Innehållsförteckning för No 169 June 2019 från NZV8

Over the past two years or so, the next-gen Chevy Corvette has probably been the worst-kept secret in General Motors’ (GM) history — with numerous spy photos of the camouflage-wrapped C8 test mule flooding the Internet — but, in a recent statement, the automaker finally acknowledged the car’s existence, and we now have a date for its release. GM CEO Mary Barra confirmed that the model will be revealed on 18 July 2019. At the same time, she announced that the final production C7 Corvette will be sold by Barrett-Jackson on 28 June in Connecticut, with all proceeds going to charity. At the time of writing, not much else is known about the next-generation of Corvette — the company didn’t even state where the reveal would take place. However, from…

He’s a legend in the car world, and, this year, for the first time ever, Chip Foose will be appearing at the CRC Speedshow as the special VIP guest of 3M. The Hot Rod Hall of Famer is heralded among modifiers, not only for his skill in designing custom cars but also for his ability to build them. Having painted his first car before the age of 12 — a Porsche, no less — Foose has forged a staggering career that includes prototype and conceptual designing for vehicle OEMs and the creation of speciality machines for films such as Blade Runner, Robocop, and Gone in 60 Seconds. For many, his most-recognizable work would be from the wildly popular television show Overhaulin’, which launched in 2004 and ran for nine seasons…

That doesn’t sound like a V6. What motor has it got in it? It’s actually an L98, which is an LS2 block with LS3 heads and a couple of Chinese turbos. Nice. But we’ve got to ask the question, why? Good question. I originally had bought a rough ’67 Impala out of Wellington. After owning it for three weeks, the gearbox blew to pieces. I got a little out of my depth trying to fix it, and it never got put back together. I kind of found the ZX by mistake. I saw one here in Levin and started asking a few questions. Everyone said they were good when they go, but not so good when they didn’t. I ended up trading the Impala and a stack of parts for…

When Phillip Norcross felt like it was time to put a classic in the shed, he wasn’t going to half-arse it, picking up a 1963 Buick LeSabre in October 2018. The Buick came with a factory 401 nailhead and dodgy Dynaflow two-stage auto, with rear airbags, but looked nothing like Phillip wanted. No problem — as the owner of a print and signwriting business, vinyl was the obvious choice for Phillip, and he and son Blake worked their way through more than a few sheets of the stuff before settling on 3M 1080 Satin Dark Grey vinyl. Rather than get lazy, the boys also masked off the door jambs and gave them a coat of matching paint. A set of 20x8.5-inch Detroit Steel wheels with Shannon Cone centre caps perfectly…

CAR CLUB: Matamata Rod & Custom Club AGE: 73 (Errol) OCCUPATION: Retired PREVIOUSLY OWNED CARS: Flathead-powered ’28 Model A Tudor, flathead straight-nine front-engine dragster (FED), 360ci methanol-injected rear engine dragster, ’57 Chev, ’76 Camaro, ’48 Chev pickup DREAM CAR: 2019 Chev Camaro WHY THE ’47? We chose to build this car after purchasing it and deciding it needed to be something unusual BUILD TIME: 15 years LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: 17 years ERROL THANKS: Elaine, my wife, for her encouragement and support throughout — behind every great project there has to be an even greater wife; my son Paul, for all the help and support he has given me on this project from its beginning to its completion; my daughter Jo, for her assistance and belief in the project; Shannon and…

The period from the early ’90s to the late 2000s was a time of rapid development in drag racing technology, performance, and safety. As times dropped into the four-second zone and terminal speeds exceeded 300mph in the Nitro divisions, the NHRA looked for ways to limit the risks after a handful of fatalities occurred — something barely seen since the 1960s — leaving a shadow over the sport. Greater protection for drivers from flying debris and tyre shake, combined with lower-percentage nitro in the Fuel categories; improvements to track safety; and, in recent times, a reduction in the racing distance in the US to 1000 feet, have greatly improved safety for racers and spectators alike. The period also saw rapid developments in technology, allowing more power to be put to…

Back in NZV8 Issue No. 134, when we featured Dean Scott’s alcohol-consuming HZ ute, he said that his dream car was a Pro Stock truck. After breaking his old ute a couple of times, Dean kind of lost his humour a bit until good friend Ben Morris showed him a Pro Stock truck that was for sale over the ditch in Coffs Harbour. The Jerry Haas–built truck was virtually complete, being offered with a two-speed turbo 400 trans but minus a motor and convertor. This made it the perfect donor vehicle for Dean to slot his blown 540-cube big block into. After once more breaking the ute at the December meeting at Masterton Motorplex, he took the plunge, sold the HZ to friend John Hooper, and got the ball rolling…

Once upon a time, in the days before the internet was a trading post, there was a classified paper called the Trade and Exchange (T&E). Car nuts would religiously race to the shops the day that a new issue came out to try to get first dibs on whatever unmissable bargain they were at risk of missing out on. It was in the automotive section of a long-forgotten issue of T&E that the story of Cam Mackay’s monster XY Falcon began. “I’d seen an ad in the T&E for a big block XY Falcon,” he recalls. To Cam, those few words in the classifieds presented the unmissable bargain that he’d bought the issue to find, and he arranged to see it in person, stat. Making the short drive across west…

I have always been a firm believer that grilles and wheel arches give a marque its particular personality and character. So, to seriously modify or change the factory shape, dimensions, or bodylines of a wheel arch can potentially distance it from its original charm and make the car look a bit off. However, if you choose to go radical, with the right imagination, it can be done — for example, the fully pumped guards of a Cologne Capri or the distinctive and now-classic look of a Group C VK Commodore. If you fell in love with your car because of its factory design and shape but now have clearance issues because of your aftermarket wheels, there’s an alternative: exaggerate the original; cut it out and raise it. Essentially, we like…

We all know a bloke who has a few cars stashed away that he’s going to build one day, or a shed full of crap that he is going to get organized into his man cave one day, but we also know that many of these plans are just pipe dreams that never eventuate. Everyday life gets in the way. The cars either get sold or left to sit in a corner to decay and rust away eventually. The piles of ‘treasures’ usually suffer the same fate, sold off to fund other projects or life events. Sadly, some end their days sold as part of a deceased estate, or, even worse, get thrown away, as no one in the family knows why the car guy in question kept all those…

Well, we have had our season finale at Taupo, we now have our respective 2019 class champions, and we are done and dusted for another season — and what a whirlwind it seemed like too. Congratulations to Dean Perkins, Steve Doughty, and Mark Holland for taking out the honours in their respective classes this year — a very well done to them all. We finished the season almost as strongly as we started it, with 24 entries for our final round at Taupo. It was fantastic, especially given that we still have a number out with mechanical issues from earlier rounds. Enzed CMC is still growing; we are getting a lot of enquiries from drivers in other classes about joining us or them looking at buying or building cars to…

Richard and Jayne Bloemandle’s HQ Monaro looked like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on completion, just in time for our April 2009 issue. You’d never know looking at the finished product just how much of a wreck it was to begin with or the heartaches that they went through to get it to a level they were happy with. The more the couple drove the car, though, the more the teething issues showed, which is often the case with a new build. It took a bit of time before they finally got to the bottom of the issues. In fact, we actually ran an article on some of the fixes on the car a few years back, when they decided that it was time to…

HANDCRAFTED PERFECTION There are very few cars in the country that have been on the receiving end of as much metalwork as Errol and Elaine Uttinger’s ’47 Ford has. There’s not a panel or proportion on the car that has been left untouched. Of course, now that it has all been hidden under exquisite paintwork, it’s a bit hard to see where all the hours went. But, luckily, Errol slipped us a pile of build photos that we’ve managed to upload to themotorhood.com. Search ‘Errol Uttinger’ to have a look. HOP HIGHLIGHTS We’ve only scratched the surface of Repco Beach Hop 19 in this issue, but our dedicated Beach Hop Annual magazine is not far away. If you can’t wait that long, you can always check out our TV coverage…

CHECK THEMOTORHOOD.COM FOR REGULAR NEWS UPDATES As a race car, the original ‘Hemi Under Glass’ envisioned by shifter magnate George Hurst was a failure, but, as a promotional marketing tool, it was sheer genius. Back in 1965, ‘Wild Bill’ Shrewsberry was hired to drive the Hurst Barracuda, which had undergone a mid-mounted engine conversion. Hurst believed that it would give the car superior traction by transferring more weight to the rear wheels — and it did; only, he hadn’t considered that repositioning the engine would also make the front end considerably lighter, making it impossible to run the car at speed with the front tyres on the ground. The car would go on to help establish and popularize the ‘wheel-stander’ category that later starred cars such as the ‘Little Red…

Way back when, auto trade shows were a big deal for automotive manufacturers. These were the showtime floors on which they could peacock their latest models and technology, which were eaten up by the eager buying public. For a considerable time, display engines were a critical part of this, giving your average joe a passing understanding of the internal-combustion dark arts, while teasing enthusiasts with the latest high-output options. On 17 May, three genuine Mopar display engines from the Steven Juliano Collection will head to auction in Indianapolis, giving buyers an opportunity to own a unique piece of Chrysler high-performance history. The lot is made up of a Plymouth 426 race Hemi, a circa-1969 Dodge 426 street Hemi, and a circa-1970 Plymouth 440 6BBL (six-barrel). Each was created for Chrysler…

You may have caught TVNZ’s latest offering on channel Duke, Start Me Up, which was launched on 24 April. Featuring the amiable and amusing Martin Lafferty and Mike O’Donnell, the hosts hunt out old cars, vans, and utes lying around the backyards of New Zealand and attempt to get them going again, against all odds. “As the name suggests, Start Me Up sees me, a bush mechanic at best, and an actual qualified mechanic, Martin Lafferty, start up old cars that haven’t run for a long time, in some cases up to 30 years,” explained Mike. “In each episode, we’ve got 10 daylight hours to work out what’s broken, how to fix it, source the necessary parts, and then get the beastie firing again, ideally on all cylinders and in…

Chances are that by now you’re well aware of the Route 66 tours hosted by Beach Hop frontman Noddy Watts — after all, we ran a series of tour diaries a couple of years ago. The concept is simple: book the fully escorted self-driving tour, which includes accommodation, vehicle hire and insurance, a fully programmed GPS unit, and a US cell phone, and simply arrive and enjoy it. Many of those who’ve attended to date haven’t stopped at just one tour; they have headed back stateside to undertake one of the other tours on offer. Noddy and Andrea have taken 21 tours and are heading into their 10th year, making them the most experienced Kiwi-based US tour guides, with more than 700 people having toured with them so far! And…

GMS Hot Rods always has some interesting builds on the go; currently, that includes a 1932 Ford Highboy five-window coupe. The car has been a long-time dream for first-time hot rod owners Brian and Elizabeth, who zeroed in on a US Brizio Street Rods style for the build. Starting with a Kiwi Konnection roller frame, GMS has mounted the 383ci small block Chev engine and Chuck Mann–built Turbo 350 transmission, adding the required driveshaft safety loop in the process. The body is a Magoo’s-supplied ’32 five-window, the fourth out of the mould, to which GMS’s Greg Stokes is fitting a four-piece engine hood and retaining enough polished stainless and chrome to complement the overall look. For first-time hot rod owners, Brian and Elizabeth are very certain of the end result…

If you want a car that stands out these days, you need to think big — and, of course, if you’re too busy to do it all yourself, you need a guy with the right level of skill and twisted ideas to turn it into reality. That was the exact situation that Simon Freeman found himself in a few years back. The car he managed to find for that purpose was a 1961 Pontiac hearse, and the man with the twisted vision was Trev Halstead from Waikato’s Custom and Classic Restorations, a man normally known for his custom Studebakers. Since then, the car’s been progressing slowly, taking a back seat to various other projects for both the owner and the builder, but it is now at a point at which…

We all remember our first car. It might have been a Zephyr, an Anglia, or maybe even a Corolla. Whatever it was, it was probably a cheap shit box with next to no power — something that would get you to school or to work before eventually being superseded by something a little better. We all remember our first car, but for most of us memory is the only ownership of it that we still have — well, unless you’re Nick Callagher. Yeah, the mean HR sedan you’re reading about is the very same one he bought as a 15-year-old, although it’s taken more than just time to turn it into what may well be New Zealand’s toughest Holden HR. “This was the very first car I bought when I…

When Errol and Elaine Uttinger purchased a rolling ’47 Ford body from the lower South Island 17 years ago, they didn’t know what they were going to do with it. What they did know, though, was that whatever they did, it needed to be something different from any other ’47. Lifelong drag racers and hot rodders — with Errol being a long-time president of the NZHRA — for them, the build was the culmination of years of experience, knowledge, and ideas. “It sat in the garage for a year before we took it to a panel beater in Tauranga to do some work on it, but his everyday business took priority, so we went in search of a panel beater who had a passion for the kind of work we…

A walk into Ian McKenzie’s garage may leave you scratching your head somewhat. There’s no denying that the man has a penchant for cars of an exacting quality, but it’s exactly the type of vehicles that he likes that would cause the head-scratching. You see, on one side of the garage is a 1967 Australian Morris Mini Deluxe. The immaculately restored vehicle is not powered by the 1275cc big block A-Series engine but a more humble 998cc version. It’s exactly the type of car that many people born around the middle of the century fell in love with, and the type of car that made the Mini such a global hit. So, with Ian being aged 75, it shouldn’t be a big surprise that he has a soft spot for…

Barry Plumpton’s 959ci Chev Camaro has been a force to be reckoned with in Top Doorslammer this season as it’s edged closer and closer to the elusive five-second zone. Following success here in both national series, the car was packed into a shipping container and sent across the ditch to Australia, where it’s now being campaigned out of Sydney, running in Pro Xtreme. On only its third pass at Sydney Dragway, the car managed to smash the existing Australian nitrous record with an incredible 6.04-at-238.51mph pass. While the supporters may be pushing for that five, Barry and team are a bit more relaxed, stating that they’re just there to have some fun. Barry did let slip that he’s sure they’ll improve as they learn more, so it sounds as if…

The way things used to be” is often the tagline for the Bay Rodders Nostalgia Drags, and, if it might have often been a case of wishful thinking, it wasn’t this time, folks. The Wild Bunch delivered all the excitement it used to throw up in the ’90s: crossed-up passes; wheel-stands; and, unfortunately, even a crash. It also had lots of mechanical carnage and oil on the track, with a couple of cars not making the first or any other round, despite mercy missions to chase up parts far and wide. In the big marquee, insults and more personal forms of character assassination flew back and forth from the Reid, Tynan, and Richardson pit area. Bob Owens just kept his head down and worked quietly away; he’d had to spend…

We see plenty of love stories in NZV8. They typically go along the lines of guy falls in love with car, guy buys car, guy modifies car significantly, guy loves car more, guy modifies car further, and so on. This story is somewhat different. It’s a story about a husband and wife, and a not-so-baby boy. There are a few twists and turns, some good, some tragic, but, given those twists, the outcome is better than anyone could have imagined. While the main characters in all of this don’t arrive until 1972, the story begins two decades earlier, when an Eketahuna farming couple take ownership of a brand-new 1952 Chev Deluxe. That car stayed in the family for the next two decades until a niece, Robyn, one of the main…

Coming into the final round of the Enzed Central Muscle Cars (CMC) season there was a simple calculation for those up the top of the points ladder: finish the weekend with no issues. Doing that would cement the championships for 2019. Dean Perkins, Steve Doughty, and Mark Holland were leading their respective sections of the category, those being Groups 1A, 1B, and 2. Doughty’s task was the easiest of the three. Simply finish one race and the 1B title was his. Even qualifying high was not necessary. For Perkins and Holland, though, it was more difficult: they had to finish a minimum of three of the four races; if they didn’t, Grant Dalton, Angus Fogg, Paul Boden, and Bruce Kett would fight for the spoils. There were no tricks coming…

Cam Crawford may be having plenty of fun winding up the drivers from the sidelines, telling them that it’s all about slow in and slow out, but, in reality, he’s looking forward to getting back into the fray. That return is now looking a whole lot closer too, with Moselle Panel and Paint having now completed the paintwork of his ’69 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler, a replica of Nascar legend LeeRoy Yarbrough’s number 98 car. The move to the uncommon vehicle was brought about by Cam’s desire to make racing more about the experience than just winning — focusing on style and class rather than outright horsepower. To that end, it’s not got a modern Nascar power plant, but a (slightly) more period-type 410-cube Windsor, based on a dart block and…

April marked 55 years of the Ford Mustang, with the very first incarnation making its debut in New York City on 18 April 1964. The anniversary also marks the fourth year running that the Mustang has earned the title of the world’s best-selling sports coupe, on the strength of 113,066 cars sold worldwide. The Mustang’s market share in the global sports car segment is up half a point for 2018 over the previous year to 15.4 per cent, fuelled in part by the hot-selling Bullitt, which is sold out in New Zealand. “We broke the mould when Ford launched the Mustang 55 years ago,” said Jim Farley, Ford president global markets. “Nothing says freedom, the wind in your hair, and the joy of driving like Mustang; it’s an icon. The…

Why has Bert King been removed from your drag race quickest times list? I know for a fact that there are a lot of names on that list that competed in the last season. Please explain why they are still there!? I’m not about taking names off your list; I just think that when a driver puts 40-plus years into the sport and your people remove drivers off a list five minutes after a car being sold or other circumstances [it] is very poor form. The two Top Fuel cars at the top of the list have not run for 12-plus months. One sold last year! Top Fuel funny car 24-plus months. John Neilan 24-plus months. Wayne Curry? Ross Windley? Etc. etc. I could keep going but this is not…

We know that you’ve been itching for a massive hit of eight-cylindered goodness since the last season concluded, and, lucky for you, we can let you in on the fact that Teng Tools Muscle Garage will be back for its fourth season from Sunday 19 May on Three’s CRC Motorsport! That’s 10 sweet, sweet episodes of New Zealand’s coolest V8-powered cars, events, sheds, and workshops, airing backto-back every Sunday. Don’t sweat it if you miss an episode, because we will have the full episodes uploaded to The Motorhood once they’ve aired, so you can catch up on any episodes you aren’t able to see — all you need to do is visit themotorhood.com and click through to the Teng Tools Muscle Garage post. And while you’re at it, don’t forget…

We all know Repco Beach Hop 19 was massive, but, with the next Beach Hop being the 20th anniversary of the event, it’s set to be even better. The dates are locked in for the celebrations to kick off on 25 March 2020 and run through till 29 March. While no specifics have been announced yet about what special features will be added, Noddy Watts did let slip that the event crew were struggling to focus on the plans for Repco Beach Hop 19 with all that they have planned for the 20th. Keep an eye on the Beach Hop Facebook page for updates.…

EMAIL YOUR INFO TO: EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ 19 MAY ▶ 2019 WELLINGTON HORSEPOWER DISPLAY AND SWAP MEET TRENTHAM RACECOURSE, WELLINGTON The capital city loves horsepower, and there’s no better collection than at the super show that Capital Rodders puts on each year! The Capital Rodders Horsepower Display and Swap Meet will take place at Trentham Racecourse from 9am till 2pm on Sunday, 19 May and will deliver a huge display of hot rods, street machines, stock cars, jet boats, quad bikes, drag cars, trucks, and customs, plus trade displays and an enormous swap meet. Adult entry is $10, or $20 for a family of two adults and two kids, and under 12s are free. Swappers’/sellers’ plots are $20 per plot, including driver entry. Entry is by cash only, but cash-out is available…

There’s little that can be said about Beach Hop that hasn’t been said before, and this year’s event, Repco Beach Hop 19, which kicked off on 27 March, just as our last issue went to print, lived up to all expectations. In the lead-up to each year’s event, we wonder how the team behind it can make it any better than the previous one, yet, at the end of it, we’re always left agreeing that somehow they achieved it. Those unlucky enough not to have made it to this year’s event can grab a copy of our Beach Hop Annual, which will go on sale just a couple weeks after this issue, for the full blowby-blow rundown and a look at this year’s top vehicles. In the meantime, though, while…

Paul Dainton’s brief to DC Trading was that he wanted his car to be simple yet kick-ass on the street and strip. To achieve that meant no tubs, no turbos, no superchargers — just good old-fashioned naturally aspirated (NA) horsepower. This desire was due to Paul’s love of the Super Stock drag cars of the late ’60s, and, of course, his love of tough street cars. Paul purchased the previously restored 1967 RS/SS big block four-speed Camaro around six years ago and has the matching-numbers running gear now sitting aside. That running gear has made way for a custom-specced 598ci Scott Shafiroff pump gas engine that’s producing in the vicinity of 900hp. The engine is based on a Dart Big M low-deck block, with four-bolt splayed main caps. Above this…

It would need to be a car that would fit the whole family; that’s five kids, the wife, and myself,” states this month’s cover car owner Nick Callagher. Of course, Nick’s not really the kind of guy who’s all that keen to roll around in your average mum bus or people mover, but a man whose tastes are aimed squarely at old Holdens. Straightaway, having five kids locks his ideal car into being a wagon with additional seats thrown into the boot — something that he thinks is totally achievable with an HR model. Sure, it’d take a bit of work, but that’s all part of the fun. Getting the car to look right, not to mention look different from any other on the road, does mean that the true…

ENZED CENTRAL MUSCLE CARS NEWS Continuing the championship in fine form, Dean Perkins in his Ford Falcon has once again taken the Enzed Central Muscle Cars (CMC) Group 1 title. Only having to finish the morning race of the final round, Perkins started near the back of the field due to the handicap race format. From there, it was a clean and concise effort from him as he casually weaved his way through the other cars to lead by the final lap, thereby securing overall series victory.…

THE LION’S PURR If you’re keen to extract more power and torque from your Mustang GT V8 but want a purr rather than a roar, there’s an exhaust designed exactly for that: the XForce exhaust for Mustang GTs 2015 and later. Made from 304-grade stainless steel, this three-inch cat-back exhaust kit will bolt directly onto your factory centre section and features transition tubes to adapt it to the OEM front pipes. To find out more, give Performance Industry a call on 06 354 0818 or visit performanceindustry.co.nz. C-TENS FOR C10S US Mags is so confident that these new wheels will look good on a Chevy C10 pickup that it called them the ‘C-Ten’. They are part of US Mags’ Vintage 1 Piece cast collection. These cast monobloc wheels are available…

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