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To kick off our new series, we’re featuring the build that started it all… our lead Ninja Gary’s 1993 VR Senator, also known as HSV454.

The 1993 VR Senator – build number 065 – first came into Gary’s possession in 1998. Even for a man with a lifelong love affair with Holdens, the 1993 VR Senator was special.

“I still remember when the VR HSV came out – the styling, interior, 185 kW, handling, there was just nothing like it, a car that truly competed with the best Europe had to offer.” Gary says.

Plus, he had a personal connection to it.

“It was built a few kms from where I grew up in Elizabeth, so I knew one day I would own one. This one was perfect, low km’s and hardly touched.”

‘The Senator’ became Gary’s daily drive for five great years, until it blew the transmission.

Unable to part with his beloved Senator, it was rolled into storage, waiting for the right time for a rebuild. It took a while, but the right time came in 2014 and the project began.

Gary comes from a long line of petrol heads and tinkerers – he remembers long hours as a kid, watching his grandfather and father play with all things automotive. Add to the mix a long career in design drafting, and an undying passion for Aussie muscle cars, and the project became the ultimate labour of love.

Originally it was to be a simple LS3 conversion, then a bolt of inspiration hit when Gary read about the LSx454 motor in an issue of Street Machine.

“It was the capacity, for me, growing up as a kid, if you had 454 cubes, that’s it, you were king of the hill.  The LSx454, combines that magical number with the best GM has to offer in the LS platform, iron block, forged internals, priority mains oiling, and killer heads.” He explains.

Never one to do things by halves, Gary carefully considered every last detail on the build – some could say to the point of obsession.

80 hours of CAD work went into the rear wheels alone, with Gary designing up his own custom 10-inch rims that were machined out of billet in the very room that would later become the Build Ninja headquarters.

“I sort of got a bit carried away, the Jenvey ITB injection, fully built power glide, 12 bolt diff, Willwood brakes, fuel system, there is pretty much nothing on the car that hasn’t been rebuilt, replaced or improved drive line wise.  And all of it is 100% ADR approved and street legal.” He says.

Another part that originally stumped Gary was the gauges.

“I wanted that factory look, and I hated the idea of cutting into the dash. I couldn’t find any Holden gauge clusters that suited what I wanted.”

So, he decided to design his own. Using the CAD skills picked up during his 30 year career, he designed his own gauge clusters and printed and fitted them. These would go on to be the VN – VS Gauge Cluster – the very first product available on the Build Ninja website back in 2016.  

Gary reckons that getting HSV454 through engineering was one of the proudest moments of his life, and made all those long hours in the shed worth it.

“I know it sounds corny, but after passing testing, I got in the car in the carpark, wound up the windows, and screamed at the top of my lungs “F@$K Yea, with a huge fist pump”, true story!” He says with a laugh.

After all that hard work, plenty of people would have rested on their laurels (or in this case, in that gorgeous devonish interior). However, Gary’s not one of those people, and he kept looking for ways to improve HSV454.

First it was to make even more horsepower (because you can never have enough – it’s now making 752hp/694ft-lb), and then, he set about fixing a constant gripe – that the awesome glide and ratchet shifter setup he had wasn’t technically street legal.

“I want to be able to drive this car and enjoy it, and so I knew I couldn’t run it if I was risking defect every time it left the shed.”

It was back to the CAD, where Gary designed what would go on to become Build Ninja’s best seller – the Pro Ratchet Shifter Kit. 

This clever bit of kit means HSV454 – and nowadays, plenty of other builds – can run ratchet shifters totally legally.  Not only being ADR compliant, it also makes driving a ratchet style car on the street so much easier as you instantly know what gear it’s in, day or night.

Gary always had a lot of love for HSV454 (his kids, including daughter and business partner Georgie, reckon it’s his favourite child) but knowing it kicked off the community that is Build Ninja makes it even sweeter.

“It’s just awesome that something I loved turned into something that so many others can enjoy as well. I get such a huge kick every time someone sends me a pic or video of their setup, cos I know how much work goes into it and what a thrill it is to see it all coming together.

I love the car community, and being part of someone’s build is just something special.”