You'd be hard pressed to find a more proud young car owner than Ethan Pay from the Central West Car Club with his VS Holden ute.
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It was his first car and he's certainly got plenty to be proud of, so I found out a bit more about him and his passion.
"It's a 1996 VS Series 2 'S' with a factory 5.0 litre V8 and 5 speed manual," said Ethan.
"There was never an SS in the Series 2 model, so the S came with either V6 or V8."
And here's some encouragement for the young ones - Ethan's parents bought him the ute for achieving good results at school and attaining school captaincy at Parkes High School.
"It was pretty rough to begin with," he said.
"The previous P plate owner had used it as his skid pig and there was burned out rubber up the rear quarters.
"But the mechanicals were all good, so with a bit of TLC it was my daily driver for the first 2 years," said Ethan.
In that first two years, it got plenty of use from Ethan too, back and forth to uni and even some laps at Wakefield Park in Goulburn.
"The best thing about the track days is you get to experience that race feeling in your own car in a safe and controlled environment," said Ethan.
In December 2020, Ethan took the VS off the road for a proper makeover; and between him and his dad they straightened out the bodywork, refreshed some of the mechanicals and laid down a fresh coat of the original Botanica Mica - with a bit more metallic to make it really sparkle.
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It's now got a later SS front bar and lip, a hard cover, custom exhaust and a set of 19-inch Simmons wheels.
Ethan said they finished it the day before Summernats earlier this year - so that's where the VS made it's debut....and he even made it to the finals.
"For the mullet not the ute!" Ethan laughed.
Ethan was also keen to thank his parents for their support, and highlighted all he has learned along the way in restoring this car.
"I can't thank Mum and Dad enough for the start, and all their help and support along the way," he said.
"I reckon one of the best things about owning a vehicle like this as a young fella is the learning.
"I've learnt so much about the mechanicals, fabrication, paint and panel - all of which I can thank Dad for," said Ethan.
With his ute looking a bit fancier these days, Ethan's happy to call it his weekend cruiser now.
"I'm studying engineering at uni, but I've always had a passion for motorsport and I'd really like to pursue that" he said.
So who knows - we might one day see the VS back on the race track again!
For more information on the Central West Car Club, visit www.centralwestcarclub.com or https://www.facebook.com/centralwest.carclub.
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