Preview: New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 323

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NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR NOVEMBER 2017 ISSUE 323

FORD ESCORT MKII RS2000 • PORSCHE RSR REPLICA • HOLDEN HEAVEN• PORSCHE 964 TURBO

FORD ESCORT MUSCLE GARAGE SUNDAYS ON

PORSCHE RSR REPLICA ISSUE 323 $10.99 INCL. GST NOVEMBER 2017

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HOLDEN MUSEUM PORSCHE 964 TURBO

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CONTENTS

323 NOVEMBER 2017

4 FORD ESCORT RS2000

60 THE WIDOWMAKER

16 PORSCHE RSR REPLICA

70 TRIUMPH IN THE CATLINS

28 HOLDEN HEAVEN

78 STOCK CAR RACING OF YESTERYEAR

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‘DROOP-SNOOT’ ICON

MARY STUART TRIBUTE

A DREAM SHED IN THE HEART OF THE ’NAKI

WE CHECK OUT THE FORMIDABLE PORSCHE 964 TURBO 3.6 A TRIUMPH IN COMPETITION

THRILLS AND SPILLS AT THE ARANUI SPEEDWAY

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COLUMNS

40 MOTORMAN 46 KITS AND PIECES 52 MOTOR SPORT FLASHBACK 84 LOCAL MARKET REPORT 96 PRICE ON

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK — SEARCH ‘NZ CLASSIC CAR ’

EVENTS 88 90 92

GOODWOOD REVIVAL RALLY OF COROMANDEL GASCO AND PIPELINE AUTOSPECTACULAR

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REGULARS

36 READERS’ WRITES 38 ONLINE THIS MONTH 58 SUBSCRIBE AND WIN 86 NEWS 94 EVENTS DIARY 98 BEHIND THE GARAGE DOOR 100 CLUB CORNER 102 AUTOMOBILIA 106 QUICK QUIZ / CROSSWORD 108 SELL YOUR CLASSIC 109 EDITOR’S PICK 110 CLASSIC CARS FOR SALE 116 LOCAL SPECIALISTS

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FEATURE

1976 Ford Escort RS2000

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DROOP SNOOT LO V E I T O R H AT E I T, THE MKII ESCORT WITH ‘DROOP-SNOOT’ FOURHEADLIGHT FRONT END IS A RARE AND DESIRABLE CAR. ADD AN RS2000 INTO THE M IX , A N D YOU M IG HT J US T H AV E YO U RS E LF A P I E C E O F H I S T O R Y. LACHLAN HAD A MOMENT WITH AN ESCORT (NOT T H AT K I N D ) A N D G OT TO U N D E R S TA N D T H E APPEAL Words: Lachlan Jones Photos: Adam Croy

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FEATURE

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera (RSR replica)

Rennsport

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T H E 9 1 1 R S R WA S D E S I G N E D F R O M T H E V E R Y S TA R T W I T H LO N G - D I S TA N C E R A C I N G I N M I N D . R O D C H E C K S O U T A S U P E R B L O C A L LY B U I LT R E P L I C A O F T H I S ICONIC RACE CAR Words: Rod Dunn Photos: Wayne Collins

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KITS AND PIECES

Words and photos: Patrick Harlow

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any people think of the Trekka as being New Zealand’s only production car. They are wrong. At best, it is one of four farm-utility vehicles produced as turnkey products, the others being the Terra, the Trailmaker, and the Duzgo. But the crown for New Zealand’s most successful production car should belong to, in my opinion, the Heron — a supercar manufactured in Rotorua.

Some will disagree with my calling the Heron a supercar. However, it is very hard to define what a supercar is, and, in this instance, I have gone with a definition put together by Jeff Glucker, an automotive correspondent: “Supercars are mystic creatures that stalk empty back roads where they can’t be bothered by lesser machines. They inhabit our hearts, our minds … and the posters of the walls belonging to our younger selves.”

Judged by the above definition, the Heron ticks all the boxes. In the first half of the 1980s, if you wanted to look good, go fast, and drive a car that handled well, you had a choice: you could buy European — Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche — go British with Lotus; or go Japanese with the ummm … But when the Heron MJ1 came on the scene, New Zealand buyers had an alternative option, and it was New Zealand made!

Having said that, for many who read this story, this will be the first time that they have seen or even heard of the Heron MJ1. It was a car designed by Ross Baker, an A-grade mechanic based in Rotorua, who could not only fix cars but also create them using processes that were outside conventional thinking, and innovative for the day. For a brief time during the early ’80s, this incredible sports car was manufactured in a small factory in Rotorua. Paul MacDiarmid, who was one of the principal people involved in the manufacture of its fibreglass monocoque body, remembers it “as a wild ride.” Sadly, this amazing car is all but forgotten.

Unlike most other fibreglass cars, hardly any steel plates or metal members are moulded into the body, nor is the bodywork mounted onto a steel chassis. Ross believed that the two materials were incompatible, in terms of their different expansion and contraction rates and degree of flexibility. The only concessions to this are a steel roll bar glassed into each door pillar — which also gives a solid mount for the door latches and seat-belt mounts — and, where greater strength is needed for suspension-mounting points, a patented stainless-steel mesh system bonded into the fibreglass. All this at a time when fibreglass monocoque cars were unheard of.

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A FAC TO RY- P R O D U C E D N E W Â Z E A L A N D SUPERCAR

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FEATURE Porsche 964 Turbo

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Words: Lachie Jones Photos: Adam Croy

T H E R E I S S C A R C E LY A C A R O N T H E PLANET MORE POLARIZING THAN THE PORSCHE 911

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hose in the Porsche camp will generally be firmly so, and will want to let the world know how much they love their chosen performance brand. Often they can be recognized by their branded caps and jackets. They can be found in industrial car parks around the world on most Sunday mornings, talking about the benefits of air cooling, and why hanging an engine over the rear axle remains the pinnacle of driveability. Those not in the 911 camp will likely be found in car parks nearby, probably having arrived in a BMW coupĂŠ or a Subaru

WRX, equally sternly discussing why the E30 318i will soon be more valuable than frankincense and myrrh, or which 1990s WRC driver would win in a bar fight.

But there are few who would disagree that when the 911 becomes the 911 Turbo, it takes on a new meaning in terms of what the sports car driver, owner, and admirer looks for in a car. And that is still so 40 years after it first launched; the Turbo retains an aura of mystique and brilliance identified by that unmistakable 911 shape and bulging rear arches, delivering both speed and the style to match.

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OFFICIAL PROGRAMME

FULL DRIVER AND CAR DIRECTORY

OFFICIAL ROUTE MAPS SPECIAL STAGE TIMES AND ROUTE SCHEDULE

OCTOBER 24 - 28, 2017

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