H A N G I N G W I T H T H E G T- F O U R C L U B

238

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OCT. 2016
ISSUE

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 024
CONTENTS
6.96
Brothers Cory and Jeremy Abbott have been racing rotaries together since the ’90s, when N/As and IDAs ruled the roost. Things
have come a long way since then — and the brothers now campaign a three-quarter-chassis FD RX-7 that holds the title of
Australasia’s fastest and quickest 13B. We get the low down on the build of one of the best-presented drag cars in New Zealand

018 CHRIS AMON — FARMER, DRIVER, AND KIWI LEGEND

One of New Zealand’s greatest driving exports sadly passed away this month.
We pay tribute to Kiwi motor sport legend Chris Amon with a look back at his
long-standing career in Formula 1 and tin-tops. Chris was a very strong talent
behind the wheel and an active figure in New Zealand motor sport circles

032 BALANCED DIET

A serious new contender will join the SS2000 ranks this season — Graeme
Smyth’s freshly completed aero-equipped FD RX-7. Powered by an Xtreme
Rotaries 13B and backed by a Modena six-speed sequential, the FD is a
beautifully presented race car. Driver and fabricator Graeme not only built it, but
will also pedal it with championship aspirations

018 050 RATTLING CAGES

Have a drool over Rattla Motorsport’s newest build, a GT500 Shelby Mustang
built with the sole purpose of drifting. Under the hood, there’s a 596kW/1016Nm
naturally aspirated small block V8 and five-speed sequential that will decimate
any rubber bolted onto the rear

062 DORT DORT

There are many ways to build a killer Honda. Daniel Smith has always been
fascinated by the raw circuit-car stylings of Osaka Kanjo Racers, so he took a
paddock-found Honda Civic and transformed it into an award-winning individual
throttle–bodied B18CR weapon

032 062

050
4 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 042
042 CHROME EXPRESSION SESSION
Full coverage from the biggest event to ever hit Hampton Downs — two days, two tracks, and 500 entrants
pushing their machines to the limit, in what has become the ultimate power party on New Zealand soil.
Check out the insanity that can only be the Mothers Chrome Expression Session

068 TUNING JAPANESE: MEIHAN CIRCUIT

Take a guided tour of one of Japan’s most hallowed tracks, Meihan Circuit, with our man Aaron Mai. From
that infamous pit-lane wall forever scarred by countless bumper scrapes to its tight and very technical drift
layout, Meihan is a favourite in Japan’s grass-roots scene

072 SPECIAL BUILD: GRAVEL BOUND

From an era when lightweight alloy was used in place of roll-cage tube and death and destruction waited
around each corner — 1980’s rally will forever live on in infamy. It’s an era that captured Ross Clarke’s
imagination so much that he created a faithful replica of a TA63 Celica in his South Auckland shed, compete
with genuine engine and body panels

078 THRASH DRIVE

You’ve heard all the hype about the drift mode on the all-new Ford Focus RS — well, lucky for us, Ford was
trusting enough to hand us the keys so that we could try it out ourselves. While we refrained from Little
Johnny street-drifting antics, we did have a riot driving the RS — find out our thoughts on what is the most
hyped performance car of the year

082 GT-FOUR UP
The GT-Four club has been going strong for many years, so, when it held its annual club meet, we went
along to see the biggest gathering in a very long time. The gang over at the GT-Four Owners Club knows
how to party, and nearly 40 examples of the GT-Four Celica were on display. Check out a few of our
favourites

076
008 EDITORIAL

068 072 010 ED. TEAM CHATTER

012 NEWS
016 THE MOTORHOOD
022 CASTROL EDGE PCOTY
040 SUBSCRIBE AND RECEIVE
074 WEEKEND WARRIOR
076 DEMON BABE HUNT
080 GRAM GODS
088 NEW PRODUCTS
092 CRUISE MODE
094 UNDER CONSTRUCTION
096 GIG GUIDE
098 DRAG TIMES

078 082 100 DAILY DRIVEN

101 TRADE DIRECTORY
104 WHAT’S COMING NEXT MONTH

6 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
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EDITORIAL
PROTECT YA NECK
I
can almost guarantee that
there is not a single person out
there who hasn’t, at one time or
another, been affected by theft or
known someone who has. Yes, it
sucks that we live in a world in
which there are people who will
take any damn thing they want,
and the sad fact is that, as long
as there is someone willing to purchase those stolen
goods, the basics of supply and demand dictate the
cycle will continue. I see it all too often when someone is
targeted mid project, and all those juicy parts they have
scrimped and saved for, built — or, hell, even ticked
up — are gone in the blink of an eye, never to be seen
again, and the project is all but ruined because of it.
Building a car is like having Christmas week after
week with all the new shiny bits arriving, and I, too,
have been guilty of ’gramming them to share with the
world, because it’s exciting. But I often do stop and
think, shit, is this advertising, and is it inciting some
people to come and rob me blind? In a perfect world,
this thought wouldn’t enter my mind, but it’s a rough
world, people, and we should all be under no illusions
about that.
This is why I cover my own arse (and projects)
with project insurance. It’s actually really cheap
when considered in the scheme of things, and most
insurance companies offer such a product, but it
blows me away how often I hear of people who are
ripped off and have no cover whatsoever. Sure, if
the worst happens, my 1000s of hours of labour will
be lost into the abyss, but at least the money that I
FACEBOOK.COM/PERFORMANCECAR themotorhood.com
8 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
EDITOR
Marcus Gibson, marcus@performancecar.co.nz
EDITORIAL TEAM
Jaden Martin, Connal Grace
SUBEDITOR
Jacqui Madelin
PROOFREADER
poured into parts will be reimbursed. Odelia Schaare
I have been that person as a young man — with DESIGNERS
no cover on anything and a shed full of expensive parts Mark Gibson, Mark Tate
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
and cars. Handing over X-amount per year seemed Adam Croy
ludicrous, when that money could go to more car parts. ADVERTISING PRODUCTION
But, the older I get, the more the concept of insurance Rebecca Frogley
CONTRIBUTORS
seems logical, especially when I consider the more
Aaron Mai, Richard Opie, Mikey Mayers, Yemo Guo,
expensive parts I collect. I get it that many people view Logan West
this type of stuff as a waste of money; however, I also SUBSCRIBE
get that for my BMW, it’s under $200 a year to cover ONLINE: magstore.nz
PHONE: 0800 PARKSIDE (727 574)
everything. Given the amount of time and money I have MAIL: Freepost Parkside Media Subs
heaped into the project, if someone did steal something PO Box 46,020, Herne Bay, Auckland 1147
from it and I didn’t have the insurance, I would be EMAIL: subs@parkside.co.nz
ruined. I’m already maxed out, and don’t have another
swag of cash sitting in reserve to replace those bits. The
investment represents a large portion of my income, as NZ Performance Car is published by:
I expect yours does for a lot of you, and it really pains me
to see other guys having to suffer through replacing bits
because they were not covered.
So, I plead to you all, nut up and spend the extra CONTACT US
bit of cash on insurance. No matter how Fort Knox you PHONE: 09 360 1480
think your shed is, there’s no stopping a career criminal MAIL: PO Box 46,020, Herne Bay, Auckland 1147
EMAIL: info@parkside.co.nz
from going shopping in there if they choose to. That is a PUBLISHER
fact! How would you handle walking in to find everything Greg Vincent, gvincent@parkside.co.nz
wiped out, and the police telling you there’s a 99-per- GENERAL MANAGER, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Michael White, mwhite@parkside.co.nz
cent chance you will never see any of it again? I plead
GENERAL MANAGER, OPERATIONS
with you all to at least look into it. Don’t let some crim Simon Holloway, sholloway@parkside.co.nz
ruin your dream, but, above all else, never buy stolen MANAGING EDITOR, MOTORING TITLES
parts — kill the demand and that will kill the supply. Todd Wylie, twylie@parkside.co.nz
PRINTING
PMP Maxum
Marcus Gibson Email: marcus@performancecar.co.nz
Instagram: marcus_nzpcmagazine
DISTRIBUTION
Gordan & Gotch
PHONE: 09 928 4200
NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS
Parkside Media uses due care and diligence in the preparation of this magazine but is not
responsible or liable for any mistakes, misprints, omissions, or typographical errors. Parkside
Media prints advertisements provided to the publisher but gives no warranty and makes no
representation to the truth, accuracy, or sufficiency of any description, photograph, or state-
ment. Parkside Media accepts no liability for any loss which may be suffered by any person
who relies either wholly or in part upon any description, photograph, or statement contained
herein. Parkside Media reserves the right to refuse any advertisement for any reason. The
views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Parkside Media, the publisher,
or the editor. All material published, gathered, or created for NZ Performance Car magazine is
copyright of Parkside Media Limited. All rights reserved in all media. No part of this magazine
@NZPCMAGAZINE may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.
 BECOME A CASTROL
OIL EXPERT.

AND GET THE BEST CASTROL OIL

FOR YOUR CAR.
www.CheckYourOil.co.nz

Standard text costs apply. Recommendations are for passenger cars only. *Not all vehicles will have a recommendation, please phone the CASTROL TECHNICAL HELPLINE on 0800 10 40 60 for any queries (Mon - Fri 8.30am - 5.00pm).
NZPC TEAM

THE DARKSIDE OF TRADE

GROUPS
F
acebook is a pretty sweet tool for finding the parts you
want, or clearing out the garage of your unwanted parts
— one quick scan of your local “RFB salez swups n
dealrs” page can have half a car in parts ready to go.
But, where this is money changing hands, someone is
thinking of ways to abuse it. This is the darker side of
trade groups. Rogue operators making fake accounts
in an attempt to deceive genuine buyers, and I hate to
think how many dollars that would have been sunk into the next cover car has
been lost to these f**kers.
The practice normally involves a ‘seller’ listing a high-value part for
an extremely low price, and selling it multiple times over. The items almost
always never exist, and in some cases they are copy and pasted from parts
other people are selling. These ventures seem to pull in a hefty little sum
judging from the posts that continue to pop up regularly, which is probably
why it continues to happen, even after they have been caught for the same
thing previously. Some people just don’t give a shit. Take steps to protect
yourself: if the price is too good to be true, like buying a ‘brand new’ Link G4+
for $250 and a pack of smokes, it probably is — especially when almost all
of these scenarios involve the ‘seller’ insisting on shipping the item. Check
out their profile, see if they’ve posted prior to the last week, or have more
than five friends. Reverse searching the image(s) can also help determine if
they actually exist, all you have to do is right-click and hit “search Google for
image”. If you have the ability to, make the effort to go and pick the item(s)
up, and if not, get a mate to help you out. It can save you a lot of heart-ache.
Obviously this isn’t the norm, and there are some great buys to be
had, just be wary of what you’re signing up for and ALWAYS pick up where
possible.

Jaden Martin
Email: jaden@performancecar.co.nz
Instagram: Jaden_nzpcmagazine

CONTRIBUTORS
ADAM CROY AARON MAI

As the head of our light-capturing team, Adam is the only team member
actually qualified for the role at hand. As he’s the longest-serving member of
our team, if you think of an NZPC style shot, then chances are that it was this
man who was behind the camera. Just as at home shooting our models as he
is capturing someone popping a set of tyres, this man is never afraid of getting
in there, up close and personal, to get the perfect shot. Time and time again,
while we stand around talking shit at a shoot, Adam gets the job done. The
unsung hero of our team? We think so.
As a Kiwi living the gaijin life in Japan for many years, Aaron has long used
his camera, smooth charm, and allegiance to NZPC to get into places most
people just can’t access — and certainly not if you’re on the tourist trail. These
days, he is back here in New Zealand, but he plans regular, ridiculously busy,
trips to Japan to exercise his ability to pry open those closed doors. We salute
this man’s ability to share with NZPC a world that, for the most part, you can’t
even find on the internet.

10 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 TIC
ON S KETS
AT TIC ALE NO
KETE
K.CO
W
M.AU
INSIDE LINE
GET YOUR DAILY NEWS FIX ONLINE: themotorhood.com
D1NZ
PHOTO: RICHARD OPIE
SEASON
ANNOUNCED
After a stellar 2015–’16 season, the D1NZ team had
to do something big to one-up what it’d already
achieved. If you follow the series, you should have
already heard the announcement made at the
CRC Speedshow last month: the 2016–’17 Demon
D1NZ National Drifting Championship will kick off (no
pun intended) in Dunedin at Forsyth Barr Stadium,
over December 2–3. Yes, you read that right — the
PHOTO: LOGAN WEST
TJM TO HEAD TO
WTAC
The Kiwi contingent heading across to the World
Time Attack Challenge continues to grow with the
announcement that Team Jenkins Motorsport driver
Troy Jenkins with be joining Nico Reid, and Carl
Thompson to contest the International Drift Challenge
- with a fouth driver yet to be announced. This will be
Troy’s first international event, and the young driver is
reveling in the challenge having just freshened up the
RB30 powered S15 ready for international war; “Myself
and the team have dreamt of being apart of an event
of this calibre and having the chance to drive against
some of the best in the world. We will be putting 200%
into making sure this is an awesome event for our
partners. With the recent announcement of Australian
Automotive Company, 4.mance Automotive backing
the TJM Team for the Sydney Event – Troy states “We
cannot thank 4.mance Automotive enough for coming
on board for this event as our title sponsor - along with
a big thanks to Brian Roberts Towing, Juice Polishes,
Origin Labo New Zealand, Stance Suspension,
12 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
24,000-seat indoor stadium will become home to
the largest custom-made motorsport track in the
southern hemisphere, with 360,000m2 of asphalt laid
over turf that the All Blacks usually play on.
Since this news, there has been a huge influx of
entries into the Pro and Pro-Sport series, and fans and
drivers alike can look forward to the stadium event,
alongside four night events and the Teams Champs.
Chase Bays, Big Country Labs, and Husqvarna.” In
preparation for the October 14/15 event the RB30 has
been stripped and had an off season revamp – along
with a few subtle changes to the Origin Labo body
work. The cars will be loaded late September with
Troy hoping to get in at least one shakedown prior to
loading up.
“The general consensus is that we have the
right mix for a great revived season both for drivers,
their fans and sponsors, and the series,” said D1NZ
managing director Brendon White. “Now, focus for
the sport turns to getting the rules and regulations
right for everyone involved.” Drifting in New Zealand
continues to push the boundaries further than ever
before — we’ll see you all in Dunedin!
PERSONALISED
PLATES SHUTS UP
SHOP
Long-time vendor of customized license plates,
Personalised Plates, has lost the contract with
the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) after 28 years.
The company made the announcement via its
website and stated that all enquiries should be
directed to the NZTA. Rumour has it that the
Australian Publicis Communication has taken up
the contract, after NZTA previously expressed
interest in finding a new company to do the job.
What does this mean for the average
punter? Not a lot, really. At present, prices
remain the same, and the website now has
much more user-friendly interface and a wider
range of designs are available. A fixed-format
plate (e.g. ‘ABC123’) starts from $599, while a
fully-custom plate starts at $999.
There hasn’t been a lot said about future
price increases or further design options;
however, as the business platform is based
on a continually declining number of available
combinations, this is an all-too-real future.
Let’s just hope we’ll soon be able to legally buy
and use Japanese- and American-style plates.
 WIN YOURSELF
THE WTAC VIP
TREATMENT
To celebrate the fact that there will be some
kick-ass Kiwi teams to support this year, the
team behind WTAC has given us a double VIP
lounge pass to give away for the October 14–15
event.
The VIP pass will grant you access to the
pit-lane lounge, with one of the best views of
the main straight and all the pit-road drama.
Enjoy a catered morning tea and lunch in
air-conditioned comfort, while avoiding the
queues for soggy ‘dagwood dogs’ (Aussie
slang for ‘hot dog’). The passes, valued at

DRIFT SOUTH AU$220 each, cover your entry to both event

days, VIP parking, lounge access, catering,
and a AU$30 merchandise voucher. To go in

SEASON DATES the draw to win, all you have to do is fill out
the entry form at themotorhood.com. If you’re
making the trek across the ditch, why not do it
in style — VIP style?
The South Island’s long-running Drift South drift into each of the five rounds. A regular Street Meat
series has just announced its 2016–’17 season dates, winter weekend event will replace the space that the
returning to a five-round season once again. The Battle Royale previously filled. Check out the dates
series will be making the most of New Zealand’s most below, and jump onto driftsouth.org.nz to find all the
versatile track, Mike Pero Motorsport Park, with its details that you’ll need to get involved.
multiple track configurations, in Christchurch.
Round four will see drivers trek to Timaru Round one October 8, 2016
International Motor Raceway (formerly Levels). Round two November 26, 2016
Rather than having an end-of-season special round, Round three January 28, 2017
the Battle Royale format — hugely popular among Round four March 4, 2017
drivers and fans last season — will be incorporated Round five May 6, 2017

NEW
ZEALAND’S
FASTEST
R35
Iain Clegg of ST Hitec loves nothing more than
driving the pants off his R35 GT-R, and he is
seemingly not biased as to what discipline
that involves. Last month, he rented out
Meremere Dragway with the sole intention of
setting the benchmark for R35s in New Zealand.
His GT-R is home to a stroked VR38DETT
(4.1-litre kit) sporting a pair of HKS GT1000
snails, producing a whopping 820kW. No doubt
this impressive package helped Iain claim the
title of New Zealand’s fastest R35 GT-R, with a
10.056-second quarter-mile at 234kph (145mph)
and a 1.6-second 60-foot time. Although hoping
to dip into the nines on the day, with a set-up
that is more than capable of doing so, it was not
meant to be, after inclement weather held the
venture back. We’re sure that he will return in
the near future to best the record on a drier track
surface. Our interest now is to see who will step
up to try to best the time before that happens.
INSIDE LINE
GET YOUR DAILY NEWS FIX ONLINE: themotorhood.com
TRANSPORTATION
REVELATION
Auckland-based trailer manufacturer Futura Trailers
has changed the game when it comes to
transporting vehicles. Its brand-new aluminium
Low Loader trailers allow you to load and unload
even the lowest vehicles without the need for extra-
long ramps, blocks of wood, or multiple swear
words.
Low Loader trailers are the brainchild of Futura
Trailers’ Glen Reid and are an original and patented
design that the company has been producing since
2010 and which has now evolved into the aluminium
Low Loaders.
The deck is made of 6005 aluminium,
anodized for longevity, and features a tapered floor
that allows a generous approach angle for even
DEMON
BURNOUTS COMP
HEATING UP
Last month we launched a competition in
association with Demon Energy, called Demon
Burnouts. It’s a simple competition that we know
you are all going to love — basically, we want you
to share your shed skids with us. If our in-house
bogan panel of experts rate your skid, you could
win a boot load of Demon. All you have to do to
enter is hashtag your finest work on Instagram or
Facebook with #demonburnouts. Get in quick, as
the competition closes on August 31, but please
keep it legal — we do not want to see you hacking
up the back streets and neither do the New
Zealand Police.
14 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
the lowest of vehicles. The Low Loader’s variable
height system is based on cleverly designed lifting
arms, incorporating both the lifting mechanism
and suspension system, all operated by a built-in
electric winch. The winch is connected to a trickle
charger that runs off the tow vehicle’s tail lights, with
a backup solar-panel charger for when the trailer is
not in use.
Futura Trailers is already fielding orders
for these trailers locally and from as far afield
as the US, and it’s not hard to see why. You can
check out the Futura Trailers Low Loader on
themotorhood.com. For full technical information,
visit futuratrailers.com, phone 021 918 800, or email
glen@futuratrailers.com.
WIN WITH REPCO
To celebrate Father’s Day, Repco is giving customers
the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and
it couldn’t be easier to enter. By simply purchasing two
or more products from any Repco store in New Zealand
between August 11 and September 11, you’ll go in the
draw to win a $10K family holiday in Queenstown for
four people, over November 11–14, 2016.
GRUDGE
KINGS
COMING TO
NZ!
There is a new drag event hitting our
shores, confirmed for November 27 at
Meremere Dragway — one that has been
causing quite a stir across the ditch. The
Grudge Kings racing format takes it back to the
days of heads-up racing, with a street-racing
element of laying down challenges to your
fellow competitors.
Po Tung, a 28x9 racer, is the man behind
the format, with Sydney being the first to
play host and Kiwi Gina Bullians taking the
win. Unique about this type of racing is that,
following the first event, the list of 20 rankings
will see drivers calling each other out in a bid
to make it to the top spot and grab that all-
important crown. To kick things off on this
side of the Tasman, Po is bringing over four
Australian heavy-hitters to take on the Kiwis.
If you haven’t got anything planned for that
weekend, Meremere will be the place to be!
PHOTO: RICHARD OPIE
Thanks to Repco’s long-standing association
with Highlands Motorsport Park, the lucky winner will
also score themselves VIP hospitality passes to the
Highlands 101 event on November 12–13, as well as a
trip up the iconic gondola and a jet-boat experience.
Terms and conditions apply. See in-store or visit
repco.co.nz for more details.
THE MOTORHOOD
GET YOUR DAILY FIX ONLINE: themotorhood.com

WHAT’S ONLINE AT
THEMOTORHOOD.COM
THIS MONTH
The Motorhood is the new online home for NZ Performance Car and its sister publications, NZV8
and New Zealand Classic Car. It’s the hub for all things automotive, from news and reviews to event
coverage and more. You can enjoy articles from the magazines at The Motorhood home page, LAMBO
HURACAN
themotorhood.com, or, if you want modified performance-import vehicles only, just head to our old
website address — performancecar.co.nz — to be redirected straight to the NZ Performance Car side
of the new site.

GETS A
FACELIFT
Italian supercars can be hit or miss for readers,
with some flat-out loving them and others not
so much. Lamborghini will probably always
be remembered for its classic sharp-edged
designs of the ’80s and early ’90s, and
modern examples have seen a slight decline in
popularity over the years.
So, when we heard that the Huracán
would receive a facelift, our interest was piqued,
as we hoped it would pay homage to the styling
we once loved. The final result is certainly
‘interesting’, with racing stripes, canards, flares,
and a GT wing. We’ll leave the decision up to
you: hit or miss?

CHRIS AMON
CSL FEATURE
With the sad passing of one of New Zealand’s
greatest motor sport exports, Chris Amon,
we thought it right to pay tribute to the great
wheelman and the infamous 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile’
he shared with Hans Stuck during the 1973
European Touring Car Championship.
Our sister magazine New Zealand Classic Car
was lucky enough to have the CSL in the studio a
few years back, talk to Chris about his experiences
behind the wheel, and feature the car on the cover
of Issue No. 152. It’s a great read for any Amon fans.
May he rest in peace.

OUR FIVE
FAVOURITE
PROJECTS
THIS YEAR
In our business, having cars constantly in the
build is a godsend, and seeing what’s going on
around the country is a highlight of our day. We
had a spare second in the office to kick back DEMON ENERGY
and look at this year’s issues thus far, and we
decided to put together a few of our favourites
from the Under Construction section for your
viewing pleasure. So dim the lights, grab the
D1NZ AWARDS NIGHT
Drivers and crew recently hung up their makes for one hell of a good night … and a not-
tissues, and enjoy the sensual sights you’re race suits and traded in their spanners for so-pleasant following morning. Arguably, the
about to witness. the glitz and glam of a black-tie event: the best part of the event is that the awards are voted
Warning: Article may not be appropriate Demon Energy D1NZ Awards Night. on by the public rather than by a panel, and there
for teenagers; NZ Performance Carr takes no The evening is a chance for all the teams are plenty to go around.
responsibility for your child purchasing a sick to get together and celebrate their achievements Search ‘Demon Energy D1NZ Awards
drift car or any attempts to use your Lancer for both on and off the track during the season that Night’ on themotorhood.com to check out all the
hill climbs. Enjoy. was. Now an institution of the series, the hoorah winners and a gallery of the night’s shenanigans.

16 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 Mantic performance clutches are 100% engineered in
Australia by Clutch Industries, calling on over 60 years
of experience in manufacturing clutches. Mantic is now
releasing a new range of single plate clutch systems
to suit your performance vehicle. The range includes 5
stages with various plate options as well as exclusive

CLUTCH ER2 patented technology.

S TA G E 2 oc

Mantic Stage 1 and Stage 2 clutch kit Cover Assemblies feature the Patented ER2 Groove
Design, which is a unique groove pattern CNC machined on the friction face of the
pressure plate. This groove has been specifically designed to increase the Mean Effective
Radius of the pressure plate and assist in heat removal. The increase in the Mean Effective
Radius of the cover assembly gives a significant increase in torque capacity.

Mantic Clutch Selection Guide

USE Drivability Torque Capacity
Product Description Disc Type Track
Street Track Drift Rally 1-5 (5 Being High)
Day
Upgraded Cover Assembly with Or-
Stage 1
ganic Disc and ER2 Grooved Pressure Organic 5 3
Plate (SG Iron Pressure Plate)
Upgraded Cover Assembly with OC Plate Organic /
(combined Organic / Cerametalic) and Cerametalic
Stage 2 ER2 Grooved Pressure Plate (SG Iron Sprung 5 3.5
Pressure Plate) Cushioned
Upgraded Cover Assembly with Cerametalic
Stage 3
Sprung Cerametalic and SG iron Sprung 5 4
Pressure Plate Cushioned
Upgraded Cover Assembly with Cerametalic
Stage 4
Sprung (Non Cushion) and SG Iron Sprung 3 5
Pressure Plate No Cushion
Upgraded Cover Assembly with Solid
Solid Centre
Stage 5
Centre ( Non Cushion) and SG Iron
No Cushion 2 5
Pressure Plate

For more information call 09 636 5428 or visit www.mantic.com.au

A TRIBUTE TO CHRIS AMON WORDS: JADEN MARTIN PHOTOS: NZCC ARCHIVES

Chris
Amon
Farmer,
driver,
and Kiwi
legend
THE BEST FORMULA 1 DRIVER TO NEVER
WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX

he Kiwi driver who was widely considered

&KULVLQWKH¶%DWPRELOH·DW6SD
to be the best Formula 1 driver to have
never won a championship Grand Prix,
Christopher Amon passed away on August 3
— aged 73. He leaves behind a legacy as a
driver with sublime talent at the wheel but a
career plagued by near-wins after constant
mechanical failures robbed him of the
winner’s laurel wreath in championship races. He also held the
record for driving for the highest number of teams in the history of
the F1 championship.
Born in 1943, Chris grew up in Bulls, a small town near
Palmerston North. The family farmed sheep and cattle on their
485 hectares of land, which may have provided a handy practice
ground after a magazine report on the 1956 French GP sparked
his interest in motor sport. After all, he’d already learned to drive
his father’s 1937 Ford pick-up and the farm tractor, and, when
his schooldays were over, he began racing an Austin A40 in local
events, later graduating to a 1.5-litre Cooper-Climax. Then came the
Maserati 250F, which he tested at the young age of 17, competing
against Stirling Moss and other visiting European stars of the era.
Behind the wheel of fellow Kiwi Bruce McLaren’s 1959 US GP–
winning Cooper-Climax T51, Chris caught the attention of European

18 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 Right: Chris jokes with
Ferrari mechanics on the
Brands Hatch grid for the
1968 British GP (photo:
Donn Anderson)

teams with his efforts in the 1962–’63 Tasman Series. At the age
of only 19, Chris arrived in Europe at the invitation of English team
manager, Reg Parnell, who had offered him a seat driving the year-
old Lola Climax in his F1 team for 1963. He started eight races
that year, with two seventh-place finishes, followed by a fifth at
Zandvoort the next year, driving the team’s Lotus BRM car. Staying
with the team for 1965, Chris only started two races and did not
finish either.
But he delivered the greatest achievement of his career in
1966, when he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of a Ford
GT40 MkII alongside fellow Kiwi Bruce McLaren. The controversial
finish came after Ford held the top three positions late in the race
and wanted the first- and second-placed cars to cross the line at
the same time, creating a dead heat, seeing this as an excellent
marketing opportunity. However, during the final throes of the race,
it was discovered that French racing rules meant that the car which
had covered the most distance would be declared the winner.
While both managed a perfect side-by-side finish, technically,
the McLaren–Amon car had covered the greater distance after
starting further back on the grid the day before — regardless of the
controversy, the race added a historic sweep of the top three places
for the American team. Evidently, this feat caught the attention of
Ferrari. It had not been beaten there since 1959, and that drive
hadn’t gone unnoticed in Maranello.
Chris met with Enzo Ferrari following the Le Mans win, and the
offer was made to drive with Scuderia Ferrari for the ’67 season. Chris in the 1972 French GP

Chris driving a Masarati 250F at

Hampton Downs, January 2011
A TRIBUTE TO CHRIS AMON
Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren win the 1966
24 Hours of Le Mans race in the Ford GT40

Chris in a beautifully controlled slide at Railway Bend at Pukekohe on his

way to winning the 1969 New Zealand GP (photo: Jack Inwood)

Starting out as the team’s number-four driver, by mid-season,

Chris was the only one left. Teammate Lorenzo Bandini was killed
at Monaco, which had been Chris’ first GP for Ferrari. He and
Bandini had driven from Milan to the principality together after
having already shared the winning car at Daytona and Monza.
Following Monaco, Mike Parkes was badly injured at Spa, and
Ludovico Scarfiotti fell out with team management.
Chris was then the team’s number-one driver, and 1968
should have seen him claim his first GP title. But although he

led race after race, it was only to be let down each time by
the slick-looking-yet–remarkably unreliable Ferrari 312: seven
retirements from 11 races ruined a season that saw him start
four events from pole position. He had hopes for a turnaround
in 1969, but bad luck meant that, out of seven races started, he
suffered mechanical failures in six and only a third-place finish
in one.
The decision to leave the Italian équipe the following year
lead to a moderate season with the new March team. Driving his
March-Cosworth, Chris beat a full-strength F1 field to win the
non-championship International Trophy at Silverstone. In 1971,
he embarrassed Ferrari on its home turf at Monza by snatching
pole position in his Matra V12 at the Italian GP, and won the
Argentine GP in Buenos Aires the same year, another of his
several non-championship F1 victories.
In the years after, Chris spent his remaining seasons drifting
towards the back of the grid in various cars, and, after a short
comeback with Ensign in 1976, he retired from the track —
returning home to the family farm.
His F1 career spanned 14 years, from 1963 to 1977, during
which he competed in almost 100 GP races. He won Le Mans,
raced Can-Am, and even tried Indianapolis. The man himself said
that he always preferred single-seaters, and the 1968 Ferrari F1
was his all-time favourite. Chris was a Kiwi legend — the absolute
best driver to have never won a championship GP.
Rest in peace, Chris.

20 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 CASTROL PCOTY 2016

PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANC
MANCE
E
CAR OF THE
THE
YEAR
WEWE
R 2016
2016
AREARE
ON ON
THETHE
SEARCH
HUNTFOR FORNEW
NEWZEALAND’S
ZEALAND’SBEST
BEST
MPORT. THETHE
IMPORT. POWER IS INISYOUR
POWER HANDS.
IN YOUR VOTE
HANDS. NOW
VOTE NOW
Z Performance Car is putting the power in your hands — decide on themotorhood.com each month to vote for your favourite. Once we have our
which feature car stands above all others and most deserves to 12 finalists, these will be put to the vote once more, and you will get to decide
be crowned Castrol Edge Performance Car of the Year 2016. who will be crowned Castrol Edge Performance Car of the Year 2016. So, what
Each issue, we select three feature cars to go head-to- are you waiting for? Get voting, and let us know who you think should be crowned
head for that month’s spot. Who’ll take it is up to you, so jump champion!

20 LUCKY VOTERS THE 12 NOMINEES THE CASTROL EDGE PCOTY

WILL EACH RECEIVE WILL EACH RECEIVE WINNER WILL RECEIVE
• NZ PERFORMANCE CAR
POSTER BOOK VOL. 5 AND
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YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION AND
•THREE CASTROL EDGE 5L
PACKS, CASTROL GEAR, AND
CASTROL GEAR CASTROL GEAR $1500 PREZZY CARD

238

239 240 241 242

STRENGTH FOR MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE

22 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
#TITANIUMSTRONG
 THIS MONTH’S NOMINEES
GRAEME
SMYTH’S 1996
FD RX-7
Both a driver and a race-car builder, Graeme Smyth has
constructed his personal FD RX-7 to be a front runner in
the SS2000 class. The attention to detail that has gone into
the build is second to none, with plenty of innovative parts
that should ensure the car’s a championship contender.
It’s powered by what must be the most powerful 13B
bridgeport in New Zealand, and it’s backed by a six-speed
Modena sequential, so there is no denying this will be a
fast machine, especially when you factor in the aero and
Graeme’s lifelong experience behind the wheel.

ABBOTT
RACING FD RX-7
Built by brothers Cory and Jeremy Abbott, this FD RX-7 made
history last year when it became the first 13B ever to run in the
sixes in Australasia. The FD uses a Terry’s Chassis Shoppe
three-quarter chassis, and the engine building and tuning is
handled by Jeremy, with Cory handling fabrication and strapping
into the seat. What makes the car so appealing to most, though,
is that, while it’s the country’s fastest 13B, the brothers have
taken the time to ensure parts like their carbon-fibre one-piece
front remain as factory-looking as possible.

RATTLA
MOTORSPORT
SHELBY GT500
When Shane Allen debuted the Rattla Motorsport
Falcon in the Demon Energy D1NZ National Drifting
Championship, people thought the engine combo was
about as insane as things could get. Until now. Meet the
team’s new Ford Mustang, which is basically the Falcon
on steroids. From the 468-cube/7.67-litre small block
making 597kW to the HGT five-speed sequential and
modular nine-inch, every aspect of this car has been built
for one purpose only — killing tyres. Coming in 200kg
lighter and with plenty of well-developed Formula D–
proven parts, this Mustang means business.
1993 MAZDA FD RX-7 WORDS: MARCUS GIBSON PHOTOS: ADAM CROY

THE ABBOTT RACING FD RX-7- IS NOT ONLY ONE

OF THE BEST-LOOKING IMPORT DRAG CARS IN
NEW ZEALAND; IT IS ALSO THE FASTEST 13B DRAG
CAR TO EVER COME OUT OF AUSTRALASIA

24 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
1993 MAZDA FD RX-7

PERFORMANCE
POWER: Lots
ET: 6.96s at 195.99mph (315.4kph)

26 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
HEART
ENGINE: Mazda Cosmo 13B,
1300cc, two rotor
BLOCK: Bridgeported plates, Weight is
semi-PP housings, S4 RX-7 rotors,
billet eccentric shaft, aftermarket the enemy
apex seals
INTAKE: Semi-PP manifold, four-
of any drag
barrel throttle body, Extreme Velocity
alloy intake, large screen filter
racer, this is
EXHAUST: Five-inch stainless
dump pipe
why you will
TURBO: Garrett GT
WASTEGATE: TiAL
find plenty
BOV: Dual TiAL of carbon
FUEL: 12x 2000cc injectors,
Aeromotive mechanical fuel pump, components
Aeromotive regulator, Bosch 044 lift
pump, Speedflow in-line filter throughout
IGNITION: M&W capacitor-
discharge, M&W coils, MSD leads,
the car,
NGK plugs
ECU: MicroTech LT16C
including
COOLING: Alloy radiator, electric
water pump
the custom
EXTRA: Custom alloy sump, custom
fuel tank, custom catch tank, remote
carbon seat
oil filter, AMS boost controller for Cory
rothers Jeremy and Cory Abbott achieved Club (MREC) drag days when naturally aspirated (NA) motors ruled
a feat in their 13B-powered FD RX-7 last the roost, and events like the nationals were yet to exist. The import
season that no teams across the ditch drag scene in New Zealand was about to blow up big time, and the
have been able to do, even after chasing it boys would be right there, soon upgrading to turbo 13Bs and then
like a pack of rabid dogs: we are, of course, slicks; competition cars; and, eventually, nine-second passes, as
talking about a six-second pass with a 13B Cory recalled: “They were just street cars, and then they progressed
- 6.96@196mph to be exact. It’s a feat that, to slicks and bigger turbos. We were putting Supra boxes and diffs in
only a few seasons ago, seemed too far- my car like they were going out of fashion.” But it wasn’t just broken
fetched to most, even the Abbotts. It’s not something they ever drivelines that prompted the decision, as Jeremy explained: “When
imagined when building the car, and they certainly never set Pro Import kicked off, we had to race with a personal index system
out to be number one; they simply wanted to be competitive that handicapped the slower cars really badly. We were racing the
bracket racers, but, by keeping their heads down, working Glen Sucklings and the Ronnie Lims, and all of those people, so we
hard at perfecting their set-up, and with the help of some couldn’t really compete. We decided to build new cars. Originally, we
of New Zealand’s best, the brothers now find themselves were building two — Cory bought this RX-7 and I bought an RX-3 —
with their names inked permanently into the record but, in the end, we decided it would be better to pool our resources,
books. so I sold the RX-3.” Neither brother has regretted joining forces. The
Running sixes in one of the country’s best- investment in both time and money to run a car of this calibre is huge,
presented drag cars is a far cry from their early days with both brothers agreeing that it’s the only way they would have
in the late ’90s, racing at the Mazda Rotary Enthusiasts got to this point, so this move would have happened sooner or later.

The fabrication
on the car was a joint
effort with Cory, Terry
bowden and Jason Sellars.
Each and every bracket
has been made as light
as possible without
sacrificing strength.
Currently, the car
weighs in at 926kg, but
Cory would still like
it to lose a little rear
weight to bring it closer to SHOES
the class minimum of 850kg WHEELS: (F) 15x3.5-inch American Racing,
(R) 15x15-inch American Racing beadlock
TYRES: (F) 25x5 Goodyear Front Runner,
(R) 32x14 Mickey Thompson
1993 MAZDA FD RX-7

Although they have carried out a lot of the build themselves back-halved car, but as plans do, it soon blew out to the three-
with the help of mates, Terry Bowden of Terry’s Chassis Shoppe quarter chassis. Essentially, it’s a tube-frame car from the firewall
has been an integral part of the process. back. The problem was, the goal posts were moving fast. The
It was 2004 when Cory picked up the FD as a 70,000km longer the project continued, the quicker the competition was
uncompliable import. At the time, Rod Harvey and Terry Bowden running: “To be a top car, you had to be running an eight. When we
had just completed the infamous Rayglass Datsun, so the boys booked it in at Terry’s, it was an 8.9; by the end of that season, it
paid a visit to Terry. They formulated a plan and jumped on the was down to an 8.2; by the time the car was completed, we were INTERIOR
waiting list. A year later, the FD was dropped in to Terry as a looking at a high seven. I thought that running a seven would be SEATS: Custom carbon-
stripped shell with a pair of 15x15s. The plan was to build a decent unbelievable,” Jeremy said. fibre seat
STEERING WHEEL:
Grant
The Liberty five-speed has been in the car since day one, but a recent addition has been a RAM slider INSTRUMENTATION:
Powertrain Control
clutch, which is a tunable clutch that allows complete control of how the FD leaves the line Solutions Dash Logger

The top two tubes of the

wheelie bar are carbon SUPPORT
fibre, replacing the STRUTS: (F) Strange uprights, Hyper Co springs; (R) Koni
coilovers, Eibach springs
chromoly and saving 4kg in BRAKES: (F) Strange Engineering calipers, Strange slotted
rotors; (R) Wilwood four-pot calipers, Wilwood rotors
the process EXTRA: Terry’s Chassis Shoppe SFI 25.1 chromoly three-
quarter chassis, carbon/chromoly wheelie bars, chromoly
suspension arms, chromoly rose joints

28 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 EXTERIOR
PAINT: Mazda red by Gavin at Sulphur Point Car Painters
ENHANCEMENTS: Big doorslammer wing by
Terry’s Chassis Shoppe, one-piece carbon-fibre front clip,
carbon-fibre doors, carbon-fibre rear bumper

The large rear doorslammer wing serves two

purposes: first, for Downforce and stability, and,
second, as the top of the rear tubs, to house those
32x14-inch Mickey Thompson slicks, with room for
a bigger 32x16s in the near future
But just because the boys wanted to run at the pointy end of
the field, didn’t mean they wanted to be doing so in a spaceship,
compromising the look and feel of the car, even if that meant making
things harder for themselves in the long run. From the outset, it was
to remain on its stock 95-inch wheelbase, and it was also very
important to both brothers that the car remain right-hand drive, even
when all the chassis literature available (we are talking thousands
of bits of information) are focused on setting up a left-hand-heavy
car. Setting up a car with the driver and turbo on the right meant a
learning curve for the boys. It is something that has taken a very
long time to get correct, and they feel as if they are only now getting
on top of it. Having someone like Terry in their corner has helped
immensely, teaching them as much as possible, but he has also
DRIVELINE been open to trying some seemingly out-there stuff — it’s the only
way you learn and move forward.
GEARBOX: Liberty five-speed
clutchless, custom clutch-can The engine side of things has always been Jeremy’s
CLUTCH: RAM adjustable slider department, this has been the first methanol engine. Another
FLYWHEEL: Custom learning curve, for sure, but one that thankfully hasn’t seen too
DIFF: Terry’s Chassis Shoppe
sheet-metal housing, many destroyed parts — touch wood. “Obviously, it’s been apart
Strange nine-inch diff a few times. We had a rock go in the motor and stuff a rotor and
head (5.19 ratio), Strange a housing (good ol’ Meremere gravel) and, obviously, the odd set
chromoly driveshaft
of apex seals. I put a billet crank in it a few seasons back. But we
have been really lucky, and I have managed to not have too many
accidents with the tune-up — because it cost me, so I’m really
careful. Any little harmonics from any little misfire — you have to
have a good tune in it, otherwise you are going to cost yourself bits.”
At the moment, boost is at 48psi, and Jeremy is keen to push
it into the 50s, although they will do it slowly and at a pace that
ensures they are learning what the chassis and tune need to make
that kind of psi work. Part of this tuning involves coming to grips
with the addition of a RAM slider clutch, which, in itself, is a huge
tuning tool. But, as far as upgrades and changes to the set-up go,
the clutch has been one of the few made since first building the car.
Although they ran into the sevens right out of the gate, it
hasn’t all been smooth sailing, and many will remember the 2013
V 4&Rotary Nationals at which Cory put the car into the left-hand
wall, damaging it pretty badly. He recalled, “It was a huge kick in
the guts for everyone involved. We had done really well, then we
struggled through the middle of that season tune-up–wise, and then
we got on top of that and the car went 7.40s ending the season.
But then we crashed [during] the second meeting into the following
[one].” The entire right-hand side of the RX-7 was damaged, and
it would be three seasons before anyone saw the FD return to
the track.
The silver lining was the chance to redo a ton of work, and
ending up with a much better car for it. Taking what they had
learned since their debut, a lot of weight was shifted around
 1993 MAZDA FD RX-7

Built by Terry’s Chassis
Shoppe, the FD runs a
three-quarter chassis
that mimics that found
in the full-tube-frame
car. the independent
rear suspension (IRS)
the chassis and also dropped. Over the course of many
weekends at Terry’s shop, the boys moulded a one-piece
carbon front clip. The rear bumper was also reproduced in
carbon, and a set of carbon doors were modified to take the
factory rubbers and handles. But, even as they upgraded the
body to carbon, they were careful not to take it away from the
original aesthetics. All the factory lines remain, as do the cowl
panel, park lights, and rear lights. It’s this level of detail, which
the boys have put into every aspect of the build, that makes
it such a standout car. Doing it their way, using the best parts
they could afford, and with help from the likes of Terry, the two
brothers have turned the 7.5-bracket racer into the fastest 13B
car in Australasia.
As for the future? They will continue doing what they do,
chipping away at the set-up and running hard at Meremere.
They would like to make it back over to Willowbank — as Cory
said, “That place reeks of speed.” And maybe a 200mph pass is
in the future, as only 76 people in New Zealand have ever done it,
and only two or three 13Bs have managed it worldwide. But this
is drag racing — nothing is for certain, and nothing is promised.

has gone, and, in its

place, there’s a sheet-
metal nine-inch diff
housing, an adjustable
four-link, and a full-
spool Strange diff head.
The rear coilovers are
Koni drag-specific ones
and fully adjustable.
In a drag-racing
application, you want
the rear shocks to be
as hard as possible to
allow the big tyre to
do its job of obtaining
maximum grip
DRIVER PROFILE
DRIVER/OWNER: Cory and Jeremy Abbott
AGE: (Cory) 36, (Jeremy) 38
LOCATION: Tauranga
OCCUPATION: Builders
BUILD TIME: Five years
LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: 10 years

THANKS: Terry’s Chassis Shoppe, JSE Custom Fabrications, MicroTech EFI, Dynopower, Green
Brothers; the crew — Jess, Anika, (Finn, Max, Katie and Tilly), Mum and Garth, Arni, Jason,
Gump, Matt, and Kane

30 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 AUCK LA ND SHO W

ASB SHOWGROUNDS
GREENLANE

CENTR A L D IS TRICTS S H OW

CENTRAL ENERGY TRUST ARENA

PALMERSTON NORTH

EA
A R LYBIRD T ICKE
ETS

BIGB
B OYST
TOYS.C
CO.NZ
KID
D S U11 2 FR
R EE
WITH
H PAYII NG A DULT

SEE IT, LIKE IT, BUY IT.

BIGBOYSTO
OYS.C
C O.NZ
1996 MAZDA FD RX-7 WORDS: MARCUS GIBSON PHOTOS: ADAM CROY

32 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
IT’S PRETTY EASY TO MAKE A TON OF POWER THESE DAYS, BUT BUILDING A
SUCCESSFUL CIRCUIT CAR REQUIRES MORE THAN JUST DYNO FIGURES; IT’S
A BALANCING ACT BETWEEN POWER, GRIP, AND DRIVER TALENT — THREE
DEPARTMENTS THE SMYTHS’ NEW RX-7 SEEMS TO HAVE COVERED
1996 MAZDA FD RX-7
ruth be told, we car folk are pretty lucky
SOBs when it comes to building cars
in this day and age. Making power is a
relatively cheap exercise. You select a
bunch of parts, and, wham bam, you’re
making a zillion kilowatts, right? Now, that
is all well and good if you like to brag on
the internet or mash the pedal from point
A to point B in some sort of automotive-peacock display, but
all-out power is not a one-ingredient recipe for making a fast
circuit car. Cutting fast lap times requires a very-well-balanced
diet of power, grip and handling, and then you need a driver
capable of making the most of that diet. One such wheelman is
Graeme Smyth, a name familiar to readers of these pages due
to his exploits in SS2000, D1NZ, and the Australian GT Series,
as well as endurance racing back here on home soil. Many will
remember his first-generation RX-7 from issue 186; now, we’ll
meet its successor — a 13B bridgeport FD RX-7 that, like the
first car, is a joint project with his dad Kerry, and built to the limit
of the SS2000 rule book — and with front-running credentials.
While the Smyths’ first-generation RX-7 might have been a
very well-developed package, when this third-gen turned up as
a rolling body, they knew the newer-generation RX would be a
far more competitive chassis for the very special 13B that was
EXTERIOR
PAINT: Complete rotisserie respray inside, outside, and underneath by Allmotive Panel and
Paint; gloss-black exterior; silver interior and underneath; livery designed by Pixelsaurus and
applied by The Wrap Shop
ENHANCEMENTS: C-West front bumper, modified RE Amemiya bonnet, modified BN front
guards, modified Vanquish side skirts, Final Konnexion rear guards, fibreglass doors, fibreglass
hatch, carbon-fibre rear wing, fibreglass front splitter, carbon-fibre splitter end plates, custom
rear diffuser, heated front windscreen, moulded Lexan side windows, moulded rear Lexan
hatch, LED headlights
34 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
HEART
ENGINE: Mazda 13B, 1300cc, two rotor
BLOCK: Xtreme Rotaries–built, 13B bridgeport
INTAKE: Quad throttle bodies, Xtreme Rotaries cast-aluminium
intake manifold, carbon trumpets, custom aluminium airbox,
VE Commodore intake duct
EXHAUST: Custom two-inch stainless system, Adrenalin R
rear muffler
FUEL: Jaz fuel cell, custom surge tank, Carter lift pump, Bosch
044 main pump, 750cc injectors
IGNITION: AEM coils, MSD leads, NGK plugs
ECU: MoTeC M84
COOLING: Custom aluminium radiator, twin custom oil coolers,
Setrab gearbox oil cooler, Setrab diff cooler, custom aluminium
ducting, Davies Craig electric water pump, Mocal diff oil pump
EXTRA: Custom motor sport wiring loom, Xtreme Rotaries
dry-sump front cover, custom coolant swirl pot, custom power-
steering reservoir, Mechman alternator, Xtreme Rotaries oil
block, Xtreme Rotaries coolant outlets
on order from Xtreme Rotaries in Australia, as Graeme recalled:
“We had already maxed that car out with a 12A; we were at the
point where it was not going to go a hell of a lot faster with the
13B. Plus, we were also paranoid about scratching a door or a
guard, as it’s getting harder to find parts for [these cars]. This
popped up as a rolling body, so we figured we might as well
leave the 12A in the old car and keep running it.”
A race-car driver Graeme may be, but he sits in a very
unique position compared with most, as he is a race-car
fabricator by day, so the entire build was handled in-house at
SMS Fabrication. The car was originally built as a race machine
in New Zealand with a 20B turbo, but was only raced four times
before being stripped. What they ended up with was the roll-
caged rolling chassis with an independent-rear-suspension
(IRS)-converted nine-inch diff, and, in typical NZPC-build
fashion, nearly everything else has changed along the way —
some things three or four times, Graeme told us. We guess
having it sitting in his shop for three years and there being no real
rush meant that he could perfect each and every component
— and, of course, lots can change in three years, including
Graeme’s own skill set, experience, and knowledge.
 The quad throttle body set-up
is something that Rowan from
Xtreme Rotaries has spent a lot of
dyno time perfecting to extract
every last kilowatt from the 13B
bridgeport. Understandably, the guys
were a little light on the internal
details; all you need to know is that,
on the dyno, the engine produced
276kW (370hp) running through a
S5 Mazda gearbox. That should be
enough to indicate the extent of the
internal work that has gone on

The ducting on the FD is serious business. Any air that comes in

contact with the front will be forced into a duct or over the
bonnet. All coolers, the brakes, and even the exhaust manifold
are fed cool air before it is vented out of the fibreglass bonnet
 1996 MAZDA FD RX-7
The suspension is as hard core as it
comes, with custom chromoly arms
DRIVELINE
GEARBOX: Modena six-speed sequential
CLUTCH: Quartermaster twin-plate
FLYWHEEL: Chromoly
DIFF: Strange aluminium nine-inch (4.7-ratio),

throughout and adjustment coming custom fabricated nine-inch IRS housing

EXTRA: Custom chromoly axles, GT-R Skyline
via adjustable rod ends. The sway bars CVs, custom chromoly hubs

are also adjustable, with an in-cabin

hydraulic controller still to be fitted

The BN Sport front guards have actually been modified

quite heavily to allow the big slicks room to move.
Every panel except the roof has been made from
fibreglass in an effort to keep weight to a minimum
Driving has taken him all over Australasia and to places FD has nowhere near the level of aero that a GT car has, the aero
like Bathurst. While he was officially at those events to pedal the package that the RX has ended up with is right on the size limit
Trass Family Motorsport (TFM) 458 GT3, you can be assured of what SS2000 allows, and, in many ways, it mimics what can
the fabricator side of him was also soaking up ideas from all be found on Andy Duffin’s FD. In fact, the front splitter is actually
the hard-core race machinery and picking up information and the fibreglass test pilot that Andy used to test with before making
solutions to implement on his own build: “You get a lot of time on a carbon version, something that saved the team a ton of time in
race weekend, especially when running with the V8 supercars, as development, as Kinetic Sim had done the hard yards for Andy.
you’re not the main event, so you get a lot of down time to wander Joining the aero is a ton of FRP body panels to help reduce
around and take in lots of ideas. Things like ducting and aero — a weight to 1100kg, which is below the class minimum. This means
lot of people just go and slap on wings and splitters, etc., without that they will run ballast on the right-hand side to offset Graeme’s
mounting them properly or anything. Yeah, it probably looks cool, body weight, so, on the scales, the car has nearly a perfect weight
but it probably doesn’t work as well as it should. So, it’s been a balance on all four corners. Should they run in GT2, this weight
matter of understanding how it works, how to mount it, and where could be dropped and the car again go on a diet, getting it closer
to mount it. A lot of that has come from GT. Ducting was another to 1000kg.
thing — learning how to get air in and out effectively.” While the When you stack this car up next to similar RX-7s, like Andy’s

SHOES We are starting to see a lot more of these

WHEELS: 18x10-inch Enkei RPF1
TYRES: (F) 270/650-18 Michelin LS V8 intake set-ups fitted to import cars
slick, (R) 270/680-18 Michelin slick
in place of the traditional pod filter

Although it’s hard to see much of the

engine, all the ducting is quick-release to
make trackside maintenance much easier
36 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 A piece unique to the car is the alloy Strange nine-
inch diff that sits in a custom chromoly IRS housing.
The axles are custom chromoly with GT-R CVs, and
the rear uprights are also custom chromoly
car in SS2000 trim and Brett Killip’s 12A FD, you can see it should
be a class front runner, especially with the very well-developed
13B under the bonnet. But, unlike what you might expect from a
New Zealand–built machine, the 13B is actually a bridgeport and
not a peripheral port (PP), as Graeme explained to NZPC: “It’s not
your average bridgeport; all the development over there [in Australia]
goes into bridgeports, because that’s what they are allowed to run
in IPRA [Improved Production Racing Australia]. The same goes for
the quad throttle bodies — it’s what all their development goes into.
They are quite a small throttle body, but, when you have four, they
add up to more air than you would [get with an] … IDA. There is more
torque down low, and, to us, it must [be] more reliable, as you don’t
have the apex seal running over a large port. The ports are huge;
even the rotors have been CNC machined to allow for a bigger port.
It’s something we haven’t seen over here yet, but it’s big on drag
cars in Australia and the States.”
The engine actually arrived at SMS dyno tuned and ready to
bolt in, complete with plenty of Xtreme’s drool-worthy CNC billet
pieces attached, including the dry-sump system. On the dyno,
it made 276kW (370hp) — and that’s not at the flywheel, people,
so yes, Graeme’s sentiments about it being not your average
bridgeport are spot on.
But, when discussing circuit racing, we try not to get too hung
up on the dyno figures. Sure, you need power, but more important
is how often the car is on the throttle — the bigger that percentage,
the faster the lap. To help that along, every associated aspect has
been covered. A six-speed Modena sequential has been selected
to keep the 13B screaming and right in its power band. To assist

How’s this for a driving position?

Graeme sits in a Racetech 900 with an INTERIOR
AP racing floor-mounted pedal box, SEATS: (F) Racetech seat
STEERING WHEEL: Sparco, custom switch panel
and a Sparco competition wheel and INSTRUMENTATION: MoTeC CDL3 dash
EXTRA: Floor-mount pedal box, custom false floor, aluminium
Modena shifter are sited as close as oil tank, custom chromoly steering column, carbon-fibre dash,
carbon-fibre roll-cage cover, custom pressed door cards
is humanly possible
 1996 MAZDA FD RX-7

SUPPORT
STRUTS: (F) Fortune Auto two-
way adjustable coilovers, 12kg
Swift springs; (R) Fortune Auto
two-way adjustable coilovers,
14kg Swift springs
BRAKES: Brake bias valve;
(F) AP Racing six-pot calipers,
380mm rotors, custom
aluminium cooling ducts, Endless
pads; (R) Factory calipers, slotted
rotors, Endless pads
EXTRA: Custom chromoly front
upper control arms, custom
chromoly rear lower control
arms, custom chromoly rear toe
arms, rose joints throughout,
custom blade in-cabin adjustable
sway bars, eight-point chromoly
roll cage, fabricated gearbox
tunnel, fabricated floor for driver
seat, fabricated rear fuel-cell
enclosure, fabricated engine and
gearbox cross-member pick-ups,
fabricated pedal-box mounts

the handling, much of the suspension was replaced, with the set-
up now including custom rose-jointed chromoly arms, adjustable
blade–type sway bars, and two-way adjustable external-reservoir DRIVER PROFILE
Fortune Auto coilovers. Add to this the big 380mm rotors, six-pot DRIVER/OWNER: Graeme Smyth
and Kerry Smyth
AP racing brakes, and a 275-wide slick, and the combo starts to AGE: (Graeme) 25, (Kerry)
sound very promising indeed. undisclosed
All the speculation about how fast the FD will be is about to LOCATION: West Auckland
OCCUPATION: (Graeme) Fabricator,
be put to the side, though, as the car is ready for actual testing. As (Kerry) diesel mechanic
we go to print, it is poised to hit the dyno to check everything is BUILD TIME: Ninety per cent of the
perfect, before getting a shakedown ahead of the season opener. build was done over one year, and
“At the moment, it’s just a matter of getting it to the track and the other 10 per cent was spread
over three years
seeing what happens,” Graeme said. “There is bound to be stuff. LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP:
I just hope we get to the track and there isn’t any vibration, etc. 3.5 years
But I’m pretty confident that everything we have done as far as
THANKS: Rowan and Chris
what we have built — cooling and suspension — is going to work; at Xtreme Rotaries, Frank at
it’s just a matter of hoping nothing falls off, [there are] no weird Modena Engineering, Barry
vibrations, and the brakes all work, etc. It will be good to just get at Allmotive Panel and Paint,
out and do a few laps, then come in and check over everything.” Matt at Redline Auto Electrical,
Barry at Manon Racing Products
It’ll only be then that the driver in Graeme can take over from (MRP), Dave and the boys at
the car builder, and we will really get to see what the FD can do. The Wrap Shop, Don at Enzed,
After a few seasons running in GTs, it will be a big change jumping Jason Booth, Andy Duffin, Dillon
Grant, and anyone else who I’ve
back into an SS car, but, having used the knowledge gained to forgotten who has helped out in
build the FD, he will also be able to use that knowledge to better some way
pedal the aero-equipped SS racer, which will undoubtedly be
one of the best-prepared cars on the grid. Are we looking at a
championship winner in the making? Only time will tell.

PERFORMANCE
POWER: 276kW (370hp) at the rear wheels

38 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
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MOTHERS CHROME EXPRESSION SESSION WORDS: JADEN MARTIN PHOTOS: ADAM CROY

MOTHERS CHROME
EXPRESSION
SESSION 2016
IF YOU’VE NEVER HEARD THE NAME, PREPARE TO LEARN ABOUT
01

ONE OF THE BEST CAR EVENTS EVER UNDERTAKEN ON KIWI SOIL

02 04

03

42 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 here are few events on a car enthusiast’s — I see you MX-5 bros), chuck on your best Notorious BIG CD, and 01
Get some meth
calendar that can light a fire under cruise around the 2.6-kilometre-long circuit. There was a show and in ya mate!
people’s arses and pump out a shine for those who didn’t want to hit the track, as well as non-stop Rob Macraee shows
XVZKDWD¶UHDO·
record number of entrants like the all-day drifting sessions run independently from the main circuit on
$XVVLHVW\OHEXUQRXW
Mothers Chrome Expression Session can. the new Hampton Downs extension. Punters were treated to smoky FDUORRNVOLNHZLWK
The past three years have seen the event displays of methanol-burning power skids; some of the quickest KLVEORZQDQG
explode in popularity, and, for all things car street cars in the country battling it out in the drop-flag drag racing; LQMHFWHGUXQQLQJ
related, it’s become the ultimate party of and, of course, lots, and lots, and lots of burnouts — what kind of PHWKDQRO
power, petrol, and good times. car event would be complete without them?
This year, the event spanned two massive days and made use With over 500 registered vehicles this year, there was no $ZDUGHG6KRZ
02
of the newly constructed twin-track format over the weekend of shortage of cars to tickle your fancy, and, with such a diverse &KDPSLRQ
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August 6–7 at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. Unquestionably, display, it was awesome to see even the old boys enjoying a bit
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this was the largest session to date, and that should come as no of imported goodness alongside the young guns appreciating ¶352*0+·+ROGHQ
surprise, as it’s hosted by the same crew that puts on the huge what a fine blown V8 looks like. But by far the largest demographic &RPPRGRUH9+ZDV
annual V 4&Rotary Nationals. Chrome, as it is more commonly was the Mazda owners. You couldn’t look in any direction without VRPHWKLQJWKDWHYHQ
known, is run by Azhar Bhamji and the team at Premier Events, being slapped in the face by the sight of RX-7s, having your ears GLHKDUG-DSDQHVH
and, rather than catering solely for the younger demographic abused by the sound of 12A-powered RX-3s, or experiencing the LPSRUWIDQVFRXOG
of performance-import enthusiasts, it is home to anything and vibrations generated by a particular 20B-powered Mazda 929. In appreciate
everything car related — encouraging unity and a sense of fact, there were so many rotary-hearted examples in attendance
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community within New Zealand’s car scene. that management agreed to an all-rotary session, which saw over 03
6$5;
To make sure everyone is able to taste a bit of their own poison 60 examples pack out the track for a session of absolute noise- FRYHUFDUIURP,VVXH
among a range of interests they otherwise would not experience, control mayhem. 1RUHFHLYHG
the event is broken up into a series of different categories that Now that you’ve seen all the radness from over the weekend WKHUHFRJQLWLRQLW
almost run in unison. First up this year, the relaxed on-track cruising that was Mothers Chrome Expression Session 2016, will we see GHVHUYHVDV*UDQG
sessions meant you could pile your mates four-up (where applicable you there next year? 6KRZ5XQQHU8S
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sessions

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amount of confusion

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to its raucous
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MOTHERS CHROME EXPRESSION SESSION

Stacey Price in her 10

10
8.62-second altered, putting in
some seat time before debuting her
new funny car

Why choose either-or when

11
you can have an Evo 4G63–
powered Subaru WRX wagon …?

:H·UHORYLQJHYHU\WKLQJDERXW
12
this V6 engine-swapped boxy-
edged bright orange Mazda wagon

This Toyota Rav4 packing

13
a 3S-GTE conversion is the
GHÀQLWLRQRIDVOHHSHU

:KRGRHVQ·WORYHDWRXFK
14
of all-wheel-drive sideways
DFWLRQ"6ORDQ&R[·VERRVWHG*
Mitsubishi Evo banging off the
limiter
11 12
The Rattla Motorsports
15
purpose-built drift Mustang,
which packs a 7.67-litre small block
backed by an HGT sequential

13

14

15

44 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
MOTHERS CHROME EXPRESSION SESSION

21

46 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 19

The ST Hi-tec R35 was out

16 16
on track to show everyone
what a 10-second car can do
17 18
Known for his
17
26B-powered Aristo
¶)$7%2<·&DUO7KRPSVRQ
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MOTHERS CHROME EXPRESSION SESSION
Motorized drift trikes
22
gave those of us who
FRXOGQ·WJHWDFDUFRPSOHWH
LQWLPHDVPDOOWDVWHRIZKDW
could have been

Even Nico Reid got in

23
on the action over at the
club circuit

Glenn Longley drove

24
the tits off his injected
OLWUHVPDOOEORFN²SRZHUHG
1930 Ford Model A — scarily
so, for such skinny tyres …

This E30 BMW wore a

25
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windscreen

The Curran Brothers

26
5DFLQJ²EXLOW
6-71-blown and injected 20B
SXWVRXWN:WRWKHUHDUV
RI-RVK)DELVK·V¶5*8/5·
Mazda 929 wagon — one of
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22 23 24
3D\LQJKRPDJH
27
to the greats of
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wherever it went thanks
to the straight-through
stainless exhaust

'DYH5HLG·VOLWWOH
28
25 26 27 Mitsi Mirage took no
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too

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28

29

48 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
AU TO PA RTS EX PERTI SE YO U C A N DEPEND O N
84 branches across New Zealand.
To find a store near you call 0800 800 878 or go to repco.co.nz.
2008 FORD SHELBY MUSTANG GT500 WORDS: MARCUS GIBSON PHOTOS: ADAM CROY

Rattling
Cages
MEET ‘RATTLM’, THE RATTLA TEAM’S
LATEST WEAPON, A SHELBY
MUSTANG THAT STINGS FAR WORSE
THAN THE FALCON EVER DID!

50 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 hen the Rattla Motorsport team arrived on
the New Zealand drifting scene, the crew
came from a background in speedway and,
later, Targa. Although they were new to the
drifting world, the team didn’t take long to
make waves, thanks to the hardware they
brought with them. The Rattla Falcon, an
absolute monster of a Ford Falcon, was
first powered by a 6.7-litre (410–cubic inch) small block, then,
later on, by a 7.67-litre (468–cubic inch) small block Ford: when
the loud pedal was stomped, it emitted a noise that would make
any petrolhead cry with joy. But, as amazing as it is, the car
was never engineered to drift; it was originally intended to be
a Targa machine for team owner Chris Allen, although, after an
incident, he never made it behind the wheel. He passed his driving
duties on to son Shane, who, despite a very promising career in
speedway, chose to pursue drifting. So, for the past few D1NZ
seasons, Shane has wrestled with what must be the hardest car
to pedal on the D1 grid, and, although they continued to develop
it, it was always Chris’ car, and bending it was never an option.
Thus, it was time for the team to build a purpose-built drifter, so
that Chris could finally get behind the wheel of the Falcon in Targa
and Shane could put his best foot forward towards claiming that
ever-elusive podium top step.
When looking for a new car, there was really only one
manufacturer the team would consider, and it doesn’t take a
genius to work out that that’s Ford! But the team didn’t have to
search far, as, sitting next door to their workshop, was something
a little special: a factory-built race-only 2008 Shelby GT500 shell
— not an ex-road car but a zero-kilometres-on-the-clock shell,
2008 FORD SHELBY MUSTANG GT500

SUPPORT one of only 500 ever produced. Imported into the country by its
first owner, it was meticulously seam welded and received an eight-
STRUTS: JRI external-reservoir coilovers
BRAKES: Tilton 600-Series floor-mounting pedal box, point roll cage before the project ground to a halt. It was therefore
hydraulic handbrake; (F) Endless six-pot calipers, Endless the perfect base for the Rattla team to take over and turn into their
two-piece rotors, Endless pads, (R) Endless Drift 6R six-
pot calipers, Endless two-piece rotors version of the ultimate pro drift car.
EXTRA: Woodward steering column, JRI front knuckles, Unlike the Falcon, the Mustang base is a well-developed drift
adjustable three-link rear, adjustable Watt’s link, seam- platform in America — an ex–Formula Drift (FD) championship
welded chassis, custom chromoly lower control arms,
modified steering rack, custom toe and bump-steer kit,
winner with many parts available off the shelf. Most important,
F&R three-piece sway bars, air-jack system though, is that it’s easy to source the steering kits for, which is a
very key element of any successful drift build — the lack of any
choice in that department still plagues the Falcon to this day. The
The custom widebody is all
steel at the moment, coated
in a faultless custom Rattla
green. But don’t be fooled
by its good looks — this
is a purpose-built drift
car, and the fact that all
the quarters are already
moulded for fibre-reinforced
plastic (FRP) panels can mean
DRIVELINE only one thing: they came to
GEARBOX: HGT five-speed sequential
CLUTCH: Tilton triple-plate
party, and a few little bumps
FLYWHEEL: Tilton and bruises are expected
DIFF: Alloy modular nine-inch
(3.25-ratio), Peterson oil breather,
Driveshaft Shop carbon one-piece shaft

52 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
HEART
ENGINE: 7.67-litre (468–cubic
inch) Dart Ford small block built by team put in the call to FD driver Justin Pawlak, better known as JTP,
Engine Dynamics to order up a full lock kit and coilovers. Thanks to parts like the
BLOCK: JE pistons, Callies rods, Callies
billet crank, ATI Super Damper
Steering and suspension aside, everything else in the car took carbon doors, the Mustang
a more traditional Rattla Motorsport route. The crew made a call to
HEADS: Modified CNC-ported NASCAR
D3 heads, roller cam, titanium valves Craig Highland at Engine Dynamics for a new 7.67-litre small block, weighs in 200kg lighter
INTAKE: Braswell-built Holley carb,
single-plane high-rise manifold,
as found in the Falcon. However, this time, thanks to the ability to than the Falcon — now
run a bigger base circle on the cam, to allow more lift and lighter
K&N filter
EXHAUST: HPC coated two-inch 4 in to valve springs, the new engine could make a ton more power and
that’s a serious weight
1 headers, 3.5-inch dual exhaust, dual
Flowmaster mufflers
torque. The block is an aftermarket Dart item with JE pistons, a saving
billet Callies crank, and Callies rods with a pair of heavily modified
FUEL: NASCAR belt-driven pump, XRP
in-line filter D3 heads, as commonly found on a nascar. Craig is no stranger to
IGNITION: Switchable twin MSD building big-power V8s, and the D3 heads received CNC porting,
HVC Blaster coils, MSD twin-feed super-lightweight titanium valves, and that aforementioned big-lift
distributor
COOLING: Fenix Performance radiator,
roller cam. The dry-sumped 7.67-litre engine revs to a maximum of
Bob Drake water pump either 7000 or 7500rpm thanks to a dual MSD ignition system that is
EXTRA: Dry-sump system, switchable in-cabin, just in case Shane needs a little extra to reach
Jones Racing power-steering pump,
boot-mounted Peterson oil breather,
a clipping point. With the flick of a switch, he can instantly swap
between either coil to change the rev limit. The result is a staggering
PERFORMANCE
remote oil filter, AN fittings and braided POWER: 597kW (800hp) and 1016Nm (750lb·ft) at
lines throughout 597kW (800hp) and 1016Nm (750lb·ft) of torque at the rear wheels. 7500rpm at the rear wheels

EXTERIOR
PAINT: Custom Rattla green sprayed by Rodney’s Restorations
ENHANCEMENTS: Custom steel widebody, carbon doors,
Lexan windows, livery designed by AWS Graphics and applied
by Launchpad
2008 FORD SHELBY MUSTANG GT500
INTERIOR
SEATS: OMP Champ R, Sabelt six-
point harnesses
STEERING WHEEL: Momo suede
INSTRUMENTATION: Full Auto Meter
Phantom gauges, Auto Meter shift
light
EXTRA: Eight-point roll cage
DRIVER PROFILE
DRIVER/OWNER: Shane Allen
AGE: 24
LOCATION: Hampton Downs
OCCUPATION: Crane driver
BUILD TIME: Two years
LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: Three years
THANKS: Hemi at The Mount Shop,
Richard Fleming at HGT Precision, Gulf
Western Oils, Scott at Autostop, The
Bling Company, BOC Gases, South
Auckland Motors
54 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
Keeping a driveline alive behind this amount of torque is
not easy. In the past, the less-powerful Falcon had an appetite
for gearboxes — it ate as many as six race boxes in one season
— but, in the Mustang, the team has used a new product, the
HGT five-speed sequential, and an alloy modular nine-inch diff.
Why no quick-change, you may ask? The torque figures are well
outside the recommended tally for such a unit — so, that was a
risk the team was not willing to take.
In testing, the Mustang feels fast, and Shane told us there
is way more grip on offer than with the Falcon, so much so that
they will dial some out to help keep the car sideways off throttle.
But, right out of the gate, the Pony was on point in the steering
department, and the extra throttle response was noticeable.
The team has a busy season ahead, sitting out the full
D1NZ series but making up for it with a ton of extra events
alongside a few selected D1 rounds, all with the aim of getting
Shane comfortable behind the wheel and able to really work the
Mustang’s potential. Chris has already told him to not worry about
putting a scratch on that faultless paintwork. The steel widebody
has been moulded, and Chris expects Shane not to hold back.
This is the biggest monster to come out of the Rattla stables
to date, so hold onto your hats, folks, it’s about to get real wild at
a drift track near you.
SHOES
WHEELS: (F) 18x10-inch
Work Meister, (R) 18x12-
inch Work Meister
TYRES: 265/40R18
Zestino semi-slick
The boot space is a busy place, with Peterson breathers for both the
engine and diff sitting alongside the splined sway bar and fuel cell
TECH FEATURE CAR-AUDIO STAGING WORDS: TODD WYLIE PHOTOS: NZPC ARCHIVE

STAGE
RIGHT
YOU WOULDN’T GO TO A CONCERT AND STAND WITH
YOUR BACK TO THE STAGE, SO WHY WOULD YOU SET
YOUR CAR AUDIO UP TO SOUND THAT WAY?
hink about it for a minute: when you go to a
concert, even if you’re sitting too far away to
see who’s on stage, you still know exactly
where they’re standing. The reason for this is
that the sound has been set up in such a way
as to make it sound as if it’s coming from the
front and centre, despite the speakers very
clearly being placed to the side of the stage.
The same goes with your home-theatre system — chances are that
when you set it up, you followed the instructions and placed the
front speakers at the front, and the rear speakers at the rear, right?
Again, the theory is to make it sound as if what you’re watching is
coming from the screen. That’s not to mention the way our bodies
are created, with our ears pointing forwards, designed so that our
best hearing is from the front.
Given this simple knowledge, it’s surprising how many people
get it so wrong when it comes to choosing or installing their car-
audio components.

56 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 WHAT IS
‘SOUND
STAGING’?
The term for the concept is
‘staging’, and the most basic
way to describe it is that, when
you’re listening to a stereo, the
system should recreate the
illusion of the stage on which
the performance occurred. In
a well-set-up system, and on
music recorded with a stereo
output (i.e. not mono channel),
this theory can be expanded
to where, with a high-end
system, you should be able to
close your eyes and picture the
singer at the centre of the stage,
the guitarist to the right, the
bass player on the left, and the
drummer centre and behind the
singer, for example.

IDEAL WORLD
When you’re dealing with high-end home-audio systems, this is an easy concept not only
to understand but also to set up, as most rooms are essentially square or rectangular, and
components can more easily be placed where they’re required.
The advantage of this is that you can position the speakers in such a way so that the
sound waves from them will hit you at the same time, or close to it. Of course, most home
systems are set up to allow more than one person to take the main seat, so, chances are that
unless you’re sitting in the centre of the couch, it will not be 100 per cent, but at least it’ll be
close.
Given the speed of sound is 340 metres per second, the half a metre off centre that you’re
sitting won’t really be noticeable, but, if you’re on one side of the room, next to a speaker, you
may hear the difference.
In an ideal world, the speakers would be placed at an equal distance from the seating
position and not just the front speakers. Home-theatre systems include rear speakers for true
3D effects. More often than not, they are smaller than the fronts, providing ambient sound
that’s referred to as ‘rear fill’, and so these can be (and often are) placed closer to the listening
position. For example, if you are watching a concert recording, the cheers and whistles of the
audience would be delivered over these channels — creating the illusion that you’re sitting in
the front row of the crowd. Taking this a step further, since sound is directional, you’d place the
speakers at approximately the ear height of whoever’s going to listen to them. Better still, both
front and rear speakers would be slightly toed in, to angle the sounds right at the ideal position.
Besides the four corner speakers, most systems also feature a centre speaker,
specifically to help with making sure that any voice sounds like its coming from the person
speaking or singing, as well as a subwoofer to provide bass. Thankfully, the low notes, such as
those provided by subwoofers, are omnidirectional, so it doesn’t matter too much about where
the sub is placed, providing it’s not put facing a corner, which would reflect it.

VEHICLE LOGISTICS
The hard part is transferring these ideal-world
scenarios to the cabin of a car, where there are
many soft areas to absorb sound, hard areas to
reflect it, and other components in the way of
ideal placement. The reality is that, unless you are
building a car from scratch with audio as the key
feature, you’ll never get an ideal outcome. There
are, however, a lot of ways to ensure you get it as
close as possible.
The first thing to do is select the right
components. All too often, we see vehicles with
large rear speakers and next-to-no front speakers,
or systems in which the rear is run off an amplifier
and the front isn’t. Sure, it may sound OK, or
the owner simply may not care, but, for no extra
money, they could have a system that sounds a
whole lot better.
TECH FEATURE CAR-AUDIO STAGING

IDEAL PLACEMENT
Every vehicle interior is different, so what works in one vehicle won’t necessarily work
in the next — although, the ideals to work towards remain the same. Front fill should be
the highest priority, regardless of position. If you’ve got the budget for a pair of 6x9s,
you’ve got the budget for a pair of front components, or, at least, two-way speakers,
so spend it there first.
Audio engineers, recording companies, and sound-effects specialists put plenty
of effort into creating tracks with realistic sound, which is outputted through left and
right channels. For example, the sound of a car driving past in a film will move from one
channel to the other as it passes. With this in mind, while it may be an easy place to
find room, one of the worst things you can do is fit speakers to the centre console, as
that ensures that the driver and passenger will only hear one channel each.
Ideally, the speakers would be up high, with an equal distance between left
and right, which in a car — unless it’s centre-steer — isn’t going to happen. The
compromise is to get them as equally spaced as possible, which usually means fitting
them in the kick panels or low down in the front doors, though that drops the stage
height. To counteract this, most modern vehicle manufacturers fit tweeters into the
base of the A-pillars, and that’s the best thing to do. This helps lift the height upwards,
ensuring that the perceived stage is at least at dash height. Of course, another option
is to run a centre speaker in the dashboard, which points at the windscreen, although
that’s a step too far for most vehicle modifiers, not to mention that it requires a bit of
trickery when it comes to wiring.
While 6x9-inch rear speakers are undoubtedly the most common in aftermarket
situations, fitting them — especially in conjunction with a subwoofer or two — is also
less than ideal. Sure, they can provide the bass that you won’t get from a six-inch
component speaker, but they’ll also provide you with a sound stage behind your head
if your system isn’t faded to the front.
Running 6x9s and a subwoofer or two is worse again, giving not only far too
much audio from the rear but also too much bass for the available front fill.
A mistake like that 6x9-and-sub scenario is made worse by the user choosing to
amplify both the sub and rear speakers, while leaving the fronts to run off the head unit
— which often occurs. The ideal situation would be the reverse, amplifying the fronts
and the sub, while running the rears off the lower-power head-unit output. Remember:
your home theatre’s rear surround set-up is only there for the ambient sound — your
car’s should be no different.

USB/Bluetooth head unit (4x55W and one pre-out) — $149.95

SAMPLE SYSTEMS 4x170W amplifier — $289.95
Thanks to modern technology and the price-levelling provided by the internet Six-inch 60W two-way component speakers — $229.95
these days, it’s possible to get a great-sounding system for less than what a 6.5-inch three-way coaxial speakers — $89.95
high-end head unit cost a decade ago. 12-inch 300W subwoofer — $159.95
We browsed online for prices and have put together two sample systems. Total cost (plus installation) — $919.75

BUDGET SYSTEM

To wire in a system such as this, you’d bridge two of the amplifier’s four channels, essentially
giving one high-powered output and two lower-powered outputs — the lower-power ones being
for the front speakers, and the single higher-powered one being for the subwoofer.

58 facebook.com/performancecar
TECH FEATURE CAR-AUDIO STAGING

MID-RANGE SYSTEM
CD/Bluetooth head unit (4x55W and three pre-outs) — $349.95
Two-channel 150W amplifier — $179.95
Single-channel 1100W amplifier — $499.95
12-inch 300W subwoofer — $159.95 x2
Six-inch 60W two-way component speakers — $229.95
6.5-inch three-way coaxial speakers — $89.95
Total cost (plus installation) — $1669.65

SPEAKER SUB
AMP AMP

THE PRO WAY

Of course, car-audio systems are only ever limited by your imagination or your budget, and if you’re
willing to spend more, chances are, that you’ll get more. In saying that, there are now head units
retailing at just $399 that include time-alignment functionality, which will set the optimal sound at a
given point (usually the driver’s head area) by measuring the distances and slowing down the speakers
accordingly to ensure all notes arrive at exactly the same time.

GLOSSARY
TWO-WAY SPEAKERS: Two-way — or coaxial — speakers are
quite standard and usually consist of a woofer and a tweeter. The woofer
reproduces lower-frequency sounds (bass), while the in-built tweeter
reproduces the higher frequencies.
COMPONENT SPEAKERS: Components use a superior speaker
design to give you the best possible sound. A typical component system
includes two woofers (one per side), two tweeters, and two external
crossovers. Components are generally made of better materials than
coaxials. The separate tweeters can be positioned for optimal imaging.
CHANNEL: A ‘channel’ is the conduit through which data (in the form of
electric current) travel from source to destination. In the case of stereo audio,
there are two channels, as stereo audio is recorded by using two microphones.
It also refers to the given number of outputs on an audio device; for example, a
four-channel amplifier has four outputs, so can run four speakers.
BRIDGING: ‘Bridging’ an amplifier essentially means joining two or more
of its channels together to create one higher-power channel. This does,
however, increase the load on the amplifier, in turn creating heat, so only do
this when the manufacturer recommends it.
PRE-OUT: ‘Pre-outs’, or ‘RCA pre-outs’, are the output terminals on the
rear of a head unit, which transfer audio signal to an external amplifier. Most
basic head units will have one set of pre-outs, while higher-end ones will have
three or more, allowing the use of more external amplifiers.

60 facebook.com/performancecar
SERVICE • KNOWLEDGE QUALITY • LATEST RANGES

ENGINE STRUT SUSPENSION SWAY BAR

MOUNTS MOUNTS BUSHES LINKS

SUSPENSION BALL TIE ROD SILICONE

ARMS JOINTS ENDS HOSING

ALUMINIUM DIFF DRIVESHAFT HARMONIC

PIPING MOUNTS COUPLINGS BALANCERS

HANGER STEERING RACK AIR INTAKE BUMP

MOUNTS MOUNTS HOSES STOPS

WHANGAREI PH 09 929-9724 HENDERSON PH 09 836-2304 PENROSE PH 09 579-5965

HAMILTON PH 07 847-6821 NAPIER PH 06 281-2402 PALMERSTON NTH PH 06 355-0613
LOWER HUTT PH 04 589-0880 CHRISTCHURCH PH 03 943-1658
1992 HONDA CIVIC (EG) WORDS: JADEN MARTIN PHOTOS: ADAM CROY
JAPANESE STREET-TO-TRACK STYLE MIXED WITH
AN ENGINE BAY TO KILL — THIS ITB-SPORTING
B18CR EG CIVIC SOUNDS AS RAW AS IT LOOKS
Kanjozoku (Kanjo racer), noun: a driver of a road vehicle, typically manufactured by Honda, powered by a four-cylinder
internal-combustion engine, and capable of manoeuvring the expressways of Osaka, Japan, at high speeds during night runs.
or the average, everyday citizen of
Osaka, the elevated highway system
located in the heart of the city is just a
means to get to work. But, after regular
work hours and for the better part of
three decades, Honda enthusiasts have
been racing the expressway known
as the ‘Kanjo Loop’ — named for the
near-perfect clockwise connecting loop that it forms. The
roads aren’t closed for their antics, and other vehicles use the
expressways at the same time — including law enforcement.
The goal of Kanjo racers is to manoeuvre around anything that
gets in the way, an activity that is highly illegal and will almost
certainly land you on the wrong side of the police — if they
can catch you, that is. Kanjo-racer vehicles are recognized
the world over for their circuit car–inspired designs and raspy-
sounding engine packages.
It’s more than safe to say that Daniel Smith drew heavy
inspiration from this subgenre of Japanese car culture when
building his 1992 Honda Civic (EG). The car screams Kanjo —
from the stripped-out interior, with nothing more than a pair of
bucket seats, to the Porsche Classic Grey that deceives the
eye and, depending on lighting conditions, makes it appear
62 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
With more power comes the
need for better support,
and the Civic packs a set of
BC Gold coilovers and DC2R
front calipers to keep things
under control
anywhere from clean white to dark grey. From a drivetrain
gnarly enough to melt your face to the custom front splitter–
and–rear diffuser combo complemented by the cut-out rear
bumper and low ride height, this car looks like something
straight off Japan’s most famous tracks. And don’t get us
started on the show-stopping award-winning engine bay. The
thing’s even street legal and tasked with daily-driving duties!
The story began after Daniel was helping crew for a
mate who was building an Integra to compete in the local
Honda Cup series. On its maiden voyage, Daniel rode shotgun,
and was inevitably wooed by the sound and feel of the little
1800cc engine package. He quickly purchased a Honda of his
own, but it looked a fair bit different then than it does today.
It arrived with a paint job that even the heartiest of backyard
panel beaters would turn their nose up at — it had apparently
been pulled from a paddock god knows where, minus the
engine and box. The previous owner had installed a mighty
1.3-litre powerhouse and left it in a state that would require
some serious love to be put into it. That engine package would
simply not suffice for the Kanjo show-spec dream, and Daniel
quickly set out to apply the attention it so direly needed. Over
the next two years, the car was stripped down to nothing more
than a bare shell, then repainted, re-bushed, and repowered.
INTERIOR
SEATS: Momo Sport
STEERING WHEEL: Momo
INSTRUMENTATION: EG6 speedo cluster; Autoguage
water temp, oil temp and oil pressure
SHOES
WHEELS: 15x6.5-inch (+35) Desmond
Regamaster
TYRES: 195/50R15 Zetum Sport ZU37
Daniel spent the night before the shoot installing a VW
Scirocco radiator, with huge 16AN alloy fittings and black
braided line, simply to tidy the engine bay further
SUPPORT
STRUTS: BC Gold coilovers, 13kg front and 10kg rear springs
BRAKES: (F) DC2R calipers, 262mm rotors, Hawk Performance HP+ pads;
(R) EG Civic calipers and rotors
OTHER: Wilwood prop valve, Goodridge braided brake lines, DC2R brake
master cylinder and booster, Hardrace front and rear camber arms, Hardrace
bushing kit, DC2R front and rear sway bars
Although there are no official times, the car hauled ass
around both Hampton Downs and Taupo Motorsport Park
when Daniel recently took it out for some fun
1992 HONDA CIVIC (EG)

The short-ratio DC2R gearbox is home to a Gear-X close-ratio third,

fourth, and fifth gear set that makes quick work of chopping through
gears on the motorway
As he was then a uni student on supermarket wages, Daniel
built the first incarnation on a budget. Expensive parts and large HEART
labour costs were never an option, so he completed practically ENGINE: Honda B18CR, 1800cc,
all the work himself with the help of willing friends and family. He four-cylinder (DC2R)
BLOCK: Factory
admits that some sacrifices were made — “to keep the price down,
HEAD: Buddy Club Spec 3 camshafts, AEM
I bought a few cheap [aesthetic] parts, but always spent money cam gears, Supertech valve guides, Manley
where it counts”. Where it counted, of course, was the engine bay. valve springs and retainers, DC2R valves
The Civic is home to 148kW of fury thanks to the B18CR-and-five- with five-angle grind
INTAKE: 45mm Toda ITBs, custom mesh
speed combo, pulled from a DC2 Integra Type R — the Holy Grail of filters
Honda engine swaps. To top things off, the package sports a set of EXHAUST: Private Label Mfg Toda header,
45-millimetre Toda individual throttle bodies (ITBs) that made sure Skunk2 70mm Megapower exhaust, custom
three-inch rear section, Adrenalin R muffler
we knew Daniel was arriving at the photo shoot long before we could
FUEL: Bosch 440c injectors, Tomei fuel-
see him. The engine bay it lives in is the culmination of hundreds pressure regulator, DC2R fuel pump, NZKW
of hours of work — fully de-loomed, welded, smoothed, and wire- fuel filter, 10AN braided line
tucked with rerouted vacuum lines, and the cooling hoses, brake IGNITION: 10.5mm Eagle leads
ECU: Stock ECU, Neptune chip tuned by Lin
lines, and clutch lines hidden to create a picture-perfect image. at CDM Tauranga
“At the outset, I was very naive about how long things were COOLING: VW Scirocco radiator, 16AN alloy
going to take,” Daniel told us. “I thought the engine bay would take a fittings, custom filler neck
couple of days to weld and smooth out.” He quickly discovered that EXTRA: Fully de-loomed, welded,
smoothed, and wire-tucked engine bay;
that idea was far from reality, though, as the initial process spanned rerouted vacuum lines, cooling hoses, brake
nearly four weeks and 120 hours were sunk into it. However, the result lines, and clutch lines

PERFORMANCE
POWER: 148kW at the front wheels

64 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
A popular swap
among many
Honda owners,
the DC2R B18C
engine looks
perfectly at
home in the fully
stripped, welded,
and smooth
engine bay
1992 HONDA CIVIC (EG)

DRIVELINE
GEARBOX: Honda DC2R S80 five-
speed; factory first and second gear;
Gear-X close-ratio third, fourth and
fifth; Fastline extended shifter
CLUTCH: Exedy, uprated pressure
plate
FLYWHEEL: Spoon
DIFF: Gear-X plate
OTHER: Honda S2000 clutch
master cylinder, braided line, DC2R
driveshafts
is arguably one of the cleanest and best-presented examples to
be found under the bonnet of a Honda on our shores. It makes
sense, then, that he recently took home the title of Best Honda
at the 2016 4&Rotary Nationals. He received the late call-up
from Adam at Speed Science to display his car on its stand just
a week before, and, being a man of impulse, Daniel ripped the
motor out, resprayed the engine bay, prepped and polished the
entire car, and threw it all back together within that week — and
then he showed up worse for wear on the day after spending the
night before rewiring everything. But, needless to say, the car
looked absolutely immaculate, and the award speaks for itself.
As he is an industrial product designer, Daniel also has the
skill set to make an array of custom parts. You will find a bunch
of 3D-printed components dotted around the car, and the front
splitter was his own design. Daniel CNCed it himself, plasma cut
the splitter brackets, and drew up the files to laser cut the rear
diffuser — for a package that not only looks Kanjo perfect but
kept the build price down, too.
He uses the car as a daily-driver, and Daniel told us his
intention was always to create something simple and fun to
drive. “I wanted to have that track-inspired look but an engine
bay that would make people go ‘Wow!’ when I pop the bonnet,”
he said. As we write, he’s amid the winter months, and, given
the car has no heating and not much in terms of cabin comfort,
he hopes to complete his turbo EF9 project to take over daily
duties. That would allow the EG to undergo even more work,
something that we are eager to see. The future is bright for this
already-gnarly street-to-track weapon.

EXTERIOR
PAINT: Porsche classic grey
ENHANCEMENTS: Custom front splitter, custom rear diffuser,
first moulding–style front lip, Spoon-style wing mirrors,
Spoon-style wing, modified rear bumper, EK Civic side skirts,
Speed Science tail lights, EG Civic glass headlights

DRIVER PROFILE
DRIVER/OWNER: Daniel Smith
AGE: 25
LOCATION: Auckland
OCCUPATION: Industrial product designer
BUILD TIME: Two years initial build, four years continuing
LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: 6.5 years
THANKS: Thanks to David Miller; my brother, Josh; Brent Hay; Joe Molony; Lin at
CDM Tauranga; Adam Plews from Speed Science; Seven Squad; and, lastly, my parents
and girlfriend for putting up with everything

66 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 ,฀ ll
getyotuhe
overh
finis follow us

line
0800 KAkaSspPaA.coN.nZz
www. lverdale
north shore / otahuhu / si
 TUNING JAPANESE WORDS AND PHOTOS: AARON MAI

Faded into time

AARON GIVES US A GUIDED TOUR OF ONE OF JAPAN’S MOST ICONIC TRACKS
rifting is, by definition, a non-contact sport;
proximity is king, and the only things you
want to make contact with are the clipping
points. But rubbing is racing, as the saying
goes, and there is one circuit in Japan
that takes this literally. Nestled down in
Nara Prefecture is Meihan Sportsland,
and leaving your paint and fibre-reinforced
plastic (FRP) at the circuit is not negotiable; it’s compulsory.
Meihan’s drift circuit needs no introduction to most. It’s home to
Naoki Nakamura and Team Burst, and it has seen some of the most
balls-to-the-wall drifting that Japan has to offer. What makes this
circuit special is that the front-straight concrete wall — which most
drivers would prefer to keep their distance from — has become the
stuff of legend. The perfect run at Meihan is described as being right
up on your fellow drifter, with plenty of angle, while dragging your
backside down the wall. Sounds a bit nuts, right? I decided that it
was time to check this all out for myself.
Opened in 1985 to the public, the compound consists of three
tarmac circuits and one motocross track, although the infamous
circuit that is the playground for Team Burst and other Kansai drifters
is Meihan Sportsland’s C Course. Equipped with 32 pit boxes, this
small track certainly has a larger-than-life reputation that I was well

68 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
aware of, so, when I drove through the gate and dropped down
into the pits, my initial reaction was disappointment. After hearing
so much about it, at first glance, the famous Meihan looked more
like a run-down neglected stink hole than the incredible circuit of
the gods that I had heard so much about.
I was probably expecting too much, or just had the wrong
idea, as, when I started exploring, it didn’t take long for any
lingering disappointment to be erased. They say you can’t judge a
book by its cover, and the same has to be said for this circuit. The
faded paint, deformed tyre walls, dead grass in random cracks of
tarmac, and faded blue-and-yellow paint on the signage echoed
with ghosts of the past. Meihan just oozes character; this isn’t
a show pony for foreign photographers to come and take glitzy
photos; it is a drift track that only serious drifters hit up week
after week.
Anyone who knows drifting will be familiar with Team Burst;
the colourful cars and colourful characters that pedal them are
household names in the world of tortured tyres. Unfortunately,
while I was there, Nakamura-san wasn’t, but, while I wasn’t able
to watch him scuffing his backside against the wall, the proof of
contact being king was right there for the world to see. Pieces
of broken FRP were scattered all over the place, and a thick
dark line midway up the concrete wall was etched for eternity.
At the end of the front straight, a small concrete grandstand
lets spectators get a front-on view as the cars slip and slide
up the front straight into a 270-degree right-hander before
snaking their way through raised islands laced with ripple strips.
As car after car slid up the long straight, throwing plenty
TUNING JAPANESE
of angle at it, the sound of tortured bumpers scraping along
the concrete sounded out. The Gloss Factory S15 has
specially designed rear wing canards that ride along the top
of the wall, throwing sparks, which always has those standing
along the pit lane jumping back a little bit more than usual.
After the on-track action had wound up for the day, everyone
present grabbed a broom and proceeded to sweep the entire
track clean for the next group of drivers. This show of honourable
respect towards the track and the next people was truly great to
witness. After grabbing the broom myself for a bit, I decided to go
for a walk around the circuit with my camera to witness it from the
view that the drivers have.
If you like tight technical drifting, this is certainly the right
strip of blacktop for you. After the initial right-hander winding
back through a chicane, the final right-hander is usually
where the drifting ends before lining back up to run the front
wall again. There is, however, a figure eight across the back,
70 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
which, if you wanted to link the whole track together, would
provide a circuit that encompasses speed, technicality, and
serious skill to navigate if you want to keep the car sliding.
Standing in the entrance of pit lane, I had to pause for a minute and
just sit on the wall in the silence.
By now, there was only a few people cleaning up in the pits,
the rain had eased, and the fog had crawled in. It was a surreal
feeling: Meihan is a time capsule of when drifting really took off in
Japan. It is a real enhancement to the compound’s atmosphere that
the paint has faded into pastels and the grandstands are showing
rust stains streaking the paint. Refurbishing the track would only
detract from the aura that is very strongly present everywhere
you look — just like an aged bottle of dust-covered wine sitting
forgotten in a cellar corner, some things get better with age. Meihan
is just that and so much more. Sometimes, it isn’t words that best
describe a place; it is the goosebumps that you get sitting on the
pit wall in the fog, staring out across a snaking ribbon of tarmac.
R
SPECIAL BUILD FEATURE WORDS: MARCUS GIBSON PHOTOS: ADAM CROY

Gravel
bound
ROSS CLARKE IS RECREATING SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL
IN HIS SOUTH AUCKLAND GARAGE — A CAR THAT TAKES US
BACK TO THE TERROR DAYS OF WORLD RALLYING, WHEN
HAVING MINIMAL WEIGHT WAS PARAMOUNT, SAFETY
WASN’T A CONCERN, AND THRILL LEVELS WERE HIGH
any of those over the age of 40 and who attended all but impossible. Luckily for Ross Clarke, the same cannot be said
the Rally of New Zealand in the mid 1980s will for sourcing genuine and period parts to build your own rework; you
recall the likes of Juha Kankkunen pedalling just have to know exactly where to look.
one of these wild TA60 Celicas as part of the Starting with a road-going TA60, Ross worked closely with
Toyota Team Europe rally programme — cars Neil Allport and his team on the three-year build. Fortunately, he
we Kiwis lovingly referred to as ‘whistling pigs’. was able to get very extensive details and photographs covering
Sadly, as is typical for many of the competition every single aspect of the works-built cars, from the dash layout to
machines of this infamous era, only six of the the suspension settings run at different types of rally. His research
38 TAs built have survived to this day, so getting your hands on one is has unearthed a staggering amount of info, including a resource of

72 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
800 detailed photographs covering the rebuild of a genuine works
car. Using a scale system on the photos, they were able to faithfully
recreate each component to the correct look, size, and location.
But not everything is a recreation — the heart of the beast
is as genuine as they come, as Ross explained: “The engine
is from Toyota Team Europe [TTE]. It was built and used by
Juha Kankkunen in the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1985, when he crashed
on stage 15 and tore the diff out of the car. It then went back to
TTE in Cologne and was sent out to Mohammed bin Sulayem as a
spare engine. It sat there for three or four years. When he changed
to Cosworth, he sent the stuff back to Toyota. If you’re lucky, it has
done 200–300km, including touring stages.”
What makes this engine so special is the fact it is a
396 Evolution, an engine that never saw a production car. The
capacity is 2100cc, with 8.5:1 compression. It’s an earlier version
of the engine found in Rod Millen’s Celica. On avgas, it will make
298kW with only 14psi of boost. Ross was able to purchase the
engine complete with turbo, manifolds, dry sump, and injection
from Gerd Dicks, who worked for TTE over a 40-year career and
now runs a workshop specializing in restoring and maintaining rally
machines. Ross told us that Gerd’s shop is absolutely stacked
with ex–Toyota rally parts that would get any enthusiast drooling
and pouring the contents of their wallet onto the floor.
To back the engine, there’s a W57 casing with Lampola dog-
engagement gear set mimicking the ratios used in the original,
and that will be backed by a 5.1-ratio LSD.
The only areas where the build steps away from traditional are
the wiring and engine management. “The ECU will be Life Racing; The brakes are 295-millimetre
I can buy the original Nippon Denso and loom off Gerd, but he rotors with Alcon four-pot calipers
wants $20K, and it’s not programmable. He only has two eproms
for it, one for a German pump gas and the other for avgas. If I am
doing a rally and something goes wrong, I can call Richard Moss;
I can’t exactly call Germany and get a another Nippon unit at that
price.”
Like all the other aspects, the suspension has been
replicated thanks to the detail on the original available. The front
cross member is an alloy item and is shifted forward to match the
front strut towers, which were also shifted forward. It was a trick
they did with the original cars — by moving the entire wheelbase
forward, they altered the weight balance. The bodykit, which is
genuine, has wheel arches to suit the modification. It was a little
harder to come by, and the price was not something Ross cares
to repeat, but he now has his own moulds, and there are plenty of
other builders lining up to get one of the eight-piece kits.
The build is now on the home stretch, with most parts
The works-built cars all had alloy
sourced and only the finishing touches to go, including the bolt-in cages. This type of thing
Marlboro livery as it would have run in period. Don’t be fooled by
the meticulousness of the project — once it’s completed, Ross
would not fly in today’s world, so
intends to contest the New Zealand Rally Championship in it, and Neil has pieced together a period-
eventually take the car overseas to a few events. With that much looking steel cage with all the
power and a 5.1-ratio diff, it will be one hell of a handful to pedal
and a wild ride worth trekking into the depths of a forest just to
modern safety features to pass
witness. We can’t wait to hear this thing screaming. safety scrutineering in 2016
WEEKEND WARRIOR PHOTOS: ADAM CROY

Name: Mark Dunkley Location: Waitakere, Auckland

Occupation: Panel beater

NZPC: Hi, Mark. It’s great to see an old MkI Escort that gets Nothing in the car itself, as the guy was pretty spot on with his
beaten on at the track — how long have you owned it for? description, and we gave it a good look-over, but I did find out that
Mark: Hey. I bought it about six years ago now — I was at the track it was only ever owned by two people: the original owner, and the
crewing on an F5000 that my brother was guy I bought it off. They would sell it to one
driving, and I saw our family friend, Ivan Selak, another and buy it back every couple of
racing his one. After seeing that, I thought years, so the car ownership went back and
it would be good fun to race with that sort of forth whenever they needed a bit of cash or
group, so I started looking for something to got sick of it, I suppose. Technically, there
buy. This one popped up down the line, and have been only three owners, including me,
we went to look at it three times before finally but the first two got more than their fair share
buying it. The first owner built it as a weekend of it.
track car back in the early ’80s. He swapped
a MkI Cortina engine into it and had the roll We bet you’re itching to get on the
cage done — it mainly only saw the likes of track whenever you can. What was the
Taupo down those ways until I brought it up to last event you hit?
Auckland. I try to get out there as much as I can, the
last event was Chrome 2015. That was a fun
Always cool to see the old battlers still few days, which included a mishap during
kicking around. What have you done to it one of the drop-flag drag races. I had baked
since you bought it? up the tyres to make sure they were nice and
I widened out the front guards to match the sticky, as it had just started to drizzle, when I
steel widebody rear (bubble shape) and to fit took off and slapped it into third the diff went
the big steel wheels and slicks a bit better. I also bang, and it was all over. Rushed it home,
scored a Quaife LSD to help accommodate locked up the spare I had, and put it back in
the grippier set-up. The carbs needed a bit of to have it on track the next day.
a tickle-up when I got it, so I’ve rebuilt those,
and the boot, bonnet, and front lip have been That’s not a bad effort. Do you have
swapped for fibreglass equivalents to keep the weight down. Other than much planned for the future?
that, it’s remained relatively the same as when it was built back in the Yeah, I want to change the suspension to something a bit more hearty,
day. I’m getting what I can, done, when money permits it. and there’s a fully-built 2.3-litre Pinto engine sitting at the back of the
shed that only needs a few things finished to get it back in; that will
Along the way, did you find anything interesting inside the car? help chirp it up and keep it how it was in the olden days.

EXTERIOR: Fibreglass bonnet, boot, and front lip; custom steel rear widebody (bubble shape),
MAKE/MODEL: 1973 Ford Escort MkI
stretched front guards, Lexan windows
ENGINE: Ford Cortina MkI 2000cc, four-cylinder, twin Weber 40-DCOE carburettors
WHEELS/TYRES: 13x8-inch widened-steel; Michelin slick
DRIVETRAIN: Toyota Celica five-speed gearbox, English axle, Quaife LSD
SUSPENSION: Bilstein shocks, leaf springs, three-inch rear blocks
INTERIOR: Autosport seats; Autogauge tachometer, water-temp, and oil-pressure gauges
POWER: Never enough

74 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 BABE HUNT 2016 | FINALIST NO. 7

LOCATION: Auckland
FAVOURITE DEMON DRINK FLAVOUR: Original
FAVOURITE D1NZ DRIVER: Curt Whittaker
FAVOURITE CAR: Honda Integra Type-R
MY BEST FEATURE: My sweet and friendly personality
FRONT OR BACK SEAT: Driver’s seat
WHERE MY FANS CAN FIND ME: Facebook: Chelsea Tucker;
Instagram: @chelcamy

76 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
FOLLOW THE DEMON BABE HUNT 2016:

facebook.com/performancecar @nzpcmagazine
#demonbabehunt2016 #demonbabehunt2016 demonenergy.co.nz
FORD FOCUS RS WORDS: MARCUS GIBSON PHOTOS: ADAM CROY
Thrash
Drive
WE PUT THE NEW FORD FOCUS RS TO THE
TEST IN THE ONLY WAY WE KNOW HOW
f I’m brutally honest, very few new cars to
have hit the New Zealand market of late have
excited me enough to want to share them in
the magazine. It’s simply the nature of the
world that we’re forced to live in. Sure, we all
need a daily-driver of some sort, but it’s hard
to muster enthusiasm for some tin can on
wheels that’s as sloppy in handling terms as it
is in gear changes. However, I’m happy to report that not all is lost in
78 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
the non-supercar market, as Ford has delivered a knockout with the
new Focus RS — so much so that there was plenty of infighting in
the office as to who would get a drive. Secretly, I think everyone just
wanted to hit the Drift mode we have all been hearing so much about.
Naturally, then, the first thing I did when I got in the car was to
locate and figure out how to engage it. Surprisingly, it wasn’t some
super-complicated sequence of button presses that was required
to unlock the joy; it was three clicks of a centre console–located
button, with Normal, Sport, and Track modes also on offer. While the
quick access to both the Track and Drift modes told me straight away that
this car was going to be fun, what really surprised me was the number of
changes those modes actually made — as did the fact that, once engaged,
the completely stock exhaust popped away like a rally car as it warmed up.
It was at this point that I began getting excited — really excited, partly
because I was sitting in a race-bred Recaro, a factory $2500 upgrade,
although the lack of available adjustment and the one-size-fits-all width had
me wondering what six hours in there would be like. But those fears soon
melted away once I noticed the RS was a proper six-speed manual, with no
auto or steering-wheel paddles to be found. So, while, yes, even with the
short throw between gears, it would never offer the lighting-speed changes
some over-complicated manualized auto would, it was refreshing to see
Ford still has a pair of balls.
In traffic, the manual was one of the best I have driven, the idle-
speed controller ensured effortless stop-start traffic manners, there was a
definitive feel to the light clutch, and the hill-start function also made city
driving a dream.
But how did it stack up in proper driving situations? Sadly, our time with
the RS was during some of the worst weather seen this winter, but we did
get to stretch its legs and the all-wheel drive, and, with its torque-vectoring

system — combined with the track-only-mode suspension dialled

into the two-way dampers — it offered great corner grip and drive
out of the tight bends. We were also thankful it was equipped with
some high-quality Continental tyres to push hard on.
Last issue, we touched on direct-injection, so it was great to
get in a proper direct-injection performance car to see how OEMs
are embracing the technology. Making 257kW and 440Nm of torque
meant the RS was proper fast, with little-to-no lag, and I’m not going
to lie — hearing the exhaust pop during high-rev gear changes
brought a smile to the faces of everyone inside, especially when
tackling motorway on-ramp drag spots.
This is the first RS model to come with all-wheel drive in a very
long time, and we were well impressed with it. Ford has seemingly
nailed the torque-vectoring system to maximize grip. In track-
only mode, the suspension is rock hard, and it seems to soften a
little in Drift mode to help with weight transfer. Did I step it out like
Ken Block while throwing hand signals out the window? No — at
a price tag of $69,880 and without a skidpan at my disposal, the
grown-up inside suggested that writing off one of the first RSs
to land in New Zealand while trying to be a hero would not be a
good look. But, for those interested, what it does is soften up the
suspension and unleash a lot more slip angle in the traction control.
It then uses the multi-clutch torque vectoring to put up to 98-per-
cent power to the rear wheels and then distribute that to either side
to help get the party started. You still need skills to pull it off, and it’s
the kind of drifting that takes commitment and pace to manage —
so it’s not for busy city streets, you hear me? For those looking at lap
times and not style points, the good news is that this same system
gives the car great turn-in, as it minimizes understeer.
So, if it’s so damn great, we should all run out and trade in our
tin-can daily-drivers for one, right? Wrong. Well, yes, by all means,
but you simply will not find any sitting at your local Ford dealership.
There is a worldwide shortage of production, and the lead time on
presales now stretches well into next year, so get in line. There are
50 floating around New Zealand, and I hope to see them at the track
and all crossed up very soon. Nice work, Ford! Keep it up.

SPECS
ENGINE: Ford Ecoboost, 2261cc, 16-valve
FORMATION: Turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
TRANSMISSION: Six-speed manual
TOP SPEED: 265.5kph
0–100KPH (0–62MPH): 4.6s
POWER: 257kW at 6000rpm
TORQUE: 440Nm at 2000rpm
KERB WEIGHT: 1599kg
DRIVE: AWD
QUARTER-MILE (EST.): 13.05s at 104.3mph (167.8kph)
 he world of Instagram is a great one for those of us looking for a little build
inspiration or simply a never-ending dose of car culture from all corners
of the world. Through the use of hashtag searches, you can locate and
pinpoint any damn thing you want — from something as wide reaching as
#drift to as targeted as #K20swappedcivic. If you’re not on Instagram, get
on there and get yourself started! Here are six accounts we follow that we
think you should, too.

@3d_magic_mike
As lead engineer for The Roadster Shop (if you don’t
know it, google it right now), Mike O’Brien’s ’gram is
loosely based around his personal project, a Datsun
620 pick-up powered by a Toyota 1UZFE. Sounds
simple enough, but it truly is the kind of project that
makes anything you’re working on, no matter how
involved, look like a basic slap-up with mags and
lowering springs. His work with CAD, and the fact
that he has some serious machinery at his disposal,
has resulted in some amazing components, like
3D-printed wiring connectors and a 3D-printed
dash cluster. Even the sheet metal is finished to such
a standard that it will make you sick. Seriously, this
is probably one of the best builds in the world right
now, so go check it out.
@Naritadogfight
Nowhere in the world is grass-roots time-attack
racing as big as it is in its spiritual homeland —
Japan. And we are yet to find a better insight into that
world than the one you’ll get from the two-man team
behind the blog Narita Dog Fight (NDF). If you like
traditional-style time-attack machines, this account
will have your feed filled with carbon canards, big
wings, super-wide semi-slicks, and proper-fast
street cars. A great source of inspiration for those
wanting to build a time-attack car, this should be
reference-point number one to ensure you don’t end
up with something looking like the ‘Nemo’ Evo.
@Buildthreads
Like NDF, Build Threads is a blog that regularly posts
on ’gram to let you know what its site has cooking.
The one-man team behind the site must spend an
inhuman amount of time trolling the depths of the
internet with the sole purpose of unearthing build
threads for our enjoyment. The best thing is the
wide scope of styles covered — from bagged Euros
to vintage drag cars, this ’gram really does cover
anything as long as it’s badass. Stop wasting your
time on Google, as Build Threads has already found
any build worth following.

@formuladerp
If you rate yourself any kind of drift fan, you surely will
have heard or seen the 24-7 controversial and shit-
stirring antics of Formula Derp. As the name suggests,
it’s based on the world of FD, and, seemingly, no one
is safe from this ’gram, as, from time to time, it calls
out everyone, from the judges to our own ‘Mad Mike’
Whiddett. While no one is really sure who is behind
it, and with it often having an air of schoolyard bully
about it, for the most part, the posts hit the nail on the
head and call out those who need to be. Think of it like
an alternative commentary. If we were FD, we would
hate to have such an account calling out any move we
made, that’s for sure. But, hey, we aren’t them, and we
do get a fair few laughs from Derp’s posts.
@DriftfamilY.jp
Delivering a constant and steady stream of drift-
car badassery, driftfamily.jp posts nothing but the
world’s coolest-looking drift cars. Its very grass-
roots vibe means that you will find no Formula Drift
(FD) spaceships here, just stupid low — properly
fitted — super-angle cars. Even the odd Kiwi
machine pops up from time to time. It’s accounts
like this that show us why Japan’s grass-roots scene
is still king!
@hpa101
While it’s fun to scroll through thousands of photos
of rad cars, adding a little knowledge will make us all
better people, right? There are a select few out there
who can, and do, deliver trusted info, like the Kiwis
from High Performance Academy (HPA). Behind the
account are ex-NZPC contributors Andre Simon
and Ben Silcock, so you can be sure that the info is
trustworthy and worth knowing. From boost control
to injector sizing, this is one account that has some
depth to the pretty pictures it posts. Go on, fill your
head with knowledge so that your mates will stand
there in amazement as you dish it out to them.

80 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
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GT-FOUR OWNERS CLUB WORDS: JADEN MARTIN PHOTOS: ADAM CROY
GT-Four up
THIRTY WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP WINS, THREE
GENERATIONS, ONE DEDICATED FOLLOWING
ar clubs are pretty broad these days in terms
of the models they permit, and often the club’s
membership will include at least one example from
each of the big manufacturers. There aren’t too
many still-active niche clubs left, and those which
are tend to fly under the radar, with you not likely
to hear much about them unless you are directly
involved or an avid fan. But a dedicated bunch of
car owners has formed a club primarily focusing on the Toyota Celica
GT-Four, which spans three generations — ST165, ST185, and ST205
— and is considered one of the most successful rally chassis of the last
few decades.
Admittedly, when we received an invitation to attend the NZ Toyota
GT-Four Owners Club 2nd Birthday Meet and Car Show, we weren’t
82 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
too sure what to expect. We’d pictured a small group of fanatic Celica
owners or something along the lines of the regular weekend meet-up, but
our minds were quickly blown after we arrived at the venue to find nearly
40 examples, across the three generations, in attendance — a rather
impressive display for a club focused on a single model, and testament
to the organization of club president Greg Martin and his committee
members. With cars on display that ranged from ex-rally vehicles to rare
homologation models and highly modified track weapons, the selection
had something in it to keep everyone happy — the pie and coffee vans
were an added bonus. There was even a special build that was exempt
from scrutiny on entry due to its choice of heart, and we can’t forget the
much larger, younger brother of the Celica, the Caldina GT-Four — they
were also out in force. Here are our picks from the event, and thanks to the
club for inviting us along to hangout.
NAME: GREG MARTIN
MODEL: 1987 TOYOTA CELICA GT-FOUR (ST165)
Wheels: 15x7-inch OZ Racing Rally
Extras: Toyota 3S-GTE (ST185), ST205 five-speed gearbox, Toyota CT26 turbo built by Steve Murch, TRD short
shifter, ST185RC suspension and brakes, ST205 water-to-air intercooler, Torsen diff, stealth rally livery

As president of the NZ Toyota GT-Four Owners Club, Greg is no stranger to all generations of the chassis,
and this is his fifth example to date. It sports a second-gen heart and third-gen box, and the factory turbo was
rebuilt to complete a stout engine package. Honouring the chassis’ rally heritage, the body hides stealth livery
that can be spotted with a keen eye and which pairs beautifully with the period-correct OZ Racing rally wheels.

NAME: DEAN SINTON

MODEL: 1989 TOYOTA CELICA GT-FOUR (ST165)

Wheels: 17x8-inch Compomotive

Motorsport Retro
Extras: Toyota 3S-GTE (ST205), ST205
five-speed gearbox, ST205 rear diff,
Steve Murch–built turbo, TiAL blow-off
valve, TRD rally suspension, Znoelli
rotors and pads, air-to-air intercooler,
remote engine and gearbox coolers,
remote oil cooler, Sparco bucket seats,
Silvester five-point harnesses

Purchased out of Japan, this old

battler had seen better days before
it landed on our shores — originally, it
was used as the back-up pace car for
the Toyota Rally team, and it travelled
the world before ending up in the land of
the long white cloud. The running gear
was scrapped in favour of the newer
ST205 engine, box, and rear diff, and it
sports the full rally livery from its heyday,
a feature that proved popular among the
attendees — it has claimed Best ST165
two years running.
GT-FOUR OWNERS CLUB
NAME: BRUCE THOMSON
MODEL: 1986 TOYOTA CELICA
GT-FOUR (ST165)

Wheels: 17x6.5-inch OZ Racing

Cronos
Extras: Toyota Corona front
swap; rebuilt engine; Link G4
ECU; Garrett turbo; Turbosmart
blow-off valve; custom manifolds,
cold-air intake, radiator, and
exhaust; bonnet louvre

Arguably the most attention-

grabbing for us at the event due
to the oddity of its front end, this
ST165’s Corona face has replaced
the expected pop-up lights with
classic ’90s-style bricks. To add
to the aesthetic changes, louvred
bonnet vents were installed to feed
cold air down to the upgraded
Garrett turbo. Of course, with
anything packing a touch of power,
the only acceptable colour is a nice,
bright red.

NAME: FRED GARRICK

MODEL: 1991 TOYOTA CELICA
GT-FOUR (ST185)

Wheels: 17x7.5-inch RAYS

Engineering Gram Light
Extras: HDi electronic boost
control, boost gauge, TRD
steering wheel

When you love something

dearly, it’s not always about
having the biggest parts
list or generating the most
power. This is an example
of preserving the classics of
tomorrow, and Fred has kept
this super-clean example of
an ST185 as close to factory
as you’re likely to find here.
That said, a few subtle period
aesthetic changes have been
made, including the door-
mounted shopping list and
Rays Gram Light wheels —
things that would have been
done in the early ’90s.

84 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 NAME:
CAMERON AVERY
MODEL:
1991 TOYOTA HILUX
Wheels: 17x9.5-inch Rota Grid
Extras: Toyota 3S-GTE (ST165), JE pistons,
Eagle rods, ST185 crank, ARP fasteners, Toyota
W55 five-speed gearbox, TO4E turbo, custom
manifolds, shimmed limited-slip diff

Tucked to one side were some cars that

obviously did not quite make the cut as GT-Fours;
however, this Hilux was forgiven, as it was home
to a rebuilt 3S-GTE from an ST165 — not a bad
way to get around the work-vehicle / weekend-
fun conundrum. Although it arrived on a trailer,
it moved under its own steam and deafened our
ears, as it currently lacks an exhaust.

NAME: SHEIK SHOHAIB TAZ

MODEL: 1997 TOYOTA CELICA GT-FOUR (ST205)

Wheels: 17x8.5-inch Volk Racing CE28N

Extras: GFB G-Force II boost controller,
Tein springs, HKS high-flow exhaust
system, 240kph speedometer, C-One front
lip, custom front splitter and hangers, front
canards, carbon-fibre mirrors

Taz held the title of People’s Choice

Best GT-Four from the previous year, and
arrived with a new custom-made front
splitter and bumper canards. The fresh
aero look packaged well with the Volk
Racing wheels already on the car, and it’s
no surprise that it was once again voted
People’s Choice this year — no small feat
considering that, among all the cars there,
the ST205 generation outnumbered the
others three to one.
GT-FOUR OWNERS CLUB

NAME: MIKE MAN

MODEL: 1997 TOYOTA
CELICA GT-FOUR (ST205)
Wheels: 17x8-inch Mille Miglia
Extras: BorgWarner EFR7163 turbo; TiAL blow-off valve;
Link G4+; E85 fuel; Group A anti-lag system; BC Gold
coilovers; twin Bosch 044 fuel pumps; custom manifolds,
piping, and surge tank

We asked a group of owners and fans what the most

heavily modified car in attendance was, and there was full
agreement: they all pointed to Mike’s ST205. It packs a
gaggle of performance parts to get your juices flowing,
but what impressed us most was the fact that the exterior
wasn’t in pristine showroom condition — sometimes, it’s
nice to see a car that looks as raw as it drives.

NAME: LOGAN ROSS

MODEL: 1994 TOYOTA
CELICA GT-FOUR (ST205)
Wheels: 17x8-inch Speedline
Extras: Factory anti-lag system, factory leather interior,
intercooler sprayers, blueprinted and ported engine,
TRD clutch and pressure plate, lightened flywheel,
Berk Technology downpipe, HKS exhaust, Jasma muffler

The first of the ST205s to catch our eye, this was one of
only five World Rally Championship homologation vehicles
sold new in New Zealand — they were a hard sell here, though,
with their $100K price tag. It’s believed to be one of two left on
the road, and the only example sold with the leather interior
option, making it a highly sought-after piece of history among
the GT-Four fans. The factory anti-lag system works a treat,
too, and can be heard through a very tasteful exhaust system.

NAME: NEIL KERR

MODEL: 2002
TOYOTA CALDINA
GT-FOUR (ST246)
Wheels: 18x8-inch Lenso RS5
Extras: Toyota 3S-GTE, Link G4+, rebuilt
factory turbo with billet compressor
wheel, custom oil catch-can, three-inch
dump pipe, three-inch intake

Its entry into the show was hotly

debated between club members, but
the Caldina GT-Four was permitted in
the line-up, as most admit the club’s
name doesn’t specify Celicas. Although
it looked like what some may to refer to
as a ‘grocery carrier’, this GT-Four hid a
Link ECU and a rebuilt turbo bolted to the
modern-version 3S-GTE powerhouse.
Perfect for sleeper pulls — on the
dragway and race track, of course.

86 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
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PRODUCT REVIEW

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build. park, you’ll want to check out Ceramic
Visit clutchindustries.com.au, or call Pro 9H. Ceramic Pro uses cutting-
the team on 09 636 5428 for further edge nano-ceramic technology to
information. protect surfaces like paint, alloy, metal,
leather, fabric, glass, plastic, and
rubber. The ceramic coating features
a high-gloss finish with permanent
bonding properties, a hardness rating
over 9H, and super-hydrophobic
and anti-graffiti characteristics. With
inbuilt oxidation, corrosion, UV, and
LOW LOADER temperature resistance, Ceramic Pro
If your show car or race car sits at 9H is just the ticket for keeping your
the right height, you’re probably no prized possession in perfect condition.
stranger to trailer-loading hassles. For a quote to apply 9H, call
Futura Trailers has just the solution, Ceramic Pro New Zealand on
with its new aluminium Low Loader. 0800 20 20 25, or visit
Lower it to the ground with just one ceramic-pro.co.nz for more
press of a button, simply push or information.
drive your car onto the deck, raise the
trailer, tie the load down, and
you’re off.
The trailers are built in
Auckland from lightweight
high-strength precision-
machined 6005 aluminium, and
simple lifting technology allows
for safe and easy loading. Pricing
starts at $7800 for the single axle or
$10,900 for the tandem.
For more information or to order,
email glen@futuratrailers.com,
phone 021 918 800, or visit
futuratrailers.com.

88 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
 CLEAN YA HELMET
Your poor old helmet has spent hours
protecting your head, so the least
you can do is remember to keep it
clean. The Molecule Helmet Care
EARL’s KNOWS Kit provides a four-step process to
Quality fittings can make or break keeping your helmet clean, shining,
the performance of any motor sport– and protected. The Cleaner and Polish,
oriented vehicle. Earl’s has the most Fabric Refresher, Anti-Fog, and Rain-
complete line on the market, and is Repel sprays all work together to stand
renowned as the world’s number-one up to anything you throw at it.
motor sport hose and fittings source — At only $60.95, it would be insulting
if you want it done right, you buy Earl’s. to your safety equipment not to. Head
Segedins Auto Spares now carries a to neilallportmotorsport.nz to find the
large range of Earl’s fittings and hoses finer details on how to purchase.
to suit all your performance and motor
sport demands.
For further information, head to
holley.com/brands/earls, or contact
the team at Segedins Auto Spares on
09 638 6439.

EASY WASH
No hose, bucket, or water? No sweat
— Meguiar’s Ultimate Wash and Wax
Anywhere will safely remove dirt and
grime from your precious paintwork
without a drop of water, while
leaving behind a protective layer of
hydrophobic wax. It’s perfect for when
you’ve just arrived at the meet and
want to make sure your car is looking
up to standard and keep it that way.
For further information or to find out
where to purchase Meguiar’s Ultimate
Wash and Wax Anywhere, call
0800 227 422 or visit meguiars.co.nz.
BAGGED OUT
Fortune Auto is a name that needs
no introduction in these pages,
and its all-new Air Cup Lift System
is pioneering the way into a new
form of air suspension. Offering
the convenience of a conventional
airbag system without the loss in
performance, the Air Cup simply slips
on the shaft of Fortune Auto coilover
assemblies and extends it to lift a
lowered vehicle 25mm to 50mm.
The Air Piston Lift System add-on
kit for Fortune Auto coilovers starts
at $2350, excluding the coilovers.
Check out
fortune-auto-newzealand.com for
further information.
PRODUCT REVIEW
Liquid gold
When it comes to servicing the
masterpiece tucked away in your shed,
select an oil that protects the engine
as it rolls on as its creator intended.
Eni i-Base Formula Super engine
oils are available in SAE 15W-40 and
SAE 20W-50 viscosities and contain
around 1600ppm of zinc anti-wear
agent (ZDDP) — perfect for older
engines, especially those equipped
with flat-tappet camshafts. And, being
an API SL, Eni i-Base Formula Super
engine oils also have detergent and
dispersant properties dedicated to
keeping your engine clean. A four-litre
pack of 15W-40 retails at $39.95 and
five litres of 20W-50 at $49.95, and
they are available from your local Eni
lubricant stockist.
Lucky stripes
As they say, wheels make or
break a car. And kicks maketh
(or breaketh) the man. From a
court-dominating basketball
shoe to infiltrating the worlds of
skateboarding and street style,
these Superstars keep your look
classic with a coated leather upper and
all the ‘OG’ Adidas details. Whether
you’re going to be chilling at a hardpark
or getting your hands dirty at a drift day,
make sure you stay strapped
with a little swag. A pair of
Superstars goes for $160
instore at Red Rat, but you
can get $20 off by shopping
at redrat.co.nz and using the
promo code ‘PCARS20’ at checkout.
90 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
FRESH TECH
Straight from the shores of Europe, the
Focal ES 165 K two-way component
kit offers two 6.5-inch woofers and
two 20-millimetre TKM tweeters, and
features a compact overall design,
with K2 Power Kevlar cones delivering
dynamic sound performance and
perfect definition. Originally developed
for Sopra high-fidelity loudspeakers,
the new TMD suspension design
removes unwanted resonances and
also reduces the effects of distortion.
Jump onto focalnz.co.nz, or contact
the team on sales@kjd.co.nz to find
out more.
COMPACT TWO-WAY
Ideal for multi-channel systems — or
even to supply a big-power subwoofer
— the Focal FPX 2.750 amplifier
packs the punch your vehicle’s audio
system needs. Thanks to the compact
two-channel design — with a power of
2x220W RMS at 41 — the FPX 2.750 is
extremely versatile and a great option
to get the best out of the high-end
speakers in the Focal performance
range.
To purchase, contact the team at
sales@kjd.co.nz, or head to
focalnz.co.nz for more information.
Six-panel stunner
The Mitchell and Ness Bulls Noise
Snapback finishes any look, featuring
Bulls logo embroidery on the front,
six-panel design, an embossed
button on the top, embroidered
holes for ventilation, and a snapback
closure. It’s the final piece of the
clothing puzzle, whether you’re out
fishing with the boys or keeping it
classy at the bro’s wedding. Grab a
Mitchell and Ness Snapback for $69.99
instore at Red Rat, or visit redrat.co.nz
and use the promo code ‘PCARS20’ at
checkout to get $20 off your purchase.
Retro Rubber
Got an old-school Datsun, Toyota, or
Mazda cruiser? Get it looking the part
in time for summer with a set of Vitour
whitewall tyres. They’re available in
a range of diameters from 13 - 15
inch, so there will be something to
suit your current rims, or, if you’ve
had an engine re-power that you’d
like to keep on the low, chuck some
whitewalls on factory steelies and
enjoy chopping everyone at the lights.
A 185/70R13 Vitour Galaxy R1
whitewall is $70 per tyre from STA
Parts, with the full range available at
staparts.co.nz.
From custom colour show cars to letterboxes, Colorpak aerosols coat it
all, and coat it exceptionally well. Visit our website for your local stockist.

Quick Color Pro Series Colour Steel Custom Tinted

0800 436 768 | www.formula.co.nz

ANDY CHOOSES ADRENALINR MUFFLERS.

ANDY TRUSTS ADRENALINR FOR HIS CAR — WHO DO YOU TRUST?

ADRENALINR WISHES ANDY ALL THE BEST FOR THIS YEAR’S ASSAULT AT THE WORLD TIME ATTACK TRIALS

www.adrenalinr.com ͘ 06 870 3526 ͘ sales@adrenalinr.com

CRUISE MODE PHOTOS: ADAM CROY

Name: Matthew Holt Location: East Auckland

Occupation: Company director

NZPC: Hi, Matthew. How long have you owned the wagon for, torque that you’re not changing gears every second, because the
and what made you buy it? whole rev range is a strong power band; then it becomes an animal
Matthew: Hey, guys. I’ve owned it since the end of March this when you step on it. Perfect for the commute to work and a bit of
year. I had just sold my new-shape 3.2-litre weekend fun when required.
manual Audi A4 and wanted to replace it with
something nice but had a few boxes to tick: You being a wheel-slanger by day,
leather interior, black paintwork, practical for was the right set a hard decision to
daily driving, tuneable, good looks, and a true make?
driver’s car. This was the only manual 335i I The wheel choice was the hardest part of
had seen after a year of searching, and it just the entire car. If you ask anyone close to
happened to have black paintwork, [a] black me, they’ll tell you that I’m hugely fussy
leather interior, and it’s the Motorsport edition. when it comes to the details on a build.
All the other goodies it came with were the Originally, I was set on running bright yellow
icing on the cake. brake calipers in combination with the
black paintwork, and put on the number
You picked up a good score. What work plate ‘EVIL’. But I decided to stick with the
have you done to the wagon since then? factory theme of the car, and, after trying
Well, first things first, I lowered it [laughs]. I on no fewer than 40 wheel combinations,
re-tinted the windows with Autotintz, then I settled for the Jet 6s — the next set, if I
Lamin-x’d the headlights, installed a full LED keep the car long enough, would to be
light upgrade, and fitted a set of [BMW] M5 throw some cash at Work Wheels for a set
wheels for a wee while before I came across of CR 2Ps.
what’s on there now. The engine is pretty
much standard, with a few Cobb bolt-ons Wheel choices are never easy. What
that I bought from Jtune; a custom tune from else does the wagon have in store for
Euro Surgeon, [a] custom exhaust; [the] interior the future?
wrapped; and, to make that black paintwork a At the moment, I want to swap out the
bit nicer, a Stage 4 paint correction from Obsessive Car Detailing. Bilstein shocks, as they’re getting a bit old, and I want to go for a
coilover option — BC Gold should have that covered. I also want to
Being a 293kW twin-turbo wagon must make for some fun install the twin-sunroof option that only came on the Touring model,
drives to work? but, otherwise, I’m pretty happy.
It’s an absolute blast to drive; I couldn’t have asked for much more,
really — comfy and spacious, cruising around town with enough Cheers for giving us a look at your wagon, Matt.

INTERIOR: Leather Motorsport

MAKE/MODEL: 2006 BMW 335i Motorsport
EXTERIOR: Black Sapphire Schwarz paint, carbon-fibre front lip, roof-rail delete
ENGINE: BMW N54, 3000cc, six-cylinder twin-turbo; new OEM turbos, wastegates, and seals; Cobb
intercooler, charge pipe, downpipes, and air filter; custom exhaust system; twin Hartge mufflers; custom WHEELS/TYRES: 19x9.5-inch TBC Jet 6; (F) 225/35R19 Blacklion, (R) 265/30R19 Blacklion
stage-four Euro Surgeon tune
SUSPENSION: Bilstein Nürburgring shocks, BMS lowering springs
DRIVETRAIN: BMW M3 six-speed, Quaife LSD
POWER: 293kW (17psi boost) at the flywheel

92 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
13B 323
Front-wheel drive ain’t no fun when you want to
chuck a little rotang into your wagon, but not many
of us would go to these extremes to complete that
kind of conversion.
Shaun Williams, on the other hand, is one
brave soul determined enough to undertake such a
task. He decided to chop the floor out of his 1990
Mazda 323 and replace it with a 1984 Toyota Corolla
DX floorpan — a rather large job but one vital for
converting the wagon to rear-wheel drive. The body
has also been dropped one inch, mini-tubbed, and
BARNEY
THE SR20 DINOSAUR
the chassis C-notched, while a van pedal box was
adapted to keep the brake and clutch components
behind the dash to clean up the engine bay. The rear
end has gained a Mitsi L300 10-bolt diff with reset
leaves, and a pair of Toyota AE86 BC Gold coilovers
keep things in check up front.
Crammed with an impressive amount of
custom bodywork and magical feats of fabrication,
the heart would need to be equally awesome. A
hearty bridgeported 13B with 48mm Weber IDA
carb, built by Stu Lawton at Lawton Exhausts and
Engineering, was the pick, and Shaun made sure it
would be fed well by running a Holley Red fuel pump
with 10mm braided line from the fuel tank to carby.
Going in halves on the car with his brother —
the pair own Silverstream Panel-Beaters together
— Shaun left the panel beating side of things to
him, as the body needed a bit of straightening, while
he tackled the paint work once it was ready. Now
finished in a lick of custom green pearl, it’s one step
closer to spinning those rotors, and tyres, down the
streets and drag strip.
Paying homage to Japanese circuit cars from years
gone by, with a big ol’ slice of blasphemy mixed in,
this SR20DET-swapped R32 Skyline is sure to get
a few quarts of blood pumping through the purist’s
veins. Anita decided that she would learn to drift in
her CA18-powered Onevia (180SX-fronted S13) to
learn car control, before selling up with the intention
of building a circuit-dedicated weapon.
All was going to plan until she was sold a dud
RB20, and everything grinded to a halt. She could
either sell everything off or grab an SR that a friend
had going cheap. The choice to make was clear,
and the new heart has already made its way into
the purple four-door body. Already half-caged and
with a GT-R diff, the foundations are there for a well-
rounded toy, and it currently sits on A’PEXi coilovers
and Desmond Regamaster wheels. Any motor sport
demands safety, which is why the inside packs
NZKW bucket seats and Jamex harnesses.
Anita will soon buy a Link ECU and have the car
tuned, before it makes its maiden voyage in the near
future. Oh, and did we mention race livery? Because,
that’s going to be a thing, too! We look forward to
seeing her out on the track.
Coatings experts at your door
www.rali.co.nz ͘0800 108 008

The lonely old RD28 engine cops a bit of flack for
being an unpopular choice among Nissan owners,
and, in the case of the C33 Laurel, it’s usually
replaced by an engine from the RB family. However,
already the owner of an RB30DET-powered Laurel,
Jagga Singh wanted to try something different after
picking up a spare rolling body on the cheap.
With its mismatched body panels crying out
desperately for a lick of paint, Jagga has put his focus
on the RD28 ‘powerhouse’ instead — the addition of
a Garrett VGT turbo now helps chuff up the power
FORGED VR4
Purchased with the flashest of backyard rattle-
can paint jobs and rolling on a full set of space-
savers, this VR4 was in a poor, poor state when
Dean Jamieson got his hands on it.
Having sat for five years, with the previous
owner using it to rev-battle the neighbours, a major
overhaul was needed to fix this broken warrior.
Dean found another complete car with front-end
damage that made for the perfect engine swap,
RFD LAURIE
figures, with a custom-made pipe and modified
turbo-injection pump that features a rotated fuel
pin and advanced timing. Future plans include
water–methanol injection to keep exhaust-gas
temperatures down, allowing more boost and fuel to
be pushed through the engine. It’s been converted
to a five-speed manual with an RB20DET gearbox,
while the body also features a five-stud conversion
with a big-brake upgrade to stop what Jagga hopes
will be well over 200kW of pushing power. Wanting
to keep things simple, the exterior will receive a lick
but, not wanting to do things by halves, that engine
was pulled out and subjected to a complete rebuild.
Now home to a billet crank, with forged rods and
pistons, the heads have also been mildly ported,
and a new set of 650cc injectors sourced to keep up
with the new GT30 turbo. With the intention of hitting
the local drags on occasion, while keeping the VR4
street-legal, Dean has opted for a new Exedy heavy-
duty clutch, solid engine mounts, and a pair of
of paint and remain relatively factory, and the wheel
choice is currently undetermined.
The build has spanned only one month so
far, and, with an estimated couple of months to go
before it hits the streets and track, it’s a relatively
fast turnaround for something built after work in the
garage at home. From the video he sent us of the
test run — in which it sounded more like an eight-
wheeler land-hauler — this should be one cool car
to witness pumping thick clouds of black smoke
around the local tracks.
bucket seats and harnesses to strap to the full roll-
cage keeping him safe. He also hopes to upgrade
the fuel system, with the likes of a fuel cell, external
fuel pump, and surge tank, and the whole combo is
set to be tuned at Rapid Performance when ready.
The build isn’t too far off completion and just
awaits a few coats of gloss black and the installation
of the new heart. We’re glad to see that people haven’t
given up on the performance heroes of yesteryear.
Coatings experts at your door
www.rali.co.nz ͘0800 108 008
GIG GUIDE If you have an event you’d like to see in the Gig Guide, email editor@performancecar.co.nz with all the details
TEAM PICK
August 31
BIG DAY OUT — HAMPTON DOWNS
HAMPTON DOWNS MOTORSPORT PARK, TE KAUWHATA
The team at Hampton Downs is giving you the
chance to get yourself along to a massive track day
that will see six race-utes, an NZV8 touring car, and a
classic BMW 635CSi coupe running hot laps around
the international-level 3.8-kilometre-long circuit.
Plus, the skidpan will be open all day to put your
own car through its paces. The management team
and a few familiar faces will be there to challenge you
along the way, too. With places selling out fast at a
cost of $295 (excl. GST), to secure your spot, head
to adrenalin-events.co.nz.
September 10
SEPTEMBER SWITCH BACKS
HAMPTON DOWNS MOTORSPORT PARK, TE KAUWHATA
Keeping things nice and simple, September
Switch Backs is an event about low driver numbers
and maximum track time. What can you expect from
that track time? A truckload of fried tyres, enough
smoke to impress Snoop Dogg, and limiter bashing
until there’s a blown engine or two. Entry is set at
$220 per car, and the event will be run under strict
rules to ensure that things stay on track — search
‘September Switch Backs’ on Facebook for all the
finer details.
September 11
HURLSTONE DRIVE STREET SPRINTS
HURLSTONE DRIVE, NEW PLYMOUTH
Having the opportunity to let loose on a public road
and set the fastest run time, for bragging rights
between your mates, is not something that happens
legally all too often. Keep old man Bill off your back,
and register for the Hurlstone Drive Street Sprints
by jumping over to taranakicarclub.org.nz — but be
quick, as spots fill up fast for this one!
96 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
September 24
PEGASUS BAY DRAG RACING CLUB DRAG DAY
RUAPUNA DRAGWAY, CHRISTCHURCH
September 16–18 November 10–13
24 HOURS OF LEMONS NEW ZEALAND
HAMPTON DOWNS MOTORSPORT PARK, TE KAUWHATA
Ever wanted to watch an array of scrapheap-
worthy cars battle it out over a 24-hour endurance
race? If you have, you’re in for a treat. For the first
time, 24 Hours of LeMons heads to New Zealand’s
shores. An already hugely popular international
parody event of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans
race, the event will run over three consecutive days,
with drivers spending a total of 24 hours in cars that
cost no more than $999. If this sounds like a bit of
you, all the details are at 24hoursoflemons.co.nz —
why not enter a team?
September 24
PEGASUS BAY DRAG RACING CLUB DRAG DAY
RUAPUNA DRAGWAY, CHRISTCHURCH
Strap your jandals on tight, Christchurch — high-
speed runs will once again be laid down the
asphalt of Ruapuna. Open to street cars and street
bikes, the event will also act as a test and tune for
competition cars and bikes for the New Zealand
Drag Racing Association series, meaning you’ll
get some sweet runs and serious entertainment in
one hit. All racers are welcome; contact the team
at Pegasus Bay Drag Racing Club for all the entry
information.
October 22
NORTH VS SOUTH DRIFT BATTLE
WAIMATE TOWNSHIP, SOUTH CANTERBURY
Last year, crowds of people turned up in their
thousands to the Waimate 50 event — hosting a
bunch of D1NZ drivers as they went head-to-head
to finally settle the north-versus-south debate. Home
advantage counted for little, as the North Island team
claimed victory after a strong performance from Gaz
Grove. Can the southies take the title back this year
and finally reign victorious on their home turf? Head
to the Waimate 50 Facebook page for ticketing and
event details.
SUPERCHEAP AUTO POWERCRUISE 64
BRUCE MCLAREN MOTORSPORT PARK, TAUPO
Cruise, race, drift, and skid — whatever your passion
is, Powercruise 64 will have it covered. Taking over one
of the most centralized tracks in the North Island, the
event will span three massive days on track and is set to
boast special appearances by a number of Australia’s
toughest burnout machines. Entrants and campers will
be granted access on Thursday night to set-up, ready
to be on track at 9am on Friday morning. Garages are
available for hire now. For full event information and
what your vehicle may require for entry, powercruise.
com has everything you’re looking for.
November 26
SPEED SCIENCE DRAG BATTLE — ROUND THREE
MEREMERE DRAGWAY, MEREMERE
One for the Honda boys, featuring engine-class
elimination rounds and grudge-match drag racing at
its finest. After the success at their previous events,
the guys at Speed Science have again teamed up
with NZHondas.com to bring you a full day of non-
stop pedal-to-the-metal action, which will now sport
Compulink timing for ultimate bragging rights. Check
out Speed Science on Facebook for more details.
December 10–11
V 4&ROTARY SOUTH ISLAND CHAMPS
TIMARU INTERNATIONAL MOTOR RACEWAY, TIMARU
After being forced out of Christchurch due to
earthquake damage then basing the event in Nelson
for the last few years, the team at 4&Rotary has
shaken things up for a two-day affair kicking off at
Timaru International Motor Raceway (formerly Levels
Raceway), where you’ll find a hard-park, drifting,
cruise sessions, power skids, and a grasskhana,
which will be followed up by the chaos moving to the
Timaru Events Centre for round one of the 4&Rotary
show season. Mark this one down on your calendars.
Entry details are yet to be released, but you can head
to the 4&Rotary Promotions Facebook page for all
the info as it is made available.
 /ttigto

TTI GTO sequential gearbox (4, 5, or 6-speed)

Proudly made in
Nelson, NZ

www.ttigto.com | 24 Forests Rd, Stoke, Nelson 7011 | P: 03 547 1517 | E: bruce@ttindustries.com

 INSIDE LINE
DRIVER CAR TIME MPH ENGINE TRIM AS RACED
Reece Fish 1956 Chev Bel Air 7.69 175.00 540ci twin turbo BBC Pump gas, ET Streets
Gary Bogaart 1975 Falcon Coupe 8.67 159.04 408ci Nitrous SBF C16, exhaust removed, ET Streets
Mike Black 1973 HQ Holden Ute 8.71 158.01 Twin S/C 509ci BBC C16, exhaust removed, full slicks
Brendon Shearing 1971 HQ Holden Monaro 8.76 158.00 536ci SC BBC Avgas, exhaust removed, DOT Hoosiers
Barry Plumpton 1974 HQ Holden 8.83 147.00 Nitrous 565ci SC BBC C16, exhaust removed, DOT Hoosiers
Chris Green 1984 Mazda 323 8.84 158.35 13B turbo Pump gas, full slicks
Aaron Thomas 1954 Ford Pop 8.84 152.00 408ci twin turbo SBC Avgas, exhaust removed, DOT Hoosiers
Robert Liu 1993 Toyota Supra 8.92 152.00 2JZ-GTE turbo C16, ET Streets
Dave Moyle 1990 Ford Falcon XF Ute 9.01 156.00 Nitrous 563ci BBF C16, ET Streets
Steve Wall 1966 Chev Chevelle 9.17 153.42 Procharged 540ci BBC C12, exhaust removed, DOT Hoosiers
Shane Ryland 1980 Holden Torana 9.24 148.22 LS2 turbo Pump gas, exhaust removed, full slicks

NEW ZEALAND–IMPORT DRAG RACING RECORDS NEW ZEALAND’S QUICKEST

Mike Bari 1971 Chev Chevelle 9.26 148.92 Nitrous 598ci BBC C16, exhaust removed, DOT Hoosiers
Azhar Bhamji 1969 Mazda R100 9.34 148.33 13B turbo Pump gas, exhaust removed, ET Streets
Aaron Jackson 1974 Holden Torana 9.42 145.46 Nitrous 496ci BBC Avgas, exhaust removed, DOT Hoosiers
Rhys O'Mahony 1923 Ford T-Bucket 9.56 137.21 383ci SBC NA Pump gas, exhaust removed, ET Streets
Mike Carlton 1973 Chev Corvette 9.57 144.24 540ci SC BBC Avgas, ET Streets
Darren Riches 1954 Ford Pop 9.66 133.00 540ci BBC NA Avgas, exhaust removed, ET Streets
Rob McBride 1973 Plymouth Cuda 9.67 139.30 604ci Hemi NA Avgas, exhaust removed, ET Streets
Mike Black 1993 VR Commodore 9.69 144.01 Vortech S/C 355ci Holden Avgas, exhaust removed, full slicks
Doug Stewart 1967 Chev Camaro 9.69 139.00 Nitrous 502ci SC BBC Avgas, ET Streets
Ross Whelan 1934 Ford Model Y 9.70 138.05 427ci SBC NA C14, exhaust removed, Dot Hoosiers
NEW ZEALAND'S Tony Gera 1970 Ford Mustang 9.73 143.40 Nitrous 480ci BBF Pump gas, exhaust removed, ET Streets
QUICKEST STREET CARS Daniel Southall 1969 Chev Camaro 9.77 141.62 Nitrous 406ci SBC C16, exhaust removed, DOT Hoosiers
Matt Avery 1974 Mazda RX-3 9.81 142.87 13b turbo E85, exhaust removed, ET Streets
STREETCAR RULES Warren Black 1972 Holden HQ Monaro 9.81 137.95 555ci SC BBC Avgas, exhaust removed, DOT Hoosiers
Glenn Brewer 1972 HQ Holden Ute 9.81 128.04 621ci BBC NA Avgas, exhaust removed, ET Streets
Ian Mckay 1992 Mazda Familia 9.82 143.57 4G63 turbo C16, MT slicks
CARS MUST BE Ben Moorcock 1974 Mazda RX-3 9.85 145.91 13B turbo Pump gas, DOT Hoosiers
REGISTERED AND HAVE Tony Gera 1971 Chev Vega 9.85 140.00 400ci Nitrous SBC Pump gas, exhaust removed, ET Streets
Zac Wilkinson 1987 Holden VL 9.90 138.84 408ci LS turbo Pump gas, full slicks
A WOF, DRIVE BACK UP Ray Peterson 1970 Ford Mustang 9.94 137.27 417ci NA Windsor Pump Gas, ET Streets
THE RETURN ROAD, Hayden Thorn 1992 Nissan Skyline GT-R 9.97 140.48 RB26/RB30 turbo Pump gas, ET Streets
Abdul Samad 1992 Mitsubishi Evo I 9.98 138.00 4G63 turbo E85, DOT Hoosiers
HAVE RACED WITHIN Ian Rainbow 1950 Chev Coupe 9.98 136.97 Nitrous 572ci BBC C16, exhaust removed, Dot Hoosiers
THE LAST TWO YEARS, Matt Kriletch 1973 Falcon XA Coupe 9.98 135.36 410ci BBF NA C12, exhaust removed, ET Streets
AND STILL BELONG TO
THE DRIVER WHO SET
THE TIME.
DRIVER TEAM CAR QUARTER-MILE ET

Rod Harvey Yuasa / Terry's Chassis Shoppe Toyota Celica 6.06 @ 384kph (239mph)
IF YOU KNOW ANYONE
Charlie Bates Rislone 20B Dragster 6.76 @ 326kph (202mph)
WHO SHOULD BE ON
Brent Curran CBR / Castrol EDGE Mazda RX-2 6.89 @ 326kph (203mph)
THE LIST, MAKE SURE Cory Abbott Terry’s Chassis Shoppe Mazda RX-7 Series 6 6.96 @ 313kph (195mph)
TO LET US KNOW BY DRIVER TEAM CAR QUARTER-MILE ET
EMAILING Robbie Ward R.I.P.S Racing Nissan R32 GT-R MGAWOT III 7.28 @ 312kph (194mph)
EDITOR@ Reece McGregor Heat Treatments Racing Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R 7.41 @ 310kph (193mph)
PERFORMANCECAR. Chris Kingstone-Cox Privateer/Rotamax Mazda 1300 7.68 @ 288kph (179mph)
CO.NZ Matt Buttimore CBR Mazda RX-3 (20B) 7.74 @ 269kph (184mph)
WITH THEIR TIMESLIP Ben Cox RSL / NZ Car Parts Datsun 1200 coupe 7.80 @ 286kph (178mph)

Tony Markovina Maz-Sport Mazda RX-7 Series 5 7.84 @ 286kph (178MPH)

DRIVER TEAM CAR QUARTER-MILE ET

Mathew Buttimore CBR Mazda RX-4 8.13 @ 265kph (164mph)

Dean Hargreaves Rotamax Mazda RX-3 8.30 @ 260kph (162mph)

Leon Ruby Super Freight Mazda RX-7 Series 1 8.63 @ 254kph (157mph)

Tony Markovina Maz-Sport Mazda RX-3 (12A) 8.66 @ 246kph (153mph)

Jason Horn GRP / Hytec Engines / Top RPM Mitsubishi Lancer 8.68 @ 259kph (161mph)

Kris Robb Privateer Mazda RX-7 Series 4 8.71 @ 240kph (149mph)

Shane Herbert Maz-Sport Mazda RX-3 (12A) 8.82 @ 240kph (149mph)

Craig Davis CBR / Pro Tint Mazda RX-2 8.89 @ 235kph (146mph)

Jeremy Hewson Privateer Toyota Starlet (13B) 8.96 @ 255kph (152mph)

DRIVER TEAM CAR QUARTER-MILE ET

YELLOW TEXT DENOTES A NEW ENTRY OR BETTERED ET

Paul Norris Privateer Ford Escort Mk II 9.16 @ 241kph (150mph)

Joel Marsh Rotamax Mazda RX-3 coupe 9.27 @ 238kph )148mph)

Chris Anderson Anderson Construction Ford Courier 9.46 @ 235kph (146mph)

Dick Richardson Hytech Engines / GRP Mitsubishi Evolution I 9.32 @ 241kph (150mph)

Suheib Kareem M&M Racing Mitsubishi Mirage 9.60 @ 222kph (138mph)

Rob Kelly NZ Car Parts Toyota Corolla KE25 9.78 @ 220kph (136mph)

Jon Peplow S.P.E.C Performance Honda Civic EG 9.83 @ 237kph (147mph)

Tim Hawke Privateer Toyota Corolla KE20 9.87 @ 204kph (127mph)

Suheib Kareem M&M Racing Mitsubishi Mirage 9.60 @ 222kph (138mph)

Raja Bhatti Edgell Performance Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III 9.96 @ 231kph (147mph)
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DAILY DRIVEN PHOTOS: YEMO GUO
Owner: Hadleigh Pells Location: Wellington
Occupation: Automotive mechanic
NZPC: Hey, Hadleigh. How long have you owned your Datsun,
and what made you buy it?
Hadleigh: Hey, team. I’ve owned the car for a little over three years
now. It was a bit of the old ‘right place right time’
— the same family had kept it since new and really
looked after it, so I thought it would be a good one
to get and hold onto. My better half really liked the
look of it, too, which was a bonus.
Being in such good condition when you
bought it, have you done much to it?
Yes and no. First on the list was trying to make it
a bit more user-friendly and handle a little less like
a small marine vessel. The upgraded suspension
and wheel set-up is now a nice balance between
comfort and go-kart. After a year or so, it was time
to give the motor some TLC, as it was starting
to change its own oil. It was amazing that, after
43 years, the engine only required light resurfacing,
new rings, a gasket set, and a lick of paint — such
a good little design.
Good to see old girls being looked after.
Does it draw a lot of attention?
Yeah, it does get a fair amount of attention when it’s out and about; [it’s]
mainly older people who will spend some time looking at it or come and
chat about one they had years ago. It’s kind of nice and usually a good
laugh to see people light up when they think back to tell a story about
what they got up to in their one. It seems to be one of those cars that a
lot of people can relate to.
MAKE/MODEL: 1972 Datsun 1200 Deluxe
EXTERIOR: Factory white, resprayed 15 years ago
WHEELS/TYRES: 13x7-inch Revolution Competition
ENGINE: Rebuilt Datsun A12, 1200cc, four-cylinder
SUSPENSION: Shortened Monroe gas shocks, Dobi front
DRIVETRAIN: Datsun four-speed
springs, rear lowering blocks
INTERIOR: Factory Deluxe trim
POWER: 51kW (69hp)
100 themotorhood.com/nzperformancecar
So, you manage to get it out and about fairly regularly, then?
Weather permitting, I try to drive it as much as possible, and I daily
it over summer. It’s easy to drive, reliable, and uses next to no gas.
It’s definitely no race car, but it’s great for events
that involve a few mates, a bit of a drive, a car
park or show, and a good supply of coffee — so
it’s pretty much perfect for living in Wellington.
We hear wheels are a biggie there. Was
the wheel choice hard with such a classic
car?
Wheels seem to be a bit of a touchy subject for
some people, so I try not to get too caught up on
what’s right and wrong. I wanted new wheels,
but something that suited the car’s era, so I
chose to go with the Revolution wheels. They
are a British company that have been making
competition wheels since the late ’60s. I also
have a set of 13-inch SSR MKIIs that go on from
time to time to keep the purists happy.
Those are some very good choices. What
are your future plans for the Datsun?
All the changes that have been made to the car were [made] with a
view to adding a little personal touch here and there but also trying
to keep it as original as possible without going overboard. There’s so
few of these cars left; it would have been a shame to modify it too
much. I’ve kept all the original items and will probably return it to stock
standard one day, but, for now, I’ll just maintain and enjoy it. That’s
what it’s all about for me.
WIN NEXT MONTH
SEND US YOUR DAILY DRIVER, AND IF IT’S FEATURED,
YOU’LL RECEIVE A CENTURY BATTERIES GIFT CERTIFICATE
WORTH $100
 YOUR TRADE SPECIALISTS

Suppliers Of Quality
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microtech new Zealand
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Ph (03) 374 5000, (027) 472 5000 : Fax (03) 365 2528
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Biggest range of performance parts — best price guarantee! Electronics wholesaler Timaru
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INTERIOR / ELECTRICAL
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 BACK ISSUE
123 NEXT MONTH

MAR. 2007
REVIEW
magstore.nz

ISSUE NO. 123 — MARCH 2007

Every month, we take a trip down memory lane and have a quick look at a
back issue we’ve got sitting in the archives. Whether it’s a feature car we think
was epic for the time or a tech article we feel is still relevant nowadays, it’ll give
you a good indication of how times have changed and a chance to get your
hands on that vital copy that you’re missing for your stash. Each issue is still
available until it runs out, so, if there’s one you wouldn’t mind grabbing, head
to magstore.nz.

FEATURE CAR
BAGGED BENT EIGHT
E30

IMMACULATE
GTAE MAZDA

20B N/A
FIRST GEN RX-7

LS POWERED
CEFIRO UTE

‘EVIL06’ LEARN THE ART OF

While having over 400kW at the wheels in your
street car has somehow become the norm in 2016 (if
the fact we constantly run out of 400-kilowatt-club
stickers is anything to go by), back in 2007, having
a street Evo making 437kW at the wheels was big,
front-cover-worthy news. Hanjaar’s Evo VI became
an overnight legend thanks to its RSL-built 4G63
with that PWR barrel cooler and the Turbonetics CARBON FIBRE
T66 mounted in the front bumper. Yes, it was a
drag car in street-car clothing, but, man, did it make + THRASH TESTING
some impact! We are still constantly asked for this
back issue. Hanjaar dared to step outside the box, THE NEW GT-R
which made his Evo a standout; perhaps it’s time
for you to take your project into the unknown, too? + H-TWN STREET
SKIDS

FEATURE CAR ‘0 GRIP’

Barry Manon and his ‘0 GRIP’ GT-Z Levin are a combo
with staying power here at NZPC, the pair first appearing
back in 2007 when the development of the Levin was
really just getting started. At the time, the 7AGE hybrid
had been built and bolted in and was making 330kW.
Barry continued to turn the wick up over the next nine
years until the car made 440kW at the front wheels,
NZPC
joined the 10-second club with a PB of 10.88s, and
dominated the Pro-Street Class in the Prowear Superlap
ISSUE NO. 239
series, all while maintaining its streetability. ON SALE
SEPTEMBER 26

‘RX1200’
The Datsun 1200 ute is a Kiwi classic. The small FEATURE CAR
and super-lightweight utes are a vulnerable
little chassis that we Kiwis have shoehorned
everything from an SR20 to a 410cc sprint-car
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
engine into, and, more often than not, a rotary, FROM ONLY $49 FOR SIX MONTHS, YOU’LL GET
as per Blair’s example.
NZPC DELIVERED BEFORE IT HITS THE STORES,
Slammed on 16-inch FR Simmons and
SAVE A BUNCH OF CASH, AND BE IN TO WIN
with a stout Lawton Rotorsport 13B bridgeport
in the bay, it was a very staunch 800-kilogram GREAT PRIZES EACH MONTH
machine that was also thrashed on the
skidpan like most of the rotaries that came out
of the Wairarapa and the DVS rotors shed at Ph. 0800 727 574
the time. The thing about timeless combos like
Blair’s is that they never date. This ute could
GIVEAMAG.CO.NZ
roll out today, and it would still be a standout.

104 themotorhood.com/performancecar
 UPCOMING D1NZ ROUNDS

New
ue
ROUND 1 NIGHT ROUND:
Ven FORSYTH BARR DECEMBER 2-3, 2016
ROUND 2:
MANFEILD JANUARY 6-7, 2017
ROUND 3 NIGHT ROUND:
ASB BAYPARK FEBRUARY 25-26, 2017
ROUND 4 DAY ROUND CLUB CIRCUIT:
HAMPTON DOWNS MARCH 25-26, 2017
ROUND 5 GRAND FINAL:
PUKEKOHE APRIL 21-22, 2017
ROUND 6 TEAMS CHAMPS NIGHT ROUND:
MT SMART MAY TBC, 2017

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 Nanotechnology
as a lifestyle

ceramic pro 9h
Hardness above 9H Oxidation & corrosion-resistant
Permanent bond Temperature resistance
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Anti-graiti High-gloss
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