Innehållsförteckning för March 2024 från NZ Hot Rod

FOLLOWING the Taf Mathie/ Gary Arps Model A Roadster featured in the August issue, Taf thought we might be interested in these photos from the late fifties and early sixties. Still sprightly at 82 years young, Taf still attends the occasional Rod Benders club meeting and gets picked up most months for the Kustom Car Club breakfast in Rose and Wayne Carter's ‘57 Chevy.…

HOSTING the event for NZHRA's Area Five for the 33rd time was Taranaki's oldest hot rod club, Scenic City Rod & Custom Club, and they could not have been happier with the sun shining brightly at the TSB Stadium Car Park, New Plymouth. A record number of 140 American-bodied cars ranging from hot rods, customs, vintage cars, and a few motorbikes entered. The entry fee was a Gold coin, and a raffle was also held to raise funds for charity. Mitre 10 donated a wheelbarrow, and club members were expected to bring a food item to fill it. With close to 100 members, the barrow was overflowing, and Dianna Feaver was the lucky winner who won't have to go food shopping for a few weeks. Local food and drinks vendors,…

I often ask hot rodders during a photo shoot, “What got you into hot rodding?” As I take photos, it is a good way to learn more about the owner and what inspired them. In Logan's case, I didn't need to ask him this question as I have known his hot rodder father, Pete, before Logan was in the “making”. It was never going to be a surprise when he was in his early teens to learn he was going to build a hot rod. He would also go on to be involved in builds with his Dad and even play a big part in his daily employment, working on hot rods & customs at the family business - Fitzroy Service Sation in New Plymouth. While at New Plymouth Boys…

BLAIR Cochrane's ’54 International pickup is his first hot rod but not his first modified car. His automotive history began with a humble 1980 Ford Escort 1300cc four-door. Hey, we all have to start somewhere! The next step was actually a big jump into a project car – a ’73 HQ Holden. Blair swapped in a 350ci Chev V8, Turbo 350 auto, a set of mags, a bug catcher through the hood and a bright Sea Rescue Orange paint job. He streeted it before selling it and upgrading to a new level of technology with a VY Holden SS ute, which came with the fuelinjected LS engine and backed by a manual transmission. That was eventually sold while Blair went drift racing for ten years. That diversion saw him campaigning…

MOTHERS New Zealand came up with an idea a few years ago to do a Fundraising event called “SHOT IN THE DARK.” It would be a cruise night like no other, with participants being photographed as they cruised the streets and those photos being judged in a competition to see which was the best “Shot” in the dark. The idea was pitched to Sharon Morris, head organizer of the Rodders Beach Festival, which MOTHERS had supported for many years. And loving the concept Sharon proposed we launch it at the 2023 event. However, disaster struck last year when a torrential downpour cancelled the event and literally poured cold water on the whole project. So it was with great trepidation that we headed into 2024 with fingers crossed, hoping that the…

WARREN has always loved hot rods, as has his whole family. Wife Lorraine has owned a few well-loved classic cars herself. Not having the time and coin until later in life to get a project underway, it was four years ago when this traditional hot rod, a ’34 Ford Pickup, was spotted up for sale. It was to be Lorraine's hot rod, hence the LOZROD number plate after Lorraine (LOZ). But, not to be left out, Warren has a nice 1932 Ford Coupe running a Ford 289 mill. And yes, he has a personalised number plate, too, HOPROD after Warren's (HOP). Also, they own a 1964 XM Falcon Coupe running a Ford 289 mill, and when he is not busy at work as a Fitter & Turner, he spends his…

This year, the Kumeu Classic Car and Hot Rod festival celebrated their 30th Anniversary with organisers Ken, Desma, and daughter Nicole successfully putting another brick in the wall. This year's Indoor Show Shed was sponsored and organised by MOTHERS High Performance Car Care, headed by John Pavlovich, who selected 27 vehicles to showcase 30 years of the event. It was also the inaugural MOTHERS SHINE Award. The criteria for the SHINE award was the car that best reflects perfection in every detail. There were three finalists: the 1957 356 Porsche of Allen Grant, the 1973 RX3 Mazda owned by Phil Brown, and the winner, Keith Hunter's ‘34 Coupe. A major attraction in the show was the return of New Zealand's most famous Show Car, the original Wild Honey, thanks to…

THE annual Toy Run hosted by North Shore R&CC was a success again as hundreds of hot rods, street machines and muscle cars filled Vellenoweth Green, St Helliers Bay, on Auckland's waterfront. The event's enduring recipe is right, with the thought of an after-work cruise around Auckland's scenic waterfront proving to be popular year after year. A few new cars were debuted, and many old friends and acquaintances were renewed with charity getting the benefit.…

The 31st Annual Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show was held on Sunday, December 3rd, 2023, at the Pacifico Yokohama in Japan. Many people came from all corners of the world, which resulted in the highest number of spectators ever. At 8:00 am on opening day, many spectators arrived to witness the RIDE-IN SHOW where entrants rode their motorcycles in. The Mooneyes brand is revered and held in awe by many Japanese people, and the show reflects a depth of admiration for American hot rods and cars, sometimes with a twist of local Japanese culture added. The diversity of types, genres, years, makes and models across cars and motorcycles made for a fascinating show. The same passion for modified cars exists in Japan as it does in other countries, but it's…

SINCE 2009 Rods at Methven has been a biennial happening (alternating with Greymouth Rodders’ event) between Christmas and New Year. The Methven event contains a rod run, grasskhana, driving events, campsite parties, and a big car show within the grounds of the Blue Pub, usually over-spilling with cars. The latest Rods at Methven also had three days of sweltering temperatures. On this day (30 December), 230 cars were displayed, and another 80 were outside the barricades. And as it's the 95th anniversary of the Model A Ford (1928 - 1931), a special line-up had 47 Model A Fords of all models, from show quality to barn finds and everything imaginable in between. At the end of the day, $5,100 was raised, which was donated to the Methven Volunteer Fire Brigade.…

THE scene is set on one of Magoo's USA tour stops at a shop in Escondido. While Lloyd was negotiating to buy a steel ’32 coupe body, Bryan Thomas & Steve Rogan were scavenging through old car trailers at the rear of the property and discovered a derelict dragster. Knowing that Magoo had previously expressed interest in sourcing an old rail to hang on the shop wall, they filled him in on the find. The deal wasn't struck on the coupe, but Magoo walked away with the dragster. Of course, when you're on tour, you don't have a towbar, let alone a trailer, so the enterprising crew stripped the vehicle and strapped the chassis to the roof of the rental van, then drove around California like that for a few…

Attention: This Upcoming Events is a free listing, if you have an event which is not listed, please let us know, or if the details of your listing have changed then email paul@nzhotrodmag.co.nz. March > 1-3 Low-Buck Run hosed by Te Kuiti R&CC at the Waitete Rugby Club. Waitete Road, Te Kuiti. Contact Stephen Saunders ph 021 775921 > 2 Junior Dragster Champs at NAPA Autoparts Dragway, Meremere. Info at www.napaautopartsdragway.co.nz > 3 Comp 4 (Wild Bunch) at NAPA Autoparts Dragway, Meremere. Info at www.napaautopartsdragway.co.nz > 3 Eighth-Mile Drags hosted by Cobra Rodders at Woolwich St Gore from 11am. Scrutineering from 9am. > 8-10 Model 40 National Convention celebrating 90 years of 1933/34 Fords at Solway Park Masterton. Limited to 100 entries. Entries open now and already over 70 cars…

Collector-Quality FOR the first time since issue #1 in January 1948, USA's HOT ROD magazine will be transitioning to premium-quality, quarterly issues starting in the Spring of 2024. Along with this change, the annual subscription price will increase. HOT ROD will now be published quarterly instead of monthly, featuring more indepth stories and high-quality photography. This shift sees the creation of collector-quality magazines with deeper content and superb photography that readers can cherish and worthy of any car guy's coffee table. NZHRM has enquired about the retail price in New Zealand, as yet it is unconfirmed. Baby B Train SYMONS Transport, based in New Plymouth, is the largest privately owned Scania truck fleet in the Southern Hemisphere, and they are renowned for their fleet always being presented in immaculate, show…

THE very first Jalopy Dust Up was 15 years ago, and when scrolling through my photos from that very first event, I noticed some people who were also at the 2024 event. The pit area wasn't as congested back then, and it was probably no problem finding a parking space. Such is the popularity now that we hear of some spectators not even getting into this year's Dust Up as there wasn't even a car park space available on the main road, and the walk up the steep access road didn't seem like a great idea. It was probably a record crowd that witnessed some close racing and a couple of mishaps. Mark Henrikson from Rotorua side-swiped the wall, Jimmy Hanham managed to “dodge a bullet” with an off-track passing…

GRAHAM Wood is no stranger to hot rods and muscle cars, having previously owned a Deuce coupe, ’35 sedan, ’38 Barrelnose Pickup, ’36 Roadster, ’69 Chevelle convertible, ’38 standard Coupe, 55 Chevy Sedan and a ’70 El Camino. His fabrication, mechanical skills, and experience run deep, so it's no surprise he's scratch-built a replica of an early Kiwi hot rod coupe. The ’34 Ford coupes were prime fodder for hot rodding, and many were chopped and channelled with a hotted flathead V8 behind a sectioned Deuce grille. The seeds and motivation for this Coupe were sown way back in time when Graham worked with Phil Gillespie, who owned just such an early hot rod coupe. Graham liked it and had a photo of it on his garage wall. That purple…

NEIL and Dave Roper attended the UK NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals in England and kindly shared their photos and experiences with NZHRM – Ref our Jan 24 issue. After the Supernats, Neil recalls, “When we returned to London, we attended an American car night at the famous Ace Café where we heard of another car show. So we headed off to the Knuckle Busters American Car Show in Suffolk the next day. This was a large three-day show with good trade sites and a very large car boot sale [swap meet/ flee market]. We are grateful for the way the English Hot Rodders treated us like family; special thanks to Alan and Sara Martin from NSRA.”…

ASHBURTON carpenter Kevin Sutton joined his local hot rod club, Americars, back in 1980, and pretty soon, he was cruisin’ in his electric blue ’39 Ford Standard Coupe, complete with lake pipes, padded running boards and Turbostyle aftermarket wheels, all the cool trends from forty years ago. Kevin drove that ’39 for several decades before selling it. It's still around, driven all over NZ by current owner Dave Coker. For Kevin, a ’58 Ford 2-door Fairlane followed, but slowly, over the years, he began accumulating parts for his Model A. Even before he owned one. Little things started happening ’round ten years ago, and more recently, it all fell into place due to Kev's fastidious planning, excellent component choices and no-panic approach. A Model A chassis was boxed and given…

FORTY Wellington competitors travelled north to attend the annual Wellington Invasion Twilight meeting at Meremere. A good-sized crowd attended and was treated to a full day of racing, which culminated in the final race, ending the successful meeting at 11 pm.…