NZ Classic Car 06.2021

MOTOR M A N DR I VE S TH E PH A S E II FALCO N GTH O
SUNDAYS
1PM ON
1962 HOLDE N FJ
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A fter toiling with the idea of moving
out of Auckland for a few years, my
wife and I have finally relocated to the
financial investment rather than purely a
weekend toy. My recent research shows that
classic car investing is not limited to the
Bay of Plenty. My plan was to move further super-high-net-worth investor. For example
south, preferably to Central Otago, but you can purchase a very nicely sorted classic
as my wife still has business interests in car for well under $100K, many of which
EDITOR Ashley Webb, editor@classiccar.co.nz
MANAGING EDITOR Ian Parkes Auckland and the need to commute on I consider to be potential investments, but
SUBEDITORS Karen Alexander, Sarah Beresford, a regular basis, the Bay of Plenty was the the key is to study the market for the best
Richard Adams-Blackburn
PROOFREADERS Odelia Schaare, logical choice for us. opportunities.
Richard Adams-Blackburn
DESIGN Day Barnes, Henry Khov, Mark Gibson,
Now that the dust has settled and we However for me it’s always been more
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Donn Anderson, Greg Price, Ben Selby,
John Dennehy, Vaughan Wilson, Aaron Mai,
investing in another classic car. In all my see the point in buying a classic car and
Mark Holman, Steve Ritchie years of classic car ownership I have always not enjoying it. As a rule classic car buyers
COVER erred on the side of caution when buying tend to seek out the cars they loved when
Clint Wheeler’s 1963 Holden FJ Panel Van
Photography by Richard Opie purely for investment, instead buying
they were much younger, hence my passion
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for late ’60s muscle cars throughout my
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Parkside Media uses due care and diligence in the
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advertisements provided to the publisher, but gives
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THEMOTORHOOD.COM ISSUE 366 / JUNE 2021 1

IN THIS ISSUE
#366
June 2021
FEATURES
6 FJ Holden panel van
S M I L E Y FAC E
18 Citroën GS Birotor
EVEN QUIRKIER
30 Rush Cooper
SPECIAL CONNECTION
40 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R

B L A S T F R O M T H E R E C E N T PA S T
48 Chevrolet C5 Corvette
BACK ON TRACK
54 Westward Ho
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
2 NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR

18
30 62 80
COLUMNS REGULARS
62 KITS AND PIECES 39 SUBSCRIBE AND WIN
Murtaya in black 85 CLASSIC GARAGE
68 LUNCH WITH … 86 READERS’ WRITES
Cary Taylor — part two 90 BEHIND THE GARAGE DOOR
74 MOTORMAN 98 NOTICEBOARD
The Ford Falcon GTHO 100 NATIONAL EVENTS
80 MOTOR SPORT FLASHBACK 110 LOCAL SPECIALISTS

Sarthe’s most unlikely winner 112 DAILY DRIVER AND NEXT MONTH
84 PRICE ON
Before cell phones
92 INTERNATIONAL REPORT
Replica rumble
96 MARKETPLACE REPORT
The sensible Corvette

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Feature: 1962 Holden FJ panel van

Tradie’s A house painter by trade,
Clint Wheeler applied
his eye for detail to his
Choice
latest creation, an uber-
rare ’62 FJ panel van
By Ashley Webb, photography by Richard Opie

It proved so
popular that
A
lmost 75 years ago the first the generous dimensions and trusty six- prospective buyers
FX Holden was driven out
of Holden’s Fishermans Bend
cylinder rear-wheel-drive power plant set
the platform for the majority of cars sold
were literally
assembly plant at Port Melbourne in Australia over the next 25 years. queuing up at local
to become Australia’s most loved car. Holden dealerships
BRIGHT AND BUBBLY
Aussie’s homegrown auto, a reworked
American design, became the country’s to place their
first successfully mass-produced car. It The much-anticipated FJ Holden came orders
had pretty good performance too, for on the market in 1953. Known at the
a low-cost, four-door family sedan. It time as the ‘New Look’ Holden, the FJ
proved so popular that prospective buyers was pretty much a revamped version of upbeat styling, and significantly more
were literally queuing up at local Holden the FX released in 1948. chrome up front, the FJ oozed a
dealerships to place their orders. The Using similar mechanicals but brighter, more bubbly personality than
recipe for success had been set in stone: with a slight increase in engine power, its more serious predecessor.
It wasn’t hard to love the FJ with its
shiny, broad, toothy grin of a grille; stylish
two-tone paint job; bright chrome work;
and perky little tail fins that offered a
taste of Detroit fashion. However General
Motors-Holden (GM-H) thought the
US-designed interior was a tad too gaudy
for the local market and also decided it
would be too expensive to produce so
set about creating a more conservative
interior for the Australian market.
By the mid 1950s, as car ownership
became affordable for the working class,
many Australian families taking to the
road for the first time were happy to
choose the locally built FJ, which was
built from 95 per cent Australian content.
GM-H manufactured in-house all the

WHO BUILT
WHAT, WHEN
GM-H had assembly plants in five states
and its share of the booming vehicle market
rose from 20 per cent in 1950 to 50 per
cent in 1958.
Holden car manufacturing
(body assembly) plants
Woodville 1948–1965
Pagewood 1952 until closure in 1980
Dandenong 1956 until beyond HZ
production major mechanical components including
the engine, transmission, and rear-axle
Elizabeth 1965 until beyond HZ
production assembly along with all the forgings for Australian families
Acacia Ridge 1966 until beyond HZ
production
steering and suspension systems. The taking to the road for
body was made from local Broken Hill
Proprietary (BHP) Company steel, as the first time were
happy to choose the FJ,
Holden car vehicle assembly plants
were all other stamped metal items used
Fishermans Bend 1948–1956
in the manufacture of the car.
Birkenhead 1949 until closure in 1962
At various times GM-H’s which was built from
Fortitude Valley
Mosman Park
1949 until closure in 1966
1949 until closure in 1972
manufacturing plants built a variety of 95 per cent Australian
body styles. For example the original
Pagewood 1949 until closure in 1980 Holden sedan was only produced at content
Dandenong 1956 until beyond HZ Woodville. A coupé/utility model was
production
Elizabeth 1962 until beyond HZ
production
Acacia Ridge 1966 until beyond HZ
production

added in 1951 and by 1953 a second produced by Holden to be exported to
manufacturing plant had come online our shores. 1962 HOLDEN FJ
at Pagewood and both body styles PANEL VAN
were produced at both locations while BASKET CASE Engine Holden EK 138, straight-
all vehicle assembly plants across the six (as featured)
country completed both the sedan and Clint Wheeler purchased this 1962 Capacity 138cc (2261cc) (as
utility. In July 1953 a business sedan Holden FJ panel van as an unfinished featured)
completed the line-up but this model project or as he says, “a complete basket Fuel system Twin side-draught
carburettors (as
was only manufactured at Woodville. case”. Collected as nothing more than featured)
A panel van was added to the FJ a bare shell, the rotisserie-mounted Suspension, F/R Short- and long-arm
range. These van bodies were only and primed shell travelled the length of independent-type
manufactured at Woodville. the country from the Rangiora garage with King coil springs /
Hotchkiss drive with
The FJ panel van was a success where it had sat dormant for six years reset semi-elliptic
with local business and tradesmen. An to Clint’s Ruakākā workshop. “Mike, springs
option 265 van was also available and the previous owner, was awesome. He Steering Worm-and-sector
was commonly known as a ‘baker’s’ stacked the van and parts nicely. I was Dimensions:
van. The FJ was also the first car pretty excited to get the van up north. Length 4401mm
Width 1702mm
Height 1581mm
Wheelbase 2616mm
Track, F/R 1346mm/1372mm

We cut the locks and got her out to ideal donor vehicle. It proved to be
enjoy the northland sun,” says Clint. extremely helpful for identifying the
Clint had to “The panel van also came with boxes of location of various items such as the
accept that the assorted parts — some good, some not gearbox tunnel.
so good but they all helped.” Clint knows of only seven panel
task of getting After more investigating Clint vans in the country and this is the
had to accept that the task of getting only road-going one, which made
his latest project his latest project back on the road sourcing missing pieces a challenge
back on the road would be nothing less than epic. For
starters there was literally no floor or
— the search frequently sent him
across the ditch, using the power of
would be nothing cross member on which to mount the the internet to source parts on Holden
subframe and the body required new forums. Figuring out what parts were
less than epic inner and outer sills. Fortunately Clint missing was also a head-scratcher but
found an FJ ute for sale that made the thankfully those same internet sources

came to the rescue with the needed
reference imagery.
“I was lucky my retired panel beater
completed the job as it was much
bigger than we imagined,” says Clint.
EYE FOR DETAIL

As with all of Clint’s cars, good mate
Goose is responsible for the paintwork.
“I can say without Goose’s input and
incredible eye for detail, the van would
never be as good as it is now. It’s good
to have another fussy bugger to bounce
ideas back and forth and come up with
a winner,” says Clint. Unlike many old
Holdens the rust in this one wasn’t too
bad, requiring only a few patches, plus
“It was good to have another fussy bugger to bounce ideas

back and forth with. Without his incredible eye for detail the
van would never be as good as it is now”

it had survived having the rear side the-art spray booth then you’re sadly says. “I think we nailed it and it’s also
windows cut out of it. mistaken as all painting was done under easy to make original again without too
“We decided on a modern VW Clint’s $100 Warehouse gazebo. “Kinda much fuss.”
colour called Aquarius Blue as it’s not like how it was done years ago before It’s an all-period affair complete with
far from the original colour, and it suits spray booths,” says Clint. period speed parts — again sourced
the ’62 tin to a tee. To make the colour across the ditch. The engine is a later
really pop we went for the red interior NAILED IT model EK Holden 138-cubic-inch
with matching rims. As house painters (ci; 2261cc) straight-six that Clint
we were going for the indoor–outdoor The FJ was completed in what Clint purchased as a fresh factory rebuild
flow,” says Clint. describes as ‘stock custom’. “I was and boasts twin carbs and headers with
And if you think this award-winning wanting a mild custom drivetrain with a custom side plate and rocker cover,
paint job was created in a state-of- a slick look and not over cooked,” he all sourced from Oz Speed Spares in
Australia. The wiring loom was another
Aussie-based score, a reproduction
of the factory loom. The only other
modifications are the two-inch lowering
job and the factory steel wheels which
have been made a touch wider.
All the mechanical and
reassembly work was completed by
Henwood Automotive in Whangarei.
“They did another fantastic job for
me,’’ says Clint. “I didn’t think Dave
would do another after the chopped EK
van. He hates it when I tell him I have
a new project.”
Rarity of the model aside, the fact
that the FJ had a paper trail and its
original New Zealand plates meant
that it could be reFined and once again
don black registration plates was a huge
bonus for Clint.

ALL WORTH IT FJ drew huge crowds all week long
That distinctive “It’s great to see people’s faces and
at Repco Beach Hop. We’re told that
Clint even received an offer to buy it
front-grille reactions when they see the van; it
makes it all worth it,” says Clint. “I
but the van will be staying in Clint
and wife Sheree’s hands for now, with
assembly has hope my van inspires others to get
theirs on the road. I got loads of
a huge South Island tour coming up
this summer.
made the FJ one of inspiration from the FJ Facebook pages
and also got plenty of help from over
The FJ has indeed become a
celebrated Australian icon and in fact
Australasia’s most the ditch. Without those guys it would
have been extremely difficult to go
the trusty FJ undoubtedly played its
part in cementing Holden’s place as
familiar faces forward on the van.”
Clint would also like to say a big
building Australia’s most popular car.
Today Holden lovers, restorers, and
thanks to Shane Whitehead. “He’s those wishing to modify this iconic
such a top bloke and would even take classic recognise those unmistakable
parts off his own car and hand them era-defining chrome grille and stylish
to me,” says Clint. “Also thanks to monogrammed hubcaps. Indeed that
Howard Thompson again for another distinctive front-grille assembly has
superb job, also based in Whangarei.” since made the FJ one of Australasia’s
Despite its understated nature the most familiar faces.

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Feature: Citroën GS Birotor
ot a r y
R
The GS Birotor is a well-equipped and stylishly efficient design

made even more intriguing by its amazing hydropneumatic
suspension. It could easily have been the Peugeot 205GTI of its
day, kicking off the hot-hatch trend some 10 years earlier
By Quinton Taylor

P
olarising and quirky styling, by André Citroën had its origins engineers with technical expertise such as
innovative engineering — often in industrial machining. However, Louis Dufresne, formerly with Panhard.
with industry-leading technology André Citroën began making cars in In 1917, he added Jules Salomon. In
— have always been a large part of the 1908 when he took over the French 1919, Citroën introduced the Type A,
charm of the Citroën brand and the Mors company, which the company a 10hp (7.5kW) car better equipped
twin chevron badge. Citroën’s brief stuck with until the outbreak of and generally more capable than most
dalliance with Felix Wankel’s little rotary World War I. Citroën was a major contemporary offerings. It had a water-
marvel of an engine, which started in the producer of armaments during the war, cooled 1327cc four-cylinder engine
1960s, could have been another game and it was during this time that André producing 18 horsepower (hp; 13kW),
changer for the French company. But it drew on the example of Henry Ford giving a top speed of 40 miles per
wasn’t to be. Reliability issues and poor in the US and his mass-production hour (65kph). Significantly, André had
fuel economy — just when the oil crisis techniques. André determined that if acquired a Polish patent in 1900 for a
made that an unforgivable sin — made his factory was to survive after the war double-helical or herringbone pattern
the project uneconomic and almost an he needed to build a capable, cheap, gear that he used in the final drive.
embarrassment. and small car in big numbers. To set It was the inspiration for the Citroën
The car firm founded in 1919 about this, he surrounded himself with double chevron logo.

The Wankel rotary was also lightweight and small,
ideal for the type of cars that Citroën wanted to build
INNOVATION that year. The low-priced car sold cars. In 1925, a 1923 Type C Torpedo
well, and the construction technique 5CV was the first car to be driven
The Type A was displayed in a was soon widely adopted, replacing around the perimeter of Australia. Even
showroom on the Champs-Élysées, wood-framed bodies. André Citroën more remarkable was the fact the car
which would become a focal point retained his low-price approach but had already covered some 48,000 miles
for introducing new models and operating on narrow margins flirted (77,000km) before setting out on
contained a Citroën museum up with cash-flow problems that would the journey. The now-restored car is
until recently — a pity, as it was an continue to haunt the company in displayed in the National Museum of
impressive display, but a new display coming years. Using the Kégresse track Australia in Canberra.
address will apparently be announced system, Citroën produced a range of The Lazard bank came to Citroën’s
when the world is ready for such things military half-track vehicles from 1921 rescue, buying up Citroën’s debts in
again. General Motors also came close to 1937, which would be evaluated 1927. Ever inventive, André introduced
to owning Citroën in 1919 but after by the US Army Ordnance Corps and the first diesel-powered car, the Rosalie
negotiations the drain on finances was the system used in M2 and M3 15CV, then in 1934 Citroën introduced
was deemed too risky. Citroën would half-track vehicles, introduced in 1942. the Traction Avant CV7, changing
remain independent until 1935. In 1940 the Germans also recognised the motor industry overnight with its
In 1924, Citroën formed a the value of these vehicles when they innovation, which still applies to car
working relationship with US auto- occupied France and converted them construction today. It had a unitary
body maker Budd, resulting in the for their use. body with a prototype body developed
Citroën B10, the first unitary, steel- André Citroën also involved his by Budd, with no separate chassis,
body car made in Europe. It was company in various expeditions around front-wheel drive, and independent
displayed at the Paris Motor Show the world to prove the reliability of his suspension all round. It was a market

CITROEN GS BIROTOR
Numbers built 1973–1975, total: 847 units
Construction Steel monocoque, five-door
fastback, four-door fastback
five-door estate, three-door
van versions. GS: 1970–
1979; GSA: 1980–1989. GS
Birotor: Five-door hatchback
Price new Birotor: £3800. Estimated
price now: £30K (est.
NZ$58K); 2019: Bonhams,
1974 model: sold for £27,750
(NZ$53,368), including
premium
Engine Iron-housing, water-cooled,
two-rotor 1990cc Wankel
rotary engine, twin choke,
Solex carburettor
Max power 80kW at 6500rpm
Max torque 136Nm at 3000rpm success but building the Traction Avant Traction Avant when it was finally
Transmission Three-speed semi-auto, would involve a huge retooling cost released in 1948: the now-iconic 2CV,
front-wheel-drive C-Matic
for an all-new design and a complete which remained in production until
Suspension, F/R Independent with
wishbones, self-
rebuild of the Citroën factory in five 1990! The 2CV was followed by the
levelling / Trailing arms; months. Allied with a costly advertising distinctive corrugated-metal-skinned
hydropneumatic spheres, programme, the cost was too much, and Type H van, which today is more
self-levelling
André Citroën filed for bankruptcy. The enthusiastically sought after than ever as
Steering Rack-and-pinion
company’s biggest creditor, Michelin a business promotional van. The third
Brakes, F/R Ventilated power-assisted
disc / Solid power-assisted Tyres, became its biggest shareholder, would be a car that astounded many: the
disc with Pierre Michelin becoming chairman aerodynamic teardrop-shaped DS and ID
Dimensions: and Pierre-Jules Boulanger his deputy saloon in 1955, which, even discounting
Length 4120mm vice-president and head of engineering its many engineering innovations,
Width 1644mm and design. is revered as one of the world’s most
Height 1370mm Boulanger, a decorated World War I cherished car designs. Boulanger died as
Wheelbase 2522mm
army captain, guided the company a result of an accident in 1950 driving
Weight 1290kg
through the German occupation and an experimental Traction Avant. His
assisted many attempts to thwart place was taken by Robert Puisseux, who
Performance:
production of vehicles used by the oversaw the introduction of the DS and
0–60mph 13.3 seconds
Germans. Under the Germans’ noses, managed Citroën until Pierre Bercot
Top speed 175kph (speed limited)
he oversaw the development of a car took over as chairman and managing
Fuel consumption 16 litres / 100km (normal use),
25 litres / 100km (hard use)
that would be as innovative as the director from 1958.

Bigger engines attracted hefty tax penalties so a new engine that
offered high power from small capacities appeared to be the answer
Rotary contemporaries: NSU Ro 80 (left), Citroën GS Birotor (middle), and Mazda Cosmo (right)
Under its extraordinary skin, the DS of nearly 1.5 million units from 1956 company’s DNA. The end goal was to
featured a single hydraulic system that to 1975, it was a remarkable car for expand its model range, especially in
powered the power steering, brakes, its time and is now obviously a first- medium-size cars, to place less financial
and variable-height hydropneumatic class classic. It showed the advantage reliance on the more expensive and
suspension. It was a revolutionary of an aerodynamic shape, requiring larger DS range.
world first and an engineering triumph, just a small-capacity engine to drive it Under French law, bigger engines
which gave the car an other-worldly along economically at an easy 100mph attracted hefty tax penalties so a new
ride, and mechanics the world over (160kph). engine that offered high power from
the heebie-jeebies. It also had a semi- nominally small capacities being
automatic clutch and transmission for MON DIEU, UN ROTATIF! developed in Germany appeared to be
good measure. Its designation ‘DS’ the answer. The Wankel rotary was also
naturally encouraged the proud French Citroën made a number of erratic lightweight and small, ideal for the type
to agree that the car was indeed the economic decisions in the 1960s, of cars that Citroën wanted to build.
déesse — the ‘goddess’. With production but then that was always part of the Its quirky Ami models had to get by on
600cc derivatives of the 2CV’s twin-
The experimental M35, based on the Citroën Ami 8, used a new single-rotor engine cylinder engine. Citroën entered into a
joint venture development programme
with NSU Motorenwerke. A new
company, Comotor, was formed in
1964 at Altforweiler, near Luxembourg,
to develop the engine.
Citroën acquired truck-company
Berliet and car-manufacturer
Panhard in 1965, and it also saw the
development of the first rotary-engine-
powered Citroën, the Ami 8–derived
M35. Prototypes were sent out to
dealers for lease to selected customers to
trial. The one-litre, single-rotor engine
produced 106bhp (79kW), and it had
a lot of potential. Just 267 of these little
cars were made. However, at the end of
the trial, Citroën was so convinced that
it was on the wrong track it bought
most of the cars back and destroyed

27.06.21 Pavillion 2, ASB Showgrounds, Auckland
On view 22 – 27 June
Collectors’ Cars,
Motorcycles & Automobilia
Auckland
1949 Talbot Lago T26 Record Factory Berline

űƵƼ $250,000 - $275,000
Other highlights include; Following the success of Evening Preview:

1965 Mercedes-Benz 230SL űƵƼ $150,000 - $170,000, their record breaking auction 24 June 6pm - 8pm
1982 Holden Commodore VH SS űƵƼ$130,000 - $150,000, in December, Webb’s return Viewing:
1969 Landrover Series IIA Pickup űƵƼ$25,000 - $35,000. to ASB Showgrounds this 22 – 25 June 10am - 5pm
1998 Aston Martin Vantage V600, űƵƼ $500,000 - $600,000 June with a catalogue of 26 June 10am - 4pm
1969 Surtees TS5, űƵƼ $230,000 - $250,000 classic and collectable cars. 27 June 10am - 12pm
1953 Jaguar XK-120 CoupeűƵƼ $140,000 - $175,000 Auction:
For more information head
1973 Holden Torana XU1, űƵƼ$130,000 - $150,000 27 June 2.30pm
to webbs.co.nz
Auctions Caolán McAleer

Private Sales Head of Collectors’ Cars
Valuations caolan@webbs.co.nz
webbs.co.nz 027 929 5603
Citroën GS Birotor
engine and
automatic
transmission
them. Liquidity was further challenged

with Citroën’s acquisition of the Italian
Maserati group, even though it gave us
another classic: the hydropneumatic
suspension–equipped and Maserati
2.7-litre V6-engined Citroën SM in
1970.
Everyone from Mercedes to
General Motors was developing a
Wankel design. The Wankel engine’s
compactness gave manufacturers extra
space for passengers and safety, but it
was thirsty. Mazda in Japan would be
the sole company to persevere long
term with the design.
But Citroën did not give up entirely
either. Designed by Robert Opron, the
Citroën GS was introduced in 1970. It
was powered by a 55bhp (41kW) flat- The Birotor was 70 per cent more expensive
four, air-cooled engine and used many
DS mechanical features, including to buy than a normal GS
the iconic one-spoke steering wheel.
Its innovation, space efficiency, and
sophistication were acknowledged with the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1973, The Birotor was 70 per cent more
a European Car of the Year award in and its specification was even more expensive to buy than a normal
1971. It was comprehensively equipped impressive than the standard GS GS. As with many designs around
and one of Citroën’s biggest ever sales models. It included hydropneumatic this era, timing was not good, as
successes. More than 2.3 million GS suspension, all-round disc brakes war broke out in the Middle East
and GSA models were sold. The award (ventilated at the front), and a semi- in 1974. Crude-oil prices rose
would also go to other outstanding automatic transmission, but at its heart dramatically and affected sales
Citroën models, the CX in 1975 and was a water-cooled 107bhp (80kW) of cars with poor fuel economy.
the XM in 1990. twin-rotor engine. There was an even Just 847 Birotors were built and
Allied with the standard GS project more powerful three-rotor engine in the few made it past 20,000 miles
was a twin-rotor–powered version wings for a bigger Citroën CX body, (32,000km) without overhaul.
substantially differently engineered and but just one prototype of those was Citroën made generous offers
equipped. The Birotor was unveiled at built and later destroyed. to buy back all GS Birotor models
to avoid warranty claims and the
need for establishing an expensive
spares inventory, and many owners
took up the offer. NSU’s sales
of its Ro 80 also suffered from an
ever-increasing flood of reliability
complaints, which it never managed
to shake off despite being vast
mechanical advances. It finished up
being a remarkably capable car but,
despite the Volkswagen takeover,
just 37,398 cars were built from
1967 to 1977.
At Citroën, even a collaboration
with Fiat couldn’t prevent a
worsening financial situation,
resulting in an intervention by
the French government in 1974.
Michelin and Automobiles Citroën
merged with Automobiles Peugeot,
with Michelin relinquishing
Frankfurt Auto Show 1973, control of Citroën to create PSA —
and the Birotor seems Peugeot Citroën. Maserati was sold
worlds away from the 2CV to De Tomaso, and Berliet was sold
to Renault.

CITROENS IN HIS BLOOD
Kerry Bowman readily describes himself
as a dyed-in-the-wool Citroën fan and
a keen Citroën Car Club member. His
Auckland home holds several of the
chic French cars and many parts. He
has also owned a number of examples
of the marque as daily drivers but he
now drives a GS Birotor. They are rare,
even in France, and this is a car which
was not supposed to see the light of day
outside France’s borders, yet somehow
this one escaped the buy-back to be one
of the few survivors out in the world.
It’s a special car that Kerry first saw ENDLESS PAPERWORK
while overseas in the ’70s, indulging an
interest sparked early on by his father’s Kerry was keen to start the process
“I said to a guy on
keenness for Citroëns back home in of getting the car inspected and legal the stand, ‘I’d like
Tauranga. He was keen to see one in for the road, and he is grateful for
the flesh. the assistance of Citroën, Peugeot, one of these,’ and
“I got interested in this Birotor and Renault specialist David Jones of
when I bought a GS in Paris in Auto France in Manukau. he said I wouldn’t
1972,” he says. “I got in contact with
Citroën Cars in Slough, and they got
Kerry says, “I imported it in mid
2018. I went to register it, and it be allowed to get
me an invitation to the Earls Court
motor show where they had the first
turned into a nightmare. First, we were
told I needed a Low Volume Vehicle
one. Citroën were
Birotor prototype on display. I said to a certificate for it. I asked for what reason building them for
guy on the stand, ‘I’d like one of these,’ and they said, ‘Well, because it has
and he said I wouldn’t be allowed to get had a different engine fitted to it.’ I their own market
one. Citroën were building them for said, ‘That is the engine fitted to the
their own market to test them, and they car in the factory when it was built by and they were only
were only left-hand drive.”
Despite its rarity, Kerry has always
Citroën.’ He said to me, ‘I’ve never seen
one,’ and I replied, ‘No, there are none left-hand drive’”
hankered after a Birotor so when the in New Zealand; this is it.’ So I said
opportunity came up a few years ago he google it. He came back and I thought the dollars were starting to mount up.
wasted no time. It is delightful to see we were good.” “They hit me with a rust search,”
this car, preserved in pristine condition, But things were just starting to says Kerry. “So, we’ve got this rust
running sweetly on our roads — but it warm up, as now the services of a certificate to do, and I had to get an
has been a far from smooth journey. specialist engineer were required, and engineer to come out and have a look
at the car — over it and under it and
everywhere. Then he (the engineer)
says, ‘I’d like both subframes removed
and the trim removed to the windows,’
so we did that, and we found a bit of
corrosion in the bulkheads.”
A seam in the bulkhead was exposed
when the engine came out, and this
was found to have a bit of rust in it, so
the engineer asked for the bulkhead to
be opened.
“He said he would like me to open
that with a hacksaw blade or a small file
and clean the rust out,” Kerry recalls.
“I opened it up and cleaned the rust
out, and the next thing it was landing
on the floor in the car. We got in and
had a look, and in the bottom of the
bulkhead it has got a channel through
there which air goes into for the fresh-
air system in the car. That had rotted

the bottom out. Dave Jones took a look TUNE-UP TIME “I was so wild, because every time I
at it and he was puzzled as to how it took it in it had to go on a trailer, so I
had rusted in that part as it shouldn’t For anyone who has owned a two- brought it home, put the British number
do that.” stroke-powered car or motorcycle, the plates back on the thing, and drove it
The dashboard was removed, as it had following procedure adopted by Kerry from Beachlands to Manukau, and I
to be repaired anyway, along with the could be amusingly familiar: “It really just caned it before taking it back in.
heater system and everything attached had become a bit of a nightmare, but I He wanted to know how I had fixed the
to it, revealing a bit of a surprise and the thought we were finally getting there. I emissions and I said I just adjusted the
answer to the rust problem. had new locally machined brake discs carburettor,” he says.
“I put my hand up in this hole
and pulled out heaps of underfelt, A FINAL TWIST
which had come from under the floor “I just caned it
carpet. It had been a home for mice. “This is the stupidity of it. Every time
So we put new panels in, and the before taking it it went back for a recheck on, say,
engineer was more than happy. He two items, they would do the whole
was amazed that it didn’t have the rust back in. He wanted car again,” Kerry says. “I asked him
that he was expecting. All we had to why and he said in case I had changed
do was a fabricated box-section behind to know how I had something else. Now it had passed and
the stainless steel bumper where the there was just the paperwork to do. He
bottom had rotted out,” says Kerry. fixed the emissions. told me ‘No. I’ve got to have a weigh.’
There was also a gusset in a panel I said it was 1300kg as it says in the
in the left front mudguard behind the I said I adjusted the handbook. No, he wanted it weighed.”
headlight that had rusted out, and Kerry aimed to drive the Birotor to
Kerry replaced this with one from a carburettor” the Citroën Nationals in Hawera in
donor-parts Citroën GS in his yard. March 2020 and time was running out
He also noted a substantial difference to get it finished in time
in the construction methods used and pads fitted. Then they hit me for “By this time it was late February.
between a standard GS and the Birotor emissions. I told them they had no Because I had a trucking company and
bodyshell, which was quite strongly emission (no comparison test) reading know a lot of people, I shot across the
engineered: “All the front of a standard on it. But they could see the fumes road to Pink Bins’ weighbridge. I told
GS is bolted in — the Birotor is coming out.” the guy there what I wanted and he
welded in. The part we wanted would With little open-road running, weighed it. I gave the tester the docket
go straight in, and the engineer said to and with a separate oil pump feeding and he wanted to know how I had got
weld it in. We got it finished during the induction system fitted on these it done so quickly. Right at 4.30pm he
December of 2019, and I couldn’t get engines, it was inevitable that the said I could now register it.”
it in until the middle of January to get Birotor would oil up with light use. By At last Kerry bought the Birotor
rechecked, but they kept just knocking this time, a more-than-frustrated Kerry home and attached its New Zealand
me back every time it went in.” had an answer. number plates, and the following

weekend it was off to a Citroën club
meeting in Hawera.
“Dave Jones told me to put it on a
trailer and trailer it down, but I didn’t
want to do that,” Kerry tells us. “I
drove it to Hawera and then drove it
home. It didn’t run very nicely, and
I had a few issues as it surged and
hunted, and it wouldn’t run properly
under 3000rpm. We can’t drive these
cars where they are supposed to be in
New Zealand. It’s got to be doing over
4000 or 5000rpm, which is excellent.”
SURPRISE HELP
In an attempt to get things running
smoothly, Kerry decided to investigate
the rough-running problem — not easy Kerry’s car appears to have been
when nearly all of his service material
was in French or Dutch. registered in France, Belgium, Holland,
But, says Kerry, “Dave Jones was
very good on a lot of the Citroën SM– England, and now New Zealand
style control systems, which are the
same.”
A faulty fuel-pump shut-off solenoid Since then little tweaks, such as THE GREAT ESCAPE
was found, and one idle solenoid wasn’t increasing the size of the fuel filter, have
working. One of Kerry’s contacts in seen the Birotor running smoothly. While all the work was going to get the
Europe got him to pull the jets out of Kerry has also learnt that at some stage Citroën mobile, Kerry was also busy
the carburettor and he asked for the a specialist company in Belgium retro- tracking down the history of his car:
numbers on various parts. fitted ceramic rotor seals, extending the “This car is totally original and it sat in a
“He said to me, those dual life of the engine considerably. shed in the dry in the south of France for
restrictors are the incorrect number “I had it out at the Citroën Car 37 years. I’ve been trying to track some
for this engine. I scouted around for Club [Auckland] Christmas function. history and it had a French number plate
some here, and I couldn’t get any Solex It’s a nice car, and I like driving it,” he on it. The number was painted onto the
carburettor bits. It’s a massive thing. says. “It was set up for left-hand drive car and I asked them in Europe where
It’s two carburettors in one, so I sent a so the suspension is set up differently this was from. The answer came back that
message over to Europe and didn’t get a for our roads. I found the sway bar was it was a temporary number plate only
reply. Next thing, four correct jets turn sitting high on the left and low on the fitted when the car was new before the
up in the mail. I contacted my guy in right so I’ve adjusted it the opposite owner buys it — so it had a dealer plate
Europe and said, ‘I’ve got the jets you way around — and what a difference. on it. Probably someone in the trade or a
sent me, and how much do I owe you Fitting wider 175-section tyres on it dealer, they said.”
for them.’ He said, ‘No, no, because instead of 145s like the standard GS Back when these cars were sold, it
you are a friend.’ Incredible!” Kerry has also made a big difference.” was normal for dealers to either own
says. them or sell them to employees. Its
background got more involved.
“I found that this car was supplied by
Citroën to a Citroën dealer in the south
of France as his stock,” Kerry says, “then
he got a message to say that they wanted
it back. Apparently, he said to one of
his sales staff, if Citroën wanted this car
back they were not getting it. They were
up to something, the dealer thought,
Restoration progress
and he took it home and that’s where it
sat for those years.”
Eventually the car was sold and
Kerry’s contacts tried to find out what
happened to it.
“They did give me confirmation that
it was registered in Belgium,” Kerry notes.

Citroën GS Birotor publicity photo
“Someone got it running in Belgium, and

then it was registered in Holland. There’s
a Facebook page called ‘Citroën Birotor’,
which I’ve joined. There was a guy on
there that I told this was now the third
country this car was registered in. He
replied to me that it was number five!”
Kerry’s car now appears to have been
registered in France, Belgium, Holland,
England, and now New Zealand. engine, so the rotary engine is hanging him to Palmerston North to drive a
“I bought it in the UK off a from the top. It has a three-speed C-Matic new car back to Tauranga.
Dutchman. It had been for sale for transmission, then the differential, which Kerry remembers, “Stu said, ‘See
a little while and, as I say, it was is pretty massive, and that unit belongs to that white one over there. That’s the
totally original,” he says. “It’s never a Citroën CX. The technology in this car latest Citroën GS.’ He said, ‘You can
been repainted, never had any trim for the ’70s is incredible.” take that back.’ I couldn’t believe the
or anything done, but it had been One major difference between a GS little thing. It was just so good. I ended
knocked around underneath a bit. and the Birotor was the brakes. Usually up buying one in France brand new
It had hit the ground a few times mounted inboard at the front next to and brought it back to New Zealand.
somewhere, and it had obviously been the differential in a normal GS, the While I was away, my old man had
given a pretty hard time.” disc brakes were now ventilated on a bought a Citroën DS23 EFI.”
Birotor and fitted out near the end of Kerry then bought a Citroën ZX,
MATCHING THE PARTS the driveshafts. followed by a Citroën C4, bought after
a trip to France in 2008. He later added
Although called a GS, the only things A PASSION FOR THE a DS3, then a Citroën Aircross. A 1973
interchangeable between the standard CHEVRON GS was purchased in 2010, and Kerry
GS and a GS Birotor are the four doors, rebuilt all the panel work. The GS
bonnet, and boot lid. The front guards “I was always a Citroën fan as a was used in a tour around Australia in
are different as are the rear guards. teenager,” says Kerry. “My old man came 2015, clocking up some 25,000km in
“The whole car is constructed so home with a pink Citroën ID19 he had two-and-half months with no issues.
differently,” Kerry says, “and it’s so heavy bought off [the agent] Stu Cranston in “I admit I was a bit scared of the
underneath. It has chassis rails actually Tauranga. We were teenagers, and we Birotor when I first got it,” he says. “It is
rolled to the floorpan underneath and the wouldn’t ride in a pink car. He had that a nice car to drive, and I enjoy it. I think
main chassis at the front is at the top of car for a quite a while.” there are now only about 40 running on
the mudguards. They couldn’t fit them Kerry was about to go on his big the road in the world in 15 countries.
under the engine as with the GS flat-four OE in 1971 and worked as a technician In Australia, one was built there as a
for Tauranga Motors, the Triumph and right-hand-drive one from new, which is
Massey-Fergusson dealer. unusual. New cars couldn’t be registered
“The technology His intention was to buy a if they were left-hand drive. Except for
Dolomite Sprint on his OE, but then the last five cars which were blue, all
in this car, for the Stu Cranston phoned his parents and Birotors are all various combinations of
asked if he was around, as he knew that the brown colours on mine or they are
’70s, is incredible” Kerry was about to leave and wasn’t one brown colour.”
working. Stu wanted Kerry to go with Kerry has always liked the unusual
little Citroën and can now enjoy a
rare slice of French motoring history.
One of the very few modifications
that he has made to this intriguing
and valuable little car was installing a
remote GPS-activated disabler.
Just arrived is a new chassis from
Belgium for his 2CV project that he
has underway.
“You’ve always got to have
something to do and keep yourself
busy, haven’t you?” he reckons.
Kerry never did get his Citroën
Birotor to the National Rally in
Wellington in March 2021. It was
cancelled due to the Covid-19
restrictions. He hopes to get to the
next one.

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Feature: MkVI Cooper 500
E R TH A N
RG LIF
A
L
E:
Rush collection
COOPER 500
This Cooper 500 has played a significant role in the birth of two
legendary motor sport teams at opposite ends of the earth
By Aaron Mai

T
he Cooper Car story was born workshop on the edge of London. REAR-ENGINE
out of a simple desire for thrill- Charles, John’s father, was already in REVOLUTION
seeking, yet ended with two the industry of servicing race cars.
Formula 1 (F1) World Championships. John would go on to become an The Coopers’ recipe for success was
In 1946, a father and son in auto-racing legend as his rear-engined for a stripped-out, lightweight car that
Surbiton, England, set out on a path chassis design revolutionised motor perfectly conformed to the new 500cc
that led to what is today a thriving sport at its highest levels. Cooper race rule book — now more commonly
UK industry in race car production. cars are no more, but the name lives known as Formula 3. The Cooper 500
John and Charles Cooper founded the on today on the hotter versions of was pivotal for many, as it gave
Cooper Car Company out of a small BMW Minis. everyday folk the opportunity to own

removed 25 pounds of weight from
the chassis alone. The MkVI was
65 pounds lighter than previous
examples overall thanks to the use of
magnesium Elektron for a number
of the components. The final-drive
casting, rear sprocket, rear uprights,
brake back plates, and the Burman
gearbox casing were all crafted from
magnesium Elektron. To combat the
issue of fuel surge, Cooper introduced
a new float-chamber support bracket,
allowing two separate float chambers
and drive a purpose-built single-seater this for the little Cooper 500. The
race car.
The humble Cooper was simple
engine was placed in the middle of the
car, driving a chain to the gearbox and
The MkVI was the
in its design, utilising the remains
of two Fiat 500s for front and rear
a second chain to the rear axle.
Our example is a MkVI
first to scrap the
suspension, a JAP speedway engine Cooper 500, introduced to the motor ladder-style frame
obtained through Charles’ connections, sport world in 1952. Throughout the
and a ladder-style frame. The package evolution of the different versions in favour of upper
was shrouded in a sleek and speedy of the Cooper 500, the MkVI was
all-aluminium body, making it every the first to scrap the ladder-style and lower chassis
inch the pukka race car. While the mid- frame in favour of two upper and
engine layout was not totally foreign lower longitudinal chassis tubes of tubes, saving 25
in motor sport, many race cars until 1½-inch diameter. Its improved
this time had adopted the traditional torsional rigidity meant softer springs pounds in weight
engine-up-front layout. John changed could be introduced. Doing this
Tim Rush (seated in the car) and his father Terry Rush

to be used, one on either side of the kid a favour. Imagine his delight in hands of Bill Lee. It was equipped
car. Originally, the car was offered seeing just how famous the McLaren with additional ‘long fuel tanks’
with either a JAP or Norton power name would become in the highest that allowed Lee to compete in the
plant from the factory, although this echelons of motor sport. This little 200-mile Grand Prix at Ardmore,
example now sports a 650cc Triumph Cooper played a small but who can tell where he finished in a credible
engine in the rear, which has been how significant a part in the legacy of ninth-place overall. At the time,
with the car since 1961. Bruce McLaren. many of the international F1 drivers
The Cooper found its way to spent the northern winter racing in
FIRST AMONG EQUALS New Zealand in late 1952 in the New Zealand’s summer motor sport
This little monoposto race machine is

known for being one of the earliest The car was offered with a JAP or Norton
purpose-built single-seaters to arrive in
New Zealand, yet it has an even more powerplant from the factory
interesting claim to fame.
In late 1955, a young up-and-
coming driver named Bruce McLaren
was racing at the Muriwai Hill Climb
in an Austin-Healey sports car. The
owner of the Cooper at the time,
Len Gilbert, had met Bruce a number
of times previously, and he offered
Bruce a drive in the Cooper at the end
of the day’s competition so he could
experience a true “purpose-built race
car” for the first time. Bruce replied
quickly with a “sure thing” and climbed
into the car just before the road was
to be reopened to the public. In Len’s
own words, “Bruce shot up the hill
and completed the run about a second
faster than my best time. My ego
suffered a crippling blow.”
At the time, Len was doing a young

programme, effectively allowing them taking it a bit closer to the quicker
to race all year round. This meant machinery that was creeping onto
The humble competition was stiff. The mixed grids the grids.
meant cars of much larger capacity Bill entered the car in the 1955
little Cooper were doing battle with the humble little New Zealand Grand Prix (NZGP).
gave a good Cooper, which still gave a good account
of itself on courses that allowed plenty
However, on the second lap he tangled
with two other cars and, despite
account of itself of four-wheel drifting. soldiering on, was forced to retire after
30 laps due to damage. Bill’s final event
on courses that GRAND AMBITION was at Ohakea with the Cooper; nearly
50 cars lined up in three rows, some 15
allowed plenty With events at venues such as Ohakea, abreast, on the runway of the airbase.
Ardmore, and unsealed hill climbs It was quite the swansong for his racing
of four-wheel under the Cooper’s belt, the car was a career.
proven and excellent base for racing. After Bill decided to hang up his
drifting It was later fitted with a 500cc Norton driving helmet and cotton overalls,
power plant, the more modern engine the car was transferred to the hands

It didn’t end well — a rollover into a
culvert finished with the car upside down
of Len Gilbert. Bill and Len settled and Stirling Moss, the NZGP had rapidly
on a sum of NZ£500 for the car and grown in status. After obtaining an FIA-
trailer, less motor. Len fitted a Manx accredited F1 licence, Len entered the
Norton engine and set out on a road Cooper alongside the famous overseas
test to see how the car behaved under entries. Hopes and excitement were
load and at full speed. It didn’t end naturally sky high, but everything came
well — a rollover into a culvert finished crashing down when, in qualifying, the
with the car upside down. Thankfully, car slid wide and clipped a marker drum
the only damage was panel related — full of water. A subsequent rollover and
plus of course to Len’s pride. It didn’t damage meant an early retirement for
take much to fix the car up, as the the Cooper. It did, however, capture the
following day Len entered the car in the limelight after a photographer shot the
Old Raglan Road hill climb, netting drama. The image was printed under
the quickest time of the day. a newspaper headline that, thankfully,
acknowledged Stirling’s win. At the
AUTOGRAPHED AT THE drivers prize-giving, a bemused Stirling Len, “Give me a pen and I will sign the
BOTTOM came up to Len and said, “I want to meet newspaper for you on the most valuable
the chap who got the front-page photo advertising space on any race car — the
Given the presence of the world’s when I won the race.” Both drivers had sump — because when it flips the whole
premium drivers such as Jack Brabham a good laugh about it and Stirling said to world gets to see it.”

The Cooper was campaigned for
a further two years until 1957, when
Len Gilbert sold it. The car passed
through a couple of sets of hands
before Alan Kerr purchased it in 1969
and held onto it until 2008. Alan gave
the Cooper some much-needed TLC,
which included crack testing the wheels,
suspension maintenance, straightening
and powder-coating the frame, and
refurbishing the alloy panels on the car.
With a clean bill of health, the little
Cooper continued on its merry way,
being driven and used in many vintage
events with merely a motor overhaul in
the 1980s. Nothing else has ever been
needed on the car. It did live for a time down to an Auckland freight company Terry then drove through the night to
in the Queenstown motor museum, near the airport. Terry discovered that Auckland. As the sun rose, Terry’s wife,
slotted fittingly in between Stirling Alan Kerr was the owner, and enquired Joy, was poised and ready at their local
Moss’s C-Type and a Cooper Bristol. about buying it. As it happens, it had bank to wire the funds through, and the
already been sold to a buyer in England deal was done. Terry now owned the only
A TWIST OF FATE but Terry had an inkling it was worth MkVI Cooper 500 in New Zealand.
hanging in there. The new owner Since then, the Cooper has been
Fast forward to 2008. Terry Rush, of clearly ran into difficulties finding demonstrated at Hampton Downs
Manawatu, was on his way to Auckland the cash and, after three months of and Pukekohe, most notably in 2010
to purchase a historic Austin 7, but a persistent but fruitless enquiries, Alan at the NZ Festival of Motor Racing
strange turn of fate meant that he didn’t called Terry late one Sunday night and Celebrating Bruce McLaren, adorned
end up owning it. He was aware of the asked if he still wanted it. with the number 47 in homage to the
existence of the Cooper and tracked it “Hell, yes” was the swift reply. late Bruce. Many of the early McLarens

wore the same number. Rest assured, see their like again. The ’50s was, after
Terry was asked by the Bruce McLaren all, the deadliest decade in motor sport The Bruce
Trust if he would like to put that racing history. And not just for drivers —
number on the car, in honour of its 1955 was also the year of the worst ever McLaren Trust
special connection with Bruce at the crash at Le Mans, when 84 people were asked if he would
start of his legendary career.
The little Cooper has served Terry
killed. Happily, this car evokes many
more fond memories in this part of the
like to put the
proudly: everything from its humble world. It is a time capsule that vividly racing number
origins at the start of one motoring
dynasty in the ’50s through to its
captures the glory, grit, and glamour of
Kiwi motor sport in its formative years.
47 on the car,
connection to another in New Zealand. If cars could talk, this one would in honour of its
The sheer purity of its design still turns undoubtedly have seat-of-the-pants special connection
heads today. The stripped-back essence tales from two poles of motor sport that
of the car and the lack of safety aids in could hardly be matched anywhere on with Bruce
that era tell their own story. We will not the globe.

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Feature: 1994 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R
Pulse-racing
Nineties nostalgia on fast forward: Ben Selby recalls the
way that these pocket-rocket Japanese domestic market
homologation specials turbocharged the boy racer scene
By Ben Selby

I
f you were to compile a list of 1990. This would pitch the GTI-R
legendary Nissan performance against the likes of Mazda’s 323 GTX
cars from the past 50 years, it GTR and the dominant Lancia Delta
would fill up fast with examples of Integrale. However, the sweet sensation
Datsun, Nissan, and Nismo heritage. of Group A rally victory would prove
There would be plenty of Z sports elusive for the Nissan camp, as the
cars, Silvias, Datsun roadsters, and GTI-R failed to win a single one, and
the mandatory lineage of the all- racked up just a smattering of podium
conquering GT-R. However, let’s not finishes throughout its Group A WRC
forget the Pulsar GTI-R! For a time it career.
was a hero to all Japanese performance It would be terribly unfair to
car fans throughout New Zealand. conclude from this that it was no good.
The Pulsar GTI-R, also known as Where the GTI-R shone was on the
the ‘Sunny’ GTI-R in overseas markets, road. It was essentially a scaled-down
was built as a homologation special hatch version of the Skyline R32
for Nissan to enter top-flight Group A GT-R. Godzilla’s mini-me, if you will.
in the World Rally Championship in Under the bonnet sat Nissan’s modified

Japanese market. Now, 15,000 is an there. Which brings us to this black
average amount as far as mainstream 1994 example.
Where the GTI-R shone car manufacturing goes, but for a When this GTI-R arrived
was on the road. It was ‘homologation special’ it’s rather a lot.
During the ’90s and ’00s, before the
at Christchurch dealership
Southern Specialist Cars, it caused
essentially a scaled-down change in import laws, New Zealand
was positively swamped with used
quite a stir in the Japanese domestic
market (JDM) enthusiasts and classic
hatch version of the Japanese direct market import GTI- car community. Many took time out of
Rs. This onslaught meant that every their day to see probably one of finest
Skyline R32 GT-R budding petrolhead could shortcut the and completely original GTI-Rs in
effort of building their own hot car and New Zealand. With a genuine 72,000km
pick up a rally-bred hot hatch for very on the clock, this GTI-R is a JDM and
SR20DET. The two-litre four-cylinder little money at all. Nismo lover’s find of a lifetime.
SR20 was already a common sight in Today things have changed. The Given the keen interest from
the Nissan range, although the GTI-R supply of factory examples has pretty prospective buyers, Southern Specialist’s
got a few tweaks by Nissan engineers. much dried up and many that remain Dan Chima’s invitation to “get in quick”
It got new throttle bodies, a slightly appear to be heavily modified examples prompted me to make a swift transition
bigger turbo, and a much larger in below-average condition. That said, to the seat behind the wheel, with the
intercooler. As a result, power was rated there are still factory-spec gems out goal of taking this icon for a strop.
at a decent 162kW and 284Nm of
torque. Couple this with a five-speed
manual gearbox and all four wheels
providing the drive and the little
GTI-R was capable of cracking 100kph
from a standstill in 5.3 seconds. To put
that into perspective, a Porsche 911
Carrera 2 could do the same sprint
in 5.2 seconds. Pretty brisk for today
but back in the early ’90s that was
supercar-slaying stuff.
HOMOLOGATION
SPECIALS HEAD HERE
From 1990 to 1994, Nissan managed
to churn out a whopping 15,000
GTI-Rs, many of these just for the

A R s t s
‘DON’T SWEAT C a l i
ER e c i
OVER PARTS’ D p
U S
N
WHANGAREI . HENDERSON . PENROSE . HAMILTON . PALMERSTON NORTH . LOWER HUTT . CHRISTCHURCH
PULSES RACING
Seeing the GTI-R for the first time, all
the memories came flooding back. The
last time I saw a GTI-R up close was
nigh on 10 years ago, and that example
was bursting at the seams with massive
exhausts, alloys, and a far-from-factory
paint scheme. Many GTI-Rs that
arrived in New Zealand over the years
fell under the influence of the ‘Fast and
Furious’ modifying scene of the ’00s, so
to see one just as it left the factory was
something I hadn’t expected.
The GTI-R sits quite low — way
lower than I remembered. It also ticks
all the JDM hot-hatch boxes: rear deck interior design. Lots of black on black gauges above the heater and air-
spoiler, sports exhaust, and a motley vinyl aiming to look softer than it is, conditioning controls. While it is still
crew of bonnet scoops and intakes to with hints of grey. As is usual for many perfectly capable of fetching the weekly
allow that SR20DET four-pot some homologation specials, the cabin itself shopping, thanks to the boot space and
extra breathing room, alongside the is not remarkable — it’s very much rear seats, there is so much more go
bigger intercooler. in keeping with the standard Pulsar than there is on show.
Hopping inside is very much a of the era. Just one big clue: the oil In this car, with the exception of
nostalgic journey into ’90s Japanese level, temperature, and turbo boost an aftermarket JVC stereo system and

period aftermarket Momo steering purposeful in your hands. Reactions left the cruise — although many have
wheel, everything is 1994 factory spec. and right are met with quick responses spent most of their lives pottering
It even sports original Nissan Pulsar from the front wheels. The steering is along New Zealand’s city streets. It isn’t
floor mats. not razor sharp, but the fact that there long before we see how it earned the
Turn the key and the GTI-R wakes ‘Baby Godzilla’ tag, as the SR20DET’s
up, emitting a subdued four-pot turbo boost increases, the revs rise, and
burble, and the sports exhaust fires off a
signature WRC-inspired bark when you
As the horizon the GTI-R gets into its stride. Feed
in the power from second gear and it
flex your right foot. First gear selected, accelerates towards pulls strongly, with most of the boost
and we are away. The five-speed us, the vented kicking in above 3500rpm. Exceed this
manual box has a somewhat longer and you can really cover ground, even
throw than the likes of a R32 GT-R or nostrils on the by today’s performance car standards.
Mazda MX-5, but it is still a direct and bonnet rise and As the horizon accelerates towards
responsive shift. us, the vented nostrils on the bonnet
dip with every rise and dip with every application of
SPORTS HANDLING application of accelerator and brakes.
The GTI-R’s sporting intentions

accelerator and While the GTI-R does seem to
run out of puff beyond 6500rpm, if
become obvious after a few minutes. brakes you keep it in the ‘power zone’ —
The low stance equates to a distinctly between 3500rpm and 6000rpm — it
performance-orientated ride. It’s is certainly no slouch. The turbo is a
not jarring and it’s by no means is a minimal amount of play allows you smaller offering than that on the full-fat
uncomfortable on a short drive, but to enjoy accurate placement on a cruise GT-R, which is a bonus as the lag that
every bump is transmitted faithfully to without fear of darting too far left or plagued a number of turbocharged
those within. right by accident. Japanese cars from the ’80s and ’90s is
The small Momo steering wheel feels However, the GTI-R is not about almost non-existent.

1994 NISSAN
PULSAR GTI-R
Engine Straight four, SR20DET
Capacity 1998cc
Bore/Stroke 86mm/86mm
Valves DOHC, 16
Comp. ratio 8.3:1
GREEN-EYED MONSTERS a morning tootling around the greater Max power 169kW at 6400rpm
Max torque 284Nm at 4800rpm
Christchurch area in this mint example
Dialled back to a motorway cruise, attracted a few green-eyed stares. Most Fuel system Turbo with intercooler,
fuel-injected
the GTI-R sits comfortably at the of these seemed to come from people
Transmission Five-speed manual with
national New Zealand open-road limit who, like me, hadn’t seen a GTI-R overdrive, AWD, limited-
at 2850rpm. Better open-road economy in years, and probably not in such ship diff
would require a sixth gear or wider ratios condition. While some may look at the Suspension, F/R Independent strut / Strut
with parallel link
— then again, a GTI-R was designed to GTI-R and think of it as nothing more
push high revs at high speeds. It wasn’t than a glorified shopping cart, those in Steering Servo-assisted
supposed to be a long-haul grand tourer. the know will see it for what it really Brakes, F/R Ventilated disc / Disc,
ABS
The seats are very supple and is: a glorified shopping cart designed to
Dimensions:
supportive, with plenty of lateral compete at the white-hot end of Group
Length 3975mm
support — for which you become A rallying.
Width 1690mm
grateful once you wind up that turbo By the time you read this, it is likely
four-cylinder in the twisty stuff. this amazing Nissan Pulsar GTI-R — Height 1400mm
In said twisty stuff, you are cornering even at around $55K — will be safely Wheels 14 inch
pretty much flat much of the time. The tucked away in someone’s garage or Wheelbase 2430mm
all-wheel drive keeps it out of that hedge even in a collection. It is a seriously fun Weight 1230kg
and still gives plenty of grip, with a slow car, whichever way you look at it. It’s Performance:
build-up of understeer reminding me that quick; responsive; and today, as more 0–100kph 5.4 seconds
I am no Stig Blomqvist. people have the means to relive their Top speed 232kph
The GTI-R is very much about youth through what was then their
carrying as much speed as you can dream car, it is quickly joining the ranks
through a corner and having enough of the A80 Supra, the Subaru Impreza
traction for you to ride that wave of 22B and the Toyota Celica ST205
torque and boost out again. GT4. In other words, today’s Nissan
As we have established, a Pulsar Pulsar GTI-R is a lot better than money
GTI-R is a rare sight these days, and in the bank, and a lot more fun too.
... a glorified shopping cart designed for the

white-hot end of Group A rallying

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Feature: 2000 Chevrolet Corvette
CORVETTE’S
SECOND WIND
The C5, the Corvette General Motors did not want to build,
saved the name and paved the way to a long-cherished mid-
engined version nearly 20 years later
By Patrick Harlow

A
fter years of travelling around
the country looking at people’s
cars, I can honestly say, “Life
is like a box of chocolates, you never
know what you are going to get until T
u
you open the garage door.” Arriving c
in Huntly and seeing Luke Burnside’s
black, fifth-generation C5 Corvette for
the first time, I knew I had discovered
a very tasty chunk of automotive
chocolate.
Chevrolet built the C5 Corvette Luke Burnside
from 1997 until 2004. The car was
revolutionary both in performance and GM management was not willing to
in technology. Most importantly, it invest huge sums developing a car that
gave General Motors the sales figures appeared to have fallen out of favour. The Corvette was
it needed to ensure the Corvette’s
survival. However, the C5 would not
The Corvette was teetering on the
edge of extinction; it could go one of
teetering on the edge
have existed had it not been for the three ways, and GM management was of extinction; it could
passion of Chevrolet’s general manager leaning heavily towards option one:
and a few others. 1. Discontinue the Corvette and go one of three ways
From the late ’80s through to the focus on more profitable models
’90s, the General Motors group was 2. Build it under a different GM and GM management
struggling to avoid bankruptcy. The
fourth-generation Corvette, known as
brand. A suggestion was to call it the
GM Corvette. was leaning heavily
the C4, was not making any money,
and Corvette sales were in a slump.
3. Make the next model faster,
handle better, and more refined.
towards discontinuing
it to focus on more
profitable models

Basic spec interior lets the side down
CORVETTE UNDER THREAT WIGGLE ROOM develop a completely new Corvette.

Even worse, many of the design
Work on the C4 replacement had Using the upswing in sales as leverage, team had left the Corvette sinking
started in 1988 with an intended 1992 and knowing he was swimming against ship and sought employment
introduction date. Chevrolet general the tide, Jim did some serious hocus- elsewhere. Critically, Corvette chief
manager Jim Perkins, a Corvette pocus with the Chevrolet books in an engineer Dave McLellan – Zora
enthusiast, knew he was on thin ice so attempt to keep the Corvette going. Arkus-Duntov’s replacement – had
he asked GM for a budget of only $247 What followed was months of delayed taken early retirement after years
million to develop the next Corvette. decisions, budget changes, personnel of campaigning for a mid-engined
Reluctantly, GM management gave changes, and personal battles. Finally, Corvette and suffering the let-down
him $100 million. That may sound like in 1993, a year after the car was of being told it was never going to
a lot of money to outsiders but it’s not supposed to have debuted, the C5 happen.
compared with the $1.2 billion budget Corvette was given the green light for Despite all this, those that
used in the development of the VE production, and Jim was given a total remained had been quietly
Holden Commodore that debuted in budget of around $250 million. continuing with the development of
2006. This was not nearly enough to the new car. Due to the low budget,
By 1991, Chevrolet was losing
$1000 on every Corvette sold and
sales had almost halved since the
introduction of the C4 in 1984. These
Chevrolet general manager Jim Perkins
were now hovering around 20,000
units a year, which did not compare
did some serious hocus pocus to keep the
well with their other sports car and now
flagship model, the Chevrolet Camaro,
Corvette going
which had annual sales of around
100,000 units. The following year GM
High tech features included a head-up display
would report a $24 billion loss to its
shareholders.
With such dark clouds on the
horizon, GM management made
the decision to stop production of
the Corvette at the end of 1991. Jim
Perkins was not prepared to give up
Chevrolet’s halo car without a fight. In
a make-or-break decision, Chevrolet
raised the price for the C4 Corvette by
20 per cent, expecting sales to decrease
further, but at least they would be
making a profit. Then, surprisingly,
sales went up.

some creative decisions had been
made. Chevrolet approached many of
its outside suppliers with a new deal. The only component carried over from the
They would design, develop, and test
a component at next to no cost. If C4 was the automatic gearbox. Everything
Chevrolet liked the result then they
would become the supplier of that else was a ground-up redesign
component for the new Corvette. An
example of the success of this policy
was the new rear-mounted gearbox have a rear-mounted transmission and Into this was inserted the re-
and transaxle. had the lowest drag coefficient of almost engineered and now legendary
The launch date for the car was any production car in the world at 0.29. all-aluminium Chevrolet 350 cubic-
pushed back to 1994, then 1995, The C4 had a drag coefficient of 0.34. inch (5.7-litre) V8. It was called
and finally 1996. Meanwhile, the C4 A couple of things that at first the LS1 and was rated as being able
was given a quick facelift and sales glance appeared to be old tech were to do 160,000km without serious
staggered on. After eight years in the car’s ‘wooden’ floor and transverse servicing. In 1997, the base Corvette
development, the C5 Corvette made leaf springs front and rear. In fact, had 260kW on tap (345bhp) and
its debut in January 1997. this was old tech reinvented. The leaf could be propelled to the legal speed
springs were a composite plastic, giving limit in just under five seconds. If
LONGER, WIDER, LIGHTER handling superior to cars that had the loud pedal was held to the floor
gone before and the ability to corner the needle would tap out at 270kph
At the C5’s launch, it was hard to at 1g. The floorplan used balsa wood (170mph) — that was supercar
see evidence of its troubled gestation sandwiched between two layers of performance for less than $40,000.
or where the budget had been cut, fibre-reinforced plastic. The composite In today’s figures, that’s US$65k and
despite using 1500 fewer parts in its fibreglass and plastic body sat on NZ$90k.
manufacture than the C4. The only a new steel backbone chassis, with When the design team asked for
component carried over from the C4 upper-chassis components made from another $40 million to design the
into the C5 was the automatic gearbox. extruded aluminium and magnesium. interior of the car, they were turned
Everything else had been a ground-up When coupled with the balsa wood down, which explains one of the
redesign. The new car was longer and floor pan, the car was four times more common complaints about the
wider than the model it replaced but stiffer than the previous generation — C5 — the quality of the interior and
50kg lighter. It was the first GM car to extremely rigid and exceptionally light. cheap-looking off-the-shelf parts.
Downmarket fascia belies Bose audio

The new all alloy LS1 was
designed to do 160,000km
without servicing
CLASS LEADER
Despite these criticisms, the Corvette
car also had a number of hi-tech
whistles and beeps such as a head-up-
display (HUD) on the windscreen, dual
climate control, electrically operated
memory-positioning soft-leather seats,
ABS, and adjustable traction control.
Although the car had a radio that was
used in many GM cars, behind it was
a Bose-amplified stereo system with a
12-pack CD player in the boot, which
would have been great had Chevrolet
not skimped on the cabin’s sound
deadening material to save weight.
GM also saved weight in the spare
wheel. The Corvette does not have
one. Under the cavernous hatch is a compared to the C4 and remained Getting back to Huntly, Luke
very small boot that contains the CD consistent throughout its production Burnside, and his Corvette: Luke had
changer and an electric air compressor life. This car was so good that GM took always wanted a Mustang but he had
with some liquid puncture repair. it to Le Mans, and it won its class four been born into a Corvette family and
This arrangement, along with the new times in a row. had to give up swimming against the
transaxle, ensured the 50-50 front-rear Interestingly, it was the last mass- tide. His father bought the 1979 third-
weight distribution dreamed of in some production car to have pop-up generation C3 Corvette the same year
mid-engine cars. headlights, taking that honour from the that 15-year-old Luke got his driving
In its first year, sales for the car Lotus Esprit (1976–2004) by only a licence. Twenty years on, his father
increased by over 50 per cent when couple of months. still has that Corvette but Luke was

It was the last production
car to have pop-up
headlights, outlasting the it was a whole different story. The C3
had been stifled and strangled by the
Since 1981, all Corvettes have been
made at the Bowling Green factory in
Lotus Esprit by a couple emissions-control legislation of its era,
but the C5 was from a modern and
Kentucky, USA. The Corvette Luke
purchased had been sold new to Japan
of months much more enlightened time. The with Japanese specifications. This had
performance and handling of the C5 the advantage of having headlights and
was unmatched by any car Luke had taillights that met right-hand-drive
ever driven before, and certainly better requirements despite being left-hand
not allowed to drive it until he turned than most Mustangs of the same era. drive. The dashboard gauges were metric
30. This did not bother him as he was Now seriously interested, he started and the speedometer went up to 300kph.
more interested in Mustangs. That all scanning the second-hand columns (US cars, being calibrated in mph, only
changed when his mother upgraded her and could not believe how cheap a car go up to 200). Japanese Corvettes are
C3 Corvette (yes, she had one too), to with this degree of technology and often in better condition than their US
the more reliable C5 Corvette. Oh, and performance was. With prices ranging counterparts as they are generally not
his uncle also owns a C4 Corvette. from $22k–$28k, it gave more ‘bang driven as everyday cars, resulting in a
When his father eventually let for your buck’ than any of the similarly lower figure on the odometer.
him drive his C3, Luke had enough priced competition. Even better, it had This is a car Luke has no intention
experience with cars to decide it was a proven record of reliability and was of selling, and on a nice day it is not
OK but nothing to write home about relatively cheap to fix with plenty of unusual for him to drive it from Huntly
— or probably even discuss with Dad. aftermarket and remanufactured parts to his job at Ardmore, a round trip of
But when he drove his mother’s C5, available. at least two hours.

Feature: Classic West Coast road trip
Part two: West Coast triangle
Westward Ho
— the great
Kiwi road trip
Australia is all well and good if you are hankering to travel but
why not combine two great pastimes and show your classic car
a bit more of Godzone?
By Vaughan Wilson

T
he West Coast has had a the junction of the West Coast’s
challenging past. Gold and State Highway (SH) 6 and SH7,
then coal drew in white settlers after the road from the Lewis
and it was also exploited for its native Pass turns south-west at Reefton.
timbers. Its weather can be described Hokitika is more easily accessed
as ‘untamed with a dash of rain’. And from Arthur’s Pass, SH73. This
wow, can it rain. At the Cropp River makes a fantastic full-day triangle
in the Hokitika catchment rain of highway roads, challenging hill
gauges recorded 18,000mm in a climbs, and winding corners through
single year. That’s right, 18m — and beautiful vistas, with deviations to
typically it records 12m in a given places like Hanmer Springs along
12-month period. That is wet. the way.
The West Coast has always Now I have to confess, we
attracted tourists but historically cheated. This was supposed to be
most of them were just passing a classic car adventure but we flew
through from the Fox and Franz Josef from Wellington to Westport and
Glaciers. That is changing for the grabbed a rental car. This is because I
better. The West Coast is becoming had limited time. I live in the capital
a destination in its own right, helped and I had an energetic two-year-old
by its amazing beauty, the fantastic and similarly energetic wife with me,
things to do and see, and cycling both of who did not want to take
opportunities. one of our classic cars on a road trip
Greymouth is positioned at — with me.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN Adjacent is the Carnegie Building. crayfish. The eels, many of which are
This is the library, or former library, as over 80 years old, can be fed three times
So we drove to Hokitika, got our it is closed due to being earthquake- a day and are massive. This place is an
Airbnb old cottage on the outskirts of prone. Carnegie, as in Carnegie Hall excellent example of Kiwiana and how
town on Woodstock-Rimu Road, and in New York, was Andrew Carnegie, a tourism used to feel. It is fantastic and
settled in for a fun-filled week. We Scot who made a massive fortune in the well worth the visit.
travelled in February — the weather US in steel in the late 1800s and early The Hokitika Gorge Department
was largely sunny; reliable; and most 1900s. He competed against some of of Conservation (DOC) walk has
important, not wet. When we had the wealthiest men of the day to be the been a favourite for many years but a
rain I considered changing my name richest and then in the twilight of his recent upgrade means that this walk
to Noah and looking for a hammer life competed again to give it away. is now a loop. A very large car park
and some timber. The house we rented Carnegie was responsible for the is the starting point for this amazing
literally had the Hokitika River 10m construction of 2509 libraries, most of excursion some 20 minutes from
from the back door. It changed from a them in the US but many in the UK, Hokitika in the east. The addition
quiet, meandering body of water and a Canada, Australia (only four — maybe includes a very impressive swing bridge
large collection of rocks to a turbulent the demand wasn’t there), and 18 in and beautifully designed and built
torrent, six times wider, carrying logs New Zealand. The Hokitika building timber walkways that purposely curve
and other debris. is a beautiful and ornate single-level through the bush above the river,
Hokitika is cute, not unlike many concrete building. We hope it will be providing amazing viewpoints of the
of New Zealand’s rural towns, with strengthened and reopened. brilliant milky blue of the glacially fed
a supermarket, coffee shops, the odd waters below.
chain shop, and an eclectic mix of KIWIS OF ALL KINDS Nearby is the poignant memorial
tourist-based retailers. In this case the to the seven victims of New Zealand’s
two main items for sale are jade and Nearby is The National Kiwi Centre first mass murderer — Stanley Graham
possum products. And there are lots where you can get up close and in 1941. The memorial stands at
of them. personal with local wildlife including the roadside to what was Graham’s
A couple of things to note. The giant eels, kiwi, tuatara, whitebait, and property where he carried out his
former fire station has been converted
to five-star accommodation called, in
the no-nonsense West Coast style, the The West Coast is becoming a destination in
Fire Station. We talked to someone
who had just stayed there and he could
its own right, helped by its amazing beauty
not praise it enough. He thought it was and the fantastic things to do and see
worthy of 10 stars.
Hokitika Gorge

Truman Track Beach
terrible deeds. It is worth the stop and day, being day one — or day four
to read the plaques. A minute drive depending on your direction — from
Lake Kaniere is a short excursion. It
is a stunning lake surrounded by hills
from our rented Hokitika to Ross. To make things even
easier we rode just halfway and then
and some farmland. Pockets of cribs accommodation is turned round and came back — total
hug parts of its foreshore. It is possible the Woodstock Pub, distance around 34km.
to drive around much of the lake but
much of this is gravel, which might
an amazing brew TWO-WHEEL TIME
be a no-no for some classic cars. This pub and restaurant,
trip is not complete without seeing from which even We rented bikes from Wilderness Trail
Dorothy Falls, an impressive multi-level the hungriest Shuttle which had a large warehouse of
waterfall close to the road.
trucker would walk hundreds of bikes and e-bikes to pick
from and, in our case, a baby seat too.
WALKING PACE away content We left its premises and a short ride led
us to the bike and walking lane on the
Alternatively a visit to the north end of SH6 bridge over the Hokitika River. At
the lake on sealed roads will whet the locals and visitors alike, it benefits from the end of the bridge was a kilometre
appetite. At the Sunny Bight Road end being on the secondary road south or two of meandering trails leading to
a four-hour hike to the south end of which also leads to Treetops. a marked crossing across the highway
the lake begins. If that sounds like hard Just 200m up the road on the right,
work the 10-minute Kahikatea Forest travelling south, is a contender for the
Walk will surely be a delight. Kahikatea world’s smallest tourist sign, declaring
make up one of the five common the Woodstock Glow Worm Dell.
species of podocarp forests — others Behind the bank is a small entrance to
being matai, rimu, miro, and totara — a cave which leads to a dell created by
and are the tallest of New Zealand trees. former gold mining — it’s well worth a
A second walk in the area is the night-time visit to see bioluminescent
Canoe Cove, accessed via a track worms in all their glory. There is a more
which begins at the carpark opposite well-known glow-worm dell on the
the Hans Bay Road / Milltown Road main road of Hokitika, just north of
junction. This walk leads through dense the town along a short walk, which is
stands of rimu and kahikatea forest to a also well worth the effort.
sheltered sandy beach. It is suitable for The West Coast Wilderness Trail,
picnics and swimming. a four-day bike trail, has been the
Just a minute drive from our rented latest addition to the things to do
accommodation is the Woodstock Pub, on the Coast. It starts (or finishes) at
an amazing brew pub and restaurant, Greymouth at the north and Ross at
from which even the hungriest trucker the south. Given we had a two-year-
Tunnel Terrace walk exit
would walk away content. Popular with old on board we chose the flattest

and into the Mananui Tramline.
Technically the tramline exited to the
highway further south but as part of the
Wilderness Trail they extended it north.
The Tramline is an amazing trail
through native podocarp forest
and the pathway was in excellent
condition with raised timber bridges
and pathways. It was originally
constructed over 100 years ago for a
light rail tramway to haul logs from
the area. What is left is a beautiful
and easily accessible method of
biking or walking around 9km to the
Woodstock-Rimu Road. There are
plenty of historic signboards to read
on the way with interesting history.
The adjacent Lake Mahinapua was
used as part of a waterway with local
streams to also move logs and other
goods and now used for recreation. A
short walk from the tramline leads to
the shores of the lake — perfect for
a picnic.
At the southern end is a short 2km
ride to the West Coast Treetop Walk &
Café. Modelled on four similar walks in
Australia and constructed by the same
group, this $7.7 million investment
provides a loop walk 50m or so in
the air on steel walkways high above
the forest floor and in and amongst
mature podocarp forest. It is a marvel
of engineering sitting on DOC land
so part of your entry fee also goes to
DOC. At the entrance is a large car park
and cafe (on private land) that provides
excellent food and refreshments. There
were even a barbecue and a band
playing when we were there.
After touring the foliage we simply West Coast Wilderness Trail
mounted our bikes and retraced our
ride back to Hokitika. No need for a
shuttle or a set time for pick-ups. didn’t attempt but the Tunnel Terrace transport that you meet along the way.
Just south of the crossing on SH6 is well signposted with its own carpark We stopped at Pancake Rocks,
for the tramline on the coast side of and an entrance and exit beginning one of the West Coast’s favourite
the road is the Mananui Bush Walk, a and ending with tunnels. The walk is tourist spots. This is a DOC site
short walk through pristine bush and a pleasant saunter through old gold- and there is an excellent DOC office
forest to the beach. Coming from the mining works and past banks of rock providing information along with
southern North Island it is unusual to that were sluiced for gold. The tunnels cafes and a convenience store. The
have such forest so close to the beach. are tight so if you are claustrophobic car parking is good. You cross the
If you only do one short walk on the this may not be for you. highway and enter a looped walk out
West Coast this should be it. We spent a day travelling north past to the Pancake Rocks. It is certainly a
Greymouth on SH6 and experienced pilgrimage for every New Zealander
TUNNEL VISION some amazing coastal vistas rivalling to do at least once in their lifetime
the famous Big Sur Highway 1 in and the rock formations are fantastic.
However there is another worthy California although the colours are They’re best seen at low tide when the
walk: the Tunnel Terrace Walk north very different. The road is in great rushing sea creates drama as it pushes
of town on Stafford Loop Road. Here condition and is wide enough to up violently through atriums carved
there are several longer walks that we accommodate the various forms of out over millennia.

Just north is a large cave easily
accessible and worth a 10-minute
exploration. Further north is the
Truman Track, a DOC walk down
from the highway to the beach below.
The car parking is less developed so be
careful of passing highway traffic, but
the short walk is very worth the effort
and the beach (also best enjoyed at
low tide) is beautiful. The cliffs afford
a completely different experience from
regular New Zealand beaches and are
another example of what we have here
in Godzone.
Leaving Hokitika we spent a night
at Lake Brunner. Also a favourite with
locals and Cantabrians for holidays, the
lake is surrounded by mountains and is
home to numerous short- and medium-
length walks, at least one glow-worm
dell, and two clusters of homes — one
called Moana with the Lake Brunner
Hotel and Pub, and Cashmere Bay
with large, expensive homes and
Aldamere Lodge.
We stayed at Moana at the hotel
and did some local exploring. The view
across the lake is amazing and best
viewed early in the morning. A nearby
walk across a swing bridge over the
exiting Arnold River is a great loop
through forest and an easy 30-minute
meander. The lake is also unusual,
Hokitika Gorge walkway
as it is the only lake I know of in
New Zealand with a railway running
along its foreshore at Moana. The daily for the railways cutting a rail route
Tranz Alpine runs in both directions and then manning shunting yards and
once a day each way along with freight stations. Small communities sprung up
trains, and it is an interesting site to and still exist, albeit smaller than their
see how they combined rail, a sailing earlier years.
club, water access, and houses in a On the day we went through the
relatively small area. It all seems to Coast to Coast triathlon race was
work without fanfare. making us appreciate our comfort even
more as competitors and their support
TRAINING PAYS OFF crews bashed a similar route across the
South Island. At the campsite for the
At this point we took the Tranz Alpine two-day competitors Portaloos were
to Christchurch. I would highly everywhere, as were tents, bikes on cars,
recommend it. The trains are excellent and tired and weary competitors.
with comfortable seats, large windows The train rolls out into Canterbury
to take in the views, great staff, a full-on which offers completely different
cafe onboard, and audio on earphones views from the mountains we had just
providing information en route as the traversed. A visit to Orana Wildlife
train moves along. Park before flying home was a great way
The trip begins at sea level and to end this wild West Coast journey.
follows the Greymouth River before Hokitika and the West Coast have
edging into the mountains with several so much to offer, to see, and to explore,
stops allowing a stretch of the legs. One so jump in your classic car, head to
can only consider the lonely and cold the Coast, and see it before the foreign
The West Coast Treetop Walk
existence of our early pioneers working tourists come back.

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www.autotechservices.co.nz 03-313 5802
Kits and Pieces

MURTAYA
company put it into production, calling
it the Murtaya.
INNER STRENGTH
The name ‘Murtaya’ is derived from
IN BLACK
the surnames of the company’s three
directors’ surnames, ‘Mur’ from
Daniel Muir, ‘ta’ from Tom Taylor,
and ‘ya’ from Neil Yates. Lots of other
possibly less clunky combinations
were possible but Daniel Muir’s
name came first, as the car’s chief
designer had had, in the past, a hand
in designing the Lotus Elise and some
Sadly, the Murtaya’s makers wound up in Aston Martin models. Interestingly,
once the car had been named, the
the red, but they created one of world’s directors discovered that the word
‘Murtaya’ means ‘inner strength’ in
best and most affordable composite Latin — quite apt considering its
fibreglass monocoque chassis with no
cars — a car that a deserving few still steel bracing.
Adrenaline kept with the Delfino
appreciate Feroce premise of using a single
Subaru as the donor car. The premise
was to take a rally-proven road car
By Patrick Harlow and make it better. The Subaru WRX
being the car of choice, although
F
ibreglass monocoque cars are and steel components were known builders could choose any pre-1998
exceedingly rare and seldom to detach themselves from the body Subaru Impreza. The body tub of the
attempted by mass-production at inopportune times. During the Murtaya has been torsion-tested and
car companies. In recent times, some mid ’80s, New Zealand manufactured a found not only to exceed the standard
hyper-cars have been produced with fibreglass monocoque car — the Heron required but also to be stiffer than the
a high carbon-fibre component MJ1. Twenty-six of these turnkey cars donor Subaru car.
and priced accordingly, but most were built by Heron Developments The Impreza donated virtually all
manufacturers have stayed away from in Rotorua, which used glue-bonding the mechanical parts, instrumentation,
using a glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), techniques learnt in the development of and wiring loom. Only the steering
also known as ‘fibreglass’, for the sole a crop-spraying vehicle. shaft and driveshaft required slight
body/chassis medium (monocoque). One of the last companies to attempt alteration. Front and rear Subaru
Lotus was one of the first with building a car using solely this medium subframes could be bolted directly on
the 1957 Lotus Elite. Just over 1000 was UK-based Adrenaline Motorsport. to the fibreglass body tub. Parts that
cars were manufactured. However, Adrenaline Motorsport had bought a were not Subaru were manufactured in
understanding the engineering qualities one-off car called the Delfino Feroce house and included with the kit, such
of GRP was still a work in progress, and, after updating the styling, the as doors, hinges, and window glass.

he was not fixing or repairing Subarus,
he was out rallying them in the vain
attempt to see if they would break.
After building and rallying several
Subaru cars, he knew them inside out.
Naturally, he was always looking for
ways to make them go faster, which
led to shedding weight. Les briefly
toyed with the idea of building the
Saker SVS, a kit car manufactured in
Feilding using Subaru parts. But that
was more of a track car than a street
or rally car. Wanting to build a car
that he could also rally, Les started to
build his own space frame to attach
the Subaru components to when a
friend, Matthew Winters, showed him
a picture of the Murtaya, which was
launched midway through 2006. It was
the British kit car of the year in 2007.
Matthew was already enthusiastic
about the car and the pair decided
to investigate further. This resulted
in a trip to the factory in Cornwall,
England, during 2008. Here, they
had the opportunity of seeing the
prototype in action. The car was
beyond their expectations, so much
so that Matthew and Les decided
to take it further than just buying
one kitset car. Given the popularity
of the Subaru in New Zealand, Les
believed that they would be able to
ADDING LIGHTNESS The Murtaya is around 300kg lighter than

Not surprisingly, fitting even basic the Subaru, giving it a superb power-to-
shopping basket Impreza parts into weight ratio, and access to a multitude of
the Murtaya’s lightweight fibreglass aftermarket go-faster bits
monocoque resulted in a car that was
superior to the donor car in almost
every aspect. The Murtaya is around
300kg lighter than the Subaru, giving
it a superb power-to-weight ratio. The
builder of the car also has access to
a multitude of aftermarket go-faster
bits, giving the base two-litre flat-four
Subaru engine the potential to produce
as much as 300kW. Adding the Subaru
all-wheel-drive system into the mix
gives you a great-looking sports car
with performance to match.
This car was sold internationally
through outlets in the Netherlands, US,
and New Zealand.
Which brings us to the quiet town
of Rangiora, just a few kilometres north
of Christchurch. Les Summerfield is
the CEO of Autotech Services. When

easier. Their suggestions were taken on
board and changes were made to the
production cars.
The demonstrator was actually the
second turnkey car finished in Rangiora,
the first car going to a customer in
Auckland. Both cars sailed through
Low Volume Vehicle certification while
a third car was sold as a kit in a box.
Things were looking pretty good for the
small Rangiora company. During the
build, Les and Matthew devised some
sell a large number of Murtayas, with missing were the doors, as the parent modification to future proof the car that
possibly a few sales going across the company had still not finalised them enabled even a brand new 2009 Subaru
ditch to Australia, too. Les impressed for production. This was the first hint to be used as the donor car.
the Adrenaline Motorsport directors that possibly all things were not good They received a lot of enquiries but
with his in-depth knowledge of the back in England. Les and Matthew got were unable to close the deal, as many
donor car, and they agreed to ship on with building their demonstrator, thought it was too expensive for what it
kits to New Zealand to be sold either but as the months passed with still was. At the time, the pound was worth
as turnkey cars or as kits in boxes. A no doors in sight, they wondered if about three of our dollars, making the
shipping container could hold up to they had made a bad call. Fortunately, British components quite expensive.
three cars in bits, which is about the Adrenaline Motorsport came through The price of a turnkey car was similar
number of cars that Les believed they for them; the doors arrived, and they to that of a Porsche 919. Although it
could build at any one time. were able to complete the demonstrator had the performance to better than
shown in these pictures. Les and match it, the Murtaya was a hard sell,
OPEN CONCEPT Matthew kept in touch with the parent as it was unknown, despite its Subaru
company throughout the build and underpinnings, in this country. Kiwis
The first body tub arrived in were able to tell Murtaya of ways to seem to have developed an inbuilt
New Zealand in 2008. The only parts improve the car to make the build scepticism for any cars made locally.

OTHER OPTIONS
After a bit of head-scratching, Les and
Matt decided that one of the best ways
to reduce the price was to manufacture
the body under licence here. Late in
2009, they entered into a discussion
with Adrenaline Motorsport about
purchasing the car outright, including
moulds and jigs. The deal never went
ahead as Adrenaline, being under a
financial cloud, declared itself bankrupt
before the discussions had concluded,
effectively putting the New Zealand
Murtaya out of production.
The use of the

WRX drivetrain
gives stunning
performance.
Twice I nearly
asked him to stop
so that I could go
back and retrieve but on each occasion we came to a was used instead of the standard WRX
my stomach tight corner and having my heart in cluster. The car has a removable hardtop,
my mouth made me forget about it. which comes with its own heated glass
The cornering grip generated by the rear window. Even though it was an early
In addition to the three four-wheel drive gives the Murtaya production car, the fit and finish was
New Zealand cars, about 45 had been simply astonishing ground-covering generally excellent, with only a minor
made in the UK. Two more attempts ability. Added to that was the backing rattle from the side windows.
were made by other companies to get soundtrack that can only be generated Now in its second decade, the
the car back into production. but only by a Subaru flat-four engine. Murtaya is still a great-looking
another 10 or so cars were produced. The demonstrator was built to rally motorcar. Filling up with petrol
Having been burned once, Les and spec, as Les and Matt thought that always takes a while, as there is always
Matthew stayed clear of it. would be their principal market, hence somebody asking what it is and wanting
Over a decade later, Les still owns a digital aftermarket instrument cluster to hear the back story.
the demonstrator. The only thing
that has been changed is the engine,
upgraded from the 2.5-litre to a two-
litre motor, which Les believes is the
better engine. These days, the car is
driven regularly, albeit not without
the occasional tweaking as Les reckons
that he can still make it go faster. It
is principally a hobby car and yet
another example of the New Zealand
automotive industry’s history of what
might have been.
Les, and later Matthew, took me out
for a drive in the car and demonstrated
what it could do. The use of the rally-
proven twin-turbo WRX drivetrain
gives a stunning performance. Twice I
nearly asked Matthew to stop so that I
could go back and retrieve my stomach,

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Lunch with … Cary Taylor
Cary’s man Denny Hulme (No. 2) is 14 laps away from winning the 1967 German Grand Prix on the daunting Nürburgring
A charmed life
Racking up an enviable sequence of championship-winning
spannering is remarkable enough, but in part two of his
career the talented Cary Taylor also surprises his old boss
Jack Brabham behind the wheel
by Michael Clark
Bruce expanded his F1 team for 1968 join McLaren’s Can-Am team as chief
Denny left Brabham and joined Bruce.” engineer on Denny’s car.”
C
ary’s parents were both killed in Cary went to Wigram to catch up with That gave Cary a little more time in
January 1968 and he returned Denny: “I found him sitting in a tent New Zealand before heading to Boston
to Rangiora, uncertain as to chatting to Bruce. Denny introduced to start his new life with McLaren. The
what he would do next. Returning to me to him, and after telling him I’d rich six-race Can-Am championship
Brabham didn’t feature in his plans nor been his mechanic at Brabham’s he was kicked off at Road America in
in the plans of his former teammate then very keen to find out what my Wisconsin on the first of September
and Formula 1 (F1) world champion plans were. I told him my intention was and concluded in Las Vegas 10 weeks
Denny Hulme. “Denny had already to return to the UK later in the year to later. A trip to Edmonton in between
been driving for McLaren’s in Can-Am continue in motor racing. The outcome was the only round that season north of
during ’67,” Cary recalls, “and when of this discussion was the invitation to the border.

Cary reunited with a Can-Am McLaren, preparing for some laps in Warwick Mortimer’s M8F at Taupo, 2017
(photo: Laraine Taylor)
Cary was back at McLaren by the spring of 1970

and wasn’t just there as a mechanic; he was doing
installation laps in the M8D Can-Am car
TWO FOR TWO to 11 for the 1969 version of the “We met up in a pub,” Cary tells
Canadian-American Challenge Cup but me, “and I ended up buying a racing
Cary well recalls Denny’s approach. all that preparation meant the papaya- car — that Can-Am experience had
“When everything was going well, it coloured McLarens won every race. wet my whistle!” The Brabham BT21
was his car. When it wasn’t, it was my Bruce was crowned champion ahead was powered by a twin-cam Ford,
problem to fix.” Cary kept the problems of Denny but that season had opened and initially Cary did local races back
to a minimum which meant that Denny Cary’s eyes to the other end of motor in New Zealand over the summer of
became 1968 Can-Am champion, sport: “Bruce let me do some testing of 1969–’70. “It was something I could
winning half of the six rounds. The the M8B — I’d never been on a track manage and I was happy with the car
legendary historian Doug Nye wrote before and now I had a big block Chev — if I was going to have a go then I
in his McLaren book, “Six mechanics with over 650hp [485kW] behind me. wanted it to be in a good car,” he says.
would travel with the team: three from It shows what sort of a guy he was”. Cary was back at McLaren HQ
the engine division in California and by the spring of 1970 for the next
three from Colnbrook, including Tyler IN THE DRIVING SEAT assault on the lucrative Can-Am
(Alexander) and Cary Taylor, who had championship. Denny had burnt his
been Denny’s chief mechanic with An odd series of circumstances led hands at Indy which meant that on
Brabham the previous year.” For the to him buying his own racing car. 2 June it was Bruce who was testing
second time running a Denny-driven car He remembers: “Bruce had crashed his teammate’s car at Goodwood. Cary
expertly prepared by Cary had prevailed at Riverside and there was one race wasn’t just there as a mechanic; he was
in a major championship. to go. I trailered it from Los Angeles doing installation laps in the M8D
At the end of the Can-Am campaign to Boston in four or five days and Can-Am car while, “Bruce was buzzing
Cary flew back to New Zealand, then put it on a plane to the factory.” around in the M14”, McLaren’s new
having made a commitment to be back It was while back in England that F1 challenger. “I was supposed to be
in England by Easter to oversee the Cary encountered fellow Cantabrian just trundling around,” Cary says, “but
assembly once the tub was finished. Bert Hawthorne, a racing mechanic managed to spin it coming out of the
“The amount of testing was quite who was evolving into a pretty handy chicane”. The tragic events of later that
phenomenal,” he says. It paid off. The racing driver, who had been running day are still raw half a century on.
number of rounds had nearly doubled his own Brabham in New Zealand. We move back to ‘Cary the racing

mechanic. The only negative was that
the car had to be spray painted ‘Mildren
yellow’.” It’s clear from Cary’s facial
expression that my favourite colour for a
racing car is not his.
“Singapore was unbelievably
dangerous, with monsoon drains at the
edge of the circuit,” he says. Dropping
the flag to start the race was none other
than his old boss, Jack Brabham. He
greeted his former mechanic turned
racing driver with, “What the hell
are you doing here?” Cary did a good
job to finish fifth as two of the cars
in front, including that of winner
Graeme Lawrence, had considerably
more powerful engines. That opened his
eyes to the possibilities, especially after
finishing sixth the following weekend in
the Selangor Grand Prix: “Overall I was
thrilled to have finished ahead of most
of the hotshot Australian drivers. I felt I
hadn’t let the Mildren team down.” The
plan was to sell the car and buy another
one with a four-valve motor, “but it
never happened because the market for
twin-cam cars had evaporated”. Although
not planning to return to the Northern
Hemisphere in 1971 something there
still called to Cary: his toolbox. By then
he’d met his future wife, Laraine. He
built some flats and his priorities changed
— or so he thought. “I decided to take
Laraine on an OE to Europe to see what
the McLaren boys were up to — and to
Workshop discussion with ‘Black Jack’ pick up my toolbox.”
driver’ when he planned to do the Preparing Denny’s hugely successful Can-Am McLaren
New Zealand rounds of the 1971
Tasman Series. “I vividly recall the
driver’s briefing ahead of round one at
Levin,” he remembers, “where [Graham]
McRae made it very clear to those of us
with slower cars what he’d do if we got
in his way while he was lapping us.”
NICE TO SEE YOU, TOO

Not only did he avoid annoying McRae
but his drive at Levin also attracted the
attention of the evergreen Australian
entrant Alec Mildren, who approached
Cary with an offer he couldn’t refuse:
“He’d pay to fly me, my car, and
mechanic Don Campbell, who designed
and built my fuel-injection head, up
to South-East Asia for the two races
— one at Singapore and the other at
Kuala Lumpur. I had to get the car to
Sydney where Alec would provide a

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Denny waits as Cary impresses the ever-
pedantic Brabham designer Ron Tauranac Denny and Cary — a formidable Kiwi duo on the world stage
BACK ON THE TOOLS

He was put in charge of the Yardley-
Unsurprisingly Phil Kerr wasn’t
about to let someone with Cary’s sponsored McLaren that would be piloted
skills float away so easily and he was by Mike Hailwood, winner of multiple
quickly put in charge of the Yardley- motorcycle championships
sponsored McLaren that would be
piloted by Mike Hailwood, winner of
multiple motorcycle championships.
Cary has fond memories: “What a
wonderful, non-serious guy — always
open to suggestions and a very
competent driver. He was generally a
contender around fourth or fifth. The
Nürburgring crash was a sad end to
Mike’s F1 aspirations. I’ve still got the
Heuer watch he gave me.”
Legendary Kiwi Formula Ford
wizard Graeme Cook was part of the
Yardley team that 1974 season and
recalls Laraine’s pivotal importance
to the team: “She was in the catering
division. She fitted in so well in what
was a pretty tough season, especially
after Hailwood’s crash. Between her
and Cary they pretty much kept the
team together.”
The world of F1 had changed since Kiwis to the fore in late 1960s Can-Am
Cary had left F1 at the end of 1967
and he found sponsorship, “a little on in front of guys who had families to unremarkable the man himself sees it
off-putting. I remember at Monaco we support so we came home,” Cary tells me. all. But there was clearly something
were trying to get the car ready only Today the Taylors are on a lifestyle that Brabham and Ron Tauranac saw
to be told it was required for a dolly- block in Rangiora and Cary is as lean in him when he was elevated from shop
bird shoot.” today as he was when racing a yellow floor to the F1 Brabham team. And you
At the end of 1974 McLaren was Brabham in Malaysia. When they can’t imagine that Bruce invited too
downsizing. Fewer people would be returned he initially worked as a tool- many mechanics to head out strapped
needed without the Yardley sponsorship room engineer in nearby Kaiapoi but, “I on top of a monstrous Can-Am car.
so Laraine and Cary decided to come didn’t want to be in overalls forever and Clearly there was something special.
home for good. “Britain was not a good a day so I answered an advertisement for Perhaps most remarkable of all is the
place to be, what with the fuel shock, the a sales rep”. He never looked back. fact that, from 1966 to 1970, every
IRA, and the prospect of a winter under Perhaps the most remarkable thing team that Cary worked on won major
those conditions. I didn’t want to stay about chatting about Cary’s life is how championships. Now that’s special.

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Motorman
The 1972 XY GTHO that sold

for $221,375 at last December’s
Webb’s auction in Auckland
THE GTHO —
(photo: Michael Hishon)
THE FALCON
UNLEASHED
Motorman was let loose with a Ford Falcon GTHO on the
streets of Sydney and beyond, sampling a winning race car on
the road and track
By Donn Anderson
T
he Falcon GTHO of half a 1971 just $5338 was required to Museum in Paraparaumu in March —
century ago deserves a unique buy a new Falcon XY GTHO 351 a New Zealand record for any car sold
place in Australasian automotive in New Zealand and that the same at auction.
history. Even though it was a revered Ford now fetches 75 times more? Or Sold to a New Zealand bidder the
high-performance four-door sedan in that the values have at least doubled Reef Green manual-gearbox GTHO
the ’70s we could never imagine then in the past five years? A 1970 XW offered at the Webb’s auction showed
that the car would achieve such heady series GTHO Phase II realised a 122,000 miles (196,335km), was
heights today. remarkable $414K at the Webb’s built in July 1970, and was sold new
How could you conceive that in auction held at the Southward Car at Toowoomba in Queensland. In

The fabled GTHO
stands tall as a
competent muscle
car that earned
its stripes on both
road and track
September 1986 the car arrived in

Wellington and passed through several
dealers. Five decades on the GTHO
sale price is surely the highest of any
Falcon in this country. Yet this figure
pales against some of the prices realised
across the Tasman. The XY Phase II test car driven by Donn Anderson in 1971
In 2007 a GTHO Phase III sold for
the equivalent of NZ$735K and in 2018
came an eye-watering NZ$1.1 million sort of money but the GTHO, like so EARNT STRIPES ON ROAD
for a superb 24,856-mile (40,000km) many other collector and classic cars, is AND TRACK
example at a Bathurst auction sale. a victim — like property and shares —
Even this was surpassed in February this of massive money printing by so many Be that as it may the fabled GTHO
year with a 10,775-mile (17,340km) central banks and the effect on asset version of a favourite Aussie sedan stands
Electric Blue Phase III selling for a record price values. The consequence is hardly tall as a competent muscle car that
NZ$1.23 million in Australia. applauded by genuine classic car people earned its stripes on both road and track.
It is both difficult and questionable who see their vehicles as much more Fifty years ago I was in Sydney for the
to imagine any Falcon being worth this than rising assets. Warwick Farm round of the Tasman Cup
Jim Richards leading Richard Brocklehurst and Robbie Francevic, all in GTHO Falcons, at the 1972 Grand Prix meeting at Pukekohe

championship and Ford Australia lent the world the HO (handling option) won the Bathurst race. Powered by a
me an XY-series Falcon GTHO for quickly achieved its own local social 289-cubic-inch (ci; 4.7-litre) V8 that
several days. It wasn’t the easiest transport standing and fast became a popular initial bronze GT developed 225bhp
for negotiating busy city streets with target for thieves. Now you see it, now (168kW) and boasted a top speed of
its weighty clutch and heavy unassisted you don’t. My review GTHO was 125mph (201kph).
recirculating-ball steering but a standout stolen the day after I returned the car to By the time I was behind the
performer on the open road. its rightful owners. wheel of a Phase II GTHO four years
Joining me on several drives was Distinguishing features of the later the engine had grown to 351ci
Graeme Lawrence who was busy cleaner-looking XY model in GT guise (5.7 litres), there was a stunning
campaigning his Ferrari for the second included a black-painted grille, flush- 300bhp (224kW) on tap, and top
season, and he was clearly partial to fitting bonnet locking pins, quartz speed had risen to 133mph (214kph).
the sports version of the Falcon. At the iodine driving lights, black anti-glare There were those who said the quoted
time he reckoned that anyone would bonnet panels, and waist-high stripes engine output was down-played for
be hard put to find a faster road car. along the sides of the car. There’s a insurance purposes.
This was the car that captured the wooden-rim steering wheel and a full However there was more to come.
imagination of Henry Ford during a set of instruments but the handbrake is Early in 1971 we were unaware of
visit to Australia and even in 1971 it still located under the dashboard and the Phase III that would arrive later
was already being acclaimed as a classic there’s no sign of a headlamp flasher. that year — and it is this XY version
in its own right. that is now the most charismatic and
The test example came with several THE FIRST AUSSIE collectable of all Australian-made
of the options including a factory-fitted MUSCLE CAR performance cars. It simply got faster
eight-track stereo tape deck — yes, and more powerful, with a claimed
really — air conditioning, a sliding steel But on to more important things: this 330bhp (246kW) under the bonnet,
sunroof, and 14-inch-diameter alloy was a story that began with the 1966 and those who were bold enough to
wheels, which were an inexpensive $80 XR Falcon arriving in GT form early the disable the rev limiter spoke in hushed
extra. Billed at the time as the fastest following year as the first Aussie muscle tones of a 157mph (252kph) top speed.
four-door Ford produced anywhere in car, and one of the 253 examples made Little wonder much nostalgia
XW Falcon GTHO

and smoothness over its predecessor. By
now the Falcon GT was being dubbed
the ‘Shaker’ — obviously because of
the functioning air cleaner protruding
through the bonnet. Mounted on the air
cleaner and merging through a weather-
sealed hole in the bonnet, the scoop
shook impressively when the engine
revved — a cool look while sitting at the
traffic lights. Interestingly on the maker’s
plate, the cars are named GT.HO, which
prompted some to insert a hyphen in
the name, but ‘GTHO’ is now generally
preferred.
REDUNDANT GEARBOX
surrounds the GTHO — never better still missing in action.
expressed than by talented Aussie An initial release of 300 individually The Cleveland V8 in the GTHO
motoring writer Mel Nichols who numbered Black edition registers in retains the standard crankshaft but it
reckoned that the HO heralded a new 2020 sold out in hours and now a Blue is fitted with specially forged con rods
dimension in performance for a car edition for Ford fans who missed out designed and made by Ford Australia.
with four doors and five seats. is set to become available in November A four-bolt main-bearing strengthener
“With its sheer speed went obedient this year. A page is dedicated to each adds life and reliability. GTHO
manners, firm but comfortable ride, Falcon describing the original colour, engines came with a twin-plate clutch,
good vision, and a cabin that was as options, build date, final assembly, and reprofiled cam, revised intake manifold,
plush as any Australian car had seen at price if known. and modified valves and lifters.
the time,” said Mel. Gaskets from the Mustang engine
In an era of cheap fuel and no were fitted along with different bearings
open-road speed limits there is a classic and a revised lubrication system.
1971 photo of Nichols absolutely flat He arrived at the The Phase III had a larger radiator
out on a Victorian public highway
in a Phase III with the speedometer
Ford factory gate and modified valve train and the V8
produces a massive 515Nm of torque
reading 144mph (232kph) and the after covering 200 at 3400rpm — a minor drop on the
tachometer gauge counter sitting on XW GT but so insignificant you would
6800rpm — said to be 500rpm fast miles in two hours never miss it.
since the rev limiter kicks in at 6250. Most of the GTHOs came with
To adorn the bedroom of many a — an astonishing the notchy-action four-speed manual
young enthusiast posters have been gearbox, with the few three-stage
created of this impressive black-and- feat on two-lane automatics arriving late in production.
white photo captured by photographer Luckily the hugely flexible V8 allows
Uwe Kuessner from the back seat of roads the Falcon to go almost anywhere in
the car. top gear as the heavy clutch proved
tiresome in Sydney traffic.
TIME TRAVEL Most of the 662 XW Falcon GTs The car boasts tremendous power
had the overhead-valve Windsor V8 over 2500rpm and even in rapid road
On quiet straight rural roads heading but the final cars switched to the higher driving it is rarely necessary to use
for Ford’s Melbourne headquarters revving Cleveland motor. Just 287 any more than 4000 revs. In spite of
Nichols remembers the V8 stuttering Phase IIs were made, the fewest of all a flat spot in the four-barrel Holley
against the rev limiter for five minutes GTHOs. Between September 1970 downdraught carburettor the test car
before he had to lift off for a bend. He and December 1971 Ford built a total pulled cleanly from around 2mph
arrived at the Ford factory gate after of 1557 Phase II and III models. (3kph) in top, thundering effortlessly
covering 200 miles in two hours — an With the advance to the XY-series on to 100mph (160kph) and beyond.
astonishing feat on two-lane roads. the brakes were upgraded to handle the All this came with 12.5-miles-per-
The passion behind the XY performance. Kelsey-Hayes ventilated gallon (mpg; 22 litres / 100km) fuel
GTHO Phase III prompted historian front discs were later fitted to less consumption that could be improved
Ross Vasse to produce a register and powerful, everyday Falcons. Rear brakes to 15mpg (18.7 litres / 100km) with
history of every Phase III made. were still drums and given repeated more open-road running. Still, the
The register details how many are high-speed stops the braking would 36-gallon (163-litre) fuel tank of
left, stolen, crashed, or written off; fade. There were few changes to the XY the Falcon GTHO gave the car a
how many raced; and how many are GT apart from an upgrade in refinement reasonable touring range.

The Phase III quickly earned its Meanwhile there were government
Allan Moffat competition stripes, winning the 1971
Bathurst 500 race. Allan Moffat took
threats to stop so-called super cars in
Australia, prompting Ford to scrap plans
took the wheel the wheel of the victorious Ford that for a Phase IV Falcon GTHO so the
year and four other GTHOs finished Phase III marked the end of an era.
of the victorious second, third, fifth, and sixth in what Quality? Well there was not
was a crushing display. too much of that if my 9942-mile
Ford that year Jim Richards was a memorable (16,000km) XW press car five decades
and four other performer in the McMillan Ford–
sponsored example, winning
ago was any example. During three
days in my care the side stripes and
GTHOs finished New Zealand’s unlimited class ‘Super Roo’ decals were beginning
production championship in 1972, to peel off, a rear-door mechanism
second, third, 1974, and 1975. At the production jammed, a GT badge came adrift, and
round held in conjunction with the the accelerator pedal fell off. Yet this
fifth, and sixth 1972 New Zealand Grand Prix meeting was always a raw, brutal car built to
at Pukekohe Richards led home Richard go racing — a memorable motoring
Brocklehurst, Robbie Francevic, experience for a car that enhanced
and Bruce Anderson, all driving the Ford brand in both Australia and
GTHO Falcons. New Zealand.

Nelson Classic Car Museum
Home to more than 150

immaculate classic cars.
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Cartel Works.
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www.nelsonclassiccarmuseum.nz
Motor Sport Flashback
The outrageous livery
on Le Mans’ most
unexpected winner
Sarthe’s most
unlikely winner
The illustrious history of Le Mans has often seen dynasties wax
and wane over several seasons. The year 1991 provided a seismic
shock to the system
By Michael Clark
I
f May instantly turns my mind to Jaguar got a hat-trick from 1955 to
the Indianapolis 500 then June 1957 before Ferrari made the event Brendon Hartley
triggers one race — ‘Le Mans’, its own with six in a row from 1960.
or more officially the Grand Prix
d’Endurance les 24 Heures du Mans on
That run was broken by a couple
of Kiwis when Bruce McLaren and
has been part of
the Circuit de la Sarthe some 220km
southwest of Paris.
Chris Amon launched the first of
four for Ford. Matra’s three in a row
both Porsche and
Round-the-clock racing started
there in 1923, recommenced in 1949,
from 1972 very nearly included our
own Howden Ganley. Porsche first Toyota ‘threepeats’
and has been held every year since. got the winning feeling in France in
Not even a pandemic could stop it, 1970; its seven in a row from 1981 set since 2015
although the 2020 version was one new records.
of the few occasions it wasn’t held in In more recent years Audi has had
June. Over the years there have been three, four, and five in a row, while
examples of manufacturers having a Brendon Hartley has been part of both
stranglehold on the event for stretches. Porsche and Toyota ‘threepeats’ since
Bentley’s four in a row from 1927 was 2015. Many enthusiasts have their
matched by Alfa Romeo from 1931; favourite period or periods. For me the

Schumacher ready to race
The TWR XJR-12 of Davy Jones, Raul Boesel, and

The Sauber-Mercedes Michel Ferte finished second
late ’60s and late ’80s were the best. transitioned into a 24-hour sprint rather counted out. Peugeot arrived with a
The former because of the beauty of the than favouring drivers who could nurse car of the future — a 3.5-litre V10 that
cars and the strong Kiwi involvement a car through. Each car now demanded would provide the company with a
and the latter because of the intrigue the full concentration of three allocated pair of victories in 1992 and ’93 but in
around whether Jaguar’s massive drivers. Even by the mid ’80s the days 1991 it was more of a test session. Both
normally aspirated V12s could finally of current F1 drivers doing Le Mans Toyota and Nissan sat out Le Mans in
beat the bulletproof flat-six turbocharged on their weekend off had gone. Porsche 1991. That meant Mazda’s rotaries were
Porsches. And then Mercedes-Benz 962s were by then out to 3.2 litres the only Japanese representatives and
arrived via the Swiss Sauber concern to and although no longer as quick as their qualifying form gave no hint as to
really liven things up. Toyota and Nissan the Saubers and Jags, could never be arguably the biggest shock win at Sarthe.
were both increasing their respective
involvement and most knowledgeable Peugeot’s 1991 905
people imagined it would be only a
matter of time before one of those
Japanese giants pulled it off.
THE OLD GUARD STILL

RULES
Jaguar finally broke Porsche’s epic run
of victories in 1988 when the Coventry
firm won for the first time at Le Mans
in 30 years, although a Porsche still
lurked on the same lap. Sauber-Mercedes
prevailed with a one-two in 1989 before
another win for the seven-litre Jags in
1990. That was the year Steve Millen
set the fastest lap in a Nissan — or did Le Mans at peak glamour: 1961
he? Another Nissan finished fifth and a
Toyota was sixth — no one was going
to be overly surprised when one of
them won outright. Honda was focused
on Formula 1 (F1) and the only other
Japanese manufacturer that had regularly
turned up at Le Mans was Mazda with
its quirky Wankel rotaries. I was there in
1983 when Mazda won its class, but this
was in a junior category and finishing
68 laps behind the winner, in 12th place,
gave no hint that Mazda was any kind of
contender for the top step.
Thirty years ago the Jaguar V12s had
been expanded to 7.4 litres while the
Sauber-Mercedes’ effort now included
a young-guns squad that included
Michael Schumacher. The days of two
drivers per car had gone as the event

calendar year. In fact most drivers
would have been happy if Phil Hill’s
achievements in 1961 comprised their
total career, as in addition to the two
headline victories — Le Mans and the
F1 world champion — he also shared
the winning car in the 12 Hours of
Sebring, and was victorious in two of
the blue-riband GPs, Spa, and Monza.
He was always adamant that he’d
picked the wrong business: “I don’t want
On the Mulsanne Straight at dusk to beat anybody. I don’t want to be a big
hero.” Almost without exception, when a
race, the world championship, and driver is signed by Ferrari they instantly
LESSONS FROM HISTORY being one of only three men to win start imagining victories, championships,
F1 Grands Prix (GPs) in both front- and all the other side benefits of driving
It’s been said that the accident-prone and rear-engined cars would be the for the world’s most famous racing team.
American Masten Gregory and the still epitome of the all-American hero. For Phil Hill, the biggest attraction was
raw and wild Austrian Jochen Rindt But you’d be wrong. Philip Toll Hill that he could indulge in his passion
were unlikely winners in 1965. As was not just a reluctant star, he wasn’t for opera and be close to La Scala, the
Eoin Young often said: “If there were even that keen on being a racing famous opera house in Milan. Indeed
two guys who were never going to keep driver, yet 60 years ago he became the when the American was signed for
a car going for 24 hours, it was those only person to ever win the famous Ferrari it was as a sports car driver —
two.” But as the Ford GTs and then the French round-the-clock race in the he was engaged for his durability and
works Ferraris all failed, the unlikely same year as he won the title. Other reliability and the general consensus was
duo kept going and going. There was a world champions won at Le Mans but that he had neither the speed nor the
lesson there for 1991. Thirty years ago only Phil Hill won both in the same ruthlessness for F1. Wrong.
the smart money would have been on
either a Jaguar or a Sauber-Mercedes. A must-read
If those squads imploded then there
was always the trusty Porsches — but
Mazda? Everyone knew that the world’s
most famous sports car race was won by
internal-combustion engines; rotaries
were technically interesting but that
was about where it stopped. When the
garishly liveried Mazda 787B took the
chequered flag two laps clear of the
first of a trio of Jaguars, having covered
four more laps than the 1990-winning
car, it was a significant moment. And a
massive shock. A 5.0-litre turbocharged
Sauber-Mercedes was fifth and another
Mazda was sixth. What money could
have been won by betting against
Toyota or Nissan being the first
Japanese company to win Le Mans?
The opposition hadn’t imploded —
they’d been convincingly beaten by
reliability rather than outright speed.
The four-rotor 2.6-litre Mazda, driven
by Volker Weidler, Johnny Herbert,
and Bertrand Gachot, never missed a
beat. It remains the only non-piston-
engined car to have won at Sarthe.
PHIL HILL
You’d imagine a Californian three-
time winner of the Le Mans 24-hour

Nigel even found time to race his Formula Ford
as he ever was. Garry agreed to be

patron despite being uncertain exactly
what that entailed. Garry’s great
mate David Oxton flew down from
Auckland and was part of the 60-plus-
car demonstration lap orchestrated
and conducted by — you guessed it.
Not content with thinking ‘that was
a oncer’ or ‘never again’ Nigel already
has plans to make the festival even
better in 2022. It was a wonderful
event and despite all the people who
told him he was crazy to ever think it
would be possible, he did it. The whole
His first Le Mans victory came in Nigel Barclay somehow managed wonderful event happened because he
1958 and the third in 1962 prior to the all of this while also being a husband made sure it did.
big Ferrari walkout. He was engaged and father and having a full-time job.
by Ford for its sports car programme He involved MotorSport New Zealand BOBBY UNSER
but still hadn’t quite finished with (MSNZ) and was gracious in his
open-wheelers. He teamed up with compliments of the organisation that I’d no sooner finished writing about the
Bruce McLaren at Cooper for 1964 is so often criticised. He got Ford on controversial finish to the 1981 Indy
but that ended unhappily. He then board — plus other sponsors — all 500 in last month’s issue — the race
joined his Kiwi friend in the 1965 under the umbrella of the always awarded to Bobby Unser several months
Tasman Championship but his time in accommodating management at the later — that news came through that
F1 wasn’t completely over. He not only Canterbury Car Club. Did I mention he’d died at the age of 87. He and his
drove the camera car (a Ford-powered that although based in Christchurch brother Al were, along with AJ Foyt,
McLaren) in the dramatic 1966 Nigel spends chunks of time working Mario Andretti, Gordon Johncock, and
Belgian GP for the movie Grand Prix in the North Island? You’d think a Johnny Rutherford, were fixtures in
but also had a speaking part when hardworking committee of half a dozen the Indy scene for years. The brothers
famously announcing from the pits at would be needed to make all of this could not have been more different.
Brands Hatch “He’s on fire”. happen but he drove the entire exercise Bobby was fearless while younger
Phil Hill died in 2008 aged 81. — and found time to prepare and drive brother Al, who won four Indy 500s to
Never believe that being an unlikely his own car in the Historic division on Bobby’s three, was far more cautious,
world champion amounts to being an 1 May at Mike Pero Motorsport Park, never more so than when driving
unworthy one. Ruapuna. around Albuquerque, New Mexico,
Early in the piece he involved the where they lived. It’s said that Bobby
FIRST FORMULA FORD ever-energetic Garry Jackson who, not only never stopped for red lights
FESTIVAL when working for Ford, had not only but also never even slowed down. Al,
championed the category but also on the other hand, even stopped for
Christchurch Formula Ford stalwart remains as passionate today about green lights — just in case Bobby was
Nigel Barclay had a vision — a its future in developing young stars coming through.
celebration of half a century of
Formula Ford racing in New Zealand Bobby and Al Unser — chalk and cheese
combined with four decades of
the South Island Formula Ford
championship all wrapped up in a day of
Formula Fords from the late 1960s up to
right now. As plans evolved it appeared
that Nigel had a tiger by the tail. There
was red tape that he’d never imagined
— and then came the proposal that the
event also host the final round of the
2020/’21 New Zealand Formula Ford
Championship. Rather than seeing this
as an obstacle, Nigel started knocking
on doors and so not only was ‘his’ event
now a championship round but he also
got sponsors to support the winner in a
New Zealand Driver to Europe scheme.
That scheme began 63 years ago when
Bruce McLaren was the recipient.

Price On … Driving Distractions
What we did before cell phones

By Greg Price
A BUCKETFUL OF
B
ack in the good old days — the some statistics. In the US, as many
1950s and 1960s — a typical as one in four crashes are caused by SOLUTIONS
driver distraction for wannabe texting. In New Zealand, the stats are
cool blokes was a good-looking young a bit more difficult to locate so bear And it’s not just cell phones. There
woman or two sashaying along the with me while I try to make some have been instances where drivers have
footpath, clearly hoping for a lift in sense of the figures. been watching TV! It wasn’t that long
your cool cruiser — or, inevitably, According to the New Zealand ago that any TV screen that a driver
with the better-looking cool dude Transport Agency: “Nearly two dozen could see while driving was banned
behind you in an even cooler ride. For outright but seemingly GPS screens put
better or worse, a wolf-whistle was paid to that. Now, most modern cars
pretty much guaranteed to get their have a large TV-type monitor screen
attention. Around then, a phone was in the middle of the dash on which
generally black Bakelite and tethered in GPS maps, reversing camera pictures,
a red human-sized box with little glass Bluetooth technology, and dash camera
windows anchored to the footpath. footage is displayed. In fact, I can play a
Seems such an odd idea now. Not even DVD on mine.
Superman needs them anymore, thanks The main issue with distracted
to CGI. drivers is that 40 per cent of the deaths
Those days are long gone, and serious-injury victims are not
unfortunately, having been done the drivers of the vehicles. What’s the
down by shifting mores and nuanced solution? Well, I have a few but I don’t
wokeisms. And a tidal wave of think I’ll get much traction with them.
technological change that has provided Some time back, I tried to import a
a whole new range of distractions, not cell-phone jammer so that any cell
all of it helpful. phone within range (adjustable) would
Recently a woman was killed suddenly find they had no connection.
at an intersection when a courier people died and more than 70 were I was pleased with this idea until I
driver collided with the car she was seriously injured between 2015 and discovered that cell-phone jammers
driving. The courier driver had a tablet 2019 because they were distracted by are prohibited imports. Yes, they could
measuring approximately 16x23mm their phones.” The transport minister cause chaos to lawful communications
affixed to the windscreen directly in said “those figures were likely to be as well, but either we’re serious about
front of his line of vision, presumably under-reported as it would be difficult the problem or we’re not.
enabling him to check for job updates for police to detect phone use when I wondered about confiscation of the
without moving his eyes away from they attended crashes”. Really, minister? phone/device for (say) one month. But
the road. Yeah, right. The coroner Just how hard is it to check a phone then I remembered the firearm licence
found otherwise. for recent usage? They’re not called debacle and thought that’d never gain
‘smartphones’ for nothing. Auckland traction — too much work involved.
FINES NOT AT ALL FINE Transport, however, was prepared How about simply dunking the phone
to stick its neck out and say texting into a bucket of water for the duration
On top of that, the government seems increased the chance of crashing by 23 of the roadside stop? Hmm, that would
to have conceded that its policy for times. involve having a bucket of water handy.
discouraging cell-phone use while Finally, I did discover some possible Maybe just placing it in the traffic?
driving was ineffective, so it recently rebuttal statistics — Google is not Seriously though, distracted drivers
raised the fines from $80 to $150. It’s forthcoming with alternative views on are a menace on our roads and we are
not enough. In Victoria, they don’t this subject — but all I could find was all at risk — especially motorcyclists.
mess around. Get caught using a cell the following: “If so, then there is no It’s bad enough when drivers look
phone while driving and the fine is indication of any significant risk from directly at you before pulling out, but
nearly A$500, as well as demerit points. using cell phones on the basis of the so many now are not even looking!
Last year Victoria recorded its lowest existing New Zealand LTSA data. Some From my observations, cell phone/
ever road toll, which has fallen more 2% of drivers are using cell phones device usage while driving is rife down
than a quarter in the past two years. and are involved in less than 1% of here in Canterbury, and needs to
Anecdotally, my observation of serious accidents. On those numbers, be stamped out, preferably with the
drivers’ apparent fascination with their on average drivers using cell phones phone/device under the foot doing the
own crotches suggests that damn near are safer than those not using them.” stamping.
everyone is playing with their devices The evidence cited was ‘not available’. Drive carefully and watch out for
while driving. Let’s have a look at Funny that, eh? distracted drivers.

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STAY COOL
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Readers’ Writes
GREETINGS TO
JIM GREEN
Donn Anderson mentioned an engine
rebuilder at Mission Bay Motors
[MBM], or as Jim Green used to say,
Mini Motors. I managed the service
station adjacent to MBM and Jim helped
me build my Mini de Joux. Does Donn,
or anyone else, have a contact for
Jim Green? He sold out and ran a sports
shop in Glen Innes, while continuing to
race his Mini. Paddy Hopkins drove it
and said it was quicker than his ‘works’
car. Can’t wait to read the best car mag
each month.
Henry Langguth
JUDGE’S TIP We’ll pass the info on to Donn; if any

of our readers can help, please let us
As I have time on my hands at the moment, When fitting tyres, line up the centre letter of know. — Ed
after coming out of hospital, l thought that I the tyre manufacturer, i.e. ‘S’ if it is Firestone
would finally get around to something I have or in the case of Bridgestone the ‘E’, with the
been contemplating doing for years. As a valve stem. It’s also a good idea to jack up
classic car event organiser since 1984, both your car so the wheel is just off the ground RECALLING CARY
indoor shows that sometimes were a week and turn the valve to top dead centre. And,
long, to one-day outdoor events, l feel that I am oh yes, most importantly, ensure the make I really enjoy your historical articles. The
experienced enough to offer some advice to of the vehicle, if stamped into the hubcap, is recent one on Cary Taylor brought back
owners of classic vehicles wanting to show their absolutely level. Then gently lower the wheel memories of West Australia in the ’70s. I
pride and joy in the best possible way. l have to the ground while holding the tyre because knew Ray Thackwell, and actually raced
found over many decades that most owners the combination can actually move out of karts against his son Mike, before the latter
and restorers don’t pay enough attention to the level before it touches the ground. I hope that headed to the UK to pursue his dream. I
vehicle’s wheels and tyres. Always check your the above is of some help in presenting your also remember Ilich Motor Co., the British
rim edges, both inside and outside. If they have classic to the viewing public. Leyland dealer in Perth, presumably
been marked, with the tyres off, lay them flat on owned by former Brabham mechanic Bob,
the ground or bench. With a wide flat file you Trevor Stanley-Joblin or his family. Keep up the great magazine,
can remove most of the deepest grooves. If so look forward to it every month.
some are too deep you may have to have the Some good tips Trevor, especially for those Andy Gray
wheel set up in a lathe. wanting to compete at concours level. — Ed
Part two of Lunch With … Cary Taylor
is featured in this issue. — Ed
NEAR NEIGHBOUR
I was reading The Mullins Mini Magic article
in your May 2021 issue [No. 365] and, as
usual, thoroughly enjoying it. I noticed that
the Mini was re-registered in January 1969
as EE1954 and thought what a coincidence.
My Alfa Romeo coupe was registered new
on 9 January 1969 as EE1952, so they could
have been registered on the same day, even
minutes apart.
My Alfa was registered to Kerridge Odeon

Corp and I have owned it for the last 12 years.
This photo was taken on the 10th of April
2009, the day I purchased it.
David Hall, Blenheim
Good spotting, David. Nice car. — Ed

Book Review
ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR
CARS: MAKING A LEGEND
Van Booy and Briggs
Published 2020 by ACC Art Books. ISBN: 978-1-78884-100
Review by Mark Holman
“BY JUPITER!”
Iguess there are two ways of looking at
this impressively large book: either as a
sort of very deluxe version of a Rolls-Royce
things were done in past decades — a
fascinating comparison.
brochure, or as a privileged look behind ALCOCK AND BROWN

Interesting to read about Jowett’s the scenes at how very expensive motor
Javelin/Jupiter [Issue 362]. I recall when cars are virtually hand-built for demanding In effect, there are five separate Rolls-
living in Massey, west Auckland, in the and wealthy customers. Whichever way you Royce ranges. They all go down the same
1950s, a next door neighbour was blessed look at it, the book is something of a visual ‘assembly line’ which, considering the
with a Javelin. Much was made of its treat, while also displaying appropriate amount of customisation that also goes
performance and I suppose in the 1500cc craftsmanship at its highest level. into individual cars, must make for some
saloon market it had few rivals. However logistical nightmares! As well as standard
a Mk1 Consul, which had not dissimilar A few years ago, my wife, Gail, and I paid Wraiths, Phantoms, Ghosts, etc., there are
power, albeit loaded with a bigger, heavier a few quid and went on the wonderful regular limited number ‘Collections’ based
body and three-speed box, was only 1.5s tour of the Morgan factory in Malvern. I around things like Alcock and Brown’s first
slower in the ¼-mile sprint. think that if you wanted to look around the trans-Atlantic flight. On top of that, the sky’s
amazing R-R establishment at Goodwood, the limit for customers’ choices of paintwork
In the ’47–’53 era, excluding the square- the price of entry would be whatever you and, especially, interiors. Some of the
rigged MGs and Singers, I suppose, the were willing to spend on your new car, so requirements seem totally OTT to us mere
Austin A40 Sports (courtesy of Jensen) this is a rather more economical choice. mortals — whether it’s a thousand ethically-
was a competitor. Although the A40 sourced diamonds crushed into the paint of
was of course overweight and under- Making a Legend scores highly for its one car, or the 250,000 individual stitches
powered, it could almost match the superb photography and its insights into required to create a perfect image of a
Javelin in top speed (but not the Jupiter) each department — from upholstery and peregrine falcon in a car’s headlining!
assuming you lived long enough to woodwork, to audio, testing, etc. It both
reach it. Yes, I had one, purchased from highlights what they do and gives those None of this comes cheap, and the book
a certain Rod Coppins in Greenlane. who work there a chance to talk about what helps to explain why that is. Still, if people
How could Jupiter have fared better in they do. The staff, rather annoyingly called can pay millions of dollars for a digital
sales? Appearance-wise it was a sort of ‘associates’, include New Zealander Grace ‘painting’ … The sad thing is that I imagine
second-division XK120, long tails and Whitmore, a process leader whose team many of these masterpieces of car design
short bonnet being an acquired taste. handle some of the mind-boggling interior and construction end up forming part of
Jowett should have followed Jaguar and enhancements. The expectations of some someone’s collection, rarely feeling the
MG into bucket seats and a ‘stick shift’. of the clients are nigh on unbelievable. road beneath their wheels.
Also I suspect the flat-four engine was The focus of the text and photos is on the Beautifully produced, and running to 296
looked upon with suspicion, despite current range of Rolls-Royces. I apologise very large pages, this book will be a sure
VWs and the up and coming Porsche. to fans of the marque by saying that I bet for R-R enthusiasts but will also appeal
Perhaps they could have used in don’t find any of them attractive, especially to anyone who appreciates what can be
their advertising it was the ‘light, safe the enormous Cullinan SUV, but I can achieved when money is no object for
reliable engine of the future’. However still appreciate the esoteric quality that a remarkable range of talents — which
if production had continued along with goes into their conception, design, and makes this more than just a book about
developments, the writing was surely on production. There’s also a number of something that is more than just a car.
the wall with the arrival of the cheaper photos of the Derby factory showing how
Triumph TR2 and Austin-Healey,
especially when one considers an XK120
was not a lot more — about £100 against
£1250. To give credit, although less than
1000 were made, Jowett did turn out
around 23,000 Javelins. Really, well,
“by Jupiter!”
John P Trist
Clapham
Still not a fan, John? – Ed

Industry Profile: Southern Specialist Cars
Southern Specialist Cars’ (from left) Andrew, Matt, Yuri, and Dan
KNOWING
and getting those cars up to the mark — but
that doesn’t appeal to the Southern team.
Southern is interested only in genuine
WHAT’S SPECIAL
cars with a known provenance — and that
reputation has built a loyal following.
STORIES AND HISTORIES

THERE’S A SAYING THAT GOES SOMETHING LIKE: Andrew says that a big part of his enjoyment
IF YOU MAKE YOUR PASSION YOUR BUSINESS of the role is talking about each car’s history.
He says the company celebrates the fact
YOU’LL NEVER WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE that an early air-cooled 911 currently for sale
in the showroom that was bone white when
The living proof of that saying is on show at it left the factory got painted ‘resale red’ in
Southern Specialist Cars in Selwyn Street, off HEAD-TURNER the ’80s. Then it might have been silver in
Moorhouse Avenue, in central Christchurch. the 2000s before being returned to factory
The Nissan Pulsar GTI-R profiled in this white during a full restoration.
If company principal Dan Chima wasn’t such issue was offered for sale by Southern
an energy powerhouse you’d say that he had Specialist Cars and as the company also “It’s all part of its history and part of what
drifted into the business. He had no career had an unmolested Mitsubishi VR4 for sale, makes the car what it is today,” he says. “I
history in automotive retail, except for buying this specialist but marque-agnostic retailer assign a great deal of value to someone
and selling hundreds of cars driven solely who is able to tell me the car’s story, where
caught our attention.
by his own enthusiasm for anything on four this thing’s been, who has driven it. Locally
wheels that had something special about it. We assumed the firm would be a vehicle owned cars, people can tell you that stuff.
importer but the team’s sales manager, There’s a degree of certainty we like to
Dan got his licence in 2001 and bought his Andrew Densem, says that couldn’t be work with.”
first car as soon as he could. further from the truth. Virtually all of the For older cars the ‘full service history’ is less
“As soon as I realised you could have more company’s cars are either New Zealand of a concern to Andrew than what people
than one I got another one, then another. Then new or, like the JDM cars, have built a solid can show or tell about the car.
I sold one to get something else,” he says. history in New Zealand.
“What happened during the car’s first
He got into cars at the height of the That’s where Dan spends most of his day 10 or even 20 years from the ’70s is less
Japanese performance car scene, when — still following his passion, sounding out important than the last few services and who
they were either “terrorising the streets, his broad range of friends and contacts, has been looking after it,” he says.
or people were really enjoying them”, tracking down special cars with a genuine
depending on your point of view. local history, regardless of age. The fact that many cars now commanding
big dollars were worth only a few
Dan made a lot of friends and contacts then, Andrew says that’s key to what makes thousand just a handful of years ago
many of who went into the car business. Southern Specialist Cars different. So many means that owners weren’t necessarily
His interest moved to European cars then cars come into New Zealand and absolutely going to spend a fortune on them then.
to the point at which today supercars and nothing is known about them. He says that Even cars like the mechanically fuel-
Japanese domestic market (JDM) cars spark a lot of people run successful businesses injected ’74 Porsche Carrera on the floor
his keenest interest. taking on the risk of unknown quantities at $380K — a bargain compared with the

going rate for the legendary ’73 Carrera
RS — was probably worth well under
$100K a few years ago.
“No-one gave a hoot then,” says Andrew.
So even if a car like that — not this car! —
had a rough few years knowing its history,
especially what has happened since to catch
up on a period of neglect, is all-important.
TEAM TALK
Andrew’s background, and that of the latest
member of the team, Yuri van Toor, has
been in main dealerships, although Yuri
has done almost everything since starting
in the industry as a mechanical apprentice
including workshop and parts management
through to new car sales.
The other members of the team are
creative director and lens man Kallum
Harris who curates the car’s social-media
presence and after-sales specialist Matt
Southon. Matt joined from the panel and
paint business and his keen eye for detail
and reconditioning ensures that each car’s
presentation is a true representation of
its provenance.
That’s the other key difference about
Southern Specialist Cars — while each team
member has his own leanings the business
will consider all makes and models of car.
“Enthusiasts come in all shapes and sizes,”
says Andrew so he takes a keen interest in
finding out what really appeals to customers
and it’s not always classic cars. Some people
want near-new SUVs but the company also
has a young and wealthy clientele focused
on modern top-end cars such as McLarens
and Lamborghinis.
If Southern Specialist Cars can’t find a
specific car locally for a customer it also has
to seeing these cars as real investments.

Some people want He says the end of Holden has seen
HSV Holdens treble in value in the past
near-new SUVs but 18 months, and young guys who bought
a few JDM cars for a few thousand each
the company also has are now cashing up and walking into their
first houses.
a young and wealthy Andrew says that in some cases the
clientele focused on New Zealand market lags behind the
overseas market but while the team keeps
modern top-end cars an eye on overseas prices — and won’t
object to an Australian car being sold
back there — the company is not in the
top-ranked contacts overseas who can find business of selling cars off overseas. He
the very best examples globally. Southern says that Southern likes to keep cool cars
will broker off-market sales and will manage in New Zealand and often so do its sellers.
importation right through to the road-legal He says sellers will often approach them
final polish. and say they will accept a lower price from
a sale here if the car is going to stay in
Southern Specialist Cars has been in New Zealand.
business in this form for a couple of years.
Andrew says it’s a dramatic time to be in the As Dan says: “If there’s anything that makes
industry as the appreciation of cars as an us special, it is working with people who
investment has really taken off. genuinely love cars and getting people the
special cars that really interest them. We
There’s been a strong shift from people are car people who don’t have an affiliation
buying a classic or special car and justifying with any one brand and that’s a rarity
it on the grounds that it would hold its value these days.”

Behind the Garage Door
A German silver radiator
Delayed Delage
By Quinton Taylor
B
rian and Ann Walker enjoy their Weymann fabric body fitted. It was and was probably parked up once it
classic cars and motorcycles. common back then for Delage to became unserviceable.
An early Ariel motorcycle they supply the chassis and running gear,
once toured New Zealand on is under then an owner would find a coachwork SHELLING OUT
restoration, but it is a stylish French company to fit a body to it. I looked
car that has consumed much of Brian’s through various books and found the “It’s probably sat in a barn for more than
spare time for a considerable period. It blueprint of a body shape which I liked 40 years and was never used. I have no
is now close to completion. and had it blown up to the full-size idea what the mileage is, so zero will
“When this one is finished it won’t be blueprint that’s now mounted on the do, as everything has been rebuilt. They
trailered anywhere. We will be driving garage door.” were quite a car in their day and could
it as much as possible, and we will be Brian suspects the original fabric exceed 70mph (112kph). The engine has
enjoying it. The day it’s finished will body may not have lasted too well in been completely rebuilt with the correct
probably be the cleanest it will ever be!” the harsh Queensland climate, and Delage pistons, rods, and new valves. It
It is one of two Delage chassis in the car may have done some duty as also has a new crankshaft and now uses
a collection brought over to Dunedin a farm truck. Imported and sold in shell bearings instead of the original
from Australia by the late Nick Brisbane, it has possibly not run since white-metal bearings, so it will be a lot
Langford. Brian first saw it six years ago. the mid-1940s. It was obvious from more reliable.”
“It’s a DM model Delage, built in the collection of bits Brian received Everything was over-engineered to
1927, and I think it originally had a that the Delage had led a very hard life last. Power from the four-speed Delage
EVERY KIWI DESERVES A RELIABLE GARAGE DOOR.

Full body blueprint
Straight 3.2L six was good for nearly 130kph
months ago restricted Brian’s time on

the project, but he’s freed himself up.
“I’ve now sold the business, and it’s
great to have more time to finish this.
It’s been out to Paul Bouman’s Metal
Bodies Coachbuilding at Outram, and
Paul has made the steel mudguards and
the new tonneau cover, which look
great. I told Paul how I wanted it and
not to worry about how long it takes.
The mudguards have a nice little flick
up at the ends and they look the part.
He’s done a great job with the tonneau
cover which has been made in one
piece rather than, say, the usual three Jaeger instruments restored
pieces, so it’s starting to look just as I
wanted it.” with new wooden running boards
Chassis in 2019
coated in polyurethane. Brian is
HOLD ON A MINUTE completing the hood bows, and the
gearbox runs via a shaft contained in a race is on to have them finished for
torque tube to a solid rear axle, which The gleaming new paint colour is a bit the trip to Cromwell. Brian also
wouldn’t look out of place in a truck. of a surprise. Brian wanted the correct made the striking brass front and rear
A slightly higher ratio 4.2:1 differential period look, and he found it in a windscreen frames, and the correct
has also been fitted to make open road Holden paint colour. windscreen mounts were cast locally
cruising a little quieter. A plus for “I spoke to the guys at Cooke to match those that Delage used. He
the project was that a check with the Howlison [Dunedin Holden agency], has yet to find a chrome plating firm
UK Delage Register confirmed it is a and it is a Holden colour without the to provide the finishing touches.
matching numbers car throughout. metallic in it. The colour is just right Finding tyres for cars of this age is
Brian gave Auto Restorations in and beautifully done by local painter always a challenge, but Classic Tyres in
Christchurch the task of making the Mark Langi. There is just the engine Tauranga brought these 6.00 x 20 tyres
all-alloy over wood frame bodywork. cover to be done and the paintwork will in from the USA, now looking great on
“Most bodies back then were be finished.” their English Rudge 62 hubs. Brakes
aluminium, sheet metal, or fabric Ian Ingram in Cromwell will are rod-operated drums all round.
over a wood frame. This body is all complete the interior upholstery Brian is aiming to participate in
aluminium and they have done a great and hood. While in Cromwell, John the Vero Rally of New Zealand on 21
job. I’m very pleased with it.” Martin, who runs Designs N Wood, January next year in New Plymouth,
Running a full-time specialist will fit a polished wood capping so the pressure is on. Then there is also
engineering business up until a few top trim to the body panels along that 550cc 1928 Ariel to finish.
Garador.co.nz / 0800 427 236

International Report
REPLICA RUMBLE
RUMBLES ON
The fallout from Jaguar’s challenge to C-Type replicas spreads
globally and the world of classic auctions gets a check-up
By John Dennehy
T he replica/continuation story rumbles

on. The National Highways Traffic
Safety Administration has further
from the ‘owner’ of the car’s DNA.
Readers of New Zealand Classic Car
Issue No. 364 will know of the court
builders worldwide it may grant
licences to builders. You can imagine
the process that might involve.
clarified regulations affecting both case rumbling on in Europe, with And for continuations that seek
categories in the US. Homebuilt or, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) taking action, to be true to the original power
more accurately -assembled, replicas so far successfully, against the builder trains meeting modern emission
are popular across the country but of C-Type replicas. Jaguar could decide standards could be problematic if
in recent times have encountered that rather than take similar copyright not impossible — for example for the
difficulties in getting registered for the action against the many Jaguar replica wonderful Tadek Marek–designed
road. The federal regulations can be
summarised as following.
Replicas can be homebuilt from
components provided by the original
manufacturer or, presumably, their
successor but there are two meaningful
issues to comply with. First, the original
design must be at least 25 years old and
second, the builder must have a licence
to build the vehicle from the owner of
the design. Continuations can be built
by owners of the car’s ‘DNA’ (my words)
provided the numbers are limited to no
more than 325 examples a year and they
must meet current emissions standards.
I’m sure you can spot the fishhooks
here should the general principles be
applied in other countries. For replicas
the key is having to obtain a licence

straight-six Aston engine of the 1960s, Hammered and varied commission rates of the
the ubiquitous and equally wonderful The world of classic car auctions other auction houses for the simple
Jaguar 3.8 unit, let alone the many and internationally isn’t stopping to draw reason that they are (trust me, they
varied glorious six- and eight-cylinder breath. None of the main players are) negotiable.
iron lumps out of Detroit. seems to be pulling back with either Here in New Zealand there are
But back to the Jaguar legal action the number or frequency of its events, two auction outlets that will seek to
in Europe: the original court filings pandemic or not. And buyers and move on your classic. Turners has
are publicly available. The views of sellers are also out in strength. By ‘out’ the occasional classic car sale and
a marque expert who has reviewed I mean more often than not appearing charges a modest upfront fee and
one of the company’s technical on Zoom or Skype, looking, inspecting, then a very competitive six per cent
submissions to the court is well worth bidding, and buying. In most countries, of sale price on both the buyer and
a read and will doubtless headline in it seems, individual viewings and seller side. Given Turners’ nationwide
the upcoming appeal. It can be found inspections can be arranged and in reach, marketing budgets, and facilities
in Jaguar C-Type Replicas: The Uproar the US and the UK ‘normal’ service is it’s somewhat surprising that it hasn’t
Grows in Volume, by Philip Porter almost there. been more proactive in the classics
(https://porterpress.co.uk/blogs/news/ To no great surprise competition market. The front runner in attracting
jaguar-c-type-replicas). is driving innovation. The Silverstone sellers of classics seems to be Webb’s
Personally I think he’s overstating the Auctions group for example has just which charges buyers 17.5 per cent
case that the JLR action will damage the announced an online-only offering. It plus GST. Note that internationally all
whole historic car movement but you can has no sellers’ commissions and buyer commissions will attract similar local
draw your own conclusions. Either way commision is a modest five per cent. taxes. For sellers, Webb’s state they will
there is one aspect of the whole debate That compares to its main events with negotiate the sell side commission.
that seems to be taking hold and that is five per cent sellers’ commissions and The question for local classic car
the presumably precautionary removal of 12.5 per cent buyers’ commission. No auction houses is should the local owner
marque badges from replicas. AC Cobra point here in trawling through the many of a high value, rare, and sought after
replicas in particular, of which there must
be literally thousands worldwide, seem
to be appearing more often with badges AC Cobra replicas, of which there must be literally
removed. What is real is that Jaguar
has set a ball rolling that will probably thousands worldwide, seem to be appearing more
change the world of replica building.
New Zealand Classic Car will keep often with badges removed
you updated.

International Report
year London is introducing Ultra Low

Emission Zones within the existing
Congestion Charge zone. Cars that
are not manufactured to the latest
European Union emission status will
face an additional charge. Just about
any classic car as we know it would
have to pay an additional equivalent of
NZ$25, night and day, 364 days a year.
The fine for not paying is NZ$320 and
the traffic-enforcement folk in the UK
will, believe me, find you.
It’s becoming ever more important
that our classic car world here gets
together and makes sure that it’s on the
front foot on this and other regulations
that seek to stifle our enjoyment.
Footnote: Murray Walker, RIP

In 2004 Murray Walker pitched up at
what was to be the last Classic Adelaide
event that attracted classics from all
classic consign it domestically? To do that Congestion spreads over the world. At the end of the second
an owner would want to be confident that We have been warned. Auckland day’s special stages minibuses were
their car would be effectively marketed Council has again confirmed that it is ordered to take entrants and guests to
internationally, that the auction house reviewing the possible introduction of a their restaurants in town. Murray climbed
presentation was exemplary, and that congestion charge. Apparently we are into ours and took the last empty seat
commissions were competitively priced. being asked what we think but given next to me. He was indefatigable
that the alternative public-transport company, prepared to answer any
The random world of regulation options are either already under stress question openly and humorously. I
In last month’s issue we looked at some or non-existent calling it a ‘congestion excused myself for a moment as my
of the totally daft (in my humble opinion) charge’ seems disingenuous. mobile rang — it was my mother calling
regulation governing vehicles on our In London, one of the first cities from Ireland to make sure, as mums do,
roads and, of course, our classics. I’ve to introduce the charge, driving that I’d made it to Australia safely. She is
just renewed my race licence, hoping to into the ever-expanding London a huge fan of Formula 1 so I leaned over
get a road-legal race car back on track Congestion Charge zone will cost you the and asked Murray if he’d mind saying
again later this year. When the licence equivalent of NZ$35 a day, every day of hello to her. “Her name’s Anne,” I said as
arrived the letter reminded me that I the week other than Christmas Day. Yup, he took the phone.
had a car that required a MotorSport every single day, even though they say “Anne,” he bellowed in that
New Zealand (MSNZ) Authority Card. the imposition on holidays and Sundays is unmistakable voice. “Murray here.” And
For those not in the know about (no laughing please) temporary. off they went for a good chinwag. Mum
this weird and wonderful manifestation There’s another development you still talks about the day she talked to him.
of the fevered imaginations of the can bet our councils are looking at Top man, Murray Walker — he will be
New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) with interest: as from October this sadly missed but a life well lived.
this is a document that you are required
to take with you to a WOF station if your
car has (I summarise here) a roll cage,
race seats, and harnesses instead of
seat belts. That’s right – even though
your car has a full roll cage, bolted-
through race seats that would take a
hand grenade to shift, and five-point
harnesses that would anchor an
elephant in place, all of which would
have been rigidly inspected and signed
off by MSNZ the NZTA apparently
doesn’t think that’s good enough for a
WOF so you need, in effect, third-party
validation. No other country in the world
requires that additional validation.

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geraldineautorestorations
Stockists/distributors of
Marketplace Report
THE SENSIBLE
CORVETTE
The C4 Corvette was a better car than the tougher-looking C3 but it
didn’t win hearts, making it a true performance sports tourer bargain
By Ben Selby
“Y ou’ve never seen anything like

this before,” screamed the 1984
US TV commercial for the Chevrolet
was the model that brought the Corvette
back to the fore as a performance car
after the C3 had to soldier on too long,”
up ZR1 variant breaking all manner of
American performance car records,
you would think the C4 would be hot
Corvette C4. As far as America’s Sports agrees C4 enthusiast David McLeod. property with fans. But these days the
Car was concerned the C4 was the most With no Corvette for 1983, GM spent C4 is often regarded as the unloved
advanced yet and General Motors (GM) that year developing the C4 into a middle child between the C3 and its
at the time even went as far to say its new car which could keep pace with and successor, the C5.
’Vette was the most advanced production outhandle Europe’s finest. GM had Ferrari However, according to Brian Attwell,
car on the planet. and Porsche in its sights and the C4 the C4 is the best bang-for-your-buck
While this may have been seen as Corvette would spearhead the attack. Corvette out there. “In real-world
the usual marketing hype the C4 was “The C4 was the first Corvette to actually driving the C4 is just as quick as
certainly streets ahead of its predecessor, handle thanks to all-alloy suspension. It either a C3 or a C5. It is quieter and
the C3, which had grown incredibly long was also the first production car to break significantly more comfortable than
in the tooth by the time production ended 1G on the skidpad, and the C4 convertible the C3. We’ve just done 1800 easy
in 1982. Chevrolet was determined to was the first for 11 years,” says motoring and comfy kilometres around the
bring the Corvette into the modern age. “It journalist and C4 owner Fred Alvrez. South Island. I have found it more
was the big step forward in the Corvette’s economical than a C3 and similar to a
modernisation and adopting some C5,” he says.
pretty leading-edge technologies while
TOUGH MIDDLE CHILD GIG With the exception of the
still being very much a Corvette,” says With a digital instrument cluster, clean- aforementioned ZR1 or rarer-than-
Corvette owner Brian Attwell. “The C4 cut wedge lines, and the later souped- hens’-teeth Grand Sport, the C4 can

give you the Corvette experience for With a digital instrument cluster, clean-cut wedge lines, and the
as little as $10K. “Rough examples vary
from $10K to $15K, whereas an average ZR1 variant breaking all manner of American performance car
C4 is between $15K to $23K. Mint cars
command around $25K and up,” says records, you would think the C4 would be hot property with fans
Corvette owner Adrian Howitt.
Even if it wasn’t as popular as the
C3 its long production run – held onto
to the last gasp by GM – from 1984 to its gremlins, chief of which are the parts for the car, even tiny switches or
1996 bequeathed it the second-highest electrics which, unless checked out, packets of interior screws, are available
production tally after the C3. can be problematic down the line. in the US and there are some selling
Fred also reckons that a mint low “Check all the electrics and electronics parts here too. They are still very
mileage C4 can fetch around the — they are 30-year-old technology cheap,” says Fred.
low to high $20Ks but those after a and connections after all,” says Adrian. Running costs are often something
project can have one for as little as “Make sure all of the electrics work, that many don’t like to consider but the
four figures. “Mint C4s can go for a lot especially the revolving pop-up C4 is quite reasonable by classic car
more, especially if it’s a ZR1. In saying headlights, the electric seats if fitted, standards. “Depends on whether you
that, you can still pick up a nice clean and the digital dashboard. Also the LT1 can do the work yourself, but around
C4 for under $20K, at times with under engine C4s are fitted with the Optispark $500 if nothing breaks,” says David.
100,000km on the clock. Very low distributor. Early versions are prone “It’s probably one of the cheaper
mileage examples, except the ZR1, to internal corrosion and subsequent cars to run. Not petrol though, since
can go for between $20K and $30K, failure,” says David. it’s a fairly under-stressed engine,”
and rough C4s can still be had easily Also be wary of play in the steering. says Fred.
for under $10K,” he says. David also “Because the seat is so low drivers If properly cared for the C4 Corvette
agrees: “Rough cars can fetch less than often use the steering wheel to lever will give you plenty of smiles per gallon
$8K, average less than $15K, and mint off to get in. This breaks the steering- for years to come and the best news
cars up to $22K.” column bracket, causing steering of all is they will probably still be within
wheel play. It’s quite a big job to repair,” the reach of many. “Prices may begin to
says Adrian. rise as more people recognise what a
MECHANICALLY ROBUST “Check the rubber weather seals for bargain high-performance sports tourer
Whether it is the early 205hp (153kW) water leaks around windows etc., and car the C4 is. But I doubt prices will rise
Crossfire injection cars or the later LT1 the headlights may not go up and down much in the near future,” says Brian.
or LT4 V8s, C4 Corvettes are generally properly which equates to a worn nylon So if you want to bag yourself one
mechanically sound. The “engine is gear. Oh, and I’d avoid highly modified of the most underrated of all sports
relatively bulletproof and the automatic cars. The closer to stock the better,” muscle cars, there is nothing stopping
transmission — many were auto — is says Brian. Given the production you buying the best C4 that you can
also pretty rock solid,” says Fred. numbers and still solid support, the C4 find. “It’s a lot of classic muscle car for
However the C4 is not without is never hard up for spare parts. “All the money,” says Fred.

Noticeboard
Brendon Leitch wins

at Taupo in 2018
(photo: Bruce Jenkins)
Mathew Payne, Kaleb Ngatoa,

Conrad Clark, Billy Frazer, and
Peter Vodanovich.
Kiwi race drivers assisted by
the fund have gone on to greater
things in New Zealand and abroad.
Chelsea Herbert is the sole exception,
having broken her back in a racing
accident, but she is now on the way
to full recovery and has returned to
motor racing.
KIWI DRIVER FUND

Drivers can apply for help with
their TRS engine and/or chassis lease
SEEKS MORE SPONSORS to contest the whole championship.

Potential recipients must show they
can compete at an international level.
By Michael Clark The fund is a fully independent
registered charity overseen by
a four-person board of trustees:
A charitable trust that supports rising

New Zealand race drivers is seeking
additional funding from the motor sport
“While drivers from Europe or the
US have championship opportunities
literally at their doorstep the
McMurray, former Toyota motor
sport manager Steve Boyce, and
former Toyota New Zealand senior
and business communities to expand New Zealand drivers must grapple executives Bob Field and John Fowke.
its work. with two further challenges: distance New Zealand racing identity Kenny Smith
The Kiwi Driver Fund has helped and money. Neither are new but has a mentoring, driver-training and
New Zealand’s latest crop of young post-Covid the difficulty of raising the ambassadorial role as patron of the fund.
motor racing drivers build their finance to race at a premier level here “Steve Boyce saw young Kiwi drivers
international racing careers. It provides in New Zealand is becoming a major unable to contest the C[astrol] TRS due
financial support for drivers entering hurdle. We need to ensure continual to financial issues. They had the talent
the annual Castrol Toyota Racing funding so we are looking to the wider but not the funding,” says McMurray.
Series (TRS), New Zealand’s premier motor sport or business community to “We set up the fund when we realised
single-seater championship, which has invest in the future of our young racing some very good Kiwi drivers were
become an essential step in any local stars. Looking to the future we’d like the going to miss their chance to progress.”
driver’s career plans. fund to offer support further down the The fund has been supported by
Trustee and former McLaren Formula 1 motor sport ladder and even to up and Tony Quinn (owner of Hampton Downs
team member Bob McMurray says coming talent from other motor sport and Highlands Park race circuits),
the fund “is probably the single most disciplines,” McMurray says. Post Haste, Truck Sales New Zealand,
important instrument” for helping drivers Established in 2015, the fund and Toyota New Zealand. Now the
take a crucial step in their careers. has since assisted drivers including trustees are looking to make the fund
The TRS gives local drivers a chance Brendon Leitch, Taylor Cockerton, financially sustainable.
to compete directly against rising stars Marcus Armstrong, Liam Lawson, For more information see
from Europe, the UK, Asia, and the and Chelsea Herbert. In the 2021 kiwidriverfund.co.nz or facebook.com/
Americas. championship the fund supported kiwidriverfund.
LAST CHANCE SALOON

T he cars that clogged the roads
in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s have
dwindled to tiny numbers in the UK so
equivalent of our registered) Austin
Maestros in the UK, 296 Austin
Metros, 749 Hillman Imps, and 1091
left) and the Ford Sierra (with 2323 left)
are on the Drive Dad’s car roster.
Dan adds: “It doesn’t bear thinking
trackdays.co.uk is giving modern drivers Reliant Robins. about but there is the possibility that
the chance to give them a go before Dan Jones, operations manager some iconic classic cars that were
they go for good. at trackdays.co.uk, says, “This is a incredibly popular in their time could
Its new Drive Dad’s Car Experience great opportunity to relive childhood disappear for good over time. With so
allows participants to drive once- memories behind the wheel of few left a classic car driving experience
common but now extremely rare cars everyday classics that are quickly might be one of the only opportunities
like the Austin Maestro, Ford Sierra, becoming endangered species.” for a nostalgic drive down memory lane
Vauxhall Cavalier, and Reliant Robin. With slightly more on UK roads, but in some much-loved motors.”
According to howmanyleft.co.uk, still many thousands down on their For more details see Drive Dad’s Car
there may be just 144 taxed (the heyday, the Vauxhall Cavalier (with 1606 Experience at trackdays.co.uk.

Noticeboard / Event Diary
EVENT DIARY
Due to Covid-19 precautions, events
may be postponed or cancelled. Please
confirm details with event organisers.
MUSCLE
27 MAY 6 JUNE
Classic Car Hamilton Classics Car
GARAGE
Meet Night Meet Boot Sale
& Breakfast
Cock & Bull, Hamilton
Jukebox Diner, Dinsdale,
RETURNS
Hamilton
30 MAY
Caffeine & Classics 6 JUNE
TO AIR
Smales Farm, Takapuna, Lone Star
Auckland Canterbury Rally
Starts from Joe’s Garage,
Alfred Street, Rangiora,
30 MAY at 8.30am
The eighth season of Repco Muscle Garage looked at Glen Eggleton’s ’71 Chevelle, as featured Caffeine & Gasoline
began on Three’s CRC Motorsport on Sunday, recently in our sister magazine NZV8. And Hampton Downs
16 May, and is set to air every Sunday for another New Zealand master of all-things Studebaker,
13 JUNE
Motorsport Park, Te Restoration of the
nine consecutive weeks. Trev Halstead, threw open the doors of his Waikato Kauwhata Year Run 2021
workshop to showcase what he is currently Starts from Crawford
The show takes an in-depth look at the finest hot
working on. You can see this issue on Youtube as Mouldings, March Place,
rods, street machines, and muscle cars produced
here while also getting to know the Kiwis behind the
the whole series will also be available there. 30 MAY Belfast, Christchurch,
Leslie Rd Tarmac 10am
builds. As in previous seasons the show will also visit “To have the show now in its eighth season
Hillclimb
some of the best sheds and workshops as well as is something that we’re extremely proud of,”
Leslie Road, Waikato 20 JUNE
capture the action from events such as Beach Hop, said NZV8’s Marcus Gibson. “It’s a credit to the
Morrinsville Motorama, and Americarna. strength of the automotive culture in New Zealand. Classic Car Club
Breakfast
Episode one kicked off with the return of the The show is supported by Repco, Mount Shop, 30 MAY The Talisman Hotel,
Classic Cover Insurance Jalopy Dust Up and and Smits Group. Mangatainoka Restaurant & Garden Bar,
Motors Brexit 7 Main Road, Katikati
vs EU Day
Tui Brewery,
BURNING RUBBER Mangatainoka

20 JUNE
Old Cars, Bikes
and Coffee
It’s estimated that we as a country discard five Cutler Park, Christchurch
million tyres a year. Until now there has been no 30 MAY
real use for end-of-life tyres and the high cost of North Canterbury
disposing of them often leads to illegal dumping Classic Gathering 27 JUNE
Better Half Kitchen & Bar, Mangatainoka
and large stockpiles. Motors V8 Sunday
Leithfield
The first of what is hoped to be many large-scale Tui Brewery,
projects will now see upwards of three million Mangatainoka
tyres converted to fuel for Portland Cement Works 30 MAY
in Whangarei. The plant is reducing its carbon Ruapuke Road 3 JULY
emissions by 13,000 tonnes a year, burning tyres Te Mata Bent Sprint Reefton’s Vehicle
at 1400°C, replacing 15 per cent of its coal use. Waikato Display
The remains are then incorporated in the cement. Reefton Camping
Ground, Reefton
An industry-led working group, Tyrewise, is 5–6 JUNE
working towards the introduction of a nationwide Feilding Auto
regulated product stewardship scheme to deal Electrical Winter
4 JULY
with the problem. Auckland
Series, round one Independence
Manfeild Circuit Chris Day Run
Amon, Feilding Departs Beaumont
PUKE IS BACK
Street, Auckland CBD, at
7.30pm
5–7 JUNE
Now that the trans-Tasman bubble is in place, Irishman Creek
Pukekohe will host its 20th Supercars event over Rally 2021
11 JULY
6–7 November. 40th Annual Central
Starts from Molyneux North Island Swap
“Pukekohe holds a special place in Supercars Park, Central Avenue, Meet & Car Show
history as the first venue to host an international SH8, Alexandra, at Spectacular
championship round which is what we will 7.30am Stock Car Raceway,
celebrate this year: 20 years since that Paradise Valley, Rotorua
spectacular debut,” said Supercars CEO
Sean Seamer. 6 JUNE 21–22 AUGUST
Cars & Coffee Imp Festival and
Seamer thanked the Hamptons Downs team for Smitty’s Sports Bar and Track Day
the Covid-cancelled 2020 event. “We are going Grill, Bruce McLaren
to Pukekohe this year but Hampton Downs is still Whitianga Motorsport Park,
very much on our radar.”
National Orders:
For Basis mail-order enquiries,
sales@basisnz.co.nz
The parts you want — from the people you can trust — at prices you can afford!
Ph. 03 572 8880
National Events
Classic events from around New Zealand
Oxford (left) and the Hillend

Station safari, one of three
daily Land Rover treks
(photo: Merv Moodie)
EPIC OVERLAND
OXFORD’S KIWI
EPILOGUE
By Quinton Taylor
I
n the finest tradition of British Empire Channel seemed a barely plausible task. escorts by Burma (now Myanmar) military
exploration, five recent university The company thought that if any vehicle guard against bandit ambush, they eventually
graduates of the University of Cambridge could do it, the Land Rover could and it made it onto good roads. They reached
and one student from the University would be a great stunt proving the off- and Singapore in March 1956 after covering
of Oxford decided in 1955 on an epic on-road credentials of its already hugely 16,000 miles (25,750km).
adventure: to drive two Land Rovers from popular aluminium 4X4 wonders. Both Land Rovers went back to Rover
London to Singapore in what they called Rover provided two of its 86-inch model Land to be examined and the BBC ran the
‘The London and Cambridge Far Eastern Rovers which were appropriately dubbed documentary in late 1956. Slessor chronicled
Expedition’. At the time the idea of traversing ‘Oxford’ and ‘Cambridge’. Cambridge, in the adventure in First Overland: London–
all that wilderness south of the English line with the university’s famous rowing Singapore by Land Rover, published in 1957.
colours, was painted light blue, The fate of Cambridge is not known but Land
and Oxford dark blue. The Rover Oxford was found by collector Adam
Alex Bescoby and Tim Slessor — two generations,
BBC asked team member and Bennett on, of all places, Saint Helena Island
two epic journeys, one Land Rover
broadcaster Tim Slessor to in the South Atlantic Ocean, appropriately
complete a documentary on the one of the last remaining parts of the old
trip and to also film various items British Empire. Oxford had been given to an
for David Attenborough. Some of electrician who had contributed to the 1957
the team members had served British Ornithologist Expedition and he took it
in the military and some were with him to Saint Helena. Bennett resurrected
engineers. On 1 September 1955 the remains, after trading it for a new Land
the group set off from London Rover, and recreated what is the present-day
on the shakedown journey Oxford Land Rover.
through Europe. It wouldn’t be In 2017 documentarist and passionate
until they left Istanbul that the Land Rover collector Alex Bescoby decided
challenge really began. In Persia to retrace the expedition route of 1955,
(now Iran) they demonstrated the although he had to detour somewhat due to
Land Rovers for the army which political and border changes. The expedition
promptly put in an order for 500 did not go ahead until a couple of years later
vehicles, making that part of the but on 25 August 2019 three Land Rovers,
journey a rousing success. including Oxford, set out from Singapore
Using tracks and river fords used bound for London, arriving there 111 days later.
by General Stilwell’s Chindits in Tim Slessor, then aged 87, accompanied the
World War II, and with occasional trip which he called ‘The Last Overland’.

Gemma Nott, daughter of former Oxford trek member Henry Nott, with Rod and Anne Corbett (left) present a cheque for $4500 to
the Oxford Land Rover at Wheels at Wanaka 2021 Wanaka Search and Rescue chairman Aaron Nicholson
Like Bennett and Bescoby, Wanaka couple is home to some very noteworthy Landies
Rod and Anne Corbett are dedicated Land including a faithful replica of Oxford and just Oxford led a parade of 150 Land Rovers
Rover fans. They own three of them and the 20th Land Rover off the production line
Rod reckons that he is just as dedicated to which is currently being restored by Peter
the hardy little 4X4s as anyone. Marr. It attended the show on a trailer but
Rod’s involvement led to Oxford’s recent is now running and close to completion.
expedition to these shores, prompting the Also taking part was son Shaun’s pristine
indefatigable Rod to organise an Oxford 1948 Series 1 Land Rover which is a faithful
Land Rover Rally to coincide with Wheels at recreation of the first production Land
Wanaka 2021. Such was the interest locally Rover, registered in the UK as HUE 166. The
that he wound up having to organise three Oxford Land Rover and associated events
safari trips throughout Central Otago from were a spectacular and popular highlight of
30 March to 4 April – and even then he this year’s event.
had to limit numbers to 80 vehicles per trek The rally also raised $4500 for the Wanaka
which covered the whole gamut of Landies Search and Rescue organisation.
from a 1948 model through to the latest Rod discovered the daughter of Oxford
new-model Defender. member Henry Nott, Gemma, lived at Lake
Many of the participants assembled back Hawea the night before the rally started and
in Wanaka for the Easter show. The finale was pleased she could join. It was her first
saw more than 150 Land Rovers, led by chance to see and ride in the Land Rover
Oxford, on parade in Wanaka. New Zealand her father had helped make famous.
WHEELS AT E
scaping the shadow of Covid, the
organisers of the 2021 Wheels
at Wanaka put on a superb show
massively appreciated by the thousands
WANAKA 2021
who attended. They came from all over
New Zealand, some exhibitors at huge cost,
to support the event which is now firmly
established — in short order — as one of
New Zealand’s biggest and best machinery
By Quinton Taylor and car shows.
Some 30,000 people including exhibitors
and tradespeople attended the 2021
Wheels at Wanaka three-day display over
the Easter holiday weekend. At the time of
writing organisers were yet to confirm the
sum raised for the Heart Kids New Zealand
charity but they will surely be very pleased.
Organising committee member Allan Dippie
was thrilled to see the efforts of many
rewarded with such an attendance.
“It was a lot bigger than our first event which
was about 12,000 so from 12,000 to 30,000 is
a big jump. The striking thing was the support
from around the country. Many from around
New Zealand had never been to Wanaka,”
he said.
The event was a huge logistical challenge
for the committee with Saturday easily the
biggest turnout and with some caterers
being stretched to the limit of their supplies.
The often-serene Central Otago weather
got a bit over-excited so on Sunday morning
crews tumbled out in the early hours to
secure tents and exhibits as a blustery wind
Definitely a Duesy storm blew through the town. Water carts
did battle with a veritable dust storm which

Feature: ?Events
National
Auto
Restorations
had this
lovely 250
Testa Rossa
recreation on
display
Ross family (C&R Developments) of Cambridge,

winners of the Robert Duncan Memorial Trophy
Power to burn — Phil Mauger demonstrates the Auto Union Type C replica
Austin line-up Coventry Classics’ C-Type and XK140
New Zealand’s first horse-drawn grader
fortunately had abated noticeably by the time Always a show with a host of activities for
the crowds arrived. everyone with machinery and motoring tastes
The Chamberlain Heartland Tractor Trek of this year’s show had a new machinery working
eight tractors and trailers made it through display area. A sea of earthmoving equipment
to Wanaka all the way from New Plymouth old and new fascinated young and old with
after travelling some 2200km fundraising for their capabilities.
Heart Kids charity. Trek leader Steve Day from A new premier trophy, the Robert Duncan
Taranaki had a special interest in raising funds. Memorial Trophy for outstanding contribution
He was thrilled his grandson Oliver, who suffers to the Wheels at Wanaka display, was
from a rare heart condition, made it all the way awarded to the Ross family who operate
in good spirits. C&R Developments of Cambridge. The
“It’s been a terrific journey and well worth it,” he company displayed the largest grader in
said. “It’s not been without drama after an incident New Zealand and it was clearly a mammoth
with a logging truck up north but we made it. We task getting this monster all the way
have raised just over $100K for Heart Kids charity. to Wanaka.
It’s not just about raising money but also raising The next show has already been confirmed for
Heart Kids’ profile as well.” 8–9 April 2023.
A wave from Steve Day as he leads the Chamberlain Heartland

Tractor Trek fundraiser team from New Plymouth
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National Events
STANDING ROOM ONLY AT

SOUTHWARD AUCTION
By Donn Anderson
M
ore than 400 bidders were on hand special Kiwi cats Jaguar feature went under showing 178,000km and its modified V8
at the Southward Car Museum in the hammer for $51,750 — well ahead of the was fitted with a Holley carburettor and
Paraparaumu for the Webb’s auction $30K–$40K estimate. Edelbrock manifold.
in March with 10 of the 24 lots selling. A superb new–in–New Zealand 1955 From the same stable a rare Arden Green
Andrew Rae, marketing and events manager Austin-Healey in red with wire wheels sold 1968 P6 Rover 2000 TC sold right on
for Webb’s, said the auction company was for a comfortable $93,150 but not all sports estimate for $16,100. This car, which arrived
“overwhelmed” with the response to the cars met their target. A white 1983 Porsche in New Zealand from Singapore in 1968, was
auction. 930, originally imported from Bahrain, came showing 123,000 miles and had remained
While the manual-gearbox XW Falcon GTHO with a brilliant history. This is the Ray Williams with the first owner for a remarkable
took centre stage as it ramped up to a sold car that had notched up 155 successes in 32 years. A 1938 Morris 8 sold for $9200,
price of $414K there was also solid interest New Zealand motor sport, including several well short of the $15K–$20K estimate.
in the British classics, headed by a 1968 Ford speed-record attempts. A 1988 Cadillac Brougham sedan sold right
Anglia that achieved $34,500 — comfortably Ray acquired the Porsche from the on target at $22,558 and a 1980 Mini HL
up on the price estimate of between $25K Giltrap Group in 1988 and won his first race found a new home for $9200. Expectations
and $30K. in the car just three days later. There was of around $100K for a 1963 VW Kombi
The immaculate red Anglia had been an ambitious target of between $280K and Microbus were not realised and the vehicle
modified and certified with a 1558cc GT $380K but the car failed to sell. remained unsold. Other vehicles that
engine and other Cortina parts. Meanwhile A four-owner 1986 Rover SD1 Vanden Plas failed to sell included a 2001 Ferrari 360
a 1965 Cortina GT sold close to its estimate Series III was given a prediction of between Modena sold new by Continental Cars,
at $37,375 and a 1965 Jaguar S-Type that $20K–$25K and found a new owner at a 1969 Holden Monaro GTS, and a 1951
featured in the New Zealand Classic Car’s $17,250. This was a rare five-speed manual Jaguar XK120.

SEASON STARTS
DOWN SOUTH
By Steve Ritchie
T
he Otago Rally formed the first round of the grips with the car the pair worked themselves lead was gifted to Judd on the first stage
2021 New Zealand Rally Championship, and up a couple of places to finish in seventh place of Sunday through Siberia when Murland
was held over two days and encompassed out of the nine finishers in the class. received a puncture 18.9kms into the stage.
290kms of roads south of Dunedin. The course Although the Escort RS2000 only won
was made up of 14 special stages, including two stages on Sunday, Judd and co-driver
a 2.15km ‘super special stage’ in the central Slight error Alex Parkin had enough of a gap to win the
Dunedin industrial area. With the dry conditions Another 43 cars were entered in the Otago Historic class by 2mins 37 seconds over
and Otago weather, the roads were in splendid Classic Rally, one of them driven by superbike second-placed John Silcock and co-driver
condition for the 114 cars entered. ace Aaron Slight. His black Ford Escort RS1800 Donna Elder in the RX7. Coming home in
The event comprised the Otago Classic 4WD, scored a DNF when the car took an excursion third place, a further 1 minute 27 seconds
Otago Classic Rally, and the NZRC. It was also off the road on Sunday. At the pointy end of behind Silcock, was Anthony Jones in
the second round of the Mainland series. the field it was Derek Ayson and co-driver another Escort.
The first group of cars entering each stage was Rocky Hudson in a Ford Escort M2 who were For Judd, this was a great start to the
the Otago Classic 4WD cars, all Subarus. Sean keeping Deane Buist and co-driver Karl Celeste Historic championship, which he previously
Haggarty started strong, winning the first two at bay. That was until Ayson was forced to stop won back in 2019. The Escort was originally
stages before slipping back into the clutches mid stage with a puncture in Special Stage 12 imported from the UK in 2016 for the Silver
of Mark McMillan and Matthew Wright, who on Sunday. Unfortunately this pushed the pair Fern Rally and has seen many a rally since,
traded first places. Leading into the second down to fifth place at the end of the rally while although in 2018 the engine was converted
day, Matthew Wright started with a 29-second the VW Gti Golf of Buist and Celeste went on to to Holbay Twin cam.
buffer. With his first and second placings on the pick up the trophy for first place.
seven stages throughout the day on Sunday, The NZRC Historic Class had a reasonable
he built on his overnight lead to finish the rally turnout, mainly Ford Escorts with a nice Lancer A class of his own
53 seconds ahead of second-placed Mark EX Turbo, Steve Cox’s Starlet, and John In the main category for outright honours,
McMillan. Silcock’s Mazda RX7 for good measure. The Hayden Paddon showed what the AP4
Motorcycling ace Avalon Biddle was one of the race to get through all the stages in the quickest Hyundai i20 was capable of when he and
competitors in the Classic 4WD class. Although time was hotly contested, with Shane Murland co-driver John Kennard were in charge.
she was seeded last in the Subaru Impreza H6, winning enough stages on Saturday to finish While those behind either crashed out, had
with Grant Marra co driving, as she came to 22 seconds in front of Jeff Judd. However, the mechanical gremlins, or simply couldn’t
keep up, the Hyundai driver continued
setting fastest stage times, on his way to
attempting to break stage records. The
team had a clean sweep until stage 11, when
they got a puncture on the left front tyre.
Being just 4 kilometers from the stage end,
they pressed on and finished second — 12
seconds behind Ben Hunt. Having changed
the tyre, they proceeded into stages 13 and
14, notching up two more wins while Ben
Hunt was forced to retire with an electrical
issue. While racing through stage 15 in the
famous Kuri Bush, they picked up another
puncture, which this time put them back to
fourth place and enabled Matt Summerfield
to win the stage by 8.7 seconds. However,
the lead they had built over the weekend
meant that they still won the first round of
the New Zealand Rally Championship by a
very comfortable margin of seven minutes
32.9 seconds.

National Events
THE LIONS GATHER

NEW ZEALAND HOLDEN NATIONAL RALLY 2021
By Quinton Taylor, photography Conan Mitchell
J
udges had their work cut out at the 2021 2021, which attracted a record number of cars,
New Zealand Holden Nationals in Timaru, the Holden Nationals also produced some of the
choosing from a field of 150 cars up country’s top restorations. Christchurch entrant Ed
for consideration. Beattie’s glittering 1972 Holden HQ GTS 350 Monaro
The Easter holiday weekend was a busy one ran away with the Entrants’ Choice award, while fellow
with events all over the South Island but this Cantabrian Paul Williams’s stunning restoration of a
event, hosted by the South Canterbury Holden 1965 EH wagon, the winner of the EJ–EH, 1959–1969
Enthusiasts Club, was clearly the first choice for category, was also a solid People’s Choice winner.
fellow Holden fans — to the extent that some missed We are certainly seeing an upsurge in interest in car
out on an entry. Organising committee chairman shows and finding large enough venues to display
Craig Timmings said that they had to turn at least 60 cars is proving a challenge for event organisers.
cars away from the exhibition hall as there just wasn’t The venue for the 2022 national rally in the
room: “All of our club cars were parked out the front North Island was yet to be decided Craig said. “The
of the hall and none were entered to allow others Nationals alternate each year between the North
to have a chance. We had five club member’s cars and South Islands. Two clubs are interested, and
which we could have entered but didn’t. There must hopefully it will be a venue closer to Wellington.”
have been some 220 cars outside the hall.” Thanks to Conan Mitchell of the Otago Holden
Hard on the heels of the Caroline Bay Rock & Hop Enthusiasts Club for providing the photos.
Above left: Paul Williams’s Holden EH wagon scooped People’s Choice and the EJ–EH category trophy
Left: Ed Beattie’s Entrants’ Choice award-winning Holden Monaro HQ GTS 350
HOSPICE BONUS
FROM CAROLINE BAY
ROCK & HOP 2021
By Quinton Taylor
T
hey came from all over the country and enjoyed the wide support it received from all Rock & Hop participants to look through an
South Canterbury Hospice benefitted facets of the community which made the event impressive collection of work in progress.
greatly with over $130K raised from this such a success. While all this was going on cars still managed
year’s ever-popular Caroline Bay Rock & Hop “It really was satisfying hearing the comments to fill the public display at the town’s reserve.
event in February. from visitors about what a great venue it is Some 850 vehicles took part in the Friday-
The bonus came as a pleasant surprise for and the fantastic outlook,” Jeanna said, while night street cruise followed by country
hospice events coordinator Jeanna Munro, hospice manager Peter O’Neill summed up cruises around outlying towns close to
easily surpassing the 2019 total of $105K a great weekend: “We’ve been blown away. Timaru. Support for the Rock & Hop could be
and making up in some small part for the So many people have been saying it’s such a seen everywhere as a multitude of groups
cancellation of the event in 2020 due to the great event. It’s the biggest crowd I’ve seen gathered in roadside reserves and driveways
Covid-19 restrictions. After the recent scare and at Caroline Bay.” complete with chairs and refreshments just to
imposition of restrictions again in Auckland, You could be forgiven for thinking What watch the cars cruise by.
giving the go-ahead for this year’s event was restrictions? cruising through Geraldine’s Saturday’s public Show ’n Shine attracted
a “close thing”. She described it as a “nice main street on the big Friday-morning 1000 vehicles and 50 caravans to
reward” for all the hard work put into the four- cruise. The town was packed with all Caroline Bay to enjoy a stunning array of
day event by her organising committee and a manner of classics and hot rods visiting the classics and hot rods and Sunday finished
host of supporters. Caroline Bay was a great museum and car collections while Geraldine four days of fun and bling with the big cruise
asset and focal point to have, and the hospice Auto Restorations opened its doors to to Tekapo.
Thanks everyone — Hospice South Canterbury

Rock & Hop Organising Committee Something for everyone
Top Australian award went to our cover car this issue
Rare, recently restored Alfa Romeo
Top Paint
award for this MkII
Ford Cortina

National Events
BLACKHEAD
ROAD ATTRACTS
MUSCLE CARS
By Quinton Taylor
New Zealand Classic Car
readers will recognise a
few of these feature cars
W
hat to do when a pandemic
shutdown leaves you very little time
to organise an annual car show?
Hold it in your front yard of course.
Gary McNeill and Cara Matson opened up
the front paddocks of their Blackhead Road
property in Dunedin in early March to run
their inaugural Blackhead Road Muscle Cars
show which attracted around 60 cars. Chef
Gary organised the barbecue and a very
enjoyable sunny family afternoon was had
by all.
Gary was pleased with the response to
an event organised at short notice and
hopes to provide a few surprises for next
year’s show.
“Thanks to all those who turned up. It was
a good turnout despite some other events
being on. We plan to hold it again next year
with perhaps live music and expand it a bit
with a few ideas we are planning,” he said. Family day out
Paul and Shona Coory’s pristine ’66 Shelby Ford Falcon GT coupé
Mustang GT350H alongside Brian Stewart’s GT40 1927 Dry Lakes–style Ford Roadster rumbles out of the driveway
Gary’s New Zealand Z-cars lead a mixed line-up

Classic Car feature
Chevrolet 3100 now
has its signwriting done

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reproduction, crash repair, and paint Waikato picturevehicles.co.nz / 0800 259 010 /
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/ Business Park 2 Korora Road, NZ CLASSIC CAR MIRRORS Nationwide Christchurch
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classiccaraccessories.co.nz / 027 294 2255 / customer feedback!
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Connect with
your community
THE NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR
LOCAL SPECIALISTS DIRECTORY IS A GREAT
WAY TO PROFILE YOUR SPECIALIST SERVICE TO
CLASSIC CAR ENTHUSIASTS IN YOUR REGION.
To secure your inclusion contact Dean Payn on 09 222 1731
or via email to dean.payn@parkside.co.nz.
Daily Driver
NEXT MONTH
#367
ON SALE 21 JUNE
FULL HOUSE
When it comes to man caves it doesn’t
get much better than Shane’s pair and
three of a kind. It is not uncommon to
find people aspiring to own a Porsche or
a Ferrari but what about when you have a
full house of these beautiful cars?
Shane has had a long love affair with
Europeans cars, particularly the sports
models with manual transmissions. He’s
fastidious, as are many of the owners
of these treasured sports cars, and seeks
out not only manual transmissions
but also New Zealand–new vehicles
and preferably in a colour suitable for
Ferraris. Red, only red.
In next month’s issue Vaughan Wilson,
My 1971 Austin Mini ute our Wellington contributor, takes a closer

look at Shane’s collection.
By Patrick Pascoe, Picton
T
his is the second Mini ute I have about 140 members and we do a couple
owned. The first I purchased of runs each month.
new in 1971 when I started in Minis have always been popular
business in Blenheim. resto vehicles, with plenty of new and
There were only 100 of these used parts available. I also have a 1959
brought into New Zealand. I know model which is also very rare as they
there were four sold in Blenheim and had a different body shell to 1960. At
five in Nelson and at the moment I the moment I have a 1976 English
believe there are about four on the Countryman under restoration.
LEGEND OR LEMON?
road. They did get very rusty. My other restorations include a Donn Anderson endeavours to make a
I restored this one and got it on 1964 Jaguar 3.8, a 1962 Austin A40 case for Triumph’s last sports car — the
the road 12 years ago. I found it down Farina with Healey Sprite running gear, TR7. Given conventional mechanicals in
south. After searching for a number of a 1966 Healey Sprite, and the ex–Kerry an unconventional shape this TR7 was
years this one had the least rust of any Grant / Jim Mullins A40 race car. I never as illustrious as its predecessors. Yet
I had seen. It took around two years to bought that in 1967 and it is now in while the rakish TR7 might be regarded
restore it and, being a classic car person, a display at Omaka Classic Cars in as the black sheep of the Triumph TR clan
I use the Mini most days. Blenheim where we have a Renwick it nevertheless became the best-selling TR
My first classic restoration was an 50 street race display which includes of all time.
Austin-Healey 3000 which I still have. Sam Mills’ Humber 80 and lots of
This got me interested in forming the memorabilia to check out.
Nelson Classic Motoring Society Inc. The Mini ute is such a handy vehicle
in 1998. It has grown in the top of the that I use it on a semi-daily basis —
South [Island] and now incorporates although it does seem to be getting
the full Marlborough region. We have lower and harder to get into.

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MOTOR M A N DR I VE S TH E PH A S E II FALCO N GTH O

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