After destroying his original engine with too much boost, Scott Allen was left with two choices: scrap the project or build it better. Guess which option he chose…

A muscle car man at heart, Scott Allen has owned a bunch of seriously cool cars in his time, although none quite as cool as his current selection.

The name Boss 302 gets any Mustang owner’s heart pounding, and Scott’s lucky enough to have one. He’s also got the 302’s bigger and far less common brother, the 428 Cobra Jet, a very rare and impressive car that most Ford lovers would kill for. But just to prove he’s not solely a Ford fan, they’re kept company by the Chevrolet equivalent, a ’69 Z28 Camaro.

Obviously, someone with an eye for rare and powerful muscle cars is going to have a passion for going fast, too, and that’s where this story really begins. Back in 2005, Scott was looking for a new daily driver that would allow him to get around the country with his work gear in a bit of comfort. The then brand-new BAII ute fitted the requirements perfectly. However, it wasn’t long after the purchase of the six-speed manual ute that Scott began to tire of the car’s limited performance, and the idea of force-feeding it came to mind. (more…)

Here in NZ we are stuck with puny small/med size pickup trucks while over in the states they enjoy heavy-duty machinery like the Ford F-Series, Chevy Silverado and the Ram 1500. The latest model to be unveiled by Ram is the 1500 Tradesman Heavy Duty.

This new pickup combines the budget focus of the standard Tradesman with a new towing and cargo capacity. Ram is claiming that its new truck is now the segment leader in both of those categories. With a maximum trailer weight of 5216kg, the Tradesman HD trumps the Ford F-150 by 90kg and the Chevrolet Silverado by a massive 360kg. But its not that simple for this big hauler, the Tradesman HD is only available as a two-wheel drive truck with a regular cab and an eight-foot bed. (more…)

Ford has unveiled its new FG Falcon MkII range at an event in Melbourne this week ahead of it reaching NZ showrooms later this year.

The updated Falcon comes with new technologies, an enhanced safety package, new exterior design appointments  and the first global application of EcoBoost engine technology in a rear-wheel drive vehicle. It also heralds in the debut of Ford’s global 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ecoboost petrol engine which will be offered in the FG Falcon next year.

The MkII Falcon will showcase some of Ford’s latest tech like a new 8.0-inch colour touch screen and integrated audio, phone and navigation functions and a more comprehensive occupant protection package.

“The improvements made to the award-winning Falcon range with the introduction of FG Falcon MkII have made a great car even better,” Ford New Zealand Marketing Manager, Chris Masterson said. “FG Falcon MkII builds on the success of the FG Falcon program, as well as the recently released new Territory range, by offering New Zealanders more equipment and the latest technology innovations, while continuing to deliver outstanding performance, fuel efficiency, refinement and safety.” (more…)

When Mathew Patmore’s Fairmont was stolen, he didn’t get mad, he got even by building another Ford – a far better one.

We ended up pulling bits of it out of the Waikato river,” Mathew Patmore says, reminiscing about his previous project, an XY Fairmont, which had been stolen then dumped. “They didn’t need to chop it up, it was actually a mint shell, so it was a huge waste.”

That could have easily been the end of his modifying days, but Mathew was determined to finish what he had started. We’re glad he did.

Against All Odds

Mathew’s been an XY fan for as long as he can remember, so the new car was always going to be another XY, and it would be tubbed and blown. His Fairmont had been stolen while in a local workshop, so Mat was determined not to let this Ford out of his sight, and he performed pretty much the entire build himself. (more…)

When Mark Tunzelmann needed to shift his dirt bike around, he bought a ute. He just never intended it to cover the quarter in 10-seconds.

The ute started out just as a way of carting my dirt bike around,” claims Mark Tunzelmann. I’m pretty sure he’s having a laugh. Turns out he’s not.

“It stayed pretty standard for the first couple of years of ownership,” he says, almost apologetically.

Figures. There’s no way someone could use a boost-snorting, 10-second-capable 2004 Holden Commodore VZ ute as just a bike carrier.

Small steps

It’s a cliché, but modifying a car generally leads to a lack of coin and an end result you never thought you’d own the key to.

Mark also started with modest intentions. The original changes were low-key by modifying standards, comprising just an air intake, exhaust and a tune. While the gains weren’t ground-breaking, they were enough to have the LS1 mule delivering an easy 266kW at the wheels. (more…)

While the original Little Red Wagon may have become an accidental hero, Roger Lang’s version was always destined for stardom.

Back in 1965 Bill ‘Maverick’ Golden surprised not only himself but the whole world when his Dodge A100 pick-up lifted the front wheels off the ground under a hard launch. Granted, the A100 was built as a demo car — and to be the fastest truck in the land — and it was far from standard, but wheel stands were few and far between in those days, and most certainly did not get performed by Dodge trucks.

While the first few wheel stands happened accidentally during filming for a television commercial, from there the Little Red Wagon went on to become the world’s first dedicated and most famous wheel stander.

Getting the truck to perform its acrobatics was relatively simple, thanks to a 426ci Hemi mounted just rearwards of the vehicle’s cab. With around four times as much power as the factory slant six, and more rearwards weight distribution, the nose would lift on command and it became a great advertising campaign for what are admittedly not the most pleasant-looking vehicles.

From that accidental beginning the Little Red Wagon went on to tour America, appearing at events across the country. It wasn’t until 2003 that Maverick retired, and the Little Red Wagon retired with him, although within that time there had been a few different wagons, since they slowly got destroyed by the antics. (more…)

Holden has announced a new optional accessory for its VE Series II Ute range – a new three-piece hard tonneau cover.

The new accessory will be offered on all Ute models and incorporates a unique polished aluminium sports bar with high mounted stop lamp, a remote locking system integrated into the vehicle key fob and lift assistance via two gas struts.

The tonneau cover will be colour coded and is made from polycarbonate, it also has a quick release pin to remove the hard cover when required.

Holden New Zealand Managing Director, Jeff Murray said that for any well-dressed Holden Ute hard tonneau covers were a ‘necessary accessory’.

“We believe sports Ute buyers who take pride in the presentation of their vehicles will want the hard tonneau cover to add to an already great presentation, it will be popular,” Mr Murray said. (more…)

Holden’s ute is celebrating its 60th anniversary and to mark the occasion the Thunder Ute is back for the Aussie market.

This new VE Series II take on the once popular ute looks sharp with some cosmetic additions and is set to go on sale across Australia from next week.

The new Thunder Ute will be available in SV6 and SS trim with plenty of extra kit included. Special features in both models include 19-inch alloy wheels, satellite navigation, leather seat bolsters and special-edition Thunder badging inside and out.

“It is a really bold, tough looking ute which we think will appeal to many of our traditional sports ute buyers,” Holden Australia Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales John Elsworth said.

In terms of powertrains there is no additional grunt over the standard models with Thunder ute offered with Holden’s 210kW/350Nm 3.6 litre SIDI petrol V6 and 270kW/530Nm 6.0 litre petrol V8. (more…)