Innehållsförteckning för No 181 June 2020 från NZV8

General Motors announced the final nail in the Holden brand’s coffin not long before the world was gripped by COVID-19, and as you can imagine both have been the topic of many conversations since. I’ve been really interested to hear the various opinions on the Holden matter, in part because it seems like my own opinion is different to most. I like that, not because I’m a stirrer, but because it’s great to have different views on things as it creates robust discussion. The big talking point is the fact that Holden/GM will only be supplying new parts for 10 years … Everyone seems up in arms about that, but as far as I’m aware, most manufacturers only make/stock new parts for around that long anyway. Sure, there’s probably the…

As you will all be well aware by the time you’re reading this, Repco Beach Hop 20 did not go ahead as planned 25–29 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the event has been postponed until 25–29 November 2020, where the 20th anniversary celebrations are hoped to go ahead as planned, as well as our annual Beach Hop Special. Organizers released the following statement via social media in regard to the postponement: “After careful consideration of the COVID-19 situation and discussions with the DHB and Ministry of Health, we have decided to postpone Repco Beach Hop 20 until 25–29 November 2020. We hope that the virus pandemic will be more controlled over the next [eight] months so we can celebrate our 20th year of this wonderful event. “More details…

If you like the sound of McLaren Built LS3 engines in 1250kg cars, then you’re set to love the new NZV8TA2 race class. An announcement has been made by NZ Touring Cars Ltd that the BNT V8s Championship will adopt the popular TA2 platform. The first two chassis arrived in the country just prior to Covid-19 lockdown in preparation for a launch party, which was subsequently cancelled. The vehicles set to be on display included a Mustang bodied TA2 as well as a Camaro bodied version. Two current competition cars from the similar Australia series were also in New Zealand for demonstration purposes; those being a Challenger bodied TA2 as well as a two-seater Camaro. Designed and built by Howe Racing Enterprises in the United States, the class formula is…

We know 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 news that Teng Tools Muscle Garage is back for its fifth season from Sunday, 3 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 every Sunday for your viewing pleasure. Stay tuned for the full suite of dates to be announced.…

Blair Gribble-Bowring may be known for his V8-powered Nissan S14 used to contest the Pro-Sport class of the D1NZ National Drifting Championship, but he’s also got something much more interesting on the boil. The new build was kicked off when Blair decided that he wanted a car that stood out amongst the drift crowd. That base, a 2014 Chev Corvette C7, was an insurance write-off from the USA that Blair tells us was one of many going through the auctions at the time. Blair managed to pick it up for a song and parted out the unwanted pieces upon arrival to help recoup costs. The Chev now wears a custom widebody that includes front and rear bumpers, custom side skirts, and a front splitter. Both doors and the rear hatch…

Muscle Car Madness is a one-of-akind event — the type that is hard to imagine still existing in 2020. Apparently, it’s toned down and succumbed to whatever PC bollocks necessary to keep the best car show in New Zealand running, but you wouldn’t know it. Rolling through the gates at Rangiora Showgrounds is like entering an old hot rodder’s stories about the good old days: it’s rough and loud and there’s way too much beer to be good for anyone, but damn it’s a good time. After driving down last year with ‘TRANNY’ — a purpose-built Goon hack — my mate Cam and I decided to do it again for the big Muscle Car Madness 30th anniversary, but driving rather than towing. The only issue was that both of our…

Well, by the time this column is being read, who knows what situation the world will be in. But for now, let’s go back a few weeks. It was Monday morning, we had just raced nitro funny cars down the track I grew up at, in front of a whole pile of fans — you could say things were good. Anyway, after the Meremere event we set off down to New Plymouth with eight nitro funny cars and two transporters to Pirtek Taranaki. We had two weeks to pull apart, maintain, put back together, test start, and prepare everything to top condition, ready for the Masterton Motorplex round of the New Zealand tour. We only had two weeks, as we were due back in Sydney to test a new car…

If you’ve been to Meremere Dragway over the last 35 years, there’s a good chance you will have heard the name ‘Justin Weir’ being blasted through the PA speakers. The quartermile strip of tarmac at this iconic venue is one he knows well, having launched various different cars towards the gravel trap at the far end with almost monotonous regularity. While the vehicles he’s competed in may be quite different from one another in the way they make their power, the performance has always been similar; 10-second passes, give or take. Having successfully campaigned a nine-second street-legal, second-generation Camaro, Justin’s ears pricked up when he learnt of impending rule changes that meant late-model vehicles (2008 or newer) no longer required roll cages to run 10-second passes. As late-model cars packed…

Zac Wilkinson’s home town of Waiuku is known as the turbo LS capital of New Zealand, so we’re not quite sure what the locals will think when they see what he’s dreaming of building next. When asked for his concept, he let us know that it would be a ‘56 Ford F100, which in itself is nothing out of the ordinary. Where it would depart from tradition, however, is its engine — a Barra Turbo sourced from a Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo or G6E Turbo. Those in the know, know that the Barra is an engine that commands respect, displacing four litres in a straight-six configuration and, as the name would suggest, is topped off with a decent-sized turbo. Somehow though, given Zac’s history, we don’t think he’d be keeping…

Waitangi Day this year was not only New Zealand’s national day but also the kick-off of the National T-Bucket Alliance (NTBA) New Zealand’s T-Bucket Nationals, held in Christchurch. This first-time event attracted entrants not only from New Zealand but also from the US and Japan, as well as a couple of ex-pats living across the Tasman. Rod Benders’ clubrooms, based in Hornby, was chosen as HQ for the weekend — it had more than enough room and facilities for the bucket fans. Thursday morning dawned sunny, with entrants meeting up at the clubrooms for the cruise out to Rakaia Gorge. After a brief meeting, the overseas participants were allocated a seat in any bucket that had a spare. Pulling out of the clubrooms, it was a game of follow the…

BOOSTED SYMMETRY Ever since we first started hanging turbos on each side of a V8 we’ve been plagued with one issue that sends anyone with even a mild case of OCD nuts and that’s the fact they both spin the same way, requiring non-mirrored charge pipes. Aeroflow is here to solve the issue with its new range of reverse rotation Aeroflow Performance Boosted turbochargers. The new design is engineered for the compressor wheel to rotate counterclockwise, thereby pointing the housing outlet in the opposite direction from a standard rotation turbocharger. The reverse rotation turbos are currently available only for selected models and are V-band turbine inlet and outlet at this stage, with many more options to be available in the near future. For more information on all your turbo and…

As Holden prepares to exit the Australian and New Zealand markets, HSV is busy realigning its offerings alongside partner GM, with the announcement that it will no longer build the Colorado SportsCat, nor will it convert the Camaro 2SS to right-hand drive. The news leaves HSV’s line-up consisting of the supercharged Camaro ZL1 and the Silverado 1500 and 2500. The C8 Corvette may join later, under the GMSV banner. While the death of the SportsCat isn’t all that surprising, considering that the Colorado it’s based on will soon be non-existent, the exit of the 2SS was unexpected. The company states it’s out mainly because of the cost of emissions development and validation, as well as exchange rate pressures leaving the model not viable. HSV boss Tim Jackson said that the…

Despite the country’s drastic measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Mark Greenfield from Need A Car tells us the majority of its dealers are still able to operate through the different alert levels thanks to revised operation plans. Alert level three, of which we’re in at the time of writing, allows for a contactless sales process that is likely to be carried forward to some degree as we see out level two and one. The majority of the sales process can be carried out online, where buyers can browse vehicles virtually, through the likes of Need A Car, other vehicle listing sites, and dealer websites. Dealers can handle all forms of online enquiry during this time, including virtual vehicle walkarounds taking advantage of video calling. Most dealers…

MotorSport New Zealand (MSNZ) dropped a bombshell when it recently announced that the long-running BNT V8s series is getting the boot and TCR New Zealand is being brought in to replace it for the 2020–’21 season. The outgoing series has been awarded the title of New Zealand Touring Car Championship every year since 1996 and has seen a number of toptier drivers come up through its ranks. However, Elton Goonan, the competitions manager for MSNZ, believes TCR better reflects what local vehicle distributors are selling, which increases the potential for support from them — a reference to the current Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore nameplates that make up the grid no longer being produced. Organizers say that it was intended to launch TCR New Zealand in late 2020; however, with…

Gene Carty has set himself an ‘on the road’ deadline for later this year. His plan is to create something a bit different, and in his words: “I’m building a user, not a polisher.” That something different is a pre-1949 Ford 1-Tonne pickup that’s taking shape in Paul Bouman’s Metal Bodies workshop at Outram near Dunedin. It’s been a long search over a number of years to amass the parts required, but Gene’s dream of building a truck with a hot-rod theme and incorporating something along the lines of what he grew up driving has never wavered. Gene soon realised that if he wanted to build such a truck, there was only one way to do it in the short time frame he’d given himself — he’d need to go…

Waiuku is a strange place. A rural district south of Auckland, it seems to be a breeding ground for a disproportionate number of high-powered vehicles, predominantly turbo LS Commodores. Zac Wilkinson’s latest effort doesn’t even try to buck that trend — if anything, it simply pushes the’Uku even further into turbo-LS-capital of-New Zealand territory. Like it or not, GM’s LS family of engines is the modern-day small block Chev, and it’s here to stay. Where the old small block enjoyed almost a half-century as the world’s go-to V8, the LS has brought that same abundance and affordability to the table, along with a raft of the bigger and better: six-bolt mains, availability in alloy and iron blocks, and a plethora of aftermarket support. But even in stock form, the LS…

While it may not be the biggest spectator event on the calendar, the IHRA New Zealand Nationals is the big one for racers wishing to claim national championships. This year, the event was held on 8 March at Meremere Dragway and will be remembered for the on- and off-track action. The big talking point was one we’d much rather not be discussing, and that is Anthony Marsh’s wild ride way past the end of the strip, across a stream or two, and through a couple of fences in the Marsh Motorsport / Mount Shop A-Fuel dragster. The positives from this high-speed accident are that Anthony walked away from it bruised but unscathed, meaning the safety gear did its job remarkably well. The other positive is that he managed to take…

Japanese cars are great. Yeah, that may not be a statement you’d expect to see in the pages of NZV8, but anyone who tells you different clearly hasn’t experienced them. The truth is, they’re simple to work on — bolting parts on and off is a breeze with all the panels lining up. Everything is lightweight, fitting bumpers, and even gearboxes, can easily be done at home by yourself. And the economy … not just the fuel economy, but how affordable and available parts are … See? Told you they were great! However, as much fun as Nick Milne may have been having with the various Japanese cars that he’s owned over the years — and, to his credit, he’s had a few of the best — he wanted something…

If you’re a car enthusiast, then you’ll have heard the terms ‘paint correction’ or ‘cut and polish’. In this article, I’ll be explaining how it’s done, what’s involved, and how to get great results. I’ll also cover the different ways the method is used in the panel and paint industry and give you a demonstration of how to rejuvenate older paintwork. This should give you more of an understanding so you can do it at home or have a better idea of what to expect if it is done by a professional business. So let’s jump into it! A ‘cutting compound’ or ‘rubbing compound’ is an abrasive material suspended in a paste that is used to restore car paintwork. It can polish out paint scratches and remove old and oxidized…

Perhaps more than any decade before or since, the 1980s spawned some of the most outrageous and eccentric cars to ever grace a New Zealand race track. And Ian Algie’s mad Alfetta was perhaps the most outrageous and eccentric of them all. This creation was first given life around 1978, when Ian Algie, of Auckland, and his older brother Barry, travelled to Italy to purchase a brand-new Alfa Romeo bodyshell, suspension components, and transaxle. Ian had been wanting to design and build a modified racing saloon and studied motoring annuals to determine what model offered the best overall weight, front–rear weight bias, wheelbase, width, length, and drag coefficient. He concluded the new Alfa Romeo Alfetta provided the best package. When Ian began planning the car, and even when he began…

REPEAT OFFENDER We mention Zac Wilkinson’s old Navara in this issue, and, in case you missed it, we’ve uploaded the full feature on it to themotorhood.com. Even if he debuted the car now, it’d still turn heads, but this was back five years ago, so you can understand why it blew people’s minds when it debuted. The twin-turbo LS-powered monster was built to create around 1000hp at the flywheel and put that to the ground through a tubbed rear end. The best thing is that the whole car was built by Zac and a group of mates in a shed. Then again, Zac and his mates come from Waiuku, so we really shouldn’t be surprised by their love of LS engines, boost, or fabrication skills! Search ‘Navara’ to find the…

The world has been fascinated with the Ford Bronco since the first generation was produced back in the 1950s. While production of the second generation of the Bronco ended in 1996, Ford has been teasing an impending release of the third generation for the past year or so, and now we have insider images of the new model in production thanks to a well-timed leak — just weeks from the official reveal. The photos that have appeared across Internet message boards show the SUV undisguised in both two-door and four-door trim, with what appears to be a removable roof and rail system on the four-door option. The twodoor appears to have a roll bar structure that extends to the rear of the cargo area. While these photos are from a…

At RNZAF Base Ohakea, Sergeant Dean Hart has broken both the flying mile and flying kilometre land speed records driving his turbine-propelled drag car — earning him the Castrol Trophy, which has been held by Owen Evans since 1996, for his efforts. To set the record, the car had to run in both directions within an hour to take account of any wind factor, the times then being averaged for a final figure. On the first run, Hart clocked 213.258mph over the flying mile and 324.646kph (201.731mph) for the flying kilometre, both falling just short of the previous records. The second run in the opposite direction was where the magic happened: he clocked in at 251.046mph and 402.280kph (249.972mph), respectively. The times were averaged out, to set the records at…

Rob Mitchell is lucky enough to have owned his HZ ute for 26 years, so it’d be fair to say that over that time it’s undergone a few changes. While the Holden is a factory 308 car, the evolution saw the original engine pulled in favour of a 350 small block Chev, then a 400ci small block. It’s now undergoing a major refresh — the key ingredient being a 6.2-litre supercharged LSA. While the engine itself may be stock, a 10 per cent overdrive pulley has been added for a bit more boost. Tuff Mounts have been utilized to help make the installation process easy, while Pacemaker headers have been slotted in each side, and an Aussie Desert Coolers radiator also added. Backing up the combo is a TH400 trans…

That’s a pearler of a car, Ken. Why the Mustang? It wasn’t my choice really. Quite unbelievably this car was a very generous gift. It started with a conversation with my father in law, Bob, and we were discussing how cars devalued and how good it would be to own a daily driver that didn’t. I thought nothing more of it but a few months later during a phone call between Bob and my wife, the phone was handed to me with Bob letting me know he’s ordered us a limited-edition Mustang, a Bullitt. The initial plan was Bob would drive the car for a couple of years and then hand it on to me. I’d be lying if I said I was able to contain my excitement levels and…

The global low-rider culture is an interesting social scene full of many contrasts and contradictions. While low-riders may have initially started in low socio-economic areas, today’s incarnation has come a very long way. Right here in New Zealand, there’s a burgeoning scene — even if that’s not apparent to other factions of the car-loving world. While our vehicle regulations may make some modifications that you see in the American or even European low-rider scenes out of reach, there’s a big similarity, and that is the community focus. All around the world, low-rider lovers will talk about the low-rider familia, or family, and it’s exactly that. Maybe it’s due to the scene being slightly left field, or perhaps due to its smaller number of participants, but whatever the reason, the closeknit,…

Christchurch has long been known for its automotive culture — not always in the best light; nevertheless it has an active car scene that has many well-supported events. When Azhar Bhamji and his team brought Chrome Expression Session down to Christchurch from the North Island last year for the first time, the event attracted a huge crowd of petrolheads — not only as entrants but also as spectators. This year’s event, which took place at the beginning of March, was always going to be bigger and better. Adding to that was the extension to three days, for added track time. Friday, 6 March saw the gates flung open at noon for those already queuing outside, who were keen to get their weekend started with a VIP Friday afternoon. Registration, safety…

Bronson Dunne is a name well associated with top doorslammers, with the Tauranga-based mechanic having far more experience than his age would lead you to believe. Having been a crucial part of Nigel Dixon and Mike Reid’s racing campaigns, Bronson has decided to step up from crew member to car owner. For that, he’s purchased an HT Monaro out of Australia. The fully fibreglass body is draped over a double-framerail chromoly chassis and was originally raced by Murry Orme in the early 2000s. It only completed 29 runs in AA/AP, with a screw blower. Since last being raced, a lot of updates have been made to the car by Black Magic Race Cars in Perth. A change of circumstances, however, saw it up for sale, and Bronson jumped at the…

Leading up to the NZ Rodder Gasser Wars Reunion Drags 2020, the Coronavirus was in its infancy in New Zealand. Sadly, it accelerated with decent 60-foot times and soon forced the cancellation of a number of events that we’d all been waiting for. We didn’t realise it at the time, but the Gasser Wars would be the last drag racing event of the season — and for the foreseeable future. It was an event that many had been waiting for, though, and the spectators and racers who made the trip to Amisfeild Air Strip in Tokoroa wouldn’t be disappointed. The hype behind groups such as the Vintage Gassers, Wild Bunch, and FED Challenge has been rapidly snowballing, with drivers now building or buying cars to be part of the action.…

1969 Chev Camaro SS — @HYSTERIA_CAMARO It has been a while since we featured a’69 Camaro in this column, but this example, via Natalie Haynes, is as good a reason as any to put one back in. The outside is coated in a custom white hue with some subtle body modifications to clean up the overall look. Handling is care of Ridetech with full tubular suspension arms and a four-link set-up along with QA1 dampers for control. Power comes from a Don Hardy–built LS3 that helps spin the repurposed C6 Corvette wheels. A selection of parts from Ring Brothers, Billet Specialties, and Fesler Inc. complete the package. 1956 Chev Bel Air — @BKARST177 It is pretty hard to beat a cool street car and this’56 from Bradyn Karst is a…

At the time of writing, the world is falling around us. COVID-19 has closed borders, schools, and entire industries. The world’s economy is in for a rough ride. So in the midst of all this terror and angst, there’s the odd moment of welcome relief and escapism. For some, it’s a beer at the end of the day with a juicy steak and a good movie. For others, it’ll simply be spending time with family … Indoors … So much time with family indoors. Then there’s us, the petrolheads. We’ll have our moments in cars now that traffic has cleared and fuel is getting cheaper by the day. For us, life has a certain sweetness right now. And the pinnacle of a happy moment in cars may well be what…

CAMARO DOUBLE DUTY Paul Boden’s a man used to doing double duty on CMC race weekends, being not only a driver in the series but also club president. At round five of the series he added an extra level of difficulty, not just by racing his Group2 Camaro but also racing a second Camaro in the Mainland Muscle Cars class. Paul had a reasonable amount of success, too, with third place in the final race of Mainland Muscle Cars and second in race two of Central Muscle Cars. HEADS’ GUEST APPEARANCE It’s not often that a car builder gets to really experience the fruits of their hard labour; however, Rodney Heads of Heads Racing Supplies got exactly that when he was handed the drive of Sean Fowler’s Torana. Due to…