Somewhere in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, a passer by slows down his non-descript four-wheel drive and winds down the window.

“Oh my god, man!” 

It’s not much of a surprise when you consider what’s parked up on the driveway, the ultimate head turner in the form of Craig Hunt’s stunning 1992 VP Calais, Mad 355.

Running a stout cammed 355 stroker, quad throttle body sitting atop a torque power manifold (chromed of course!) and making around 500 rwhp, this is not your average daily drive. That power gets to the ground through the original T700 and a 4:11 Truetrac diff.

“I don’t really care about highway driving,” he says flatly – and we all know this beast is not made for doing 110.

It’s a project that has been lovingly – some could say obsessively – completed by Craig since he first picked up the car about ten years ago.

“I wasn’t really planning to do up this car specifically, but I’ve always loved the VP Calais and this one was available in Murray Bridge for the right price so I got it.”

The first job was to fit the manifold. As far as first impressions go, it wasn’t ideal.

“My shed has no ventilation – no windows or anything. It was 40, 41 degrees outside so we set up a little portable air conditioner with wet towels and got to work. It was over 50 degrees in the shed, but I just had to finish it.”

It’s unrelenting dedication that can be seen throughout the build. His commitment and attention to detail has even earned him a tongue-in-cheek nickname from the polisher – “Mr Fussy”. And it’s a moniker that he’s even passed onto the next generation.

“Now my wife is Mrs Fussy, and even the kids are Little Fussies.” He says with a laugh.

Apparently, a love for cars runs in the Fussy family. His stepson has built his own 79 Toyota Corolla and his brother has drag cars, while wife Kristine is as good a mechanic as anyone, Craig says. One of his proudest moments was arriving home to find she’d fixed her Ford’s blown power steering rack all on her own.

“I thought I was going to have to do it, and when I got home there she was – she’d got under the car and done it all herself.”

Kristine’s other role is chief polisher, and we’re told all credit is to her for Mad 355’s impeccable – and we mean impeccable – chrome engine bay. She’ll even polishes the sump and trans oil pan, such is her dedication to the role.

Nothing has been overlooked; even the brake lines have been painted white to match the VP’s stock Alaskan White exterior, while the chrome certainly makes a statement.

“I might change those to stainless” he says, “I mean I am always wanting to improve it.”  

And all that chrome certainly makes a statement.

It’s no surprise then that at the few shows Craig’s attended, he’s walked away with a trophy every time – mostly for having the best engine bay, a title we’re happy to agree with.

It’s not about the trophies, he says, but he’s got to admit they came as a nice surprise.

“We’d finished up his first show at Murray Bridge, and he was ready to go home before the trophies were handed out, but I told him to stay. He was stunned when they called his name!” Kristine adds.

Mad 355 is currently running the Build Ninja gauge cluster – an addition that was “beautiful” according to Craig. He’s also eyeing off a ratchet shifter kit once he builds the manualised trans.

While he reckons it’s a project that is never completely finished – there’s always something else to Chrome after all – he reckons he’s pretty proud of where it’s at, even if it did take a fair bit of resilience to get there.

“There’s been a few times I nearly gave up. It was on the dyno and it dropped a valve and honestly I was about ready to give up and sell it. But I had a break for a few hours, got back into it and fixed it again. Once I did, I couldn’t believe I’d even thought about selling.”

Craig also credits friends and family for helping him get through the inevitable hard times that come with a project like this.

“I also had two shoulder operations and really felt like I was going to have to pull the pin on the build. But my brother came to my rescue, we took my car to his workshop and his mate redid and hid all the wiring… for me, that kept the dream alive.”

Today, all those challenges are in the rearview mirror and Craig says he’s stoked with how it’s all come out.

“Every time I uncover and see it, I’m proud of it, all the blood, sweat and tears, it’s how I want it to look, and makes the speed I want.” Craig says.

The Build Ninja team couldn’t agree more!

Keep up to date with Mad 355 on Facebook here.

This article is in honour of Zack Hunt, Craig’s son who tragically passed away shortly after this article was first written. Like his Dad, Zack was a real character with a wicked sense of humour and deep loyalty to his friends and family. On behalf of our whole Build Ninja community, we extend our sincerest sympathies to Craig and his wider family.