Indholdsfortegnelse for No 375 March 2022 i NZ Classic Car

When was the last time you noticed a classic car on the road and thought to yourself, I can’t remember the last time I saw one of those? It happened to me recently when I spotted a Hillman Super Minx travelling towards the Mount a few weeks ago. While clearly no garage queen, my rather fleeting observation suggested that, despite its oxidised green exterior, the Hillman was much loved and was regularly driven by its proud owner. Its lovely patina only added to the charm of this wonderful classic. A few weeks later while sitting in a local café having brunch with my wife, I couldn’t take my eyes off a full wall-sized photograph of the local camping ground at Mt Maunganui. The date of 1908 at the foot probably…

When Mazda procured a licence to build Wankel engines from NSU in 1961 it had already established itself as the third-largest Japanese car manufacturer. The radically designed Wankel powerplant, both lightweight and compact, seemed a perfect example of Japan’s knack for refinement and miniaturisation. With those factors in mind, Mazda planned an entire range of rotary-powered cars, starting with the fabulously styled Cosmo 110S of 1967. By the early ’70s, the master plan was coming together, meaning an equivalent rotary-engined car for each conventionally powered Mazda. Hence the 616 had an RX-2 counterpart, the 808 the RX-3, and the 929 the RX-4. However, by the time the RX-5 arrived in 1975, rising fuel prices and the difficulty of cleaning up the rotary’s dirty emissions was taking its toll, despite Mazda…

Brendan’s hometown of Pretoria enjoyed more than its fair share of the marque, where their reliability and performance made them popular. “There used to be a joke going round in South Africa that there were more DKWs in Pretoria per square mile than anywhere else in the world,” says Brendan. The Odells redressed that balance a little when they shifted to New Zealand as they brought some of the cars with them. One of their DKWs also accompanied them to Tonga. Brendan’s green 1959 Auto Union 1000 two-door went with them from South Africa to Tonga from 2010 to 2013 where he worked for the local airline. It then travelled on with them to New Zealand. It is one of just 10 right-hand-drive cars of the two-door basic model remaining…

A small group of German car manufacturers in Chemnitz, Saxony, united to form Auto Union in 1936. Consisting of Audi, Horch, DKW, and Wanderer, the group became famous before the Second World War for its racing team based at the Horch works in Zwickau, Saxony. Under designer Ferdinand Porsche, the V12 and V16 mid-engine cars, along with the Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix team, would dominate pre-war motor racing and set speed records lasting years. Collectively, they would become the German ‘Silver Arrows’ racing legends, along with a select band of drivers. Auto Union became synonymous with technical innovation, producing cars for the masses, such as its little aerodynamic, two-stroke DKW cars, and luxury models, like the V12-powered Horch limousines before war intervened. Devastation from the war saw the company initially returning…

Despite its strong performance heritage, Toyota’s racing legacy in New Zealand doesn’t appear that extensive, although its current involvement is high. Possibly the highlights are multiple wins in the Rally of New Zealand and hosting the recent Toyota Castrol Racing single-seater series and the current Best Bars Toyota 86 series. The earliest presence of Toyota products on the racing scene in New Zealand would most likely have been the locally assembled Corollas and Coronas in the Benson and Hedges 500 endurance races. While the Toyotas would no doubt have been bulletproof, they usually weren’t as fast as their Datsun/Nissan rivals during that era. At least four Corollas started the 1970 B&H 500, with a best result of second place in the 1300 class, behind the Jack Nazer/Ken Smith Ford Escort.…

Mazda wasn’t the only mighty Japanese conglomerate to launch rotary-engined vehicles into the market in the mid-70s. Suzuki had high hopes for its RE5 Wankel-engined bike launched in 1975. It had started looking at the Wankel engine in the mid-60s and bought the licence to the concept in 1970. Apparently all of the big four Japanese makers experimented with the design, Yamaha even showing a rotary-engined bike at a motor show in 1972. But Suzuki was the only one of the big four to go into production. Like many others at the time, Suzuki believed that the light, compact, free-revving Wankel design would consign piston engines — with their complex, multiple, whirring valves and pistons, which (can you believe it?) had to reverse direction all the time — to history.…

In January 1995 I somehow ended up forming part of a commentary squad for the Pukekohe round of the international racing series. The arrangement provided for two squad members to share the microphone at a time. I recall being initially partnered with Ron Frost for a Formula Ford race. Later in the day I was paired with Brian Lawrence for a Tranz-Am race that brought together the cream of Australasian tin-top chauffeurs. BL, as is the case with all four Lawrence brothers, was immaculately turned out and produced a masterclass of race calling. It was an exciting race but Brian thoroughly enhanced it and his performance that day has stuck in my mind all these years. I’ve sat alongside most of the best-known callers since, in commentary boxes on both…

Some years ago my electricity bill resembled a Lotto third division prize (averaging $400-$500 per month) and I suspected it was the hot water cylinder. So, acting on the advice provided by an elderly talkback radio caller, I started turning the thing off at 7am and turning it on again at 11pm – much against the advice of the power company, I might add. Before my intervention, the power company could turn my hot water on and off whenever they felt like it. However with my taking over control, the effect was immediate in that my power consumption dropped markedly — by about 50 percent! It was with some interest then that I researched what was happening with electric vehicle (EV) charging in the United Kingdom. WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE…

Tidy examples of first-generation Civics these days are usually between $5000 and $10,000 We all know someone who had one. Either it belonged to a friend who blithely drove it every day to uni, or your Gran had one for shopping and going to bowls. It wasn’t the first Honda, but the early Civics were the cars Honda were best known for. “The Civic started it all,” says passionate Civic owner Matt Woodburn. “It was the first Honda produced outside of Japan, and even in New Zealand. It was a memorable stage in a lot of people’s automotive journeys.” We can’t overestimate just how important the Civic was to the Honda brand. Now in its 11th generation, the Civic is apparently the sixth best-selling car of all time. Honda’s revolutionary…

Basing yourself in Barcelona to travel Europe discovering genuine ‘barn find’ 1970s Mazdas might seem an odd way to spend the pandemic, but this is exactly what Allister Simpson from Classic Car Auctions Ltd did in late-2020 and 2021. The shifting tides of the pandemic in Europe allowed him many travel windows to view cars, meet fellow Mazda aficionados, and follow up tip-offs. Highlights of which there were many, including seeing a Mazda RX-3 coupé as part of a private 95-car collection in Belgium, among classic Porsches, Ferraris, and Citroëns. The trip that stood out for Allister culminated in an ice blue Mazda RX-2 sedan he collected in Düsseldorf, Germany. The car had come from a private collection. The previous owner had an immaculate model of each production rotary model…

John Rae is the third owner of this classic 1956 Ford Thunderbird that only has 80,000 miles on the clock — not bad for an almost 70-year-old car. Remarkably, John has been friends with all of its previous owners. The first owner, Carmen Schroeder, lived in Burbank, California. Carmen clocked up roughly 78,000 miles in the car before putting it in her son’s shed for safekeeping until it passed onto its second owners, also in California. How it got from the USA to Taranaki is an interesting story. In 1956, Carmen and Gordon Schroeder had a lucrative automotive business manufacturing steering boxes and torsion bars for racing cars, Indy Cars and hot rods. Carmen was herself a real petrolhead and a great follower of Nascar and Indy racing cars. She…

The RX-2 set a new benchmark for small car performance, earning instant acclaim for its pleasing vibrationless power delivery and sensational performance. Because the New Zealand version was void of power-robbing anti-pollution gear, this 12A was without doubt the best engine to date. The RX-2 was also the one car that sold the virtues of rotary-engined cars to New Zealand motorists. In 1971 the RX-2 arrived on our shores as the Capella, in both two and four-door design. Mechanically identical, and laden to the gunnels with standard kit, the only option available was the three-speed Jatco automatic transmission. The 1600cc four-cylinder engine on offer for the ‘ordinary’ driver was totally overshadowed by its rotary stable mate. At the heart of the RX-2 was the new enlarged version of the R100’s…

Bruce Haye, master auto restorer at Ace Panel & Paint in Whitianga, called me the other day and said, “Jim, there is an Alfa here you have to see.” And because Bruce is a mate from way back who has done a couple of show-winning cars for me, that was all I needed to hear. I jumped in my car and headed out. It stood out immediately when I rolled up in front of his shop. Next to Bruce’s gigantic gold 1963 Cadillac Coupe de Ville was an impeccable red 1969 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV. It was a knockout, and the closer I got the better it looked. Bruce and I chatted a bit as he opened the bonnet. The engine compartment looked better-than-showroom new. Everything about the car was…

*the crazy life LEVIN Motor racing at Levin ended in the mid-70s and unfortunately I never got the chance to get there during that period. On a trip to Wellington in January 2008 with Graham McRae, I suggested to the master of the small kidney-shaped circuit that we drop in for old times’ sake. As there wasn’t much left of the old track he wasn’t the slightest bit interested and so when the invitation was extended to speak at the dinner to celebrate Levin’s contribution to world motor racing, and two local heroes Ron Frost and Bryan Faloon, we jumped at the chance. Held on 8 January, half a century on from the tragic day Faloon was killed at Pukekohe, the organisers left no stone unturned. Unquestionably it was an…

While on holiday driving around the East Cape I took the opportunity to visit the garage of Sam Lyle, a man whose shed contents never fail to impress. The first time I visited him he was building his interpretation of a 1930s Art Deco-inspired Alfa Romeo sports car. It is, in my humble opinion, one of the best-looking cars ever built in this country and a full feature on this car will appear here soon. The next time I visited him he was scratch building a Le Mans-styled Porsche GT1. Hiding under all the fibreglass was a Toyota MR2. The wheelbase had been lengthened and the track widened with the addition of a couple of front and rear space frame extensions. The best way to describe Sam is as an…

Hamilton’s Classics Museum and Jukebox Diners February car meet went ahead as scheduled under Covid-19 red traffic light protocols. There was a good turn out of cars early on considering the weather was threatening, but when the rain did come it probably put off further participants venturing out. However, a group of Mustangs that had come from Auckland was not put off and some of the local Mini club put in an appearance as they were starting a run later in the morning. It was a good general turnout of cars, considering the weather, including some interesting cars not seen at this meet before. The weather put a damper on the Classics boot sale. Only a handful of vendors tried their luck, but the Jukebox Diner did its usual brisk…

For almost two decades I was a teacher of computer studies at Taita College in Lower Hutt. After a 30-year battle with multiple sclerosis, the disease had progressed to the point where I had to take early retirement. For about 20 years I had been driving around in a sports car that I built myself, an Almac Sabre. The Sabre had been up and down both islands and was always a lot of fun to drive. Its major limitation was the lack of storage space. The boot was about the same size as that of an MX5 — it could hold luggage but not a wheelchair. This restriction ruled out a lot of car-related activities such as club runs to visit museums, and so on. Hence, in 2019, I decided…

When Chevrolet introduced the Corvette in 1953, Ford was painfully aware that it had nothing in its line-up to compete with it. The Corvette was built for the new sports car market occupied by British and European cars. The Corvette created a niche that had previously not existed in the US, so when Chevrolet stepped into the unknown it did so very cautiously, opting to build a low-volume fibreglass sports car using off-the-shelf parts. It wasn’t going to risk investing millions of dollars in dies and presses to build a steel-bodied car that nobody wanted. In its first year of production, this caution paid off as only 300 Corvettes were sold. In 1954, production figures increased to 3600 but only after the price had been reduced by several hundred dollars.…

Eager to prove the reliability of its rotary engines, Mazda was quick to get examples of the RX-3 onto race tracks throughout the world — eventually scooping up trophies and awards wherever they competed. In Australia, after the early entry of an R100 at Bathurst in 1969, RX-3s went on to score several class wins at that famous circuit. Racing RX-3s also appeared in New Zealand, competing for honours in the B&H 500 — while the late Bill Shiells (now recognised as New Zealand’s first rotary guru) took to rally stages in an RX-3, inspiring many others to follow suit. RX-3 coupes continued to be successful in motor sport until supplanted by the RX-7. Eventually, of course, a Mazda rotary-engined car — the 787B — became the first Japanese car…

Klaus-Detlev von Oertzen, Auto Union sales director (formerly with Wanderer), became concerned about the growing Nazi influence in Germany and, having Jewish connections, he decided to relocate to South Africa. He organised the export of DKW cars to South Africa beginning in 1936. The F5 and 7 models made a big impression locally, helped by a successful motor racing campaign and, earning a reputation for reliability and good fuel economy in the expanses of South Africa, the cars sold well. Following the Second World War, Pretoria dealer Jacob Bros initiated imports in 1953. Bros campaigned his own DKW in rallies, such as the car-destroying East African Safari Rally in Kenya in the mid-1950s. Known as the toughest rally in the World, a DKW F93 won the 1956 East African Safari…

Following the third polite advisory I figured there had to be a fair degree of substance to the warning. “If this is your first visit to Rio de Janeiro, please be careful,” came the personal hushed dialogue from the pleasant hostesses on a far from crowded Varig flight from Los Angeles to the famous Brazilian seaside city. The previous evening I had flown into LA from Auckland en route to the 1985 international launch of the Fiat Uno Turbo. I was prepared for another long haul of just under 12 hours across Mexico, central America, Colombia, and central Brazil to that nation’s third largest city. Surprisingly the 10,500km run from Los Angeles to Rio is actually longer than the 8800km LA-London air route. With a brief stopover in Honolulu, I…

Old gearboxes gone bad usually indicate their problems by popping out of gear, whining in one or more gears, or by the clashing and clunking of gear teeth when shifting. Luckily most old standard gearboxes are simple to rebuild. No special tools are generally required to refurbish them, but get your hands on the shop manual for your car and familiarise yourself with its gearbox before you start dismantling. Our example is a mid-'50s Chevrolet Saginaw three-speed. Extricate the transmission from the car, clean its exterior, and place it on your workbench in a large tin baking tray. This will keep small parts such as needle bearings from rolling away. Now remove the side plate cap screws and pop the side plate loose. Wash the side plate and shifter assembly…

Dear Sir, Please find attached photos connected to stories in New Zealand Classic Car Magazine 374. First Ron Roycroft in the Bugatti Jaguar at the Northland Car Club Waipu Gorge Sprint 1956. Then a shot of the Stanton Corvette at Mt Maunganui race 1962, Johnny Windelburn studying the drive train. Brian Skudder Hi there, I enjoyed your article on the two Stantons in your current issue, and thought that you might like the attached photo of the Stanton Corvette being returned to the pit area at Mt Maunganui in December 1963 after its coming together with David Young’s Cooper. Cheers Ray Hawke ART FOR ART’S SAKE Dear Sir, Would you be interested in doing an article on my brother’s paintings? He is a Christchurch artist. He doesn't advertise or anything.…

Welcome to Targa Bambina, the first of three Targa events planned for 2022. As New Zealand continues to navigate its way through the mutations of the Covid-19 pandemic, event organisers Ultimate Rally Group have kept pace, adjusting and tweaking the events to comply with government mandates. The fact that so many car events have been cancelled in response to the constraints imposed shows how much work URG has done to work through the different elements that make up each event, fine-tuning each of them to allow compliance, every step of the way. “While this brings some challenges, says URG managing director Peter Martin, "we are pleased that at least we can still create a wonderful opportunity for teams to get out and enjoy their vehicles the way the engineers designed…

Transport World secured a deserved first place for the group in its category at the Southland Business Excellence Awards for 2021. It’s the first time Transport World has entered the awards. The must-see ‘world’, which draws an ever-increasing number of visitors to New Zealand’s southernmost city, has been developed over many years. It now comprises Bill Richardson Transport World, Classic Motorcycle Mecca, Dig This Invercargill, The Lodges at Transport World, and TW Events & Incentives. The group won the Consumer Award category at the event, hosted at Bill Richardson Transport World on Friday, 28 January 2022. As well as being the driving force behind Transport World, Joc O’Donnell is a director of HWR Group, one of the largest family-owned companies in New Zealand. “Our team is absolutely thrilled,” says Joc.…

Attractions Exhibitions, museums and other vehicle-related curios Marlborough OMAKA CLASSIC CARS A unique collection of vehicles giving insight into New Zealand Motoring from the 50s to the 80s. 90 cars on display at any one time. omakaclassiccars.co.nz / 03 577 9419 / Aerodome Rd, Blenheim Coatings Heatproof, cosmetic, chrome, and specialist coatings & water transfer printing Auckland HIGH PERFORMANCE COATINGS Exhaust coatings, piston coatings, turbo coatings, and much more hpcoatings.co.nz / 09 267 1007 / Unit 0/62 Mahia Road, Manurewa, Auckland HP COATINGS New Zealand’s leading performance coating specialists, serving you over 20 years hpcoatings.co.nz / 09 267 1007 / Unit 0/62 Mahia Rd, Manurewa, Auckland Consumables Oils, additives fluids, fuels and workshop consumables Auckland RECHARGE BATTERIES Battery revitalizer and conditioner recharge.net.nz / 0800 36 66 36 / PO Box…

THE ORIGINAL SUV The Range Rover found itself creating a market that did not previously exist in Britain: an off-road vehicle that could be driven in the mud, hosed down, and taken into town on Sunday. The floors were level with the sills to allow sand and dirt to be swept out. It would be years before the competition woke up and challenged it, let alone realised this would become the top-selling segment for passenger cars in years to come. The CSK Range Rover is now a very collectible vehicle. It was not the first limited edition Range Rover but the first with a commemorative plaque declaring that fact. Next month, Patrick Harlow takes a closer look at a pristine, unrestored example. READY FOR LIFT-OFF The Toyota Sera is totally…