Innehållsförteckning för No 177 February 2020 från NZV8

Building a car is hard work. It’s a journey fraught with hiccups, hurdles, and speedbumps. It always costs more than you think, takes longer than you imagine, and generally pushes people to their limit. So, why do we do it? We love it, of course! There’s something deep down in the human psyche that loves to complete, achieve, or improve things. Thankfully, the journey to building your dream car is littered with small wins — the victories of getting a component completed, new parts arriving, or scoring good deals — and this is in part what drives us to continue with them. At least, I think it is … that and getting sick of people asking when your project will be completed, of course — we’ve all been there. I’ve…

With the most epic event on the Australian car scene calendar, Street Machine Summernats, fast approaching, it’s about time that we announced the winner of the trip of a lifetime. The $5K prize package includes flights for the winner and a mate to Canberra, departing Auckland; four nights’ accommodation; and, of course, Platinum Passes to Street Machine Summernats. And the winner is … Richard Bright from Auckland! Based at EPIC (Exhibition Park in Canberra), Summernats is a four-day bender of automotive excess. The event attracts entrants from all around Australia, and overseas, and includes not just the best show cars in the land but also the toughest burnout cars, dyno kings, vendors, trade displays, concerts, and more. For more info, visit summernats.com.au.…

IF YOU HAVE A COOL DAILY-DRIVER AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT APPEAR IN DAILY GRIND, EMAIL EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ Hi, Katy. We’ve seen you around with the T-bucket for a while now! Yeah, my husband Trevor started the build in the spare bedroom of our house in Tancred Street [Christchurch] in 1978 and completed the car in 1980. He had a full workshop set up in there. He built the chassis in the room, and when it was complete we had to take the window out so that we could remove it. The day that Ron Collet came around to help start the engine, Trev tried to burn the house down. He tried to burn the house down! What the hell happened? He had put a roast on to cook, then…

WE KNOW THERE ARE SOME FANTASTIC CARS BEING BUILT OUT THERE, SO DON’T BE SHY — FLICK US AN EMAIL WITH A BIT OF A BLURB AND A FEW HIGH-RESOLUTION PICS OF WHAT YOU’RE UP TO EMAIL YOUR BUILDS TO EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ Steve Allan Customs is a one-stop-shop for all your custom, restoration, and hot rod needs, based just outside of Rangiora. Steve’s team do it all under the one roof, and, with a large addition recently to the already-impressive workshop, there’s room for even more projects. Currently on the go is this ’59 Chevrolet Apache Fleetside, which is in for some serious work. That weathered, patina-covered body will remain as is, but, underneath, you’ll find an Art Morrison chassis that has been modified in-house to accept an airbag suspension system.…

Boy racers — two words that, through the early 2000s, would have struck a bolt of righteous anger through the heart of any watcher of the six o’clock news. At the time, the boy racer epidemic was just about one of the biggest issues facing New Zealand. It was a time before anyone rich or famous had made headlines for methamphetamine use, before the Christchurch earthquakes, before the global financial crisis, and well before the subsequent effects on the housing market. It wasn’t that long ago, but it was a simpler time. Hell, you’d have struggled to buy a phone that could take photos, let alone use the internet anywhere other than at home or the office. And, in those simpler times, there would have been no way a younger…

When it comes to the car scene in New Zealand, we really are spoilt for choice. Throughout the year, there are dozens of car shows, cruises, and burnout competitions happening in most major cities across this awesome country and everywhere in between. Those of us who are lucky enough to call Canterbury home certainly don’t lack for at least some form of automotive entertainment most months of the year, with spring and summer being the busiest times. Across the country, Christchurch has been portrayed as the ‘boy racer’ capital of New Zealand, and for good reason. In areas with a large population, you will always get the ‘bad eggs’, the ones who think causing trouble is fun, but, for the most part, Christchurch is a city of true enthusiasts. It’s…

There was a showdown taking place at this year’s Petrolhead Father’s Day Drags between the late model Camaro of long-time drag racer Justin Weir and the Ford Falcon of Phil Hunter. During the event, Justin dropped his PB in his 2012 ZL1 to an impressive 10.16 at 135.24mph, while Phil was just behind with a PB of 10.17 at 135.70mph. With those new times, the race to see who would own the first late model car into the nine-second zone was on. Justin recently managed to nab that title and is understandably stoked to achieve the long-held goal. His record run was made at Meremere Dragway’s Comp 2, where he clocked a best of 9.94 at 139.47mph. Powering the car to this achievement is an FFR-built engine producing 765hp at…

The 2019 MD Dirt Drags, held in Parawera on 5 October, certainly upped the ante on the previous years’ events, with a huge number of motorbikes, 4x4s, everyday drivers, rotaries, and even a gasser taking part. To give you better insight into what makes the MD Dirt Drags so much fun and to showcase just how great the event is, alongside this year’s coverage on these pages you’ll also find pictures of the weird and wonderful contraptions from previous years. Held on private property a touch further out of town from previous years, 2019’s event drew 235 entrants and 1600 spectators — far from its low-key beginnings. While winning is nice, many entrants simply aim to throw as much dirt around as they can, big rooster tails being the equivalent…

He’s far from a one-trick pony or a one-car kinda guy, but Hayden Wilby sure has earned himself a reputation as a Commodore guy. However, people who think that clearly haven’t seen the XB Falcon sedan that Hayden parks next to ‘NUTOUT’, his legendary tyre-frying VT. The XB’s a trick bit of gear and looks the part too, with its black paint contrasting perfectly with the chrome work and the low ride height sitting it just right. Given the chance, Hayden would build himself another early Falcon, but this time around it would be an XA and, more important, a coupe. “I think I was about 16 or 17 when I first saw Howard Astill’s Pioneer-sponsored ‘Race Rock’ coupe! It was the most badass car I had seen!” states Hayden.…

One hour east of Wellington is the beautiful Wairarapa Valley, which has a long history of enjoying the presence of powerful V8 motor vehicles, and includes the location of the main drag strip for the lower North Island, Masterton Motorplex. Wairarapa is a popular place for car clubs to rendezvous and cruise — and, of course, there is the annual Cruise Martinborough, a popular event for V8 owners. Wairarapa is made up of small towns that have big sections with lots of room for cars, working on cars, parts for cars, and beers and BBQs whilst talking about cars. A good example is Pete and Karen’s place. An immaculate modern home, it is a bespoke design for the car lover. They have multiple garages, lined and insulated to protect and…

One of the Central Muscle Cars’ (CMC) fiercest competitors and all-around nicest guys, Andrew Sinclair, has been charging hard this season in Group 2. Andrew’s vehicle of choice, his wife Mandy’s ‘Chickadee’ VK Commodore, is always immaculately presented thanks to the hands of Bic Anderson from Sonic Race and Machine. Despite this, round three saw things turn pear-shaped when the team noticed steel filings in the car’s oiling system. The cause of this issue is suspected to be a failed camshaft. All is not lost, however, as Andrew managed to call on a favour from his father Keith, who just happens to have a race-ready Plymouth Cuda sitting in the shed. Sure, it’s not been built for CMC, but since travel and accommodation have already been booked for the series’…

With the recent launch of the Mustang Mach-E — originally tabled as the ‘Mach 1’ — the rumour mill has gone into full swing about the reported comeback of the Mach 1 nameplate after enthusiasts were not one bit pleased with the potential use of the Mach 1 moniker on an electric vehicle (EV). With the realization that so many people feel a fondness for the name, Ford is now reportedly bringing back the Mach 1, according to Torque News, which is claiming that “a source confirmed that this is not a rumour, but a fact that the Mustang Mach 1 will replace the Bullitt as the performance vehicle in the Mustang line-up”. A video with a handful of details also appeared online but was later taken down. The video…

In 12 months’ time, the Commodore will be pulled from Australian showrooms after a 42-year production run and back-to-back titles as the country’s most-loved car. It’s a dramatic fall from grace for one of the longest-running nameplates in the country and the nation’s top-selling car for a record 15 years in a row, from 1996 to the end of 2011. The news comes just three years after the Australian automaker switched to an imported model — Opel derived — following the end of local manufacturing in 2017. It marked the first time in the model’s history that consumers couldn’t get their hands on a V8, with the replacement vehicle in the lane of a Toyota Camry rather than a performance hero. Holden states that the company made an executive decision…

Central Otago is set to receive a new gravel hill-climb event thanks to Kiwi rally hero Hayden Paddon. Run by his Paddon Rallysport Group, the Ben Nevis Station Golden 1200 Hillclimb in Cromwell will take place over 7–8 March 2020. It is intended to be a sister event to the iconic Race to the Sky, which Paddon Rallysport is currently working to bring back for 2021. If the famed hill climb does return, the two events will run on alternating years. The hill climb uses 6km of Nevis Road, a remote high-country route between Bannockburn and Kingston, with Ben Nevis Station featuring as the service park and hill-climb start. Each driver will get three runs each day and the fastest time from each day will count towards the competitor’s final…

XD Falcons are not everyone’s cup of tea. Chris Robb’s example is just a little bit different, though, and the little ProCharger hanging off the side of the motor just added to the attraction. The fact that it’s a super tidy, low mileage car that had been barn stored for 19 years didn’t hurt either. When purchased, the little blown 302 didn’t perform quite as good as it should, and a quick trip to the Toy Shed in Rotorua soon revealed why: the 302 had been de-stroked to 248 for stock car racing. Rather than just put in a stock crank to get back the missing cubes, the decision was made to stretch it out to a 347, which certainly improved things. The problem now is that with the extra…

It’s hard to figure out just what Steve Allan Customs has on the go here just from the picture, but this hand-fabricated chassis will eventually end up sitting under a mid-’50s Bel Air. The rear has been C-notched and will use a custom four-link system to hold the diff in place. The front end will be all custom built based around the engine and ride height. And what kind of engine would you fit into such a cool-looking chassis? Try a Dodge Viper V10 and manual box, complete with a full custom-built exhaust! Once the body has had its panels straightened out and new paint applied, a full bucket-seat interior will be added to complete this masterpiece.…

Fast Eddie’ Trybula is pretty well known around the lower half of the North Island. He’s a top bloke who lives and breathes pretty much anything made by General Motors a decade before or after his birth. Thankfully, that includes the chrome-clad beauties of the ’50s and the monster muscle cars of the ’60s, both of which Eddie has owned plenty of over the years, including a current fleet of machines in various stages of disrepair. A decade ago, while in the US, Eddie was bitten by the gasser bug — hard — and it quickly became a must-have item, so he set about putting together his dream gasser; a ’57 Chevrolet using leftover parts from a few other projects that he already had on the go. When long-suffering partner…

NZV8: First of all, congratulations; you must be stoked! Barry Plumpton: Cheers, yeah we are; it’s a great achievement. You’ve always played down the five-second number as being a goal. Why was that? We just go out there to better ourselves each time; that was one of the great things about when we went racing in Australia. We go out there to learn: run a PB, learn, look at the data, go back again — it challenges us. We all look at the data together and try to figure stuff out. There’s nothing more rewarding than making a small change, going out there, and having what you diagnosed work and you go better. A lot of people get hung up on achieving that five — and it was cool; we’re…

We are so lucky as car crazies living in New Zealand. It’s relatively easy to import a cool car from almost anywhere in the world — especially from the land of the V8s, the good ol’ US of A. Most imported cars have a cool backstory, but what’s cooler than an American car that was ordered and bought new in the ’60s by your parents and has remained in the family ever since? In 1961, Michael Hood’s father, Mitty Hood, ordered his new Plymouth Belvedere with a 313 Poly (5.2-litre) V8, through Motor Sales and Service in Gore for £2150. It was a very different choice from all the Aussie and English cars that were coming into the country at the time, not to mention a big investment (you could…

Late-model Monaro scoops have been a cool-looking modification for Holden owners for some time now but getting them to look right is not an easy task for the inexperienced. In the project outlined here, we take a 2002 Holden VT-VX steel bonnet and mount a $200 fibreglass scoop to it. Before we kick off, let’s discuss the options, of which there are a few: one is to buy a brand-new Monaro bonnet at $1700, unpainted and not including the scoop inserts; a second is to buy a complete but unpainted fibreglass bonnet. Going with option one is ideal, but it doesn’t come painted or with the scoop inserts — Holden has discontinued making them, the idea being that if you crashed/wrecked your OEM factory bonnet you would buy a new…

There’s a distinct connection between people and the cars they drive. The obvious connection can be made between tradies and their practical workhorses, which, as we know, are now more common on the road than anything else. Plumbers have vans, builders have utes, soccer mums have, well, soccer mum cars, but what car does a handyman have? After all, a handyman is surely the most versatile of all tradies, willing to give everything a shot. In the case of Paul Maka, it’s a 1970 Chev Chevelle Malibu, and, as you can imagine with Paul being a hands-on jack of all trades, it’s one that he’s built from the ground up himself. Admitting that he has more skill than money, when Paul found the car under a tarp behind a house…

Is there anything better than a big ol’ smoky burnout? Few would argue against it, and down here in Oceania the bigger the burnout the better your reputation. There’s probably few who do it better than what can be seen across the ditch at the annual Summernats festival. Built around blowing tyres and demoing the ozone layer, the burnouts are legendary and even record breaking — but therein lies the issue. Summernats currently holds the Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous car-tyre burnout, with 126 cars — a mammoth effort and one that generated a shit ton of smoke. It’s that smoke that Guinness World Records is citing as the reason the organization will no longer “monitor the record” as it “encourages the emission of damaging gases in a…

After his recent exit from Garry Rogers Motorsport within the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship series, 28-year-old Kiwi racer Richie Stanaway has announced he’ll retire from the sport. Stanaway made the unexpected announcement via social media, also stating in interviews that politics and a lack of opportunity were factors in his decision. “After 23 years of strapping the helmet on, I feel like it’s time to finally call it a day,” wrote Stanaway. “I never would have predicted my racing career to be so short and it’s not a decision that I’ve taken lightly but it is what it is. I got further than I could have ever imagined I would and I can’t thank everyone enough that has been a part of the journey. Time to start a new chapter.”…

NZV8: The announcement that Shelby is going to be available in New Zealand is huge, it must have been a long time coming for you guys? Ross Prevette: Yeah it has, it’s something that’s been about 18 months for me, and a bit longer for Malcolm. We hoped it would be a lot sooner and a lot easier, but when you’re dealing with a company like Shelby and obviously Ford USA are involved and in turn, Ford New Zealand, there are a lot of boxes that need to be ticked. Where did the idea first come from? Malcolm had been wanting to do something with Shelby for a long time, I know that last year he’d sent emails to Shelby and made a couple of phone calls and nothing had…

EMAIL YOUR INFO TO: EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ ▸ 18–19 JANUARY JACK DANIELS KUMEU CLASSIC CAR & HOT ROD SHOW It’s been the star of the West Auckland show car and hot rod scenes for 26 years as of 2020, so it’s pretty clear to us that the Kumeu Classic Car & Hot Rod Show is only going up! The much-loved show is set to return to the Kumeu Showgrounds over the weekend of 18–19 January. Most of you will already know the drill — you’ve likely been going since day dot; for most, it’s one of those dates you dare not miss. Just as a refresher: Kumeu promises paddocks full of cool old cars, a gigantic swap meet, trade stalls, a top-shelf show hall, on-site camping (for entrants), good eats, and a…

EMAIL YOUR INFO TO EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ With monotonous regularity, the sun shone brightly yet again for Cam County Inc’s annual BurgerFuel Port Road Drags. The good fortune that the club has had over the last 53 years is uncanny, we don’t know or care who they paid off to ensure that the sun always shines but we’re thankful — as are the throngs of spectators. Over the last few years, drag racing — or more specifically — high-power street-legal cars indulging in rapid acceleration on drag strips, has become a lot more serious. Gone are the days of racers being proud of ten-second quarter-mile passes. The horsepower figures and engine sizes have grown astronomically and as a result, times have plummeted on the strip. Remember though, Port Road isn’t a quarter…

Five-second street car. Just think about that for a minute. A car that is 100-per-cent street legal and can run the quarter-mile in less than six seconds! It seems impossible, but there are now four of them on the planet — three in the US and now one in the UK. On 13 November this year, Andy Frost joined this elite club with a 5.95-second pass at 260mph, becoming the fourth member and in so doing smashing the old speed record held by Jeff Lutz by 9mph, proving that he has one of the quickest door cars on the planet. To put this elite group’s achievements in perspective, there have been three times as many people walk on the moon as have driven a street-legal car to a sub-six-second pass.…

Once a year in October, Australians and New Zealanders from all walks of life congregate at the Australian town of Bathurst to watch ‘The Great Race’. My first foray into that very ‘ocker’ tradition was in 2019, when I made the pilgrimage with four mates to see what all the fuss was about. The following serves as a simple guide to those who have contemplated going but have not yet committed. Bathurst is a delightful town of 37,000 people and is the oldest inland settlement in Australia. It is also one of the largest. It was first settled in 1815 but really took off in the mid 1800s when gold was discovered. At 662m above sea level, it can be cold at certain times of the year compared to places…

Approaching the mid-season round of the Enzed Central Muscle Cars (CMC), an intriguing battle formed with regard to the championship points. Several of the regular drivers who fight for glory up front were MIA, while, at the same time, a few who had been missing for a while reappeared. The thing is, no one expected the single round to make the dramatic difference to the championship that it did. The missing drivers were the likes of Andrew Anderson, who had given up his seat in the XE Falcon to Anderson senior — which meant the Pinepac Mustang was not in play; Tristan Teki, who was unable to attend; Christchurch-based speedster Andy Knight, who was still in repair mode from Manfeild; and fellow South Islanders Michael Wallace and Craig Boote, who…

BUY THIS ISSUE ONLINE AT MAGSTORE.NZ WHERE IS IT NOW? LORRIN MATHEWS 1967 FORD MUSTANG GT500 Why on earth did he chop up a genuine GT500? is no doubt what is running through many of your minds right now. Well, the answer is simple: “It’s my car and I can, so I did,” stated Lorrin Mathews when we featured his killer Mustang a decade ago. Much to the surprise of Mustang enthusiasts around the country, the car had been in New Zealand for more than 25 years when we featured it, but, for most of that time it hadn’t seen the light of day. Being a qualified mechanic in his earlier years, Lorrin himself assembled the supercharged motor, complete with custom crankshaft, forged rods, 10.5:1 forged pistons, and other tough-as-nails…