January 2025

NZ Hot Rod

New Zealand's Longest Established Automotive Magazine

NZ Hot Rod1 min read
NZ Hot Rod
PUBLISHERS: Hot Rod Publishing Ltd P O Box 8, Waipu, 0545, New Zealand MANAGING EDITOR: Paul Grace ACCOUNTS: Liz Grace SUBSCRIPTIONS: Liz Grace AD-SALES & FEATURES: Paul Grace Ph +64 21 159 8521 Email: [email protected] Craig Stare Ph +64 3 347
NZ Hot Rod5 min read
Box 8 Waipu LETTERS
HI GUYS, This is a long shot. Back in the late 1970s, the Hawkes Bay Hot Rod Club hosted the NZ Hot Rod Nationals. I cannot recall the exact year. I designed and printed the T-shirts for the event. The shirt had a design on the front that was an Ed R
NZ Hot Rod3 min read
Good Things Take Time
IT was roughly four years ago when I received information about the early Wellington hot rod scene from an old-time rodder. Roger Hermansen and Brian Falkner’s names were mentioned. That led to a phone call to Brian to test the validity of the tip-of
NZ Hot Rod5 min read
The Lady And The Scamp
MAGAZINE articles and photos of feature cars tell you all about the car, but some owners have stories to tell, too. The Scamp’s owner, Cathy, was called a “Tom Boy” at a very young age. Cathy was just five years old when, sadly, her mother passed awa
NZ Hot Rod5 min read
Just in PASSING
DEPARTMENT of Corrections - 1960 style. In the January 1960 issue of Rodding and Restyling, the captions to two pages of photos were missed, and the mistake was obviously only noticed after the magazine was printed. To correct this they printed the c
NZ Hot Rod2 min read
Pisst 'N Broke
WE left the clubrooms on Saturday at 10.30 and headed to Gore to regroup at the “Old Rainbow Trout” fish statue in the square for a park-up and a chance to catch up with everyone. From there, we went to Grant and Debbie Findlay’s shed and house overl
NZ Hot Rod1 min read
Gasser Rumble
Pegasus Bay Club can still put on a great show. The crowd were treated to 326 passes, perfect weather, ten gassers appearing for the Gasser Rumble, and even Bill and Clinton Minchington’s Anthill Mob Funny Car making back-to-back 200+ mph passes. Bri
NZ Hot Rod2 min read
Nitro Revival
WHEN driving out the gate on the Saturday night of Nitro Revival, you were left reflecting on two things. You knew this was the last time you would ever be at Irwindale, and Steve Gibbs, the organiser, was homeless. Irwindale Speedway was to close th
NZ Hot Rod4 min read
Falkner's Ford Parts Part 1
(D J Fakner- Don to family, Red to everyone else) Red began his life in Kaiparoro, Eketahuna, where he got a job in a cheese factory, got his steam ticket, and became a qualified cheesemaker. Red, a big boy at 16, was 6’ 1-1/4” and weighed in at 15 s
NZ Hot Rod2 min read
Spring into Summer Campout
AFTER Garden City, Rodder’s 50th anniversary (2021) was held at the Vintage Car Club grounds (all 75 acres of it) at McLeans Island just out of Christchurch. It was decided to do it all again at some point. The venue is amazing, with great music venu
NZ Hot Rod2 min read
California Hot Rod Reunion
IF YOU were to ask me what my favourite car was at the Hot Rod Reunion, the answer would be one owned by an ex-pat Kiwi. I had never seen Chris Malcolm’s Wild Honey tribute car “Taste Of Honey” in the flesh, and when I did spot it parked in the swap
NZ Hot Rod3 min read
Handsome Hauler
STEVE Keys is not afraid of big projects and has had many in the past, including more than the ten cars featured in this magazine. Steve’s features published include a ’23 T-Bucket, ’27 T roadster, ’32 Roadster, ’38 Diamond T Texaco Tanker, ’39 Ford
NZ Hot Rod4 min read
No. 4 Rides Again
REMINISCING back to the mid to late sixties, one of the most enjoyable forms of motorsport that I really enjoyed was stock car racing with all those old jalopies racing around the track. The majority of these were early ‘30s Ford V8 Coupes and Sedans
NZ Hot Rod2 min read
Cambridge Custom & Classic Car Display
FOLLOWING last year’s format, which proved very popular, a Friday meet and greet was held on Friday evening, with early entrants meeting in Cambridge’s Town Square from 5.00 pm onwards. Coffee and food carts were close by, along with some of the best
NZ Hot Rod2 min read
Sema
IF you want to know what is trending in the world of modified vehicles, then your one-stop destination is SEMA in Las Vegas. Absolutely every segment of automobiles is represented, and the best of the best is on display. For hot rodders, the 2024 win
NZ Hot Rod1 min read
Rocket Open Day
ROCKET Open Days are much anticipated as you get to see what is happening behind the scenes in one of our country’s top hot rod shops. The day also attracts many cool cars and parking was a premium. The people came from miles away, including John Ell
NZ Hot Rod2 min read
Industry NEWS
SPEEDWAY Motors is pleased to announce its SoloSwap™ line of engine mockup tools. These mockup engine blocks are light enough to be used for mockup purposes by one person yet stronger than typical foam or plastic replicas, allowing you to use your ac
NZ Hot Rod3 min read
Bad To The Bone
JUST before her passing in 2015, Tim’s partner Donna (RIP) of 29 years said these lovely words to Tim, “Go follow your dreams and purchase the Black pickup that’s for sale in Whakatane”. So, when the time was right, Tim and his good mate Hatch, who o
NZ Hot Rod3 min read
Clever Dick
YOU meet countless rodders over the years who move away, lose touch, and slip under the radar. It’s good to reconnect. I see that ’29 Chevy coupe in the magazine lately, currently doing the swap meets in the Auckland area; the one with the different
NZ Hot Rod10 min read
Upcoming EVENTS
>1 Outdoor Hot Rod Display, Whangamata > 4 Jalopy Dust Up, Waihi Beach Dirt Track. > 4 Whiti Beach Meet at Whitianga’s Buffalo Beach Reserve from 9am ‘til 3pm. Car entry is $20 and public viewing is free. > 5 Oilers Breakfast @ The Crossing at the La

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