Innehållsförteckning för No 135 August 2016 från NZV8

The subject of dyno tuning is always a controversial one. On one hand you’ve got the technology embracers, who understand that using a specifically calculated tool to measure power can provide the conditions in which you can easily tune for economy and performance, and, on the other — well, some people just don’t get it. “Oh, it’ll break my car”, or “Dynos blow cars up,” they say. Er, sorry, people, no; no, they don’t — well, not on their own, at least. If you’re worried about the strain that a dyno puts on your car, be that the engine, gearbox, diff, or some other mythically damageable part, then I sure hope you never use the car under full load on the street, as I know in which situation I’d rather…

THIS MONTH The Motorhood is the online home of NZV8 and its sister publications NZ Performance Car and New Zealand Classic Car. It’s the hub for all things automotive, from news and reviews to event coverage and more. You can enjoy articles from the magazines on The Motorhood’s home page, themotorhood.com, or, if you want a purely V8-scene experience, just head to our old website address — v8.co.nz — to be redirected straight to NZV8’s part of the new site. SKIDS, SKIDS, SKIDS! Just because the weather’s packing up doesn’t mean that the skids have to stop, as proved at Meeanee Speedway last month. Lack-A-Traction held its Winter Blow Out on June 11, with 43 cars, from as far away as Auckland and Wellington, turning up to fry the hides.…

Back in 1992, Volvo made a big mistake — but it was a mistake that would improve perception of Volvo’s business, as well as change the way people viewed boring old station wagons. The mistake was made by Volvo’s push to increase the popularity of its 850 model by including it in motorsport. However, by the time the bodyshells were ready to be collected to be turned into test mules for the project, only wagon shells were available. Undeterred, the engineers carried on building the mules, and it was only during wind-tunnel testing that it was discovered the wagons had better characteristics than their sedan siblings. Due to the success the Volvo 850 T5R wagons went on to have in the British Touring Car Championship series, they became globally popular.…

EMAIL YOUR INFO TO: EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ NEW FACES FOR OLD CARS It’s the time of year when race cars tend to change hands as drivers make changes for the upcoming season. However, a few cars that haven’t been seen for a while have also recently changed hands. Lower Hutt’s John and Treena Dreliozis, who are no strangers to high-powered cars, have recently secured themselves a 1964 Plymouth that previously ran low-nine-second quarters. The car, which they were put onto through fellow drag racer Doron Anderson, came complete with 557ci Wedge and will see them seriously step up. They’re well aware that running a car at this level will take a bit of getting used to but are looking forward to the challenge and the wheel stands it is set to provide.…

Ray Ferguson is a man who loves his Mopars — not in the fanatical ‘Mopar or no car!’ kind of way, but he loves them enough to consider himself a “bit of a Mopar fan”. So, around three years ago, when he first saw a metallic brown ’73 Plymouth Duster listed on Trade Me, located just up the road in Carterton, it was definitely enough to get him interested. The car looked tidy, so a phone call was made, an agreement was arrived at, and the Duster soon found itself with a new home. Ray was happy with the general condition of the car, and it was driven as a weekend cruiser for around 18 months, including making a trip to Americarna in 2015. However, Ray must already have had…

YOUR THOUGHTS ON LAST MONTH’S BOOZE-CRUISER CONCEPT Lugzie Lee: There was one in Dunedin when I lived down there — an orange one. From memory, may have been an XA John Patrick Ward: I’d cruise it all day — with the lads, of course Fraser McMillan: Soooooo goooood As you will have worked out from the cover of this magazine, Ben Gainfort loves to mix new and old styling tricks to create a vehicle that stands out from the rest. When we asked him what else he’d like to build, he came through with more of the same — a combo that sees old-school styling mixed with some later model componentry, as well as a few age-old techniques to really change the look created. “I’ve always liked the look of…

Different strokes for different folks, as they say. Some like ’em clean and shiny, some like ’em rugged and raw, and others embrace ’em all. You could pigeonhole Tauranga’s Graham Steel in the latter category, if you really wanted to — if you felt pigeonholing someone would achieve anything. This is a man who has built himself a clean old ’67 Camaro, but, as with a lot of people with a tidy cruiser, he began to feel that a cheap beater wouldn’t be a bad addition to the garage — something he could just jump in and drive wherever, regardless of the weather, road surface, or people’s tendency to slather their mitts all over his pride and joy. So, Graham decided to take his love of swap meets and bargain…

WHERE IS IT NOW? 1972 HOLDEN HQ MONARO — AARON JENKINS Well over a decade ago, Waikato-based Aaron Jenkins built himself a brightyellow 1972 Holden HQ Monaro, bearing the plate ‘SYCHO8’. A tunnel-rammed 496ci big block made it a verified 10-second car down the strip — and that was before Aaron had nitrous hooked up. It also had a wellupholstered interior, and, most important, full street legality. Despite all that, Aaron wasn’t afraid to put his foot into it, and destroyed far more than his fair share of tyres while the car was in his ownership. The Monaro ended up being sold to a guy in Auckland named Luke, who eventually put it up for sale on Trade Me around two years ago. The Monaro’s new home turned out to…

How not to die in a fiery crash after slamming your hot rod into a wall during a high-speed burnout session — that’s what that easy-to-read abbreviation stands for. Now, if you’d like to learn what it’s all about, you’ve come to the right place! Not long ago, I read an interesting article on the internet, and I use the word ‘interesting’ for want of a better word. The article was posted anonymously on 9News Australia’s website, and was titled, Car Explodes While Performing Stunt at Sydney Hoon Meet. This was followed by a subheading that read, A Driver Has Walked Away From a Fiery Crash After Slamming His Hot Rod Into a Wall During a High-Speed Burnout Session in Sydney. The “hoon meet” in question was Brasher Nats at…

EMAIL YOUR BUILDS TO: EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ HOME-BUILT BOOST Otago’s Reece Warnock has been keeping busy, with a twin-turbo ’70 Ford Fairmont XW GS on his plate. He’s owned the car for about 18 years, but it was written off around 10 years ago, after strong winds felled a tree on top of it. Now, Reece is reversing his poor fortune with pressurized air, using loads of boost to get the job done. In its current bigger-and-better guise, the XW is running a 351 stroked to 392ci, with the pair of snails drawing charge through a variableventuri Predator carb — in conjunction with a water/methanol injection set-up, Reece plans for “hopefully up to 900hp, when boosted up”. Reece’s brother has been handling the bulk of the mechanical work and has made many…

From being a Kiwi’s classic cruiser in America to an ’80s show rod, and now to a total restoration with a modern twist, this 1957 two-door Bel Air has seen it all. While it has always been ahead of its time, now, thanks to the loving touch of Ben ‘Sherry’ Gainfort, this ’57 is packing all the mod cons and a suspension set-up to match. After importing the Chev in the late 1970s, Ian Hunter set about transforming it into one of the best-finished show vehicles in the country at the time. With items such as Jaguar independent suspension, metal-flake paint, and a 427-cube big block dripping with chrome, the car was then known as ‘Hollywood Nights’ and was quite a talking point. Under Ian’s ownership, the car continued to…

By now, you probably already know that Japan is car obsessed — perhaps more so than anywhere else in the world. Fair enough, too; it was companies such as Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Subaru that helped build the war-ravaged country into the economic powerhouse it has become, so the population’s fascination with all things automobile is entirely understandable. While everyone is well aware of Japan’s ability to build great vehicles and its penchant for modifying those vehicles in every way imaginable — for better and for worse — it’s less well known that the entire country is heaving with car enthusiasts of every persuasion. You can find a community catering for anything at all that you’re into: super cars, vintage English plodders, exotic European classics — there’s even a race…

As we saw two issues ago, Cuba’s rich display of mobile auto relics had to be fully indulged in, as the opportunity to see them might not exist much longer. Our journey moved onwards to Trinidad. For the most part, cars were kept out of the central historic area of this beautifully preserved Spanish colonial town with its narrow cobblestone streets — except for a few strategically placed examples outside trendy locations. In the early part of the day, I visited the main attractions in the historic quarter with my good woman. Later, in the fierce heat of the mid afternoon, when she retired for a siesta, I plunged like a demented tin hunter into the backstreets to experience more retro auto action. This pattern was a winning formula for…

If you’re a regular reader of NZV8 magazine, or a regular attendee at North Island car events, you will probably recognize the names Ryan and Liz Gracie. They’ve built a number of tough cars in which they regularly attend these events. If you don’t know their names, you’ll probably know their cars — most likely the matt black, blown ’69 Camaro in which Liz is frequently seen destroying tyres. The Gracies’ latest project is a Ford Fairmont XA coupe, which has been built as more of a street driver, and the Gracies have decided to liven up the finish by getting the body vinyl wrapped. They’ve given the job to signwriter friend Paul Black. While vinyl wrapping has been around for well over a decade, predominantly in the signwriting industry,…

When it comes to replacing your engine’s spark plugs, it may not always be as simple as flicking through a catalogue and selecting whatever’s listed for your car. If you’ve modified your engine or transplanted a totally different power plant into your car, the catalogue is probably going to be of little use to you — well, that’s not quite true; if you can find your engine listed in there, you can narrow down the type of spark plug to use, as far as elements such as thread, thread depth, and hex size are concerned, but the heat range and gap size will probably not apply. For example, for a Holden HQ with 308 V8 engine, the NGK Spark Plugs website gives a recommended spark plug with the part code…

AV8 Motorsport has firmly cemented itself as the go-to place for wild Chev Monzas, with a third Monza Mirage now under construction for the Enzed Central Muscle Cars (CMC) series. Since we last checked on progress, the second Monza, belonging to AV8’s own Wayne Anderson, has returned from Moselle Panel and Paint — where it received a flawless coat of silver, the same colour as Wayne’s son Tony’s touring car — and assembly is well under way. After being tuned by Edgell Automotive, the 409ci small block Chev engine pumps out some serious numbers and is now running in the car. As we saw with the first Monza — which AV8 constructed for the Knight family — the fabrication work and attention to detail are simply mind-blowing. Even so, there…

West Auckland is well known for its car culture; on Queen’s Birthday weekend, that love of all things car related was proven. Thanks to the Renegade Rod and Custom club, the recently opened NorthWest Shopping Centre was flooded by all sorts of cars for an event aptly named ‘Parked Up Out West’. Mall management was expecting around 60 cars, so, when more than 500 turned up, staff members were clearly blown away, as was the Renegade team. With the event being open to all types of classic and custom cars, the variety on display was huge, with everything from restored Minis through to blown muscle cars and flawlessly finished hot rods. Mall staff members were rushed off their feet trying to keep up with food and beverage orders — although,…

CHECK THEMOTORHOOD.COM FOR REGULAR NEWS UPDATES NÜRBURGRING SOLD A track doesn’t get the nickname ‘Green Hell’ for nothing, and the Nürburgring’s bumpy history seems to have manifested itself in the track’s financial affairs of late. With the worldfamous track seemingly becoming more and more financially troubled and amid various rumours of potential buyers, it’s transpired that a Russian billionaire by the name of Viktor Kharitonin recently beat out Düsseldorfbased Capricorn Development to take ownership. Reports indicate that Kharitonin has acquired a 99 per cent stake of Nürburgring’s stock, with the remaining one per cent left to a company by the name of ‘Getspeed’. The Nürburgring’s financial issues caused it to miss out on hosting Formula 1 in 2015 — a special concern for the communities around the track complex, which…

EMAIL YOUR NEWS TO: EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ Tony Quinn has wasted no time in making good on his intention to transform Hampton Downs Motorsport Park into a worldclass facility. He purchased the venue just over a year ago, and it’s all set to reopen at the end of October. Hampton Downs 101 marks the official reopening of the updated venue. It’s to be held over October 28–30, as a North Island supplement to the renowned Highlands 101. Both Hampton Downs 101 and Highlands 101 are part of the Australian Endurance Championship, a new four-race series introduced this year by the GT Championship — one of the oldest and most prestigious motorsport events in Australia. Other classes that will feature as part of the Hampton Downs 101 festival of motorsport in October include…

EMAIL YOUR INFO TO: EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ JULY 31 HENRY FORD MEMORIAL DAY DISPLAY AND SWAP MEET Sunday July 31 marks the 22nd Annual Henry Ford Memorial Day Display and Swap Meet, hosted by the Waikato Mustang Owners Club at Claudelands Events Centre, Hamilton. The car show features a range of awards, including People’s Choice and various ‘bests’, while the swap meet is an auto-related affair — no household knick-knacks! The Miss Retro All Ford Day competition will be held at midday. Show-car entry with one person is $5 or $10 with two or more people; spectator entry is $5 per adult or $10 for a family — kids under 12 are free with paying adults — and swap sites are $15 for swappers and $25 for trade stands. Contact Bob on…

1976 HOLDEN HJ ENGINE: 355ci small block Chev, Eagle steel crank, Eagle H-beam rods, 0.030-inch overbore, ARP fasteners, JE forged pistons, 8.5:1 static compression ratio, Romac harmonic balancer, World Products Sportsman II cast-iron cylinder heads, Comp Cams camshaft, Comp Cams valve springs, jumbo lock retainers, roller-tip rockers, double-row timing chain, heavy-duty pushrods, anti-pump hydraulic roller-lifters, twin 750cfm Demon carbs, RPC shotgun scoop (race), twin air cleaners (street), Weiand 6-71 supercharger, MagnaFuel 400 fuel pump, Barry Grant four-port fuel-pressure regulator, -8 braided lines, alloy drop tank, MSD Digital 6 ignition, MSD Pro Billet distributor, MSD Blaster 2 coil, MSD 8.5mm ignition leads, Flowmaster mufflers, 2½-inch exhausts, Fenix alloy radiator, twin electric fans DRIVELINE: Hughes Racing USA TH400 transmission, full manual valve body, B&M 300 Nitrous Holeshot converter, B&M transmission cooler, Strange…

A couple of months ago, I wrote about the difference between driving an alcohol-fuelled car and driving a nitro funny car. I thought that this month I would go through the mechanics of the car, and what makes up an Aeroflow outlaw nitro funny car. Let’s get one thing straight, though — these things are far from nostalgia cars. Yes, many of the cars run a nostalgia-style body — ‘One Bad Kiwi’ is based on a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am, and the most famous car in the series, the ‘Nitro Express’, is based on a 1957 Chev — but, underneath, they are not the same cars as the cars that ran in the ’70s. The chassis of One Bad Kiwi is an ex–Kenny Bernstein Monster Energy funny car chassis built…

After seeing the madness that is Stadium Super Trucks on the internet, we knew had to find out more. A visit to the recent Long Beach Grand Prix was just the place to get up close and personal with the trucks and their drivers. The series is little known in New Zealand but is developing a huge following in the States; Australia now also has a series. Who wouldn’t get excited by identical trucks racing side by side at up to 240kph and leaping 10 metres high and 80 metres down the track? The series debuted at the Long Beach Grand Prix in 2013 and has since held events at various race circuits around the US. It was originally intended to feature on motocross-style circuits, instead of a flat asphalt…

“I don’t find the stuff; the stuff finds me!” laughs Frank Wilson, and, in a way, he’s actually telling the truth. While he and wife Maree have always had a love of cars and the items that go with them, it was only when they built their new house around three years ago that they really got to showcase the true extent of their obsession. “Even now, three-and-a-half years after we moved in, there’s still stuff we haven’t unpacked,” Frank explains, going on to say that if they manage to get a few metres of wall covered in a weekend, they’re doing well. When you start to look at what he means by ‘covered’, you soon understand where he’s coming from. While many purpose-built sheds tend to look staged, as…

Some things don’t change that much. In the sepia land of ‘back in the day’, young people would buy whatever Pommy Austin or side valve–powered Ford fitted their budget, while lusting after the chrome-laden latest and greatest. Want to go faster? Chuck on a couple of carbs, a new cam and exhaust, and surface your head if you’re game. Want to go even faster? A full engine swap could be just the ticket. Times and generations change, but, while these budget cars themselves evolved to become increasingly faster, the lusted-after older generation of vehicles became increasingly more desirable. Want your Mitsi Lancer to go faster? Buy an Evo, with a factory 276hp turbocharged four-banger. Want your Evo to go faster? Bolt on an aftermarket turbo, wastegate, front-mount intercooler, bigger injectors,…