Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2026 i NZ Hot Rod

Around the Corner I SPEND a fair bit of time contemplating an editorial at this time of year, and, like you, I can’t accurately predict what the new year and beyond will bring. We live in hope that it’ll continue our passion for fun with cars and many shenaniganlaced memories. But you never know, so to get some clarity on my thinking, I opted to try my luck with artificial intelligence. And here’s the unadulterated output. “Hope for the new year centres on fresh starts, personal growth, stronger connections, and optimism for a better future, focusing on joy, health, prosperity, and fulfilling dreams while letting go of past burdens, often finding spiritual grounding in faith and guidance for the journey ahead. It’s about believing in possibilities, overcoming challenges with resilience,…

SANDY Douglas has owned her 1934 Buick Sedan for over 20 years. In that time, the car has seen many changes and steady improvements. Sandy purchased the Buick in Wellington back in the late 1990s, and it has been part of her family ever since. In the early 2000s, the car received a fresh coat of paint and an engine rebuild courtesy of Marsh Motorsport. Over the years, it has attended various hot rod runs, and Sandy has even enjoyed taking it down the strip at NAPA Auto Parts Dragway, Meremere, on the odd occasion. A Family Deeply Rooted in Drag Racing Sandy has been a volunteer at the NAPA Auto Parts Dragway for over 20 years. She began by helping in the Junior Dragster class when both of her…

AMERICAN Autoparts shop in Christchurch has changed hands and its physical address, after fifty years in business. Started by Clive Hyde in the mid-’70s in Wordsworth Street, before moving to 388 Lincoln Road. Clive sold the business in 1981 to Neil and Judy McLeod, who employed Craig Stare as Shop Manager. Judy made an impact on the local Drag Racing scene with a streetlegal 11-second Escort van. The business was sold to Eddie Fairbairn late in ‘85. Eddie’s hot rod history goes back to the early ‘60s with a channelled ‘32 roadster, and has since partaken in every facet of rodding, from shows to drags. Eddie is in the 200-mph club, achieved in his Arias-powered rail. Paul French has been Eddie’s right-hand man since 1988. After forty years as proprietor…

GARY Tayler has always had an interest in hot rodding, and although never owning one, he decided upon retirement to buy his first hot rod - a ‘30 Model A Roadster. It was a traditional-styled rod with flathead V8 power and done in highboy style. But fate dealt a cruel hand when severe Tropical Cyclone Gabriel hit NZ in February ‘23. Gary’s home in Hawkes Bay was flooded with water reaching a depth of 1.3m through the house and garage. His hot rod roadster was completely submerged and, once the waters had receded, it had 400mm of silt in it. After repair quotes exceeded the agreed insured value, it was written off. They say every dark cloud has a silver lining, and that’s the case here because Gary’s wife Karen…

HELD on Saturday, 15 November, the 3rd Annual Spring into Feilding Hot Rod & Classic Car Show drew in 180 entrants. Open to all hot rods, classics, muscle, vintage and vehicles of interest. Entrants paid a $10 entry fee; the public had free entry. The event is NZHRA-sanctioned and is fast becoming popular, drawing entrants from as far away as Wellington, Wanganui, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, and Taupo. Hosted by the Feilding Rod & Classic Club, this year’s event was held in Manchester Square in Feilding. A central hub for the town, hosting various events like the weekly Feilding Farmers Market and the annual ANZAC Day commemorations. Prominent landmarks include the Feilding Soldiers Memorial and the Clock Tower. The clock has four faces, so the time is correct eight times in…

THE Stragglers Charity Car Show was part of a three-day weekend again this year. Friday 21st November kicked the weekend off early evening with a casual park up and display in Cambridge at the town’s Village Green. On Saturday, 22nd November, the host club held a “mystery cruise” that left at 1 pm from the Vintage Car Club’s clubroom. The weather was bright sunshine, and the summer of hot rod events was underway. That evening was “social night”. This year it was special as Stragglers turned 21, naturally it was a night of laughter, music, food, drinks and stories, part true, partly expanded to incriminate more members with more truths & lies added. Sunday 23rd November, everyone, entrants and public alike, found their way to the Charity Custom & Classic…

WOW! What a welcome surprise to the November hot rodding calendar. A big new event launched in Upper Hutt on the last weekend of November called the “Capital Cruise”. This was a very bold move, considering the past year we have all endured. This, I feel, could have been a partial reason for lower event entries, and of course, a lot play that game of “let’s wait and see what happens with the first one!’. The event was organised by Paul Boden, Jenny Gower and a very competent and helpful committee of ten. Officially entered cars numbered a touch under 150 vehicles. All the participants who gave the event a chance had an absolute “blast’ of a time. The ones who were apprehensive missed out big time from start to…

A LONG-TIME love affair with the ’55 Chevy has led East Coast Rodders’ Steve and Steph Batey to this sleeper. It may appear a bit battered and worn (hey! I can talk), but under the surface it’s all modern hot rod. Beginning in 2012 with a good, solid rust-free ’55 210 sixcylinder sedan from California, Steve ordered a bunch of parts from CPP (Classic Performance Parts), such as a front-end kit which included big disc brakes, 2-inch dropped spindles, a sway bar, and an LS1 conversion kit. That’s right. Under that patina’d engine hood is a 2007 5.7 litre LS1 V8 engine, with a heavyduty 4L65E auto trans. A new radiator keeps things cool, while it’s fed by a 1969 Galaxie fuel tank, narrowed to fit between the frame rails,…

IF there’s an item that needs to be on every rodder’s bucket list, it’s the Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska. It’s earned a great reputation among car and speedway enthusiasts for its huge, wideranging collection, which includes everything from vintage speed parts and racing cars to pedal cars and automotive art. It’s praised for its emphasis on the human stories behind the objects and is seen as a must-visit for anyone interested in hot rods, racing, or the history of American speed. Here are a few shots from a recent visit by John & Flick Reid.…

RECENTLY, I went to a Ruapuna drag meet where this amazing front-engined dragster was competing. It is owned by Wayne Hullen, and we ran a full feature on the car in our August 2020 issue. Wayne was originally from Timaru, but when the feature was shot and published, he was living in Gisborne. These days, he is a resident of Oamaru. The chrome moly frame was built by Terry Bowden. The cool bit is the injected alloy 482 cube, side-oiler FE Ford engine. Testing runs on the day provided an 8.4 pass at 159 mph. The best time to date is 8.15 seconds, with plenty to come. Love those old dinosaurs!…

NINETY-SIX competitors checked in for the season opener’s test ‘n tune and Comp 1 meeting at NAPA Auto Parts Dragway, Meremere. Late-spring rain kept everyone on their toes, but overall it was a great meeting and an excellent way to kick off the new season. RESULTS…

January 26 > 3-4 Bob Wilton Memorial Drags featuring Dragstalgia, Gasser Showdown and Wild Bunch Wars at Masterton Motorplex. > 3 Bob’s Burnout on Saturday night at Masterton Motorplex. > 4 One Day Rod Run hosted by Golden Bay Rodders - 62 College Street, Motueka. Contact Ken Read ph 027 2206187 > 10 NSDW 4 at NAPA Auto Parts Dragway. > 10 Drag racing at Motueka. Southern Nationals. > 10-11 Wings & Wheels at Whangarei Airport Grounds, Onerahi from 10am. > 11 Coffee & Catchup at Retro America’s Horsepower Headquarters, SH1 Sanson from 7.30am. > 11 All American Car Day hosted by Scenic City at the New Plymouth Raceway carpark from 10am ‘til 2pm. > 11 One-Day Run hosted by Rod Benders at Ashley Gorge Holiday Park, 697 Ashley Gorge…

Headlights HERE’S a very different approach regarding headlights. These are 1976 Chevy Monte Carlo headlights, fitted to a ’50 Chevy custom. Like them or not, remember that, rather than criticise, it’s their dream, their money, and their effort. From Bruce Taylor. Drag Racing Royalty all at Sea CALIFORNIA drag race, and Nitro Revival icon Steve Gibbs flew into Auckland straight off the Nitro Revival and headed to sea along with Al Smail and Pete Lodge as guests aboard Gath Hogan’s boat “Scorpion”. As you can imagine, there was much chatting about Fuel Altereds as they cruised the waters of Auckland Harbour. L-R – Pete Lodge, Steve Gibbs and Al Smail. Photo by Andrea Hogan. Calling all '35-'36 Ford owners FOLLOWING the success of the 90th anniversary events, Lloyd ‘Magoo’ Wilson…

THE weekly Garage gatherings are fairly sedate affairs these days. When they began in 1990, they were quite raucous, with lashings of excess moderation. 2025 was The Garage’s 35th birthday. That’s every Thursday for 35 years. A great effort by hosts Grazee and Heather Collins. Canterbury Show Weekend gives locals the Friday off, so an organising committee provided plenty for Garage regulars and out-of-towners to do. No entry fee, but entry forms are just to give an idea of attending numbers. It kicked off around 2 pm Thursday for the usual Garage get-together, including rodders from Canberra, Whakatane, Oamaru, Dunedin and Invercargill. 85 ‘entrants’ showed up. Stragglers finally left The Garage at 2 am Friday. Then it was back at 11 am, a few bloodshot eyes with skin the sheen…

BACK in 1992, the California Hot Rod Reunion was born to bring old drag racers and hot rodders together to celebrate the cars and the people who made history. Over the years, Famoso Dragstrip became the place to be in October with a nostalgia drag race, Cacklefest, car show, and Swapmeet - not to mention all the big-time names in racing and rodding hanging out. A few years ago, NHRA came down heavy on the legalities of firing up old race cars in the pits and the Cacklefest itself. The Nitro Revival originated under the influence of Steve Gibbs and his daughter, Cindy. With the closure of Irwindale Raceway last year, the future of Nitro Revival was uncertain, but something good was brewing behind the scenes. This year marked the…

THE Inaugural Capital Cruise was held from 27th to 30th November 2025 in Upper Hutt, Wellington, and as part of the event, there was a Capital Cruise Queen competition, with contestants from all over the country taking part. Nine contestants made it through to the finals, and they were: Miss Tenacious Vixen, Miss Polly Rose, Miss Millie Lou, Voilet Reign, Miss Tinkerbelle, Miss Sandy Dee, Miss Sweet Jean, Miss Rebel Rose and Miss Debby Kelly, however, as they say, there can be only one winner, so congratulations to the very first Retro America Capital Cruise Queen, Miss Polly Rose. Hailing from Hamilton, our Queen is quirky, colourful, and currently rocking a crown of fiery orange hair! Polly is a passionate makeup artist who loves sharing her flair for makeup and…

AS a young fella, having a father who was an old-school panel beater and mechanic, it was inevitable that Lloyd Darrah would end up interested in cars. Even though Lloyd didn’t follow the panel-beating side of things, he chose to be an electrician. That didn’t mean he didn’t have any interest in cars because over the years, his dad taught him many of the skills required to build and restore vehicles along the way. Lloyd bought his first car while in high school, as many of us did and also, they were Morrie Minors and the like. He also did the sort of things that were happening around the time, like fitting all the running gear from an ‘80s Corolla. Around this time, he joined the now-defunct South Taranaki Rod…

ONE hundred and thirty competitors checked in to race at the Comp 2 meeting, held in perfect weather. The highlight of the meeting was the win in Top Comp class by Larissa Came driving Nic Bogaart’s Altered in full competition for the first time ever. She has never driven a Comp car, having made only a couple of passes in her 12-second Turbo Falcon. Another top-class meeting, thanks to sponsors, racers, fans, and the track crew. RESULTS…