Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2026 i NZ Hot Rod

Only The Depth That Varies THE numbers are in, and sales of this mag reflect an uptick in the retail market for magazines in general. That increase defies the overall trend in consumer spending, where Worldline NZ's payment network picked up in the pre-Christmas third week of December but remained 1.3% below the first 21 days of December 2024. Overall spending processed through Worldline's core retail merchants in the first 21 days of December reached $3.223 billion. That's a huge number, but our share of that is a mere micron thick. The retail sales results for our December Christmas issue featuring the Best of 2025 show it was our best-selling issue of the year. Thank you to all who stepped up and bought a copy, which some readers have described…

ATHOL and Kerry Anderson have always loved American-bodied vehicles and had a pipe dream of owning one, but four things stood in their way. A mortgage on their Auckland house for a start, and three young children, sound familiar? Mortgages gradually get paid off, and if children eat their Weetbix and vegetables, they will grow up, eventually leave home, and enter the real world. When the children grew up, the youngest son developed a love for cars and soon started “pointing out” American cars to his dad that he should buy. The pipe dream started. A ’78 T-Top Camaro became Kerry's daily driver, and Athol soon purchased an ’87 Chevrolet Pickup. Athol had Steve Levine do a fantastic airbrush job of the Grim Reaper on the hood and a burning…

THE North Shore Rod & Custom Club held the 40th Annual Toy Appeal on a lovely early evening on the first day of summer from 5.00 pm at the Vellenoweth Green, St Heliers, Auckland. Right on 5 pm, the Vellenoweth Green filled up fast with hot rods, customs, sprint cars, Mustangs, Caddies, and vintage cars. It was a case of: if it used petrol or methanol, it was most likely there on display. The Auckland City Brass Band played all those well-known Christmas carols and songs, adding to the festive feeling of the night. As the afternoon sunset slowly disappeared over the Auckland City skyline, many of those who had a vehicle on display settled into their foldout chairs and, along with fellow hot rodders, enjoyed a few refreshments to…

LAURIE Parnwell's ’27 Dodge Brothers Capital Roadster is what a young hot rodder might have built in California in hot rodding's early days. Laurie's story leading up to his latest build started around the 1970s. Laurie began his apprenticeship as an Auto Electrician at Lucas Electrical in Tauranga under one of the pioneers of hot rodding, Errol Uttinger (RIP). That was also his introduction not only into the workforce but also into hot rodding, especially drag racing. He was only a few months into his apprenticeship when he crewed on Errol & Elaine's rear engine rail from the ’70s right up to the ’80s. He travelled wherever Errol raced, along with Maurice & Maxine Hipperson (both RIP), when Maurice was running his Capri Funny Car, Shady Lady. The Muldoon “Think…

GARY Murphy's PT Cruiser Ute is something different and quite unique – possibly the only one in NZ at this present time. The project kicked off when Gary got bored in the wintertime and thought it would be a cool thing to do. Gary says, “I wanted to build a PT Cruiser ute, but was a little unsure if I was gonna get it approved for certification in New Zealand. It took a year to get all the information required to get it approved by low-volume certification to allow him to do it, and then another year to build it”. The factory-standard 2.4L engine remains under the hood. But wait – there's more. Gary says, “I've built the Ute first as a test run, so now, I know what changes…

History When the previous owners, Darrell & Wendy, bought this caravan, they engaged Mike Wells from Retro Custom Caravans in Whakatane to refurbish the exterior. It was painted in white and blue, with the blue matching their 1965 Ford Mustang. Mike also added streamlining, spats, the replica 1939 LED taillights, and the spare wheel mount. Darrell, an ex-builder, totally refurbished the interior. Our Story We had the idea of getting a caravan for a while, but hadn't really settled on what we wanted. We weren't sure of size, style, make, did we want a toilet or not, etc. We'd been browsing Trade Me on & off for some time & were always attracted to the retro caravans that were already ‘done up’. While browsing, we saw this lovely blue &…

THIS is not necessarily a ‘hot rod tale’, but as many hot rodders also own classic motorcycles, hopefully you might get a kick out of this story, which I was recently told. Andy Charlesworth is based in Ngãruawãhia and operates Affordable Motorcycle Movers, a nationwide business in which he travels over 150,000 kilometres per year, usually in a large van, and often towing a large enclosed trailer. The van and trailer are invariably filled with motorcycles. Street bikes, race bikes, classic and collectable bikes, big bikes, little bikes, bikes sold and purchased, picked up and delivered. The rarest bike Andy has transported was an Indian board racer, the third one off the production line in 1904/'05. Andy is in a perfect position to indulge in his passion for collecting his…

ESTABLISHED 20 years ago in 2005, Rocket Speed Equipment has specialised in building hot rods, customs, muscle cars, part builds, sheetmetal fabrication and custom frames, right from the smallest modifications to the full turn-key cars. Visit their website www.rocketspeedequipment.com and view the section - Rocket Vehicles. There, you will view over 25 builds that owner Dan Tyler and his team have created; every one of them has made their mark on the hot rod scene, taking out major awards at several events. Not only does Rocket build hot rods & customs, but they also hold an Open Day, which has fast become one of the most popular events to attend. This year's event, held on 13th December, was close to one of the largest so far, with the number of…

THE heading may relate to a breed of apple, but one thing is clear, and that's the fact that Graeme and Lynne Cox have one of the brightest creations ever to grace these pages. Their ’37 Hudson Terraplane Coupe was included in a feature I did in HRM back in the July 2017 issue on Graeme's Hot Rod Engineering shop in Te Poi, Matamata. Now on the road delivering super reliable fun for 20-plus years, the Coupe was still placed in the Top 10 at the 2024 NSRA Nationals held in Manawatu. And in Graeme's own words, “I think it's a keeper!” Long-time associate and good friend, the Rt Hon. Graham Park, penned a goodie on the Coupe in the recent December ’25 issue when he stated, “On the sea…

NEW ZEALAND GARAGE SCENE OUR hot rod and street machine cruising culture has a rich history that dates back to the post-World War II era in the United States. It originated in Southern California, particularly in cities like Los Angeles (Van Nuys Blvd) and San Diego, where young people would gather to show off their hot rods and custom cars and socialise. Here in New Zealand, we followed the trend too, more so in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Queen Street, Auckland, on a Friday night, was like Cathedral Square in Christchurch and many other cities: a gathering place as hot-rodders cruised up and down the “main drag” until the shops closed around 9 pm. Yes, late-night shopping was the night when members of the public did their shopping while we…

THE 2025 Mooneyes Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show turned out to be one of the highlights of our first trip to Japan. Going along with my wife and son, we didn't really know what to expect, but as soon as we walked in, it was obvious this was more than just a car show. The place was buzzing - great music, heaps of energy, and rows of seriously impressive cars and bikes everywhere you looked. What made it so good was the variety. You'd go from perfectly restored vintage hot rods to wild custom motorcycles and then stumble across something totally unexpected the next minute. The stands were just as interesting, with loads of cool gear, artwork, and parts that made it feel more like a festival than an exhibition.…

THE second Bainesse Hop was held at the Bainesse Showgrounds, located just below Steve & Jenny Forest's residence in Upper Bainesse. To many, the question is - where is Bainesse? If you are driving north or south on SH1, it is almost halfway between Sanson & Foxton, but turn off at Himatangi, and it's a couple of clicks down the road from there. Bainesse is primarily known as a rural locality in the Manawatu province. It was named by an early settler after a place in England, Bayness in Yorkshire, meaning “Welcome”. Of historical significance in 1946, one year before Roswell, USA, a UFO crashed at the Bainesse Showgrounds on the first Sunday of January 1946, which is why Steve & Jenny decided to hold the Bainesse Hop on the…

February > 1 Open Air Display hosted by Moonshine R&CC at Trentham Memorial Park, Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt. Contact Dean Somerville ph 027 446 8518 > 1 One-Day Rod Run hosted by the Oilers Hot Rod Club. Meet at the The Crossing Shopping Centre Lower Carpark, Tauriko, Tauranga. Contact Woody ph 021 886359 > 5-8 Street Rod Nats hosted by Eastside Street Rodders in Hastings > 5-8 Provincial Rod Run hosted by Whitestone Rod & Restorers at Dansey's Pass campground, Dansey's Pass Road, North Otago. Contact Ken Harper ph 027 6345226 > 6 One-Day Twilight Run hosted by Wheels Inc at the Hooton Reserve to Harry James Reserve Taupaki. Contact Dave Potter ph 021 521766 > 7 Southern Grilles & Gasoline at the Collegiate Rugby Club Grounds, Lindisfarne St, Invercargill. > 7 NSDW 5 at NAPA…

On the Monday following The Garage's 35th celebrations, a bunch of regulars with three rodding guests from Canberra (our ol' mate Keego, along with Richard Vlazlovski and Pete Brady) headed west for three days of Coast hospitality organised by Gonk the Greymouth pinstriper. On the Tuesday we visited six garages and collections, plus a lunch stop at the Woodstock Hotel. lots of Flatheads. The Garage crew based ourselves at the Ross Hotel, which in itself is a great piece of West Coast gold mining history. The publican Mark Browne has his own collection of cool stuff next to the Ross Hotel, which, if you speak nicely to the right person, you can usually have a viewing. As for the biblical weather? Gonk summed it up best, in true West Coast…

SURE, we might be old…but we saw the best bands in their prime, hung out with our friends and drove the coolest cars! It's the precious memories of those glorious times past that are now being celebrated amongst the participants of the era, and that's how an idea incubated into an event dubbed “The Geezer's Picnic” It was staged on Sunday, 28th December at Herald Island, West Auckland. Hosted by Harbour City Rod Club, North Shore R&CC, and East Bay Rods, its format drew inspiration from America's “Gathering of Geezers” at the California Hot Rod Reunions, and it attracted a record turnout of over 200 cars. On the day, there was a great selection of hot rods with history from NZ's golden era of the ‘60s and early ‘70s and…

THIS staunch Coupe started out as a body-and-chassis “roller” combo supplied by Jenkin's Rod Shop in North Carolina and shipped to a customer in Australia. In 2002, it was built into a finished driving hot rod using the best parts available. At some point, the Coupe was sold to an enthusiast in Auckland, New Zealand, basically as you see it here. Of course, there were changes involved to make it street legal with our certification process, and it was registered here in 2010. At this stage, the interior was a cream bone colour. The Coupe was advertised for sale on Trade Me and purchased by Collin Foord on 8th March 2014. What a great surname. It had the right look and heaps of horsepower to match. Back in 2016, Christchurch…

MIKE Feck spent his school years living in Dannevirke, where his next-door neighbour had an original right-hand-drive 1958 Chevy Bel Air. It was that car that Nick Boblea bought and turned into a show winner. Mike recalls, “I remember going into Hawkes Motors after school and drooling over the car, which had been repainted and was running a twin carburetted big block Chev. My interest in cars continued as I took up panel beating, working in Wellington and then Taupo. In the early 1980s, I built a saloon car which I raced at the old Bay Park speedway in Mt Maunganui. I was contracted to race twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. Eventually, the travel, time and expense of keeping the car performing became too great, so I…

BACK in 1983, Eric Darrah was approaching retirement age and decided it would be a good idea to find a retirement project. He was running a trucking business in those days, but had been a fully qualified “old school” panel beater and mechanic working on tractors and for a Citroen dealership in Manaia. He had spotted what he thought was an old Chevrolet Fleetwood behind a shed in Hawera, so on one particular weekend, he and his son Lloyd went to Hawera to check it out and maybe purchase it. They were somewhat surprised to see a very dilapidated 1947 Oldsmobile Series 66 Coupe, which was extremely rusty and missing its engine. This is an American Fisher body. Eric and Lloyd bought the coupe and dragged it back home, where…

Popular Options For Travelling Kiwis Hot Rod Mar 17 Aussie Street Rod Nats, Canberra Apr 17-18 Lonestar Round Up, Austin, Texas May 2–3 Meguiar's MotorEx Show, Melbourne May 14-16 Hot Rod Arama Southwest, Prescott, Arizona. May 23, Hot Rod & Custom Auto Expo, Sydney Jun 3-7 Cooly Rocks, Queensland Jun 19-20 LA Roadsters 60th Show, Pomona, California. Jun 19-21 Back to the Fifties St Paul, Minnesota Aug 6-9 NSRA Nats, Louisville, Kentucky Aug 21-23 Goodguys, Pleasanton, California Sept 11-12 Triple Crown, Nashville, Tennessee Nov 3-6 SEMA, Los Vegas, Nevada TBA December Yokohama Hot Rod Show, Japan Dirt Jun 9-14 USAC Midget Week Jun 30-Jul 1 The BC 39 Midgets, Indianapolis Jul 17-18 World of Outlaws Kings Royal Eldora, Ohio Jul 23- Aug 1 Indiana Sprint Week Aug 12-15 World of Outlaws Knoxville Nationals, Iowa Sept 24-26 4 Crown Nationals at Eldora, Ohio Oct 17 Kubota High Limit…