Look like a big-dollar pro build? Think again. This blown big block Camaro was built in a suburban garage.

I remember being heavily involved in a conversation-come-argument many years back about the pros and cons of building a car yourself, rather than paying professionals to do it. At the time I was 100 percent on the do it yourself side of the fence. While I still like to think that way a bit, the reality is I’ve grown to learn my limitations, and these days if I had the time and money to choose between paying someone to build a car for me or smashing my knuckles doing it myself, it would be a much harder decision.

As my knowledge of cars has grown, my awareness of my own shortfalls has also become more apparent, so while I like top-shelf vehicles, I don’t have the patience or ability to get them to that level without some help from the pros. On the other hand, the owner of this 1969 Camaro, Vince Lettice, has shown he’s got what it takes to mix it with the big boys.

From Mopar to Chev

The Lettice family’s journey to Camaro ownership came about by accident. Owning a pretty cool ’68 Dodge Charger, Vince and his family have long been regulars at a monthly Auckland breakfast meet. It was on the way home from one of these meets that Vince noticed they were being followed. It turned out to be nothing sinister at all, rather someone wanting desperately to buy a Charger just like theirs. Although the car wasn’t for sale, the price was right and a deal was done. (more…)

Buying a second hand engine or performing an engine transplant? We check out the facts and figures for some common options.

Ford Windsor

The Windsor was introduced in 1962, replacing the previous Ford Y-block engine. The name is derived from the factory in which the first engines were produced in Windsor, Ontario. In 1996, Ford replaced the 302ci (5.0-litre) pushrod Windsor V8 with the Modular 4.6-litre in the Mustang, although it was continued in the F150 till 1997 and the Explorer until 2001.

The Windsor uses a thin-wall cast iron block with a separate aluminium timing chain cover. This feature differentiates it from later Cleveland or 351-series engines, which use an integrated timing cover cast in the block.

There is often confusion about the name of the 2V and 4V Windsors. Although many people assume this to be the number of valves per cylinder, it actually refers to the number of barrels in the carburettor. Another simple differentiation between the Windsor and Cleveland series is the location of the radiator hose — the Windsor routed coolant through the intake manifold with the hose protruding horizontally, while the Cleveland had the radiator hose connecting vertically to the engine block. Until 1964 the Windor’s rods used an oil squirt hole to lubricate the piston pin and rings. (more…)

If it weren’t for some home detective work, this 9-second streeter may never have called New Zealand home.

You’ve heard of those scam stories. Well, I got sucked in,” says the owner of this seriously tough 9-second Street Camaro, Rick Baker.

The look of disbelief on my face probably showed my confusion, because to me the car looks pretty well perfect. And it is. Rick explained the situation by going on to say, “There’s a lot to be said for doodling and taking notes, ’cause if I hadn’t the Camaro wouldn’t be here today.”

“My son and I were on eBay having a look for our next project. It had to be a ’68 Camaro, and a big block. Not keen on a rebuild we searched for a turnkey beast. The advert said this one had a fresh engine and was in show condition, even if the pictures were a bit blurry.”

“That was it. The ‘buy now’ button was pressed. I asked for the seller’s number to talk with him. After a few hours we were talking and the seller, David, insisted on a 50% deposit as us Kiwis are apparently time wasters. I was placed on hold while he answered a call or two, and that turned out to be my saviour.”

After wiring across the 50% deposit, Rick decided he’d head to the States and pick the car up in person rather than sending a transporter as he’d said he would to David. Just six days later he was standing in front of the given pick up address dumbfounded. All that lay in front of him was a derelict house, with no one nearby knowing the seller and the house having sat empty for years. (more…)

Bo Matenga’s big block Falcon proves that with a little bit of time and effort anything is possible.

It won’t fit”, “It can’t be done”, “It will be a nightmare”, “It’s not worth the hassle” are all familiar comments for Bo Matenga. Once he announced he would drop a 460 big block into his XW Falcon, that was the common response he got.

But, as is common with many people in the motoring scene, it’s comments like that which drove Bo even harder to make sure he achieved his goal of owning a big block Falcon.

In saying that, it wasn’t originally going to be this Falcon you see here. Instead Bo bought a white XW with the intention of building a Bill Bourke 428 replica. Complete with 302 Cleveland and four-speed manual, the white car was and still is a good car. However after he’d got it home and set about removing the engine to install the big block, the current blue XW came up for sale. Torn between spending more money, and continuing with the white car (which was really too good to go hacking up), eventually he made the decision to buy the second car.

What made it appealing was that the bodywork had been completed, it was essentially ready for paint, and of course as it came without a running engine, the price was right. (more…)

There are street/drag cars that get driven on the road once a year, then there are true street cars like Steve Wall’s kick-arse Malibu¦

There’s truth to the saying about being in the right time and the right place. That’s a statement Steve Wall must believe in, as if he hadn’t known the right people, and been in the right place at the right time, his long-held dream of owning a Chev Malibu might not have come true.

Steve works as an industrial pipeline welder, and was enjoying smoko with his workmates one day when one of them, Rod, got a call asking him to go and work in the US. He accepted, and Steve soon convinced him to bring back a car from over there to make a bit of cash. Although not a car guy at the time, Rod took Steve’s advice and did just that, bringing in a ’68 Mustang.

Fast forward a few years and Rod was back Stateside again, this time with a plan to fit four cars into a 40-foot container. After buying three Mustangs he ran out of time, so did a deal with an ex-pat Kiwi to put his old Chev in as the fourth vehicle and see if he could sell it back in New Zealand.

Six weeks later Steve was helping Rod unload the container, and much to his surprise “that old Chev” that had made up the numbers was a ’66 Malibu, the very type of car Steve had always dreamed of owning. (more…)

If you think Stephen Farmer’s Pontiac looks good from the top, wait till you see what’s hiding underneath.

It’s all too common these days to find cars that look like the toughest thing since Jake the Muss, but which lack any real substance underneath it all. So it’s refreshing when you stumble upon a car such as Stephen Farmer’s 1968 Pontiac Firebird, which is far more than initially meets the eye.

From the outset, it’s easy to see the car has been well-built, although it’s fair to say it looks more like Jake the Muss wearing lipstick and a summer dress than it does anything tough. However, the car could be compared to some sort of archaeologist’s dream. The more you dig and look, the more you find, including things that you didn’t know ever existed, and parts that have never before been seen on this side of the globe.

Bird Of Prey

Given the spare-no-expense quality of the Firebird, it’s perhaps surprising to learn that Stephen had never previously owned a muscle car. He was, however, lucky enough to grow up around American iron. “I remember the late ’60s when dad had a ’68 Pontiac Laurentian with bench seats, with the same peaked nose, and the days when we’d go to Browns Bay for holidays; it was miles away then. I have great memories of that car, but now I’m older and know a bit more, the Firebird is a better car.”

But why, after all these years, build such an impressive beast? The short version goes something like this: after being around motorsport and particularly circuit racing all his life, when he returned from overseas 10 years ago Stephen got involved with International Motorsport and its owner, Lyall Williamson. International Motorsport runs a host of circuit cars, including NZV8 touring cars, Porsche Cup cars and more. “During the motorsport off-season, a lot of International Motorsport’s resources were underutilised,” Stephen says. “Lyall had recognised this in the past, and had the staff perform a few very impressive nut and bolt restorations on Mustangs and an old Porsche, although one of the Mustangs did end up with an NZV8 engine in it!”

Knowing International Motorsport had the knowledge ” thanks to Lyall and his staff ” the facilities and contacts after years of being involved in the motorsport scene, it made sense for Stephen and Lyall to join forces and create a company that could work alongside the motorsport business and focus on creating vehicles such as the Pontiac that Stephen was dreaming of. And so International Performance Classics was born.

The first project for the new venture was sourced and the rest is history.

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If you want a car that means business, what better than a ’50s Chev Business coupe?

Many of us have owned a car we loved but for one reason or another needed to exchange it for cash. Well-known hot rodders Ian and Trish Rainbow were in that very situation back in 1987, when due to reasons beyond their control the daily driven 1950 Chev Business coupe they absolutely adored had to be moved on. Since they never wanted to part with the car, a condition of the sale was that they had first option to buy it back, should it ever go on the market again.

Lucky Thirteen

Thirteen years later Trish’s memories of the car were triggered by looking through old photos, and she suggested they chase it down and buy it back. Ian, who had owned and built a handful of hot rods since selling the coupe, wasn’t about to disagree; deep in the back of his mind a plan had been brewing to build a tough street and strip-style car, and the ’50 would be the perfect platform to build from.

Long story short, they tracked it down, bought it, and work began.

Since the Rainbows had sold it, the small block Chev Ian installed had been removed and the car fitted with a big block, more on that later.

As the plan for the build progressed, it was decided that rather than modify the original chassis to bring it more in line with how Ian wanted it, purchasing a full aftermarket chassis was the more sensible option.

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With a 450hp big block and four on the floor, this stunning Camaro isn’t so much a cruiser as a bruiser.

It was a sparkling autumn day when I was called out to go on an adventure of Stand By Me proportions. I drove to a secluded spot in South Auckland to meet up with the photographer, and the vehicle’s owner, Shane Ushaw.

After waiting for the man of the hour to arrive, I finally saw it in all its glory. Amidst the war-torn Beirut backdrop of our industrial photoshoot location was a simply stunning example of a ’69 SS Camaro drop-top. It shone and sparkled so much I had to rub my eyes like a child in a Christmas movie who’d just been given his first bicycle. It was beautiful. I approached the car with wonder and automotive lust, and then quickly ran from it as photographer Dan yelled at me for walking in front of the lens. So I decided instead to quiz the owner about his mighty fine piece of American muscle.

Having owned more Camaro hardtops than he can remember, Shane purchased this convertible in 2004. What really started its major rebuild, though, was a small incident involving a fence, a bit of grass and some dented pride.

Rather than repair the car back to its pre-incident condition, Shane saw his misfortune as the perfect chance to make the drop-top something truly special.

Shane explained that the accident with the fence was actually a blessing in disguise, and he’d always intended to do up the SS, though admittedly not to this level.

Unfortunately this car build not only owes its modifications to that fence but also to Shane’s late wife Donna, who tragically passed away three years ago. Donna loved the car and, before her passing, it was destined to be hers. As the car was part way through the build process when she died, Shane set about building this dream car as a tribute to her.

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