Indholdsfortegnelse for No 381 September 2022 i NZ Classic Car

I’m sure you’ve all heard the term ‘you can’t beat modern technology’ — it’s certainly getting harder as it permeates our daily lives, whether we like it or not. I heard this term bandied around quite recently when I attended a Bay of Plenty Mustang Owners Club run to Ohope for a hearty fish-and-chip lunch. At least 30 Mustangs arrived at the early morning rendezvous point in the Papamoa Plaza car park and I noticed the number of late-model Mustangs and Shelbys. My inquisitiveness got the better of me so I asked one or two club members why they hadn’t brought along their classic Mustangs. I learned that, in some cases, members had simply just gone out and purchased a later-model Mustang specifically for club runs and the like, opting…

Avid readers of this publication will no doubt be familiar with the name Paul Halford. Several cars from Paul’s fine collection have graced these pages over the years, and despite his eclectic taste for fine exotic machinery there’s one thing we’ve come to know about Paul – he has a steadfast passion for Maranello’s finest. Amongst Paul’s collection, Ferrari’s signature prancing horse tells the story of this passion – the iconic badge appearing on magnificent examples such as his glorious 1967 275 GTB/4 and his mid-engined 288 GTO homologation special. Not to mention a rather more modern F430 Spyder and a stunning 250 GTO recreation. That’s rather more Ferraris than most of us could run to, but in recent years Paul has been stung with a determined hankering to add…

Most top racing drivers do care about safety levels of road-going cars for everyday motorists and their all-round abilities behind the wheel. Jackie Stewart for one denied finding everyday driving boring. He took pride in giving his passengers the smoothest possible ride, and encouraged all drivers to actively engage in the task. They also make interesting choices for their transport away from competitive motoring. Thirty years ago I spent a day with Chris Amon driving on lower North Island roads and I can remember those informative few hours as vividly as if they were yesterday. In 1983 Chris accepted a challenge from Toyota New Zealand to improve its locally assembled cars in a relationship that extended well beyond the end of New Zealand-built Toyota vehicles in 1997. Arriving at Toyota’s…

AUTOART INSPIRES WORDS Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed Gerard’s article on cars and art. I absolutely agree about the superb automotive artwork by Messrs Fitzpatrick & Kaufman. They made American cars of the day into real artworks. Many British advertisers were even more likely to distort perspectives, I reckon, making it look as though a Humber 80 would seat six adults comfortably! I recommend Glamour Road by Stork & Dolle as further reading. As far as motorsports artists go, there are at least two others who deserve a mention. Nicholas Watts in the UK is superb at bringing F1 and sports car racing to life. Closer to home Steve Holmes (better known now for his articles and books) is also an accomplished artist. I’m pleased…

At its heart is former Ferrari engineer Aurelio Lampredi’s jewellike twin-overhead camshaft four-cylinder engine. Initially in 1608cc form in the 125, it provided sparkling performance and introduced the world to belt drive overhead camshafts. From 1300cc right up to a storming 2-litre version based on his original design, this powerplant went on to become the most successful World Rally Championship engine with 10 manufacturer’s championship titles to its credit wearing Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and Seat badges. It even found its way into some versions of classic British Morgan sports cars. Based in sunny Napier, Trevor and Belinda Griffin are well on the way to finishing an impressive restoration of a genuine example of one of these now rare Italians. KIWI DEVELOPMENT New Zealand Fiat importers Torino Motors looked to…

Back in the early ’90s the Marlborough/Nelson Zephyr Club would host an All Ford Day in February, while the Nelson Model A Club hosted one in late October. As both clubs had dropped their events by the late 1990s, Ford lovers in the top of the South had little to look forward to on the event front. Thankfully, over the past decade or so the Nelson Ford Club has taken up the reins, playing host to a Henry Ford Birthday bash at the end of July. Originally, they held it at Rabbit Island but more recently the blue oval badge brigade has gathered at Tahuna Beach. While hosting and organising events is no small challenge, when the Nelson club decided to cut back and hold it bi-annually, it was no…

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 350, Pukekohe, Auckland SOUTH PACIFIC…

Say the word ‘bond’ to anyone in the street and around 80 per cent straight away think of pop culture’s least-secret secret agent. The other 20 per cent may think of the wad of cash required to secure a flat or hire equipment that one gets back providing the fixtures and fittings stay much as they were. However, mention ‘bond’ in specialist classic car circles and people will spin a very different yarn. If you dig deep enough, you will find an eccentric British carmaker that, throughout its 23 years in business, spawned some quirky and charming little cars. The Bond’s designers already had their eyes on bigger things, namely the new Triumph 2000’s two-litre straight-six and running gear The company was founded by Paul Sharp in 1922 under the…

The fashion at the time among the rally and race set was to paint bonnets flat black to avoid the sun’s reflections In November 2018, Howard Anderson had a dream of finding a 1964 Vauxhall PB Cresta to recreate the car he, his wife, Ruth, and three friends travelled in from London to Invercargill in 1969. The next night’s dream was a nightmare. He dreamed he would find the original Angela but it was a rusted wreck somewhere in Southland. Howard’s inspiration came from reading about a driver in the 1968 London–Sydney Marathon who was reunited with his Vauxhall Ventora 50 years later. He, Ruth, and her parents had watched the start of the rally from Crystal Palace in South London. The fashion at the time among the rally and…

On the banks of the Lambro River is Europe’s largest enclosed park, all 688 hectares of it. Parco di Monza was commissioned by the son of an Austrian empress as a summer retreat in the late 1700s but it would be for another century and a half before ground was broken on what would become Italy’s famous theatre of speed at the park’s northern end. One hundred years ago on 3 September, less than four months after work started, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza was officially opened and the first race — appropriately, the Italian Grand Prix — was run a week later. Monza was the world’s third purpose-built circuit, after Brooklands and Indianapolis, and was the result of the Milan Automobile Club financing the 3500 workers who created the super-quick,…

David Rowe Published 2022 by Veloce (who supplied the review copy). ISBN 978-1-787117-91-4 This is an expanded edition of a book that was first published in 2017. Its aim is to give a potted history of every Riley and Wolseley model produced since these two long-established companies came under the BMC umbrella, which means the Riley RM models aren’t in here. It’s a softbound book running to 104 pages, within which author Rowe has fitted a great deal of information on each model, including specifications, changes made during production, standard fittings and options, original colour schemes — even a gear-change diagram. Initially, the Rileys and Wolseleys used their own power plants but that ended during the 1950s, when BMC motors were adopted for all. There’s not a lot of variety…

Jaguar and Daimler Clubs throughout New Zealand are organising celebrations of 100 years of the marque in 2022. Jaguar Drivers Club Auckland held a function on Friday, 29 July to celebrate the cars which have had such an impact on motoring and motorsport in New Zealand. Richard Waugh, club member and author of Classic Jaguars in New Zealand, was on hand to introduce the MC for the evening, National Party leader, Christopher Luxon. Richard had a copy of his book to present to Mr Luxon but there was a little twist in the presentation, as Richard relates. “We had a good Friday night event at Archibald & Shorter here in Auckland, with Christopher Luxon as guest MC. About 115 people were present and an equal number went through the dealership…

Cresting the hill at Pukekohe before swooping down pit straight with the speedo touching 80 miles an hour (135 km/h), the smiling Irishman behind the wheel tossed the red Mini Cooper 1275S into a wild 360-degree spin. Hanging on for dear life in the front passenger seat, I was wondering what I had let myself in for. I quelled the flash of panic telling myself there was little need to worry. After all, this chap had won the Monte Carlo Rally in a Mini the year before, an achievement that made him a household name in Britain. Patrick Barron Hopkirk, MBE, was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 14 April 1933. He died on 21 July 2022 aged 89. He was not only a brilliant driver but a man with…

My daughter is 17. She is in her last year of school and loves to surf and skateboard. She figures on taking a year off next year to cruise New Zealand looking for the best waves and skate parks. Last year she bought her first car, a 2004 Nissan March (Micra). And yes, you are correct, the little Nissan is not a classic car. It will never be a classic car. But it was all she could afford. However, Jessica has converted the car to what is possibly the world’s smallest campervan sort of thing. She is around 170cm tall. With the front passenger seat slid all the way forward and hinged towards the dashboard, she has just enough legroom for a single mattress. To make this comfortable she created…

It was aimed squarely at top performers in the 2.0-2.5 litre category such as the Mazda RX7, Datsun 280ZX, Porsche 924, Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV and BMW 3-series models, especially for the American market Mitsubishi’s enthusiasm for international motorsport resulted in the high-performing Starion, a sensational little gem of a sports car developed in great secrecy and launched at the 1981 Geneva show. It was aimed squarely at top performers in the 2.0-2.5 litre category such as the Mazda RX7, Datsun 280ZX, Porsche 924, Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV and BMW 3-series models, especially for the American market. The Starion, with a top speed of 225kph for the production models and punchy acceleration to match, all at a reasonable price, came as quite a shock to enthusiasts. Later models offered even…

Say what you like about old Adolf Hitler, he did have a couple of good ideas. One was to create a network of highways connecting major cities, which became the autobahns, and the second was to create a car that ordinary people could afford to buy and drive on them. It’s odd now to think the car that came from that brief is a type of German car that we’d now consider least suited to autobahn travel as we know it today, but its world record sales of 21 million showed it was suited to roads almost everywhere else. Yet at the time — 1934 — Hitler’s brief for a worker’s car that could do 100km/h, transport four people, consume less than 7 litres per 100 kilometres, and cost less…

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Chick Hammond lives in Whakatane, and has for most of his life had a strong interest in all things automotive. Naturally, he hangs out with people of a similar ilk and some of his friends own cars from the ’30s. One of these friends, Pete, tried to convince Chick to buy a car like his 1936 Buick straight-eight, but that would have been too easy for Chick. His thought was to build his 1930s dream car. What happened next raises the question, “What is it that inspires people to decide, at some stage of their life, to go out into their shed or garage and build a car?” For some, it is the only way they will ever have the dream car of their childhood; for others it is an…

Family car, weekend cruiser, or low rider — Chevrolet Impalas have filled all of these roles at some point or other. Whether crisscrossing stateside full up with family or sparkling in the latest rap video, there is no denying the Impala has a cult following. Few cars exemplify ’60s American styling better than the Impala, as the finned exuberance of the ’50s was hammered flat and stretched out into a vast expanse of sheet metal. “The Impala was a car that was extremely reliable and a step up from the Biscayne and Bel Air, while not out of reach of the average guy’s pocket,” says 1965 Impala owner David Heswall. “It’s also spacious but not so large that it’s difficult to deal with. Plus, when you drive it, it’s almost…

You’ve removed the front-end assembly on your classic so you could work on the engine and chassis, but that is now completed, and you need to assemble the front clip so it is aligned properly. In that situation, here’s what to do: Begin the front-end assembly by installing the radiator cradle and bulkhead, then attach the inner guard panels to it. The radiator cradle and bulkhead need to be vertical, and they must be at right angles to the frame rails from left to right. If one side of the radiator cradle is a bit far forward, the other will be too far back and the guard on that side will jam up against the door. Once you have the radiator cradle and inner guard panels aligned as best you…

The Rally of Hawke’s Bay was round four of the Brian Green New Zealand Rally Championship and was held on the second to last weekend of July. It started with the opening ceremony at the Soundshell in Napier on Friday night before the cars got away on Saturday morning for the first of the eight stages, which were all on the fast flowing countryside roads to the south of Napier. In total there were 118kms of special stages which encompassed both gravel and tarmac. The roads were waterlogged with several boggy areas off-line on a day which was overcast with lots of showers but also fine periods. While Hayden Paddon was off in Europe on his WRC duties, Shane van Gisbergen stepped in to show his class once again in…

Supercars by the Sea, at Wellington’s waterfront venue of Odlins Plaza on 17 July, delivered on event organiser Alex Bowen’s promise that $3 million worth of supercars would park up. Alex is the founder of the Wellington Sports & Supercars Owners group, which hosted the event. The club was formed in November last year, and membership is open to those with sports and supercars that meet its criteria. About 50 cars lined up on the concourse, on a sunny and sometimes cool midwinter’s day. Puffer jackets and beanies were de rigueur for most of the visitors but the open-topped Aston Martin and TVR Trident convertibles reminded them that warmer days weren’t too far away. Other exotics included Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis, McLarens, a Mercedes-Benz, a Honda NSX, and a Chevrolet Corvette.…

ON SALE 19 SEPT Impressive in the flesh Next month we feature this outstanding 1968 Shelby Mustang GT350 owned by Stuart Gibbons of Wellington. The car is a true survivor with only 53,000 miles (85,800kms) on the clock. Its colour is called Meadowlark Yellow and was a special order with the paint code WT6066 for 1968 Shelbys only. In total only 109 cars got this colour and only eight were fastbacks. The vehicle was originally assembled at the Ford Metuchen plant in New Jersey in May 1968 before getting the Shelby treatment at the Ionia plant. Roadside memories Gerard Richards has collated an outstanding collection of photographs of roadside ‘jewels’ from over four decades of road trips around this country. Gems in the rough, if you like, captured in their…