Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i NZ Hot Rod

OFTEN thought, but not often asked, is the question, “How did you get into hot rodding”? For some, especially those with the Gold Card, it is a thought-provoking question requiring deep thinking before an answer is forthcoming. When I asked Bert Van Wijk, he was quick to answer. When he was a young up-and-coming scholar at St. Johns College, Hamilton, in the ‘60s, the trigger was when he got hold of some hot rod magazines that some of his schoolmates had bought along, and he was “hooked for life”. Another who would follow a similar path was Gary “Grease” Martin. When I talked to him four years ago, he told me that across the road from his parent's home in Hamilton were these young guys who would come roaring down…

RON Cave's ‘57 ‘vette belongs to the first-generation Corvettes, also known as the C1 and the “solidaxle” generation. Production ran from 1953 through 1962 after GM's head of styling, Harley Earl, an avid sports car fan, convinced GM that they needed to build an all-American two-seat sports car. The Corvette was rushed into production in ‘53, but sales fell far short of expectations, and reviews were mixed. The whole Corvette program was nearly cancelled, but Chevrolet decided to make necessary improvements. By 1957, the body was visually unchanged. The smallblock V8 was increased to 283ci, and the magic “One horsepower per cubic inch” milestone was reached. GM claimed it was one of the first mass-produced engines to do so. That was thanks to Zora Arkus Duntov, who had much input…

CHRIS Makin cut his hot rod teeth on his first car, a Holden Sandman Panel van. He swapped in a 283 Chev and Celica 5-speed manual trans and enjoyed driving it. Being a Chevy man, he went on to own an HQ flat deck and swapped in a 350 Chev and auto. That was before Speedway and the dirt racing bug bit. Chris raced a TQ at Meanee in Napier for ten years, always running in the top three in the class thanks to a 750cc Suzuki GSX with Venilia pistons and carbs converted to run methanol. The ‘56 Bel Air pictured was bought by Chris four years ago, and it has a long history. It was originally assembled here in NZ and sold new in RHD configuration. By November…

AT age ten, Rob Walker learned to drive in his dad's Vineyard Green 1938 Ford Barrelnose pickup. You see, Dad was a blacksmith and farrier, and his Barrelnose pickup carried an anvil and associated tools for shoeing horses. He'd jump in the pickup, drive up the coast, and be gone for a week shoeing horsed before returning home. Rob's always wanted one the same but began his car ownership at age 15 with a 1937 Austin 7. A Morris Series E was bought for $100, which he still owns, and it's close to being fully restored. Chrysler Valiants and many other cars followed, but the desire for a pickup was always in the back of his mind. Then, one day 20 years ago, Rob's son Sam was working on a…

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THE second annual Hot Rods on the Tarmac at the Lyon Air Museum was again organised by Bobby Green of Old Crow Speed Shop. The neat museum in Santa Ana is the perfect backdrop for traditional hot rods, customs and race cars. This year's event was in conjunction with the Lions Automobilia Museum and Nitro Revival. Last year's theme was belly tanks; this year, it was vintage dragsters. Sadly, though, it seems this event may be the last one. As you can see from Squeak's photos, everything was mostly proper.…

LONGTIME hot rodder Adrian Gilbert has a penchant for the mechanical workings of the internal combustion engine. His fascination has led to his creating cutaway versions of a few engines that were surplus to requirements. What the cutaways do is remove the mysteries of the engines normally hidden under the hood. We say top marks for reigniting a lost art and a job well done.…

BUICK is a surname variant of the English family surname Bewick. The Buick automotive brand we know is named after the Scottish-American inventor David Dunbar Buick, who, in 1902, registered the patent for an automotive overhead valve engine. By 1908, under the control of William Durant, Buick became the top-selling automotive brand in the US. In 1908, Buick, along with the McLaughlin car company of Canada, became the foundation stones of General Motors, thanks to Mr. Durant. Despite Buick's important place in automotive history, David Buick never really amassed a fortune from the Buick brand that still bears his name today. He had sold his shares at a modest price before GM became a car-making behemoth. Some 115 years later, Buick cars have become the custom car owners’ car of…

ONE hundred and sixty entries challenged the Xmas Tree and were watched by 4500 spectators on a day of sunshine and happiness. The annual milestone event once again proved that grassroots racing in the street and muscle genres is tops. The day ran smoothly and was a massive success thanks to the American Muscle Car Club's team and Meremere's staff. The day was only marred by the crash of Mike Carlton's 1973 Stingray. Mike's okay and is now out collecting parts for a rebuild. See you next year on the best day for dads.…

BACK in his youth (he's now 50), Jeremy Berg used to cruise the city streets in a variety of Falcons and Zephyrs, including a 351 Windsorpowered Mk 4 Zephyr, an XA Falcon done up to look like a GT. But he always loved hot rods. He's a talented car painter by trade and has even painted several cars featured in this magazine. Then, one day in 2013, Al Ross of Rod Benders took Jeremy for a spin in his blown, big block, 10-second T-bucket, and that was it. Jeremy was hooked, and he had to have one. He finally bought one in 2015 from the Rolleston area, south of Christchurch. It's registered and certified as a 2010 LVVTA T-bucket, and Jeremy thinks it was built somewhere in the North Island…

Hot Rod Beer IN conjunction with Panhead Garden City Rod Club displayed about ten cars at the Village Inn at Sumner for their launch of the Uncertain T beer. It was very sunny, with great food supplied and live entertainment. It was a great afternoon at the beach in the middle of winter. From Craig Stare. The Doug Smith Coupe EX-PAT Kiwi Starry Malcolm is deep into a recreation of one of NZ's iconic early hot rods, namely the Doug Smith Coupe. Marty Fuentes is doing the bodywork; he also did Wild Honey. It's even being built RHD, looking at the master cylinder location. Doug Smith's radically modified ‘36 Ford coupe was a show winner at Autorama and was on the scene for a short time before being restored to…

THE 2023 Rock ‘n Wheels event really went off, with over 700 cars on display at Amberley Domain on Father's Day (Sept 3), along with food and coffee stalls, live music, and plenty to look at and enjoy. Rock’ n Wheels is a charitable trust supporting the local community, and this year's beneficiaries were Amberley School, Broomfield School, Leithfield Boxing Club and Amberley Squash Club, with big thanks going to the local Fire Brigade for marshalling traffic in the Domain. Rock’ n Wheels spokeswoman Katrina Platt can't believe how the show has grown. Her late husband, hot rodder Les Platt, kickstarted the event over a decade ago to raise funds for the local Girl Guides. One hundred ten cars showed up at the first event. The general public picked their…

DESPITE horrendous wet weather, the recent Zone 2 Memorial Run went well in the West Auckland region. Hosted by Mid West Street Rods, Harbour City Rod Club and Oogah Rodders, each club shared the load of organising the day. The date coincided with Mid West's monthly rodders breakfasts at Mitre 10 Westgate, which was the starting point. Interestingly, the Vintage Car Club also chose that as their starting point for their nationwide annual Daffodil Day Run, so there was an excellent mix of vintage vehicles braving the elements. For the rodders, Oogah Rodders organised the mystery run, which concluded at the Swanson RSA for the formalities hosted by Harbour City Rod Club. The Swanson RSA was also the conclusion of the Vintage Car run too! The roll of past Zone…

THE saying goes that when you are brought up with cars, you will always end up being involved with them in some way or another. This can be said for Lloyd Darrah from Egmont Rod and Custom Club in Stratford Taranaki. He was totally influenced by his late dad, Eric, an old-school panel beater and mechanic, so he became involved from an early age. Although Lloyd didn't take on an automotive trade, he became an electrician, but having a dad like he did, he taught him a lot from his trade over the years. Lloyd bought his first car while still in high school. It was a Morris Minor 1000, which he transplanted all the running gear from an ‘80s Corolla into. Like most of us, we started with something…

The Rodfather passes From Greg Stokes Andy Brizio 1932-2023 THE unquestioned king of Northern California hot rodding, Andy Brizio, passed away on Tuesday, August 1. He was 91. Andy's passion for family, friends and fast cars made him a magnetic figure in the hot rod world. From flag starter at Half Moon Bay Drag Strip to hot rod builder, promoter, and T-shirt magnate, Andy touched every aspect of the hot rod culture in his nine decades on earth. Andy's ethos was always, “Ya gotta drive ‘em.” He was strictly opposed to putting a hot rod on a trailer. He regularly drove his myriad pre-war roadsters across America. Just months after he won America's Most Beautiful Roadster in 1970 with a ‘23 Ford T roadster, he and his friend Cub Barnett…

Deluxe Jag ALTHOUGH Justin Orpwood is only in his 30s, he was building hot rods before he started shaving. His Dad is hot rodder Harry Orpwood, who has not only been a major influence on his own sons but also many other rodders. In 2022, Justin and his partner Tanya opened for business as Deluxe Speed & Custom, taking on fabrication, rust repairs, engine transplants, scratch builds, LVVTA repairs, you name it. In next to no time, their purpose-built workshop, located 20 minutes out of Christchurch, was full of customer projects. To keep up with it all, Hayden Rigg joined the team and, like Justin, has all-round metalwork skills and a PhD in good taste, all of which create a team whose work is judged by their reputation rather than…