzer – great, ripper
• brumbie – wild horse
• Buckley’s chance – something which has little or no chance of success
• buck’s night – stag party
• chuck a sickie – take the day off sick from work
• dinger – condom
• doco – documentary
• drongo – foolish person
• duck’s nuts – something that is perfectly suited
• fair suck at the sauce bottle – a request to cut the speaker some slack
• fried out kombie – a crappy combination van
• kangaroos loose in the top paddock – intellectually inadequate/stoopid
• Ocker – Australian redneck
• spinster’s ball – a party or function
• What do you think this is, bush week? – disbelieving response to some one you think is trying to con you

The company is a family owned business that has focused on building custom hot rods and musclecars from the ground up. They have done this so successfully that the name KAM has become synonymous with unique builds on a world-wide stage. Not a bitser either. These are a brand new hybrid breed of custom and not your cookie cutter builds. We’re not just throwing barker’s eggs here, these guys are the real deal and their blood is worth bottling.

Kam Motor Tinner is also a wholesale distributor of top shelf manufacturers like Billet Specialties, Air Ride Airbag suspension, Dakota Digital, Procharger, Classic Industires, Felser Design, and several others.

In addition to all of the great support the Kam crew provides to other builders down under, and the custom builds for their own customers, the company dedicates some after hours time each week to work on a custom that they bring to the SEMA tradeshow each year. The industry is still talking about the “Kamaro” car build that the group brought to the 2012 SEMA show.

Even before they finished last year’s Bruiser Camaro for the 2013 SEMA show, the crew was already working on the Kam Nova. If you thought this crew was going to wait till the last minute to build a show car, you must have kangaroos loose in the top paddock. What do you think this is, bush week?

We’ve been following the build since the crew joined Facebook on August 2nd of last year. This weekend the team posted photos of the car with it’s new paint job and it’s a bewdy. The Kam Nova looks pretty complete and by our account, it’s going to be a show stopper. Anyone thinking they have this car beat in styling probably has Buckley’s chance cause this ain’t no bag they are taking to the Spinster’s ball. It’s a brumbie going to buck’s night looking for a biffo!

From the Brisbane Hotrod show.

Whatever you want to call the Nova, one thing is for certain. It’s a bonzer and it took over a year to get her all together. Let’s take a look at the doco that the crew presented as the build was happening.

Chronology

Kam Motor Tinning joined Facebook on Aug 2, 2013 and began posting about their builds. The first mention of the Kam Nova build was on August 9, 2013 when the crew showed the engine and front drive plate being mocked up inside the chassis.

In August of last year the crew started mocking up the build.

On August 21 the crew showed a photo of the door handles being shaved and the metal fabrication involved in the process.

Door handles getting shaved.

August 28 has a photo of the car being “stanced” and set up for the suspension work to follow. The steel was also being straightened so the chassis and body would look stunning when the crew hung the panels and shot the final coat of paint.

The build went into full swing in September when the crew started molding the panels. In November the chassis was starting to get prepped with hours of grinding, welding and strengthening of the chassis. By December the frame was ready for paint. Much of the new parts, like the brakes and air suspension had been mocked up in place to ensure a perfect fit once the chassis had been painted.

In January the crew was back at it getting the engine bay ready for paint and the new mill. The floor was being modified, strengthened and ready for a coat of primer and paint.

Mini tubs, floor and panel extensions were finished in March.

The mini tubs were fitted in February while the floor was being finished. By March the car was starting to look finished and ready for paint but there were some fabrication details like spoilers and support panels that needed to be fabricated still.

April saw the finishing detail on hood fabrication and the underbody prep taking place. The radiator support was finished which made the front end complete. The paint started to flow in early May – just in time for the Brisbane (the Brissi) hotrod show. This would be the first public showing of the car. The team pulled some late nights to get the car ready.

The Kam Nova was on display at the Brisbane hotrod show on May 16 coated in poly primer. The next step would be to take the project to the house of Kolor for it’s final coats. In later May the team started to dress out the engine by smoothing out and shooting primer on the engine block.

The next we saw of the build was in July when the crew was getting the finishing touches done and the car ready for show season.

What To Look Forward To

If you go to the Rides by Kam Facebook fan page and  check their video album, you will see a video of the first time this Nova drove around the lot. It’s worth the watch because the car appears to drive right below a Trojan dinger sign, which is the duck’s nuts because of the potency of this beast. Click here to watch the video. You’d be a drongo if you didn’t think the Kam Nova was going to be the dux at this year’s show. So if you are in the territory when this car makes it to the SEMA show, you’ll want to chuck a sickie and hit the convention center to see this beaut in person.