Mills Automotive And Mechanical Services

08/10/2026

Another happy customer at Mills Mechanical! 🔧⭐

Reviews like this are why we do what we do. Thanks for trusting us with your car — and for taking the time to share your experience. It means a lot to a small local workshop.

Need a mechanic you can count on in Portland? Give us a call or drop in — we'll look after you.

02/10/2026

Thats a wrap for the first months work on the GT!!
As you can see in the photos it has been a crazy month we have achieved so much ! Between the early starts and late night (early morning) finish’s we finally got the body and doors into paint Friday morning and also have the new engine fired up and running.
We ended up having to cut/unstitch the rear section of the car to pieces and remove the rusty/bog filled panels but luckily what panels we couldn’t buy off the shelf Cody was able to make 🤘
The complete body and doors were all stripped to bare steel and repairs made, then it was all metal treated before being sealed with epoxy. The filler was added where it was required but definitely not as much went in as what was taken off the car!!
Once the body was in primer we focused on the engine, the damage to the intervals of the old motor wasnt worth fixing for now so we installed a freshly rebuilt 351 Cleveland crate motor. So a few days was spent cleaning the engine bay and sorting broken wiring as well as routing new fuel lines. The engine fired up nearly first pop and run up with no issues, Liam (the exhaust whisperer) will be tackling the new exhaust system soon to make this classic sound as aggressive as it looks !! 😎
We then turned our attention back to getting the car in paint so with the help of some friends we made a make shift spray booth around the car and doors which turned out to work perfect !
After a 5am start yesterday prepping the car for paint Cody spent the day laying down coats of the original 1970 Ford candy apple red and we couldn’t have asked for better results. The car came up like a diamond! 💎 the customer couldnt have been happier !
The car will now sit until the next time cody is back in November where we will re assemble the body and attack the front sheet metal of the car and hopefully have it fully completed by the end of November 🤘
Enjoy some of the photos we took along the way

02/10/2026

Photos just don’t do this justice…
Thanks to Cody for the long days, nights and early mornings

02/10/2026

02/10/2026

Bit of a teaser lady’s and gentleman….

30/09/2026

Bit of work on dad’s ke10 corolla! Got the boys helping strip to bare metal tonight before epoxy primer tonight or tomorrow

29/09/2026

UPDATE TIME!!
The GT has a new heart beat with the fresh 351 Cleveland fired up and running. 🤘
Still needs some fine tuning but it seems to be a happy little motor.
Now we can head back into the body work and get the car sprayed so keep an eye out this week for another update 😎

25/09/2026

Ensure your vehicle performs at its peak with regular oil and filter updates. Book with Mills Automotive and Mechanical Services for trusted, professional service in Portland, Victoria.

22/09/2026

We know parking at the workshop has been a nightmare from day 1! there are now 4 dedicated drop off parks in the yard please either park out on the road or in one of these parks.
Please do not park in the driveway or in front of the workshop doors as it is a safety issue with people walking past our barriers and into the shop.
Thanks from the Mills automotive and mechanical services team