Innholdsfortegnelse for No 159 August 2018 i NZV8

TORQUEBACK, NZV8 MAGAZINE, PO BOX 46,020, HERNE BAY, AUCKLAND 1147; EMAIL TORQUEBACK@V8.CO.NZ CHEQUEBOOK SUCCESS STORY Hi Todd, Your comments about pocketbook rodders hits the mark, but your comments that those interested might go on to build their own cars misses an important point. There are some of us that do things in reverse, i.e. go on to become a pocketbook rodder! I consider myself a ‘car guy’, but since the late ’90s, have paid for all my cars and their maintenance! In the mid ’80s, I damaged my back and despite two operations since then it has become increasingly difficult to do things myself. So, to stay in the game, I paid hard-earned cash to purchase and then maintain my cars! I now have two — one being a late…

IF YOU HAVE A COOL DAILY-DRIVER AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT APPEAR IN DAILY GRIND, EMAIL EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ Nice-looking car, Steve. What was it that attracted you to the P76? Well, my brother has a couple of P76s, and when I started looking for another car to do up, he encouraged me to buy the old Leyland. He also reckoned it was better to do one up and save another car, rather than buying and rebuilding one that was already on the road. The other plus by doing it this way was that I could build it the way I wanted it to suit the way we were planning to use it. It’s become a bit of a family illness now, as, in addition to my brother owning two, my…

The Holden six-cylinder as most recognize it began life in 1963, as the then-new ‘red’ series motor — a totally new design over the outgoing ‘grey’ series, most notably with a seven main-cap bottom end over the grey motor’s four. This iteration of the Holden six lasted through to 1986, undergoing various improvements (and colour changes) during this period, including a 12-port head design and bottom end revisions in the ‘blue’ series, and the development of EFI for the VK Commodore’s ‘black’ series. While the Holden six has a reputation for simplicity and reliability, its real claim to fame came via its most revered iteration in the Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 — the fire-breathing, triple-carbed 202 that Peter Brock piloted to a Bathurst victory against Ford’s seemingly unstoppable XY…

The Ford Falcon G6E Turbo was a silent success when Ford launched the FG platform in 2008. The cars combined a huge amount of luxury and technology with the already successful four-litre Barra straight-six engine from the XR6 Turbo. With 485hp on tap, and an electronically limited 368lb·ft from 2000rpm through to redline, the cars had all the right ingredients to embarrass their V8-powered siblings. Zak Hoskin from Hoskin Racing Developments (HRD) saw that potential, purchasing his 2011 version in 2015, and has continued to develop it ever since, using it as a showcase of what he’s capable of building for customers. While it still runs a stock bottom end, the head has been fitted with Crow Cams valve springs to control the stock valves. Bosch 1100cc fuel injectors have…

Look at the rego label of Jeff Marshall’s 48-215 and it’ll say “Replica”, but that’s not telling the full story. The car is indeed a genuine ’48 Holden 48-215 that rolled off the production line in Fisherman’s Bend, Australia. However, there’s not a whole lot of Aussie metal left. As a panel beater by trade, Jeff wanted to build himself something different, and that’s exactly what he’s achieved. The starting point for all of this, besides a tired 48-215, was, of all things, a 1984 Toyota Crown sedan. The Crown would donate its chassis and steering components to the build, bringing the car into a much more modern level of handling than could ever have been achieved with the original Holden componentry. It’s a good thing that the car has…

New Zealand has always had a thing for go-fast gear hanging out the bonnet. In fact, it’s been a principle that’s almost as old as hot rodding itself — letting the next fella know that your car is packing some heat. However, while the local rules were once pretty lenient in all areas of vehicle modification, the 1992 introduction of Vehicle Standards saw the establishment of the LVVTA to ensure that the vehicle modifiers still had some say. Thanks to LVVTA’s negotiation with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) (or, more correctly, its predecessors), we have the freedom to have some components hanging out of the bonnet, assuming they meet a few simple requirements. Sure, you can’t go running a top-alcohol style hat and injection, but it’s far better than the…

Every once in a while, we’ll get a cover-car owner whose concept for these pages is a work in progress. Josh is one of those rare people, who is currently working on his dream car, and has gotten it a long way towards where he wants it to be. Fans of the lowrider culture will be familiar with the ‘Gypsy Rose’ ’64 Impala — regarded by many as the most famous lowrider in the world — which featured unbelievable paint, upholstery, and detail throughout. The 1959 Chev Impala lowrider that Josh is currently building might just be the New Zealand equivalent. Based around his rare ’59 Impala hardtop, factory-fitted with a Tri Power–equipped 348ci big block and four-speed manual transmission, the detail work Josh has completed so far — and…

A couple of not-so-young, southern, hot rodding drag racers, Chris Barnes from Riverton and Owen Jones from Dunedin, have pooled resources and purchased a steel-bodied ’34 Plymouth to race as a land-speed entry on the Bonneville Salt Flats in August this year. Their shared desire to “go really fast” led the two to look at what options were available to achieve this goal, other than to build a car themselves. This was in early 2017, and they were very aware that Temuka-based Steve Williams was still trying to sell his land-speed car. Steve, who impressively built the Plymouth coupe pretty much himself, took it to both Lake Gairdner, Australia, in 2013 and Bonneville in 2015, although the latter meeting was cancelled due to flooding. Owen had been captivated by the…

BUY THIS ISSUE ONLINE AT MAGSTORE.NZ WHERE IS IT NOW? DUTCHIE WIJDEVEN 2007 FORD FALCON Gary Bogaart is known throughout the New Zealand drag racing scene for his bright orange street-legal wheel-standing XB Falcon coupe. It was his expertise on the topics of drag racing and orange Falcons that made him the best guy for Anthony ‘Dutchie’ Wijdeven to entrust with the build of a dedicated drag car — an orange Falcon two-door, no less. Gary was instructed to build something that could race in a variety of classes and brackets, including Top Doorslammer. Thanks to the Bogaart-built 351 Cleveland and Terry Bowden–built chassis, it offered enough performance to match its looks — which are still damn good a decade down the track — without requiring the team to put…

I’ve been thinking about electric vehicles a lot lately. Nothing crazy, like wanting to build an electric-powered car or anything — just about how they’re slowly becoming the accepted norm of private motoring. Comparatively speaking, there aren’t many around, but I do get the feeling that we’re standing on the brink of a massive change in the way we approach transport. There’s a bit of irony, then, in the fact that while eggheads in white lab coats design the most efficient electric motors possible, we’re also experiencing somewhat of a muscle car renaissance in the American car market. Yeah, the 707hp supercharged Hemi in Dodge’s Hellcat models is old hat, but how about Ford claiming the new Shelby GT500 will produce “at least” 700hp, and Chevrolet’s 755hp LT5 in the…

CAR CRAZY FOR CHARITY It’s that time of year again — the time when traders, car builders, and anyone even remotely connected to the automotive industry gears up for CRC Speedshow. For automotive exhibitions, there is nothing in New Zealand in the same ballpark, and Smits Group has returned to the arena with the popular Meguiar’s Car Crazy Charity Cruise. The Meguiar’s Car Crazy Charity Cruise will be kicking off at 9am on Sunday, 22 July, and invites entrants to pull their cars out of hibernation and embark on a cruise from Smits Group headquarters in East Tamaki, taking the scenic route to the Speedshow at ASB Showgrounds, in support of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand. Registration is $50 per car and includes entry in the Meguiar’s Show…

EMAIL YOUR BUILDS TO EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ CLEAN AND GREEN This ’56 Chev pickup was originally started by Dale ‘Daigo’ Gerrand, from Cambridge Panelworks, as one of his own. “I bought it 10 years ago as a rusty truck out of the South Island, with a big hole in the roof from a previous sunroof install. It was real rusty,” Daigo explained. Over the years, he collected the parts that he’d need to finish it, until a mate decided he had to own it. “My mate does tours through Africa, and, when he came back to New Zealand, I let him and another mate borrow my truck to take to Beach Hop. They loved the 502 big block and Jag suspension, and I sold him this one with everything I’d collected for…

There’s a common saying that advises against judging a book by its cover — not to take anything at face value — but we can assure you that it doesn’t apply to Josh Trybula’s latest build. What you see is what you get, and if you open up your copy of the Oxford English Dictionary, you’ll find it neatly slotted into the ‘O’ section. Offence It takes a special kind of person to build the most offensive vehicle possible, and Josh has had plenty of practice. The Wellington mechanic grew up in a car-mad family, and, as the son of well-known spanner-spinner Eddie Trybula, he has always been an onto-it guy with a talent for making things. This has naturally seen the long list of cars he’s owned and built…

Love them or hate them, the Aussies produce some damn cool cars, and with MotorEx becoming known as the place to show them, there was plenty of hype leading up to June’s big event. A new record of 29,665 attendees descended on the Melbourne Showgrounds over the weekend of 26–27 May, and a record number of 708 cars officially took part in the huge two-day festival. Reports state that the combined value of the vehicles on site was worth well in excess of a staggering $50M, and we’d believe it. “It was an awesome weekend at Meguiar’s MotorEx. Our one aim was to create a real festival vibe and we did it! We invested heavily in a number of cool new elements to bring noise and action to what is…

EMAIL YOUR INFO TO EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ TSR RUNS THE NUMBERS It was an epic few weeks in the lead up to the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals for Trevor Smith and his crew. As we reported last issue, the P&I Pascoe–sponsored Statesman was freighted to Aussie to have its Hemi engine conversion completed and compete at the Winternationals. Thanks to ET Chassis and Race Cars and the Bray family, the car made it to the track in time for testing days ahead of the event, but, sadly, the team experienced teething issues. Come qualifying day, things didn’t go completely as planned, but Trev carded a new PB of 6.23s at 218mph with a couple of pedals and an early shut-off, showing that the switch has been worthwhile. With a full Pro Slammer…

Like most Kiwi blokes his age, Ross Jenkins grew up idolizing Aussie muscle, and Chrysler was his marque of choice — a choice that fit perfectly with his first job after leaving school in 1980, at the local Chrysler dealership. Buying his first Valiant Pacer at the age of 18, from Howarth Motors in Te Awamutu, he kept the Pacer for 13 years — while following his chosen career path of engineering — but, as most will understand, sold it to purchase property. Of course, the Pacer dream never died, and after building the success of his dairy farm, Ross eventually found a derelict local example that ticked all the boxes. Having been given a complete ground-up restoration, no part of the car has been left untouched, and while he’s…

“My E49 Charger didn’t look like this when I bought it from John Van Groen back in 2010,” states its proud owner, Dean Masters, and he’s right. Dean has built up what is undoubtedly one of the most immaculate E49s you’ll ever lay eyes on. Better still, he’s documented the whole process. Here’s his story in his own words. “John had been driving it up and down gravel roads on his Amberley farm outside of Christchurch, and the car had had a pretty hard life. In the beginning, I didn’t even know what an E49 RT Charger was — I thought I’d seen one when I was at primary school as a kid and thought they looked pretty mean. My parents had an HT Monaro at the time, which was…

Ever since he was a young man, Brian Wong dreamed of owning an XU-1 — a dream solidified by his father purchasing an HQ over one. By the age of 25, he’d managed to save enough to purchase this ’73 LJ Torana GTR XU-1, which turned out to be a rare Bathurst edition. Its ‘dream car’ status didn’t deter Brian from driving the Torana daily, though, and since purchasing it in the mid ’70s, it’s been used as a daily driver and family hauler, with a massive list of stories to go with it. One involves him having been transferred to Gisborne for work, soon after the birth of his second child, and he’d commute from Gisborne to Auckland — and back — during his holidays. That’s a drive that…

Some things don’t change. Jim Hanham grew up making things with his hands; spent most of his life making things with his hands; and, now that he’s retired, finds himself doing the same thing! “I’ve been into [old] cars since I was a kid, ’cause my old man had them. We had no money, so I learnt from an early age that if you want something, you build it,” he explains of his approach to life. “I don’t believe in buying a chassis, buying a front end … anybody can do that. I’m not saying any of that is wrong — it’s the way it is now. But I was brought up with no money. When I built that [Model A] roadster pickup, I had no money, but I had…

A COOPER COMING Wairarapa’s Brent Cooper is no stranger to race tracks or to driving competitive Holdens, and soon he’ll be bringing that knowledge to Enzed Central Muscle Cars (CMC). Brent previously campaigned the HQ Holden series before running a VN Commodore in NZ Six, where he won the 2017 championship. Now that wife Tracey has taken over driving the HQ, Brent’s splitting his time between driving the VN and preparing a Group 2 VH Commodore for CMC. The car was purchased from fellow CMC racer Dean Hansen, and, all going to plan, Brent will be on track sometime late this year to compete in Group 2. As a mechanic by trade, Brent is performing the bulk of the build himself, along with help from Dion Boyles. An ex–NZV8 touring…

THE HARD ROAD IN PHOTOS Wade Epps went through a lot to get his awesome Model A roadster pickup on the road. Of course, you’ll already know that, having read the article earlier in this issue. Well, Wade was also kind enough to provide us a gallery of photos documenting the build from start to finish, which we’ve uploaded to The Motorhood for you to check out — hopefully passing on the inspiration that he gained from building a car on the cheap with good friends. MOTOREXTRA Not many do show cars the way the Aussies do, and MotorEx is the place to see them in their natural environment. Having changed ownership, and venue — moving from Sydney to Melbourne — in the last year, Meguiar’s MotorEx 2018 was always…

AUSSIE IDOLS We’re honouring the sixes in this issue, and if you want more, those good old chaps at New Zealand Classic Car magazine have just the thing for you — not one, but two full-length feature articles on two stunning pieces of Aussie motoring history. Brian Wong bought his genuine ’73 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 back in 1975, daily-driving it for many years, and he still owns it to this day. To read the amazing story on this survivor, search ‘Brian Wong Torana’ on themotorhood.com. And if the Pentastar is more your brand of choice, we’ve got one hell of a ’72 Valiant VH Pacer for you to read up on! Having owned a Pacer as a young fella, he wanted another, although the one he ended up…

EMAIL YOUR INFO TO: EDITOR@V8.CO.NZ 29 JULY CAFFEINE AND CLASSICS Just because it’s officially winter doesn’t mean that you can’t get your fix of cool cars. Brought to us by Protecta Insurance, Caffeine and Classics has easily become New Zealand’s largest monthly vehicle gathering. And it doesn’t discriminate either, so all cars are welcome, as long as they can fit that all-important description of ‘classic’ — that means whether you’re taking your motorcycle, hot rod, muscle car, vintage, or classic, there’s always a massive and diverse line-up of cars just waiting to be checked out. The coffee’s not half bad, either, and it’s just the ticket for those chilly mornings. Caffeine and Classics starts at 10am at Smales Farm in Auckland, and you don’t want to miss it! 2 SEPTEMBER…

Terry Simonsen’s a quiet type of guy, not one to shout from the rooftops about his achievements, so it seems a bit out of character for him to be the owner of a vehicle that is anything but average. Of course, it wasn’t intended to be that way for his first foray into the hot rod world; neither was it ever intended to take a full 14 years between the time that he found the then-dilapidated pickup and being able to drive it. Terry says that it was about being in the right place at the right time when he found the ’49 Chev under a hedge all those years ago. Dipping his toes into the world of hot rods, he thought that a V6 Commodore motor would be a…

The town of Raymondville, Texas, hasn’t changed much in the past 60 years. Oh, it’s got with the times and developed, but it hasn’t really changed — a small town is a small town. With a population that has hovered at just over 10,000 for the past 60-odd years, Raymondville is definitely one of those, and it still is. The story you are about to read begins in Raymondville, during a time when Dwight Eisenhower was president — the year 1960. In those days, it was common practice in small towns for the funeral home to also operate the ambulance service, and the logical way to do so was through the use of a dual-purpose vehicle. These dual-purpose vehicles were built to order to fulfil the specific requirements of each…

DR JOHN ELLIOTT 1972 HOLDEN LJ TORANA GTR XU-1 Although the XU-1 Torana famously campaigned by Dr John Elliott in the Enzed Central Muscle Cars (CMC) series may have now changed hands, its legend lives on. The car was first imported by Sir Colin Giltrap and originally raced by New Zealand Saloon Car champion Rodger Anderson, who used it to win the Shell 100 endurance race at Levin in 1973 and 1974. Despite its success, when Rodger retired from racing, feeling that he’d achieved all that he’d set out to do, the car stayed in the family, until his wife, Lola, eventually tired of the XU-1’s heavy clutch when driving to work in Auckland’s North Shore traffic. John’s love affair with XU-1s began many years ago. He recalls, “In my…

Never mind the Torana GTR XU-1’s legacy, because as far as over-muscled Aussie sixes go, there can only be one king — the E49 Charger’s 265ci Hemi. While it isn’t a true hemi in nature, in terms of its combustion chamber design, the engine’s performance potential meant it lived up to the reputation of its formidable V8 cousin. The Hemi six was the result of Chrysler Australia’s completion of a prototype straight six engine developed by Chrysler USA. Its pushrod design with two valves per cylinder kept it simple, and while the intake and exhaust ports were all positioned on the same side, the valves were angled to open toward each other in a principle loosely like that of the Hemi V8, but limited by the use of individually stud-mounted…

Going through a tough time, Wade Epps’ brother thought that going for a cruise could be the way to lift his spirits. He was partly right — after all, Wade’s a fan of his RX-3, but it was the destination to the house of well-known hot rodder Gary Kendall that really brought about a change. As Wade recalls, “Gary had a traditional ’32 Roadster running a 327 with an old McCulloch blower in it. We all went for a cruise — Gary and I in his ’32, and Gary’s daughter and my brother in the RX-3. “It was my first ride in a hot rod. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face even after we got back and had a beer. On the way home that night, I decided…

Money doesn’t come easy, and when you’ve worked hard for it, you don’t want to blow it. When it comes to tyres, we’re sure that some of you may experience the common phenomenon of the rears wearing prematurely … and, unless you’ve spent a good chunk of time trial-and-erroring your way through the insanely massive range of brands and models available or manned the fitting machine at your local tyre shop, knowing what to choose can be an annoyingly time-consuming process. Luckily, the team at DTM Wheel and Tyre have been spending plenty of time making that task a hassle-free one with their new website, gruzo.co.nz. With decades of tyre and wheel sales experience packed under their belts, they’re using that knowledge to make tyre buying easy by bringing their…

When a man can’t help but modify his cars, what’s to be done? Some would say that the cure is an easy one — simply buy a car that’s already had those modifications done to it. Steve Walker tried that, and the fact that you’re now reading about his latest build means that it was an idea that didn’t work. Some of you may recognize his name from a feature we ran on his tough ’67 Mustang fastback a couple of years ago. Powered by a stroked 427ci Clevor backed by a Toploader four-speed, the Mustang was loud, fast, and tough as hell — everything that he wanted it to be. However, with a young family, priorities had to be accounted for. The impractical Mustang was sold, but, the moment…

When the country treats you to a long weekend, it would be rude not to use it, and Auckland-based Renegade Rod and Custom Club has been known to make the most of Queen’s Birthday on the first Monday of June. With the recent completion of the NorthWest Shopping Centre in Westgate, last year’s Parked Up Out West show marked the first collaboration between the shopping centre and the club, delivering a massive display spread across the entire rooftop car park. Hosting a car show like that in such a public manner — especially thanks to the support of NorthWest — also had its benefits in a massive number of people taking a look, with an audience that may otherwise not have known, or cared, about a car show like it.…