With an immaculate 1969 Hurst Oldsmobile in his possession, Rodney Holland has to be one of the luckiest guys around

The true muscle car era was brief. It really only lasted from 1964 through to the end of 1970. From 1971 the US government enforced new anti-pollution regulations, which saw compression ratios and power figures plummet as manufacturers were forced to convert their engines to run on nasty low- or non-leaded fuel. In 1973 new frontal crush zone regulations were introduced, and manufacturers scrambled to graft ugly, bulbous plastic noses to the fronts of their existing cars. In just three short years, the muscle car industry had been reduced from a frenzy of excitement, colour and power to goofy, boat-like wheezing hiss-boxes, with acres of front and rear overhang, and almost zero street-cred. But while it lasted, the muscle car era produced some of the most memorable vehicles to come out of the US.

The true definition of a muscle car is a little clouded, but the early factory variants were those that combined the engine from a full-sized car with the body of a mid-sized car, purely for added performance. The 1964 Pontiac GTO is considered to be the first true factory muscle car. Its creators, John De Lorean and Russell Gee, were both Pontiac employees and performance car enthusiasts. General Motors had just recently placed a ban on any company motorsport involvement, yet the more switched-on marketing employees realised that without that important motorsport connection, the company would lose a vital link that helped portray its sporting side, thus risking the loss of its lucrative youth market.

To overcome the ban, the concept of creating a production vehicle with true performance capabilities, one that could be sold direct to the public, was formed. Thus the GTO was born.
The GTO was effectively a mid-sized Tempest, a vehicle with a displacement of 326ci as its maximum engine size. De Lorean and Gee fitted the Tempest with the 389ci V8 from the full-sized Catalina and Bonneville models for an instant performance punch.

Internal Politics

However, GM had also stated that no mid-sized vehicle could be fitted with an engine larger than 330ci. In order to skirt this self-imposed policy, the company simply marketed the bigger engine as an option package, rather than standard equipment. The name, GTO, was ‘borrowed’ from the hugely successful Ferrari GTO sports car.

GM’s own GTO was approved and readied for production. Although effectively a marketing ploy that avoided GM’s in-house red tape, the new model would surely help its own cause by proving popular with the public.

As it was effectively the first in a market segment that hitherto didn’t exist, initial sales forecasts were pessimistic. Pontiac sales manager Frank Bridges limited the GTO to just 5000 units. In fact the new muscle car market was grossly underestimated ” Pontiac sold 32,450 GTOs in its first model year. Given the popularity of the GTO, Pontiac’s rivals ” both within GM and from the other American car companies ” immediately began producing muscle cars of their own.

Today, models such as the Ford Mustang, Pontiac Firebird, Chevrolet Camaro, Plymouth Barracuda, Dodge Challenger and so on are often referred to as muscle cars. However, back in the ’60s these smaller V8 models were known as Ponycars. Although the line between the two is blurry, muscle cars appeared to have strong drag racing influences, being predominantly mid-sized vehicles fitted with full-sized engines, usually big blocks. Ponycars were sporty two-plus-two vehicles promoted for their good handling, and were more at home in road racing than drag racing.

However, few would argue that a big block Camaro or Mustang is not a muscle car.

Muscle Car Madness

By the late 1960s, all the US car manufacturers were on the muscle car bandwagon, all pushing the envelope in what was already a wild market that had quickly outgrown its original roots. Although the muscle car appeared most at home on the quarter mile, it was also well represented in the high-stakes world of Nascar stock car racing. The 1969-’70 Dodge Charger Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds were perhaps the ultimate muscle cars, and arrived just before the entire muscle car market collapsed under its own weight. These insane machines featured a NASA-developed front nose cone and a huge 584mm-tall rear deck spoiler designed for improved aerodynamics, greater top speed and less drag.

One of these cars, a Dodge Charger Daytona driven by Buddy Baker, became the first Nascar to reach more than 200mph, around the Talledega super speedway. The Dodge Charger Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds were produced in very small numbers, making them some of the rarest cars built during the muscle car era. However, they still weren’t as rare as our feature car, of which only 914 were ever produced.

The Hurst Touch

The name Hurst Performance is well known in the enthusiast car industry. It was founded in 1958 by George Hurst to produce transmission shifters, and by the late 1960s had become the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for several US car makers, featuring predominantly on high-performance vehicles. Hurst products were fitted to vehicles from American Motor Company, Pontiac, Ford, Plymouth and Oldsmobile. This association led to collaborations resulting in low-volume Hurst-named vehicles, including the 1969 Hurst SC/Rambler, 1971 Hurst Jeepster and, most famously, the ongoing series of Hurst Oldsmobiles.

The Hurst Oldsmobile first appeared in 1968, and was followed by models in ’69, ’72-’75, ’79, ’83 and, finally, 1984. It shared its body with the Olds Cutlass and 442 models.

In 1968 GM still had policies in place regarding engine sizes fitted to its own cars. A mid-sized GM vehicle, which is what the 442 was, could not be fitted with an engine larger than 400ci in capacity. However, George Hurst owned a ’68 442 into which he fitted a 455ci from the full-sized Toronado. The 455 was actually lighter than the 400, thus the handling of the Olds was not compromised.

This first Hurst Olds was also fitted with a Hurst shifter, some engine modifications, custom paint and walnut dash. The first run of Hurst Oldsmobiles (H/Os) was to be limited to just 500, but a further 15 were produced due to demand from one Oldsmobile dealer who had pre-sold several cars.

The ’68 model H/Os were fitted with the 390hp W-45 Rocket motor, although cars fitted with A/C had the W-46, which produced 10hp less. The 455s featured big valve heads, a lumpy cam, and modified carburettor and distributor. The ram-air induction system from the W-30 was fitted, and featured twin scoops beginning under the front bumper. Inside was a walnut inlay fitted to the dash, and a specially made console to house the Hurst shifter. All ’68 Hurst Oldsmobiles were finished in Peruvian Silver, a GM colour applied only to the Toronado, over which black stripes ran across the bonnet, boot lid and waist line. GM sidestepped its engine size ruling by implying the engines were fitted by Hurst, when in fact they were factory fitted. However, the cars were then shipped across town to Lansing, Michigan, to Demmer Engineering, where the Hurst items were installed.

The ’68 Hurst Oldsmobile proved a huge hit. But if there was one criticism, it was that the colour scheme was a little subtle. That was to change for the ’69 model, which was finished in a bold yet stylish combination of Firefront Gold over Cameo White, with matching gold painted wheel centres.

Other than the colour, the ’69 Hurst Oldsmobile differed from the ’68 in several areas, including the new for ’69 Olds grille treatment, a wild fibreglass ‘mailbox’ bonnet scoop featuring ‘H/O 455’ decals down each side, a boot lid spoiler, and 15-inch wheels (the ’68 was fitted with 14-inch wheels). It also had racing-style wing mirrors, H/O emblems on the front guards and boot lid, and a blacked-out grille. Each ’69 H/O featured genuine hand-applied pin -striping, apparently all done by just one person. Inside, the ’69 H/Os had painted gold stripes on the head rests, a Hurst Oldsmobile emblem on the glovebox door, and the same centre console as the ’68, although featuring different wood grain. Under the bonnet the ’69 models were given a slightly milder cam for better drivability. They were fitted with a unique intake manifold, chrome valve covers and a special vacuum-operated air cleaner lid to allow cold air from the bonnet scoop into the carburettor. Once again, the Hurst items were fitted at Demmer Engineering.

In all there were 914 ’69 model Hurst Oldsmobiles built, two of which were convertibles.

Instant Success

The ’69 Hurst Oldsmobile proved a popular model, with Motor Trend magazine dubbing it the ‘Hairiest Oldsmobile’. In stock form it could run the quarter mile in high 13-second times, but with slicks and free-flowing headers it could get into the low 12s.

GM relaxed its self-imposed engine policy for 1970, allowing mid-sized cars to now be fitted with engines over 400ci. Thus there was no Hurst Olds for 1970 or 1971. When the next Hurst Olds appeared in 1972, the true muscle car era was over. Although the name continued until the mid-’80s, the ’69 model was the highlight.

With just 914 ’69 model Hurst Oldsmobiles being built, and with muscle cars becoming so unpopular during the mid-’70s oil crisis, survival rates are low. So it comes as something of a surprise to discover that one of these incredibly rare cars resides right here in New Zealand.

Rodney Holland has owned this beautiful example for two years, but first learned about the car 17 years ago and had wanted it ever since.

Despite running a restoration business specialising in valuable cars such as this, out of all the vehicles that have passed through Rodney’s hands, the Hurst Olds has stood out the most. So taken by this car was Rodney that he took a photo the day he first set eyes on it. He still has that photo.

Rodney’s Hurst Olds is in incredibly original condition, even featuring the original eight-track radio, interior trim and carpets. It was repainted a decade or so ago, so the original hand-painted pin- striping is long gone, but this is still an amazingly honest car. So when Rodney found out through his good friend Owen Grigg that the Olds was for sale, he couldn’t believe his luck.
It had originally been imported into New Zealand around 19 years ago, and is thought to be the only ’69 Hurst Oldsmobile in Australasia. According to the Hurst Register, of which Rodney is a member, his is build number 467.

Rodney Holland is a very fortunate guy. Muscle cars of all types are becoming harder to find, and prices are skyrocketing, even on non-original, mass-produced versions. To own such a rare, interesting, original machine, created in a partnership between one of the great auto manufacturers and one of the legendary performance accessory icons, makes Rodney very lucky. But then again, he had to wait 17 years for luck to come his way.

Rodney Holland – Owner Profile

Occupation: Horticultural specialist/part-time restorer
Previously owned Cars: 1965 Ford Mustang, 1967 Ford Galaxie, 1968 Chev Impala, 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass
Length of ownership: Two years
RODNEY thanks: Owen Grigg; I can’t thank him enough for telling me about this car. Roger Williams for his sound advice. David Morris for his support, the guys from www.jeffmeister.com and http://members.cox.net/witrob/

1969 Hurst Oldsmobile – Specifications

Engine: 455ci (7455cc) Oldsmobile Rocket
Driveline: TH400 H/O, limited slip 3.42:1 ratio
Suspension/Brakes: Power discs front, drums rear. All original
Wheels/Tyres: Original Superstock II wheels in Firefront Gold. BF Goodridge 235x60x15 front tyres, BF Goodridge 255x60x15 rear tyres
Exterior: Firefront Gold over Cameo White (factory colours)
Interior: Original custom sport steering wheel and the famous Hurst duel-gate shifter
Performance: Approx 380hp (283kW). Has run 12.4 quarter-mile at Meremere

Words: Steve Holmes Photos: Adam Croy

With more than 1000 cars on show, Christchurch’s Street Machine and Muscle Car Madness lived up to its name yet again

Summer. Lots of sun (hopefully), BBQs, cruising in your V8 and car shows. One of the first highlights of my annual social calendar is Christchurch’s Muscle Car Madness. Most people count down the days to Christmas and the days they have left on holiday, but me, I can’t wait until that’s over and it’s time to hit the car shows.

This year I made a decision to break from tradition and go to MCM on Sunday. I usually go on Saturday, as I can’t bear to wait another day and feel I am missing out on everything, but it was my birthday on the Saturday and I agreed it wouldn’t be fair on my partner to just bugger off on my ‘special day’. Come Friday I’d seen the weather forecast and was seriously regretting my rash decision. The show has had a bad run with weather on Saturday for the last couple of years, but this year it looked as if Sunday would be the bad day ” just my luck. Fortunately, and to my great delight, when Sunday morning rolled around it was a beautiful day ” yay! Mid-morning arrived and it was time to jump into the old beast and drive out to the show. I’ve been going to MCM for many years and have watched it steadily grow in size and popularity, but wasn’t expecting too much different to previous years. Boy, was I wrong. MCM has a new major sponsor this year, Annex Road Metals, and I don’t know if this had anything to do with the changes made to the show or if the organiser, Craig Stare, got a second wind. Whatever the reason, I liked it.

After a nice, windows-down summer cruise out there, I got to the show and was waved into the back carpark and shown exactly where to park by some friendly assistants ” very professional from the get go.

To get to the main part of the show I had to walk past the burnout pad (I was disappointed to see it was the same size as last year, but I guess there isn’t much they can do if that is the amount of concrete they have to work with), and noticed there were people standing round to get a good view. Silly buggers, I said to myself, the burnouts aren’t for another hour and a half. Next thing I passed on the way to the cars was a large array of trade stalls, where I stopped and drooled at everything from chrome headlights, airbag kits and custom airbrushing to full turn-key hot rods and everything in between.

The annual import versus V8 ACDelco Drag Masters 2008 was as action-packed as the last two years, and again the win went to the V8s.

It’s generally accepted that sequels struggle to match the original movie and unfortunately it seems to that Drag Masters has followed that trend. Notwithstanding some very good ideas, Drag Masters Part III felt a little bit flat despite some very good racing, mainly due to an ineffective sound system that left everybody on the right-hand spectator bank completely in the dark about what was happening. The only speaker that could be heard was pointed behind the timing tower, so if you wanted to hear what was going on there was no way you were going to see it. That, coupled with some very long breaks for timing system malfunctions, meant boredom set in and many left early. However, enough negativity, there were some big positives. Originally conceived to attract a younger crowd to a more traditional meeting, the first Drag Masters promoted its V8 versus Import pairings before the event, while Drag Masters II paired competitors up on the day. Though missing out on an opportunity to build media hype, the racing was much closer, as was the score line. Drag Masters III used a combination of hyping the star attractions, boosted by way of handing out free posters at other key events and heavy radio advertising, and matching everybody else who turned up together to make up the other pairings. And it was probably the most exciting racing yet.

First up, Mark Bardsley let rip with an 11,000rpm burnout that ended abruptly when something fell off. Rod Harvey’s incredible new Celica sounded awful, but took an easy solo and started what initially looked like an Asian avalanche of wins. Carl Jensen’s Toyota dropped a 7.92 on the Kevin McGregor Camaro’s 8.18, and Wayne Grimmer fouled away an easy win to Tony Markovina’s screaming blue Mazda smoke machine. Thankfully, Gary Bogaart put an end to the V8 losing streak in his gorgeous new BF Falcon race car, but the massacre started up again right away. A good example of how great a job track staff had done in matching up the cars had to be Dave Levine’s big red Belvedere versus Adam Wiggs’s freshly debuted yellow Skyline: 9.42 Mopar to 9.46 Nissan ” shame about the nap on the Xmas tree, Adam. Another close one was Robbie Ward’s RB30-powered 240Z beating Ron Olsen’s Mustang by seven hundredths, another tough loss, as was Aaron Jenkins’s street-driven HQ Monaro ” 9.89 to Brad Johnson’s 9.88. At the end of the round 10 Jappa victories had been recorded against six V8 wins ” not a good look for us dinosaur lovers.

With its 406ci engine churning out more than 750hp, Chris Robertson’s Camaro has easily enough grunt to back up its tough-as-nails stance

With its 406ci engine churning out more than 750hp, Chris Robertson’s Camaro has easily enough grunt to back up its tough-as-nails stance

Is it just one of life’s mysteries how sometimes a car can become more than the mere total of its parts, or is there some form of science to it? Likewise, how can two cars be built with the exact same components, yet be considerably different in attitude? Maybe sometimes an owner’s love and passion really does show through when compared to a car that has been trucked from workshop to workshop to be built.

It’s a Freak!

Whatever the reason behind it, Chris Robertson’s 1969 Chevrolet Camaro is one of those vehicles which has that special ‘X factor’. The obvious reason would be that it’s a very rare X55-badged car, although I’m sure there is far more to it than that. Perhaps it’s the fact that it was originally imported into New Zealand in 1970 to be turned into a race car that gives it a tougher-than-nails attitude. More likely, though, is the selection of the right components under the hood and the right stance without any unnecessary bling that ties the package together perfectly.

It was a lucky find when Chris managed to purchase the vehicle complete, but in bits and needing a fair amount of attention. Luckily for him, though, the expensive parts had been purchased by the previous owner, and the car was bought for a very reasonable price. Upon closer post-purchase inspection, his buy was found to have factory subframe connectors in it, making it an even rarer vehicle than was first thought.

There were a few setbacks during the rebuild, the main one being a workshop that tried to take Chris for a ride by charging exorbitant prices for the wrong parts. But thanks to some good mates and Chris’s own mechanical ability the car was completed around four years ago. However, with a young family, and a supercharged Chevelle also sitting in the garage, the Camaro hasn’t seen the light of day for the last three years.

Packing a Punch

The 6653cc (406ci) Chev small block purchased with the car is now running to its potential, and with a parts list that reads like a petrolhead’s dream, that potential equals huge power. With a Lunati 4340 steel forged crank spinning away on heavy-duty bearings in an oversized baffled sump, bottom end reliability will never be a problem.

Attached to the crank via SPS fasteners are Lents 152mm rods and Lunati forged pistons with laser-cut rings. The Lunati full roller two-stage race cam gives the game away a bit, as the noise emitted through the three-inch exhaust is exquisite. At the front of the system are Hooker Super Comp headers that have been match ported to the Brodix 10/1 aluminium race heads.

The heads were CNC ported before being hand finished for maximum flow. Not only are they ported on the exhaust side but also the intake. Thanks to Chris’s handiwork the ports on the Brodix single plane tall intake manifold now match those of the head perfectly.

To make the most of the aggressive cam, Chris has fitted Lunati heavy-duty valve springs and roller rockers, along with large stainless steel valves and titanium keepers.

With a tough Cometic head gasket and the high silicone-content pistons, the car is set to handle nitrous oxide if the need ever arises. With approximately 750hp at the wheels on tap, however, that need is quite unlikely to eventuate.

The high compression ratio (13.1:1) has encouraged the car to consume a strict diet of race fuel. With a 760cfm Demon race carb complete with custom venturis, the Barry Grant fuel pump has its work cut out. Luckily, oversized braided lines are there to assist in the tank’s drainage.

The ignition system is strictly comprised of MSD components. Hiding inside the Chev dizzy are MSD internals, and an MSD Blaster 2 coil helps get the fire started.

A nicely restored classic Corvette is always a pleasant sight. Sleek, low slung and classically handsome, the ’Vette is an iconic American car, and one that perhaps best represents the ideal of post-war top-down, hair-up Route 66 motoring. Unfortunately, all this doesn’t actually mean the Chev-built machines are a pleasure to drive. After all, this is a tiny sports car born into a world where vehicles twice its size were the norm. A huge bus-like steering wheel competes with the driver for room, the car wallows about as you roll through, and don’t even consider trying to stop in a hurry, it simply won’t happen.

Long-time rodder Bob Unkovich knows this all too well, after spending years completely restoring his first ’Vette to pristine condition. “To be honest, it was a horrible old thing to drive,” he admits. “I’d always liked the idea of hot rodding the car, making it fun and interesting to drive, but in the end, after a lot of protesting from some other Corvette guys, it was decided that probably wasn’t the best thing to do to a restored classic car.”

As fate would have it, Bob was soon offered a very good price for his car and, as he had brought a total of three C1 ’Vettes into the country for the resto job, he still had access to another chassis, another body and a whole lot of spare parts to build his idea of the ultimate Corvette, something a lot of people tend to disagree with. “The whole concept of rodding a Corvette is fairly new,” Bob explains. “Until a few years ago very few people modified the cars, they were all classic restoration jobs. Over the last few years the idea has been gaining popularity in the States. I’m the first to do it here in New Zealand, though, as far as I’m aware.”

The Whole Package

Nearly every aspect of Bob’s ’62 has been greatly improved from the original, although you wouldn’t necessarily know that to look at it. “Although I wanted the car to get up and move, to drive nicely and to stop well, I didn’t necessarily want to ruin the classic look of the car by advertising that fact, so I’ve tried to keep everything hidden,” Bob says. When Bob starts the C1 up a crescendo of eight-cylinder rumble and a subtle forced-induction whine are present, and the first place you will want to look is straight under that long, slender hood. The motor, an original Corvette 283ci V8, was built way back in the mid-1990s with help from Gearing Engines. It was to go in Bob’s first Corvette, but minds were changed and the now larger capacity 302ci motor sat on a shelf for the next few years. Packing JE pistons, four-bolt mains and a Crower cam, the well-built engine is force-fed air by what some might call the best feature of this car: a front-driven, under-bonnet 4/71 Roots supercharger. It’s not often you see a blower sitting at the front of the engine, but with a little custom work from Bob the unit just fits, receiving air from a pair of filters and forcing it into the ported and flowed heads through a Demon carburettor and Edelbrock dual-plane intake manifold.

Newcomer to the scene Custom Rods has created a huge stir in the car industry; join us as Todd sits down with Jan, Garth and Ben to find out what they are all about.

We first saw Custom Rods’ vehicles on display at the Hot Rod Nationals in Auckland last year. With their super-low airbag stance and fantastic body shape, the cars were a standout. Over the last few months we’ve seen the new company construct three vehicles, all of which are unique and available for sale. The coupe, hard-top and slam-back are all superbly finished, yet so different it was impossible for the NZV8 team to pick a favourite. This trio features Edelbrock crate motors rated at 239kW, although the cars can be built to order with almost any engine package. As the vehicles are built predominantly in-house at Custom Rods’ Onehunga base, every aspect can be tailored to the customer’s requirements. Read on to hear what the Custom Rods team of Jan Ubels, Garth Nielsen and Ben Ubels have to say about the cars, business and fishing trips.

NZV8: So who is Custom Rods, and what is it all about?

Jan: Custom rods is an idea Garth and I had on a fishing trip, ’cause we always talked about cars. We would talk about which hot rods we would build, what’s our favourite one, and every trip it would change slightly, but we’d always say, ’32, ’34 high-boy or something like that. So on one trip we’d gone away and Garth said, “Why don’t we build some hot rods?”. After I called him a tosser and everything else under the sun, we said, well, let’s do it! So we decided it wouldn’t be a hobby; we would build up-market, quality cars as a business. We decided the target market is guys our age (50s). They’ve been in business a bit, got a bit of money, want a nice toy, and a quality toy their partners would use with them.

I started looking and I thought, well, there are already a couple of firms that are doing ’32s and ’34s and doing them well, and there’s no point doing what they’re doing. So I kept looking and I came across this ’37 shape, and I thought I could do something with it. Being a former art teacher, I’m always looking at shapes and making sculptures, that’s what I’m really looking at, shapes. I tracked down these guys in Quebec we could get these bodies from and we started from there. So that’s who we are. Basically it’s Garth, myself and [Jan’s Nephew] Ben, our engineer, and we’ve got another guy who’s got some money in but we’re paying him out soon.

Do you come from a hot rodding background yourself?

Garth: I played around with hot rods when I was a teenager, used to hang around with Harbour City Hot Rod Club for many years, did all the shows et cetera. Before I left school I remember I used to go and work at Hot Rod magazine with Rob Campbell in the school holidays. So I’ve been in the hot rod scene for many years. Then I built a few cars and basically just drifted away from it really; I never lost interest in them, and eventually got back into it.

Jan: No, no, I wasn’t a hot rodder at all. I’ve had a big block Chev Blazer with a 454 in it, and I’ve got a Harley, but I’m not a hot rodder. Even now I look at these cars and think they’re fantastic, but I look at them as shapes rather than a necessity to own one.

Who do you see as your target market?

Garth: It varies, because you’ve got young guys with some serious money who are into their toys. But what we want to provide is an experience. You can spend $150,000 on a mid-range BMW which is going to lose half its value over five years, or you can buy something that is totally unique and has got a bit of style to it from us. What we’ve tried to do with these cars is build something which transcends old-school hot rods and modern cars, so they have quite modern lines to them. Predominantly though the market would be guys around our age group who have worked hard, made a few bucks and want to enjoy themselves.

So you’re not necessarily aiming at the hot rod market?

Jan: No, because I see an element with hot rodders, and with no disrespect to them but there is a Westy element to a hot rod, which is a bit of a counter culture. And I didn’t want to do that with this. As much as I love that, and ultimately I’d like to get around in a rat rod myself because they are so anti-aesthetic, but we didn’t see this as a hot rod. We’ve taken all the elements of a hot rod but tried to institute a bit of glamour and status, so it becomes a status vehicle whereas a hot rod isn’t a status vehicle, it is an interesting car. It’s a unique approach to cars, but they’re never considered as a status car. We see these as getting into that sort of range as well.

What is the range of body styles Custom Rods has available?

Garth: We’ve got the ’37 range, and we are also doing the ’39 Lincoln Zephyr in both a coupe and a sedan delivery. The body is being built in Indiana right at the moment. It will be a front-wheel-drive V8; you’ll be able to ride your Harley in the back of it!

Jan: The idea is a totally flat floor with no diff underneath it, so you can drop it to the ground and ride your bike straight in the back.

Anyone who lives in the central North Island and has a splash of fuel in their bloodstream will already be well aware of Eagle Automotive, but to a lot of Kiwis it is just another unknown ace up Taranaki’s sleeve. Luckily enough, while on a trip to New Plymouth in the never-ending search for hidden talent, we set aside some time to pop in and see what Eagle Automotive is all about.

It first fired into life back in 1993. Owner Willie Roach had just come back from a stint in the USA and needed something to keep his hands busy, and after working with the likes of Squeak Bell and the Kiwi Konnection lads, a standard mechanic position wasn’t going to cut it.
Willie teamed up with Ian Scott and long-time friend Geordie Rob to start the first incarnation of Eagle Automotive, a little five-car shop on Seaview road. It specialised in left- to right-hand-drive conversions, nine-inch diff builds and instalments, and engine rebuilding.

Demand for Eagle’s services meant the company quickly outgrew its space, and after opening a second shop only to fill that too, Willie decided it was time for a purpose-built premises big enough to facilitate all the work ” a 1400-square-metre building containing a fibreglass department, two paint booths and ample workspace.

With the new space Eagle Automotive kept on growing and the right-hand-drive conversions quickly spread into an international affair. Clients based in Asia, Australia and the Bahamas were hunting the team down thanks to Eagle’s strong reputation, and to keep on the game Willie went through a 12-month process to become New Zealand’s only ADR (Australian Design Rules) compliant workshop.

Now Eagle Automotive employs 24 full-time staff and averages eight high-end car conversions at a time, ranging from 2007 Mustangs to H2 Hummers, Dodge Rams, Cadillac Escalades and Ford F150s. Each conversion takes a total of 240 to 250 hours, which includes all the fibreglass dash, consoles, trim and rear-vision mirrors being custom made for the vehicle. Eagle Automotive continues to sit at the leading edge of conversions. It was the first to convert the 2006 Ram, and has just completed a right-hand conversion in a Chevrolet SSR ute. All the research and development is done in-house, resulting in a guaranteed quality finish.

With a high demand for parts and ongoing servicing, Eagle Automotive imports a vast number of American parts, and is in the process of setting up an in-house WoF/CoF facility. However, despite all the conversion work, Willie has not forgotten his roots as a hot rodder, and is bringing in more old American muscle and returning to complete conversions, including rear ends and engine rebuilds.

The rodder streak never really left, and it is evident among the Eagle Automotive crew when you enter the workshop and see all the personal projects out the back, such as the ’44 Ford Jailbar ex-army truck being restored by the lads. Heck, even the cleaner drives a ’36 Dodge coupe to work every day. The ’44 Ford Jailbar has become personal project of Willie’s as it belonged to the father of Rusty Kay, one of the Eagle Automotive team. It spent the last 20 years in a local museum, and now it is being used to teach the apprentices old-school panel, paint and mechanical techniques as they restore it to its former glory.

Throughout its 14 years Eagle Automotive has been an active participant in both the local and motor-sport communities through projects such as the ’44 Jailbar and numerous motorsport sponsorships, in fact while we were there we happened to spot a rather rare piece of New Zealand motorsport history, the Midnight Stroker built by Patton and Black. Back in the early ’70s it was the first funny car imported into New Zealand, and with the young Max Baker (16 at the time) it was running in the sevens. It was purchased by Willie a few years ago, and with the help of Max Baker it was to be restored. Unfortunately, Max passed away just two months after work started and the project has been on hold ever since. However, once the ’44 project is out of the way there is talk of completing the rebuild.

So if you are after a new American import, interested in a bit of old-school muscle, or are just refreshing your pride and joy, over the last 14 years Eagle Automotive has clearly proved it is an industry leader and is more than capable of building, converting and maintaining any piece of Americana you might own.

Its new premises is located at 40-42 Hurlstone Drive, New Plymouth, or if you aren’t local enough to pay a visit, give Willie Roach and his crew a call on 06 769 9664.

Words and Pics Quinn Hamill

While most of Alec’s mates were busy modifying imports, he chose to do up dad’s VN Commodore. Now he has the best mix of import and V8 performance.

In this day and age of modified cars the lines sometimes get blurred and the stereotypes no longer apply. V8 muscle and import tuner scenes are not as well defined as they used to be, with the smart players starting to take the best performance and styling cues from both camps.

So what does a young Alec Chen do when handed the keys to the family Commodore as his first car at age 15? All his mates were into imports, but a good old VN V6 Commodore Executive is not your stereotypical boy racer car; it doesn’t quite fit into the V8 scene, either. I’m sure when dad bought the VN new back in 1989 he had no idea it would turn into the 6.1-litre, fire-breathing monster gracing these pages now. Losing control on a roundabout not long after getting the keys off dad was the start of what became a 14-year project, turning the family sedan into a nice blend of late-’80s and early-’90s Aussie muscle with more than a little influence from the import scene thrown in for good measure.

POWER PROVIDER

The muscle is supplied by one of Holden’s injected 304 blocks, now stroked out to 372ci (6.1 litres). The first engine Alec built up, a 383 stroker, ran fine until spinning a couple of bearings 15,000km into the fun. Fortunately, Ken from Shore Performance was on hand to make sure Alec wouldn’t be caught out a second time. A Harrop 355 stroker crank with Romac balancer is held in place by an ARP stud kitted four-bolt mains conversion. Filling the 105mm bores are 152mm scat H-beam rods, ACL bearings and custom JE pistons. A custom high-capacity oil pan holds the important stuff in, while HTD custom drive pulleys make sure it all circulates.

Cold air is sucked through a K&N filter feeding the Group A twin-throttle body, while Ford ” yes, Ford Motorsport ” 36lb injectors, a Venom adjustable fuel regulator and a high volume fuel pump supply the go juice from a 60-litre aluminium fuel cell. Spark is supplied by an MSD 6AL ignition module, coil and leads firing NGK Iridium plugs. An Autronic SM2 computer tells everything what to do and also controls the 150kW (200hp) shot of NOS from the bottle tucked away in the boot.

One of Kelford’s finest custom grinds and Crane gold roller rocker gear help the VN heads flowed to 447kW-plus (600hp-plus) do the breathing. Exhaust gases are taken care of by a custom set of four-into-one equal-length extractors, while twin three-inch pipes send the gases through Flowmasters to finally exit via the import-style custom rear resonators with five-inch chrome tips.

BURNING RUBBER

On hitting the loud pedal, power is put through a 2500 stall converter in the 700R4 trans that has been rebuilt for the job with a heavy-duty shift kit and Corvette servo. The stock six-cylinder diff was ditched in favour of an HPC-coated VL LSD unit fitted with 3.45 gears. To keep everything cool there’s an all-aluminium radiator, a 330mm electric fan and Earl’s transmission and oil coolers. A remote-mount oil filter makes oil changes easier, and a  GReddy catch can collects any extra residue.

I wasn’t really interested in boats, but one ride in this insanely fast machine has changed all that. Now I’m hooked!

Wanna come down to the Meremere Jet Sprint track and go for a ride in a Group A jet sprint boat?” the voice on the other end of the phone asked. Hell yeah I do! Despite not really being interested in boats, I’m never one to turn down the opportunity to try something a little bit different. I’m very glad that in this case I accepted.

Once at the track I was introduced to the ‘Wicked A’ team, a name that refers not only to the wickedness of the boat, but to the fact that it races in the Group A class of the national jet sprint series.

The team consists of two drivers, two co-drivers and a handful of assorted helpers, and is predominantly made up of a large extended family. My driver for the day was Bevin Muir, and I would soon be strapped in to where his partner Kathy Barker would normally be seated. Thankfully for both Bevin and myself, I didn’t have to remember a course or give directions; instead I could sit back and enjoy the ride.

Introductions

After the various team members had owned assorted high-powered street cars, they became involved in the sport of jet sprinting as a way to share costs and include the whole family. With two drivers and two co-drivers the cost of running the vehicle, despite the necessity of regular maintenance, is split two ways. Not having been to a jet sprint event since I was a kid the experience was basically new to me, and I watched with interest as the team warmed up the boat. With no radiator on board, cool water is sucked into the jet unit and passed through water galleries to keep the engine cool. A lever mounted next to the driver’s seat controls the flow and allows the engine to reach operating temperature. With the boat still attached to the trailer, but submerged in the muddy water that is the Meremere track, the boat was put through its paces. You would certainly know about it if you forgot to put the hand brake on in the tow vehicle, as with each stab of the throttle the boat wanted to push the car and trailer to the far side of the car park. Once the blowhole on the side of the boat was spitting warm water, it was time to get strapped in and go for a ride.

The four-metre-long White Pointer stinger hulls are produced in Gisborne and feature some of the best technology available as far as sprint boats go. Strapped into the rear of it, some six inches behind the seats, is a seriously angry 400ci (6555cc) Chev producing in excess of 447kW (600hp) and 813Nm of torque.

To make this much power the team chose to import a motor built Stateside specifically for boats rather than cars. The bullet-proof bottom end features a Dart Little M block that has been filled with a tough-as nails Callies crank, six-inch Oliver rods and Ross pistons. To keep the Cleveite bearings lubricated ” despite the high revs the motor pulls ” there’s a custom nine-litre sump.

One Speed — Fast!

With little resistance, a one-to-one drive ratio and only one gear, jet sprint engines tend to sit at very high revs for the duration of each race, which is usually just under one minute. To allow for this, the Wicked A team has gone all out with the Dart Iron Eagle 230cc cylinder heads. To control the flow of atmosphere in and out of the chambers there are Ferrea valves measuring just over 51mm on the inlet side and 41mm on the exhaust. The valves, effectively the heart of the engine, get their vital instructions from Yella Terra Platinum shaft-mount rockers and Crane roller lifters. Of course, if it were not for the custom ground camshaft of top-secret specifications, none of this commotion would take place.

Sitting atop the motor is a ported Dart Pro 1 intake manifold that employs a Super Sucker spacer to mount a modified HP Holley 750cfm carb. Water and combustion cycles tend not to mix too well, so a large K&N filter has been fitted to the top of a custom velocity to ensure the engine receives just the purest of air. To feed the angry small-block avgas there’s a Barry Grant fuel pump, a bunch of Russell braided lines and a custom fuel rail, which all feed from a custom 10-litre tank mounted between the seats. During competition the boat consumes five litres per minute, so thankfully the courses are only short, as I didn’t see any oars on board.

What could be better for father and son bonding sessions than building a few old cars?

Good old swap meets. Remember the days before TradeMe, when if you wanted to hunt out a bargain or sell your wares, you waited until the annual swap meet?

Before crochet and jam replaced car parts and good yarns, the swap meet was the only place to buy those hard-to-find bits. These days it seems conversation has been taken over by email and texts, or should that be txtz? And not only has the English language turned to custard, the good old-fashioned swap meet appears to have too.

There are a few exceptions, however, such as the recent Rotorua swap meet and a few that have a strict ‘car parts only’ rule. It was at one of these events three years ago that young Quinton (Sid) Cotterell picked himself up a bargain. Until that fateful day the 1966 Ford Fairmont Sid fell in love with had been used and abused as a daily driver. Once it reached Sid’s hands, that would all change.

Good Influences

Ever since helping has dad build a MkII Ford Zephyr, Sid has been hooked on older cars. Having such a passion at a young age is refreshing in this generation of plastic cars. As with many builds, Sid intended just to give the old girl a tidy-up to make a bit more of an impression on the street. That tidy-up soon blew out into a solid 12-month, ground-up rebuild with stunning results.

As Sid had helped dad, it was dad’s turn to help Sid strip the car back to a shell so it could be delivered to Colour Strip services for a full bead blast. Once blasted, it appeared the shell wasn’t in bad nick, despite nearly 40 years of street use. Before the spray guns were fired into life, Sid decided to remove some of the vehicle’s chrome and badges.

To stop the myriad questions from passers by querying what the vehicle was, he wisely chose to keep both front and rear Ford badges in place. The hole filling and smoothing treatment has been continued into the engine bay, where you will now not find a single unused hole.

The clean and tidy look has been enhanced by the relocation of the battery to the boot, and a PBR brake boost is hidden away out of sight under the guard.

With such a straight shell, Sid knew it would have been an injustice not to finish the vehicle to an equally high standard. With this in mind he took it to Dale and the team at Cambridge Panelworks, where it was expertly treated to a new suit of PPG Apache gold paint. The resulting look attained by the colour and smoothing is far more modern than that of the standard car, and almost defies the fact the vehicle is perhaps a little over the hill.

After looking at the graphic image of the NZV8 promotional car Blu Tacked to my office wall for over 18 months, and desperately trying to visualise the final concept, it seemed quite strange and somehow very satisfying to finally see this beast parked in NZV8 magazine HQ’s car park.

The Idea

It all began almost two years ago at a meeting with one of NZV8’s advertisers, who noticed my standard issue Parkside Media MG parked outside and asked me, “Shouldn’t you be driving a V8?” Hmm, not a bad idea, I reckoned. Over the next few months or so my mind was totally consumed with this thought, and I tried to figure out the logistics of stitching together such a project. I knew that a $100k V8 car for me to drive around in wasn’t going to be in the company’s budget, and that I would have to come up with a mighty sharp proposal before our publisher would even consider it.

The Plan

My plan was to have a car that resembled a V8 Supercar, and selling sponsorship packages would offset some of the cost. This all sounded reasonably straightforward. Or so I thought. But after some initial discussions at HQ I realised it wouldn’t be as easy as I has predicted. The idea certainly raised a few disapproving eyebrows around the office, that’s for sure. The biggest problem was sourcing a car to begin with, and it seemed that every avenue I ventured down suddenly came to an abrupt halt as doors were slowly but surely slammed in my face. Almost six months had gone by, and the visual concept of the car that had been sketched out by one of Parkside’s design team was still Blu Tacked to my office wall, haunting me daily. I’m sure many of my colleagues were by this stage convinced that I had finally lost the plot, as I continually tried to persuade them that I would make it happen.

IPV To The Rescue

The turning point was a conversation with Paul Isaac, of Isaac Performance Vehicles, regarding some ongoing advertising. I mentioned the NZV8 promo car project I was working on and some of the issues I was facing trying to source a suitable vehicle. To my surprise he asked more and more questions about what I was trying to achieve, and how I intended to reach my elusive goal. We discussed many, many options, from funding to the best car for the job. After an hour or so of chatting, Paul’s interest was clearly piqued, but he needed to go away and crunch some numbers before committing himself.

When Pete Meo decided he wanted a car with a roof, this unloved Chev Vega was the perfect purchase. Now he just wants to go faster.

Pete Meo has been a well-known hot rodder and drag racer in the Wellington area for a few years now. Okay, a lot of years now. He’s a very active member of Cam County Hot Rod club, and not only has he raced at Port Road Street drags, he has also helped organise and run them on more than one occasion.

Pete’s probably just as well known locally and at drag strips around New Zealand for his fire-breathing rat T-bucket, which was campaigned under the Plain Crazy Racing banner to great success. That bucket was big-block powered, ran a healthy hit of nitrous and went well into the eights at speeds around the 150mph/241kph mark. It also had a few hairy runs and taps of walls and the like ” all good, exciting stuff ” along with the hard wheels-up launches it was well known for.

The Hutt Valley is a small place, the drag racing community even smaller, as is the hot rod crowd, so it’s only natural that most people down this way know Pete, and he’s often found at the local racers’ haunt on a Wednesday night, the American V8 shop of Gary Cawthra.

A year or so ago Pete decided he wanted to go faster than the bucket and try a door car, so the former got sold to a local guy who had the required amount of cash burning a hole in his pocket. The bucket went as it was, and I have since seen it tootling around the streets of the Valley ” but not being driven anywhere near as hard as it’s used to.

So Pete now had a bundle of cash. But, as we all know, you can’t drive cash, nor can you race it. What to do? Pete had spied a car sitting around over the hill in the Wairarapa that had been on a trailer, doing nothing, for about 10 years. Nothing except gathering spiders and other insects, that is.

That was all to change the minute the required amount of cash changed hands, and the car was in Pete’s possession and brought back over the hill to the capital city.

A quick tidy-up was performed ” nothing major as almost all the money was gone by now ” but the insects were all safely re-homed. The ’moly and steel tube chassis that sits under the 1974 Chevrolet Vega body was originally built by Chris Tynan, and was campaigned by Regan Porter in Wild Bunch, where it ran a 427ci (6997cc) big block Chev and a 6-71 supercharger with hat injection, and ran around the 8.6-second mark.

As the plain crazy bucket had been sold complete, Pete borrowed a motor and trans from a mate in Hamilton for the first season and went racing with his new toy. Racing in Super Sedan, the best performance that first season was 9.4 seconds.

As many a racer will, over the next off-season Pete arranged a new motor with the intent of going way faster, and he imported a built up motor pretty much ready to go from the USA.

And go it does, with 598 cubic inches (9799cc) of big block Chev, which is based around a Dart big M block that has been bored to 117mm (4.6 inches). To get that capacity there is also an Eagle 114mm crank and Eagle rods at 173mm long. On top of those rods are a set of J&E pistons with a 14.5:1 compression ratio wearing Mahle race rings. Also residing in that block are a Comp Cams custom ground cam with roller lifters and a Moroso drag race sump.

The heads are also Dart 355cc CNC milled items, which accommodate stainless steel 58mm inlet valves and 48mm exhausts (2.3/1.88-inch).

These are closed by triple valve springs, comp cams roller rockers and pushrods. To keep the top end all stable there is a Dart stud girdle hidden under the custom rocker covers.

Initially there was a Holley Pro Dominator tunnel ram with twin 1050cfm dominator carbs. This has just been changed for the upcoming season to methanol injection running an Enderle Bird catcher and a belt driven fuel pump of the same brand.

Naturally-aspirated race cars don’t come any angrier than Malcom Udy’s 760 hp Dodge Viper

The day started off like any other. My usual reluctance to leave the warmth of my bed. The same old cheap instant coffee was consumed while the same old songs played on the radio. Today, however, I wasn’t going to the office, I was off to the track to help out a mate with a sponsors day. At times like this I usually chuck my helmet in the car, just in case the offer of going for a ride comes up. More often than not it turns out to be wishful thinking. But today was different. Today would be no ordinary day, it would be one to remember.

I was talking to Malcolm Udy about his very impressive-looking Dodge Viper. While I had seen it before, I had never really got up close and personal with it.

Until now. It was part way during our conversation that the call came out for the next group of cars to hit the Pukekohe track. I was ready to walk back to where I was supposed to have been when Malcolm called, “Would you like to come for a ride?” Hmmm, let me think about it. Would I like to go for a ride in one of the most powerful naturally aspirated Dodge Vipers in the world?

Before Malcolm had even finished asking the question, I was raring to go.

“Here’s a race suit and helmet to put on,” said one of the Mitchell Motorsport crew. I’m not exactly sure whose suit it was, but let’s just say they were a fair bit shorter than me. Just looking at it, I knew it wasn’t going to go on without a struggle. Still, you don’t turn down a ride in a vehicle like this, no matter how bad the wedgie is going to be. The only possible way to get into a smaller suit would have been if I’d painted it on. The down side of hanging out with a magazine photographer is that moments like this always get captured. Worse still was the fact that our sister publication, New Zealand Performance Car, had its TV crew there, and they had no hesitation in filming my predicament.

With the small cabin area of the vehicle, combined with the Mitchell Motorsport-built mild steel roll cage, getting in and out of the vehicle required a fair bit of skill and flexibility. These are traits I openly admit to lacking, especially when in a suit that makes any form of bending almost impossible.

Once I had manoeuvred into the cabin, the superb finishing of the vehicle became obvious. Although it’s a dedicated race car, it wasn’t as raw and metallic as you would expect. There was even carpet in the interior. While I was wondering how much the car must weigh the door was closed, and from the sound it made it was very obvious there was some serious weight-saving going on.

The fun Begins

With the push of a button, the 8.0-litre V10 engine unleashed its fury through unmuffled side pipes. Although based on the same motor you find in Dodge Ram trucks, the engine bears little resemblance to it, and sounds unlike any other motor on the planet. With the 3.5-inch pipes exiting just forward of the rear wheels, it’s almost impossible to hear what the engine is doing up front.

Once it was up to temperature, we headed off towards the track. The Tilton triple-plate clutch and Tilton lightweight flywheel obviously take some skill to master, and the clutch is either in or out, there’s no middle ground to help you get moving. The heavy duty Winters quick-change diff has
no problems in sending both wheels skittering as forward motion begins.

It was back to school for NZV8′s editor and the assistant editors of sister publications Classic Car and Performance Car magazines recently. Some students did better than others.
I first met Track Drive NZ owner/operators Maurice and Sheryl McKinley late last year at a Pukekohe Park Raceway practice day. It didn’t take long for us to start talking about Maurice’s Dunlop Targa and endurance series LS7-powered Monaro, and the Track Drive NZ company he was in the throes of establishing.

While track drive-type organisations are nothing new in New Zealand, it was very obvious from the beginning that this was more than just another hot lap company. With several years of competitive driving under his belt, and a few seasons of HQ racing under Sheryl’s, the pair decided there was no better way to combine business with pleasure than this. Fast forward six months, and with the company now fully operational, myself and fellow motoring journos Tim Nevinson and Peter Kelly were invited to find out first hand what Track Drive NZ is all about.

Taupo Raceway’s short course is the location of TDNZ, and was to be our training ground for the day. The morning started at around 9am with a theory session, in which Maurice ran us through the lines to take on a map of the track. Although the three of us have had varying levels of track experience, a theory session is always a wise idea. Given that Maurice has completed more laps of the circuit than almost anyone else, the theory lesson was soon to prove invaluable as we took to the track.

Our first on-track experiences were in the passenger seat of Sheryl’s HQ. This is the vehicle she uses to successfully compete in the HQ series, so it is well set up. Thanks to a built-in intercom system, Sheryl guided me through her every move, and reminded me of the braking points Maurice had shown us on the map earlier that day.

Once she was satisfied we knew roughly what we were doing, it was into the driver’s seat of another HQ, this time with Maurice in the passenger seat. Thanks to a damp track, our first laps were an exercise in throttle control as much as lines and braking points. Although unsure at the time, I think the wet track was actually good for us beginners, as we learned how to control the old boat without a great deal of speed.

Aaron Jenkins is a 33-year-old painter and a born and bred Waikato boy. He’s always been keen on fast cars. He raced an 11-second Capri running nitrous in his 20s. Then he tested his driving talents in the dirt bike and water skiing scenes, but after 10 years he had a yearning to head back to something with four wheels — something bigger and faster.

Aaron heard through the grapevine that a fellow Hamiltonian was thinking of selling an unfinished car; a 1972 Monaro. With a little encouragement from some of his mates, Aaron quickly took the opportunity to purchase the vehicle before it officially went on the market. The yellow Holden (with the correct number of doors) was formerly a six cylinder car, but arrived at Aaron’s house without the engine and trans. It was also a little lower than you see it here.

Aaron’s first priority was to adjust the ride height. As it was, he couldn’t get his creeper under the car. Now, I’ve got to ask: how many people actually buy a car and decide it’s too low? Aaron did. He found the car so low that he had no option but to add a few inches back on. The project continued, albeit slowly. There were a few issues with ‘her indoors’. “She was always complaining about me spending money on it, and then complaining about it not going.” This unproductive situation soon meant Aaron was a single man again, which allowed him to focus all his energy on the Holden. “It was great,” chuckled Aaron, “I got rid of the wife and the car came together in six months.”

Not Yank

HQ Monaros are scarce these days. With the Kiwi dollar’s recent strength there are considerably more American vehicles of the pro street genre in circulation. Aaron likes the fact that the car isn’t a Camaro. “They’re belly button cars; I used to like ’em, but everyone’s got one. Monaros are a good size car and the engine bay swallows a big block with no cutting and plenty of room.” The HQ is loud and stands out from the crowd. It suits his personality. Although the body was in good condition, the existing yellow wasn’t quite right. Another two applications of the Anything But Mellow Yellow by Craig and Jude Napp sorted that out.

And God looked down upon the fair US of A in the ’50s and declared, “My children, you have tipped the balance and now too many of your cars resemble boring piles of crap.” And so he caused the 1955 version of the Chevy Bel Air to come into being. God was happy, but thought maybe it could do with bigger fins and more chrome and lo¦ the ’56 Bel Air was created. “NO you idiots, I said bigger fins and more chrome¦” thus causing the ’57 Bel Air to arise. And now God was well pleased with this ’57, so just to boil our blood, he caused the ’57 Bel Air Sports Coupe to come forth. And God called down from the Heavens, “Hey you guys, take a look at this sexy beast.”

Well maybe that’s what happened. That’s how I see it, anyway. It’s when you’re standing in the presence of one of these beautiful cars that you wonder about possible Devine intervention at the design stage. The ’55, ’56 and ’57 were some of the best looking drives of the day. I reckon you would have to be dead not to admire one of these as it rumbled past.

Gazing on a slice of Heaven.

I received some photos through the email of the beautiful beast you see before you. Would you like to have a look at my car? the email read. Is the Pope catholic? So I jacked up with Mark Painton to go and have a look. What cool set of wheels can I go out to see the man in? My Commodore was still in Palmerston North. My usual mode of transport, a Transit Van — bit less than cool — was not to be found. Anybody got a car I can borrow? Nope. Nine-tonne Izuzu Forward? Hey, now that’s really cool. What a fine set of wheels to go and see Mark and his ’57 in.

Well that’s all there was, so off I went. Out for a cruise in this loud truck with its import radio blaring at me from 80-something FM. I drove into Mark’s town looking at house numbers and driving slow, over a bump and all of a sudden the truck starts making this evil sound¦ Ah bollocks, I’ve trashed the truck and I’d driven past Mark’s. U turn, back the other way, and there’s his house. Just got a glimpse of the ’57 as I went by, that’s the house all right.

Pulled well past so he wouldn’t see what I was driving, gave the truck a quick look over¦ the noise had vanished. Excellent, I was hanging out to see the car. Turns out the evil sound wasn’t the trucks final death rattle at all. Mark had just brought the car out of the garage and was giving it a bit of encouragement. From its chrome hooded headlights to the trick petrol cap at the back, this ’57 exudes a mind control effect. ‘Come and look at me, slide inside, let’s go for a cruise and later we can park up¦’ Must have a look at the US population stats, I wonder if there was a surge in the birth rate in ’57.

Why this slice of Heaven.

Seems a daft question really, but why the hell not. There is a reason for everything and Mark’s started a few years earlier at the tender age of 16 when he bought a ’56 four-door Bel Air. Might as well start off as you mean to go on, I suppose. Mark owned the ’56 for only two years. It was, an original baby and a cruiser for the boys. Mark sold the car and did the big OE — three to four years in the UK, working and playing, taking in events like the Santa Pod Drags. Then it was off to the US for a few months, taking in the Pomona Drags. You know you’re in petrol heaven when the drag strip has grandstand seating for 40 000 people and corporate suites.

Upon returning to Godzone, Mark got stuck into work. There wasn’t any escape from the fold, however, with a father and a brother into it, and mates with ever increasing vehicular portfolios. Something had to give. Mark wanted a two-door Sports Coupe Pro Street ’57 Chevy and having worked his arse off, he was in a position to start looking. Where do all good Kiwis go when they want a car of this ilk? The States, of course.

Found It, Bring It Back.

This piece of automotive beauty was found in San Diego, California. It had been engineered and built for the Super Chevy Show Circuit and had won its share of shiny hardware. It had even starred in the Dennis Hopper movie, The Last Ride. The owner had decided that seeing as it had done the rounds for five years, he and the beautiful ’57 should go their separate ways. Enter our Kiwi.

How on earth could you expect Mark to want anything else after seeing this? Exactly the drive he wanted, right there all in one take-home package. Just a few dollars needed to change hands¦ Just a few dollars? Ahh huh. A deal was struck and Mark became the proud owner of the car he had always wanted. Now we just have to get it back to the fair shores of New Zealand. This was a show car; it had been transported to every show it had been in and hardly ever used on the road.

So the fact that it sat only 40mm off the deck wasn’t a problem — while it was on the show circuit. Picture, if you will, a container sitting on the back of a truck, we just gotta get this super low ’57 way the hell up there. Even with a 12m ramp, the Chevy resisted leaving its native soil. More chocks and bits of wood had to be employed just to get the babe onto the ramp. Once tucked into its container, Mark padlocked the doors and sent the beast on its way. I just cannot imagine what it must have been like waiting for the container to arrive back in New Zealand; what an itchy and scratchy time that must have been.

It might sound stupid, but I reckon drag racing cars are time machines. Every time a barrier is demolished, drag racers are one step closer to getting there instantly; any quicker than that and you’ll be there before you left. Not possible, you say? Probably not, but plenty of supposedly unbreakable barriers have been smashed before. Somewhere, some mad scientist will be working on just such an acceleration machine¦ believe me. It’s only physics after all.

Let us go back in time ourselves, to look at the technological leaps required to break into the seven second zone in New Zealand.

Way, way back, in February ’76, the team of Bob Clarkson — yes, that Bob Clarkson — and Lou Wymer became the first Kiwis to run a seven. The vehicle they used was a 6-71 supercharged hemi dragster with a little sniff of nitro. But back then traction was scarce, tyres were tiny and most dragsters were little more than a farm gate with a big motor on it. Men were men and technology was just a hard word to spell.

The first doorslammer into the sevens was Chris Tynan’s ’55 Chev, exactly 14 years and 360 days later. The shoebox had a tube frame of Chris’ design, an 8-71 big block Chev and a four-speed Lenco, and was definitely a few steps above the dragsters in terms of technological advances. Twenty months later, Mike Nola’s tube-framed Pontiac became the first normally aspirated slammer to run in the sevens.

The 2005/6 season saw the high-tech purveyors of performance technology, the pesky Pro Import guys, bust into the sevens, but I’m sure the Heat Treatments team was pleased it was Kevin’s brother Reece who pulled it off. The Heat Treatments Camaro also hit the seven-second bracket a few months later — got to keep that sibling rivalry on its toes.

Super Stock

Originally intended to enter into the tough Super Stock class, the 2000 model Camaro was purchased in Orange county, shipped to New Zealand by Chucks Restoration Supplies and then driven to Heat Treatments workshop where it was stripped down to nothing. The naked shell was then sent to Terry’s Chassis Shoppe, where Terry had a good long hard think about how to attack the project.

As the rules in SS are quite restrictive, requiring stock type front suspension and fitting the engine into the car without cutting the firewall, some lateral thinking was applied. Mr Bowden built a back halved chassis that mounts a super trick four-link, with an eight-point moly roll cage and custom-mounted front suspension that had competitors running for their rule books. He put his usual fastidious touches to the tubs and rear tinwork before handing the car back to the McGregors, who did the rest of the fabrication work. That includes seat, window net and shifter brackets, fuel pump and filter brackets, the fuel cell — anyone who’s ever had anything to do with fabricating a race car knows the amount of tabs and brackets needed is immense.

The clever car builders are the ones who make all these welded-on lumps of metal perform more than one function in an attempt to keep weight to an absolute minimum. Weight was such an issue that even the 12mm fuel line is made from aluminium.

Once the Heat Treatments crew was happy with the placement of everything, all the parts were removed, and the body shell and integral roll cage were blasted with walnut shot to clean off all the old paint and sound deadener. Kevin then seam welded the car and fabricated a few block off panels while the body was prepared for painting. Meanwhile, Phil from RacePro made the carbon fibre doors after taking the moulds off the Camaro stockers. The rear hatch, bonnet, front guards, pro stock-style wing and windows were all purchased off the shelf from US chassis builders.

The shell was then sent to Westside Panel & Paint, where Dr.Bob sprayed the whole thing inside, outside and underside in two-pack white. Mad Steve Levine airbrushed the hood scoop, blinkers and headlights, the rear ones are original and still work.

(more…)

A big truck for the Big Man of Rugby

I like to consider myself a reasonably lucky person. After all, I combine my passion with my job by writing articles for NZV8 and other magazines. There are not many careers where this is actually possible, so while I’m here I’m going to make the most of it. The pay won’t see me taking an early retirement, and the hours required seem to be more than there are in the day, but I still couldn’t think of anything I’d rather be doing. (No Ed, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay me¦ My ’53 Caddi won’t build itself!) Another chap who turned his passion into a career, and a very successful one at that, is Jonah Lomu.

Sadly for me, the fact that we both have jobs we enjoy is about where the similarities end. While I’m still awake writing at 2am, Jonah’s day is over by 2pm. Then, of course, there is the pay difference. By no means am I suggesting that it is not deserved, because Jonah is still one of New Zealand’s most successful sporting talents.

Regardless of money earned, hours worked or success gained, like you and I, Jonah is passionate about cars. Sure, as far as Jo Public is concerned, his interest with cars is all about how much stereo gear can be fitted. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. What the general public don’t know is that vehicle performance is equally as important to Jonah as a mind blowing audio setup is. As such, since the beginning of his professional career Jonah has owned cars that we can only dream of owning. But not only does he own them, he drives them like he stole them. Well, at least that was the case when he took me for a skid in his HSV Clubsport a few years back.

During our tyre-destroying time in the Holden, Jonah talked about one of his other toys — the only one he liked more than the modified Clubby. A 1996 Chevrolet C1500 pickup, in factory purple.

Until recently I never heard what became of his much beloved pickup. That was until I was asked to check it out for the magazine, and upon seeing its present glory, I knew we had to have it.

Long gone is the factory purple finish and 18-inch wheels that used to be fitted, as Dr Bob from Westside Panel & Paint has spent hours upon hours refinishing the vehicle. Although in near new condition at the time, the Doc has worked his usual magic to ensure the extra long panels were totally flawless before coating the vehicle in custom ‘Jonah Jade’ deep green paint. When straightening the panels, the rear tray of the vehicle was fitted with a pair of hydraulic rams, letting it act as a tip tray should the need arise. Besides this, the exterior of the vehicle remains as Uncle Sam intended, with the exception of the 20-inch KMC Bullet wheels now residing on each corner.

“Jonah’s request was that the vehicle be fitted out with a sound quality type install — not dissimilar to a high level home theatre setup”

Once Bob had done his thing, Jonah sent the vehicle to Fusion Electronics, who had previously built his record-holding sound pressure level (read: stupidly loud) Nissan Patrol. This time, Jonah’s request was that the vehicle be fitted out with a sound quality type install — not dissimilar to a high level home theatre setup. Creating such high quality in a home environment is a relatively straightforward task since the room is generally square, allowing for easy speaker positioning. In a vehicle, however, the task is much more complex. What made Jonah’s request even more difficult was the small cabin space available in the vehicle.

Who needs Buffy when you have a monster coupe to run down the vampires?

I’m sure I speak for us all when I say there are some bloody nice cars in this humble country of ours. From traditional rods, to show cars and to high-end street machines, we’re spoilt for choice on our shores. From time to time a car or two will grab your attention at a show and, in some rare cases, a glimpse of a car will absolutely smack you in the face and knock you on the ground.

As for me, I didn’t get to see Mike Ratcliffe’s blown big-block ’34 Ford coupe until Kumeu this year. I remember walking into the barn with a group of people huddled into one area and was curious to see what all the fuss was about. As the sea of people slowly dispersed, I found myself face to face with what is arguably one of the most evillooking Pro-Street hot rods to grace our roads.

There it sat just oozing a tough and fast aura, and it wasn’t even moving. Sitting just off the ground with its blower looming over the top of the grille surround and that roof chop peering at you like the eye of the devil himself¦ Well, I stood with my jaw firmly slammed upon the ground for a few minutes and just tried to take in as much as I could.

If you haven’t already, take a moment to look at the car for a while. Take in the body lines, the engine bay, that low stance. A lot of work has gone into this beast, and even that is an understatement. So when I got the call to go down and have a chat with Mike about his ’34 coupe, I didn’t think twice. Mike is a bloody nice bloke and director of ETL in sunny Hamilton. It’s a company that specialises in truck leasing. Naturally this and his family devours most of his breathing time, so I was amazed to find out the build time of the coupe was a mere two years.

Dreams Never Die

For Mike, it all started at the age of 15 when he tried to convince his dad to go halves in a ’34 coupe that was for sale just up the road. It had no motor or ’box and dad didn’t want to have a bone of it, so the big ‘NO’ led to Mike not getting his dream car at the time. But as the years rolled on, the dream refused to die and his good mate Dave Pearson (owner of HD motorcycles in Hamilton) happened to own a ’34 coupe project. Mike would hassle Dave to sell it to him all the time, and he was constantly rejected. Then came that special day when, in a moment of vulnerability, Dave said, “Okay, I will sell you the bloody car, on the condition you paint it Black Cherry when it’s finished.” Mike rushed to the bank, gave Dave the cash, then tackled the thorny issue of how the hell he was going to give the news to his wife.

Mike adopted the ever-cunning Maxwell Smartinspired ‘take the wife to lunch and offer her an all-expenses paid trip to Australia’ trick. And when she asked Mike, “What do you get out of it?” he humbly replied, “Oh, I will just grab that ’34 coupe off Dave, aye?” as if it was just a spurof- the-moment thought. As you can see, the plan worked, and the ’34 coupe made its way home to Mike’s shed where the project began.

The ’34 was no easy task, and a lot of work had to be done. So in no particular order, the stripping and rebuilding began.

Being all steel, there were bent and rusted panels that needed replacing or repairing.

Mike put the job in the very capable hands of Steve A and Steve G, of Banner St Panel & Paint in Hamilton.

The roof chop had been started before purchase, but hadn’t been done too well, so a lot of work went into getting it right, with a lot of time getting the proportions perfect. They massaged the body back to perfection and got everything ready to be squirted.

The Banner St P&P boys also painted the car in, you guessed it, Black Cherry (proudly sponsored by PPG) as Mike kept his end of the deal with Dave. Dave obviously had an idea of how awesome it would look, and I don’t think any other colour would suit the ’34 quite as well — not even the ever-popular Black.

To top off the paint, Mike enlisted Brett Blomfield to airbrush a Buffy the Vampire Slayer mural onto the trunk lid. I assume it symbolises what will become of little pimply boy racers should they even think of taking on the coupe at the lights. Once the body was taken care of, it was onto the interior. Mike added a pair of Recaro racing seats to keep him sitting tight, coated in leather stitched in by Jason Fell at Waikato Motor Trimmers.

A set of Dolphin gauges mounted in a wood-grain dash keeps track of all the important stuff, and as for a stereo? “Who bloody needs one when you have a blown big block?” says Mike. When the caps are off the owner-fabricated exhaust system, you can’t really hear much anyhow.

Owner-made pedals help Mike get the big block roaring, with the brake pedal pushing in on an HQ tandem cylinder and booster.

I have a confession to make. For a while I wondered if maybe I should hide my shame, go and see a psychiatrist to resolve my neurosis, this problem kept me awake at night¦ Well at least for one night. I had a death grip moment. For a while I struggled with the death grip, but I have come to understand it for what it is.

To explain. Meet Garry Smith, mild-mannered car yard director, one hell of a nice guy, doesn’t wear a suit that he can tear off to reveal his Superman attire, but then why would you need the Super’s cape when you own this beautiful blown Camaro.

We jumped into the Camaro and burbled off through suburban streets, negotiating rush hour traffic, the chance of excitement at this time of the day, nil. After what may have been a 10 or 15-minute trip (felt like about two in this beast) we found a private road, away from the prying public eye. Rather a nice stretch of road, smooth, maybe one kilometre long, right hand curve 300 metres ahead. Garry pulled over and said, “We should give it a squirt.” Right here I begin to examine the events that led to my shame. I could tell you that I was thinking about deadlines at work, thinking about my frail old grandmother¦ Bollocks, the whole lot of it. I simply wasn’t prepared, after a quiet run through the back streets to get here, I was lulled into a fog.

As Garry asked his baby the question, the answer was hundreds of metres behind us in a cloud of tyre smoke and we were hurtling head long into the future. I involuntarily clutched the centre console, my ‘death grip’ moment. As Garry began to button off, I snatched my hand back. Had Garry seen? It isn’t a question you can ask, oh the shame, oh the questions about my manhood, what would the editor say, if I didn’t tell him maybe Garry would¦ Oh the ridicule.

In the middle of the night it occurred to me, bollocks to that, I wasn’t prepared, but I wouldn’t trade that moment for anything. That fractional moment of sitting next to Garry whilst he piloted 454hp (339kW, at the wheels that is, fully capped and quiet), the 383 (6276cc) Chev block screaming with joy at being able to open up. The tyres giving up the traction challenge with howling dismay, the tail just beautifully stepping out at each gear change, 100kph a memory after three seconds and the end of this road coming up like a bullet. No, sod them all, death grip, I don’t give a damn what anybody thinks, that was a rush and I was living it. I’d do it again and again and¦ Clutching the centre console the whole time and laughing like a bastard. Garry of course gets to live this every time he puts his car down the strip. I’m sure that frequency never dulls the feeling, because when I looked across he was still smiling as we turned back into Auckland’s crap traffic.

AND IN THE BEGINNING

There are some things that stick in your mind. I will never forget being at Pukekohe with my brother in the ’70s and seeing a’ 70-’71 Camaro sitting in the car park. Huge back tyres — crossplys! Jacked up back end (what was up with that), that huge grille almost on the ground, this thing just oozed menace.

For Garry, his first moment with a Camaro was in ’69 when he came across a Black and White, 68 Z28, yep, an early 302-powered one, talk about starting at the top of the heap. Imagine if you could go back in time and just pop one of those in the garage¦ Ahh. Again in the ’70s, he saw the next generation of Camaro with that lovely big deep grille.

Those early meetings with Camaros must have stayed with Garry, because in ’98, when he saw one advertised in the Trade & Exchange at a reasonable price, he just had to call the guy. Upon seeing the car for the first time, that reasonable price made sense. Parked there was the Camaro, it had been imported into Godzone in ’72, with the RS/SS options, a 350 (5735cc) small block and a turbo 350 trans. Back in ’72 this would have been the beast to own, people turning to stare as it drove by, maximum babe magnetism assured to its owner. Now, on the other hand, this guy had owned it for 16 years.

Loosely speaking, really loosely, this guy had intended to do it up, but when it sunk up to its axles in the garden he had a change of heart. He had hauled it out of the garden and somebody convinced him to sell just the wheels and tyres. So here it sat for Garry to see, bit of panel rust, drag slicks on the back, mismatched tyres up front. Here’s the keys mate, take it for a spin. Garry openly admits to not really knowing what to look for in a Camaro back then, but this one drove beautifully and it all felt just right. Garry called his mate, Craig Wall, and asked him to come and see what he thought. When Craig said, “ If you don’t buy it, I will,” the deal was done.

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Holden’s Commodore has become an iconic Aussie classic since the model’s introduction in late 1978 with the VB.

It was initially equipped with the powertrains used in the LH-UC Torana range, comprising GMH’s 1.9 ‘gem’ of a four-cylinder (yeah right), the 2.8 and 3.3 in-line sixes, and Holden’s two  home-grown V8s, the 4.2 and 5.0. They sold extremely well, and Peter Brock worked his magic on the HDT Commodore range, breathing life back into the almost moribund Aussie muscle car market.

The VC, VH, and VK Commodores came and went, then the last of the first series, the VL, was released in Australia in March 1986. As usual, on this side of the Tasman punters had to wait until 1987 for the new model to reach our shores. The big news, however, was under the hood. The Aussies, faced with the introduction of unleaded petrol, had — shock, horror — ditched the faithful 3.3-litre six in favour of an ohc 3.0 Nissan in-line six out of the Skyline. The Jap mill, four-stage auto and five-speed manual were a vast improvement over the previous powertrains. NZ, when it finally got the VL, had a 2.0-litre ohc Skyline six as the base engine (a unit the Aussies didn’t get), as the four banger had sold so well over here. The Aussies well and truly made up for this glaring omission by offering a quick turbo 3.0 that GMH NZ sadly didn’t have the nous to sell here.

Dinkum Mill over the Hill

While purists collectively gnashed their teeth at the loss of the dinkum Aussie mill, the motoring press danced for joy. The old Holden six had been around since the late 1963 introduction of the EH. Despite the VK 3.3 getting electronic fuel injection, available with automatic only, this engine was never going to cut it on ULP, and already had a horrendous thirst, with gas mileage barely above that of the 5.0-litre V8. The 4.2 was discontinued, and the 5.0 was redesigned in ’87 for ULP, developing an “earth- shattering” 122kW. The only transmission on offer was Holden’s uninspiring Trimatic (traumatic!) three-stage auto, which was
recalibrated to attempt to bring it up to the task in hand.

HDT V8s had the T5 manual and 137kW for starters, with much more available for those with larger wallets.

Meanwhile Peter Brock and HDT were heading inexorably towards a messy divorce from Holden, which duly happened on February 9,
1987. HDT’s red Group A was a damn good car, but Holden was getting bent out of shape with Brock’s Energy Polariser, a dubious device with no proven merit whatsoever.

HSV Takes Control

Tom Walkinshaw, a burly Scotsman, was eventually asked to fill the gap and duly formed HSV, taking 75 per cent of the company, with
Holden owning the other 25 per cent. His company, TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing), was headquartered in Pommieland, where it
successfully campaigned the factory Jaguar race team.

This Mustang was born a GTA. Now the A for Automatic has new meaning… Attitude!

If you are looking to be inspired or to be impressed, there is no need to look beyond this Mustang or its owner, Russell. The former dramatically illustrates what can be achieved through planning and commitment that borders upon perfectionism, whilst the latter dramatically illustrates the rewards that can be had from a job very well done.

While still in his late 20s Russell returned from the big OE, having put aside some spare cash with a simple but huge desire to fulfil — ownership of an iconic American car.

After a few choice words with car salesmen (who did not believe he had the cash to back up his inquiries) Russell went off and independently purchased a bright red Mustang. Rumour has it he then returned to the doubting salesmen, giving the engine a big rev and the salesmen the big finger as he departed, leaving them dumb-struck and open-jawed. Having met Russell I can tell you the rumours are very, very likely to be true.

Unfortunately the first Mustang was more porker than thoroughbred, but it was enough to further light the fuse that would lead Russell towards a very impressive white 1967 Mustang GTA convertible. An offer was made to the  owner that was accepted, and Russell found himself embarking on a journey that continues to this day.

If you’re gonna take your top off¦

Upon purchase this Mustang’s body was found to be very sound, with evidence of only a very small patch of rust in the rear near where the soft top lives. Dave Loose, a fellow member of the American Muscle Car Club in Auckland, suggested Russell should deal to this. After some consideration he decided a total strip down would be the way to go, and he let loose (pardon the pun) in a big way! The Mustang was treated to a total disassembly while Russell cast his eye over each and every part. He was not interested in cutting any corners as he worked towards what his heart and mind desired. This Mustang would journey beyond restoration¦ Way beyond¦ Into the world of a custom car that would unbridle challenges, meet them head on, and kick them into the dust!

The stripped Mustang was sent to Heritage Metal Blasters in preparation for panel beating. The panel-beating road was a bit rocky, with the first panel-beater working at a very, very slow pace.

Slow pace is not a term associated with any Mustang — let alone this one — so Russell sent it to Kevin Parker, who worked his magic on the panels, with Southern Mustang and Ford Spares providing replacement door and trunk skins along with a grille, fog light surround and valance.

With the panel work complete the Mustang was carefully re-assembled to allow Kevin and Russell to gauge the look, and to check clearances etc. Kevin’s work must be of the highest standard, because Russell was now a very happy man and the Mustang was ready for its next journey.

You can teach an old horse new tricks!

Terry Bowden at Terry’s Chassis Shoppe was called upon to advise on all things engineering, which would include designing a new front suspension. Terry custom-built a chrome-moly front suspension around the Boyd Coddington rims that has to be seen to be believed¦ It almost made my mouth water as I lay under the front! Not that lying under the Mustang is easy, as it has been lowered a massive 120mm all round. When you are that low your suspension has to be state-of-the-art, and Russell did it right again with his choice of Carrera coil-over shocks up front and Koni Classic rear shocks. Terry was also responsible for a huge amount of other work, including modification of the Hooker exhaust headers to mate to a custom exhaust system.

Terry was provided with more than one laugh by an enthusiastic assistant called Russell. Sent down the road to purchase a handbrake cable Russell came back with a roll of washing-line cable — rumour has it Terry is still rolling on the floor laughing as he reminisces about this J.

Cardwell Racing Supplies supplied Wilwood Ultralite 300mm front rotors and Wilwood Superlite four-pot callipers all round to rein in this re-engineered Mustang, with Terry tying everything together.

Stuck smack between its “stripper” Superbee sister and the swankier R/T Charger the Coronet R/T is an often overlooked hot ticket item in its own right

It’s not always easy being the middle sibling, the oldest gets the freedom, the youngest gets the attention, and the middle member gets ignored all round, like Malcolm says “life is unfair”.

This pearl of wisdom applies to the Dodge Coronet R/T to a degree. The Coronet Super Bee, corporate first cousin and archrival to Plymouth’s mega successful Road Runner, vacuumed up Dodge’s “boy racer” market, with the Hardtop coupe $495 cheaper, lighter, and consequently a tad quicker than the Coronet R/T, when optioned up with a big donk. The Charger R/T had the executive muscle market sewn up priced at just $142 more than the similarly spec’d Coronet R/T but enjoyed a more sophisticated image. So the Coronet R/T had it’s work cut out just clawing out a market for itself in the middle of Dodge’s Scat Pack.

So Dodge never sold that many Coronet R/T’s, which is a crying shame ‘cause this is one helluva car, performance and luxury wrapped, for 1970, in one of the more distinctive styling packages to come out of the Motor City period.

Ready Camera¦ Action

Car Wrangler Justin Cardon definitely thinks so and before anybody’s imagination takes off on a wild flight of unrestrained fancy, no he ain’t sitting on the back of a pickup, roping and branding Cadillacs and suchlike beasts. Justin owns Rockets Auto Model Agency, and it’s his job to source and provide cars for movies, TV shows, commercials etc.

While this might sound like a way cool occupation for a car guy, Justin tells me its fraught with stress, especially when dealing with classic iron. It’s his job to look after the cars for their owners on location, and he takes it very seriously indeed. Directors and such other myopic media types notoriously think only of the shot, never mind the car, which is only a “prop” despite its value, yeah right. So Justin has to make sure that the owners pride and joy is returned from filming in the same condition it arrived in, whilst ensuring that the film crew get the scenes in the can they desire. But his ultimate responsibility is to the cars’ owners, and the only ropin’ and brandin’ he gets to do involves restraining overeager production crews.

Now Justin owns some pretty cool Detroit iron already, like a mint ’59 Caddy Coupe De Ville, and a right down to the paint original 57 Ford Skyliner Retractable Hardtop with the factory 312 complete with twin 4 bbls underhood. But he had a hankering to get his girlfriend Jade Khin something cooler to cruise around in than her Celica, and in April 2004 spotted the Coronet R/T on the net for sale in Springdale, Arkansas. Sheer coincidence maybe, but the only guy that Justin knows in the United States also lived in Arkansas, a scant ten miles away from the dealership where the Mopar lurked. His mate was swiftly drafted to inspect the Coronet and Justin bought it shortly thereafter. Rapt, as he had long since lusted after a ‘70 Coronet after spying a tasty Plum Crazy example back in Enzed, Justin flew to Oklahoma in July ‘04 then drove to Springdale, picked up his ride, and headed off on the long haul back west to the California coast.

Out Of The Factory

Purchasing sight unseen, even with a mate’s good intentioned assistance, can be a dodgy practice, but Justin had hit the nail on the head in this case. What he got for his money was an original FK5 Burnt Orange Coronet R/T, with matching “orange” trim, packing a Magnum 440 4bbl with Mopar’s indestructible TorqueFlite 727 auto, and 3.23:1 rear end. Optional Ramcharger induction forces air down the Carter carburettor’s 4-barrel throats to assist the feeding of 375 squalling ponies. It’s stock standard underhood apart from Mopar electronic ignition, but a work of art nonetheless. Fat factory cast iron exhaust manifolds reflect Chryslers’ well documented skill in casting, and these babies flow very well indeed. In this case stock doesn’t mean cheap and nasty, everything from the cooling system, to the 11” drum brakes all round, and the power steering, and R/T suspension were designed with one thing in mind, sustained high performance, and heavy-duty durability. Capable of sitting at 130 plus mph all day long, the Coronet R/T 440 was solidly engineered as a balanced package, something many of its competitors could only achieve by burrowing deep into the option sheets, if at all.

It’s been a few hours now since we handed back the keys to the Mercedes, and to be honest it’s very impressive. However I should have expected that, as this Mercedes is the CLS 55 — it’s been reworked by Mercedes’ in-house tuner, AMG, to produce 350kW with a whopping 700Nm of torque. The factory states an impressive 0 to 100kph time of just 4.7 seconds, and recently the CLS 55 was timed by an American motoring magazine at a lightning 12.5 seconds over the quarter mile. But it’s not brute power that makes the CLS 55 an outstanding piece of machinery.

Looking from the outside your first reaction was probably something similar to my own: “Is this really a Mercedes?” In the past Mercedes has designed cars with function and purpose over form. First impressions are that this philosophy seems to have done a complete turn around as Mercedes describes the CLS as a coupe shape with the functionality of four doors, and it certainly has been tastefully done. But have the techno-mad Germans given in to style over function? Well, not exactly.

As the saying goes, beauty is only skin deep, and under the skin of the new CLS the Mercedes engineers had an absolute field day.

For starters, the paint’s clear coat has been especially developed with, wait for it, nano technology. Tiny ceramic particles — measuring one millionth of a millimetre — are mixed into the clear coat to form a surface that is said to be three times more scratch-resistant than conventional systems.

Even the long, flowing lines of the bodywork have a secret agenda. This car’s bonnet has been designed to deflect airflow past the windscreen wipers for added efficiency. Underneath, the engine, gearbox and suspension have all been covered by plastic panels to reduce lift, and improve stability. All these features help the CLS 55 to a respectable coefficient of drag figure of 0.30.

Mercedes Benz has always been admired for its innovative technology and safety. The body construction of the new CLS is no exception; in fact it’s just what you would expect from Mercedes. Front and rear crash boxes are bolted on to cut repair times down. The A, B and C-pillars are all triple-walled sheet steel. Aluminium is used for the bonnet and rear parcel tray.

For front passenger safety, seat belts and airbags are controlled by an electronic unit which has two sensors located in the front cross member. In a frontal impact the unit can calculate the severity of the crash and decide at what force to deploy the airbags and seat belt tensioners. Approach the car and you don’t need to use the key, as this CLS has the ‘Keyless Go’ option. As you come into range, the car recognises the encoded key and you need to do is touch the handle, and it’s open.