The only thing cooler than a matte black late 1940’s roof-chopped Cadillac, is another one.

John and Robyn Dellamura are familiar names on these pages, and in the V8 scene in general. They spend their days doing what most of us can only dream about – sourcing cool old cars from the States, importing them into New Zealand, tidying them up and getting them legal before selling them on.

Of course, while they’ve got those cool cars in their possession, they may as well use them too, right? And they do.

After years of visiting all sorts of American hot rod events and owning numerous cool cars, it takes something pretty special to get the Dellamuras really excited these days, but that was what happened back in 2008 when they saw a photo of a roof-chopped ’49 Cadillac on a workshop wall.

A month after seeing the small photo of what looked to be a well-executed chop on a very rare car, John managed to track the vehicle down. It was in bits in a car sales yard, and no-one seemed to care, the cash-strapped owner included. John did though, and he wasn’t going to let the opportunity to grab such a cool car pass him by, even if it was in bits. (more…)

Sick of waiting for your husband to finish his car? Do what Robyn Dellamura did: buy one he’s not allowed to touch.

You might find it hard to believe, looking at this stunning California-built gem before your eyes, but the ’37 Ford took an awful long time to gain popularity in the rodding world. There were several refinements over the previous year’s model; notably, this was the first year for the headlights to be mounted in the guards. But many considered the ’37 a bit of an ugly duckling, especially compared to the flowing lines of the ’36 model that preceded it. Consequently, lots of ’37 Fords were used as parts cars, stock cars and demo derby fodder, or were simply crushed for wartime steel, and it wasn’t until around 30 years ago that, due to their increasing rarity, the ’37 became acceptable rodding material.

Perusing this beauty, you have to ask yourself why it took so long for buyers to come round. Mind you, it took a lot of talent and a discerning eye to cobble this smooth axle dragger together, and that’s why Kiwi’s Robyn and John Dellamura purchased it and brought it home with them.

The couple have been involved in rodding for many years, back when a ’37 was just becoming semi-desirable. John’s ride back then was a show-winning, candy-apple red ’40 Ford pick-up, fitted with a 4-71 blown 302 and auto, with fully chromed independent rear suspension. (more…)