Table of contents for No 197 October 2021 in NZV8

It all seemed to be going so damn well — we had our freedom back, and the virus was nowhere to be seen, except on our news feeds. Summer was on its way, and the biggest issues we were facing were that we couldn’t leave the country and parts were taking so damn long to get here! Then, just as the first of the summer events rolled around and was only weeks away: BAM! Old mate Delta snuck in the back door and, like a knock at the door at 2am by noise control asking you to stop revving your car in the shed, the fun police stepped in and we were back in the social abyss that is level four. Now, as I write this we’re a couple of…

Unfortunately, once again the Covid-19 pandemic has put a stop to any racing or testing, with one Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Cars event already cancelled and a second at high risk of not being able to take place. This hasn’t slowed us down in the shop, with plenty of work maintaining and improving everything for when we can get back on track. Over the next few columns, I plan to outline some of the specs of an Aeroflow Outlaw nitro funny car. The rules around the cars are very deliberate and put together to try to balance the wants of all stakeholders — by ‘stakeholders’, I mean the crowd and the racers. The cars need to be fast, loud, produce nitro flames, have the ability to be peddled, and be…

Call us all power hungry, call us all greedy, but the quest for more power is something that bonds together almost all car enthusiasts and has done so since those early Model T days. The thing with the power quest is that it’s seldom ever conquered and often leaves you wanting more, time and time again. We’ve all been there, and we all know that feeling, so I bet you can relate to the tale that is Geoff Lowry’s ’73 HQ known as ‘THEQUE’. It all started so simply, as Geoff explains: “I had been looking for an HQ for a while and came across one of my mate’s ones listed on Trade Me. It had no motor or gearbox. I got straight on the phone and arranged to see…

NZV8: Hi, John. We’ve got a project car that came with four-wheel drums and a single-circuit master that we’ve just shoehorned 600 horses into under the hood. Our LVV cert. man has said that the stock drums are going to need a performance upgrade. What would be your first suggestion to increase performance? John Begg: There are multiple aspects to consider, but, first up, you’ll really want to upgrade the master cylinder to a modern tandem master cylinder. This will split the brake circuit into two parts, which will provide significant added safety. The split can be either front/rear or diagonal, depending on the vehicle and set-up. Having a twin-circuit system is important and used on all modern vehicles. If you should lose one brake circuit for whatever reason (rusted…

Before Carrozzeria Ghia was acquired by BFord in 1970 and the name became forever associated with up-specced but still completely uninspiring models from the Blue Oval, the Italian coachbuilder was one of the greatest automotive design houses in Europe, 50 years in the making. Founded in 1916, Ghia first came to prominence producing beautiful lightweight aluminium bodies for the likes of Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Lancia during the interwar years. It was these vehicles’ participation and success in events like the famous Mille Miglia endurance race across Italy that sealed Ghia’s reputation as one of the best. After World War II — and the complete destruction of its factory during an allied air raid — Ghia rebuilt and began expanding its horizons further afield than the home boot. And, with…

Growing up as the son of a farming family, inland from Ashburton, Chris Davison probably thought that his life would be planned out, becoming the fourth generation of the family to go into farming, following in his father’s footsteps. But even though that is the road he would eventually take, there were a few twists and turns along the way. Back in his youth, Chris worked as an apprentice mechanic at Smallbone in Ashburton. On completion of his apprenticeship, Chris headed off shore in 1981 to work in Canada. While over there, his father passed away and the choice was made to come home so that he could help his mother on the farm. In 1984, Chris purchased the farm, becoming the fourth generation to have the family name on…

100 WAYS TO MODERN Kruzin Kustoms is fast becoming New Zealand’s F100 specialist, having churned out 20 custom chassis to date, 10 of those currently sitting in the ship waiting to go under cabs.One of the latest to receive the much-needed upgrade is Cara Coburn’s ’56 F100. The plan with the truck is to have it modern and comfortable under the skin, but keep the patinated look on the outside. The chassis is completely boxed and features a centre K-member and rear C-notch to let the truck sit with the right stance. The front cross member is a Heidts Superide, while out back is a four-linked nine-inch, built in-house at Kruzin, and fitted with a posi-track centre. Wilwood sixpot calipers and 13-inch rotors can be found on all four corners,…

Full details have come to light on the now-available 2022 Chev COPO Camaro. There is plenty to be excited about if you’re in the market. Firstly, unlike the previous late-model COPOs, there will be no limit on production numbers — traditionally, only 69 would be offered. Secondly, and more importantly, the big block is back. Yip, that’s right, finally a new factory-fitted big block Camaro after so many years. The engine is a monster — a 572 iron block with alloy heads and forged internals — but it does trail both the LSX small block engine options in terms of power. The 572 rated at 430, the 427 at 470, and a supercharged 350 at 600hp. The 572 also unlocks a special colour and graphics package so those pulling up…

Have you ever had one of those ‘Oh crap, what have I done’ moments? The moments that you wish you could undo, or that you have to double check are actually real, and not just a bad dream? Christchurch’s Matt Lowe has. His ‘oh crap’ moment stemmed from a phone call from the mechanic who he’d dropped off his newly purchased ’72 Cuda to in preparation for compliance. This wasn’t exactly the beginning he wanted, having waited a lifetime to get his hands on his dream machine, and, of course, then there was the added complication of explaining the car’s various issues to his ever-tolerant wife. But, for a change, this isn’t one of those stories where an overseas seller duped a Kiwi who will probably never chase them down…

The year 1986 (might have been 1987) doesn’t sound like a long time ago to someone of my generation, but it always surprises the shit out of me when I stop and think about just how long ago that was — 35 years ago. Soon enough it’ll be 40 years ago. And, good health permitting, us old pricks will be looking back on the things we did in the ’80s, pausing for a moment, and saying, “Damn, that was half a century ago.”Where the hell has it all gone? Anyway, over a third of a century ago, one of the hot rod events that us Whanganui car guys liked going to was the New Plymouth Street Drags. New Plymouth Rodders held them every year back then when lots of hot…

“I was only meant to get a quick paint job and then something happened,” explains serial car builder Kayton Coughey of Real Rides with a chuckle. It was post lockdown in 2020 and Kayton, as he does, was shopping for his next project to keep the boys busy in between customer jobs, when a freshly imported ’67 Chevelle popped up for sale. “It already had the motor and blower on it, and had a paint job in blue, although it was a little rough,” recalls Kayton. Uncomplied and in need of some TLC, it was the type of build that Kayton doesn’t shy away from, given the small army he has backing him up. But the real clincher was the fact it was a ’67 — a shape that just…

Ford’s flathead V8 is the forefather of the entire American V8 scene, with its bang-for-buck performance unlike anything else the world had ever seen at the time of its launch. It was introduced in 1932 and designed for production by Carl Schmaltz, Ray Lard, and Mil Zoerlein. The design was simple, with poured Babbit-style main bearings, 21-head studs, one belt for the generator and fan, and two water pumps. The pioneering flathead V8s did have their flaws though — cracking was common, as was oil starvation when turning the car around hard corners, leading to seized crankshaft bearings. Check out the timeline of the famed engine’s production following. 1933 Aluminium heads and higher compression give an extra 9hp, while ignition and cooling improvements help reliability 1934 New dual-downdraught Stromberg 40…

I’ve grown up bouncing around in the back of old Fords,” states Jason, so it really should come as no surprise that his dream build is an old Ford. But unlike his dads ‘worn’ old second-generation Bronco that seemed to work on a total loss oil change regime for the tired old big block, Jason plans to modernise the entire thing with a new chassis and EV power plant. “Last year GM released their EV Blazer for Sema, and that got me thinking about how cool a Ford version could be. I’ve heard how fast Teslas are, so clearly EVs aren’t as bad as some make them out to be,” he says. WHAT’S YOUR IDEA? Have you got a wild concept idea? If so, we need you to transfer that…

MOVING ON UP By now, everyone should be very familiar with Mark Holland’s stunning Group2 Camaro. The car has been a regular in the CMC circus for the past five seasons, both in the hands of Mark and of his son, Shane. Both drivers managed to take home the Group2 title in it before Shane took ownership of aGroup1 Mustang. Now, Mark’s decided to take that next step and modify the car to make it a genuine Group1 contender. To facilitate the changes, Mark had Angus Fogg come onboard to re-engineer many aspects to suit the freedom that Group1 rules allow. Included in this is a change of suspension setup, incorporating new uprights up front, and a change from leaf spring and Watt’s link in the rear to complete three-link…

Growing up in the Sydney suburbs after migrating from Holland, Chris Van Der Byl spent his youth in the back of his dad’s garage watching and helping build race engines for Friday night drags — it was all about going fast in their house. This sparked a lifelong passion — a passion that led to his building several cars, including a Summernats prize-winner, before a shift to New Zealand later in life. Holdens, sparking a lifelong passion for the lion — a passion that led to his building several cars, including a Summernats prize-winner, before a shift to New Zealand later in life. Now in his 50s, it was time for Chris to build one last personal project. He picked up a VK Executive rolling body from Rare Spares NZ’s…

AutoFest 11–12 September Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon, Feilding downtimenz.com Entry $25 ($40 weekend pass), kids 10 and under free Open to hot rods, classic cars, street machines, and custom bikes only, AutoFest is on the move to Manfeild for a massive two-day schedule for the first time. The event will host both an indoor and outdoor show, V8-only burnout competition, and track cruising, as well as a barbecue competition, Retro-o-rama, live music, Miss AutoFest, overnight camping, and more. There are some serious cash prizes being put up for the show and burnouts — a $4K cash prize for each. Cash is also being donated to charities of the winners’ choice. This is shaping up to be a huge event, so if you want to play a part, register now on…

REAPING THE REWARDS Two decades ago, the streets of West Auckland were terrorised by roofer Ramo Simpson in his work-hack one-tonner — that was, until a judge threatened it would be taken off him if he didn’t settle down. So the one-tonner was retired from work duties and burnouts became the focus. Since then Ramo’s been on the chase for more power, and of course for bigger and smokier burnouts. In 2020 the chassis went under the knife at BNN Customs with a new rear chassis clip fabricated to suit the 20x15-inch billet Boyd Coddington’s and four-linked Fab 9 diff. Some ingenious solutions have also been incorporated in the rear, with hydraulic rams to tilt the tray for easy access to everything, including the sealed-off fuel system to avoid fires.…

ALTERED REALITY There are no secrets in drag racing,” was a comment made on the Silk Racing Facebook page recently. And it’s true. That post was in relation to a notso-well-kept post announcing that the team had secured a Hemi engine package to drop into the family Top Alcohol dragster. The Hemi package is an ex–Tony Marsh Noonan-based set-up with a blower from Chris Johnson’s car. With driver Tamara Silk already having run 5.93@232mph with the now-damaged Chev combo, she already holds the title of fastest female but is just shy of Karen Hay’s ET record behind the wheel of Russell Kristofersen’s dragster. Could next season be the one in which the title changes hands? Or will we see Karen return? SEALED DEAL! In what will be one of the…

Saturday, 7 August saw masses of hot rodders flock to the town of Feilding to attend the 50th annual swap meet, hosted by Palmerston North Hot Rod Club. From the early hours of the morning until around midday, Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon was packed full of swappers and traders, not to mention a sweet line-up of cars on display. More on that in another article in this issue; we were actually there to check out Kruzin Kustoms’ Midwinter Chill Out, which kicked off as the swap wound down at lunchtime. Considering the number of hot rodders in the town at the time, it seemed fitting to fill in the rest of the day checking out some new rides that are due to hit the streets. With a hop, skip, and…

As this is written, it is the first morning of the New Zealand. I guess it was always a matter of time, as the whole world seems to be going through similar madness from a Covid perspective, not to mention the larger racial, political, and climate-change issues. The world has gone mad, and our only out or therapy is our cars. But even our shared passion has a strong chance of being compromised. I started to think of the ‘old normal’, which seems like a distant memory of what is now the ‘new normal’. It all left me thinking what it would be to step back just two years to what we were enjoying then. Back in August 2019, I joined a small group of guys who attended the 50th…

During his formative years, Bryce Hogg’s dad Jonathan was busy building a Lotus 7 in the shed. Given Dad’s passion for building and racing circuit cars, it came as no surprise that Bryce and brother Gareth followed in his footsteps. Once the Lotus was finished, the driving duties were shared about, and Bryce got his first taste of going fast on a racetrack. He was instantly hooked, and the rest is history. The rapid open-topped Lotus wasn’t the only car to be built in the Hogg family’s sheds over the years. Two BMW track cars started their lives in family sheds: Dad’s is finished and racing, while brother Gareth’s is still a work in progress and, once finished, will join the grid and race alongside his family’s cars. But, long…

The first Saturday in August is a day that should be circled on every car guy’s and girl’s calendar, because it’s Palmy Swap Meet day. Wind the clock back to 1971, and you’ll see that on Saturday, 7 August, the Palmerston North Hot Rod Club (PNHRC) held its very first swap meet and has continued to do so successfully on the same weekend ever since. The club was a breakaway group born from the Central City Rod and Custom Club, and soon after forming, it held the inaugural event in Palmerston North’s square. Underneath the clock tower was a gathering of six plots and about 10 cars. It appears that things have changed a bit over the years! When it came to the event, there were really only a couple…