Table of contents for No 219 January - February 2024 in NZV8

After a rejuvenating 12 days of rest and relaxation, I’m back on familiar ground. Rarotonga provided a break, but cool cars were notably absent — unless you have a penchant for mopeds, in which case, the island had them in abundance! With summer just around the corner, exciting events are on the horizon. If you caught Autorama last month, it was undoubtedly a blast. While some may dub it the ‘New Zealand SEMA’, we might be a long way from that, but it’s fantastic to witness a show with a similar model gaining traction. Let’s hope it continues to thrive and grow each year. Muscle Car Madness, Repco Classic Car & Hot Rod Festival 2024, and Repco Beach Hop 2024 are all gearing up for next year, so make sure…

Whether you are a collector or simply share a passion for the classics, then the Repco Kumeu Classic Car & Hot Rod Festival 2024 is for you. The Repco Kumeu Classic Car & Hot Rod Festival celebrates its 30th birthday with the 2024 show, and they want you there if you’re a collector or just a fan of the old school. The classic car and hot rod community comes together over the course of three days to either take part in the festival’s celebration of classic cars and hot rods, or to simply catch up with friends while listening to the rumbling of the cars and potentially adding one or two to their wish list. The festival, which is proudly owned and operated by Kiwis, promises to be an extravaganza…

There’s an old saying that if it was easy, everyone would do it. Although that may be partially true, not everyone has the vision or desire to build a cool old car. After all, it takes a bit of dedication and a whole lot of disregard for sound financial decisions to dive into the car world, and that’s without the heartache that happens when things go wrong. Tom Hocking got the big drama of his build out of the way right at the beginning though, buying a car that needed way too much work to get on the road. That unwelcomed and expensive surprise wasn’t with the car you see here though, this is more of the rebound car he quickly fell in love with when his Chev 3100 dream…

MMP DEBUTS The great thing about Test and Tune events at the start of the season is seeing the new cars come out for the first time. At the start of November at Masterton Motorplex that included the new Upper Hutt Glass-sponsored Top Alcohol dragster of Paul Davison. It was great to see the Davison family back on track, and the car was flawlessly prepared as expected from experienced racers. The car itself was purchased out of the States four years ago, but has been a major undertaking to get ready in time to debut on local soil. That debut didn’t start off well when the car killed a points box at the start of the meeting, but it ended on a high by running straight and clean into the…

My home hot rod club, Wanganui Road Rodders, had its 50th anniversary a few weeks back, and I contributed to a book that Peter Berge and other members were writing (fantastic job they did of it, too) to mark the event. I was asked to write about what it was like to be a hot rod club member in the 1980s. That doesn’t seem like long ago when you’re part of my generation and you say “the ’80s” quickly, but, bugger me, the early 1980s was 40 years ago. That’s before a significant proportion of NZV8 readers were even born. We didn’t know it then, but it was a great period of our lives. Having a good time was easy, nobody took things too seriously, and there wasn’t much in…

In the day and age of sub-standard factories around the world making knock-off parts with no understanding of what they actually do, it comes as a refreshing change when you deal with a company that designs, tests, specifies, and manufactures its own products. Australia’s Proflow is exactly that and more. Part of the VPW group of companies, a group that lives and breathes cars as much as you do, the brains behind Proflow were sick of sub-standard designs and manufacturing they were finding abroad, so they set out to build parts the right way. It’s worked a treat, too, as Proflow has evolved over the years from a small company focusing on fluid transfer products into an automotive powerhouse with a catalogue that’s a massive 440 pages! Of course, these…

The irony is not lost on Gary Morton that despite being regarded as the foremost wire wheel maker in the world, his own car does not run wire wheels. But while it may not have the wheels, his world-renowned attention to detail and fabrication abilities are present throughout the build. Mind you, he’s owned the 1941 Chrysler Businessman’s Coupe for 28 years, so you’d also hope it was pretty damn good. That’s not to say the car took that long to build, but it was spread out over that time period due to various other aspects of life getting in the way. Gary thinks in reality it took about four years of actual work and, given that almost all of it was performed at home, even that’s not bad going.…

1967 CHEVROLET NOVA @JEFFBOGGS01 Man, this Nova build is so clean, the factory based body colour and altered stance set it off perfectly. Jeff specced the LSX454 power plant to ensure the car had some go and mated it to a worked 4L80E transmission to get it all to the back wheels. Handling is taken care of by Heidts with a full front clip and 4-link rear end, finally some custom-sized Schott Wheels completed the build. 1967 CHEVROLET CHEVELLE @CARSBYKRIS We have posted plenty of the insane renders that Kris does previously, but this time it is his personal ride that is getting the attention. Fitted with RideTech suspension components to get the ride height and handling sorted, it looks just right rolling on Rocket Racing wheels. Keeping it old…

Kiwis sure do love building the same cars over and over. There’s only so many — insert generic belly button car of your choice here — cars that you can look at before your eyes glaze over. But then along comes the likes of Shane Poulton to turn an old favourite on its head. Shane likes to march to the beat of his own drum, and do things his way, and his VK Blue Meanie tribute is a perfect example of that approach to life. Stuff what anyone else thinks, what it costs, or how long it takes, the man wants what he wants. As a child of the 1980s, he grew up watching the likes of Peter Brock throwing the VK Group A Commodores around the race tracks, and…

The unmistakable surging, hunting idle of a supercharged engine carried over to the familiar parking area outside NAPA Auto Parts Dragway in Meremere. Before even entering the grounds, it was the most appropriate introduction to the weekend ahead. Welcome to AutoFest! Passing through the gates solidified that. “We’re turning Meremere Dragway into a village for the weekend we’ve dubbed Napaville!” claimed an AutoFest social media post in the lead-up. The concept isn’t overly difficult to grasp, but it’s one that organisers Alan and Pare Togia have been working on and fine-tuning for a while. It’s a place where entrants and spectators alike can feel at home for a weekend, regardless of the car scene niche they fit into. Held at NAPA Auto Parts Dragway in Meremere over the weekend of…

In 2021, Chris Brattle’s dream became a reality when he finally found his perfect second-generation Pontiac Trans Am. It had been a long-time quest for him, and the car he had always yearned for was none other than the iconic black-and-gold special edition Trans Am made famous by the legendary movie Smokey and the Bandit. This particular 1979 Pontiac Trans Am had quite a story to tell. Originally imported to New Zealand from Arizona in 1981, it had seen its share of the world before finding its forever home with Chris. Over the course of the two-plus years he’s owned this beauty, Chris has poured his heart and soul into it, making sure it lives up to its legendary reputation. Numerous parts have been replaced, bringing it back to its…

If his name or cheery smile ring a bell it’s possibly from his long association with either winning sprint car races or his involvement with his well-known business, PG Hydraulics. Phil has been an active member of Southside Streeters Inc for 14 or so years but has been involved in all things automotive for much longer. Starting dirt track racing at the ripe old age of 17 and undertaking a start-up automotive business at 22 years old, it is fair to say Phil has worked on a car or two over his lifetime. The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS convertible, that Phil’s forever understanding wife nicknamed ‘meals on wheels’, has been in the stable since the turn of the new millennium. The Camaro’s name was given after the savings for the…

Next year will be an odd milestone for Chris and Southside Streeters Inc. Chris is currently 33 years old and he has been a member for 16 years, so next year he will have been a member of the club for longer than he hasn’t. Impressive! Bitten by the bug, he purchased a Ford Mustang off fellow well-known club member Steve Keys two days before his 17th birthday. After punting the Mustang around the country for numerous years, a change of pace came about in the form of the 1963 Chevrolet Impala. The Impala was more of a project car that required work to turn into a reliable cruiser for his growing family. Rust and body repairs were carried out and seat belt anchor points added to keep the precious…

Well, all good runs have to come to an end, Wand I was really hoping the first round of the 2023/24 championship would not be that weekend. After a great run of success between the Nitro Express and the Aeroflow Top Fuel Funny Car, this was our first race with the new Aeroflow Mustang. Now this car was brand new, assembled, wired, and set up all at Aeroflow funny car headquarters, so it was not ‘new’ to us. We had done five test passes on it, and let me tell you it was fast from the get-go, and I mean really fast, with every run going exactly as planned. In typical Aeroflow fashion, it now also meant we had an extra car sitting in the workshop, so after a few…

As a boy growing up in New Zealand during the Aeighties, the hot rod culture of the USA seemed such a faraway place. As a kid I never thought I would get to America or see some of the cars I was reading about, let alone meet the creators of these cars. I think the ’70s and ’80s era of American hot rodding was an interesting time before the internet and reality TV. I read about guys like Pete & Jake, the Brizios, Bob Bauder, Pete Eastwood, Fat Jack, Lil John, and Tom Prufer, to name a few. The most inspiring writers of that time were the late Gray Baskerville and the late Pat Ganahl; they had a way with words that made you visualise a lot more than what…

Fifteen cars came out of hibernation, getting the season underway. The season opener saw the return of a number of the regular runners, as well as some of the newcomers who had raced in the category the season prior. Barry Richards in the ex-championship winning Dean Hansen HQ Holden and Troy Guise in his Ford Falcon were among the returning drivers. Rodney Heads returned with his new Torana for the season ahead. The car was built by Rodney for his long-time friend Warren Fowler who raced it before he sadly passed away. The car was then purchased and run by ex-V8 Ute champion Matt Spratt. The car has now returned home to Rodney and he is more than happy to be racing it this season. Shane Holland had also made…

You might remember 2011 as the last time this show graced your radar. Although there have been other national hot rod shows, such as the 2019 event in Christchurch, this one remained in hibernation. Grant Stables, the mastermind pulling the strings behind the scenes, would tell you that orchestrating an event of this magnitude is no small task; it demands an incredible amount of time, effort, and stress. However, the show’s hiatus in 2011 was never meant to be its final chapter. The folks at Egmont Rod & Custom held grand aspirations to resurrect it in 2021. But fate had a different script in mind. Just seven weeks before the scheduled event, the entire nation was thrust into the grips of lockdown — a period etched into our collective memory.…

We’ve really noticed your volunteer staff all weekend — these guys work through it all to make sure things go smoothly for you. That’s really special, how did you get to that point? [A] They do it off their own backs, every time — rain, hail, pour, they’re here. For us. People don’t do that without wanting to. If they didn’t feel that you gave them a reason to do it, they wouldn’t. What is that reason? [A] They believe in our vision and what we’re about. And for us, especially my wife — she gives a lot to so many people — it just comes back. What can you say about the vision? You put a lot into what you do — what does the car scene mean for…

Lance has owned his 1965 Futura two-door sedan since he imported it from Arizona in 2017, with the help of dad who was the influence behind joining Southside Streeters Inc. The Futura runs a factory 289 and overall remains fairly stock standard, apart from a new set of wheels to fit the only other modification of upgraded front brakes. The Wilwood four-pot disc brake conversion brings performance into the twentieth century and a little more peace of mind while cruising in Auckland traffic. Being an Arizona desert car, the body is in good shape and the original patina is cleared over for preservation. Plans for the Futura are fairly straightforward — drive it as much as possible and maybe get the interior done in the future. “It drives well for…

The story of this ‘56 FJ Holden starts with so many stereotypes that you’d almost think we were making it up. The owner is Wayne ‘Mad Dog’ Maddox, and yep, that nickname is stereotype number one for a bloke from rural New Zealand. The ute itself has been transformed from a barn find by a handful of clever bastards using plenty of Kiwi ingenuity in the back shed — making stereotypes two and three. And, of course, being an FJ Holden that once belonged to the owner of the local pub kind of cements this as a classic tale. Wayne, who got his nickname through years of racing jet sprint boats across Australasia, has also dabbled with jet boat marathon events, so clearly he’s got high-octane race gas coursing through…

BURNOUT FILES HAYDEN WILBY We are just a few days away from the 2023 Wedition of Downtime Entertainment’s AutoFest, and I’m wrapping up the last few loose ends before we hit the road. One of these tasks includes getting my new tow wagon legalised. A couple of years back, I purchased a deregistered party bus with the grand idea of converting it into the Fitzroy Motorsport mobile HQ. This would serve as a hub for events, where we could sell our merchandise, accommodate the whole crew, and even double as sleeping quarters when needed. It wasn’t an easy feat, and as is often the case, leaving it to the last minute didn’t make things any smoother. Putting a deregistered passenger service vehicle back into operation is not something I’d be…

RUST TO RICHES If you’ve been following our Fabrication series, the name Taylor Peterson might ring a bell. Taylor, renowned for his incredible fabrication skills at his Dunedin-based workshop, Peterson Fabrication, has been cooking up quite a storm with their latest project. They took on the challenge of reviving what might have been the rustiest ‘74 XP Ford Falcon known to man — a true diamond in the rough. If it weren’t for some photos taken before the transformation began, you’d be hard-pressed to believe it’s the same car. Their journey started with Steve Johnson ’65 Ford Falcon, stripping it down to the bare bones and securing it to their mock-up jig. Then, they dropped a set of custom-made Billet Specialties 18x11-inch wheels beneath it, setting the stage for the…

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