Tickets went on sale for the NZHRA Hot Rod Lottery last week, but we now have more info on the prize car and how you can enter.

Due to a large response received during the last Lottery, ticket numbers this year, have been increased to 30,000. The prize? A stunning 1926 Ford Roadster.

The Roadster has a 350 Chev engine with Ford 9 inch diff, 350 Turbo transmission, and tube axle front end with white satin interior finish. It is not just the Roadster up for grabs either, with the car will be a new set of mags from BGWorld Wheels, Mothers High Performance Car Care products have added boxes of product to keep the car in show condition and Classic Cover Insurance Limited are offering a year’s free cover.

Tickets are available for purchase through NZHRA Clubs and there is a full listing on where you can get your $6 ticket from here at the NZHRA website.  The Roadster can be seen on the 25th September at the Tararua Rodders Show n Shine in Levin and at the National Hot Rod Show in Hawera on the 15th -16th October – tickets will also be available on site at both venues. (more…)

Tickets have just gone on sale for the 2011 NZHRA Hot Rod Lottery and this year’s prize hot rod looks like a real beauty.

It’s a 1926 Ford Roadster finished in a striking green hue. There’s a 350 Chev shoved under the bonnet, a tube axle front end, 9-inch diff and a 350 Turbo transmission. Everything is nicely in order and a white leather custom interior sets it all off.

Tickets for the lottery are $6 and can be purchased through NZHRA clubs around NZ. Ticket sales close on November 10th with the draw taking place on November 19th. The winner will be notified by phone.

You can also see the lottery Hot Rod as it attends events in the coming months. It will be shown at Tararua Rodders show n shine event in Levin on September 25 and the National Hot Rod Show in Hawera on October 15-16th. (more…)

Hey everyone in V8 land. So – what has been happening in the “project inbred” garage?

Well the chassis has been at “Tomsoffroad” getting finished off, and what a bloody fab job Tom has done. He made some cross members, mounted the rear shocks and fuel tank, mounted the brake booster and made a trick brake pedal, fabricated a battery box and body mounts and made the front shock mounts in preparation for the shocks on their way from Summit in the USA. Check out the pics…

And what have I been doing while the chassis is away. I started designing the floor and firewall, cut them out and fabricated some inner wheel wells out of the original Bedford front guards. I don’t have any pics yet – not much to show, but have some of the start of it, which you can see in the above pics.

The chassis is back home now , I picked it up from Tom on Sunday, but not before we wired it up and started the 345 for the first time in a year. I bit of gas and a slight adjustment to the dizzy and she fired up.

watch?v=NSKiG4AYRdQ&feature=mh_lolz&list=HL1310370328

The Chassis is back home now and I’m keen to get into mounting the body, building the floor and using my new found skill in welding (well practise makes perfect). Hopefully in a couple of months I’ll have heaps to show you – “project inbred” has been a year in the making so far, but it’s starting to take shape….

Name: Harry Orpwood
Vehicle: 1932 Ford 5 Window Coupe

Nice original ’32 Harry, how long have you had it?
I must have had it about 11 years I guess. The guy I bought it off owned four ’32s.

It looks as if it just drove out of a ’70s hot rod movie. Did you get it as is or have you played with it?
I think it had been built in the early ’70s, and it was a goldy bronze two-tone colour when I got it. I bought it without a motor or gearbox and it had a Vauxhall Victor front end in it.

So it’s undergone a few changes, then…
Yeah, I put a Holden front end and a 305 Chev in it. I got it running and took it to its first event, which was the pre-’49 Nationals. I drove it like that for a while and then pulled the motor out and put a 350 in it, which was a 400-buck crapper, but it lasted quite a while.

It didn’t sound like any old crapper when you started it up.
No; about 18 months ago, while I was in America, I bought a Model A coupe that had a brand new 350 in it which had never been run, so a couple of months ago I put it in the ’32 and it’s pretty lumpy. I think it’s a bit too good for this car, so I’ll probably pull it out and put a 305 I have in it.

It must go pretty good with the 350 in it though.
At the moment it’s pretty hairy. The old 305 was good, you could just get in and drive normally, but that thing just takes off, and then it’s a bit flat until it gets on the cam and then it’s hold on!

So you don’t just pop down to the dairy in it?
I used to use it all the time, it was pretty much my main transport for a while. I don’t use it as much now but I still use it often. (more…)

Has it really come back around that fast? It sure has. The 2011 Annual Kumeu Classic Car & ¨Hot Rod Festival is on this weekend so head out to Kumeu and check it out. Located at the Kumeu Showgrounds and running on Saturday and Sunday there will be trade stands, swapsites, stunt shows, a food hall, bands, licenced bar and of course indoor and outdoor car displays.

Whats on and When

Very much a family festival, the 2011 running of the Classic Car and Hot Rod Festival has plenty of attractions for young and old. The fun starts at 7.00am on Saturday January 15, and doesn’t let up until the gates close at 5.00pm the next day. Kumeu’s A&P Showgrounds is the venue, located off Access Road (off SH16) in Kumeu; signage will direct swappers, display cars and the public to the correct entrance.

Entry Details

Saturday 7.00am — 6.00pm, ¨Sunday 8.00am — 5pm
Entry $15.00 (Kids under 12 Free)
Outdoor Classic Car and Hot Rod Display, Drivers Free — No Cert Requied
Free Parking — No Dogs

For directions to the venue and more information, click here to visit the Kumeu Hot Rod show website.

Click here to see a gallery of images from last years show.

Swedish designer Bo Zolland from technical design firm Viztech is at it again. This time, the radical car artist has created some stunning photo-quality computer generated renderings of a vintage hot rod called the “33-34″.

If this conceptual machine were to ever become a reality, Bo Zolland says the two-seater hot rod would be powered by the Cadillac CTS-V’s 6.2-litre supercharged V8 and would output around 556 horse.

Sounds pretty good to us and looks even better, enjoy the full photo gallery of Zolland’s work below. (more…)

Hot Rods versus Rallycross at Long Marston, 1976

Hot Rod World Final 1974