Indholdsfortegnelse for No 382 October 2022 i NZ Classic Car

Last month’s cover car sparked many fond memories, as my first ‘real’ car was an HK GTS Monaro, which I proudly owned back in the early–mid ’70s. I never specifically set out to buy one of these big Aussie coupés, but after my trusty puke-green 1960 Morris Minor 1000 decided enough was enough by refusing to change out of first gear, I decided it was time to find a ride more befitting a fledgling petrolhead. As I worked with several petrolheads who drove a range of different cars, from Vauxhall Crestas and Veloxes to Triumph 2000s, a variety of Holdens, and a couple of Tri-5 Chevs — remember this was in about 1973–’74 — my mind was fairly well made up and the search was on in earnest for a…

Jaguar’s distinctive Mark II saloon still impresses today. It was the ’60s favourite of upper-rank business folk, police forces, and bank robbers. It single-handedly created the aura of the British sporting saloon without peer, at a time when few sports cars could equal its performance. It could cruise effortlessly at 100mph (160kph) seemingly indefinitely, or carry on up to more than 125mph (200kph). Jaguar’s competitors were dumbfounded by its ability to provide leather and walnut luxury in a technically advanced package at such bargain prices. It was Jaguar’s best-selling car from 1959 to 1967 with production reaching nearly 100,000. Jaguar’s competitors were dumbfounded by its ability to provide leather and walnut luxury in a technically advanced package at such bargain prices Jaguar Mark II’s competition rally and racing track successes…

There’s been a proliferation of ‘barn find’ and ‘junkyard relic’ type books hitting the market over the last 10 years or so. Writer Tom Cotter has been a major culprit with titles like Barn Find Road Trip, The Cobra in the Barn, Route 66 — Barn Find Road Trip, and many others. In the same vein are Lost Muscle Cars and a swathe by Jerry Heasley, such as Jerry Heasley’s Rare Finds: Mustangs and Fords. They are almost exclusively American titles. It got me thinking of all the road trips I’d charted around this country over 40-plus years hunting out and photographing what I thought of as roadside jewels — diamonds in the rough if you like, captured in all their glory, ensnared by time and weeds out in the…

Grey skies on the first Sunday of October take away some of the guilt when Bathurst is on TV. It’s certainly easier to overlook the outside jobs. I like to show willing on other tasks, and typically plan to watch the first hour and the last 30 minutes or so, but invariably end up watching pretty much every lap. I’m unlikely to forget the day 30 years ago when the drizzle stopped at about the time my two young daughters were displaying cabin fever. We walked to the home of friends who had girls of a similar age and, crucially, where I was also confident the beer would be cold and ‘the Great Race’ would be playing. My mate was already approaching as we arrived, and he was not his…

Chris Rees Published 2021 by Quiller Print ISBN 978-0-9926651-3-5 Review by Mark Holman I am sure that most New Zealand Classic Car readers could name a few British cars that owe their design and style to Italian carrozzeria. The Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato and the Austin A40 Farina are two examples but this book demonstrates in words, photos, and designers’ sketches just how far-reaching that collaboration has been over the years. I was surprised by how close some of the production versions were to the sketches and prototypes that the designers had produced, such as Pininfarina’s Austin A99. In addition to including the many cars that made it to production, from Triumph Herald to Gordon-Keeble, author Rees tempts us with plenty of ‘what might have been’ prototypes: cars as stylish…

The Heron MJ1 was manufactured as a turnkey vehicle in Rotorua during the mid ’80s. During its production time, 25 cars were manufactured. The factory closed in 1986. After missing out on an earlier Heron as a 19-year-old, businessman Alan Wichman was determined he would not miss out again when he saw another in a car yard in 1987. Alan was not really a car guy at the time. He enjoyed driving but that was as far as it went until he saw his first Heron MJ1. What caught his eye was that it was bright yellow, low slung, and looked sensational. The next day he took his wife, Bernadette, to see it and they drove it home that afternoon. Alan knew he had bought something pretty special. His car…

The next Targa event is an addition to the calendar, and takes the Targa south of Cook Strait for only the third time. The first two were the full five-day annual Targa rallies, the first being in 2014 and the second in 2018. This year’s South Island rally is a two-day event held in addition to the annual five-day event in May, which was based in Taranaki this year. The new Targa South Island event will be based in the spectacular Tasman region. Event organiser Ultimate Rally Group director Peter Martin says setting up a completely new event in a new region involves a good deal more groundwork in engaging with the community and all the stakeholders, whose buy-in is needed to get such an event, on public roads, off…

With heavy overnight rain and a forecast for more of the same, the outlook for Sunday’s Classics Car Meet at the Classics Museum did not look great. However, Sunday morning dawned fine and with the sunshine and clearing skies, the cars started rolling in. As the morning progressed a large cross section of classics had found their way to the meet. Considering the weather forecast and all the other events that were happening on the day, the overall turnout was fantastic with, once again, some unusual cars turning up. The Jukebox Diner ‘Car of the Day’ was awarded to a very nice, original 1995 Nissan Silvia 85 S12. Classics Museum’s cash prizes were awarded as follows: Runner-up went to a 1957 Hudson Hornet, third for the day went to a…

In a recent article on an original 1966 GT350, I described the origins of the Shelby Mustang from its raw and powerful origin under Carroll Shelby’s governance through to its development as a significant and more comfortable incarnation which was then sold to Hertz and others in 1968. There were three distinct Mustang periods in the 1960s: the initial model shape from 1964 to 1966; the slightly longer and wider vehicle from 1967 and 1968, which saw the Mustang transition from the Pony car into the full-blown muscle car of 1969; and ’70, which was longer and wider again. It went through one more metamorphosis between 1971 through to 1973: growing again, this time resembling an Aussie Falcon of the same period (XA and XB). In 1974, the second-generation Mustang…

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It is not every day you get to see what is, in my opinion, the best-looking car ever produced in New Zealand. I had visited automotive artist Sam Lyle in Gisborne while the car was being created but, all the same, I was excited by the prospect of seeing the finished version of the car in all its red splendour now in Christchurch. Mechanically and artistically, Sam is a genius. Surprisingly, when it came to choosing a name for the car, it appears that Sam had not kept any of his genius and creativity in reserve. He called it simply the SL — as in Sam Lyle. Allan Scott, the owner of this example, purchased the car directly from Sam when it was new. This SL is rarer than a…

Peeling through the back catalogue of Mercedes-Benz will unearth some of the greatest cars ever built, but the W123 stands out in the minds of many as one of the very best. “The W123 in its various forms was built from 1975 to 1986 and was the last designed Mercedes with minimal computer intervention,” says Mercedes-Benz Club New Zealand magazine, Benzscene, editor Chris Dale. The biggest drawcard of the W123 is its mechanical simplicity and robustness while still sporting all the luxury and prestige the Silver Arrow is renowned for. “Its longevity and reliability are unsurpassed. You see superlatives such as 'best Benz ever' and so on when people are writing about it,” he says. As a result, whether it was the regular sedan, station wagon, or the coupe, at…

Pitted, scratched, or cracked windscreens are unsightly and dangerous. The glare off the pits can make it hard to see when driving into the sun, and scratches made by worn-out wiper blades can be distracting and ugly. Also, obviously, a cracked windscreen is dangerous because it could shatter and cause injury. Luckily, installing a new windscreen is easy on earlier classics, and requires only hand tools and a couple of hours of effort. In fact, the hardest part may be to push in the decorative brightwork moulding embedded in many windscreen gaskets. Restorer Bruce Haye at Ace Panel & Paint in Whitianga and I did the windscreen in my 1970 Beetle, and here is what we learned: you start by ordering the necessary glass and rubber gasket. Tell the supplier…

Entries hadn’t closed as we went to press but the number of entries in the VCC Time Trial category had exceeded those in the main Targa rally for the new two-day event scheduled to take place in the Nelson–Marlborough region in October. At that time there were 32 in the tour category, 34 in the main Targa, and 35 in the VCC time trial category, which is aimed at classic cars — plus a dozen in the Mainland rally series, with that number expected to grow. “We had 40 at one point,” says VCC event steward, Rod Corbett. Various ailments to drivers or cars had caused some to postpone, including one car that had received a heavy shunt in the rear right after emerging from an extensive renovation. Rod had…

Jeff Wong lives in Taihape, where there are many more gumboots than classic cars. On a recent drive through the town I met Jeff, who assures me his classic car hobby is very much alive and well in the central North Island. He has a few classic cars in his collection, but this car is one of his favourites, and he drives it just about every day. Jeff has owned his Alfa Romeo Spider since 2001. He found it when it was being sold by auction in Christchurch. What caught his interest with this particular car was that it was right-hand drive. His Series 3 Spider was built in 1983 and sold to its first owner in the US. It found its way to New Zealand during the ’90s and…

It was not until 2019 that I would see my first Excalibur in the flesh. A four-door example was on display inside the airport terminal in Nelson. Naturally, I stopped to have a look. In the late ’70s the Excalibur was known as ‘the car of the stars’, appearing regularly in TV shows such as Dallas and Hart to Hart. The car, harking back to the Gatsby era of excess, provided a perfectly suitable setting for chest medallions, lambchop sideboards and flared jeans. At various times, this ‘neoclassic’ car was favoured by celebrities such as Dean Martin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steve McQueen and Burt Lancaster. The comedian Phyliss Diller owned at least three of them, no doubt recognising a soulmate in a car with a similarly outsize personality. The day after…

It’s an interesting phenomenon, the ute. Its purpose and practicality on the farm is unquestionable, especially in drier places like the North American midwest, Australia, and Africa. By ute I mean the half-car, half-truck we know best from where the term originated, in Australia. In North America, of course, they are pick-up trucks, and they are big enough to use that name, and in South Africa they are backies. At one stage they had fallen so far out of favour that Holden dropped them from their line-up. Now the modern equivalents dominate new ‘car’ sales for other manufacturers. They have become a lifestyle choice. The name ute has transferred to the modern version, the light trucks, some of which are four-wheel drive, that can tow around 3500kg but which don’t…

Lieutenant Home Ronald Archibald Kidston had more than the Royal Navy on his mind when he left Britain on MV Rangitane in September 1933 bound for New Zealand. Joining the crew of HMS Diomede at Devonport Naval Base in Auckland for an extended stay, Kidston’s baggage raised a few eyebrows as it included a rare Mercedes S-type W06 tourer, a de Havilland DH.60 Gipsy Moth racing biplane, a Vosper Jolly speed boat, and a racing keeler. Clearly Kidston was going to be busy when not on duty aboard the naval ship. Home, or ‘HK’ as he was often known, added a dash of international flavour when he arrived with his exotic German machine on the Muriwai Beach sands in March 1934 for the annual championship organised by the Muriwai Motor…

One of the things I’ve been doing of late is sorting out some stuff – including old car mags and the like – in our storage unit. Some low life broke into it recently, hastening our resolve to get rid of it finally – the storage unit not the low life, but chance would be a fine thing. In the process, I got to re-read some old car magazines from way back, including some New Zealand Classic Car issues from the late 1990s. Crikey, I’d forgotten that I’ve been writing for this mag since 1995! The classic car ads were quite interesting, especially the prices being asked back then. That raised the question: had one bought one of the cars listed, how much would it be worth today? For instance,…

LIGHT IT UP The Type S range of lighting kits are LED light strips that will change the look and feel of your interior. They’re 12V, easy to install, and cut to length. But the best thing is they’re app-controlled, meaning you have full control over the LEDs from your mobile phone — they can even sync with your music. There are two kits on offer in the Type S range: 24-inches and 48-inches. If you’ve got the rest of your restoration colour scheme sorted on your build, a lighting kit can subtly — or dramatically — give the interior a matching wow factor. Available from automotive stores throughout New Zealand. For more information see typesauto.co.nz. TYRE CLEAN AND SHINE Clean and shine your tyres in one convenient step. Meguiar’s…

A 1956 Ferrari 250 GT TdF Berlinetta by Zagato was awarded Best of Show at this year’s Salon Privé Concours d’Elégance. The 250 GT TdF emerged victorious from a keenly contested group of class winners covering 12 decades of motoring decided in late August on the South Lawn at Blenheim Palace, a Unesco World Heritage site and the ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill. Owned by David and Ginny Sydorick, the 250 GT TdF is one of just five Ferrari 250 GT long-wheelbase chassis cars designed by Zagato. Chassis 0515GT was originally built for one of Ferrari’s best customers, Vladimiro Galluzzi. Galluzzi raced the car extensively during the 1956 season, before selling it to racing driver Luigi Taramazzo. It was retired from racing at the end of 1958. The V12-powered…

The rare 1957 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark II originally owned by Ernest Vogtherr of Napier attracted the lion’s share of attention at the Webb’s auction in August and, unsurprisingly, attracted the top-selling bid of $418,000. The 3-litre twin overhead cam Aston was sold new by Manthel Motors in Lower Hutt for £2900. The car has had several owners and underwent a two-year restoration by Derek Atkinson in Auckland, completed in 2012. With Webb’s commission, the DB2/4 cost the latest owner $428,100 — a price that seems fair value given international estimates. Pre-auction expectations by Webb’s indicated a price range between $375K and $400K. Around 1100 DB2s were made between 1950 and 1957 and Hagerty brokers indicate a DB2/4 in concours condition is currently valued worldwide at US$348K or NZ$560K. The…

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…

ON SALE 17 OCT Pebble Beach Without a doubt, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is the crème de la crème of classic car events. The size, number of amazing cars, and the number of visitors is almost overwhelming. Next month we feature a sample of our correspondent’s favourites among the winners of the 28 classes, and a host of special awards (numbering 26), judged by the 180-strong jury of the 71st edition of what is perhaps the most pre-eminent and certainly best known of all concours events. Almost twins Next month we take a look at two iconic Porsche 968s based in Wellington and owned by local enthusiasts. For the four years of production from 1992 to 1995, less than 13,000 968s were produced. Unfortunately, the early 1990s recession also…