Ticket sales have just begun for the 2011 NZHRA Hot Rod Lottery and this year’s prize hot rod certainly looks the business.

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

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

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

For more info on the Hot Rod lottery go to www.hotrod.org.nz.



Kaikoura’s Dick Appleyard admits that his favourite car is the Studebaker, in particular this outstanding 1924 Studebaker Light Six.

Dick and his wife, Trish, participate in as many VCC events as possible and enjoy driving their old Studebaker, especially on long trips such as the recent VCC South Island Easter Rally in Gore followed by a nine-day Veteran/ Vintage tour via Invercargill, Bluff, Catlins, Southland, Otago, South Canterbury, Canterbury and back to Kaikoura. Interestingly, most of that tour was on farm roads, forest tracks, secondary roads, shingle and even the Old Dunstan Road (sign says not suitable for cars and it is closed during the winter – this road was used to transport gold from Central Otago to Dunedin in the gold mining era). The total trip, Kaikoura to Kaikoura, was just on 3000km with 459 litres of petrol guzzled – and was a real buzz according to Dick.

Since purchasing the Studebaker, Dick has clocked up a respectable 48,000km of thoroughly enjoyable and memorable driving and, as you would expect, he has complete confidence and faith in this old car and considers it virtually bullet-proof and extremely comfortable to drive.

Dick is also a keen supporter of the Studebaker Drivers’ Club NZ – which currently has up to 200 members, mostly owning more modern, V8-powered models. However, the club welcomes older models driven by older-model drivers. Read full story…

Masterton husband and wife pairing Richard and Sara Mason have comfortably won the weekend’s 20-21 August Rally Hawke’s Bay to secure the team’s third New Zealand rally championship title.

The final event of five in the 2011 New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) was run over 223km of roads in central and northern Hawke’s Bay area.

The final day had seven special stages covering 135.63km of roads north of Napier and looked to favour overnight leader Dean Sumner. But in the third stage, a puncture in the ITM Mitsubishi dropped the Rotorua driver from overall contention. That let Mason in to the lead, despite having incurred damage when he clipped a post in the BNT Subaru. With a two minute advantage mid-way through the day, Mason finished the final stage 1 minute 32.8 seconds ahead of Havelock North’s Stewart Taylor with Dunedin’s Emma Gilmour third, a further 48.3 seconds back. Sumner clawed back to fourth for the rally with Feilding’s Geof Argyle fifth and Auckland’s Glenn Inkster sixth. Read full story…

Almost eighty years ago Henry Ford’s son, Edsel Ford commissioned a special one-off machine. It was a 1934 Model 40 Speedster and after having various owners has now been restored and put on show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in the States.

The unique roadster features iconic styling that was originally penned by E. T. Gregorie. The vehicle has been subject of a number of changes over the years, but remains powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) 4.0-litre V8 engine that was first installed in 1940.

The custom model served as Edsel Ford’s personal roadster and following his death in 1943, toured the United States before being sold for just $603 in 1958. Following the sale it vanished for 41 years, until it resurfaced at the 1999 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Nearly ten years later, the car was sold to a Texas collector for $1.76 million USD. Sadly, that buyer died shortly after the sale and the speedster was returned to the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House which enlisted RM Auto Restoration to restore it to its original 1940 design and condition. Read full story…

When this car made its competition debut at Bay Park’s traditional Easter event in early 1975, it created quite a stir. Not just because it was beautifully presented, handsome, and well engineered, but because its owner/ designer/ builder/ driver, Brent Bullivant of Hastings, was just 19 years old.

The Capri was built to tackle the Bank of New South Wales (BNSW) New Zealand Saloon Car Championship (soon to become the Shell-Sport championship from 1975.’76), the modern day equivalent of which would be the BNT New Zealand V8 Touring Car Championship. And there were some pretty big guns around at this time, including Jim Richards (Sidchrome Mustang), Leo Leonard (PDL Mustang), Red Dawson (Camaro) Jack Nazer (Victor Chevy), and Paul Fahey (Capri). This was heady stuff – and would provide some stiff opposition for a semi-pro racing team, let alone a teenager.

As well, Bullivant was only motor mechanic apprentice, so his budget was paltry, at best. But 2500 hours went into the building of this car, and a reported $13,000 (possibly including the cost of the car), which in 1975 terms, was a lot. Read full story…

THIS COMPETITION HAS EXPIRED

BMW introduced its Motorsport version of the Six Series coupé at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1983. Essentially an E24 model fitted with a version of the M1 powerplant, the M635CSi sprinted from 0-96.5kph in 6.1 seconds before reaching a terminal speed just shy of 257kph (160mph). Now regarded as a true modern classic, the M635CSi remained in production until 1989.

New to AutoArt’s 1:43 range are these two models depicting the M635CSi – in silver or burgundy. Both models are extremely well detailed and include opening bonnets.

Thanks to the NZ distributor, we are giving away the burgundy car to a lucky reader. Just click on the link below and answer the following question:

In what year did BMW launch its first Six Series coupé?

Click here to enter the draw

Competition closes on September 20, 2011.

THIS COMPETITION HAS EXPIRED

Spark’s feature model this month is a 1:43 Riley MkXI-Lexus #02, winner of the 2006 Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Target sponsored, Ganassi Racing Riley was driven by the trio of Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon (both from IndyCar) and Casey Mears (from NASCAR), and recorded the first Rolex 24 Hour win for the Ganassi Team. The Kiwi connection is sure to make this model popular with collectors, but be quick – order one from your local hobby shop now, because this model will sell fast.

Over the last few years Spark has released an extensive collection of 1:43 Le Mans winners ranging from 1950 to 2011. It has now released a new range of over 20 Daytona winners, including models of the first placed Lotus 19, Lola T70, GT40, BMW CSL, March 83G, Jaguar XJR, Riley & Scott, Dallara-Judd, and of course a large selection of Porsche winners – not surprising, as the Stuttgart marque has won at Daytona 22 times! Next most successful marque is Ferrari with five wins, Ford with four, and Lexus with three victories. Read full story…

THIS COMPETITION HAS EXPIRED

Designed especially for New Zealanders, this new, super tough Bahco screwdriver set comprises of ten tools that have been developed and customised especially for Kiwis, with the hard-working Kiwi DIYer and tradesperson in mind. With polished vanadium blades, chrome plating and ergonomically designed handles, this set is truly something special.

We have two sets of these super Bahco screwdrivers to give away to our readers, simply click on the link below and answer the following question to be in to win: Read full story…