Indholdsfortegnelse for No 140 January 2017 i NZV8

FROM THE ED. TODD WYLIE Ever looked back and realized that you were having the time of your life, but you just didn’t know it at the time? I may be wrong, but I have a feeling that the local V8 scene is in the midst of one of those moments right now. Several things have led me to draw this conclusion, and, if you think about them all for a moment, you may well agree — regardless of what part of the wider scene spins your wheels the most. Sure, if you’re a big fan of Aussie-produced vehicles, things are a little grim. But, at the same time, the end of production there has seen some amazing vehicles produced in recent years, such as any of the offerings from…

CHECK THEMOTORHOOD.COM FOR REGULAR NEWS UPDATES Chevrolet unveiled the all-new 2017 COPO Camaro at the 2016 SEMA Show. While it looks pretty much exactly how you’d expect, it does come with some cool extras — for the 69 people who actually end up owning one. The base COPO LT model includes a 6.2-litre LT engine, with an aggressive camshaft profile, forged rotating assembly, CNC-ported heads, and rev-friendly Holley Hi-Ram intake manifold, rated at 410hp. If that won’t do it, the COPO 427 includes a cast-iron LSX block with steel main caps, forged rotating assembly, 13:1 compression, CNC-ported LSX-LS7 alloy heads, and a Holley Hi-Ram intake manifold for a rated output of 470hp and engine speeds up to 8000rpm. For the blown brigade, a Whipple supercharged 350ci LSX is also an…

THEMOTORHOOD.COM Dion D’Anvers’ Scrap Palace Morrinsville Burnout Comp is the best burnout competition in the country and one we love checking out every year. We couldn’t fit the event report into this issue, unfortunately, but you can read the full write-up — and view an epic photo gallery — online. Featuring Aussie burnout legend Mick Brasher as a judge and plenty of New Zealand’s finest bogan tyre-destroyers, this event is nearly as fun to read about as it is to attend in person.…

Dear Ed., I pick up a copy from time to time at New World, and last month’s caught my eye. “Meet The Andersons” was a great read. They go back a few years, and I have followed their progress with interest — somewhat like the Millens. I saw the fantastic Monza at [the] CRC Speedshow, and enjoyed your extensive coverage. Did you do the Henry Ford Memorial Day in Hamilton last month? The Aroha Cruise In was an extra good one this year. I rolled in with 16 other Mustangs and a lone Fairlane, which went on to win Best Classic. It’s their 10th next year, and I expect they will do it bigger and better. When I was in hospital undergoing chemo, I read the book Kiwi Mustangs and…

Paeroa’s Mal Pooley has what could probably be termed a long-term obsession with this 1938 Chev coupe, given that he and his twin brother drove it home to Paeroa back in 1972. They were the third owners, and, at that stage, the old Chev was not particularly well travelled, having been sold new in Turua some 15 miles (24km) away and with the second owner living in Kerepehi, only a few miles away from where the Chev now lives with Mal. Over the past four decades, Mal and his brother have done a few upgrades on the coupe with a strong 350, Chuck Mann–built TH400, and trusted Ford nine-inch in the rear. Up front, a UC Torana’s front suspension was grafted in with vented discs, sway bar, and rack-andpinion steering,…

DECEMBER 3 CULTURE — BACKSTREET CAR MEET Taking place from 12pm in the Harcourts car park, 17 Harwood Street, Hamilton, Culture is a laid-back celebration of New Zealand car culture — with a focus on low-riders, kustoms, hot rods, bikes, and pre-’87 Japanese and European cars — dedicated to bringing different car scenes and like-minded people together. There will be a range of prizes — categories to be announced — and the day will end with a casual cruise. Entry will be via gold-coin donation. As there are limited spaces, it will pay to get in early. Any queries can be directed to the Culture — Backstreet Car Meet page on Facebook. DECEMBER 17 SUMMERJAM 2016 Introducing one of the newest automotive festivals on the calendar! SummerJam 2016 will take…

FEATURE CAR On March 1, 1972, an almost brand-new 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 was legally allowed onto New Zealand roads. It didn’t take long for Colin Reed to take note of the car, and in 1978 he purchased it. A Mustang man through and through, Colin’s had Mustangs since he was 16, and you don’t want to know how long ago that was! His love for Ford’s pony car is still as strong as it was then, when he enjoyed his role as president of the Auckland Mustang Owners Club. However, Colin didn’t know just how big a role that Mustang would play in the life of his son, Nathan, who wasn’t even born at the time. The years following Colin’s purchase of the Mustang, nicknamed ‘Big Blue’, saw…

INTERVIEW NIGEL ALSOP NZV8: For those who don’t know you, who is Nigel Alsop? Nigel Alsop: I’m a car enthusiast who got the drag racing bug almost 20 years ago, and, when I’m not racing or thinking about how to make the car go faster, I’m into design — website design, graphic design, posters, stickers, T-shirts, logos; anything automotive and racing related, really. Without meaning to sound rude, you’ve got a medical condition that sees you in a wheelchair, so cars would seem to be an interesting choice? Yeah, it’s spinal muscular atrophy. Don’t ask me all the details about what it means; that’s all over my head. I just do what I can do, and find another way to do what I can’t! However, I’ve always been into cars…

dragged up DRAG RACING NEWS EMAIL YOUR INFO TO EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ The South Island’s quickest street car, Brendon Shearing’s ‘WILDHQ’ Monaro, turned up at Mike Pero Motorsport Park recently packing a serious surprise. Gone was the supercharged combo that had pushed the car to a best of 8.76 at 158.00mph and, in its place, was a new twin-turbo set-up. The new engine is a 509ci Donovan-blocked Chev fitted with a dry sump, individual cylinder ignition, and twin throttle bodies, all controlled by a MoTeC M880 ECU. Packaging the set-up into the confines of the engine bay, while keeping it all as low as possible, was no small task — especially with the need to add the largest intercooler possible. That said, the entire transformation was taken care of by Brendon and…

It’s been nearly a decade since we saw the funny car of Brendan Seyb on the track, but it’s soon set to make a welcome return to tracks around the country. Last time the car was campaigned, it had a nitrous big block Chev, with which it ran a best of a seven-second pass back in 2007. Since then, the car’s undergone a major transformation, with the aim being to tackle the rigours of Top Alcohol. As such, the nitrous combo has gone and a John Neilan–sourced 540-cube Miner Bros Racing (MBR) Hemi been dropped in its place. Brendan’s spent the last sixodd years piecing the combo together, and it now includes a Waterman Lil Bertha fuel pump and Enderle injector along with the PSI supercharger. The goal for now…

FEATURE CAR “It kind of all started by accident,” states Ian ‘Skinny’ Gearachawski of his in-your-face creation. “I was looking for parts on good old Trade Me and came across an ad for a Pontiac convertible. In the background of the pictures was a sports coupe. I already had a sports coupe, which was why I was looking for parts, so I just queried the guy if it was for sale. I got a super-quick reply of yes, followed by ‘a grand and she’s yours’. So, within 12 hours, I’m on a road trip to Bluff. The car looked like a Bluff oyster, too!” he laughs. Regular readers, or regular attendees of Rangiora’s Muscle Car Madness, may be well aware of Skinny and his ability to build cars — an…

SPECIAL FEATURE PREPARING FOR CERT Finished building that cool street car that you’ve spent countless hours on over the past few years? Then it’s time to get it all legal — but, before you do that, you might want to give it a preliminary once-over to make sure you don’t waste your, or your certifier’s, time unnecessarily. What do we mean by that? You need to just check that you’ve actually done things properly to make sure your car isn’t going to get pulled up on issues that you could have sorted before that elusive LVVTA certification check — after all, sometimes jobs done at 2am don’t actually turn out as great as they seem to at the time. So you won’t have to find out the hard way, we…

EVENT REPORT ENZED CMC ROUND ONE Enzed Central Muscle Cars (CMC) was blessed and honoured to be invited to race at the opening of the new, extended track at Hampton Downs, the invitation to race coming from Tony Quinn himself. All 31 cars entered looked amazing; many of them had recently freshly returned from Bathurst. Friday saw two practice sessions followed by qualifying, with most drivers coming back in after the first practice session saying how technical the new section of the track was. There’s even a corner that they call the ‘Double Bastard’, and it sounds like it’s been named with good reason, as it looked to put quite a few to the test. Mark Holland suffered engine damage in the practice sessions and was unable to get back…

It was a weekend of firsts and returns when the 2016–’17 Enzed Central Muscle Cars season kicked off at the Hampton Downs 101 in late October. The series saw the addition of new drivers Ian Easton (above) and Lance Midgley as well as the return of others not seen for some time. Among those returning to the field after a break were Andrew Sinclair, Bruce Ekdahl, Gary McKelvie, and Tony Boyden. McKelvie’s Monaro’s received an Octane Automotive three-link over the time away, which he couldn’t have been more positive about, stating that it’s made the car far more controllable. Boyden had a rough start to the season when his steering rack broke at Hampton Downs, causing him to collide with Bruce Kett. The team from Moselle Panel and Paint stepped…

Invercargill’s Liam MacDonald took out the first round from Steve Taylor and Brad Lathrope in Class Two of the BNT NZ Touring Cars championship at Pukekohe. Lathrope also had a strong weekend, but a broken axle in race two hit his points tally dramatically. After problems with a front sway bar on Friday, MacDonald recovered to qualify third fastest later in the day in his GT Radial New Zealand Ford Falcon, despite battling oversteer in the car. It was later found that the sway bar was actually cracked, so that was repaired for the first race of the round on Saturday. MacDonald was involved in an incident with another car early in race one and dropped to the back of the field as he redressed the situation. From that point…

Chevrolet’s 2017 Camaro ZL1 was looking to be one hell of a car on paper; now, it’s got the numbers to back it up, with a supercharged 6.2-litre LT4 V8 good for 650hp at 650lb·ft. Chevrolet released straight-line performance figures of 0–60mph in 3.5 seconds and a quartermile of 11.4 seconds at 127mph — seriously impressive for something straight off the production line. Carrying GM’s MRC magnetorheological dampers, Brembo brakes, electronic diff, and Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tyres, the ZL1 can also handle. With a Nürburgring lap time of 7min 29.6s for a ZL1 equipped with the all-new 10-speed automatic transmission, it’s a seriously quick vehicle. Pricing is from US$62,135 for a coupe, but that coin comes with performance that could put to shame vehicles costing many times more.…

LETTERS HAVE YOUR SAY — WRITE TO US TORQUEBACKZNZV8, MAGAZINE, PO BOX 46,020, HERNE BAY, AUCKLAND 1147; EMAIL TORQUEBACK@V8.CO.NZ Come on, guys; Ian Neary’s GTX isn’t a muscle car — it’s a street machine. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a great car, but a muscle car it’s not. How about you find the best real muscle car, LS6 Chevelle, Hemi Cuda, Superbird, etc.? Earl The devil is in the detail. On our cover, for simplicity’s sake, it stated “NZ’s Best Ever Muscle Car”, which is a correct statement, being that it’s the best muscle car ever built in New Zealand — the apostrophe signifying that it’s New Zealand’s, or belongs to New Zealand. In the article itself, where we have more room to go into detail, we spell it out…

LOCAL GOSSIP EMAIL YOUR NEWS TO: EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ Thanks to the partnership between the Beach Hop team and Ford New Zealand, the Repco Beach Hop 17 giveaway car has been announced — a brand-new, limited-edition 2017 Ford Mustang GT. Working with Ford New Zealand, the Beach Hop team have cooked up 20 individually numbered Beach Hop Limited Edition Mustang GTs that will be specifically modified by CTB Performance in Auckland. No. 1 will be this beautiful ruby-red version, which will be up for grabs as a prize at Repco Beach Hop 17. The remaining 19 highly collectible cars will be for sale through Ford dealers across New Zealand, so you could still nab one, even if the Beach Hop gods don’t rule in your favour! The Beach Hop Limited Edition V8 GT…

Invercargill’s Andrew Johnston has a seriously cool motorcycle hauler in the build, with the aim of it being completed early next year. After spotting a cool airbagged Ford cab-over-engine (COE) online, Andrew flew to America to check it out, only to find that it wasn’t as great as it looked. That set the ball rolling, and, after plenty of research and a few more drives, he decided a Chev would be a better option, due to its wider interior dimensions. The donor cab was purchased in Denver, and a Japaneseimport Chev Suburban purchased locally, from which Andrew is using the chassis, thanks to its perfect dimensions. Although that donor vehicle had a TPI motor fitted, the plan is to swap to an LS1, which will be midmounted below the cab.…

The NZDRA national drag racing series is fast approaching, with round one of the six -round series set to kick off on December 3. That first round is the Super Street Nationals, to be held at Amisfield Raceway, Tokoroa. It is a double– entry points round — although open only to Super Street, Modified Bike, and Junior Dragsters. Round two will see Masterton Motorplex come alive to a full field of classes on December 10 and 11 for the Central Nationals, followed by the Pirtek NZ Summer Nationals at Taupo on December 27. From here the series will shift south to The Rock FM Dragway, Motueka, for the Southern Nationals on February 4. The series will stay south for round five, which will also take place in Motueka, on March…

“My first car was a VN Group A Commodore,” Braden says, and, remarkably, he still owns it. The reality is that it’s probably still in his ownership due to it being fairly well cut up and not much use to anyone else, rather than his emotional attachment to it. Wanting to build it into a Summernats-style show-level car, Braden cut the floor out and started the construction of a complete custom chassis for the car before other priorities took over. Ever since, it’s sat in the shed waiting for its time to shine. When that happens, here’s what his plans for it are. “I’d get the chassis work finished off, built around a pair of 22x13-inch Simmons rear wheels, and sitting on its arse thanks to adjustable coilovers and a…

EVENT REPORT ENZED CMC ROUND TWO The Pukekohe supercar round has been one in which Enzed Central Muscle Cars (CMC) has competed for a number of years and is one that most drivers look forward to attending. It always attracts a big crowd, and something about the atmosphere makes it a bit special. Friday morning was the practice session for CMC, with all 25 competitors heading out to tweak or check anything and everything to make sure these finely tuned machines provided maximum performance for the weekend. Every car had slicks on but, as they sat in the dummy grid area, a passing shower dumped its load on the track — for those who don’t know, slicks and wet weather don’t mix. The cars gingerly worked their way onto the…

The opening round of the 2016–’17 Enzed Central Muscle Cars series saw another Midgley family member enter the fray. Auckland-bred and Sydney-based Lance Midgley, cousin of CMC young gun John Midgley, hit the track in an XD Falcon, which his father Graham raced some 25 years ago. The car, built by Ken Hopper, runs a 720hp 358ci Windsor backed by a Tex Racing 101A gearbox and nine-inch diff. Prior to its race life, Lance learnt to drive in it, giving it great sentimental value for him. Having previously only raced Rotax karts, and having never been around Hampton Downs, joining CMC was a huge jump into the deep end for Lance, but one that he made successfully, landing in the middle of the pack upon debut. At the track, Duane…

Paul Manuell got his Porter Group V8 Ute title defence off to the best possible start at the opening round of the series, with two race wins and a V8 Ute lap record at the ITM Auckland SuperSprint Supercars event at Pukekohe Park, but the round win was not without its challenges. It was a total new look for the series, which new title sponsor the Porter Group announced just a few days before the engines were fired up for the first laps of the season. It didn’t take long for the action to begin. A crash on Friday left Manuell on the back foot. However, he responded perfectly with a lap record and a win in race one, despite an iffy front end that left him with far too…

ISSUE NO. 20, JANUARY 2007 BUY THIS ISSUE ONLINE AT MAGSTORE.NZ Looking at Al Reay’s Torana hatch even now, 10 years after it graced our cover, you would be forgiven for thinking that it’s a new build. The truth is that the car looked as it does now for a solid seven years before we pointed our camera at it. The car screams pro-street — and not just with its looks; with a blown 355ci small block Chev under the hood, it’s got more than enough grunt to fry those big Hoosier tyres. When asked what changes he’s made to the car since our photoshoot, Al laughs that the only things he’s done are changed the battery, changed the carb, and added a rear seat for his kids. Apart from…

Hey guys, [I’ve] been reading your magazine for the last seven years. Fantastic magazine, but one thing I haven’t seen yet in it is a Rambler. This is my airbagged New Zealand–new 1969 Rambler Rebel 770, running a 454ci big block Chev. Keegan Ward Hi Keegan, Looks tough! You’re right, we haven’t featured a Rambler yet, although we have been keeping an eye on Justin Morgan’s Rambler Ambassador wagon, aka ‘MORG’, for quite some time — it’ll be pretty wild with the new engine in! Fire through some more photos of yours, and we’ll take a look at it. Cheers, Todd…

The BK Pro Dirt Super Saloon series will break new ground this season when American Late Model racer, Bobby Pierce, guests for three rounds. Pierce, from Oakwood, Illinois, who is aged just 19, will take the seat of Ben Harding’s car in a whistle-stop tour that sees him contest the Waikaraka Park round on November 26, Meeanee on December 2, and the first of the Palmerston North rounds on December 3. “I am super excited about the upcoming visit to New Zealand,” said Pierce. “I’ve been watching some videos on the Super Saloons and the team I will be racing for. It looks extremely different than the Super Late Model I’m accustomed to, but looks like a lot of fun.” BK Pro Dirt Series promoter, Grant Flynn, said that having…

WHAT’S UNDER CONSTRUCTION AROUND THE COUNTRY EMAIL YOUR BUILDS TO EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ Say hello to Terry Pullen-Burry’s project car, which he describes as a “100-percent South Auckland garage-built BMW E46 on a budget”. Terry’s owned the car for five years and has had it under construction for the past year and a half. It started as a simple engine swap, to a small block Chev, before getting a little out of control. “I wanted to go supercharged, and now I’m wanting to tuck 20x14s under the back — where do you stop?” Terry asks. As it sits currently, the BMW is running a 350ci small block Chev with a Weiand Mega Blower and two 600cfm Holley carbs, backed by a shift-kit TH350 with 2800rpm stall converter. With possible plans for more…

Auckland’s Lewis Wolfgramm is entering the modified-V8 world by jumping right into the deep end. While he’s owned this 1969 Dodge Dart for a while, it’s only in the last few years that the build has been properly under way. The plan was to create a tough pro-street look, and it’s one that Lewis has nailed — thanks in part to the massive 33x22.5-15 rear rubber and 8-71 supercharger. Like the rest of the car, the motor that this blower is attached to has been built by Lewis, using a 440 block that now contains Ross pistons, Mopar rods, and a steel crank. To keep driving the car fun, Lewis has opted for the unusual choice of an A833 four-speed manual gearbox. While the list of things to do is…

FEATURE CAR Braden Smith never says no to a challenge — especially not when that challenge involves building an international-level burnout car within three months For every sobriety badge, there is a 40-ounce waiting to be cracked; for every day clean, a substance purveyor is a text away; and for every twist of the key, a tenuous relationship between tyres and tarmac waits to be broken. The common saying advises, ‘Raise your kids with a car addiction so they won’t have money for a drug addiction’ — a philosophy that unerringly applies to Braden Smith’s life. Braden is traction loss personified. He lives and breathes burnouts, having taken part in pretty much every North Island burnout competition worth mentioning and cleaning up at most. If it isn’t burnouts, it’s power…

When we showcased Kerry Stewart’s Chrysler bucket build a few years back, he mentioned that his goal was to run low eight-second passes. That dream is now starting to look as if it has the potential to come true. The car was debuted at the recent IHRA South Island Champs, fresh from LVVTA certification and complete with a VTNZ WOF. Kerry ran six passes at the event, the very first being a 9.2, followed by a few 9.1s and a 9.0, before an 8.95 at 150.57mph. These passes were run with a low 7psi boost in the Greg Hiddlestone–built 540ci big block and on 15-year-old slicks, as the new tyres ordered hadn’t arrived in time. Kerry’s since run it to a best of 8.78 at 150.18mph, making the bucket the…

DREAM SHED ROY MACDONALD We reckon that, for a lot of car guys, this would probably be the ultimate shed. Here are some details. Roy’s giant barn house incorporates both a spacious 300-squaremetre home and an adjoining car shed. The car shed measures 18 metres by 30 metres. By our calculations, that’s 540 square metres! Underfloor heating snakes its way throughout the vast concrete pad, and is powered by a waste-oil burner. This makes the shed area warm and usable all year round, which, when you’re as passionate about cars as Roy is, comes in super handy. We knew Roy owned a few interesting cars, and we’ve known of his love of muscle cars for many years, as he has a long history in motorsport and is well known for…

FEATURE CAR We’ve been trying to wrangle Jeff Emerson into featuring his ’56 Chev truck for quite some time, but he kept putting it off. “To me, it’s an old beater,” he says. “I rag the hell out of it, do burnouts any chance I get — legally, of course — and I never even wash it!” — which is what makes it so cool. The truck is that rarest of rare things — a restored old-school pickup truck that actually gets used for pickup-truck things — and that all comes down to its owner Jeff gets things done. He’s the kind of guy who will get an idea in his head and will stick at it until it’s come to fruition. Eight years ago, he was working on a…

ON TRACK ENZED CENTRAL MUSCLE CARS NEWS It’s been a few seasons since we saw the Sinclair family’s Allan Grice Chickadee replica VK Commodore circulating on the track, but it was back with a bang at round one. Currently being driven by Andrew Sinclair, husband of the vehicle’s owner, Mandy, the car is packing more punch than ever before. The old 308-based engine combo is currently up for sale, as a new 399ci combo has been built and fitted — Bic Anderson at Sonic Race & Machine is looking after both the upgrades and the maintenance of the car. The engine was built by BG Automotive using a Torque-Power Big Paw block filled with a Scat billet crank and fitted with Torque-Power heads and a Holley XP carb. The new…

CIRCUIT TALK Simon Evans and his Smeg Racing Holden claimed the win at the opening round of the BNT NZ Touring Cars at Pukekohe Park. Claiming victory in the opening race on the Saturday, Evans followed that up with two further victories in the races held on Sunday. Tom Alexander, also in a Holden, claimed second for the weekend, with Hamilton’s Lance Hughes in his Holden finishing third. Cambridge driver Nick Ross had a hectic weekend, with two DNFs on Sunday after his Nissan Altima was plagued by mechanical dramas — a disappointment after a strong performance on Saturday, which saw him take second place in race one. For Evans, however, it was three from three, despite his being challenged in the last race by a hard-charging Sam Barry in…

Christchurch’s Jayden Dodge is stepping up to the brutal power and packed grids of Porter Group V8 Ute racing this season, driving the Stadium Finance Ford Falcon. Fresh from winning the 2016 SsangYong ‘Actyon Sport Ute’ Racing Series, 22-year-old Dodge says the move to the V8 category is about “taking your time”. “The speeds are higher, the braking points change, and the competition is still very close, so it’s very busy out there. You have to be more deliberate, and I find myself working with the car more of the time,” he said. Dodge raced his new Ford at the ITM Auckland SuperSprint Supercars event at Pukekohe, and will head out for the second round at the Speedworks Events Motorsport Championship event at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park, Taupo, over the…

WE MEET LUXXIO — A LOCAL SUCCESS STORY Many of us have had dreams of making our own products, or starting our own business, but three young Auckland residents have recently done exactly that, with great success. Kristoffer Kollen, Jack Crichton, and Milutin Ilic, aged just 28, came up with the idea of creating their own car care range around 18 months ago, after discussing the pros and cons of various products they’d used. That idea sparked the creation of Luxxio, a brand aimed at the high end of the market, but without the price tag to match. With Kris having a background in the car grooming industry, Jack in business operations / marketing, and Milutin in building wholesale and distribution relationships, the three brought different skills to the Luxxio…

Born to Run After becoming tired of the concourse-style Mustang show scene, Hamilton’s Tony Palmer set about building a Mustang like no other. With a focus on making the car enjoyable to drive, the ’65 Notchback was one of the first cars in the country to be fitted with RRS suspension. The modernization of the car didn’t end there; it was fitted with an injected five-litre motor under the hood, as well as all the mod cons. With a customized Eleanor kit on its notchback body, the car stood out from the crowd back then, and it still does now. Port Road’s 40th A decade ago, the Port Road Drags celebrated its 40th anniversary. While our coverage of the event was surprisingly brief, it does include a results list that…