Big

Of all the sounds that have stuck with me over the years, the sound of a big-block engine from a long way away will always make me smile.

I've ridden in all sorts of big-cube cars over the years, from a screaming twin-carb 454 powered ute to slow, smooth cruisers. They all have one thing in common: the engine note that comes up through your feet, then in to your soul.

Of all of them, my favourite was Damien Nelms' 455ci Oldsmobile Cutlass. Following it in a Nissan Micra, the noise from the three-inch pipes and the way it pushed the back tyres around did something to me that I might never recover from. The body helped - if the coke-bottle hips on that thing don't make you swoon, you're clinically dead.

Dan recently unearthed some spare photos from the shoot we did for Gasoline. Enjoy - I did. The moody way these photos are processed suits the car perfectly - I particularly love the shot of the fuel pressure gauge, the aged photo makes it look purposeful, like something peeking from under the engine cowl of a Spitfire.