Table of contents for No 214 March - April 2023 in NZV8

Hi, I’m back — and it’s good to be back. I took three weeks off and it felt great, but, if you miss what you do and the people you do it with, that’s a pretty clear indicator it’s time to dive back in. When you do, you’ll be ready to rip full speed ahead — and that is certainly the case for me. The shift to bi-monthly for NZV8 means you might not get to see the diary of Rixsta as much, but I’m active on social media, keeping you all up to date with what’s going on around the country. I believe the last time I put pen to print, so to speak, would have been just before Repco Beach Hop 22, held in November for the second…

EMAIL YOUR INFO TO: EDITOR@NZV8.CO.NZ NORTH ISLAND Editor’s PICK 4 March 2023 01 Wheels at Whitby Adventure School, Whitby Adventure School in Whitby, Wellington, is set to rock with a family-friendly car show. Running from 11am to 3pm, Wheels at Whitby is open to all special-interest vehicles and will also feature live music, stalls, activities for the kids, food and beverages, raffles, and more. There’ll be judged awards up for grabs, complete with prizes, thanks to a number of generous sponsors. A large turnout is expected, so make sure you mark 4 March on the calendar and head along! For more information, check out Wheels at Whitby on Facebook: facebook.com/WheelsAtWhitby.nz. 19 February 2023 02 Shannon Spectacular Car & Bike Show Shannon Domain, Shannon Open to all makes and models of cars and…

Blair’s ’79 Olds may look a little rough around the edges, but Blair values the car for what’s on the inside. Having owned the Olds for close to eight years, his original intention of simply having some fun in it, keeping it street legal, and participating in a few drag meets has been realised. Blair has been a member of Cam County for 15 years; in his second year, he was deputised as the club’s sheriff, with the responsibility of laying down the law and handing out fines for any dumb and stupid things that occurred — such as running out of gas on a cruise, breaking down, or even getting lost on a club cruise — all designed to foster the banter and humour. When Blair ‘retired’ from that…

You can see why the red ’71 Dodge Demon would be owned by the totally Mopar-orientated Simon Ingle. “It is religious that this vehicle races,” Simon says. It’s been raced at every Port Road Drags for the past 26 years, bar two times when Simon was away. Before purchasing the car in ’96, Simon had seen it race a few times and, when he did, he instantly thought, “That’s the duck’s nuts.” While attending a party some years later, Simon bumped into the owner and mentioned that, if said owner ever sold it, Simon wanted it. Sure enough, the car was sold to Simon shortly after. HE ALWAYS WANTED TO GO EVERYWHERE AND NOT MISS A SINGLE THING — ESPECIALLY CAR STUFF Simon used to drive at Meremere all the…

While ‘the little old lady from Taft’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as ‘the little old lady from Pasadena’ (who owned — according to songwriters Jan and Dean — a ‘brand new shiny red super stock Dodge’), Mark II and I were nevertheless on our way, 31 years ago, from Mark II’s place in Bakersfield to try to hunt down the little old lady from Taft who owned — according to several Bakersfield hot rodders — a very old, dull white, 1959 Cadillac coupe. There were only a handful of days left before the hunt for T-Rex came to an end and I returned to New Zealand. After a month’s worth of effort and leads came to nothing, the Taft Cadillac had become the only remaining possibility…

Who reading this can say they’ve never sat there daydreaming about building the ultimate version of whatever car they’re into? The fastest; the scariest; and the most over-the-top, butt-puckering machine that may or may not kill its driver without a moment’s notice. Carroll Shelby no doubt spent time mulling over those exact same big dreams. The difference is, he had the technical ability, the connections, the team, the finances, and the timing to make those dreams a reality at a time when much of what he wanted to do had never been done before. Shelby is, of course, well known for these big swings when it comes to insanely high-performance vehicles, but if there’s one example that trumps even the GT350, GT40, and Daytona Coupe for outright insanity, it’s got…

While I’m waiting for some parts to complete the turbo/intercooler set-up, another part of the car that needs some attention is the hood. It currently has a huge injector hat – shaped hole from the previous blower set-up, and for the first time in 10-ish years the car is going to have everything under the hood. I considered bonding on a fibreglass scoop, but metal is what I know, so making one is what I’m going to do. Follow along as I turn a piece of flat sheet metal into either a ‘bubble’ cowl-style scoop or a large piece of scrap steel! NEXT ISSUE, WE WILL GO OVER THE WELDING AND PLANISHING STAGE, GET THE SCOOP WELDED ON, AND BUILD SOME STRUCTURE UNDERNEATH. TIME TAKEN SO FAR: APPROX. EIGHT HOURS.…

LOW FAST FAMOUS Here are some quick hits of content from social-media channels around the globe, curated by Low Fast Famous. They relate to some of the projects and completed builds that have been generating the most interaction and impressions in the past 30 days. Check out more of the work from the vehicles highlighted via their Instagram handles listed or at Low Fast Famous: @lowfastfamous 1950 CHEVROLET 3100 @HAMMERFAB Levi has been pumping out cool builds for a long time now and this truck is no exception. With a modified stock chassis incorporating air suspension and fitted with a Choppin’ Block front end, and GearFX nine inch–equipped four-link rear end, the stance and handling are sorted. Power is via a supercharged small block unit, while rolling stock is courtesy…

CHECK THEMOTORHOOD.COM FOR REGULAR NEWS UPDATES If it had an ounce of excitement around it, it seems that Ken Block had a crack at it. Co-founding the successful DC Shoes business in 1994 gave Ken a solid base to live a life full of pretty much messing around in all things cars, bikes, trucks, ATVs — well, you get the picture. As a side interest, ‘Hoonigan’ was created in another co-founding venture. If DC Shoes catered for extreme sports outside what you would call a ‘normal’ mainstream athlete, Hoonigan did the same for the automotive world. Hoonigan captured an international audience with interviews of car builders and others who, like him, liked messing around with cars — just more of a Blair Witch Project feel than your regular interviews though.…

While old Henry Ford may have turned the automotive industry on its head back when the world was in black and white, it was Enzo Ferrari who is partially responsible for one of the most iconic Fords produced. It all harks back to an ill-fated takeover attempt, wherein Ford spent millions of dollars — big money back then — assessing whether Ferrari was viable, only to have Enzo cut off the deal. Out of spite, Henry Ford II set about trying to destroy Ferrari on the racetrack. The plan worked, too, thanks in no small part to a handful of dedicated and talented Kiwis. Some decades later, Ric Hartnett, an Aucklander who happens to have a thing for mid-engined sports cars and a passion for Fords, decided it was time…

Although Stratford, New Zealand, with a population just shy of 10,000, isn’t exactly known as the custom car capital of the country, that hasn’t stopped this month’s feature car owner, Todd Holland, from building a thriving custom car and automotive repair business in the town. The story of how Todd came to be in possession of his Monte Carlo starts with his company working alongside a company called Treo Motors Ltd, which imports a bunch of American classics with the intention to sell, and any that get flagged at the border for rust or structural repairs go to to Todd at RE Automotive for the work to be carried out. When Treo Motors did another haul of cars from the States, a few were flagged at the border — the…

Jamie Waugh is no stranger to tough street cars (as you’ll see in the next issue), but his next project is a huge one, even for him. Deciding he needed to build a car to join the NZ’s Quickest Streeters list, he’s undertaken plenty of research to come up with what he believes is the best possible combination. Being a fan of Steve Brown’s ’55 Chev when he was a kid, Jamie has decided to build the car to appear as something of a replica. Sadly, Steve passed away at a young age, so isn’t with us today to see the recreation come together. Of course, the ’55 Delray two-door post will be packed full of modern features that hadn’t been dreamed up back when Steve was racing. That includes…

Since my last column, there has been plenty of work with some fun racing thrown in. It started with a quick trip down to Heathcote Raceway to check out their newly rebuilt facility, but in true Aeroflow style we thought if we are going to go down, let’s take a car to test out the track. So the boys and myself left very early Saturday morning for the 10-hour drive down to Victoria. Arriving late Saturday afternoon, we parked the truck and headed for our accommodation for an early night, knowing Sunday was going to be full on. The plan was to do a pass in each lane so we could get a feel for what this track could handle. Once again I got the awesome privilege of driving the…

The New Zealand Drag Racing Hall of Fame may only be a new thing, but you can bet if it had been around longer, then Jeff Dobson’s name would be in it. While many people know Jeff from his days working hard behind the scenes for NZDRA and years of successfully claiming national titles in various classes, how he got there is less well-known. The story actually begins way back when he was a teenager and was working for a dyno tuning and race engine building shop. As a keen young apprentice, he learnt as much as he could, especially on the bench dyno hunting those incremental horsepower numbers. This was back in the days when there were next to no performance products available off the shelf, so plenty of…

A ’68 Dodge Charger with a 2006 Dodge Viper 8.3-litre (506ci) V10, a couple of war whistles dangling from the sides, and the ability to punch out 1400hp is not an easy task to accomplish. However, Dunedin’s Kent Lobb has achieved just this feat, though it has no doubt been difficult and expensive. Imported from Tennessee, on arrival the car sported a tunnel-rammed 440ci big block, a 727 TorqueFlite transmission and an 8¾-inch diff, and an ugly-as-sin Line-X paint job (if you are unfamiliar with what that would be, think of underbody seal applied all over the car’s exterior panels). Though the previous owner stated that it had been taken to bare metal and epoxy primed before getting a coat of the ugly stuff, all Kent had was his word.…

Do you use Instagram? Do you want more exposure for the photos you post? Upload your photos to Instagram and use the hashtag #NZV8 to tag us. In each issue, we search Instagram for your photos and print them on the pages you see here. Look it up, use it, and thrash it! We’ll keep an eye on it and pick out a selection of hashtagged posts each month to print right here.…

Drag racing is considered by many to be one of the safest motorsports, but, as top doorslammers (or pro-modifieds in the US) are consistently reaching speeds over 250mph, the risk significantly goes up when things go wrong. The live broadcast of the event had thousands of spectators in shock at what had just unfolded. For viewers in the New Zealand drag racing community, footage of the accident may have sparked memories of a similar accident at Meremere Dragway in 2005. Clark Fiddes at the wheel of his Camaro and camera man Robert Miller had a similar coming together, but both recovered from their injuries. For 55-year-old Sydney local Sam Fenech, luck just wasn’t on his side. The Fabietti / Chevrolet Performance Camaro top doorslammer was on a good pass, clocking…

They came from far and wide, from north of Auckland to as far south as you can go without getting wet, even a driver from Australia via the US. Twenty-three of the country’s baddest Wildbunch cars assembled at Masterton Motorplex for the Mount Shop Wildbunch Wars in what has now become one of the country’s premium true drag racing events. From an insanely overpowered VW Bug to a Ferrari, of all things, the huge crowd definitely got its money’s worth across the two days, with huge crazy burnouts, wild passes, and wall-to-wall action (literally, in the case of a certain yellow Holden Monaro). With a wide variety of cars and combos, the class appeals to all and sundry, and its popularity appears to have no bounds, with each event bigger…

Craig Adams’ 1955 Chevrolet 3100 pickup took little time to transform from a multi-coloured and rusted-out run-down truck into something quite appealing. As it had a head start in the right direction when it arrived in the country, with a 502ci big block Chev, a TH400, and a 10-bolt Chev diff, it has taken Craig only one and a half years to have it looking the stunner you see today. The running gear was fine for the time being, so Craig started with the panelwork and rust repairs. He also overhauled and upgraded the suspension and steering, working early mornings and late nights before and after work to get it ready to be sent to Total Bodyshop in Petone, where Kevin painted it in a hue of Craig’s favourite colour…

There was a huge amount of disappointment among the car community last year when the Southland Ford Falcon Club was forced to cancel its ever-popular Cromwell Classic & Hot Rod Festival held annually in the small central Otago town. With so much uncertainty surrounding Covid at the time, and the restrictions that it brought with it, the club was really left with no option but to cancel the festival for 2022. But what a difference a year can make! Fast forward to 2023, and with Covid fairly much in the rear-view mirror, the festival once again hit the small tourist town, attracting just over 1000 vehicles to the Alpha Street Reserve for what has to be the biggest show yet. It was fairly obvious early on that word had got…

There has been plenty of action in Top Doorslammer over the past few months, with a few highlights including Kane Douche getting a good handle on the ex-Chris Tynan ’55 Chev, Dwayne Garrett getting the ex-Mark Bardsley Camaro under control, and Bronson Dunne’s Monaro skimming the wall again with a ring-in driver behind the wheels. But one big move we didn’t see coming took place off the track, and that was Bert King announcing he had purchased the ex-RossTaylor 1957 Chev. The beautifully presented car hasn’t seen the light of day since Ross’s passing five years ago, and Bert hasn’t been on track for a similar length of time since selling his Top Alcohol Dragster to the Silk family. The ’57 has run a best of 6.22 at 222mph, thanks…

I remember going to Beach Hop in the mid 2000s and recall seeing some very American-inspired hot rods. They differed greatly from the normal Kiwi-style hot rod as they had great stance and proportions. I later learnt that these cars were from a group of young Hamilton hot rodders, some of whom had started out with rotaries and Jap imports. Two of these guys, Dan Tyler and Jeff Klein, went on to start Rocket Speed Equipment. Bassed in Hamilton, Rocket Speed Equipment has etched a name in the New Zealand hot rod and custom car industry for building quality vehicles across a number of genres. Led by Dan, the Rocket story was built from an interest in traditional hot rods and that interest is still strong today. Jeff left Rocket…

Some models of car seem to attract certain types of people. Maybe it’s something about a certain look or body shape that draws them in, or maybe there’s some type of chicken and egg situation going on. Take for example Corvettes… and only mild offence here to any Corvette owners, but if the shoe fits… There are lots of running gags about Corvette drivers loving tall white socks, and sneans, or jorts… that’s sneakers and jeans, or jean shorts to you and I. While the reality is that’s likely a very American stereotype, we think we’ve cracked the code on how to break it, and that would be to build a C3 like no other. The 1980 model wasn’t a particularly standout year for Corvette manufacturing, but that means it…

NO-SWEAT REAR BRAKING Thinking of running a trusty Ford diff in your car build? Make your conversion as easy as possible with an RRS comprehensive bolt-on rear disc brake upgrade package. The internal drum handbrake set up will connect to original standard handbrake cables. The RRS rear brake kit combines rotors, calipers, precision laser-cut and CNC-machined parts, and stainless steel braided brake lines complete with hardware. To order contact RRS Pty Ltd, your Aussie neighbour on +61 2 9907 3755. WHIPPLE LS SUPERCHARGED POWER If you want your late-model LS-powered Holden / Camaro to go faster, XAir Performance has the Whipple 2.9-litre supercharger kits in stock. On a stock LS3 these will make 500kW (670hp) at only 6 psi boost right up to 675kW (900hp) with a cam package and…