Vote now: old scholar on road to street machine win

Blackfriars old scholar Michael Rugari has long had a drive to succeed.

A keen mechanics student during his time at Blackfriars, Michael (BPS’17) has taken his love of cars beyond the school gate, with his custom-built 1993 Nissan D21 Navara Ute now in the running to be named Street Machine magazine’s inaugural Young Street Machine of the Year.

_{Old scholar Michael Rugari’s custom-built Nissan ute.}

“I have Blackfriars to thank for helping me get into the automotive industry; I participated in the mechanics subject from Year 10 onwards with Mr (Jeffrey) Drewer and Mr (Wayne) Thompson,” Michael says.

“Best part is, this is the car that I drove to and from school in my senior year.

“You could ask pretty much all my past teachers about my car and they’ll tell you that I was car crazy and I still am today.”

The ute was lovingly modified by Michael over about four years.

_{Old scholar Michael Rugari’s custom-built ute.}

Little remains of the original car. The changes are almost too long to list, but include flares, a Pathfinder front-end conversion, blast pipes and a lowered base. There is also a rebuilt with an SR20DET engine.

The ute’s inside was completely overhauled and the outside finished with metallic blue paint, which one website described as a “top-tier paint job”.