VALE; LARRY O’TOOLE

Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of Larry O’Toole, co-founder and publisher of Australian Street Rodding Magazine. Larry was hospitalised with Pancreatitis just days after the Central Coast Nationals in April, his condition very serious, and never really recovered.

While Australian Street Rodding and Cruzin competed in the same realm, Larry and I would always chat when we crossed paths, and I was always invested in his comments and outlook with regard to the industry and the hobby in general. As a small business owner, I admired that he had succeeded in establishing a home and a family and still managed to find time to invest in community efforts such as the Castlemaine Hot Rod Centre. As an enthusiast, I was slightly jealous that he had been around long enough to have participated the first Street Rod Nationals in the 1970s, while I was still toilet training.

After more than 40 years invested in hot rodding both as a profession and a pastime, there are few, if any, that could boast such an in-depth knowledge of the evolution of rodding in Australia, the cars and the people. If there is any consolation to his passing, it’s that he will forever be remembered every time an enthusiast, young or old, browses an Australian Street Rodding magazine, past or present.

The family have announced that a public memorial will be held on Saturday, October 29, 2022.

Keep Cruzin
Gasser Gav