Innholdsfortegnelse for No 178 March 2020 i NZV8

Carl Thompson has never been one to do things by halves, proving a talent behind the wheel in the national drifting series D1NZ. Lately, he’s been on a mission to build a fleet of drift cars, more specifically 850hp Mast Motorsports V8-powered examples, and his latest incarnation caused waves at SEMA in the USA. While in the US, Carl swung by the Hoonigan Burnyard to show the Yanks what a burnout really looks like. Kicking off in third gear from stationary, he made multiple passes under the semi-truck trailer. It’s one hell of a wild watch. Check it out on the Hoonigan YouTube channel.…

Hiya Todd and the NZV8 crew, its been a while so I thought I’d say hi and send you a crazy update on one part of life! It’s a goodie! Rewind 2.5-ish years ago, Mr Wolf — husband (mechanic extraordinaire), daughter (topped Yr 12 Automotive Engineering — winner winner!), and I are heading to the car parts shop (of course) 4.45pm-ish — the busiest time of the day in the Onehunga area — sigh! Anyone who knows the Onehunga/Penrose area in the late afternoon on a Friday, you avoid it like the plague! Struggling to not lose my nut at crappy drivers, we hit the intersection at Church and Selwyn Streets right next to Countdown. Opposite us was one broken down tiny MG — the cool old kind, even mustard…

Here is the latest project to leave the doors of GMS Hot Rods. The owners of the T-bucket came to Greg at GMS a while back with the half-started project that lacked stance or style. Greg suggested following the stance and theme of the US-based buckets of the late ’60s. With that plan decided on, 12 inches was cut off the front of the chassis and the body was moved around to suit the placement of the 16x10 ET wheels. “Once the look was mocked up, it was a case of filling the gaps,” says Greg. Chassis work consisted of repositioning the engine and front suspension, redoing the centre cross members to make best use of the limited space that a small T-bucket has to offer, and steeling out the…

▸ 14–16 FEBRUARY REBEL ROUND UP February is a busy time of year for Kiwi hot rodders, what with events the likes of the massive Rebel Round Up going down. This year, the party is once again held at Pukekohe Park Raceway over the weekend of 14–16 February, and promises to be a pure hot-rod-fest. It includes the famous Primer Nationals, vintage markets, Miss Rebel Round Up pinup pageant, vintage gassers, entrant camping, live bands, and an automotive swap meet. Pre-registration details can be found at rebelroundup.co.nz. For more information, head to the website or check the Rebel Round Up Facebook page for regular updates. ▸ 19-22 FEBRUARY AMERICARNA 2020 The quintessential left-hook American lump of steel, new or old, is what Americarna has been built upon. If you didn’t…

It’s 3.30am on Tuesday, 31 December and I’m awoken by my phone ringing. It was old mate Andrew Harrison wondering where the hell I was. Dazed, and confused as to why my alarm hadn’t gone off, I stumbled around trying to get dressed to rush out to the van. As I gathered my thoughts, I realized that he was an hour early. Somehow, the discussion we had had down at the pub maybe 10 hours earlier had been lost in translation — or maybe it was that bottle or two of Woodstock and cola. So it was beginning; something I had been planning for the past six months was finally here, and it had already started with a balls-up! Rewind to Labour weekend, and the big unveiling of the new…

Phil Taylor is well known in the Christchurch performance tuning scene, working his magic on countless cars over the years. You’ll soon be hearing more of his name though, as he’s recently purchased a 1992 Fox Body Mustang from a Timaru racer and is working on an engine combination that’s sure to cause some upset. The goal is to beat his good friend’s Nissan Laurel — which has run a best of 8.2 at 165mph. To do that, he’s opted not to use the big block the car was previously campaigned with, but a force-fed LS combo. Although it may seem counterintuitive to some, rather than use a larger capacity motor, Phil’s sourced a 5.3-litre version from a Chev pickup. The benefit of these smaller engines is they run a…

Isn’t it interesting that, as car fanatics, we can all remember the moment that a certain car or vehicle made a big enough impact that it formed a burning desire to own one? For Steve Phillips, the love of Mopars started because of not just one but two such moments. The first in 1976 when he bought an American Hot Rod magazine that had a line-up of Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars, and the second when he was watching a late-night movie called Vanishing Point. He instantly loved that white Dodge Challenger and can clearly remember thinking, I’ve gotta have some of that. Fast forward 40-plus years and Steve still has that Hot Rod magazine and, more important, now owns a 1970 Valiant hardtop coupe, as well as a cool…

Most of us can probably remember the first car we ever saw that started our passion for everything automotive. It’s also fair to say that some of us from the more ‘mature’ generation, should we say, may take some time to recollect what it was that got the heart racing, but we won’t forget. Geoff Hale, a Canterbury mechanic, takes some time to think about what it was that started him on the long road to classic car ownership when we put the question to him. “I can’t exactly remember where it all started,” he tells us. “I’ve always been a Corvette nut,” Geoff confesses. Riding his pushbike past PDL Motors on Ferry Road back when he was 15 years old, Geoff spotted an orange ’69 Corvette taking up residence…

Rikky Dawson is a drainlayer by trade, but he should have been a salesman. He managed to pull off a very slippery line to his wife, which ended up with the purchase of this 1982 Chev C10, and somehow managed to get away with it. The tactics may have been a bit dirty, the product not quite what was promised, and the price — let’s just say it was a bit more than mentioned. It all started when Rikky found a stripped-down C10 for sale. The truck had been around the scene for a while, with the paperwork showing it had had more owners than anyone could remember. Somewhere along the line it was air bagged then had a diesel Toyota motor slotted into it, before it changed hands a…

Everyone wants to be the first, to claim that small piece of history as their own, and auctioning off the first production model of a new performance car for charity has become accepted practice. It shouldn’t be too surprising to learn, then, that the first saleable 2020 C8 Chevrolet Corvette crossed the auction block, and did so at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale sale. What no one expected to see, however, was the figure on the big screen when the car sold: US$3M. It made for a silence-inducing moment, even in light of the collection of high-value steel being pushed across the stage. Bidding opened at a cool $200K and quickly jumped to $250K then $500K followed by $750K and $1M. It didn’t slow down there but powered all the way to…

Back in September 2019, we talked about the Highland Green 1968 Mustang fastback that starred alongside Steve McQueen in Bullitt and was set to be traded for the first time in over four decades. It had been owned by the Kiernan family since 1974. Bearing the 8R02S125559 chassis code, it was used as the hero car in the film, primarily for close-ups. Its twin (8R02S125558) was used as the stunt car. After the movie wrapped, only chassis 559 was in a condition worth selling, with the stunt car being scrapped. Chassis 559 was purchased by Warner Bros employee Robert Ross, who sold it two years later to New Jersey police detective Frank Marranca. It was then sold one more time, to Robert Kiernan for US$6K, the same price the detective…

Could we be seeing Trans Am 2 (TA2) come to New Zealand in the near future? The door to that possibility has opened with the news that Australian Racing Group (ARG) has inked an agreement with the Trans Am Race Company. The multi-year deal, running through to 2026, sees ARG secure the commercial, promotional, and marketing rights to the official Trans Am categories in both Australia and New Zealand. This includes Trans Am (TA1) and Trans Am 2 (TA2) TA2 recently took Australia by storm, with a field of more than 40 cars, prompting talks about setting up the category in New Zealand. A low-cost alternative to the top class, TA2 cars cost roughly A$130,000 and ongoing costs are kept low with restrictions on tyre use on race weekends. “It…

The life of a shift worker in the Australian outback can be an interesting one. You’ve got to have the right sort of mental fortitude to be able to go to work for a few weeks, then back home again for a few, on a cycle that repeats indefinitely. It’s hard work, but the pay is good, and if you can make the most of your weeks off, then it all becomes worthwhile. This is the position Graham Espiner was in seven years ago. Sure, he may sound a bit like an Aussie, but he’s a true-blue Kiwi at heart. Looking for something to fill in the weeks between work, Graham decided that the ‘Aussiest’ of Aussie cars, an HQ One Tonner, would be a good project. Of course, countless…

Some events you remember for all the wrong reasons, some you remember for specific moments or things that happened, and then there are those like Dragstalgia — held at Masterton Motorplex over the weekend of 4–5 January. This was an event that not only heralded the return of the once — and now again — hugely popular Wild Bunch, but also an event that returned a feel-good notion to drag racing in this country, and one that offered as much to those who packed the stands as it did to its racers and workers. Dragstalgia has always been a successful race meet in and of itself, but this year’s addition of a field of 22 Wild Bunch cars, some not seen in years, and a bunch of familiar and iconic…

The Auckland Invasion, where Meremere racers travel en masse to Masterton Motorplex, has been a hit with drivers and crowds alike for a few seasons now, and the return event — the Wellington Invasion — is now equally as popular. The event was the fourth round of the new combined national points series (for most classes) but the first round for Group 1. The trip north was worthwhile for Wairarapa racer Dwayne Garret, who carded a new PB of 5.97 in his Top Alcohol Dragster despite a blown burst panel before the finish line. Fellow Wairarapa driver Gavin Green also managed to take home honours in Top Doorslammer, when Barry Plumpton withdrew with a cracked chassis. Taranaki’s Jeff Dobson did give Gavin a run for his money though, both teams…

1969… she was an iconic year. Apollo 11’s moon landing, “nippon clippons” were added to the Auckland Harbour Bridge, bellbottoms and the peace movement were alive and kicking as a segway to Woodstock. But hey, there was also the formation of the infamous Whakatane Rod and Custom Club (WR&CC). Many people find hot rodding an enjoyable hobby. They like hanging with likeminded folk and having a good time with their cars. This is not what happens in WR&CC. This is no hobby. This is a way of life. And while some clubs may celebrate their half-century with a formal dinner with talking heads and a respectability befitting the occasion, this was never what the hardcore Whakatanites were planning. They wanted to do what they always have done — a first-class…

“I’ve always loved the ’57 Chev two doors — the smooth lines are out of this world,” says Graham Espiner. Let’s be honest, that’s a statement that’s hard to argue with. Graham admits that building a ’57 would be a dream come true, and he’s spent his fair share of time thinking about everything he’d do to one if it were to happen. As a visual kind of guy, his description starts with the body, where he says that he’d get the panels dead straight before applying House of Kolor candy purple paint. The dark hue would work well with all the car’s factory brightwork, of which the bumpers would be tucked in tight towards the body. To get the stance right, airbags would be installed all-round. Nothing too fancy…

Power has long been the goal of many, from gladiators in the arena to money-hungry rich-listers and dictators the world over. For the rest of us, the glory rests with another type of power — the cubic-inch kind — which has long been advertised by car manufacturers as a big carrot to potential buyers. From the early Holden engines of the ’90s, initially bragging of 248hp power plants to the new Dodge Demon’s 808hp engine, the rhetoric is always the same, with bank balances the only thing dropping as dyno numbers and rev-counter needles take a climb every year. There’s something about that V8 rumble: the sound of the sometimes ear-splitting exhaust notes, the vibration as someone stamps on the loud pedal, the all-important smell created when the rubber and…

There was never any doubt that the fourth round of the Enzed Central Muscle Cars (CMC) series was going to provide entertainment and drama, and the reasons for this were quite simple. The points table for both Group 1 and Group 2 had been turned upside down after the previous round at Pukekohe, the extremely quick South Island–based teams would be in the mix, and the Highlands circuit is an incredible place that can make or break a driver. Five-time CMC champion Dean Perkins was on a mission from the get-go, and he needed to be if he was going to have any chance of making up for the major points losses from round three. With a refreshed engine under the bonnet, he roared around the track in the practice…

It’s not the news any performance enthusiast wants to hear, but it is the reality of the world we live in. In what can only be a forsaking of the performance gods, it’s been confirmed that Shelby American sells 2.5 times as many performance-oriented F-Series pickup trucks as it does Mustangs. That’s hard to believe when something as glorious as Shelby’s 825hp Super Snake Mustang exists. However, it does make sense. According to Shelby’s Jonathan Marsh, the Las Vegas–based company builds roughly 300 Mustang variants a year, including the big-power Super Snake, the Shelby GT, and the Shelby Wide Body, as well as the rental-only Shelby GT-S in partnership with SIXT. That figure excludes the likes of the Ford-built GT350 and GT500, which, despite wearing the Shelby name, are not…

For the first time since returning to Pukekohe Park Raceway back in 2013, the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship ITM Auckland Super400 has been shifted away from its traditional home. Organizers have confirmed that this year’s 24–26 April (Anzac weekend) incarnation will be hosted at Hampton Downs after they discovered that under the Auckland Unitary Plan, “any use of the track [Pukekohe] by motor vehicles, except for vehicles undertaking maintenance” was barred on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Anzac Day. Hampton Downs is situated in the Waikato, so it isn’t subject to the legislation. According to Supercars CEO, Sean Seamer, nothing else is set to change: “Same date, same format, same plans for Anzac weekend. Still working obviously with the army here in Australia and New Zealand, just a change of…

Whether you like to generate your smoke stationary, in circles, or sideways at high speeds, there’s no denying the skill and technical expertise it takes to compete in the D1NZ National Drifting Championship. While it’s traditionally been an import-heavy sport, there are a handful of eight-bangers taking on the challenge, often to round-winning results. Here we take a look at one of those: the Roush Yates Engines RY45-powered RTR Spec 5-D Mustang campaigned by series stalwart Daniel ‘Fanga Dan’ Woolhouse. 2017 RTR SPEC 5-D MUSTANG Showing up on the scene back in 2018, this stallion was previously campaigned in the American series, Formula Drift, by Vaughn Gittin Jr. While the chassis is a work of art as far as drift cars go, it’s the Roush Yates Engines (RYE) ‘crate’ motor…

Ants Vryenhoek may have cut his teeth working on Jappas, but he’s now seen the light and is progressing well on the build of a ’78 Trans Am, doing as much of it as possible himself. The car now runs a 2014 L98 engine from Arcus Performance, re-flashed with one of the company’s custom tunes and backed by a 6L80E transmission. To slow it down, Ants has sourced a Wilwood master cylinder, which feeds a set of Corvette C5 front brakes and a disc rear end. Arcus Performance has also freshened up the diff, fitting a 4.11:1 ratio in the process. It’s a big call to paint your own car, but Ants has given it a shot, and nailed it. He is now in the process of buffing it so…

Andy Smith from Smith Autos in Levin has a bit of a brain-teaser on the go for a customer: shoehorning a Gen 3 Hemi into a ’73 Plymouth Duster. It may sound simple but the project has been far from it, in part due to the lack of local late-model Mopar conversions. Andy says this is no show car, and it is being built for performance rather than trophies, but from what we’ve seen so far, it’ll still look the part when done. The engine the guys have used was sourced from a 2009 Dodge Ram, and Andy suspects that that may be part of the issue; those motors use different components from the passenger car variants. He’s now well aware of the various crank trigger set-ups, among other items,…

Geoff Dann’s a man who likes his horsepower. We’re not talking about a few ponies in a paddock here, but the type that can only be created by an internal combustion engine, preferably one with a little bit of boost. Over the years, he’s owned, tuned, and tweaked his fair share of them, but one of the highlights was a late-model turbocharged Commodore ute. It was when experimenting with the ute that his need for speed increased, and the logical way to satisfy it was to purchase a dedicated drag car, which he did. As a long-time General Motors fan, a race-ready ’80s Iroc Camaro was just the thing … well, kind of. Although the car had previously been on the strip both here and abroad, Geoff added his own…

When I think of Summer Nationals, I think about burnouts, V8s, mullets, and bogans! Having grown up around speedway, drag racing, and V8s, it has always been on my bucket list to photograph Summernats in Canberra, Australia. With Dad, uncles, and family owning multiple V8 cars, power boats, and Harleys over the years, there’s always been a bit of bogan in my blood. However, what I was to encounter was Boganville on steroids! The level of the cars, the attention to detail, and the motors higher than the roof that were on display over the four days of this year’s iteration, Street Machine Summernats 33 (SN33), were really a photographer’s dream! With 2200 vehicles entered, the second-highest count in the event’s history, it would have been easy to just fill…

The Aeroflow Nitro Funny Cars brought crowds out to Meremere Dragway last year like hadn’t been seen for some time. Sadly, all the crowd got to witness was the weather wrecking what could have been huge. Thankfully, they’re back shortly, with not just an event at Meremere Dragway on 22 February, but also at Masterton Motorplex on 21 March. This time around, there are multiple rain dates, so baring ridiculous weather, everyone should get their fair share of nitro! Besides the local racers, which will be out in force, the drawcard is obviously the eight Aeroflow nitro cars coming from Australia, along with a dedicated wheel-stander. If you’ve never experienced a full field of nitro cars — and let’s face it, that’s only happened abroad — then it’s a…

Kiwis are well renowned for punching well above their weight, with our sports teams amongst the best in the world in a variety of disciplines. In motorsport circles we have had drivers that have been world champions and we are innovators in the engineering world, involved and pushing the boundaries. Basically, Kiwis are passionate about what they do, and when it comes to building hot rods and cool cars you don’t get many more passionate than Hamilton’s Tony House. Tony is a prolific car builder with countless cars passing through his hands over the decades. While he would have loved to keep most of them, Tony’s creations are now scattered all over New Zealand and can be found in Australia, too. This is the problem many car guys suffer: once…

The most important part of any bodywork project is prepping the metal properly. It is the foundation that everything is built from, and it needs to be done extremely well for the paint job to last. There is no ‘good enough’. The methods explained in this article are achievable in your home garage, so don’t be put off by the images, as they are a reference to explain the process. I work in a panel and paint shop, and this is what we do every day, but you can do it as well — at home, in the garage, or in the driveway — as long as there is a dry area in which to store the car in between stages. STEP 1 This body came to us with minor…

The peaceful lakeside community of Taupō in the central North Island is a great place to be on a calm summer’s day. Late last year the town was anything but calm, though, as the popular tourist mecca quaked with the first-ever Volcanic Rumble event taking place. Vehicles of all types hit the streets, from motorcycles to the occasional Morris 1100 (seriously, some of them still live!), but they were overshadowed by some great examples of American and European steel, with the obligatory small and sometimes big block powerplants purring through town. The weekend was organized by the Volcanic Rumble charitable trust, headed by a 1964 Buick Wildcat driver, Marin Leusink. “We’re encouraging all sorts of vehicles,” he says. “The event is aimed at being a celebration of horsepower, style, and…