Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2025 i NZ Hot Rod

FROM a young age, Tony Barrow has always been into cars. He’s followed in his father’s footsteps, who was well known in circuit car racing. Tony has since raced everything from Rally to Targa to Touring cars and Speedway. In his twenties, he also got the taste of hot rodding. He purchased a ’23 Ford T-bucket, which ran a 327 Chev V8, and after a few years of driving it around his hometown of Johnsonville, he bought the ex-Curly West ’32 Ford 5 W Coupe, one of NZ’s iconic hot rods. Then Tony moved to Waikanae for the next 30 years. The T-bucket got sold in December 1989, and in 1992, Tony attended the Street Rod Nationals in Paihia in his Deuce Coupe. After owning it for a few more…

TROUBLE Bound HRC turned on another fantastic ‘Side Show’ event. It was a sunny afternoon in Glen Eden with pre ‘72 American and Australian rods, cars and bikes out in force. The event was their largest yet, with a record 250-plus vehicles in attendance. With live bands featuring friends, family, and club members, great food, and Troublebound BBQ, it was an epic afternoon with a great vibe. It’s heartening to see the younger rodders networking, attending each other’s events, and ensuring the longevity of hot rodding with support coming from all over the country, including the South Island and Whakatane. This was a charity event with the proceeds going to West Auckland Hospice to support the great work they do for the community. The team from Hospice also raised funds…

THE Triple Crown event celebrates hot rods, customs, classics & muscle cars through ’72 and American-made trucks through ’98 at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. It’s quickly become the go-to event, drawing the very best of the best. There’s so much greatness for the simple recipe of hot rod legends, celebrity picks and jaw-dropping builds. It’s definitely an event to add to your bucket list!…

LAST year, due to bad weather, Wools of New Zealand stepped up and gave the organisers the use of their great building. This year, they did the same, and the weather followed suit; it rained a lot of the time. Even more room was graciously provided. I have concentrated on choosing photos of new or unseen cars to make things more interesting. Top car of the show was Grant Findlay’s Buick custom. The show, held on the first weekend of October in Invercargill, is certainly a showcase for street machines. Well done to Doug Arthur and all the club members who make this show possible.…

CHROME Showcase featured an Elite 50 hall where automotive, lifestyle, and entertainment collide. Promotional collateral stated - creating an unparalleled event NZ hasn’t seen in years. From all accounts, it lived up to its reputation and more. Not since the Speedshow and intertwined Grand National Rod & Custom Show has Auckland witnessed an event of this size and calibre. Next year’s date has been set already - 3-4 October 2026.…

ROGER Whelan, at the age of 16 in 1984, started his panel beating apprenticeship with a panel beater in Manaia, South Taranaki. After serving a five-year apprenticeship in 1989, he decided to go dairy farming as a share milker and continued for 22 years. For the past 14 years, Roger and his wife, Sharon, have owned a dry stock farm in Hurleyville, South Taranaki. Roger has always kept his interest in panel work, and his workshop is decked out with all the necessary tools to work on his hot rod projects and for a few close friends. All his workmanship is high quality, and that “bog stuff” is poison to this tradesman. Looking ahead, Roger plans to use his background in old-school panel fabrication to help other like-minded people with…

A Sweet Taste of Mopar DAVE BEST’S 1948 CHRYSLER NEW YORKER HIGHLANDER The Whale NIC WOOD’S 1951 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN Road Hog MARK STOKES 1930 FORD MODEL A SEDAN Couparison COMPARING ICONIC COUPES No.4 Rides Again FROM STOCK CAR TO STREET BEAST Amethyst Twist TERRY AND DELIA MOULDEN’S 1934 CHEVROLET MASTER 5-WINDOW COUPE. Spirit of New Zealand 2025 “A SALT” TEAM. DAVE & PAM ALEXANDER’S LAKESTER Rosalie GRANT MCLELLAN’S 1940 FORD DELUXE COUPE Sport Coupe Cruiser GREG HALIDAY’S 1957 CHEVROLET SPORT COUPE Bootlegger PETER BREDENBECK’S 1936 FORD 5-WINDOW COUPE Maladjusted MAL & JILL HURRELL’S ’36 FORD 3-WINDOW COUPE Road Tripper DON & SHIRLEY ROSS’ 1937 CHEVROLET MASTER SEDAN Turncoat DON HOFF’S 1948 CHEVROLET 3100 PICKUP FROM ROD BENDERS, CHRISTCHURCH Bad to the Bone GARY KITE’S 1934 FORD PICKUP Something from Nothing Don…

EVEN when Taylor Peterson was a young lad, about 10 years old, he was pulling stuff apart, “inventing” and creating contraptions. First off, Taylor modified a “pushbike”, powering it with a chainsaw motor crudely attached to the front wheel. Luckily for him, it was impossible to ride, avoiding serious injury. Next on the list was installing a 110cc (rev to infinity) motorcycle engine into one of those pintsized “pocket rocket” motorbikes. Silly but brave! At age 12, Taylor’s dad bought home a Mk2 Ford Escort that he had swapped for a box of beer. This became Taylor’s first car. He fixed it up a bit and resold it for $800. Barely 14 years old, he purchased a 105E Ford Anglia and worked his way up to a Mk2 Ford Capri.…

Brian Yates WE were saddened by the news of the passing of Kiwi hot rod and racing pioneer Brian Yates. Both ex-pat Kiwi racers Jim Richards and Mike Ryan served their apprenticeships with Brian at Speedway Auto Services in Manurewa. Brian built beautiful race cars, was very innovative and creative, and was very successful with his TQ Midget at Western Springs Speedway. Brian’s racing career began in 1957 with the construction of a TQ midget powered by a JAP engine, which was both fast and successful, winning feature races at the Springs in 1961. Then, around 1964-65, he stepped up into the midget class. He bought the ex-Ron Hogan midget and repowered it with a ’61 Daimler Dart V8 and numbered it #20. The engine was purchased from racer Allan…

A FEW months back, we reported that one of our drag racing pioneers, Pete Lodge, was heading to the Isle of Man to enter his 1962 Norton ES2 in the prestigious, extremely competitive Classic TT races. This class caters for pre-1972 bikes up to 500cc, so you are up against early ‘70s Japanese two-strokes and Ducatis. Competitors in this class came from ten different countries. The rider was Irishman Mike Browne, and the result was a victory and a lap record for a Classic Single 500cc. What makes this even more impressive in the classic bike fraternity is that the engine is a pushrod 500cc, and the bike has a front drum brake. A true “David versus Goliath” story. A win is a win, but it doesn’t get much closer…

WHEN a small group of Taranaki hot rodders got together at a friend’s flat, they got around to venting their views on the direction hot rodding was heading and the direction also of NZHRA. The general feeling was that a lot of it was centred around drag racing and Provincial Hot Rod Shows, and not enough nationally held Rod Runs. What emerged from that gathering was a desire to understand how others felt, and within weeks, a more formal meeting was held. In 1975, the formation took place, and the NSRA was born. From there, the NSRA held regular rod runs nationally. Each area had its own charter group, which had delegates who reported to the NSRA Committee based in New Plymouth. This format has been maintained for the past…

RECENTLY, we featured a shop tour of Classic Workshop in Christchurch (NZHRM Oct ‘25). We stated that a follow-up article was “in the wind”, and here it is. The business owners, Kevin Giles-Pain and Michael Prentice, have not only been best friends forever and business partners but have also amassed a great collection of amazing cars. Their very first purchase is an immaculate, original 1961 Corvette, which was once owned by Larry from Classic Cover well over 25 years ago. The next in long ownership is a Ferrari 412 GT. The rarest in the collection is a fully restored 1964 Iso Rivolta IR 340- total Elegance. From here, American car culture created a major interest and now forms the majority of the amazing collection. Enjoy the following pictures of some…

RUEBAN has had a 30-year-old “dream car” wish, inspired by the 1982 Australian movie, Running on Empty. One of the featured cars in the movie was a ’57 Chevrolet 2-door Post 210, blown. The movie epitomises what it was like to be a revhead in the ‘80s - fast cars, hot girls and exciting times. During this era, Rueban was into all these things like us all; he was right into fast cars of the drag racing type. He started with the oldest Topolino drag race car in New Zealand at the time. SONIC was originally known as ZIGZAG, and Rueban’s fastest time over the quarter was 9.0 seconds. Then he moved into a front-engine dragster, SINISTER, that was originally known as ANGRY AZZ. Along with his son Jack, who…