Innehållsförteckning för No 161 October 2018 från NZV8

Ask 10 people what makes a car cool, and there’s a good chance that you’ll get 10 different answers. Sure, there’s bound to be a bit of crossover, but ‘cool’ is, for lack of a better explanation, in the eye of the beholder. Some people manage to nail this quantifiable measurement, while others manage to miss the mark. Worse still, some people manage to miss the mark using all of the right ingredients. This is, of course, only my opinion, as, after all, your personal opinion on what constitutes cool may be significantly different from mine. I’m sure you’ve all done it — and yes, we all know it’s wrong, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to it — we’ve all screwed up our noses at cars that…

WORTH WAITING FOR Hey guys, Gotta say, it was worth the wait to see ‘SIKFSH’ in your current issue! I got a bit excited after seeing that you were going to be featuring it last year, but it never came through. I now see why. What a massive overhaul! That car is a testament to everyone involved in it, and I reckon is the pinnacle of Kiwi street machines. Awesome stance, awesome rims, awesome everything. Wow! Rod Bennett Thanks Rod, we agree, the car was worth the wait. It was cool back then, but now it’s truly something else! Cheers Todd SIX IS GOOD! Hi Todd, Great articles on six-cylinder cars in Issue 159. I’ve had a few of them in my time. I am currently doing a complete rebuild…

WINTER BASH The automotive event calendar quietens down a fair bit over winter, but it’s starting to pick back up again. And, while wet weather might be perfect for kids wanting to skid their Honda Civics, it’s not quite what’s desired for professional competition. As the weather clears up, we’ll bring you more from the Huntly round of the New Zealand Burnout Championship — find it by searching ‘NZBC Huntly’ on themotorhood.com. TOP BANANA Read the feature on Nigel Teape’s wicked Cobra later in this issue, and you’ll realize it’s only half of his dream car stable. The other half is taken up by a ’72 Dodge Challenger, packing a 440 big block, A-833 four-speed, and Dana 60 diff — jealousy-inducing stuff. The old fellas at New Zealand Classic Car…

16 SEPTEMBER PETROLHEADS @ PORIRUA In what has become a staple fixture on the Wellington-region calendar, Western Bays Street Rodders Inc has found their Petrolheads @ Porirua Hot Rod Show growing to the extent that larger premises have had to be organized. As such, this year, the event will be held at the Kennel Club Events Centre, Porirua, and what you’ll find here is an indoor display of the lower North Island’s finest cars, and the numbers won’t be lacking! The event, sponsored by BurgerFuel, will take place from 10am to 4pm, with admission costing a crisp $10 per adult, and kids under 12 free with a paying adult. See you there! 20–21 OCTOBER USA HAULERS PICKUP ROUND-UP It goes without saying that Kiwis love pickup trucks. The USA Haulers…

It’s quite fitting that Matt Jukic chose a Dodge Challenger for his latest build, because it has proved to be a challenge right from the very start. Then again, that’s probably Matt’s doing more than anything. He’s never been the kind of guy to do things the easy way, and the latest vehicle to wear his famous ‘EATU4T’ plates is a testament to that. “I had the plates sitting in my room, and knew [that] I had to build a car worthy of them. To keep up with the great selection of modified cars in New Zealand, I would have to build something that was more than just a little modified, and not just with a few parts bought and bolted on,” he says. “The car would have to be…

When Daryl Matthews stumbled on a 1962 Impala on Trade Me, he thought that all the hard work had been done. All he’d needed to do to get it how he wanted was to throw some airbags at it and change the wheels. Oh, how wrong he was. Some two years later, he’s learnt to accept the fact that there’s no such thing as finished when you own an old car, and not because they’re unreliable, but because the more you experience them, the more your tastes evolve and your desire to improve them takes over. What Daryl did know when he purchased the car, though, was that the retro style of small wheels and big tyres wasn’t for him; neither was the faded factory beige paint hue. Both needed…

“I’ve been obsessed with the AC Cobra since watching [The] Gumball Rally as a kid, and seeing that Cobra power sliding down the LA River,” Nigel Teape reminisces. “I grew up a petrolhead. As soon as I got my licence, I was into my cars — back then, they were Datsun 1200s, Escorts, which are still cool, but I’d always liked the Aussie cars. My first taste was a Bathurst model LJ Torana XU-1, which I wish [that] I had kept. At the time, all my mates had Falcon GTs, and I was the only one with a Torana; it actually kept up with most of them and a couple of them it’d beat!” What he really wanted was a V8, though, but he couldn’t quite stretch the funds to…

On the cover of this issue you’ve seen the Monaro that Peter and Delilah Schimanski dreamt of — clearly they’re a couple who like speed. But, now that the Monaro is complete, what’s the next project? A tough Model A gasser, that’s what. Better than that, it’s not just a pipe dream, but a reality, with the pair having purchased a 1930 Model A coupe at the Pomona Swap Meet three years ago. The car is a true gem, with the last owner having purchased it way back in 1963, making it a really solid, unmolested starting point. Of course, by the time they’re done with it, there will be plenty of custom components that will have found their way into the mix, and, from what we’ve seen of the…

When Tony Quinn announced to the world that he was constructing a race track in the South Island’s lakes district, those who knew him knew that it would be nothing short of world class. And those who didn’t know him, well, they’d soon find out. As part of the development on the outskirts of Cromwell came the Highlands National Motorsport Museum. Sure, it’s a good cheeky way for Tony to find storage for some of his own machines, but, as we found out recently, there’s a whole lot more to it than that. While most motoring museums — and New Zealand is blessed with many great ones — focus on classic or vintage cars, Highlands’ focus is on motorsport, and there’s far more attention to race pedigree here than there…

Despite what John Poulton’s mates may tell you, what you’re looking at isn’t a modified Morris Minor. Sure, it shares roughly the same curves (if you squint, or drink a lot) and John’s of the right age to get behind the wheel of an old Mog, but he assures us that that’s not the case. What it is, is a 1946 Ford Business Coupe, a car that he’s been in love with since he was in his teens, when his neighbour owned one. Recalling the car handbrake sliding into the driveway, a young impressionable John thought it was the greatest thing since colour TV — well, he would have if colour TV had made its way to New Zealand by that time. Fast forward a few decades; by this time,…

ALIEN The Challenger featured in this issue isn’t Matt Jukic’s first rodeo as far as building or owning a tough car goes — he’s owned plenty in his time, but the most famous by far is ‘EATU4T’, which most Kiwi petrolheads will remember. Yeah, we’re talking about the tubbed, blown, and injected Holden VU Commodore SS ute that was pretty much brand-new when Matt threw the book at it. New Zealand hasn’t seen a more mental late-model build, and we might never, either. At least you can see the original in all its glory, as featured on the cover of NZV8 Issue No. 1 — just search ‘EATU4T’ on themotorhood.com to have a look. EXTRA CHROME She was a big one, this year’s Prowear Chrome Expression Session, which meant that…

I like to think I’m a pretty intelligent person, with a decent immunity to stupid decisions. A lot of my mates will probably disagree with that, and I think that I may have to as well. The three of you who actually read this column each month (hi Dad) may have noticed that I’ve made no mention of my project Kingswood for quite a while, and there’s a reason for that. After stripping it back to a bare shell, and finding way more rust and bog in it than I expected to find — and I was expecting a lot — I quietly pushed it aside with the intention of stacking enough shekels to give the bodywork a half-decent crack. Then, on the Facebook marketplace, I came across an HZ…

OSCA TURNS 50 In 2020, the Open Saloon Car Association (OSCA) will be reaching the milestone of 50 years of racing, and wants to celebrate the history of OSCA and Sports Sedans racing in New Zealand in general. Over the past half-century, the race track has been one of the arenas in which Kiwi ingenuity has really been allowed to shine, with some amazing cars and drivers racing in OSCA and Sports Sedans, and some memorable on-track battles that have influenced enthusiasts young and old. This historic milestone means that it’s time to celebrate them all, with a three-round festival in February 2020 starting with the Skope Classic at Mike Pero Motorsport Park, Ruapuna, followed by Timaru International Motor Raceway the next week, and Teretonga Park the week after that.…

Hi, Maria — you’ve got a pretty interesting daily-driver here. Was there any particular reason for choosing an SRT8? Not really — I just told my husband Nigel [that] I needed something I could fit a gazebo into the back of, which is a requirement of my job, and left the rest to him. I should have guessed he would get me one of the fastest SUVs in the world! We understand it isn’t standard, either — how long did it take to have the performance modifications done? I didn’t know we had any! [Laughs] Nigel pretty much did them straight away … What’s been done to it so far? It came standard with the 6.1-litre Hemi, but Nigel has added a K&N filter, SOS coils, removed the catalytic converters,…

Most adults think they’ve got insurance sorted. It’s kinda like the smart person’s gambling, right? Shell out an amount of money each year in the hope that if something goes wrong, it’ll save you a whole bunch more than what you’re paying. It’s a great theory and, for the main part, it tends to work well. Being classic and/or modified car lovers though, we know that things don’t always work that easily, and, in the world of insurance, that couldn’t be more true. There are some companies out there that don’t care about your car as much as you do, and when it comes time to make a claim, things can be difficult, especially if you’ve not read the fine print. That said, most companies aren’t out to intentionally screw…

We can probably all remember the time we first discovered our love of the automobile, although, for some of us, we may need to think a bit harder. John Winchester, from just south of Christchurch, not only remembers where it all began, but would also be the first to admit that he didn’t stand a chance — not with his family’s passion! “Some of Dad’s family were passionate about cars,” says John. “My grandfather always bought a new car every year and always had two. Because he had such a big family, they needed two cars just to go out.” With petrol running through his veins, John always preferred something a bit different, but, unlike his grandfather, who liked Dodge and early V8s, John has always been a Ford supporter.…

The 70th anniversary of the famous Speed Week will be remembered not only for the outstanding salt conditions but also for the hazy skies created by the California wildfires. Entries to the event numbered around 400 but fluctuated during the week, as racers either left or turned up later following hurried phone calls reporting how great the salt was. Owen Jones, Chris Barnes, and ‘The Kiwi Coupe’ team arrived in Wendover, on the Nevada–Utah border, on the Wednesday evening prior to the event, ready to set up the pit and car for scrutineering on Thursday. The coupe didn’t pass scrutineering that day, but, after installing a roll-over cut-out switch and improving the parachute release system, expat Kiwi scrutineer Paul Gilbert passed both the car and each driver’s emergency exit plans…

Wellington racer Dean Owens’ dreams of competing in the 2017–18 Enzed CMC season wasn’t to be. While he did end up hitting the track in his big block-powered Camaro, engine woes put an end to the season as soon as it had begun. Since then, Craig Hyland from Engine Dynamics has been enlisted to work his magic on the 500ci combo, meaning this time it should last the distance. Dean’s also put some work into the handling of the car too with Al Maclennan and his team at Macbilt Engineering rebuilding the front and rear suspension. Here’s hoping the coming season now brings more success than the last. FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK: With the race season not too far away and the AGM now behind us, anticipation among the drivers…

The Tri-5 (1955–’57) Chev is a special car to hot-rodders around the world, and New Zealand is no exception. Out of the many we’ve featured over the years, few can match Gordon Flint’s in terms of both presence or presentation. There are some with more power, and some that may have had more money spent on them, but few that look anywhere near as good as his. Entering his life as a totally rotten 1955 Chev 210 four-door sedan, he wanted it to become a purple and low pro-street vehicle … it only took 16 years to realize that! Now, a decade on from when we revealed Gordon’s stunning ’55 to New Zealand, it’s pretty much the same car as it was back then — “Just a few more miles…

The world’s most popular sports car? Say what you want, but you’ve got to give it to the Ford Mustang — an enduring success that somehow is as desirable to dedicated petrolheads as it is to those who know next to nothing about cars. That universal appeal has to be why the Mustang recently clocked a major production milestone — a few years after celebrating its 50th anniversary — by ticking over the 10-million mark. Rather than marking the occasion with glitz and glamour, Ford made it a relatively humble affair, gathering 62 Mustangs — including the first and the 10-millionth — for a parade from Ford’s Dearborn headquarters to the Flat Rock assembly plant, where current Mustangs are built. There, the Mustang convoy was parked in a ‘10,000,000’ pattern,…

FAB FLEETSIDE Quintin Brown’s already got a tough Nova in the shed, but that hasn’t stopped him from progressing on to his next tough home-built ride. The 1958 Chev Apache Fleetside was purchased out of the States, with the intention of making it drive far better than the factory ever dreamed of. For this, he chose to fit a C4 Corvette front suspension and steering system purchased from Flat Out Engineering in California, and added Aldan coilover shocks and a C5 Corvette big brake kit. Once it arrived, Quintin himself set about rebuilding the front end, including hubs, bushes, ball joints, and the power-steering rack, so that, once he’s on the road, he’ll know it’ll be right. Out the back, there’s now more Corvette componentry, with a C4 Dana 44…

Sometimes you find yourself in the position of having to grow up, be an adult, and make a few sacrifices. That was the very situation Peter Schimanski and his then-girlfriend now-wife Delilah faced a few years back. Pete owned a genuine 1969 Bathurst Monaro until family life unexpectedly got in the way, as it often does, at the worst possible time. Finding themselves with an extra mouth to feed, the Monaro was sold and family life commenced for the Schimanskis. However, the yearning for another was never far from his mind — “the car, not a kid!” Pete adds. No wonder, as he says there’s a good chance that their son was conceived on the back seat of that very Monaro … Fast forward a few years, and, while browsing…

Os it a Kiwi thing, or just something that car enthusiasts are inherently prone to? You know, the other side of the ‘she’ll be right’ coin that sees us frantically spannering in the days leading up to an event — the date of which is known well in advance and set as an achievable deadline. Whatever the cause of this phenomenon, the organizers of Chrome are well aware of it, building the hype for this year’s Prowear Chrome Expression Session 2018, held over 3–5 August, with the #roadtochrome social-media campaign for entrants to document their own journey there. Run by 4&Rotary Promotions, the event has no trouble getting New Zealand’s best and toughest import vehicles in there, but Azhar Bhamji — Mr 4&Rotary himself — has consistently pushed the marketing…

This isn’t the first time this ’71 Ford Torino has been seen on the pages of this magazine. Originally featured back in our December 2008 issue, when it was owned by Tony Millar, it’s since changed hands, but hasn’t deteriorated in quality and still looks a million bucks. But, as you can see, it isn’t here for a re-feature. With its brawny Cleveland and C4 auto, it’s a tough rig, but its cruising manners always left a little something to be desired. As the current owner enjoys driving the Torino, he decided to look into what could be done to improve its open-road cruising manners, which has led to what we’re covering in this article — the installation of a Gear Vendors overdrive unit by the boys at The Gearbox…

The first weekend in August should be permanently circled on the calendar of anyone with even a fleeting interest in cars or car parts. The usual attire for a gathering at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon is 10-gallon hats, cowboy boots, and blue jeans. But, for one day a year, it’s all about black jeans and black beanies as a different kind of horsepower takes over, thanks to Palmerston North Hot Rod Club (PNHRC). First and foremost it is a swap meet. On arrival through the gates, one is immediately greeted by a sea of flannel, and it is standing room only in front of the well-laid-out plots. This isn’t a chuck-a-blanket-on-the-ground-and-scatter-some-stuff-on-it kind of deal; it’s a bit more organized than that. Sheds are emptied for the event, and if you…

KEEPING CURRENT This time of year is particularly hard on cars during start-up, and if every turn of the key gets you praying, Century has the answer. The European Ultra Hi Performance battery range has been specially designed to meet the performance and unique fitment requirements of European and imported vehicles. These batteries have been designed to combat battery failure with superior starting power and reserve capacity, and come with a maintenance-free design and built-in water indicator for added peace of mind. For more information, freephone 0800 939393, or visit centurybatteries.co.nz. AT THE CAR WASH Washing your car doesn’t need to be a drag. The Motomuck Snow Foam Gun turns your pressure washer into a powerful foam cannon, covering your car in a thick foam. Not only does this speed…

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