Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2023 i NZ Hot Rod

THE 46th annual Street Machines & Customs Tauranga display, in conjunction with the Greerton Mainstreet Blossom Festival, attracted a huge crowd of appreciative people who were treated to a free car show and live entertainment. Toss a variety of street performers into the equation, and you have a brilliant day out. It's election year, and a couple of political parties were out giving punters a ‘soft sell’, which was much like pushing the proverbial uphill, as the people were primarily there to see the cars. Same goes for those who were attempting to “save us “. From what… we were surrounded by cool cars and a carnival atmosphere. If you own a hot rod or street machine and are looking for a Spring getaway next year, keep an eye out…

TORNADOS decided that the club run a low-key rod run for their 55th anniversary and that they should do half the original rod run they ran in 1971. The plan: it cost nothing to come along, and you did not have to enter formally; just turn up, and you could take in all the run, or parts of the run, or whatever you wanted. That recipe saw about 50 cars participate. The run left the clubrooms in Timaru, then headed south to Waimate, Kurow and then to a lunch stop at the Otematata Hotel, where the brilliant staff cooked and served 135 meals in 90 minutes. Next on the itinerary was a drive over the Benmore Dam, where the run stopped for photos, like the first run in 1971. Next,…

MOST people know how much work goes into running any sort of event in New Zealand and also the fact that you cannot run them without good sponsorship. Custom Street Rides from Inglewood put their hands up to be the major sponsors for the National show, which was the second attempt to run it after having to cancel the last one due to the dreaded C word, on the weekend of 30th September and 1st October. Other companies also put their hand up to support the show, and Egmont Rod and Custom Club would like to thank them all for their generosity. Sixty-two vehicles entered the show, and it ended up with a great variety of cars and pickups. Setup day was Friday, the 29th, and this went very smoothly…

Gordon Trotter WHEN Rod Benders held their first meeting at Taf Mathie's place in 1957, the Trotter Brothers, John, Gordon and Owen, were in attendance, with a variety of ‘32 and ‘34 Fords. Another Brother, Arnold, was a bus driver who drove a ‘51 Ford Spinner. Gordon Trotter purchased his ‘32 Roadster in the late fifties, entering the 1960 Labour Day Car Show at Rangiora Showgrounds as part of Rod Benders’ display. The club then went through a quiet period for several years as members got sidetracked by marriage and mortgages. A renewed enthusiasm returned just before Kustom Car Club's 1967 Autorama Show, and a rejuvenated Rod Benders commenced regular club meetings at the Trotter's family business, Plaswire Products. When Drag Racing began at Ruapuna in August 1969, the very…

With over seventy entries in already, if you own a 1933 or 1934 Ford, you won't want to miss out on being a part of the Model 40 Convention to be held March 8-10 next year. Celebrating 90 years of this beautiful model Ford, the event is open to modified and original examples but is limited to 100 entries. Having hosted past Hot Rod Nationals and Deuce Days, the Solway Park at Masterton venue is perfect for this sort of event. Trust House & JRI Insurance have come on board as major sponsors, and registration is open now. For more information, follow the event on the 1933/34 Ford New Zealand Facebook page. Expressions of interest and requests for registration form to magoos@xtra.co.nz…

September's Guest Editorial PAUL, a quick note to give huge kudos to Mark Wilkin for, in my most humble opinion, his bang-on account of pointing out where this CO2 crap is leading us all down the wrong garden path. From all the sincere accounts being published by well-accredited and sincere experts in their field and available to anyone with an internet connection, why are we having to listen to the lies being projected by governments and the United Nations who are saying otherwise? It's time to push back. I believe we, as a human race, although we may have some impact on what is happening with weather events, we have zero ability to make any changes that will ultimately make any difference other than planting more trees. Please forward to…

LONG-TIME Rodder and Life Member of Harbour City Rod Club, Wayne ‘Bish’ Bishop has been a fixture in the New Zealand rodding world for many decades, and the story you are reading is bittersweet. We had made plans to photograph Wayne & Kay's notlong completed ‘28A Ford Closed Cab Pickup, and with life having a habit of throwing curve balls, Wayne moved on to that great cruise in the sky a couple of weeks before these pics were taken. Wayne's wife of 54 years, Kay, told us Bish was really looking forward to the feature, and it seemed only fitting to write some words about the man and the last Ford in his stable. Bish is perhaps best known for his ‘1OWNER’ ‘28A Tourer; this car is steeped in rodding…

SOUTHSIDE Streeters club had its beginnings back in ‘71 with the early crew of Stitch Richardson, Marty and Louie Pooley and, of course, the Messer brothers, Paul and John. There were several associates like Duncan Fox, Paul Chapman, Bob Carlyle and Billy Douche. The club was affiliated to NZHRA in 1973 and now has a strong and active membership. Their 50th Anniversary celebration featured a special night at Ardmore Airport in association with NZ Warbirds and a Show ‘n Shine the following day. Graeme McNeil, Ian Goodwin and Kath Ferguson.…

The Back Story I was 14 when I found my first ‘34 Ford, two of them actually, a coupe and a sedan, under a row of macrocarpas at Murupara. However, my father did not share my great wisdom that one of these would be a wonderful enhancement to our upmarket Rotorua neighbourhood. The love affair and the dream had begun there, but it had lain dormant all these years; now their time had come. The first mistake I made was to watch a three-day-old YouTube clip during lockdown, showing an almost flawless, dusty old ‘34 Ford 5-window coupe buried among many other cars that had all just become available for sale. My unanswered requests to the clip producer inevitably led me to search on Craigslist, and there she was, a…

IN June 2019, the Johnsons decided to tick a few things off their proverbial bucket list. First was the long-awaited trip to America, and they self-drove themselves everywhere. While they were there, the idea was to purchase their next project vehicle, a 1934 Ford pickup. This would then knock two things off that “bucket list”. They checked out a few pickups all over the country, and most were either too expensive, especially the ones at the Pomona swap meet, or they were incomplete or very rusty! With only one week left to go on their vacation, Denis saw one advertised on Craig's List in Culver City, only a few miles from LAX and not that far from Kiwi Shipping. The old guy owner (Ted), well into his seventies, was selling…

Excursions On a Wobbly Rail ONE morning in January 1976, a small bunch of East Coast Rodders, namely Brent Howard, Roy Williams, their respective wives, and me headed to Dunedin for the Southern City Hot Rod Show. Not as participants. Just sightseeing. Brent was driving a ‘63 Fairlane Compact, and Roy was driving a ‘56 Chevy. So, I had a choice of back seats to sprawl over. Literally. Just before we left Christchurch, I'd finished a night shift at the tannery (11 pm ‘til 7 am). So, I sprawled across the rear seat of the ‘63 and slept for most of the journey, listening to jazz pianist Cecil Taylor thru headphones. I woke up as we pulled into a motor camp in Dunedin, rubbing my eyes in disbelief that parked…

The Model T is 100 IN the very early days of Model T Ford assembly in New Zealand, most of the early Model T Fords arrived here in packing cases from Canada, shipped one per box. Often, the boxes would be delivered from the ship on a dray pulled by horses. To assemble them was quite simple and often done on the street. Remove the top and sides of the case; jack up the axles; fit the wheels, windscreen, and hood; pour in some petrol, crank the car into life, and drive away. The used boxes became a sideline industry; many converted to outbuildings and some to holiday houses! Kiwi Model T aficionado Furnie says. “As you can see, this is a 1915 T. It features the first year of…

Early birds were treated to a Thursday run to the famous Rodin Race Cars complex and racetrack facility at Mt. Lyford. Friday was a traditional Poker Run, with the main show being held on Saturday at the racecourse just south of the Kaikoura township. The weather was clear and hot all morning, then became overcast and mild, but no rain for the thousands of visitors to the town. I am guesstimating that there would have been 7-800 cars in attendance, including many from the North Island as far away as Auckland. Several cars were debuted, and Classic Cover had their giveaway 1962 Ford Galaxie convertible on show.…

HARK back to the LA Roadster Show in 2016, where a motley crew of five Kiwis quickly found Squeak's corner. As usual, he had a great setup in the swap meet area, which we used as a base camp, returning for refreshments when the heat got overbearing. We were stooging through the swap meet with Graeme McNeill (hereafter referred to as GM) in the lead spot until he got talking to someone (and that never takes long!). I spied a rare part that I'd been enamoured with for a wee while for sale on a trestle table. It was a genuine S.Co.T blower (with no drive gears unbeknown to me) and an original manifold to boot, all with a significant price tag. I found GM and got him to check…

Wayne Bishop SADLY, another great guy has left us. Wayne Bishop, or “Bish” to his many friends, passed away on Sept 9th, 2023, just a few months short of his 79th birthday. Well known countrywide for his black ‘28 Ford Tourer 1 OWNER, which he's owned for over 40 years and driven to the moon and back. With the help of Alabama, they built a ‘28 Ford Pickup to complement his Tourer. Bish was often seen cruising to local events in it, very distinctive with its MEAN A plate. Bish became interested in hot rodding at an early age and purchased a Model A roadster project, which started his lifelong interest in everything hot rod. Bish was a founder member of Harbour City Rod Club and, being a builder was…

GARY Morton wasn't particularly looking for a ‘41 Chrysler Royal 3-window Business coupe, but scrolling the ‘net back at the tail end of last century, he spotted an ad for one from Wyoming, USA, which claimed it as “the sexiest car”. And that was in unrestored condition. Gary pressed ‘buy now’, and the sexiest car, a ‘41 Chrysler coupe, was on its way to New Zealand. Gary's list of previous includes a ‘55 Holden FJ, a chopped ‘39 Chevy Fordor sedan (both HRM cover cars), a ‘27 T roadster and a ‘26 T coupe. Currently, he owns a blown, big block ‘55 Chevy delivery, which has run 10s in the US. The ‘41 Chrysler came complete with its original L-head, 241 cubic inch, 108 hp, ‘Spitfire’ inline 6-cylinder engine and…