Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2025 i NZ Hot Rod

THE English version of the USA 1934 Ford Model 40s is a ‘shrunken’ version of its very popular American big brother. Built in the Ford Dagenham Factory in East London, England, the design of the Ford Y was actually done by Ford designers based in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. It was advertised as a compact version of the American equivalent. Pre-World War II production spanned from 1932 to August 1937, during which almost 200,000 models Y & C were assembled. These models were available in three variants: Saloon, Pickup, and Van. The Model Y took the British market by storm and made a major dent in the sales figures of Austin, Morris, Singer, and Hillman. How many are left? Figures on a UK register list only 1,250 as now known to…

STEVE “Woolgar” Bevington is one colourful character who hails from the Paeroa district. And he also has a colourful past (not naughty) as a restorer of British Triumph motorcycles on Auckland’s Waiheke Island. It’s there that the late Gary Queenin and I first met Steve when an island group of like-minded hot rodders invited the magazine and a few members of the newly formed American Muscle Car Club over to Waiheke for a weekend of meet, greet and merriment. This enabled an already healthy seed to flourish and become the strong community it is today. A similar seed was planted in Steve at the ripe young age of 12 when he was given his first ever copy of this magazine. He was well and truly hooked and went on to…

IT’S a rare occasion when the Rembrandts and Picassos of hot rodding are together in the same place and on the same day, especially here in NZ. Both hot rods are a visual feast and exude the pure essence of hot rodding, which they’ve held high for over 40 years. That’s why we took the bull by the horns and photographed the iconic pair to preserve them in a poster for posterity and for the garage/shed wall. We were under pressure to capture the moment just a few days before the Cop Shop Coupe headed back to the USA to its new owner. Dave Tuke’s ’34 3-window Coupe was created by Bill Vinther in California back in the mid ‘80s when he did much of the work himself at home,…

IN true Fifeshire fashion, a great weekend of rodding and socialising took place over King’s Birthday at the Nelson Speedway clubrooms. The weekend kicked off on Friday night with early bird registration. Many memories were relived as participants renewed old friendships and made some new ones, while watching videos of past runs, some dating back 40 years. Others spent hours looking over and trying to identify the 40 mystery car parts on display, to see whose knowledge of all things mechanical was the best. The main activities began on Saturday, after everyone had been well fed, with a cruise around Nelson guided by some easy-to-follow instructions. The final destination was the Classic Car Museum, where everyone enjoyed looking at cars from all eras of our motoring history. That night, back…

THE team at Northern Street Rods aimed to stage a high-quality show without breaking the bank, and they succeeded thanks to some carefully thought-out strategies. There were no sponsors, no prizes, a no-to-low budget advertising campaign aimed at attracting locals from Whangarei and nearby regions, some seed money left over from their last show back in 2012, which meant they could charge a meagre ten-dollar entry. (The same as their 2012 show) By comparison, Sydney’s Hot Rod & Custom Auto Expo, held in May, had an entry fee at the door of $40. The result was a stunning display of 47 hot rods, muscle cars, and street machines, which saw a steady trickle of locals through the door. Club Treasurer Wade Nisbet said. “The feedback was very complimentary with no…

DAVE Warman of the Early Ford V8 Club (Southern Regional Group) is known in these parts as Mr 46, owning the three ’46 Fords and one ‘46 Mercury you see here. He loves the things. He also has a barn full of parts cars, including four ’46 Ford sedans, another Australian coupe ute, and an ex-Army ’42 Ford sedan. Over the years, Dave has also filled his shelves with any New Old Stock parts he could lay his hands on, and his enviable parts room could even double as a Ford museum. His impressive workshop even has ‘FORD’ in huge letters on the roof, which, quite frankly, is almost as impressive as that big sign that overlooks Los Angeles. The walls inside the workshop show many interesting photos of various…

THE 59th running of the LA Roadsters Father’s Day Show was a Friday/Saturday event for the second year. But essentially, it started on Thursday with trade stands and a swap meet set up, and early birds checking out the swap meet bargains. The show is no longer held on Father’s Day, as there were a number of LA Roadster Club members who had never spent a Father’s Day with their family. This was by far not the biggest LA Roadster Show, and I tend to think this has had a lot to do with an element of uncertainty in the US. There were also riots and demonstrations across LA at the same time, which wouldn’t have helped. However, there was an upside, and that was that you got to have…

FOR many years now, John Benfield has been a keen supporter of Muscle Car Madness. He has always attended in his other car, a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, and I have watched it go from a “driver” to a complete frame-up rebuild that really looks the part. That was way back in 2015. Many of his mates in Hurricanes had cool hot rods, and he convinced himself it would be a breeze to knock one up - I mean, to construct a nice hot rod. This was not to be a quick build; it was to take second place to his lovely understanding wife Taryn, and his three great daughters, who at the start of the project would have been 2, 4 and 10 years old. The project kicked off with…

A 55th Anniversary is a somewhat unusual date to celebrate. But due to all the COVID non-activity five years ago, New Plymouth Rodders had no choice but to postpone their Anniversary until June 2025. Eighty-plus current and past members were tracked down and met up for the first time again at Friday night’s “Meet & Greet” function held at the New Plymouth Club, where New Plymouth Rodders is based now. Goody bags were dished out, and a few cocktails and long overdue handshakes enjoyed. On Saturday, everyone met up again at a local slow-cooked BBQ joint, which shares space with a craft brewery. What a great venue with all the ingredients for some great socialising. Music, sunshine, beer and good food. After a couple of hours, run sheets were handed…

ON Sunday 22nd June, Meguiar’s New Zealand HQ came alive with the sound of engines and the unmistakable energy of car enthusiasts united at a special one-off event dubbed “Elite Street” Elite Street was held in honour of visiting guest Michael Stoops, Meguiar’s Senior Global Product & Training Specialist, and it drew 100 incredible vehicles to showcase the depth and diversity of our automotive scene. Despite the winter chill, the sun made an appearance, casting a stunning light over a car park filled with everything from vintage classics to modern performance builds. It was the perfect day to share what makes our car community so unique with a global guest who lives and breathes car care culture. Elite Street wasn’t your typical car show. There were no trophies, no judging…

AFTER owning a Panel Beating Shop in Johnsonville, Wellington, for nearly 39 years, Grant, upon retiring in 2015, is busier now than he ever was when working. His days are spent doing a few things on his 1934 Ford Sedan or his 1932 Ford Roadster, not forgetting he has a couple of other projects in his huge basement shed at his home. Ironically, the one hot rod he’s really fond of is his ’32 Ford Hi Boy Roadster, which is made of fibreglass. As he was a highly regarded spray painter in his working career, it brings a rare glint to his eye when he talks about the ’32 being a ‘glass car. To understand how Grant became the owner of a fibreglass hot rod, we have to go back…

THIS story begins over 10 years ago, when local hot rodder Greg Terry (R.I.P.) started building a ‘32 Ford hi-boy Roadster for fellow Rodbenders club member Wayne Mitchell. Wayne was well known for his chopped, fully fendered 1935 Ford Coupe but had an “itch” for a cool Roadster. All his spare money was used to buy a bunch of hot rod ‘goodies’ for the build. In 2015, a local show (Ultimate Rides, Rolleston) was held to display a bunch of top cars and unveil many new builds. The Roadster was temporarily assembled with some borrowed parts, including a blown small-block Chevrolet. It really looked the part. Eventually, the “mattress was empty”, and Wayne took the car home and put it on hold for a long time. The car was moved…