Table of contents for No 193 June 2021 in NZV8

If you peruse my editorial on a monthly basis you will recall me talking about project cars in issue 189, and what I’m about to say will totally contradict what I said then. Here is a quote from myself to recap: “Like many of you, I have a young family. I have work on my house to finish, and yeah, I also try to fit in a summer racing program, so spare time is a luxury. At this stage, finding another spare 10-hours per week in the shed is a stretch.” Well, call me stupid, call me an idiot, or call me a fool, but as I write this a tow truck is backing down the drive with a new major project strapped on the back with my name on…

CERAMIC SPARK PLUG BOOTS Aeroflow Performance 8.5mm universal ceramic spark plug wire sets come with the ceramic lead boots fitted (straight, 90 degrees or 135 degrees), and the other end is open, ready to be cut to your preferred length. Distributor cap boots and terminals are supplied for both late-model type (HEI male terminals style) and early style (female terminals). Ceramic lead boots have been developed to stop burnt spark plug boot issues. They can withstand temperatures of up to 1090°C (2000°F). Pre-made LS kits are also available. For more information or to shop online visit aeroflowperformance.com SUPER SIMPLE CERAMIC No rubbing, no buffing, and no machines required, Meguiar’s Hybrid Ceramic Wax is a spray-on application that is the simplest and most foolproof waxing process you’ll find. And as it’s…

When Mike ‘Wittz’ Witteveen rolled up to Napa Dragway for the sponsor and crew day drags, no one expected the Ferrari’s original builder, Terry Simms, to be the one who’d be driving it. Terry’s been away from the drag racing world for a long time, but he certainly hadn’t lost the ability to cut a light, or run a number in that time. Mike mentioned that he and the crew had dealt with a few issues with the fuel system on the car, which certainly helped to improve its performance — and also resulted in a massive wheelie-bar-bending wheel-stand off the line. The car is perfect for Wild Bunch class and, while it’s currently for sale, Mike’s got a bit of the bug back, and now that Terry has his…

For most car owners, winning an event like Repco Beach Hop is a damn big deal. It’s not like other car shows that typically have a panel of judges rating cars based off a list of fixed criteria. This event is different because it’s all decided by public vote. Each year thousands upon thousands of votes are collected on the prize-draw entry forms, tallied, and this gives us the top five in People’s Choice. To even make it to this stage is something very special, but then another two-hour voting process takes place, with gold coin contributions by the public, which are later donated to the Whangamata Surf Life Saving Club. It’s a fastpaced second voting process after what’s been a long four days, but that’s not to detract from…

A Pre-’49 guy through and through, Paul Brown has long been a Repco Beach Hop attendee in his rods, including currently owned ’32 Ford Tudor, but he has long wanted something to cruise with the family. But he didn’t want just anything. It had to be distinctive and a little bit rare. After years of searching, he was ‘Johnny on the spot’ when this ’57 Buick Caballero Estate was offered for sale. Being one of only 6000 Estates produced in ’57, at the time the Caballero was the most expensive station wagon money could buy, and to Paul’s knowledge, one of only three in New Zealand. It certainly fits the bill, as does the mild-custom paintwork in bright purple and cream two-tone. Purchased in late 2020 from the original importer…

It may seem surprising that, despite the Wellington area having a decent-sized population, and no shortage of car lovers, there’s a distinct shortage of real shows. Luckily for the capital’s car lovers, the Western Bays Street Rodders club hosts Petrolheads @ Porirua — the only indoor car show in the region — every two years. The show’s been going for more than a decade, starting from humble beginnings in the under-cover car park of the local North City Shopping Centre before being granted access to Porirua’s Kennel Club building. The venue works amazingly well, not just because the club and most of its members are based in the Porirua area but also due to its layout, which sees a generous indoor display area as well as a large well-fenced car…

THE CHAMPIONSHIP WAS DOING FLIPS AND SPINS Many of you would fully understand how difficult it is to try to punch 900hp through a drivetrain, onto some rubber, and then down to the ground. It’s part of the joy of having a V8. But when you’re attempting to do it under pressure, repetitively, and with others trying to do the same thing right beside you — well, when things go wrong, the wrong can be very hard to stomach. This is what the teams and drivers deal with each time they head to the track to compete in the Napa Central Muscle Cars (CMC), and during the final two rounds of the 2021 season, some felt the pain more than others. But at the same time, some also received the…

Twice a year, the Oamaru Airport, which is located 20km north of the township, plays host to the Oamaru Drags. The sealed runway, which stretches 1300m, became fully operational back in ’75, but regular commercial flights ended in January 2010. The airport is now used by commercial helicopter operators, for fixed-wing recreational flying, and for air training. Back in the ’80s, the racing was held just out of town on a closed stretch of Stonewall Road and Seven Mile Road. The March event was the 17th to be held at the airport. Hosted by a great bunch of volunteers from the local Whitestone Rodders club, the drags attract a vast array of cars from all over the south. If it’s diversity you are looking for, then this event has it…

This Chev pickup belongs to Simon Morley, a customer of Franklin Speed Shop, who fell in love with a couple of similar trucks they’d built last year, and just had to have one. Taking their advice, Simon bought a stock one that had not suffered the usual American front-clip swap that would need to be redone, and thus it was easy to get on the road with the big six and manual only needing cert for the new seat belts to make it legal. Planning ahead, Simon purchased the Heidts front end, aftermarket nine-inch diff, and all the other parts he wanted for the build in the US. These then made the trip here from California in the back of the pickup. The big six and manual are making way…

The first-ever right-hook Corvettes are expected to land here towards the end of the year, although the exact final specs are yet to be revealed. What we do know is that all NZ-new C8s will come with the upgraded Z51 performance package and front lift as standard. The general manager of GMSV New Zealand, Matthew Taylor, says, “Corvette is an iconic car and there is a massive groundswell of interest and anticipation building ahead of its local launch.” The Z51 package includes Magnetic Selective Ride Control — a real-time damper adjustment that reads the road surface — along with dual mode exhaust, larger Brembo brakes, electronic limited-slip differential, upgraded ratio, front splitter, rear fascia-mounted spoiler, and extra cooling provisions. New Zealand will be offered the 2LT and 3LT models in…

The eighth season of Repco Muscle Garage is set to begin on Three’s CRC Motorsport on Sunday, 16 May, and will air every Sunday for 10 consecutive weeks. The show takes an in-depth look at the finest hot rod, street machines, and muscle cars ever produced here in Aotearoa, while also getting to know those talented Kiwis behind the builds. As in previous seasons, the show will also visit some of the best sheds/workshops, as well as capture the action from events such as Beach Hop, Morrinsville Motorama, and Americarna. Episode one kicks off in fine fashion with action from the return of the Classic Cover Insurance Jalopy Dust Up, as well as a look at Glen Eggleton’s blown ’71 Chevelle that we featured in issue 189. New Zealand master…

The year was 1984 and the scene was a late Sunday afternoon at the usually sleepy Mount Panorama, in New South Wales, Australia. Only this day it was anything but, as roaring fans lined the race track in anticipation of the final laps of what is the greatest race in our neck of the woods — the Bathurst 1000. Holden was midway through a very dominant period in Australian motorsport, winning seven Bathurst events between 1980 and 1990, and today would be one of those days, as Peter Brock and co-pilot Larry Perkins would take the chequered flag in a heavily modified Group C specced Holden VK. Two years later, a Group A variant of the VK, which was based on an Executive model, would again take the top step…

The magic numbers for Dan Southall that flashed up on the timing boards at Napa Auto Parts Dragway at the fourth comp meet of the season were 7.98 at 182.92mph. As you will have seen in the last issue, the man was on a mission to run a seven in his smalltyre, small block–powered ’69 Camaro. After he came tantalisingly close to the seven-second zone previously, the stars aligned to make it all happen not long after the last issue went to print. We all know that running a seven in a dedicated drag car is a great achievement, but running it in a small-tyre street car takes a whole different level of dedication. Just in case you missed it last issue, the car runs a Fish Family Racing–built 406…

I PULLED THE CHUTES BEFORE THE FINISH LINE, BUT NOTHING! If you have read my last few columns, you would have noticed everything was about testing. Every few weeks we had another couple of cars out to try new things and refine each funny car to make it faster and more reliable in anticipation of our return to the track. Well, now it was time to go racing. I had done more laps in the previous couple of months than I had ever done in such a short period of time, but I was definitely looking forward to doing some actual racing. We had two events booked in a three-week period, both at Sydney Dragway. The first one was a fuel altered match race for which the plan was to…

Despite the fact the Caddy was completed nearly a decade ago, this was the first time that the Wylie family had the spare time, due to Todd’s previous work commitments for this magazine, to actually enter Repco Beach Hop. Originally from Arizona, the car was imported into NZ in ’94 and then sat in dry storage for 15 years before the Wylies convinced the Sheldons to let it go. The original build focused on the car’s underpinnings (along with compliance). Paint work was left in the original patinated state for the first few years until the rust started to really take hold, meaning something had to be done. Many of you will remember facets of the build which we documented here in these pages. The car was taken right back…

Lisa Sawyer and her stunning white-on-white Model A took the top spot back in November 2020 for the 20th event, following a strong show season filling the trophy cabinet, but that didn’t detract from the impact this highly detailed highboy coupe seemed to have in ’21. Originally from Arizona (just like the Caddy and the 3100), the five-window was imported in stock (barn find) form by Tony House, who would later go on to sell the half-completed project to Lisa and oversee its completion. Tony is responsible for work including chopping the body 4.5 inches, which is sat highboy style over the aftermarket frame. Completing the look perfectly are the 16-inch Wheel Vintiques, wrapped in Coker crossplys. The chassis is a Kiwi Konnection 32 frame with forged four-inch dropped/drilled axle,…

The purpose of this article is to explain what is going on in relation to the new ‘Clean Car Import Standard’ under development by the Government, and what the effect of that will be on owners of classic, modified, special interest, historic, and scratch-built vehicles. I’ll refer to all of those vehicle types simply as ‘enthusiast vehicles’. Note that this article is intended to provide just a very basic overview of what’s happening, and focus mainly on the important bit for enthusiasts — which is how it will affect the enthusiast vehicle sector. (If you want to see the proposed standard and all of the associated background information, just google ‘clean car import standard nz’, and you’ll find everything there.) WHAT IS THE NEW STANDARD ABOUT? The Ministry of Transport…

Anyone who has lived in or visited the deep south of New Zealand would not have been disappointed by the beauty of the region. Southland is probably better known in recent years for Oreti Beach, testing grounds of Burt Munro for his world-famous Indian motorcycle, and just as popular are its cheese rolls, Bluff oysters, and of course its hospitality. Something else you will notice, especially if visiting Invercargill, are the amount of old classics being used as daily drivers. Holden, Valiant, and Ford are all well represented in the city of the South, and one never fails to see a classic or two cruising the streets. While on a recent trip to Southland, we were treated to some great southern hospitality by Dianne and Roger Whyte who opened their…

Bradley Welch recently had his in-the-works ’82 WB ute out on show for the first time. The concept for the project was a race car set loose on the streets and, thanks to the expertly applied faux-patina livery by Kurt Goodin Artworks, it certainly looks like someone has simply found it in a barn after all these years and got it running. The livery is based on the ’78 Bathurst-winning Torana of Peter Brock and Jim Richards, although modified slightly to suit the ute body lines. This is far beyond a simple paint rub-through job, over 60 hours have gone into it, which has to be seen in person to be believed. Bradley handled most of the fabrication himself, bar the roll cage, and, once the ute’s up and running,…

We probably don’t have to tell you that the long-anticipated trans-Tasman bubble has now arrived, and, while this has lots of implications, one many of you will be interested in is when the Supercars will make use of this and return to our shores. Despite speculation Hampton Downs would be the location, it has been announced that Pukekohe will host its 20th Supercars event on 6–7 November. Supercars CEO Sean Seamer says, “Pukekohe holds a special place in Supercars history as the first venue to host an international championship round, which is what we will celebrate this year: 20 years since that spectacular debut. The Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, awarded to the winner of the ITM Auckland SuperSprint, is one of the most respected awards for Supercars drivers, which adds…

Like any sport, drag racing is something that is in a constant state of evolution; the latest and greatest in technology is always at the forefront, and teams are pushing to obtain that competitive edge, be it through some fancy computer technology or some modern manufacturing technique that creates lighter, stronger parts — right? Wrong; a huge contingent of racers — a growing number in fact — prefers to keep things the way they were in period, and in doing so pays homage to those eras of the sport that many hold so dear to the heart and that paved the way to where we are today. For such racers here in New Zealand, there is no bigger stage each year than the Classic Cover Nostalgia Drags, one of the…

We all know the saying that behind every good man is a good woman — well, Roger Binnema is a good man and his wife Tania is his even better woman. Tania’s been supportive of Roger’s racing antics in various cars over the years, including his low-nine-second 1968 Pontiac Firebird street car. At the final Masterton Motorplex round of the season, the roles were reversed as Tania took the keys and hit the track. While it’s not the first time that she’s raced — far from it — it’s the first time that she’s raced this car, and the first time that she’s raced in 14 years. Her experience showed, though, as her PB of 9.27 seconds at 144.80mph is not a long way off Roger’s PB of 9.09 seconds…

Can you imagine how cool Dion Crook was in the school playground, having his own junior dragster at age six? While his classmates were busy sticking crayons up their noses and eating sand from the sandpit, he was practising his reaction times and learning the art of drag racing. Built at home by dad Gary and well-known drag racer Vince Borowicz, the dragster was proudly pedalled by Dion until he hit the ripe old age of 10. With Dion’s legs then too long to fit in the car, the family were relegated to the grandstands for a few years until Mum and Dad purchased a Grahame Berry–built junior from the Gubb family for Dion’s brother Aidan to race. Of course big brother still had to show him the ropes, so…

Do it once and do it right’ was Colin and Shelley Popes ethos when they set out to build their dream truck. Purchased imported and uncomplied, the truck had undergone a resto in the USA, and was in a running and driving truck complete with Blue Flame six- and four-speed, which was great until you tried to road-trip the truck with no power steering and top speed (while ringing out the Blue Flame) a not-so-highway-friendly 70kph. The Popes entrusted the build to Walsh Auto Services and Custom Street Rides (CSR). The team from CSR modified the stock frame rails, boxing them and adding in a tubular K-member, Heidts independent front clip, and custom triangulated four-link for the Currie Enterprises–built nine-inch LSD. The chassis — and the rest of the underbody,…

Purchased at Repco Beach Hop 2019, Glen’s ’71 Chevelle, then white, returned a year later a completely different animal. First up, the bodywork was reworked — as a result of idle hands during Covid — and then sprayed in Kona Blue by Robs Auto Spray in Rotorua. The suspension was also reworked to include CPP control arms, fabricated rear arms, QA1 coilovers, Wildwood brakes, and a much shorter 12-bolt diff with Moser Engineering axles. The diff was required to be much shorter to allow room for the new big-dish custom ordered 20x12-inch Simmon FRs from Heads Racing. There was also a reworked engine combination, good enough — or should we say, loud enough — to grab a top spot in the Thunder Cruise on Thursday at this year’s event. Built…

In a manner similar to the start of many builds in this country, Bradley May found himself stationed in front of a computer screen scrolling through the ‘Cars for Sale’ section of New Zealand’s favourite local internet auction site. It was there that he found a rather mundane-looking, stock-standard, blue 1964 XM Falcon. It had two more doors than it has now, two fewer cylinders, and three fewer power-adders under the bonnet, but it was just what he was looking for. Bradley promptly snapped up the Australian icon, shooting up to Christchurch to collect and road trip it back to his home of Invercargill — a round trip of 1000km, give or take; brave man. The plan had been to enjoy the XM as he found it for a while…

After the disappointment of last year’s Caroline Bay Rock and Hop having to be cancelled due to Covid, things turned out much better for this year’s event, with participant tickets selling out and huge crowds at Saturday’s Gala Day. The Caroline Bay Rock and Hop is a fundraiser for Hospice South Canterbury, and, with such large numbers participating over the weekend, the crew were more than happy. For those making a long weekend of it, things got under way early on Thursday afternoon with entrants leaving Caroline Bay at 1pm and heading south on the cruise to Riverstone Castle just south of the Waitaki River. A look through the gift shop and a coffee at the cafe were the order of the day; those who had pre-purchased tickets also took…

For as long as NZV8 has been running its Concept Corner, we’ve invited the cover car owner from each issue to come up with what they dream of as their next, or perhaps ultimate, build, if money were no object and there were no rules to follow. Over the years, we’ve had some wild and amazing concepts brought to life in render, thanks to the various artists we’ve had the pleasure of working with. However, we realise that not everyone has the means to build a cover car but still might have some crazy ideas flying around in their heads that the world needs to see. So, we’re changing things and opening up Concept Corner to all readers. Here is how it will work. We know you all have some…

Currently under the knife at Franklin Speed Shop is a matching-numbers 327-and-fourspeed HK Monaro that has lived a full-on life on both the street and race tracks over the decades. Owned by Franklin local Jason Adams, the Monaro is once again destined for serious street duty. While it’s an incredibly desirable car stock, and worth big money restored, Jason is building it the way that he wants, with a mirror turbo Nelson Racing Engines 427 capable of 1600hp on race gas and a mild 1100hp on pump fuel. The build escalated once the body was blasted — and the appropriate expletives were uttered — as it became obvious that the rear quarters needed to be de-picked, which resulted in more expletives. Then it was back to the blasters to see…