Table of contents for No 216 July - August 2023 in NZV8

I’m excited to share with you all the personal projects I’ve been working on lately. While I love bringing you the wildest cars in New Zealand, I’ve had the chance to explore some exciting ventures during the bi-monthly schedule. In the past month, I’ve been building a sweet-looking drag week-style trailer with a low rider vibe. Why, you might ask? Well, my son has an Omeo wheelchair, and I wanted him to come along with me to car events. So, I decided to build him a trailer to tow behind my car. What started off as a rusty-looking reversed leaf spring/flipped trailer has transformed into a fully enclosed mini trailer. Building it was a lot of fun, and seeing my son’s excitement at the finished product made it all worth…

Get your motor running and your heart pumping, because Repco Muscle Garage is back for its 12th season! If you’ve been wondering what your Sunday afternoons have been missing recently, the answer is your fix of Repco Muscle Garage! On 14 May the show is made a return to its home on Three’s CRC Motorsport, where it screens at midday for this season, and is also streaming via the NZV8 website. Make sure your Sunday schedule is empty, because, with 10 episodes in this season, you’ll get to see the cars, sheds, and events our great country has to offer, alongside some of the good sorts who are driving forces behind the scenes and builds. The show is made possible with the support of Repco New Zealand, Meguiar’s, Rislone, and…

Autorama 2023 is designed to demonstrate and celebrate the significance of the automotive industry to the special interest vehicle sector. The team at Autorama is inviting everyone in the automotive sector to get involved and join the fun. The event aims to celebrate the people who have been the backbone of the project and have been part of the journey: the businesses that sold the tools, rebuilt the transmission, and sold the specialised machines and workshop equipment. These are the unsung heroes of the car industry, and Autorama 2023 is a great opportunity to recognise their contribution. The Pro-Builders section is where professional car restorers, constructors, and performance gurus get to showcase their talents. From the front of a car to the back, these legends show us how it is…

Allister Simson had been yearning to dip his toes into the modified car scene for some time. His original idea was to build a simple sleeper with a bit of poke to cruise the streets and enjoy some summer cruising in. That idea soon snowballed into what became a three-and-a-half-year build that was completed in time to attend Repco Beach Hop 23. Allister knew all along that he wanted a 1968 Chevrolet C10 fleetside but most other build specifications were up in the air. Although mechanically minded and running a dairy farm, Allister was fairly new to the modified car scene, so he decided to get a reputable workshop involved to help with the build. After speaking with Kevin from Custom Street Rides (CSR) in Taranaki, it was apparent that…

PETER IS ONE OF TWO CLUB MEMBERS WHO STILL OWNS THE CAR THEY JOINED WITH, AND HIS CAR REMAINS UNTOUCHED SINCE THEN Peter Kilgour was born and bred in Ashburton, making him a local through and through. Judging by his ’39 Chev four-door that he still owns since its purchase in ’79, it’s clear Peter isn’t too fond of change and prefers things to stay the way they are. Always interested in cars, Peter went on to become a mechanic, which put him in an excellent position when, back in ’79, he decided to build himself a hot rod. While he took care of all the mechanical aspects of the car, he left certain things, such as the panel and paint, to those skilled in those fields, and that was…

I HEADED OUT TO THE GARAGE AND PROCEEDED TO PAINT THE CAR Going back a few years, to the late ‘80s, a much younger Rod Carson was a member of the Cobra Rod & Custom Club in Gore. Wanting a hot rod of his own, he came across this 1936 Dodge Sedan sitting under some trees. Over a couple of years, Rod proceeded to turn the Dodge into his first rod, complete with two-tone green paint. He hung onto it for three years before selling it to a guy just out of Invercargill. About eight years ago while browsing TradeMe, he came across the car for sale looking in very poor shape. Turned out that the seller was the son of the guy he had originally sold it to. Rod…

When Oamaru’s Tony Latta and wife Leeanne sold their low 8-second Altered, they had no idea what would happen next. The plan was to move into a door car in Super Sedan, except a little thing called Covid came along and made things a touch more challenging than expected. This meant their first season in the new car — a 1973 HQ Ute — was, in Tony’s own words, a bit of a fizzer. Thankfully, they’re more than making up for lost time (pun intended) now. The ute has to date been running a tunnel rammed 555ci Dart-based big block combination. With AFR heads and running on methanol, it produced around 800hp and 800 ft/lb through a TH400 trans. This was enough to dip into the 8-second zone with a…

If you read my previous column, you will know that 2023 has been a big year so far. Plenty of travelling, racing, and testing has been awesome. And since then, it hasn’t stopped. Our first event was a trip to the Perth Motorplex in Western Australia. Now, I absolutely love Perth and the Perth racetrack. The only problem with it is that it’s so far away. For our truck drivers, it’s four 12-hour days to get there from our Sydney base. Thankfully, a few of us had the luxury of a five-hour plane flight instead. Now, let me give you some advice for when the guy who drives a truck for four days asks how the flight was. You do not complain about anything, no matter how bad it was.…

It’s 16 Feb and entries have opened for Rapanats No. 5 — within a blink of an eye there is a full field of 50 cars! This is testament to the team that produces the Rapanats event year after year. The event was founded by a group of like-minded burnout enthusiasts in the Wairarapa who wanted to build an event that was as much a party as it was motorsport. Cue in Jamie Connors, one of the country’s most entertaining burnout emcees, with a sound system fit for a warehouse rave party. With 50 limiter-bashing, booze-burning, gearbox-crunching, wall-smashing, garage-built, ear-bleeding burnout cars, just add a couple of food trucks and the only burnout pad in New Zealand featured in the official Summernats Burnout Masters game, and you’ve got yourself a…

1970 CHEVROLET CHEVELLE @LAKESIDESPEEDSHINE It doesn’t get much tougher than this! Starting with a Roadster Shop Revo chassis that is loaded with the best parts, including Penske shocks and Baer brakes, the handling and stopping are taken care of. HRBB wheels ensure the Chevelle looks great rolling while the driver keeps track of the vitals with Dakota Digital gauges while shifting through the six-speed manual transmission. 1956 CHEVROLET @LOWFASTFAMOUS Owner unknown, but this build still caught our attention when posted. With an intense green paint job, it turns heads wherever it goes. The stance and handling are achieved through a custom air suspension setup, which is managed with Level Ride to keep the ride height exactly where it’s needed. Detroit Steel Wheel Co provided the rolling stock, and the build was…

CHECK THEMOTORHOOD.COM FOR REGULAR NEWS UPDATES Supercars CEO Shane Howard revealed that the series may soon return to New Zealand, with Taupo International Motorsport Park and Hampton Downs being considered as potential venues. Following the closure of Pukekohe, there has been a gap in the calendar since the last New Zealand round. A team from Supercars will visit the Central North Island circuit in the coming week, with Howard expressing confidence that the event would receive government support. Taupo International Motorsport Park, which boasts an FIA Grade 3 rating, has previously hosted several world-class events, including the A1GP and Toyota Formula Regional Oceania. The 2024 Supercars calendar is expected to be announced later this year, ahead of the Bathurst 1000 in October.…

In the world of motorsports, few names are as synonymous with excellence as ‘Fanga Dan’ Woolhouse, and his latest achievement is nothing short of remarkable. This year, he secured his fourth consecutive D1NZ championship, cementing his status as one of the greatest drivers of all time. Behind the wheel of the 2017 Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D, Fanga Dan put on a masterful display of driving skill and precision, outmanoeuvring some of the best drivers in the world to clinch victory once again. And it’s no wonder — the car is packed with some truly impressive gear. Under the hood, the engine is a 436ci Ford D3 Roush Yates aluminium block, which churns out an impressive 900hp and runs on C12 race fuel. But it’s not just the engine that…

How good is an HQ Holden, really? At one point in time, the old Aussie workhorses filled in pretty much every gap a four-wheeled machine could in Kiwi society. The HQ played a role as the dependable family wagon, trucking around Mum, Dad, and scorching their sprogs’ legs on the vinyl seats during a mid-summer getaway. Our boys in blue used them, lurching from corner to corner, cross-plies squealing away in pursuit of the bad guys. Farmers hauled everything conceivable with an HQ, while young fellas lined the interiors of their panel vans with crushed velvet in a quest to slay, er, well you know the drill. The venerable HQ even found its way onto the race circuit, amongst a gaggle of 20-something other mad bastards, right feet mashed to…

ABOUT SEVEN YEARS AGO, HE LOCATED A 1928 MODEL A ROADSTER PICKUP You would think that if you were a motorcycle mechanic and into the 1940s and 50s era, you would be riding around on an old Triumph or maybe an old Harley, but not Allan Tomkinson. Allan’s interests lie with Ford’s Model A, and he has had quite a few. Over the years, a number of Model As have found themselves under the ownership of Allan, all being powered by four-cylinder engines. But being a flathead man, he really wanted to build himself a flathead V8-powered car. About seven years ago, he located a 1928 Model A Roadster pickup. The pickup wasn’t complete, not even close, and three trips were made to transport the trailer loads of parts home.…

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Justin Weir has made more runs at Napa Auto Parts Dragway, Meremere, over the past four decades than most, and during that time has scored countless race, class, and series wins. Having competed in a variety of vehicles, only one thing has remained constant — his love of quick street cars and racing to win. The 2022/2023 season was yet another successful one for him, competing in both the NZ Performance Car Magazine Nightspeed Drag Wars and the Napa Auto Parts Dragway Competition Series. His car of choice for this season is a surprisingly stock 2018 ZL1 Camaro, which he’s driven to a PB of 10.7 and 129mph — those times no doubt helped by a Roto-fab intake and 28x10.5x17 Hoosier radials. His dedication and experience were hard to match…

So, there I was. A month into my trip to the US, 31 years ago, trawling the Bakersfield area newspapers and car trader magazines, going to swap meets, visiting car enthusiasts, looking over suburban fences, and following up any ’59 Cadillac coupe leads that I could get a sniff of — and with just a handful of days to go before returning to New Zealand, the hunt for T-Rex had reached a dead end. I’d thought we were finally there after we’d hunted down the mythical white ’59 Cadillac coupe owned by the ‘crazy old lady’ in the desert town of Taft northwest of Bakersfield, but then that came apart at the last minute. Mark II and I had just spent a roller-coaster day eventually finding the Taft-based Cadillac and…

THE LINEUP OF EVENTS INCLUDED A SHOW AND SHINE, ROLL RACING, BURNOUTS, AND A CRUISE SESSION After a long wait, the much-loved Aussie Assault event has finally returned for its fifth instalment, though it should have been the seventh were it not for NZ’s favourite virus that delayed it for two years. Nevertheless, the drivers of some impressively modified Australian muscle car variants returned to the track that was formerly known as Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park, but is now the Taupo Motorsport Park, for two days of thrilling track activities. The lineup of events included a show and shine, roll racing, burnouts, and a cruise session. With the event located in the central North Island, it’s accessible for attendees from Wellington to Auckland. While the event is open to the…

WHAT’S YOUR IDEA? Have you got a wild concept idea? If so, we need you to transfer that information in an email to editor@v8.co.nz. All we need in the first instance is a simple outline of the idea. Then, If you’re chosen to have our design team bring your concept to life want for you, we’ll get in contact and extract all the added info to make sure your street concept is totally badass. We’re not looking for some run-of-the-mill car here; we want forward-thinking, out-of-the-box, and unique. Maybe it’s a modern-day street freak, a radical ’60s custom, or a five-second street car — whatever it is, don’t let logic or budget stand in your way. So, get your thinking caps on and fire us an email. In the spirit…

Continuing with the hood scoop fabrication, in this segment we will focus on fitting the scoop onto the hood and welding it up. Before attaching the scoop to the hood, I start by welding the sides to the top. For this, I choose to use the TIG welding method, which allows me to manipulate the shape if needed later. Compared to MIG welding, TIG welding produces a softer and more ductile weld, making it an excellent choice for this application. Additionally, using TIG welding reduces the amount of grinding and clean up needed, which is always a bonus. I begin by belt sanding off my MIG tacks from the joint. Then, I tack every 10 to 15 millimetres using TIG welding and a piece of 0.8mm MIG wire cut off…

The Plymouth ’Cuda is a popular muscle car that has fetched high prices at auctions, with some claiming to be one of only a few with certain engine, paint, or performance options. However, a 1970 ’Cuda that is about to go up for auction is truly unique. It is a factory custom commissioned by Plymouth itself as part of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) advertising campaign. Plymouth commissioned four wild customs for the tour, including a Duster, Dart Swinger, Roadrunner, and ’Cuda. Each one was heavily modified in the street-freak style that was popular at the time, with notes of ‘kustom’-era trends in the paint and bodywork. The RTS show cars were designed by renowned auto designer Harry Bentley Bradley, who came up with most of the original Hot Wheels…

EMAIL YOUR INFO TO: EDITOR@NZV8.CO.NZ NORTH ISLAND EDITOR’S PICK 14–15 October 2023 AutoFest 2023 Napa Auto Parts Meremere Dragway 2023 AutoFest at NAPA Auto Parts Meremere Dragway on 14-15 October 2023 is the ultimate two-day automotive event! Showcasing the Meguiar’s Fab 4 Show & Shine, Burnout Competition, ‘Light em up’ Lane, camping, and a lot more. Classic cars, hot rods, and street machines are welcome. Come rain or shine, enjoy the ⅛ Mile Flag Drop Night Drags, Miss AutoFest, power skids, roll racing, retro market, trade stands, swap meet, town cruise, rock n roll, kid zone, live music, and much more! Don’t miss out! For more details: visit www.downtimenz.com 8 July 2023 01 Toy Shed Open Day The Toy Shed, 106 Riri Street, Rotorua Get ready for a revved-up day of…

The South Island is spoilt for choice when it comes to car events. Whether you’re looking to fill in a couple of hours or you have a whole weekend to spend at a multi-day event, the South Island has it all. One event that has grown in popularity since its beginning in 2017 is the Caroline Bay Rock & Hop, held in the beautiful town of Timaru. “We wanted to run a fundraiser for Hospice, South Canterbury, that would be a win–win”, says Kim Rogers, event and marketing manager for Hospice South Canterbury (SC). “We wanted a great, fun way to raise awareness and funds for Hospice SC, and provide an event for the community, and so a car event was born.” The first Rock & Hop was held in…

There are a number of car and rod clubs throughout New Zealand that are celebrating some big anniversaries this year, one of them being the Ashburton-based Americar Rod & Custom Club, which is turning 55. Way back in July 1968, after some discussions Murray Perkins and Ken Darrell came up with the idea of forming a car club, and it was from these talks that the Ashburton club was formed. NZHRA guidelines were used to form the club’s constitution. The upstairs space above Evans Sport Shop in Upper Victoria Street became the home of club meetings, held fortnightly. Sometime later, a clubrooms/shed was rented from Coldicott Plasterers, and this is where many of the early club cars were either worked on or built. In the early days, many activities were…

Tom Soal is one of the young guns at the club. Having owned a Ford Capri a number of years ago, and his fair share of Jap cars, he moved his way up to a V8 with the purchase of his ’63 ½ Ford Galaxie four years ago. Tom has been a member of the Americar Rod & Custom club for seven years. “I didn’t have a car when I first joined,” explains Tom. “Mum owns two hot rods: a ’33 Ford pickup, and a Nash coupe, so I was able to drive one of those.” Bought as a project just after the Galaxie was imported, Tom was able to get it compiled. He has since gone on to do quite a bit of work on it, including tidying the…

TIM YOUNGMAN 1990 HOLDEN VG V8 MANUAL LOCATION: QUEENSTOWN THANKS: BRODEN, FOR LAYING DOWN THE TOP COAT; MIKE AT MICHAEL STEWART RESTORATION, FOR HAVING ME AROUND; AND MOST OF ALL ROXY, FOR PUTTING UP WITH ME Holden V-chassis utes in the 1990s had a lot going for them, but owner Tim Youngman wanted something more aesthetically pleasing for his one. Even though it was manual and powered by Holden’s own Iron Lion 304ci, it was still missing some of the apparel Tim was after. He’s owned the ute for 11 years now, and for the first year and a half, it spent most of its days as the daily commuter, on occasion hauling Tim’s dirt bikes around North Canterbury. It was during this time that he started to make some…

Some may say there’s something spooky about nitro… and they would be correct. The Fiat Topolino Fuel Altered known as Spooky that came to New Zealand with the Aeroflow World Fuel Altered Challenge has now found a permanent home here. Previously driven by Morice McMillin, the car has lived up to its name with wild high five-second passes deep into the 240mph zone. The appeal of such a machine is easy to see, and it’s one that Taranaki’s Willie Roach and Kev Chapman couldn’t resist. Between them they have plenty of experience, which is something any nitro car needs. To date they’ve managed a few test hits at Napa Auto Parts Dragway, with plenty more to come as they get their heads around this wildly overpowered machine.…

March was a busy month and amongst it all was the welcome return of the Scroungers Hot Rod Blowout, now at Napa Auto Parts Meremere Dragway. This was the 15th time the Scroungers had organised the ever-popular event — a celebration of all things cool and traditional with a focus on New Zealand’s rich hot rod and drag racing hobby. With the dragstrip celebrating its 50th this year, it was more than fitting for the blowout to be held there, and the venue worked well. The event also celebrated Ralph Wright, Mike Gearing, and Pete Lodge — all past honourees who left quite a mark on drag racing in New Zealand. Fittingly, cars like ‘Baloo’, ‘Hombre’, and ‘Green Meanie’ were displayed in the drag racing area. The Scroungers is a…

The golden sand of Waihi Beach may be a long way from the Southern California roots of hot rodding, but that isn’t stopping Jamie Waugh from terrorising the streets in a retro-inspired ’32. Jamie is a man with good taste when it comes to cars, as we saw recently with his mega-powered Chev Nova, and the ’32 is not so different. The car’s retro look belies the more modern engineering that sits within and the overpowered small block up front. Jamie’s normally the type of guy to build his own cars from the ground up, and although he has both the means and the ability to do so, when he stumbled upon an already completed ’32 roadster sitting in storage, he knew he had to have it. The car was…

As a V8 car magazine, we always strive to showcase remarkable vehicles and enthusiasts who are creating waves in the automotive scene. And this time, we stumbled on Leon Kenny. With his unbridled passion for burnouts, he’s an unstoppable force that’s taking the New Zealand scene by storm with his 2002 VZ SS Holden Commodore ute named ‘TAINTED’. But what makes this ute unique is its proburnout machine transformation, powered by a remarkable Warspeed engine. Leon’s ute was already impressive when he imported it from Australia in 2018, with a custom four-link rear suspension set-up on air ride, built TH400 three-speed transmission, Simmons FR1 wheels, and an impressive tunnel-rammed LS1. For years, he indulged in his passion for skidding the ute around New Zealand, but he yearned for more. Finally,…

Twenty-five cars headed into the final-ever event being held at Pukekohe Park Raceway over the last weekend in March in what would be an emotional event, and one that everyone wanted to win — cementing their name in the history books. In between round three and round four, the points had been calculated and recalculated to reveal that Andy Knight was in fact the championship leader over previously reported leader Tristan Teki, who was running second equal with Shannon Coker. Teki headed into the weekend with one goal in mind: pull ahead of Coker and try to pull the points gap back between himself and Knight in the Camaro. Along with that interest, the weekend also saw the return of Nick Ross in his pure white Camaro and newcomer Barrie…