Table of contents for No 212 January 2023 in NZV8

By the time you read this, I’ll be about ready to head to Whangamat? for Repco Beach Hop 22. Having attended last year as a freelance photographer to work on the NZV8 Beach Hop Annual, I’m really looking forward to attending this time as editor. Obviously, things will be a little different for me; I’ll be a whole bunch busier and also able to call the shots. I’ll definitely have my work cut out, that’s for sure. When I returned home from last year’s event, I jumped straight on Trade Me to see what American car I could afford. It’s surprising how the vibe at Beach Hop makes you crave an American machine, so I’m sure I wasn’t the only one doing it. As you may know, I still haven’t…

If you’re a fan of the cars and action you see in the pages of NZV8 magazine, then chances are you’re also a fan of Repco Muscle Garage. The weekly TV show brings you the very best of NZV8, including interviews, workshop profiles, the cars, and a look into various sheds around the country. Thanks to sponsors Repco New Zealand, Meguiar’s, and Mount Shop Ltd, Season 11 has kicked off on Three on Sunday, as part of the CRC Motorsport line-up. With 10 shows in the series, there’s plenty of action to satisfy even the most die-hard of V8 enthusiasts. As always, if you’re too busy to catch the action on Sunday afternoons, episodes will be uploaded to The Motorhood soon after they’ve aired and will be available for you…

There’s a lot to be said for being in the right place at the right time, or — if you’re a believer in the powers above — being in the place that destiny has guided you to. South Aucklander Dale Williams is all too aware of the benefits of being Johnny on the spot; if he wasn’t, you wouldn’t be reading about this badass Camaro, as it wouldn’t have come to fruition. As a paintless dent-removal technician for Dent Devils, Dale’s on the road all day every day, bouncing between the workshops and private garages where people want dings and imperfections taken out of their pride and joy. We’ve seen some of the work he’s done, and it’s amazing what can be achieved with plenty of skill and the right…

We’re sure that you’re sick of hearing it, as much as we are sick of saying it, but Covid really messed with event planning in the past few years. Tararua Rodders was one of many clubs affected when its biannual Chrome N Custom Auto Festival scheduled to run in 2021 was forced to be cancelled. That left three long years between the 2019 event and this year’s 2022 one. There was a plus side though, as 2022 is also the year that the club celebrates its 50th anniversary. Founded in 1972 by a small group of hot rodders, some of who are still members today, the club has gone from strength to strength. Currently, there’s somewhere around 60 members, predominantly based in and around Levin. The club has been running…

The Japanese import crew have started the year in fine form, with a handful of cars entering the NZ’s Quickest Streeters list at the first event of the season. While, sadly, a few of those that have dipped into the nine-second, and even eight-second, bracket are not LVV certified, so don’t meet the requirements of the list, there are a handful of new 100 per cent street-legal entries. Probably the most impressive of them is the Mitsubishi Evo 4 of Sam Anand, which ran an 8.92 at 158.09mph before driving back home again. Sam runs a workshop called Autech and clearly knows his stuff, with a few of his customers’ cars also making the list — Rizwan Alam, for example, whose Evo 8 ran a PB of 9.38 at 160.77.…

Funny how there are some tiny moments that, no matter how inconsequential they might be against the big picture of life, we just never forget. For me, one of those lifelong unforgettable moments happened at, of all places, the then-new Greenlane McDonald’s fast-food restaurant on the corner of Greenlane Road and Great South Road in 1989. I’d only just shifted — as a 28-year-old semi-adult — from hometown Whanganui to the big smoke of Auckland. Back then, American cars were nothing like as plentiful in New Zealand as they are today. Sure, we had a few ’55 Chevs and mid-’60s Impalas on our roads, but they were mostly New Zealand–new, plain-Jane, four-door derivatives, originally purchased by wealthier folk — often farmers — back in the days when you had to…

Cal Thorley needs no introduction as the man behind Hot Rod Revue, many series of Repco Muscle Garage, and various other automotive TV shows. What some may not know though is that Cal rocks a ’64 Ford Club Wagon van to carry all his camera gear around in. Wanting to give it a bit of a makeover, he hit us up to see what we could do with it for this month’s concept, giving us some ideas and leaving the rest up to us … Here’s what we came up with. The ’64 Club Wagon is described as an original, drivable time capsule. Sure, the paint has seen better days, but it still looks decent given that it’s the same coat applied from the factory. That faded blue hue is…

This year may not be a hugely significant one for many, but 2022 marks a huge milestone for Ford, and for hot rod fans around the globe — the 90th anniversary of the iconic ’32 Ford. Of course, the first car off the Ford production line was a lot earlier than that, with the company beginning manufacturing in the early 1900s. That first car was the Model A. Following alphabetical order, Henry quickly zipped through most letters — skipping the odd one — before hitting a home run with the Model T in 1908. Millions of Model Ts were made, up until 1927. By then, the competition had not only caught up with the Model T but surpassed it, and a new design was needed. The Model A was born…

I’ll start with the backstory on this car, as I’ve owned it since I was 15 when it was bought as a factory four-cylinder. Over the years, it’s had several small block Ford motor combos in it, with the most recent being a blown and injected 347ci small block Windsor running on Avgas. There was a steep learning curve involved with the EFI aspect, and after encountering numerous issues and lots of disappointment (all of which could be traced back to the ECU eventually), I decided to take a break from it. After 2.5 years I have motivated myself to resume where I left off. I put in a new Link ECU and plan to swap to E85, both of which I feel will solve my difficulties. Somewhere along the…

Year after year, custom car builder, Ringbrothers, tends to bring the most amazing vehicles to SEMA. This year was no different — Ringbrothers brought along its most extreme machine, the Enyo Super Truck, which has had the most time put into it: 10,000 hours. A significant amount of the truck is one-off. It has a unique chassis, developed and built by Ahlman Engineering and Roadster Shop. It has cantilever independent suspension all around, as open-wheel race cars do — well, it does have open wheels with fat tyres. Also similar to a race car are the on-board air jacks. The vehicle also has six-piston Brembo brakes all around. Powering the truck is a Goodwin 510ci (8.4L) marine racing V8, which makes 1000 horsepower. All that power goes to the back…

Buicks from 1956 aren’t exactly thick on the ground here, let alone Buick wagons, and two-door wagons? Well, forget about it … Buick never made them. Yep, you read that right, what you’re looking at here, despite being obviously customised, never even rolled off the factory floor in stock form. The man behind the build is Ross Higgott, a Kiwi who spent many years in Aussie before heading back home to take life a bit easier. Besides a sun tan and the hint of an accent, the best thing he brought back home with him was the half-completed Buick, a car that he’s now owned for 10 years all up. Rewinding back to when he first got his hands on it, Ross wasn’t specifically looking for a Buick, or necessarily…

The Crook family are well known for their drag racing efforts, and, while youngest brother Aidan has run plenty of laps before, the season opener at Masterton Motorplex saw him run a supercharged car for the first time. When he and partner Stevie purchased the former Mark Haustein HT Holden ute in 2021, it had a damaged engine and needed panel and paint work. The pair have been working hard on it ever since. Both Aidan and brother Dion work for Dzine Signs, so were able to use the booth there to spray the car once the panel repairs had been taken care of at home. Fellow drag racer Rex Margetts was on hand to sort out any of the panel work the lads couldn’t do themselves, while DB Race…

In early 1963, five unique and very fast C2 Chevrolet Corvettes were built. The fact that each of those five still exists today is probably a very good indication of how special they are — they even survived the ’60s and ’70s, when all manner of crimes against enthusiasts were committed as rare cars of the era were crashed, crushed, and abandoned with little regard to their future holy grail status. Known internally as ‘Project Lightweight’ and externally as the 1963 Corvette Grand Sport, these five wild machines — two built as roadsters and the other three as hardtops — would become the ultimate and most desirable Corvettes ever built. To discover how this unicorn of the American sports car world edged its way into existence we need to start…

With the Canterbury car scene being as healthy as it is, there are not many weekends throughout the year without some form of automotive event. Even over the winter months, there is a large number of shows, cruises, and club get-togethers to keep everyone from complaining about having nothing to do. Despite the vast array of activities to choose from, Sharvelle Charlotte saw the opportunity to realise a dream — an idea she had had for quite some time: that of holding her own event. The concept was not just to celebrate the automobile but for the gathering to encompass everything she enjoyed. So, plans were hatched for Vintage Fest NZ. THE THEME FOR THIS YEAR’S EVENT WAS WARTIME AND THE VICTORY ERA The theme for this year’s event was…

Shannon Te Huia wanted a vehicle to help promote his Blue Blooded American Bully Kennel. The brief was simple: it needed to be tough, it needed to be something everyone would remember, and, most importantly, it needed to be American. Sitting at home with time to burn during New Zealand’s Covid lockdowns, Shannon started looking online for a suitable vehicle. He found a New Zealand-new ’48 Chevrolet Thriftmaster with the steering wheel on the correct side of the truck for New Zealand’s roads. The deceased estate truck was originally bought by Corey Jorgensen of CJ Customs with the intention to build a ‘patina truck’. However, Shannon says, “I’m not about that,” and he wanted to take it in a whole different direction. Corey had put a fair bit of work…

You’re sick of hearing it as much as we are sick of writing it, but here we are with another Covid build. But what else do we expect men with cars, sitting around, to do? This build started approximately four years ago when Ivan Booth purchased a ’70 Plymouth Barracuda. Give or take six months after the purchase, the thought entered Ivan’s mind of selling up, as he thought that he might have bitten off more than he could chew. However, as mentioned, Covid hit and Ivan was left with nothing but time on his hands. Enough time that he was able to completely strip the vehicle of all its parts, mount the body on a homemade jig, and send it to the sandblasters. Once sandblasted, it unfolded that some…

The name John Gamble should spring to mind if you have a sweet spot for Chevelles or, in fact, anything loud and obnoxious. His ’66 Chevelle Malibu is well known around the country, having been imported new back in the day, and evolved ever since. That car graced our pages a few years back, and we will expect his next one — a ’69 currently in the build that’s getting a pro-touring twist — to do the same. Pitching the idea to his wife back in 2021 of building a pro-touring Chevelle, she gave him the green light to buy it on their 30th wedding anniversary. So, with that approval, a ’69 Chevelle was bought, with the intention of building it a little tamer than his ’66, adding some modern…

Comedian and actor Kevin Hart apparently has a thing for muscle cars. The latest addition to what is surely quite an extensive garage is a completely customised 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner restomod. The car is inspired by the Halloween movie franchise, and was restored and modified by Salvaggio Design in Wisconsin. Powering the vehicle is a Chrysler 426 Hemi V8 engine, which can be described as a cross between a Demon and a Hellephant. It’s said to produce 701kW, and has a Tremec 6060 six-speed manual transmission, which was strengthened to handle the engine’s power. The car rides on 18-inch front wheels and 20-inch back wheels, designed to resemble steelies with custom hubcaps retaining the ’60s look. The body is also designed to keep the car looking as if it’s straight…

EMAIL YOUR INFO TO: EDITOR@NZV8.CO.NZ Cruise Martinborough 26–29 January 2023 Martinborough Registrations for Cruise Martinborough are open now, and there are just 100 spots left! The four-day festival is a hot rod, classic, and muscle car event showcasing vehicles from the ’70s, ’60s, ’50s, and prior. It features cruises, shows (Saturday display is back at the Square), drive-in movie, flag drop drags, music, socials, Miss Cruise Martinborough pageant, and more. Saturday-only passes are available on the website. Spectators are welcome. Go to: cruisemartinborough.co.nz. BurgerFuel Port Road Drags 27 November Port Road, Lower Hutt, Wellington New Zealand’s longest running street drags and an iconic Kiwi event to attend. Gates open at 8am with racing starting at 9.30am. Hot rod and special car parking is available for early birds. A fun-filled day…

It all started a fair few years ago when ‘Mustang Murray’ Hartley wanted to go racing. He located a complete 1971 Mustang in the United States. Son Nathan comments, “The Mustang looked like Joe Dirt’s car; it had different-coloured panels all over it” — but Murray was happy with his purchase and was counting the days until it would land so he could finally go racing. Before it landed, a chance meeting at Masterton Motorplex with a chap named Cedric Price would change Murray’s plans dramatically. Cedric mentioned to Murray that he had a suitable donor car sitting in a paddock in Matamata. The ’71 Mach 1 Mustang was rusty but, according to old Cedric, “would make a good drag car”. Murray’s eyes lit up and he bought it unseen…

When we took a look at Graham Carter’s El Camino in these pages at the beginning of the year, Graham let slip that he had bigger and better plans. Those plans have now been made clear, as he’s landed a seriously slick-looking 2005 XKR. Sadly, that means the Elcy, complete with Chris Alston Chassisworks’ chassis and Steve Morris-built LS7 engine, is now up for sale — the combo having run as quick as 8.4 at 157mph, with plenty more to come. The Elcy was a seriously cool car and was a great stepping-stone for Graham; the Jag, though, is next level, and will see him go a whole lot quicker than ever before. Graham tells us just three of the Pro Mod-style Jags were built; one now lives in a…

We ran the Aeroflow top fuel funny car at Willowbank Raceway earlier this year as an exhibition bracket, and, with the East Coast Thunder scheduled for 4–5 November, it was going to be the opening round for the Australian 400 Thunder championship; we had a lot of work to do! In typical Aeroflow fashion, we went big, adding not only a second car but also a third. Brandon Gosbell was going to drive the Rocket funny car, and Justin Walshe was going to drive the Harts Charger. As a team, we are used to running multiple cars; we have run as many as nine Outlaw nitro funny cars at a single event. But let me tell you, driving three top fuel cars is definitely harder and more work. These cars…

You couldn’t have asked for better weather for the Trouble Bound Hot Rod Club (HRC) Side Show at the Glenora Rugby League Club in West Auckland in October. The day was a taste of the hot summer coming and it set the perfect mood for a great day of cool cars, good people, and an even better attitude. The club’s first Side Show was back in 2018 at the Oratia Bowling Club but it was quickly clear that a bigger venue was on the cards. “We tripled the size of the venue this year and tripled the turnout!” said Trouble Bound’s Shane Adlington. The club of mostly second-generation hot rodders was founded in 2010 and self-describe themselves as a group of friends with a drinking problem who are into cars.…

Most of us have dream cars, right, even if they don’t instantly come to mind. Chances are if you’re pressed you’ll be able to think of at least one car that you’d really love to own. For Auckland’s Kevin Watkins, that was always a ’69 Dodge Charger. As any Mopar fan will tell you though, Chargers aren’t exactly thick on the ground. That scarcity is somewhat directly linked to what made them so popular to begin with — The Dukes of Hazzard, and Fast & Furious. According to the internet, which we know never lies, 26 Chargers were wrecked in the first Dukes movie, 325 in the TV series, and who knows how many were destroyed through the Fast & Furious franchise? Maybe it was due to this that while…

1972 CHEVROLET BLAZER @DBOOK Devin Booker has one sweet Blazer, which is not a bad vehicle to be pulling up to the NBA playoffs in. Devin has foregone a paint job and stuck with the Arizona Desert–created patina while focusing on what lies beneath. The truck was treated to a full catalogue of Porterbuilt suspension parts, along with AccuAir air management to get the stance just right. Power is from a built LS1 topped with an LSA supercharger putting out 600hp to the wheels. Speaking of which, those are custom Delmo Speed rollers that add the perfect finishing touch. 1974 DODGE CHALLENGER @ABIMELECDESIGN We have featured a few designs from Abimelec before and this collaboration he has completed with the crew from SpeedKore Performance has the potential to be a…

We first saw John Burndred’s concept for his ’55 Chev El Camino in Issue No. 211, which we rendered into a wild pro-streeter dubbed ‘Pro Camino’. We got curious when he mentioned that he was also working on a ’55 Chev Delivery, so we reached out to him to learn more. After relocating from Paeroa to Waihi, the build — or builds, as the case may be — was put on hold while he built a shed to house the fleet. Now that the shed is finished, he is back to work, cracking on with the ’55 Delivery. Concentrating on getting the bodywork in shape first, John took action on the rear quarter, as it was a little untidy from a previous accident, cutting it off so it could be…

SIXTH-GEN CAMARO BOLT-ON POWER AND SOUND A little shift in perspective is all that’s required to unleash the low-end growl and extra power that lie dormant in LT1 and LT4 engines. To realise their full performance potential, you need to install the latest Corsa carbon-fibre cold-air intake and stainless-steel exhaust systems. The cold-air intake system redirects large volumes of icy air through the oversized dry filter and into the throttle body, while the Corsa Extreme exhausts open up the flow and sound potential, yet still retain the factory NPP valve operation for when you want to be undercover! Now available for LT1 and LT4 V8 Camaros from 2015 to 2022. Visit xairperformance.co.nz, or call 0800 924 792 for more information. KRUZIN CHEV DROPMEMBER The Level 3 Back Half Dropmember for…