Innholdsfortegnelse for No 151 December 2017 i NZV8

Mainland Muscle Cars, the South Island’s new premier muscle car racing series, has taken a step into the future with an exciting new partnership with Mobil. Now entering its fourth season, the big-banger class is based around a simple-but-effective formula of pre-1985, rear-wheel drive, six- or eight-cylinder cars, with a minimalist rules package that keeps the racing the way it used to be — fast and loud American and Australian V8s that would be as at home in a car show as they are on a racetrack. The series has announced a partnership for the 2017–’18 season that sees Mobil 1 as its naming-rights sponsor. “The club is genuinely excited at the partnership between Mobil 1 and Mainland Muscle Cars. Mobil 1 is a great brand, and it’s synonymous with…

By the time you read this, Teng Tools Muscle Garage will already have begun screening, delivering a massive hit of eight-cylindered goodness to Three’s CRC Motorsport for the past two Sundays. Don’t worry if you missed them, because we upload the full episodes to The Motorhood once they’ve aired, so you can catch up on any programmes you weren’t able to see. All you need to do is visit themotorhood.com and click through the Teng Tools Muscle Garage post. While you’re at it, don’t forget to enter yourself into the running for the prizes. Not only will this put you in the draw for the weekly giveaways, but you’ll also be in to win the mother of all prize packs — a fully loaded Teng Tools set, a huge Meguiar’s…

While it’s not traditionally been the kind of event to get the V8 crowd going, the legendary V 4&Rotary Nationals has been working on its V8 inclusion over the 22 years it has been running as one of New Zealand’s most significant automotive shows. Although the focus is still predominantly import oriented, the event has never been more V8-friendly than it currently is. Seeking to update the tried-andtested show formula, promoter Azhar Bhamji has completely shaken things up, with a massive change to the schedule of the 2018 event. Rather than covering a weekend, with the Show and Shine held on Saturday and the drags on Sunday, things have evolved to give even more action and entertainment during the peak New Zealand automotive-event season. This comes courtesy of a switch…

When Damien Pivac created Cruise Martinborough — the only event of its type in the lower North Island — he had big hopes of creating an event that would become iconic; now, four years later, Cruise Martinborough has well and truly reached that status. The 2018 event will run from January 25 to 28 and include plenty of cruising, twilight drags, a massive car show around the iconic Martinborough town square, a retro market, a quiz night, and more. The drive-in movie at a vineyard and live entertainment are the icing on the cake of the ultimate petrolheads’ weekend. If you’ve not registered yet, now is the time to lock yourself in for a getaway you won’t forget.…

When 22-year-old Jake Alderson purchased his 202-powered, three-on-the-tree Holden HQ seven years ago, he never expected that it’d end up like this. His plans for a quick repaint ended up with soda blasting that revealed a multitude of sins and had him considering scrapping the HQ altogether. Four years later, during most of which time the body sat on a dolly at GT Refinishers, Jake’s starting to see some progress, with the sills, roof, rear quarters, cowling, B-pillars, and all the rest having been cut out and restored. The body has been epoxied and the undercarriage sealed, while the subframe has been completely rebuilt and powder-coated. Now, Grant at GT Refinishers is sorting the panel work, with Jake aiming for perfection to be achieved by the end of the year.…

▶ NOVEMBER 11 BAD PENNY’S OPEN DAY It hasn’t even been a year, but Bad Penny Classic and Custom Services has already cemented its name as one of Waikato’s go-to shops for all things classic, custom, hot rod, or low-rider. As summer rolls around, Chris and the team have decided to celebrate with Bad Penny’s first annual open day, to be held at the shop on 285 Kahikatea Drive, Hamilton. There will be a pig on a spit, with pulled-pork sliders and non-alcoholic beverages available, as well as a display of just-as-delicious vehicles. This is one open day you won’t want to miss! It’ll all happen between 10am and 3pm, and, as they say, first in, best dressed! For more information, visit badpenny.co.nz or find the ‘Bad Penny Classic and…

Spec 1964 PLYMOUTH FURY ENGINE: 440ci big block Mopar, Chrysler RB iron block, ARP fasteners, stock crankshaft, Eagle rods, JE pistons, Comp Cams roller camshaft, Edelbrock Performer RPM 440 alloy heads, Comp Cams roller rockers, FAST XFI ECU, Edelbrock EFI intake, customized air cleaner, Bosch 044 fuel pump, 42-poundper- hour injectors, custom offset-drive MSD distributor, MSD ignition leads, MSD Digital 6 ignition, MSD HVC II coil, TTI headers, three-inch exhausts, Meziere electric water pump DRIVELINE: Chrysler A833 fourspeed manual, McLeod clutch, stock diff SUSPENSION: Drop spindles, tubular A-arms, modified lower arms, QA1 double-adjustable shocks, welded K-member, leafspring rear, heavy-duty sway bars BRAKES: Wilwood master cylinder, C&M hydroboost, stainless-steel brake lines, Wilwood four-piston calipers, Wilwood hubs, Wilwood discs, rear drums WHEELS AND TYRES: 15x7- inch and 15x9-inch Weld Rodlite wheels, 215/70R15…

The Pirtek Taranaki Team have been running the numbers at Masterton Motorplex (MMP) for many seasons now; however, for the debut event of this season — at the Test and Tune scheduled for November 11–12 — they’ll be bringing a new bullet. They’re currently adding the finishing touches to their twin-turbo pro mod. The Raptor cylinder heads have been freshened by Cylinder Head Specialists in Christchurch, the turbos built by Motorsport Engineering, and the Link Thunder ECU features the latest technology available. The car is currently being plumbed up with plenty of Aeroflow products supplied by Engine Parts Ltd, and, all going to plan, the twin-turbo monster will be hitting the two-step on both days of the event, and every further MMP event this season. With how well the track…

News shook the drag racing community just before we went to print about the passing of long time drag racing stalwart Ross Taylor. Highly regarded by all as one of the nicest guys of the drag racing scene, Ross’s passing is a blow to the Meremere Dragway community. While in recent years he’s remembered for his candy-coated ’57 Chev Top Doorslammer, his history with racing, and ‘57 Chevs, extends a lot further back than that, with Ross having raced what’s known as the ‘Blue Car’ back in the 1980s. Our thoughts go out to Ross’s wife Alison, kids Jason and Andrea, and the extended Taylor family.…

Memories: Happy and Sad Tony Johnson: Who did you enjoy getting to know during your years of drag competition? Faye Grant: Mike Gearing was great — we were quite in awe of him. Garth [Hogan] was very supportive and a great mentor; he lent us parts and stuff. There were so many great people. We enjoyed our time with John and Denise Cole, and Chris Shamy and those guys on Collett’s crew, and David Bright — I had some great racing with him. I don’t recall you ever having a crash of any kind — not even swiping a guardrail. Did you have any close calls? No, never any crashes. However, that big wheel stand in the last season gave me a scare. The boys worked all night to straighten…

Dave Heerdegen at Dtech Motorsport says: “The end result of any engine upgrade is the sum of the pieces fitted. If you think of an engine as an air pump, the more eficiently the air enters and exits the cylinders, the more potential there is to make horsepower and torque. In most cases, a typical dyno tune is about making sure there is the correct air to fuel ratio to support the rpm and load on the engine, as well as to optimize the ignition advance curve to suit. A typical dyno tune should be undertaken at the end of any upgrade, to maximize the potential of the parts safely. Further checks to the tune on the dyno are required if changes are made to the engine’s ability to breathe,…

Towing a car trailer can be daunting for a first timer, and even seasoned veterans may fifind themselves in a spot of bother every now and again. It may seem simple enough — throw on the car, strap it down, and away you go — but it’s not as easy as one might think. There is a science to loading a trailer properly, and the results of getting it wrong can be costly — not only to your pride and joy sitting up there on the trailer, but also for the trailer, the tow vehicle, its occupants (you), and any other road users. We were able to tag along as Greg Murphy’s showquality Dodge Charger project got loaded onto a Futura Pro Low Loader trailer, to bring you a ‘how…

Paul Boden’s Group2 Nova is a thing of beauty, but that hasn’t stopped him from upping the ante for this coming season. Paul’s purchased the former Billy Dunne Group1 Camaro, as it was too cheap to turn down, and is currently setting about bringing it back to Group2 specs. The car has required plenty of changes to the front-end setup, as well as a few rear-end tweaks, all of which have been taken care of by Macbilt Engineering. One thing that’s not been changed, however, is the 410ci Dart-based small block Chev engine and Tex 101A gearbox setup that the car was purchased with. This combo should give the car a touch more power than the Nova, and see Paul back in the hunt for Group2 podium positions. The lightweight…

Todd and I are our own worst critics when it comes to this game of pages we play every month. We kinda have to be, because it’s the only way to keep ourselves honest — not just in what we’ve gotten right, but in what we consider to be f**k ups or things to fix. If every issue was a pat-ourselveson- the-back-and-say-everything’s-hunky-dory session, we’d be on the fast track to oblivion. The quest for perfection is a futile one, one that will never be achieved, but the best we can do is try. So, as I write this — yet again a few hours before this issue’s print deadline — I can quite honestly say that this is the first issue we’ve produced in a while where I am thoroughly…

When Damien Pivac created Cruise Martinborough — the only event of its type in the lower North Island — he had big hopes of creating an event that would become iconic; now, four years later, Cruise Martinborough has well and truly reached that status. The 2018 event will run from January 25 to 28 and include plenty of cruising, twilight drags, a massive car show around the iconic Martinborough town square, a retro market, a quiz night, and more. The drive-in movie at a vineyard and live entertainment are the icing on the cake of the ultimate petrolheads’ weekend. If you’ve not registered yet, now is the time to lock yourself in for a getaway you won’t forget.…

Attention all owners of Bathurst pedigree & V8 muscle cars! Hampton Downs Motorsport Park wants to bring the noise to the New Zealand Festival of Motorsport’s 4Guys Autobarn Legends of Bathurst event, to be held over the weekend of January 13–14, 2018. As part of the celebrations, any cars that have raced at Bathurst, or are replicas of cars that have raced at Bathurst, are invited, and this welcome extends to all V8 muscle cars. A number of iconic vehicles are already confirmed, as is a host of past and present star drivers — all of whom have conquered Mount Panorama — making this event a utopia for lovers of all things motorsport. Sharing the limelight with the Bathurst Revival Muscle Car category will be the Enzed Central Muscle Cars…

In the last issue of NZV8 we mentioned Hampton Downs Motorsport Park’s latest racing development, the 4 Guys Autobarn Fast & Furious Racing series — an all-new style designed for maximum spectator entertainment by keeping the racing short, sharp, and full of action over two rounds. The first will be at the Laser Plumbing & Electrical Hampton Downs 500, over October 28–29, and round two will be at the Mazda Mad Mike’s Summer Bash, on December 9. And it’s just got even better, as there’s now a major prize on the line — a supercharged 6.2-litre 2010 Chev Camaro valued at $52K. All entrants are in the draw, with the winner to be picked after the final round on December 9. Entry is open to all categories of race car,…

Hi, Andre — that’s a pretty imposing truck. What is the story behind it? I bought it 11 years ago, and it had to be converted to right-hand drive due to its weight. When I went to view it, it was pretty much just a chassis against a wall and a pile of GM boxes. I bought it in pieces and made it into what it is now. What is it, exactly? It’s actually a mash-up of a whole lot of different models. It’s got a ’70s cab, a ’90s Suburban front, the rear is from an ’80s model, and the injected motor is from the ’90s. It’s a full custom build, and I had to make bits work, or fit where they didn’t. The VIN guy liked how it…

As many Kiwi car owners know, the road to Beach Hop is paved with grazed knuckles, empty wallets, and broken dreams. Keith Turner knows that, but is sticking to his guns with one hell of an ambitious project on the go, which he hopes to have ready for Repco Beach Hop 18. While we’d usually have our doubts about a build like this one, we reckon that he’ll do it! The bones of the build are a ’59 Impala coupe being restored by Steve Sankey at Classic and American Restoration Services (C.A.R.S.) in Pukekohe, and that is certainly a good start. However, where things get interesting is with the addition of a supercharged 6.2-litre GM LSA that has been fiddled with and had a custom set of four-into-one headers fabricated…

THIS WAS, IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE ROB’S DREAM MACHINE Spec 1986 HOLDEN COMMODORE VK ENGINE: 5.7-litre LS1, Lunati cam, LS6 heads, Edelbrock singleplane intake manifold, 650cfm Holley Ultra HP Double Pumper carburettor, Edelbrock air filter, billet Gilmer pulley kit, Aeromotive A3000 fuel pump, custom drop tank, MSD LS ignition module, MSD leads, Pacemaker headers, twin 2.5-inch exhausts, Flowmaster mufflers, Fenix radiator, electric fan DRIVELINE: Tremec six-speed manual, GM Motorsport shortshifter, Exedy clutch, BorgWarner diff, Truetrac centre SUSPENSION: Bilstein strut inserts, Bilstein rear shocks, custom springs, Watt’s linkage, Nolathane bushes BRAKES: Wilwood calipers, SV5000 front rotors, cross-drilled rear rotors WHEELS/TYRES: 19x10-inch and 19x13-inch Simmons FR19 wheels, 255/30R19 and 285/30R19 Continental tyres EXTERIOR: Group C Big Banger bodykit, Formula Blue paint INTERIOR: Custom Scheel retrim, Recaro front seats, Momo steering wheel…

February 3, 2018 — break out the marker pen and put that date away, because you don’t want to miss one of New Zealand’s most exciting drag racing events in recent times — the Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Cars at Meremere Comp Meeting 3. Graeme Cowin, who runs Rocket Industries and Aeroflow, brought four of the Aeroflow nitro hot rods to New Zealand earlier this year, racing at the Trans America Shipping Nostalgia Drags. That feat is set to be bettered for 2018, with eight nitro funny cars and a wheel-stander making it over for our entertainment. While the identities of the funny cars are yet to be confirmed at the time of print, we can speculate that Kiwi lad and NZV8 columnist Morice McMillin’s ‘One Bad Kiwi’ Trans Am…

DRAWN IN BY ITS EFFORTLESSLY COOL APPEARANCE, HE HAULED THE BISCAYNE BACK TO NEW ZEALAND Call it what you want — a subculture, a trend, or a way of life — the kustom car culture spawned in the ’50s is a facet of the automotive world that spans from rough-and-ready home builds through to the lofty heights of award-winning, barely recognizable sculptures of steel, lead, and wild paint brought into the limelight by builders as renowned as George Barris and Gene Winfield. When confronted by Aaron Tucker’s matt black ’58 Chev Biscayne, there is little question that you are looking at a bona fide piece of American kustom culture. Why? What separates it from the masses of cars that try, but never quite manage, to pull off the look? After…

ALTHOUGH THIS MONTH’S CAR IS ONLY A QUICK CONCEPT, WE’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT. SO, HAVE YOUR SAY ABOUT WHETHER IT’S HOT, NOT, IMPOSSIBLE OR RIDICULOUS BY COMMENTING ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, FACEBOOK.COM/NZV8MAGAZINE Rob Cooper’s wife, Lisa, is a patient lady — not only putting up with Rob but also putting up with his ever-changing cars. When asked to come up with a concept, he scratched his head until he eventually came up with something for her — although we’re guessing that it’s more just to allow him to build something else. Owning the VK and a new GTSR, Rob’s plan for the ultimate ‘wife’s car’ is to combine the two — but not in a new-running-gear-into-old-shell type of way. Instead, Rob’d add the character of old…

If you’ve not heard of Levin before, fear not, it’s not normally a town known for its car culture. An hour and a bit north of the nation’s capital, on State Highway 1, Levin, to many, is simply a main street dotted with a few gas stations and takeaway joints that you pass through, but, on October 1, Tararua Rodders showed that Levin is a whole lot more. The Rodders’ biennial Chrome N Custom Auto Festival has been running for a while now, and its reputation is clearly starting to snowball. Unluckily for the club, wet weather leading up to the day meant that vehicles couldn’t park on the large grassy area of the Horowhenua Events Centre, where the show was held. Up to 500 custom and classic cars generally…

PROTECTS THE BEST High-performance engines need high-performance engine oil, and Gulf Western’s Comp-R range fits the bill. Developed especially for engines with a high output, the Comp-R range protects engines on the road and on the track, and is compatible with all road fuels as well as common racing fuels such as avgas, nitromethane, and methanol. This oil also offers protection from enhanced levels of zinc and moly. The Comp-R range includes 30 (5W- 30), 40 (10W-40), 50 (25W-50), and 70 (25W-70), so, regardless of your engine’s requirements, you can take advantage of this exceptional engine protection. For more information, contact Automotive Supplies on 0800 275 888, Extreme Automotive Parts Distributors on 0800 498 7363, Autostop on 0800 288 678, or other leading Gulf Western Oil distributors. THE FUTURE OF…

Replica Racer Paul Urquhart’s Moffat/Geoghegan replica Falcon didn’t just look like a tough old race car, it was one. The beautifully built machine has since done hard time in Central Muscle Cars before having a few unintended seasons off the track after a bit of an off-track excursion. Nowadays, though, it’s back and looking just as pristine as it did then, cutting laps in Historic Muscle Cars. Roller Derby Dyno Nights at Rob Penman Motorsport (RPM) were a good chance to catch up with mates, and, more importantly, show them how much power you were packing under the hood. Looking at the list of vehicles that showed up to this event is like looking at a list of previous cover cars — although most of them are making far more…

There have been rumours around the Camaro GT4.R before, but now we can assure readers that the ultimate Camaro is confirmed for production. Don’t expect to get your hands on one easily, though, as you’ll need to be packing at least US$260K to buy one. That’s not to say they’re overpriced, as the cars are a full high-spec race-ready package aimed at giving privateers the same success as Chevrolet has had in racing series such as the Pirelli World Challenge. The muscle-bound package comes with a race-tuned 6.2-litre LT1 engine that produces 480hp and is backed by a sixspeed Xtrac sequential paddle-shifted transmission. Suspension is care of Öhlins, and is adjustable in every imaginable way, while the brakes are Brembo motorsportspecific items. Think you’ve got the good stuff to get…

Fuel economy usually doesn’t rate too highly on the list when considering a muscle car purchase, but, if it’s on your list of criteria, the 2018 Mustang may be just the pony for you. Sure, the GT still packs 460hp, but, thanks in part to the new 10-speed automatic gearbox, the cars are rated as being considerably more economical than their predecessors. Fuel figures are now reportedly sitting at 16mpg in the city, 25 on the highway, and 19 combined. It’s not an extraordinary improvement, but it’s not terrible considering that the engine also makes 25hp and 20lb·ft more than the previous model.…

Preregistration is open for the Hibiscus Rodders’ 2018 Beach Festival, to be held over January 26–28, 2018. An all-new VIP option is now available, offering extra goodies to car owners — while everyone who enters will get an extra chance to win a six-night trip for two to Los Angeles, VIP entrants will get two entries, plus a shot at two entry passes to next year’s SEMA Show! In addition, VIPs will have preferential parking for the main Saturday event, free refreshments in the Mothers VIP marquee, and a premium goodie bag. However, you don’t need VIP entry to enjoy the event, which is one of the most fun car shows on the local calendar. Now entering its ninth year, the Rodders Beach Festival sees hundreds of hot rods, classics,…

Rod Prosser’s got a project that’s a bit different — on these pages, at least. Having rescued a 1950s flat-bottom boat from the west coast of the South Island, he’s deep into its rebuild, aiming to have it ready for the Wooden Boat Parade on Lake Rotoiti in February. When purchased, the boat was set up for a small block Chev, and Rod had planned to drop a Vortec into it. However, that changed when he met Russell Lowe at The Toy Shed. Russell convinced him that a more-period motor would be a better way to go, and a 327 was sourced, complete with four-bolt mains and hydraulic lifter — from The Toy Shed engine builder’s own car. Since then, Rod’s spent plenty of time sourcing all the shiny bits,…

Don’t let that patina fool you; this ’55 GMC pickup is packing some serious work underneath. Matt Hayter at Hayter Precision Metalworks in Taupo is the man responsible for the build, and, despite it going a bit slower than he’d hoped, his client is hopeful of getting the truck on the road by Christmas before heading to Repco Beach Hop 18 for its first major event. The custom chassis incorporates the factory rails, but is now supported by a TCI front end and four-bar rear. The 20x9- and 20x11-inch Detroit Steel wheels tuck well up into the arches with the Ridetech Shockwave airbag set-up that Matt’s installed. The goodness doesn’t stop with the look; under the hood is a detailed LS3 backed with a Tremec six-speed manual box. The pickup…

Like a bunch of other clever Kiwis, Wayne Fabish spends plenty of his working life overseas. While that sounds glamorous to those who’ve not done it, those in the know will tell you that travelling overseas for work is often anything but. For Wayne, throw in running his business during the week and emergencies and scheduled race meetings at weekends, and work on a Mustang build was a juggling act in the early stages of the planning. Having previously owned and built a couple of Mustang race cars, Wayne had contemplated owning a tough street version for a long time, so he set about planning the perfect pony-car build. Sick of the numerous Eleanor clones he’d come across at local Texas events, he knew that he wanted something different. This…

Who, reading this, remembers the 1960s — a time when the majority of the vehicles featured in this magazine were the latest and greatest, or had yet to be designed and built, and the pastime of young people modifying their wagons to go fast was alive and kicking? It was in the fertile grounds of the Pukekohe region that a passion for hot rodding was bred, enduring through the years so that now, more than 50 years down the track, the Pukekohe Hot Rod Club is one of the longestrunning hot rod clubs in New Zealand and its home turf is still a stronghold of Kiwi hot rodding culture. For years, the Hot Rod and Horsepower Show has been one of the crowning jewels of the show side of Pukekohe…

The Hartley family are known for their Mustangs, with dad Murray having campaigned a tough street car before moving to Super Sedan in a Fox Body, then setting out on the build of a tubeframe ’71. Son Nathan is carrying on the family tradition, having stepped out of a junior dragster into the driver’s seat of a rapid Fox Body with great success in the 2016–’17 season. Recently, a new stallion has been added to the pack — a chromoly-chassis and fibreglass-bodied ’71 purchased out of Melbourne. The car had previously run a best of 6.68s at 237mph, which should see Murray’s dream of mid-seven-second passes a breeze with the right engine combo. With the car being purchased as a roller, fresh out of five years in storage, the plan…

The year of 2018 is going to be a big one for Masterton Motorplex, which is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary in January. The drag strip was originally located at Hood Aerodrome, but the new, purpose-built facility has been put to good use over the past three years, and is regarded as being of extremely high quality. This year will be made even more special when Tony and Anthony Marsh of Marsh Motorsport wheel their top fuel dragster down to Masterton as part of the IHRA Auckland Invasion round on February 17–18. This will be the first time any ground-shaking top fueller has raced at Masterton, let alone the Marsh team’s one, which has run a PB of 4.78 at 315.12mph (507kph). As the team will attempt to crack…

It’s all fun and games in the Mahon brothers’ corner. Just as stressed faces, frantic spannerspinning, and vehement expletives are a staple of most pit areas, you know that wherever the Mahons are racing, they will have a pot of tea being brewed, bums plonked into picnic chairs, and a whole lot of shit being talked. Some wonder how this close-knit team of four do it — running the numbers without a power-adder in sight and with enough downtime to relax when they aren’t on the track. “We just like stress-free drag racing,” Heath explains. “Going as fast as we can naturally aspirated, there isn’t much chance of hurting anything when we stand on it. Since we’re not pulling the motor down between rounds, the hardest decision is whether to…

Earlier this year, the New Zealand speedway community was abuzz with the news that Tony Stewart would be coming to New Zealand to compete in the Porter Hire International Sprintcar Series in December this year — and bringing his legendary J&J Auto Racing sprint car, sponsored by Rush Truck Centers and Arctic Cat, with him. So, what’s the big deal? For those in the know, it’s not so much a big deal as amassive one — the biggest deal imaginable for speedway fans in recent times. The reason is due to who Tony Stewart is. From his first venture behind the wheel, Tony has achieved something thatmay seemeasy to comprehend on paper but that defifififififies belief in reality — an astonishing series of race and championship titles spanning numerous racing…

A founding member of the Pukekohe Hot Rod Club, one of the key players in turning Meremere Dragway from a dream into a reality, Altered drag racer in the ’70s — Ralph Wright’s life has been intertwined with the world of hot rodding since he was a young man. That was destiny, with brothers and friends who were as into the burgeoning scene as he was. While Ralph could fill a book with his memories of those early days, this article must step around much of that and focus instead on the culmination of more than half a century’s involvement in hot rodding. “I was working at our family store and I heard this V8,” Ralph reminisces. “This guy had parked his hot rod and gone into the dairy for…

Angus Fogg’s ’70 Mustang is getting closer to the starting grid, with the fabrication side of the build now completed. The car is currently at Moselle Panel and Paint to receive its PPG paintwork. Angus, an experienced race car engineer and fabricator, has performed the build himself, and, as expected, it’s nothing short of breathtaking. To help keep costs down and components as highly specced as possible, Angus purchased a Ford Fusion Nascar for its componentry. That’s not to say there was not an extreme amount of custom work required to swap the 358ci Roush Yates engine, G-Force gearbox, and nine-inch diff over! The car has been built well within the CMC rule book, and will hopefully have passed scrutineering and be on track in time for a few test…

DECADE AGO ISSUE NO. 31 DECEMBER 2007 BUY THIS ISSUE ONLINE AT MAGSTORE.NZ If you’ve been living under a rock for the past 10 years, thanks for choosing to read this magazine — we hope you’ve found it interesting; we’re sure you’re going to enjoy reading about this car. If you have been in the here and now, Reece Fish’s insane ’56 Chev Bel Air is unlikely to need any form of introduction. Its story as one of the country’s best-known street and drag machines started in the ’70s, when it was raced as the ‘Puppy Love’ car by New Zealand hot rodding godfathers Grahame Berry and Dave Chung. A young Reece Fish eventually picked up the Bel Air, continuing its legacy as one of the country’s most prominent street-driven…