Ben Sargent bought his 1971 HQ Holden Monaro when he was 16 and still remembered his first speeding ticket, driving to the coast with mates or getting fined when the police saw his brother resting his feet out the window as they headed to Summernats.
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"We were young blokes, just cruising around having a good time," Mr Sargent said.
The parts manager will return to Summernats' 30th anniversary this year as part of a showcase of grand champions, a title Mr Sargent took in 2012.
Mr Sargent, now 40, rebuilt the Monaro three times since he bought it as an apprentice mechanic but said this would be the last time.
Mr Sargent's attention-to-detail didn't just apply to the top of the car but the work underneath it.
"Obviously building a car is hard, because it takes a lot of time out of the family and it takes a lot of money out of the bank account," Mr Sargent said.
"The five years that it took building it this time, I used to kind of average two hours a night in the shed and one day on the weekend."
As a boy, he absorbed his father's and uncle's love of cars and after visiting his first Summernats in year 6, he decided he wanted his own car.
"I looked up to those guys and thought it would be pretty cool to have a car like that," he said.
"I've got three kids now: one's 19, one's 15, one's 11. All three of them have never missed a Summernats since the day they were born," he said.
Mr Sargent spoke fondly not just of his car but the community built around Summernats, he said a lot of his good friends were people he'd met at the festival. He loved the cars, he loved the atmosphere.
"Anyone that knows me knows that the one thing I live for every year is Summernats," he said.
Mr Sargent had met people across Australia who shared his passion for cars and travelled annually to Canberra just to attend the event, "That's the mecca, I suppose," he said.
Because he was so attached to the car, Mr Sargent didn't believe he would be selling it but he still didn't want to take it to the streets.
"I have people nagging me all the time, [you] need to start using it'," he said. "I suppose it's my shed ornament."
"Over the years I've had some pretty good times in it."
