Asking Jen and Jed Mein where their love for V8s comes from creates an interesting discussion. While Jen had her 1966 Impala before she first met Jed, he too was into V8s long before that occasion, even if he was driving a Datsun at the time. Questionable origins aside, the pair have well and truly made up for any doubt about where their allegiance lies.

After buying a Camaro, Jed sold it to make way for the black 1970 Charger, which soon became (more…)

Drag racing is like a drug. In fact, it’s probably worse, depending on your level of involvement. The deeper you get into it, the more it costs, the less time you spend driving your car and the more time you spend preparing it. But once you’re infected with the disease, there’s not a lot of hope for you. There’s no patch you can stick on, or rehab courses you can attend.
So what do you do when you realise that for all your hard work, long nights and busted knuckles, you’re only getting the car out to a handful of events each year? Ryan Sheldon’s answer was to build one seriously cool drag-styled street car, so on any given weekend he could hop in and head off into the sunset… or something similar but slightly less gay-sounding.

The idea to build a tough street car all began back when Ryan was crewing for Mark Thomas around seven years ago, but what really kicked the whole dream into life was Ryan’s dad, Des, who stumbled upon a 4.25-inch Eagle crank.
“He declared we, as in me, should build a 500 cube-plus street car,” says Ryan of his starting point. And with that simple purchase, the ball was soon rolling.
An Impala wasn’t the first plan, but after buying a supposedly complete roller Pontiac Catalina, only to find out it was just a pile of parts that needed assembly, progress was slow. That was until Wellington-based drag racing contact Andrew Killis decided to step his own project up a notch, and better still, he was a fan of the Catalina too.
Andrew owned the ’66 Impala, and had fellow well-known drag racer David Green back-half it and construct a roll cage for the car to run in Wild Bunch (the earlier version of Top Door Slammer). As happens in a build like this, the competition gets quicker while you’re working in the shed and the goalposts move. With this scenario playing out, Andrew knew he had to step up to a full tube chassis car or never be competitive, so he put the Impala up for grabs, ‘as is’.
It wasn’t a quick move getting the car up to Auckland closer to Ryan, as on the way a fibreglass mould was taken of the complete body for Andrew’s new car (still to be completed, before you start wondering where it is).
While making progress on the Impala Ryan soon became tied up with Morice McMillan’s funny car. With Ryan owning the engine, and Morice the car itself, it wasn’t long before the Impala took a back seat. It wasn’t until last year, when Morice bought a new motor himself, that Ryan re-focused his attention on the big pro-street machine. Once the funny car engine had been sold, the bank balance was topped up and new motivation was found to
get it completed.

Knowing almost everyone in the drag racing scene, Ryan soon turned to Tony Marsh from Marsh Motorsport to machine the Dart Big M Block for his precious crank, Mahle pistons and Eagle rods. Once sorted, Top Alcohol driver John Neilan assembled it with Ryan’s assistance. John’s expertise has extended to much of the car’s build, and Ryan is very appreciative of both his knowledge shared and time donated to the project.
The engine build includes 360-degree RHS heads featuring 2.3inch and 1.9-inch valves along with Crower rocker gear, so there’s huge potential to make a bunch of power. At one stage a supercharger was discussed, and even made it to the engine bay, but that idea soon made way for the twin-carb tunnel ram set-up now fitted.
With fuel provided by a Magnafuel electric pump via fire hose-size lines and regulated by a BG regulator mixed with spark from a combination of MSD and ICE components, it’s an impressive combination.
Fellow drag racer Craig Williams wired the setup, while fellow drivers Nigel Dixon and Mike Reid were also instrumental in the driveline side of the build. Turning what was once set to be a dedicated drag car back into a street car is no small task, but with contacts like Ryan’s it soon started coming together. The fact that he had access to many leftover and unwanted parts from his drag racing mates also helped.
“The rear shocks have been 204 miles an hour in Blobby’s [Mark Thomas'] ute,” he says, as an indication of what’s in it. While the shocks may be second-hand the four-link set-up built by Dave Green certainly is not, nor are the Wilwood brakes fitted to the 9-inch diff, which Dave also built.
Up front stock Impala discs have been used to slow the skinny 15×5.5-inch Weld Racing Prostar wheels. Skinny certainly isn’t a word you’d use to describe the rear wheel and tyre combination though. Measuring in at 33×22.5×15 inches, the Hoosiers are the largest-treaded tyre available on the market! The faux beadlocks, which simply clip on, are a love it or hate it touch, but the super-tough low stance is loved by all.
Hours upon hours have gone into getting the car to look this good, a challenge not helped by the fact that it came with no front guards or bonnet. Another drag racing associate, Adam Prestney, took care of sorting out these components in fibreglass, before the car was sprayed in its blue hue by Jonsey’s Garage in Hamilton.

The interior was nothing but a jungle-gym of roll cage tubing when Ryan first got the car, not that you’d ever know it now. All the interior work is his own doing, apart from the trimming of the custom centre console, which was taken care of by Jason Loose at Cut Loose Upholstery.
“The seats are the cheapest ones I could find,” Ryan says. The rest of the interior certainly was not budget though and consists of a Dakota Digital dash, Holden steering column and B&M shifter. That shifter is connected to a seriously tough TH400 trans built by Chuck ‘the only man for the job’ Mann. It’s got a 4000rpm stall converter and is full of Chuck’s tricks and knowledge, so should outlast the rest of the car.
Assuming of course that Ryan drives it as a street car and doesn’t ever get tempted to put it down the quarter mile. It’s not that the trans wouldn’t handle the car’s estimated 800hp, but we know it’s likely that power figure would quickly double.
With the car now just in the final stages of becoming road legal it shouldn’t be long before he’s driving the tyres off it. Hopefully not literally, as buying tyres that size would be a serious threat to the wallet.
Then again, when you consider just how long those tyres will last compared to drag slicks, maybe it’s a small price to pay for the huge amount of fun Ryan and friends are about to have.

1966 Chevrolet Impala – Specifications

Engine: 540ci (8.8-litre) big block Chev, Dart Big M block, Mahle 4.5-inch pistons, Eagle 4.25-inch crank, Eagle rods, Donovan gear drive, ARP fasteners, Herbert cam, Lunatai roller lifters, RHS 360 aluminium heads, Comp Cams springs, Comp Cams valves, Crower Roller Rockers, Titanium retainers, 2.3-inch intake valves, 1.9-inch exhaust valves, tunnel ram, twin 1150cfm Holley Dominator carbs, BG regulator, Magnafuel electric pump, MSD Digital 7 ignition, MSD crank trigger, ICE coil, Taylor leads, two-inch headers, three-inch exhaust, aluminium radiator, 25 row trans cooler
Driveline: TH400, 4000rpm stall converter, Ford 9-inch diff, strong-backed, Strange 35-spline axles, Strange nodular head, 4.56:1 gears, Detroit locker
Suspension: Custom 4-link rear, Spax shocks, custom springs
Brakes: Stock Impala disc front, Wilwood rear callipers
Wheels/ tyres: 15×5.5 and 15×15-inch Weld Prostar rims, Mickey Thompson front tyres, 33×22.5×15 Hoosier rear tyres
Exterior: Custom rear wing, fibreglass front panels, Ford blue paint
Chassis: Rear halved, full cage
Interior: Aftermarket seats, B&M shifter, Holden steering column, Dakota digital dash, custom retrim

Ryan Sheldon – Owner Profile

Occupation: Furnace Operator
Previously owned cars: ’77 Camaro, ’56 Cadillac, Top Alcohol Funny Car (with Morice), ’59 Chev doorslammer, ’65 Pontiac Catalina
Dream car: You’re looking at it
Why the Impala?: Got sick of having a Group One car that you only take out six or seven times a year
Build time: Six years
Length of ownership: Six years
Ryan thanks: John Neilan, Craig Williams, Mike Reid, Adam Prestney, Nigel and Jody Dixon, Andrew Killis, Sam Salle, Darrell Bone at Chuck’s, Jonsey’s Garage Hamilton, Robert Tynan, Brendan Halpin at Rad Rides, Morice McMillin, Darryl Hoon, Paul and Olivia Lambarth, and most importantly Dad

Words: Todd Wylie Photos: Adam Croy
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Jack Rainbow’s slammed ’61 Impala Bubbletop must have been what the Beach Boys were talking about when they sang, “She’s real fine, my 409”.

Real muscle car power was brought to the people in the early ’60s, especially with the arrival of the 1961 Chevrolet Impala SS 409. Chevy built 491,000 Impalas that year. Only 453 had the SS (Super Sport) package, and of those just 142 got the 409ci engine.

Word spread quickly about a mainstream Chevy V8 with 409lb/ft (554Nm) of torque and the ability to do mid-15-second quarter miles with the standard 3.36:1 rear axle and four-speed manual. The Beach Boys even immortalised it in the song ‘409’ (She’s real fine/my 409).

Jack Rainbow’s 1961 Chevrolet Impala may not be an original SS 409, but with a 409 W series motor now resting between the front guards and an impeccable build quality, it’s “even better than the real thing” — thought I’d keep up with the song theme with that little U2 snippet.

But I’m getting way ahead of myself here, let’s go back to the beginning… (more…)

General Motors has just announced that production of its next-generation 2014 Chevrolet Impala will be shifted to its Detroit-Hamtramck manufacturing plant. At this plant it will be produced alongside the Chevrolet Volt and Malibu and this decision to move Impala production is an early indication that the Holden Commodore won’t be returning to U.S. shores.

The next American-market Impala will use a stretched version of GM’s Epsilon II platform, with a front-wheel drive layout. While it’s not a popular move with some enthusiasts who want their Chevy large sedan to be rear-wheel powered it lessens the chances of the Commodore ever returning to the U.S., in either sedan, wagon or ute bodystyles.

The main reason is an awareness of fuel economy regulations. GM’s decision to keep almost all of its range front-wheel drive shows that the automaker has a preference for better fuel economy over performance. The front-wheel drive architecture also helps with developing more modern interiors due to the absence of a bulky driveshaft running the length of the car. In simple terms the Commodore just doesn’t fit into GM’s new politically correct range. It was popular in Pontiac G8 form but with the new Malibu owning its spot for now it will have a tough time finding its way back into the lucrative America market. (more…)

It’s time to smash the piggy-bank and get down to your local dairy or book shop because the April 2011 issue of NZV8 has just hit the shelves.

This month’s issue is absolute pearl and has a awesome Chevy Impala cover car. This beast of the street puts out 800+ horsepower from its 540ci big block engine and is finished with an eye for detail. Other feature cars include a flawless ’65 Ford Mustang Fastback powered by a Roush engine and also a super tidy 1971 Holden Monaro LS with a 350 Chev powerplant. We report back from the 21st Muscle Car Madness event in the South Island and have a full report from Americarna in the Hutt City. For you motorsport fans we have info and photos from the recent CMC Round 3 and also the first round of the Century Yuasa power series. We continue our Dream Shed special features and our final feature car is a 450ci big block XW Falcon GT Replica.

All this plus the usual advice and technical information, readers’ rides and competitions to keep you up to date with all that’s happening on the NZ V8 scene. Pick up a copy now before they sell out!

On the first episode of the new NZV8 TV season we check out the upcoming BNT NZV8 series test day where presenter Morice McMillin a devout drag racer finds out about turning corners. We take a ride with Frank Kereopa in his awesome big block 1965 Impala as seen in the current issue of NZV8. And for a change of pace we go cruising with the Cadillac Club of New Zealand.

NZV8 TV is on at 2:30 pm, Sunday 7th of November on TV1. It will run each week at the same time so check it out.

Also watch this week for your chance to win a 3D LG TV and other prizes. Click here to find out more.

Click here to view profiles of this season’s presenters.

To view the first epsiode of NZV8 TV click on the video boxes below, and check back to watch all the episodes online.

Part 1

Part 2

Frank Kereopa’s Impala has followed the rule that if anything can go wrong, it will. Luckily, those troubles are now well behind him and his big black bruiser.

Only the good die young’, and ‘bad things happen to good people’, are common sayings with a whole lot of truth behind them. So is ‘if it can go wrong, it will’, and that’s exactly what happened to Frank Kereopa, his wife Donna and their quest for automotive perfection.

After owning some cool cars years ago, Frank and Donna had steered away from the automotive scene to focus on raising their children, and it wasn’t until a brother-in-law’s birthday party that the spark was reignited. The deafening sound as an unfinished Cobra with no headers on it was fired into life sent the girls running from the garage and the boys wanting more. And so it began. With V8s in his DNA, Frank was now on a mission to get another of his own. The requirements were simple: it must be big and it must be black.

Extending the Search

After exhausting Trade Me and finding nothing that really got his heart racing, Frank turned his attention to eBay, where he found just the thing he was looking for.

Rather than buy sight unseen, Frank and Donna decided that checking the car out in person before handing over the folding was the perfect excuse for a trip to the States. When they sighted the supposedly “rust-free” car they’d almost done the deal on, they discovered they could see the ground below through the holes in the floor; their decision to make the trip had been well worth it. Determined not to go home empty-handed, they once again hit eBay.

The next day they were off to Chicago to check out a big block Impala, which, since it was big and black, was just what Frank wanted. “After a short drive around the block, not always on the correct side of the road and with a nervous owner in the passenger seat,” Frank says, warming to his story, “I turned to Donna, thinking this was too much of a loud race car for her to be interested in it, and said, ‘What do you think?’ Without a pause she said, ‘Buy it!’ I love that woman. She now says I have two wives ” one white and one black.”

(more…)

Throughout life, most men need to make sacrifices at one point or another for the greater good, whether that be family, friends or otherwise. Hopefully, and if all goes well, said sacrifices pay off and are rewarded. In multi-award-winning architect Andrew Lister’s case, things have certainly worked out quite nicely, as he explains.

“My wife is a film-maker [Niki Caro, of Whale Rider fame], and a few years ago she took a job in the States writing and directing a movie called North Country. I decided to give up my architecture practice and move over to be a full-time dad while the film was being made.” The movie, which earned actressed Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand Oscar nominations, had a script which required a vehicle that in Andrew’s opinion just did not suit. “It just wasn’t right,” he says. “I told Niki, and got her to rewrite it, swapping the original car with a 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS. I helped the film find the right one, and instead of renting it for the gig, Niki decided to buy it and give it to me, I think as a sign of appreciation for me giving up my business and for the support I gave her. Even better, now that I owned the car, the studio had to rent it off me ” it was quite a nice win-win situation.”

Although much of the footage of the SS was eventually left on the cutting room floor, Andrew’s then factory standard ’64 still makes a few appearances in the critically acclaimed film, which is sure to make it a nice little memento in the coming years.

Once the Stateside job had finished, Andrew couldn’t bear to part with the beautiful hard-top and decided to pack it up and bring it back to New Zealand with the rest of the family.

(more…)