Indholdsfortegnelse for No 364 April 2021 i NZ Classic Car

This month we celebrate 30 years of New Zealand Classic Car magazine. At its inception, in an old, isolated shed, a former coffin factory in Grey Lynn, Auckland, publisher Greg Vincent — and his new company Parkside Media — had the vision and passion to help stimulate the scene we all enjoy today with this country’s first dedicated classic car magazine. During three decades of publishing, Parkside Media has weathered its fair share of adversity, including the global financial crisis, tragic Christchurch earthquakes, and now the toughest of them all, the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen print-media titles decimated literally overnight. As one of New Zealand’s most innovative publishing companies, Parkside Media has embraced the opportunity to diversify by offering quality content via multimedia solutions for trusted TV, mobile,…

Then, after illness forced him to retire from teaching — the career he had chosen after starting his working life at General Motors’ (GM) Upper Hutt assembly plant — he had to come up with a new plan. He had noted that a column in New Zealand Classic Car called Kits and Pieces had lapsed after its previous writer had quit. He approached then-editor Allan Walton in 2015 with the idea of taking up the baton. “Allan told me he had read my book and he could see what I could do, but he couldn’t guarantee more than two pages,” Patrick says. “That first story was given four pages, and it’s never been less than that since.” Patrick’s car building career started on the wild side, scratch building one of…

“The teacher said, ‘Well, it’s good that he’s reading. Don’t worry, he’ll eventually grow out of racing cars,’” says our Motor Sport Flashback columnist Michael Clark. “Fifty-two years later and motor racing is still my drug of choice. I suspect it always will be.” Michael can’t really explain the obsession, but from an early age his intended career was racing driver, car designer, or at least writing about racing cars. So he became a property valuer. But that passion for racing cars was unquenched. At 49, he bought a Formula Ford and still races it today, despite being big and tall, almost the opposite of the willowy jockey model, as per Lewis Hamilton, Alain Prost, and the like. It took him quite some time to find one he could fit…

After starting life as the US’s first version of a European sports car, the Ford Thunderbird evolved into a truly American statement in the form of a powerful, personal luxury car within just a few short years. Those early, compact ‘small birds’ gave way to the larger, more substantial ‘square birds’ by 1958. More luxurious than ever, sales just kept on climbing — up 77 per cent in their first year and another 78 per cent for 1959. The Thunderbird had found its niche as a four-passenger personal luxury car. Although the four-seat formula was set in stone, there was an all-new T-bird for 1961. The space age–inspired ‘bullet birds’ arrived, and with sales continuing on from where they left off, these spent three years on the bestseller’s list. With…

There are few pairings in the motor sport world as Italian as that of Lancia and Martini — the two go together like Lambrusco and prosciutto. The same could be said for Allan and Alex Carter’s love of all things Lancia. Their passion for the Italian marque reverberates through their Carteroni workshop just outside the picturesque township of Mangaweka. Here, as in much of Italy, life goes just a wee bit slower, giving Allan and Alex the time to fully savour their Lancia 037. A LEGEND IS BORN In 1980 Lancia began work on ‘Project 037’, which would ultimately give birth to the Lancia 037 Rallye, one of the most striking and sexy cars ever to be dressed in the Martini ribbons. Abarth was responsible for most of the design…

The Duzgo was one of at least 10 farm utility vehicles designed and built in New Zealand to fill the gap between farm bikes and the few options like Land Rovers that managed to slip through mid-century import restrictions. The country is now overrun with SUVs, but back in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, while ute versions of two-wheel drive saloons were available, getting traction on a slope or in mud was a whole other toss of the gumboot. Something that could pull a cow out of a ditch, that you could clean with a hose and a broom inside and out, and could take a few dings that recalled a good yarn would hit just the right note, like gumboots, black singlets, and Stubbie shorts did. Ideally, after a…

Rule one: The editor is always right. Rule two: In the event that the editor is wrong, rule one applies. That pretty well sums up how I contribute to this magazine — except it’s not true. In fact, I can say with a great degree of satisfaction that my opinions have been afforded virtually free rein for as long as I have been contributing. Back in 1995, I sent then editor Greg Vincent a cartoon I’d drawn taking the mickey out of the National Government’s transport minister who had just been overseas and suggested we also drive on the right. I was also penning a cartoon taking the mickey out of one of our founding columnists, a crusty mechanic then known as Gabriel, who was a great sport about it…

Marcello Gandini’s uncompromising sculpture stills wows onlookers. While production stopped at just 1983 examples, after 16 years the Countach achieved a transcendent stylistic immortality. It was the supercar many a young boy fantasised over and as a poster it decorated bedroom walls from Taihape to Timbuktu. The Lamborghini name also has a Kiwi connection going back before the Miura. Bob Wallace left Auckland for Europe in 1959, working with Camoradi USA on its Tipo 61 Maserati Birdcage, and also for Scuderia Serenissima with its 250 GTOs and 250 TR61 Spyders in sports car racing. Wallace would become Lamborghini’s chief test driver after the 1963 racing season. Along with chief engineer Paolo Stanziani, he had a big hand in what would become Lamborghini’s first true ‘supercar’, the Miura, and later the…

This year’s British and European Car Day took place on Sunday, 14 February, at Trentham Memorial Park, Upper Hutt, in near-ideal conditions for displaying, viewing, and photographing cars. Experienced attendees — I’m a newcomer, starting in 2009 — told me that this year’s show had the most cars ever, and that includes at British Car Days, the event’s predecessor. They said that previously unknown classics have come out of the woodwork, delighting them with the unsuspected wealth of cars in the Wellington area. The oldest car that I saw on the concourse was an immaculate 1914 Wolseley 16/20, whose owners took home the People’s Choice award. After the show, they’d intended driving it up to Napier for the Art Deco Festival, a plan that Covid put paid to. The rarest…

“As you can imagine, when I told Greg he was over the moon. In fact, he called me back twice that day to say thanks. The only mistake we made was only getting 40 copies. We could have sold two or three times that many.” That vindication was vitally important at the time. Almost everyone that Greg had spoken to about his plan to launch a classic car magazine had said it wouldn’t work — New Zealand’s classic car scene was just too small. Greg had earlier been turned down when he asked to sell his new magazine at Auckland’s Ellerslie Classic Car Show, although Classic Car later went on to become naming-rights sponsor for many years. FIRM FRIENDS The bond with Trevor was forged then, and for several years…

His accomplishments, favourite moments, and even a summation of the breadth of his experience in the field would simply not fit into the 750 words we have allocated here, so it’s fortunate indeed that Michael Clark interviewed Donn for his Lunch With … series in 2019. Michael at least managed to scrape the surface. Donn’s column in our magazine is called ‘Motorman’ because that’s the name of the magazine he started publishing at age 12, when most kids simply wouldn’t credit anything beyond a comic being worth the time of day. Luckily, his mother indulged her precocious son. “The first Motorman magazines from 1957 were printed on newsprint, using ‘hectograph ink’. Handwritten copy was transferred to a pan of set gelatine. Blank sheets adhered to gelatine, which was good for…

In 1976, Lotus began production of its first true supercar, the Lotus Esprit. Designer Giorgetto Giugiaro wanted it to be called the ‘Kiwi’, but Lotus had decided all of its car names would begin with the letter ‘E’. Hence, in 1975, the finished car was shown at the Paris Motor Show as the Esprit, for once proving someone else had better taste than the Italian master. There’s no doubt that his craftsmanship in drawing cars exceeded his talent for naming them, although in this particular case it was prophetic. The Esprit would prove to be one of the company’s longest lived and most iconic models. In the first year of production, 134 cars were manufactured but only 133 were assembled and sold. Car number six did not make it to…

RON KENDALL AND RAINTON HASTIE — Early ’70s Waikaraka saloon racing muscle car maestro and the King of Karangahape Road, Auckland, and owner of the legendary Pink Pussycat Club The unholy alliance connecting the spangly neon allure and the shady red lights of the city’s strip parlours with the racy speedway stars at Western Springs and Waikaraka Park was not unusual at the time. Possibly the highest profile example of this was famed Aussie speedcar racer of the ’60s Johnny ‘Super’ Stewart (Aussie Champ 1963–65) whose legendary ‘Trackburner’ Offy car was owned by Sammy Lee. Lee was a promotional genius and often towed his speedcar back to his Kings Cross strip club, The Cheetah Room, following the night’s racing at the Sydney Showgrounds. He boasted that its promotional value, particularly…

If you ever find yourself in the South of England wandering around the back streets of terraced homes in suburban Surrey, you’d be hard pressed to notice a small alleyway halfway down one such street. Follow it down and you’ll find the home of Richard Stewart Williams Ltd, better known simply as ‘RSW’, a moniker bandied about by those fortunate enough to have had their classic breathed on by Richard and his team over more than five decades. It’s where the documentary Stars and their Cars was filmed in the 1990s. It’s also where, in 1991 and 1992, the world of continuation cars kicked off when RSW, in collaboration with Aston Martin Lagonda (AML), oversaw the build of six so-called ‘Sanction II’ DB4 GT Zagatos. That came about because only…

Does ceramic paint protection in under five minutes seem too good to be true? No rubbing, no buffing, and no machines required? Meguiar’s Hybrid Ceramic Wax is a sprayon application that is the simplest and most foolproof waxing process we’ve ever used. It’s part of Meguiar’s new ceramic range featuring SiO2 hybrid technology. This wax can be sprayed on as part of your regular weekly carcare regime, giving you ceramic protection in minutes. Ensure your panels are clean from contaminants before applying, so it’s best to apply directly after a wash. Work a panel at a time, wet with a hose, and then spray a liberal coat of the ceramic wax. Follow this up with a rinse with the hose. Don’t be shy about the water flow. This spreads and…

What a weekend of great motor racing the large crowd was treated to as everyone took advantage of the raised viewing points now established at Teretonga. Just holding a motor racing series such as this in the current world situation was special. The commitment of locals is keeping it growing, despite a lack of overseas competitors. The numbers of tents, campervans, and caravans in the pits added to the holiday atmosphere. Typical of many was when I called into one entrant’s tent and found him munching on his breakfast with a camp bed next to his racing car. The incredibly high standard of preparation of cars is obvious to anyone walking through the pits — many wouldn’t look out of place at a car show. At the end of each…

When you have a ’50s Thunderbird and a ’60s Mustang and your son buys your daily driver Fiesta, what do you replace it with? Well, a modern classic, of course. In 2008, motor sport legend, Nascar team owner, and aviation enthusiast Jack Roush looked to his hangar for inspiration for his latest model. Having a keen interest in fighter aeroplanes, Roush had a World War II Mustang P51A in his collection, not just any P51A but one from the 357th Fighter Group, the most successful group of Mustang pilots in World War II. With their distinctive silver, aluminium, and dark green fuselages and yellow and red chequerboard colourings around their nose cones, they flew 313 combat missions in 1944 and 1945 and destroyed 702 German aeroplanes to help the Allies…

Quinton has been with New Zealand Classic Car almost since day one. He grabbed the first issue off the shelves and saw the publisher’s appeal for information on any interesting cars. He got in touch straight away and was soon installed writing the southern scene reports. He had been writing about cars for a couple of years already, contributing a motoring page to the Otago Daily Times’ community paper, the Southland Express, outside of his usual job. Quinton was in the police for 21 years — not a traffic cop; that was his wife’s job, back when the Ministry of Transport had its own police force. She had been a motorcycle traffic cop for years but then got the role in rural Southland that moved her into a car. Quinton…

We scouted out a few different locations for photographing this car, but they all had one thing in common. At every stop, people could not help but come up and compliment owner Penny Webster on her stunning Horizon Blue Mercedes 230 SL. There’s something about the ‘Pagoda’ Mercedes — so-called because the distinctive dipping curve of its roofline echoes that of the famous Eastern tiered temples — that encourages people to speak up. Many classic cars attract a second look, but in most cases people keep their thoughts to themselves. It was striking how many people felt the need to express the warmth of their feelings about this car. The expansive glass cockpit, the friendly, subtle lines, and its simple three-box shape seem to encourage openness among passers-by. So far,…

Rallying arrived in New Zealand in 1973 like a tsunami. It had been only a few years since the sport was introduced here and shortly afterwards Heatway came on board as the sponsor to take rallying to a new level. The 1973 Heatway would be the longest and biggest yet, running in both islands with 120 drivers over eight days and covering some 5400 kilometres. The winner was 31-year-old Hannu Mikkola — a genuine Flying Finn who had been rallying since 1963 before putting any thoughts of a career on hold until he completed an economics degree. The likeable Finn became an instant hero to many attracted to this new motorsport thing. I was one of them, so it was with sadness that I read of his passing in late…

ROLLING OVER Greetings. While not a huge Rolls-Royce fan, I do read all the articles in the magazine and your piece, An Enduring Status Symbol, in Issue No. 361, January 2021, piqued my interest in that it seems to confirm my suspicions that a rather sad-looking, seemingly abandoned vehicle in a shabby section in a Wellington suburb is indeed a Rolls-Royce. The photo on page 70 indicates to me it is likely a ’60s Silver Shadow. It would appear even the most upmarket cars can meet a sad ending. This suburb must have a thing for expensive cars languishing in decay, as over the last 30 years it has had two extremely decaying XJ6s on display to the roadside; both now gone in recent years. I have attached a couple…

Send your enquiries, questions, and comments to carsforsale@classiccar.co.nz If you are a keen driver and prize a fast ride with day-to-day practicality, you would surely consider a BMW M3. BMW’s M division managed to invent a new type of branded performance car, blending a compelling mix of performance, refinement, and rear-wheel-drive dynamics with four seats and a big boot. While most of BMW’s range gets the M treatment, the M3 is the favourite of many Beemer fans. The original E30 M3 cars are now properly revered as groundbreaking classics and values have shot up commensurately. In other words, unless you are prepared to spend six figures, you won’t get a look in. This is where the E36 M3 comes in. M3 fan Nigel von Tunzelman reckons the E36 M3, introduced…

Invercargill’s Southern Grilles and Gasoline Car and Bike Show 2021 spokesperson Jason Pope is very pleased with the support that the show received from the community when it was held at the beginning of February. “It went down really well this year. Numbers were up, and the quality of the cars was up as well,” says Jason. Star of the show was Alvena and Jeff Helm’s 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe, unveiled at the show following a painstaking 11-and-a-half-year rebuild. It scooped the top prize — the Cleanways’ Best in Show trophy — which came with a cheque for $1K. Both Alvena and Jeff were delighted by the announcement. When asked if their project had turned out as expected, Alvena replies with an emphatic, “Yes!” “We’re absolutely stoked with…

After the biff and bash at Scope the previous weekend, competitors were given a stern talking to by the organisers of this meeting. ‘Rubbing ain’t racing’ was the order of the day for these valuable classics. The result was some great, close racing for all to enjoy. It’s a popular race meeting, and this time competitors took the opportunity to participate in multiple classes depleted by the events at the Scope Classic in Christchurch. The Classic Motor Racing Club of New Zealand (CMRC) has been organising the Timaru race meeting since 2006. Organising committee chairman Brian Dixon and his wife Diane have been heavily involved in all the meetings, along with the myriad of volunteers organised by the hosts, South Canterbury Car Club (SCCC). A special Saturday lunchtime tribute was…

#365 ON SALE 26 APRIL WINNING TEAM The Teams Event has always been a hotly contested competition at the Ellerslie Classic Car Show, with the winning team hosting the following year’s event. At this year’s 50th anniversary Classic Cover Ellerslie Car Show, the Teams Event was, as expected, hotter than ever. Unfortunately, there can only be one winning team, and this year’s honours went to two sublime Porsche 356s owned by Allan Shanahan and Martin Reeves, representing the Porsche Club. Allan Shanahan’s 1957 356A Speedster also scored the highest points of the day with 562 out of a possible 590, the third highest in the event’s history. Next month we line these two beauties up for a full feature and find out what it takes to restore a car to…