Preview: New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 317

THE GANGSTER’S CHOICE — HUDSON TE RR APL ANE COUPE NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR MAY 2017 ISSUE 317

JAGUAR XJ220 • HUDSON TERRAPLANE • HSV CLUBSPORT R8 LSA ‘30 YEARS’

T H E R A R E S T C AT O F T H E M A L L ISSUE 317 $9.99 INCL. GST MAY 2017

themotorhood.com

RALLY OF THE INCAS THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

GRAND FINAL

HSV CLUBSPORT R8 LSA ‘30 YEARS’

YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE 2017

TARGA HAWKE’S BAY

CONTENTS

317 MAY 2017

4 4 QUICK CAT

JAGUAR XJ220

16 RALLY OF THE INCAS — PART TWO

THE EPIC SOUTH AMERICAN JOURNEY CONTINUES

28 THE GANGSTER’S CHOICE

1934 HUDSON TERRAPLANE

36 GRAND FINAL

HSV CLUBSPORT R8 LSA ‘30 YEARS’

28 2

New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com

16

36

SPECIAL FEATURE

60 VEHICLE COMPLIANCE

A STEP BY STEP GUIDE

COLUMNS

42 MOTOR SPORT FLASHBACK 48 KITS AND PIECES 52 MOTORMAN 66 LOCAL MARKET REPORT 86 PRICE ON

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK — SEARCH ‘NZ CLASSIC CAR ’

EVENTS 70

76 78 79 80 82

TARGA HAWKE’S BAY — ROUTES, ITINERARY, AND COMPETITOR LIST LEGENDS OF SPEED VINTAGE AUSTIN REGISTER ANNUAL RALLY SUPER CHEVY SUNDAY PREMIER MOTORSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP NORTH CANTERBURY CLASSIC TOUR

52

42

78 70

REGULARS

40 SUBSCRIBE AND WIN 58 READERS’ WRITES 59 ONLINE THIS MONTH 68 NEWS 84 EVENTS DIARY 88 BEHIND THE GARAGE DOOR 90 CLUB CORNER 92 AUTOMOBILIA 95 QUICK QUIZ / CROSSWORD 96 SELL YOUR CLASSIC 97 EDITOR’S PICK 98 CLASSIC CARS FOR SALE 102 LOCAL SPECIALISTS 104 NEXT MONTH

68 themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car

3

FEATURE 1994 Jaguar XJ220

A C O M PA N Y S T U C K I N A R U T, A PA S S I O N AT E T E A M O F E N G I N E E R S , A S I LV E R B U L L E T, D I S A P P O I N T E D C U S T O M E R S , A N U N T I M E LY RECESSION, AND NO TYRES THE XJ220 HAS A COMPLICATED PAST, BUT IT’S STILL ONE OF THE FEW CARS THAT WILL IMPRESS EVERY PERSON WHO SEES IT IN THE FLESH, CAR FAN OR NOT. WE SPENT SOME TIME WITH JAGUAR’S GAME CHANGER AND DISCOVERED THERE’S MORE TO THE JAGUAR THAN SORDID TALES OF LUST AND ANGER Words: Lachlan Jones Photos: Adam Croy

4

New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com

themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car

5

L

ike other supercars of the time, the XJ220 was a skunkworks project. It was undertaken by a ragtag team of Jaguar engineers who called themselves the ‘Saturday club’. They would spend their nights and weekends on a mission — essentially, to save the ailing brand from the scrapheap following a decade or two of productioncar failures and mediocrity — and all for no pay or a guarantee their project car would see the light of day.

Fresh out from under the thumb of British Leyland (which was effectively a government department, and was being run as such), the team at Jaguar knew it had an opportunity to rebuild a quintessential British brand from the ground up. No small task.

Where there had been recent success for Jaguar was on the race track. Following a successful partnership with Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) — which had raced the XJS from 1982 to 1986 and topped

the podium in the 1984 European Touring Car Championship — Jaguar’s head of engineering approached TWR, which was entrusted with coming up with a an engine capable of powering a marquee car for the brand, something that could be sold to road users, compete against the Ferrari F40 and Porsche 959, and also eventually be used at Le Mans. And so, in an age of excess and flamboyance, the conclusion seemed forgone: spend millions on wind-tunnel development to make aerodynamic advances so ahead of their time that some are still in use on supercars today and deliver power via a highly tuned V12 engine with dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder, with a 373kW output and decades of proven motor racing provenance, including use in Tom Walkinshaw’s fabled XJR-9. And all this as well as an advanced four-wheeldrive system attached to a sleek aluminium body big enough to be spotted from the moon.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Depending on who you talk to, the number 220 represents a couple of things. Some believe this was the number produced, which clearly isn’t the answer, as the XJ220 was released with this moniker at the British Motor Show when production

6

New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com

was to be 350 (the final number built was somewhere between 271 and 284 cars; we have been unable to get an unequivocal answer on this one). Most likely, it is the target top speed of the XJ. Of course, this was when the car was a concept, and the

reality of boring things like tyres and a runway long enough to establish top speed were issues of the future.

In testing, the XJ managed just 213mph (342.7kph), but ‘XJ213’ doesn’t have quite the same ring, does it?

themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car

7

FEATURE

The Rally of the Incas — part two

PUSHED TO THE LIMITS RALLY OF THE INCAS

16 New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com

TEAM ABD (ADVENTURE BEFORE DEMENTIA) ARE STILL GOING STRONG AFTER T H E F I R S T G R U E L L I N G 1 4 D AY S O F T H E R A L LY O F T H E I N C A S Words: Garry Boyce, Ashley Webb Photos: Garry Boyce, Gerard Brown

I

n last month’s issue, we followed Garry Boyce and Ken Williams on the first 14 days of the epic 27-day Rally of the Incas. At the end of Day 14 we left this gallant pair of Kiwis in Tucumán, Argentina, as they were heading north towards Peru. Their trusty 1964 Mercedes-Benz 220SE was still going strong, despite looking a little the worse for wear. This issue, we rejoin them on Day 15 on the trail.

Back over to Garry.

Day 15 During the night, we had a brilliant lightning storm and rain, and we started off the day with rain and misty overhead conditions. The first regularity at Cerros Tucumanos started in the mist and rain on a very windy hill climb, through what felt like a rain forest, with treetop canopies joining over the road. We went well and finished by only 43 seconds over.

We then had an uneventful transit to a time control called ‘El Jardín’ for coffee.

By this time, the rain had stopped, and we had clear sky. The next transit was 117km on a dirt road. You could choose to take an alternative route if you wished, but most — including us — took the dirt road! Well, this is what adventure car rallying is all about.

Legends and stories about this leg will be told for years to come. Mud, mud, glorious

mud, in a river valley the organizers called the ‘Reo Sin Nombre’ (the river with no name). We arrived through moderate mud to our first major river crossing. Cars were stacked up in a line, as some were having problems. Ken got out and took his crocs off and waded over to the other side with the camera, others went through, and then it was my turn. The snorkel we fitted to the car worked well, but we had left the coil very exposed. Water was picked up by the bottom fan-belt pulley, and the fan then sprayed it over the coil. I was about three-quarters of the way across when we came to a very undignified stop, much to the amusement and pleasure of all the cars waiting behind us. But, up with the bonnet, a quick rag wipe and a CRC spray, and we were away again. The mud got deeper, but the ruts became our friends as we slid from the edge to the overhanging cliff face into which the road was cut. The line of cars came to a halt at a very muddy steep hill section, while we went up one at a time.

We watched others while we waited for our turn. If a car got stuck or stopped, people would push or pull it to get it going, but some had to be towed by a four-wheel drive to make it through. Then it was our turn — the crowd waited in anticipation! I took a good run at it in second gear, held the revs at 4000; we slid, we skidded, we stayed in themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car

17

FEATURE

1934 Hudson Terraplane

THE GANGSTER’S

28 New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com

CHOICE

O

ne warm summer’s evening, John Dillinger had just enjoyed a night at the movies and was making his way back to the car, hat down across one eye, a broad on each arm, and the keys to his new ‘34 Terraplane in his pocket.

Boom! And he was dead on the footpath. If only he’d had his favourite Thompson submachine gun in his hand, instead of his .38 revolver. If only he’d parked the Terraplane somewhere else, like out the back door of the theatre instead of the front.

Terraplane dealers all across the US must have secretly wept at the news the next morning. The ’34 Terraplane was John Dillinger’s getaway car of choice, and, until that night, it had served him well as he had robbed and battered his way across central US. Such was his preference for the Terraplane that Hudson dealers even advertised the fact. One had hung a banner outside his dealership that read, “Dillinger chooses the ’34 Hudson for his personal use.” Ah, the US … land of the entrepreneur.

The beginning

J.EDGAR HOOVER HAD MADE JOHN DILLINGER PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE, AND HIS FBI AGENTS W O U L D S TO P AT N OT H I N G TO CAPTURE THEIR MAN Words: Terry Cobham Photos: Duncan Rourke

The Hudson Terraplane — or simply, the Terraplane, as it became that year — was the product of the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, US. Hudson had begun manufacturing cars in Detroit in 1909. The company was formed by a group of eight businessmen who had noticed very early on that the newfangled motor car was the way to go. They were immediately successful, selling 4500 cars in their first year of production. By the mid 1920s, Hudson was number three on the sales charts, and that was in an era when there were literally hundreds of car manufacturers in the US. The company took its name from one of the original investors, a Mr Hudson. He owned a department store, and probably even sold toy cars, but at least two of the original group were ‘car men’. Mr Roy Chapin is perhaps the most interesting. He was a Detroit car-industry executive, and, years later, when the Hudson descendant themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car

29

ONLINE THIS MONTH At themotorhood.com

This month at themotorhood.com …

Price on: raising the speed limit

S Golden age: behind the scenes at Nostalgia Drags 2017

A

s one of the most popular, and certainly most entertaining, drag events on the calendar for racers and spectators alike, the annual Bay Rodders Nostalgia Drags is a chance to get an old-school fix from an era when three pedals reigned supreme and fuel injection

was a European gimmick.

As cool as it is to watch these vintage beasts lumber down the drag strip, often accompanied by a soundtrack rarely heard these days, the best way to get acquainted with the bones of the Nostalgia Drags is with a jaunt through the pit area.

Two-litre terrors: New Zealand’s stash of ’90s touring cars

A

lthough penned by the lads over at our sister title, NZ Performance Car, this exposé into the world of ’90s-era touring cars is a cracker read. From 1992 to 2000, the World Touring Car Championship resonated to the sound of screaming naturally aspirated 2.0-litres. With a growing number of these super tourers ending up in New Zealand, the lads took a look at five of the best on our shores: Tony Longhurst’s Benson and Hedges BMW 318i (E36), a recently restored ’96 CET Repsol Nissan Primera (P10), British driver Kelvin Burt’s ’97 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)

Volvo S40, the ex–Rickard Rydell Prodrive-built Mondeo V6, and the Nissan Primera P11 driven by the most prominent of the independent drivers in the BTCC, Matt Neal, who spent the super-touring years largely driving for his father’s Team Dynamics outfit.

To read much, much more, search ‘Two-litre terrors’ on The Motorhood.

Tag along as we explore all the amazing machines of years gone by and painstakingly detail a handful for your viewing and reading pleasure. To find the article, simply head along to themotorhood.com and search ‘Nostalgia Drags 2017’ — you will not be sorry that you did!

peed limits are a touchy subject for Kiwis, with each side of the fence firmly divided on the matter: you either think raising it is the best thing ever or that it will cause the biggest increase in road deaths since the advent of the motor vehicle. Either way, when the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) started talking about it, it was reported (albeit incorrectly) that the entire country would see an increase in speed across our roads, regular columnist Greg Price jumped in to pen his thoughts on the situation.

Turns out that the NZTA’s plans are not as they would appear, and Greg breaks down what was and is being proposed. Search ‘speed limit’ to find the full article.

Fuego: a fiery French coupé or not?

A

s market values for classic cars rise, so does the popularity of the forgotten and unloved classics of years gone by. A recent analysis of 30 million cars in Britain highlighted the plight of many older cars that are verging on extinction, revealing that only one example of a

staggering 222 models from the past 50 years is still in use.

Perhaps one of our favourite forgottens is the swoopy Renault Fuego, although you’d need to look far and wide these days to find one, as only 19 are currently registered in Britain, and probably many fewer than that in New Zealand. The stylish French coupé was often described as the car of choice for Parisian prostitutes, while others opined that it was shaped like a walrus with gas — yet the car had several other more substantial claims to fame. To find out what they are, search ‘Fuego’ on The Motorhood.

The Motorhood is the home of all online content by the team at Parkside Media, the publisher of New Zealand Classic Car, NZ Performance Car, and NZV8. Catch up on what’s happening across all of the genres, as well as news and features from around New Zealand and across the globe. For all New Zealand Classic Car content, simply visit classiccar.co.nz to be redirected to our section of the site. themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car

59