Innehållsförteckning för No 207 August 2022 från NZV8

I thought you weren’t supposed to have a midlife crisis until you hit 45, but here’s me some eight-years off that and I feel like that’s exactly where I’m at. I’ve recently hit the reset button on life. After 20 years of the big smoke, we sold up to move back to Northland. I’ve started cleaning out old projects to make way for new ones, hit pause on racing activities, and the big one (as far as this magazine goes) was deciding it was time to hand over the reins of NZV8 to some fresh blood. I’ve been working for Parkside Media for 11 years now — that’s roughly 132 monthly deadlines, 140-odd magazines, just shy of 1000 feature cars, and if I was to try to calculate the amount…

Twenty-year-old Rico D’Anvers is a talented BMX racer who has represented his country on five separate occasions, but none as big as the stage he now has his sights set on — the Paris Olympics in 2024. To do so, he must again head overseas to compete in order to qualify, which is by no means a cheap exercise, prompting the family to think outside the box. Rico’s dad Dion D’Anvers (the man behind the infamous Morrinsville burnouts) is putting together a fundraising event for his son’s international/Olympics campaign that is right up our readers’ alley. Mopars in Morrinsville will take place Sunday, 20 November (the weekend before Repco Beach Hop), at the Morrinsville Rec Grounds on Avenue Road South, from 8am to 1pm. They are calling for Mopars (Dodge,…

This story starts in Hamilton eight years ago. Back then the yellow HQ had a 308, tri-matic and a 10-bolt diff, which is exactly how Cory de Kort found it, and it stayed that way for as long as it took to get back to his stomping grounds in Wainuiomata. “The day we got it home, it got put on the hoist and the exhaust cut off in front of the diff to make it sound like a V8,” he explains, “then we lowered it and put a bug catcher scoop out the bonnet.” And that’s when all the trouble started. Within the year the “three-o” became a bit predictable and boring, and in the quest for a bit more power and some much more impressive skids — if he’s…

SLAMIN’ SUCCESS It’s been a couple of years now since we’ve been able to experience the magic of the Gulf Oils Winternats at Willowbank Raceway in Brisbane, but with the borders finally open and the sun shining, the 2022 event will go down in the books as one to remember. A handful of Kiwis were lucky enough to be racing at the event, including young Aucklanders Carlos and Shavaun Harvey. The brother and sister showed they take their racing equally as seriously as dad Rod Harvey, and managed to work their way through the Junior Dragster field in their Yuasa Batteries-sponsored dragsters. Despite the pressure that comes with the huge crowds in the stands, the Harveys were both on their game, Shavaun making it through four rounds of eliminations and…

The young Barry White was fun. He had all sorts of vehicles that sensible — non-car — people would frown upon. His daughters claimed they could hear him coming home up the Thames Coast several kilometres before he arrived. Somewhere along the line, though, he turned into a working professional and needed a boring practical car to do all those boring work-type things. That transition forced the sale of a tubbed VG Valiant with a 500hp 440 under the hood. While behind the wheel of the boring work cars, Barry had plenty of time to dream about the day he’d get back into something fun again. Having owned plenty of Japanese turbo cars amongst his various V8s, he’d often had the thought of combining the best of both worlds. His…

Wind the clock back to when Graeme was 20 years old. He had just purchased a jet-black 1969 Vauxhall PC Cresta as a daily driver; little did he know that over the next 45 years it would morph into the stupid-fast twin turbo fire-breathing machine it is today. For a while he was more than happy with the car, and its 3.3-litre straight six. He had convinced himself it was perfectly adequate for transporting him from point A to point B, for now. Eventually he decided a couple more cylinders and a different exhaust note were required to make the mundane journeys somewhat more enjoyable, so out went the six and in went a small block Chev. In the years that followed, Graeme would experiment with a couple of different…

This concept came about semi by accident. Rewind the clock back to a time when ex-NZV8 Editor Todd Wylie and his wife Kym were putting together their ’56 Cadillac (as seen in various issues over the last decade), they came across the opportunity to buy a classic 392 Hemi. The engine was from a low mileage ’57 Chrysler Imperial and came complete with pushbutton transmission and a bunch of other related bits. The plan at the time was to use it in a Ricky Bobby–style Tudor build, but that changed when a), they were on the receiving end of some of the largest vet bills you’ve ever heard of, and b), their daughter was born, meaning a two-seater Tudor was never going to become a reality. Instead, the idea moved…

High horsepower, screaming V8s, and a volley of flying mud and dirt aren’t often met with adjectives such as ‘finesse’, ‘strategy’, and ‘inch-perfect’; however, in the world of 4x4 trials, they go together like gumboots and mud. In essence, the sport of 4x4 trials is all about carefully threading your truck through a series of gates at physics-defying angles, ploughing through mud holes, and bounding up vertical climbs without touching the marker pegs to accumulate points. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it isn’t. When many of us think of going 4x4 driving, a burgundy Toyota Hilux with a roof rack, bull bars, lift kit, and some BF Goodrich tyres usually comes to mind. If we rewind to the roots of 4x4, that may have certainly been true — yet evolution…

While the brand Cadillac has been synonymous with luxury for decades, there is a whole other side to the brand in performance, namely sportscar racing. While grid appearances in the US-based IMSA series have been a constant since 2017, the world stage hasn’t been the focus until now. Following the release of their Project GTP Hypercar came the announcement they would be returning to Le Mans in 2023, and also contesting the World Endurance Championship. Cadillac has been absent from Le Mans for more than two decades. Powering the hypercar will be an all-new DOHC 5.5-litre V-8 engine, coupled with a mild hybrid system that all cars on the grid must run. Developed by Cadillac Design, Cadillac Racing, and Dallara, the hypercar also manages to pay tribute to the brand’s…

Not diversifying from the recipe that worked for the first Holden Addiction NZ (HANZ) Nationals in 2021, Ryan and his crew kept the formula “grassroots, old, new, unique, and modified” and that again proved to be a hit at this year’s 2022 HANZ Nationals supported by Racelign. But it wasn’t all plain sailing — the second annual HANZ Nationals was first forced to a grinding halt before it began, the dreaded ‘C’ and altered restrictions forcing a change of venue and then a date postponement from what was to be a hot summer’s day on 26 February to a risky winter date of 4 June. But the team at HANZ had been there before: at the first event in midwinter back in 2020, the skies opened up and rained down…

In last month’s column, I talked about the upcoming Winternationals and how I felt about being a Kiwi getting to race at that event. Well as I write this, it’s Sunday night after the event and I’m now back at the hotel trying to put into words what a blur of a few days it was. There were so many highs and a few lows that made up the weekend, but the reality is that as I sit here typing this, I have a tired but huge grin on my face. The event started for us on Thursday, so we travelled up on Wednesday, parked the truck in the pits, and went to our hotel. Thursday was a set-up day at the track, for me though ‘work’ (not that it’s…

Hot rodding for me is all about the history and heritage of it all and how that inspires us moving forward. Living in Auckland, New Zealand all my life, a whole world away from where it started, my influence and inspiration first came from my dad and his rodding buddies. Wherever he went, I went with him and couldn’t have asked for a better upbringing. I read magazines and books and built model cars. I was eight years old when Jim ‘Jake’ Jacobs’ brush-painted tub and the late Pete Chapouris’s ‘Limefire’ were on the cover of Rod & Custom — I thought, wow! Since then, I remember being in high school when I bought the Hot Rods by Pete & Jake book. Jake’s cars and the fun attitude of it…

In 1955, GM released its Chevrolet and GMC pickup trucks, the second generation since the end of the war. Our feature vehicle here wears ‘3200’ badges but it is in fact a 3100 model. As with the previous generation, the 3100 model was half-ton and a short bed; the 3600 was three-quarter ton with a long bed. There was also a 3200 model, being a long-bed version with the thicker frame of the 3600 but only the suspension of the half-ton. But what none of these trucks offered was four-wheel drive. What a lot of people don’t know is that four-wheel drive was a rarity on early US trucks and pickups. Sure, they had vehicles like the Dodge Power Wagons, a hangover from US military production during World War II.…

NZV8: Hi Allen, nice truck — what year is it? Allen: It is a 1976 Ford F100 stepside. What is the difference between the stepside and a regular truck? My truck, being a stepside version, has the fenders visible outside the actual truck bed. This typically reduces the carrying capacity of the truck bed, but it adds a lot of style to the look. The word ‘step’ comes from the step provided to the forward area of the fender where the bed meets the cab. The more common look is a fleetside/styleside, whereby the wheel arches are contained within the bed; it is cheaper for the manufacturer and provides a little more load space in the bed. What is the difference between this and the F150? I think the Ford truck is…

It’s a year since it was announced that Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway would contest Bathurst as a wild card entry, and after the 2021 plans had to be canned, the duo have finally jumped behind the wheel of their Boost Mobile-sponsored Bathurst Wildcard entry. Erebus Motorsport had the Kiwi duo running laps at Winton to get them comfortable in the car, and the team working as a unit. For Stanaway, who hadn’t really raced anything since leaving Supercars in 2019, it was about getting some of that muscle memory back. “It’s been good fun. It’s good to get back in a car; it’s obviously been a few years,” he said. “Getting close (ish) to the limit is one thing, but you’re racing 25 of the best guys that are…

With season 10 of Repco Muscle Garage now well and truly underway, that also means time is running out to put yourself into the draw for this season’s mega prize pack from the show’s longtime supporters Repco New Zealand, Meguiar’s, and Mount Shop Ltd. The prize pack includes an 85-piece tool kit from Repco valued at $672, a Meguair’s car care package valued at $760, a Mount Shop voucher to the value of $500, and a year’s subscription to NZV8 valued at $98. All you have to do to enter is head to themotorhood.com, click on the pinned Repco Muscle Garage post, and fill out the form. The draw closes Sunday, 14 August, at 12pm, so don’t say we didn’t give you plenty of warning. We’d also like to thank…

NUT UP Made from steel for structural integrity, then hardened and tempered for an extreme level of quality, Aeroflow Performance’s new range of performance wheel nuts are designed to be strong and have been treated with a high corrosion resistant base to combat rust in any environment, then nickel plated black or chromed for lasting beauty. The range includes shanked, conical, open and closed wheel nuts and JDM racing wheel nuts that feature a rotating seat known as ‘scratch free’, which prevents scratching the inner surface of the wheel when torquing up to spec. Aeroflow wheel nuts are sold in packs of five. For more information and your nearest distributor visit aeroflowperformance.com.au SHINE BRIGHT Like most plastic parts from the early ’90s, your EF-EL Falcon indicators might be looking a…

Just on a month ago, a lot of people — myself included — were gutted to learn that our friend Robin Silk had just lost his hard-fought battle with leukaemia. The auditorium at Southward Car Museum holds more than 500 people and, with that packed out, half as many people again were standing out in the foyer, flowing down the stairs, and out to the main entrance doors. An estimated 700 people from all over New Zealand turned out to say a sad farewell to a wonderful guy. I was lucky enough to get a seat up near the front, which enabled me to see, draped over Robin’s casket, alongside his ‘Wally’, what looked like a T-shirt. I eventually recognised it as one of the T-shirts I did for Robin,…

The late ’80s and early ’90s were undoubtedly the golden age of the poster car. Never before and never again would large-format posters and framed prints of automobiles become part of the average household’s scenery. During this era Countachs, Diablos, Testarossas, F40s, Vipers, and 959s could be found not just plastering the bedroom walls of teenage boys, but framed and hanging in the lounges and hallways of actual adults too. In fact, the lifechanging moment in which I realised that both cars and the opposite sex had mysterious, as-yet unexplored appeal came when sitting in a family friend’s lounge, staring up at a large framed print of a buxom perm-haired woman in a leotard and legwarmers draped over the front of an ice-white Lamborghini Countach. I was sold. Amidst the…

1968 PLYMOUTH ROADRUNNER - @CHARLIESCUSTOMCREATIONS There’s nothing quite like taking a one-year-only model and making it even more one-off, right? With plenty of subtle body modifications, billet machining and 3D printing, this build was already heading for an award-winning level before the core components were installed. The original 383 has been bored and stroked out to 496ci before being mated to a TorqueFlite transmission and the 8¾-inch Moser rear end. Hotchkis and Control Freak take care of the suspension requirements, before Wilwood brakes housed inside custom Ferrada 20 / 22-inch wheels make sure the beast can stop. Finally some insane paint via House Of Kolor completes the standout build. 1967 FORD F100 - @LOU_GARAGE It’s amazing what can be built in your two-car garage! Case in point is this sweet…

The evening of 20 February 1987, just a week before the opening round of the Australian Touring Car Championship, was when Peter Brock’s world turned upside down. It was the evening where Brock launched his much vaunted, yet highly controversial Holden Calaisbased Director, featuring many components that were not Australian Design Rules (ADR) compliant, including a mysterious object we’d all come to know as the Energy Polarizer. It was a small black box mounted underneath the bonnet containing mystical crystals and magnets. During 1986, Brock had met Dr Eric Dowker, a local chiropractor based in Melbourne’s Diamond Valley area. His influence on Brock was almost immediate as lifestyle changes followed for Brock, who quit smoking, turned vegetarian, and stopped his heavy drinking. Importantly, it was Dowker’s beliefs in mystical crystal…

NAUGHTY 40 Ashhurst’s Deane Wald is deep into the build of a short wheelbase strip monster. Having purchased the Austin A40 body and bare chassis from Wellington some years ago, he has since set about making it his own and bringing it closer to completion. The bodywork has been taken care of by Deane himself, while a good friend helped to construct the large rear wing it now wears. That wing was crafted from aluminium and shaped to form somewhat of a tray cover, adding an aggressive look to the vehicle. Rather than straighten out the front sheet metal, he managed to get his hands on a mould from which he used to create a one-piece front clip. It looks a bit different to your average A40, thanks to aerodynamic…

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