Innehållsförteckning för February 2024 från NZ Hot Rod

THIS was the first year the Tauranga Toy Run was organised by Bay Rodders. The short Rod Run started at Sulphur Point and ended at Fraser Cove. A record number of toys and cash were donated, making it a huge success.…

AFTER a one-year hiatus, the Normandy Beach Race was back on Riva Bella Beach for the fourth time. Vintage motorcycles, hot rods, belly tanks and home-built racers came from all over Europe to have fun on the beach! The event organisers, JeanMarc Lazzari, Mac Félix and Thomas Hervé worked hard with the city's support and the mayor, Mr Romain Bayle, to keep the event in Ouistreham. The Normandy Beach Race is open to cars produced before 1949 and motorcycles made before 1947. Vehicles can be hopped up, but certain rules must be observed, such as the engines must be flatheads. The aim is for cars, bikes and drivers to be “period correct” in their preparation and appearance. All the participants, as well as the many visitors, play the game, so…

THE Road Knights have been running the Taupiri Swapmeet for around 25 years, and their 2023 event was the most successful yet. It followed three years of failures due to COVID-19 and appalling weather. The switch to a new venue on the local rugby club grounds has added capacity and even a sealed carpark for visiting hot rods, muscle cars and classics. Approximately 120 vendors bought plots, which saw the club donate half the proceeds to the rugby club. It's a win/win and an event to be added to your hot rod calendar.…

THE 23rd of November was a public holiday for Cantabrians (A&P Show), giving locals a three-day weekend, enough for Kiwi Goodguys to host their 29th annual campout at Woodend Beach, a great spot for Friday's 50-strong car show. Other highlights were a costume party, music by 12-Guage, a surprise visit from Noise Control (which coincided with the appearance of 12-Guage), plus plenty of family fun with piston tossing, rocker cover racing, Hotwheels racing, and Guess Your Car Height. The infamous Merv McBride even won the special Senior Gold Card Piston Toss. Awards Rodders Choice, Ross & Judith Edgar, ‘58 Ford Mainline Kids Choice, Tania Seddon, 1970 Ford Cortina Camp Manager's Choice, Danny & Lavina Bisschop, '48 Ford pickup Sponsors Choice, Nigel & Meryl McDougal, ‘58 Chevy Wendy Morris Memorial Woman's Piston…

February > 1,2,3 & 4. The NZ T-Bucket Nationals in Hastings. Contact ntbanationals2024@gmail.com or T Bucket Enthusiasts NZ on Facebook. > 4 Waipu Car & Bike Show presented by BBS Timbers in association with the Waipu Lions at the Caledonian Park, Waipu from 10am 'til 2pm. Cars, bikes, stalls, food and entertainment. > 4 JAZZ & MORE ON A SUMMERS DAY. Join us on the afternoon of Sunday 4th February after the Waipu Car and Bike show, from 3-7.30pm. Enjoy the sound of Jazz in the idyllic setting overlooking Bream Bay. ‘Standard Deviations' & ‘New Orleans Joy Makers-Dixie jazz' will get you swingers up on your feet. ‘ALBI and THE WOLVES' - back by popular demand- will see the evening in! Set in a natural amphitheatre in a rural setting…

FOR those readers who have never witnessed the landscape of Southern Arizona and northern Mexico, imagine barren vistas of desert soils, colourless vegetation and rocks where their size is sometimes so immense and strange you wonder whether you're on another planet. This was the home to the feared Apache, a red Indian tribe described as true desperados who gave no quarter in their quest for a unique lifestyle. They were savage and ruthless but also extremely loyal to their own kind. Perhaps the most famous Apache was Geronimo, who was about 57 years old when he finally surrendered to begin a 23-year exile in far-away Florida and Oklahoma. He may have been contained but never tamed. Way down here in New Zealand's Rotorua, Colin Prouse is no stranger to the…

WE all had something that made an impression on us back in our school days, and that was nothing different for Nelson Eves. He spotted a feature in a Hot Rod Magazine when he was at school, and it was of an F100 pickup. That was all it took to sow the seed, as they say. After leaving school, Nelson worked for Performance Imports in Cambridge at some stage, and of course, hot rods and race cars of all sorts were coming and going. That's because the owner, Graeme Williams, was importing all sorts of motors and performance parts from the United States. Around the mid-‘80s, Nelson came across a Ford Popular for sale in Te Kuiti, which was a mint car, so mint that he actually drove it back…

NORTH Shore R&CC celebrated their 60th Anniversary with an event and, in doing so, cemented their place as the third oldest hot rod club in NZ. The celebration was held in their clubrooms on Auckland's North Shore and attracted 200-odd people. It featured a hot rod display cackles from the Green Meanie and Baloo, all supported by a food truck and a cash bar. The food truck idea was a hit because it freed up all club members from onerous chores, and it must have been a hit because the last to leave departed at three in the morning. Mike Philps and Alan Smail were awarded life membership, and deservedly so. Congratulations to all present and past members for creating a legacy of legends.…

ACCORDING to Barry Livermore, the longest-serving foundation member, Southern Street Rodders was officially formed in April 1972, and he has been there ever since. Barry and Jim Webber even attended the 1973 Street Rod Nationals in Taupo in 1973. The main influx of members came from Pegasus Bay Hot Rod Club when it changed to become a drag racing club only. There were many well-known names like Rob Kennard, Les Hunter, Colin Grey and Paul Griffiths, and many had to bring along their wives or girlfriends to join up to get enough members to get affiliated. The earliest meetings were held at Rob Kennard's house; after that, they moved to Colin Grey's abode. The club was well known for their inter-club Xmas Kid's Picnic starring “Tiny” as Santa. Steve Taylor…

I WOULDN'T have thought I would ever say that there is currently a better event than the California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso. Without a doubt, the CHRR has been on the decline for the last few years, while the Nitro Revival at Irwindale has soared in popularity. Sixty nitro cars were listed on the website before the event, and it was announced on the day that 83 had turned up. You are literally surrounded in drag racing history with both the cars and drag racing “royalty”. The Cal-Rods Car Club were 2023 Honourees, formed at Baldwin Park High School in 1954 and still exists today. There is also the hot rod hangout, which is essentially a show for all the hot rods driven to the event. Autograph signing is…

HAVING had a passion for hot rods as a kid and working around and on other people's cars for many years, Gary Jowsey decided it was about time to build a hot rod for himself. This was about nine years or so ago. He had been doing bits and pieces on cars, mainly around Warren Fullerton's “Flamin Body Shop” in Hamilton. A plan was made to get going on a 1938 Chevrolet pickup of which he found half of a cab. This was all he needed to get the project underway, even though it would have been a bit daunting for most people. With a plan in mind, Gary found a Mitsubishi L200 frame to make things easier when it came to cert time, and he started by fitting the…

➤ Changing of the Guard at LVVTA AFTER 21 years as Chief Executive Officer of the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association (LVVTA), Tony Johnson is passing the torch to LVVTA's current Operations Manager, Ken McAdam. Ken will become only the fourth Chief Executive Officer in LVVTA's 31-year history after first joining the incorporated society in 2015 as a Training Officer and then taking on the role of Operations Manager in 2018. Ken's involvement in the organisation goes back much further than that, however, having represented the NZ Four Wheel Drive Association on the LVVTA Council for over 20 years and more recently serving as an elected LVVTA Board Member. When the Ministry of Transport was preparing to introduce new vehicle standards regulations in the late 1980s, (then) 28-year-old Tony Johnson,…

NEW Plymouth's oldest Hot Rod Club, Scenic City R&CC, hosted the 15th Annual Coastal Hot Rod Weekend on 24th - 26th November, with the venue being Opunake Beach, the most western part of New Zealand. Opunake town is 53 km south of New Plymouth. Depending on which way you are driving, the drive south or north is along the well-known Surf Highway 45. The weather, which was as windy as windy gets, blew a gale over the entire lower North Island, and it did cause alterations to the weekend's plans. Registration was at the Opunake Surf Club, and most of the weekend was spent inside the Club House, sheltering from the strong winds, for food and the Saturday night MASH party. Most entrants had booked to stay in the cabins,…

IF I were to consider the fact that the SOCAL Open House is held on the Friday of the LA Roadster Show with a large captive audience already in Pomona then the Rocket Open Day as a standalone event is a way bigger deal. With almost every space to park a vehicle in Grasslands Place, Hamilton taken, and in many cases two cars deep, the 2023 event was probably the biggest yet. The highlight would have undoubtedly been Greg Haliday's world-class Rocket-built Willys Coupe. Surprisingly, some people there didn't even know the car existed and were probably even more surprised that it was built in the workshop it was parked in front of. You can't blame them for thinking like that because it is a world-class build. Some of us…

THE seed for Dave Tuke's '59 Fury was sown when, in August 2017, he and I visited the Blackhawk Museum in ritzy Danville, California. Within the museum's eclectic mix of one-off factory prototypes, muscle cars, exotics, and an American Wild West diorama was a stunning '59 Plymouth Sport Fury Hardtop Coupe. Sitting on polished concrete floors under spotlighting and against a black backdrop, it brought the full glory of its exterior styling into focus. A peek through the open window at the restored stock but glamourous interior only served to accelerate Dave's instant attraction. I guess you could say it was one of those ‘gotcha' moments. It was also a turning point in my own attitude as a longtime pre-49 hot rodder because the Fury changed my perspective of what…

ALTHOUGH the Fleetline Aerosedan was the most produced Chevrolet model in 1948 (211,861 units), they were uncommon in New Zealand. But a few have been imported over the years, including the one you see here, which arrived in Auckland from the USA in 2002. It was fitted with the usual 350/TH350 and was put up for sale soon after arrival. A young guy from Street Machines (Southland) in Invercargill named Adrian McGillan loved the look of the Fleetline Aerosedan and bought it sight unseen. As Adrian was to discover upon delivery, some of the engineering performed Stateside just wouldn't cut it here, so the whole car was torn apart. It wasn't all bad; the 350 Chevy engine had been freshly rebuilt, and the interior done in two-tone tweed was so…

WE decided to add another dimension to our event this year with a Friday meet and greet. We welcomed many out-oftowners who had travelled for the weekend, and there was a great response, with 80 cars parked up and enjoying the evening. Saturday's mystery cruise saw around 75 cars depart the Cambridge raceway and head for our first stop at Straggler members Darren and Lisa Fairey. Their most impressive garage and lineup of cars gave everyone plenty to look at and talk about. The cruise then headed back out along the country roads to Body Mods, where we viewed the workshop jampacked with projects. To end the afternoon, the last port of call was the Bootleg Brewery in Matangi, where people enjoyed a beverage or two, and once again, there…

COMBINING the Kevin McInroe Challenge (which hasn't been challenged since 2016) with a points round, Pegasus Bay Drag Racing Club put on a smooth running event, with 62 entrants doing a combined 432 runs, starting at 10 am and finishing over five hours later. Many were amazed that it's been 26 years since Kev's passing at Ruapuna Drags in December 1997. A great guy. Many thanks to Laura Greenland of PBDRC for supplying results. RESULTS Kevin McInroe Challenge Colin Lambert, ‘34 coupe, 14.470 @ 90.69 r/u Alan Tomlinson, T-bucket, 12.944 @ 110.25 Junior Dragster Rory Sheard-Thompson, Dragster, 8.969 @ 72.02 Super Street Wayne Lawton, 2001 Commodore, 12.549 @ 111.06 r/u Dave Christian, ‘02 Commodore Ute, 12.146 @ 102.35 Super Sedan Adam Thompson, ‘62 Anglia Van, 9.941 @ 138.38 r/u Frank…