NZ Performance Car 244 Preview

TWELVE FULL THROTTLES OF TOYOTA’S FINEST

2 3 R

E SKYLIN

NISSAN

HIP S N O I P HAM C R A C RING U O T N ALIA R T S U A

APR. 2017

$9.99 INCL. GST

244 ISSUE

LICA P E R T NS I-BUIL A KIW PROPORTIO C OF EPI

SUMM ER 9

416803 800821

CONTENTS

016 ‘THE WEAPON’ INCARNATE

Stu Rodgers stepped back in time to 1990 with this build, when the legendary Godzilla had yet to be born and local media knew the car as ‘The Weapon’. Every detail has been replicated to the exact spec, right down to how the engine bay is laid out — don’t call this Group A R32 GT-R a ‘replica’, as it may very well be the best damn recreation you’ll find on the planet.

024 SHOWIN’ ’EM UP

Come January each year, car lovers embark on a crazy 72 hours of energy drink and rubbish food–fuelled madness to get their builds finished in time to cram them into the V 4&Rotary Nationals halls. We lurked between the rows and have picked out our favs from the show and the drags for your viewing and reading pleasure.

036 CHANGING TACK

The Ed. has finally done it: the BMW E36 build that has occupied his garage space for the better part of five years, and changed direction more times than he’d care to admit, is now a living, firing, track-spec slayer. With so much technical detail hidden in plain sight, you really need to flick over to page 36 to understand this labour of love.

042 PULSING HEAT

There ain’t no place like New Zealand for a rotang lover, so it makes sense that we host an event purely for engines of the pulsating variety. Yep, no pistons allowed.

Back for its third year, with 258 rotaries rolling through the gates, this was the largest yet. Bleeding ear drums, frying tyres, and delivering good vibes — this is Rotary REunion 2017.

048 GOOD VIBRATIONS

Engine swaps are becoming increasingly popular, but one range remains relatively untapped, especially on our shores: the 1GZ-FE. It packs no fewer than 12 cylinders and originally shipped inside a luxury limo — Nathan has gone and shoehorned his individual-throttle-bodied example into a one of the rarest Toyota sub-models around.

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CONTENTS 056 056 DRIFT PARTY

‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett isn’t known for doing things the regular way, which may explain why he gathered the country’s best drifters and circuit car drivers and let them loose on the International and Club Circuits at Hampton Downs for one full-on day of pedalling — but it wasn’t all competition and placings; the most important vibe was enjoying yourself.

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062 THE NEW BREED

If you haven’t heard of Group B rally, get yourself straight to a computer and punch that shit into YouTube — then you’ll understand exactly why we’re so excited about the recent changes to the World Rally Championship. Aaron Mai takes a look at how the rallying world is welcoming the new breed of World Rally cars — yep, they’ve reverted to the good ol’ days of Group B.

074 TRIPLE ROOSTER

When you’ve racked up four rally championship titles in your Group B RX-7, what’s the logical step forward? To slap an Al Marsh Rotorsport short-crank 20B peripheral-port (PP) into an RX-8, and get ready to roost your neighbourhood forest — Marcus van Klink proves why he’s the master of rotang-powered gravel-peelers.

080 KAMEHAMEHA!

Bryce’s 180SX-front S14 proves that you can inject a bit of style and flair into drifting while staying true to the rough-and-ready heritage that you’ve grown to love. It may be our inner kid, but this perfectly executed Dragon Ball Z livery brings out those nostalgic feels — flick to page 80 to eyeball the rad night shoot, which shows off the livery’s secret weapon …

074 080 REGULARS 008 EDITORIAL 010 ED. TEAM CHATTER 012 NEWS 054 SUBSCRIBE AND RECEIVE 086 WEEKEND WARRIOR 088 DEMON BABE HUNT 090 CRUISE MODE 092 NEW PRODUCTS 094 CIRCUIT TALK 096 UNDER CONSTRUCTION 098 GIG GUIDE 099 DRAG TIMES 100 DAILY DRIVEN 101 TRADE DIRECTORY 104 WHAT’S COMING NEXT MONTH

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1990 NISSAN SKYLINE GT-R (R32)

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4&ROTARY NATIONALS 2017

THE V 4&ROTARY NATIONALS IS ONE EVENT THAT ANY HALF-DECENT CAR LOVER WILL DARE NOT MISS, AND THIS YEAR BOTH DAYS LAID OUT THE GOODS HEAVY WORDS: JADEN MARTIN PHOTOS: ADAM CROY, MARCUS GIBSON

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h, nationals. The one weekend a year when all car people subject themselves to a crazy 72-hour period of energy drinks and rubbish food–fuelled madness to revel in all things fast, low, loud, and mind-meltingly creative. That feeling of rocking through the doors early on Friday morning, getting a hearty whiff of the fuel and exhaust filling the halls, taking in enough raucous noise to send you deaf a few times over, and experiencing a visual overload from all the next-level shit that has gone on throughout the previous year — it’s truly next to none.

We congratulate both the organizers and competitors on another rad year — which took place over January 28 and 29 — and would like to acknowledge the step up in quality overall from last year’s show line-up, and the huge presence felt at the drags, too. But you probably don’t want to read us rambling on about it; you probably want to take a closer look at some of the sweet shit we spotted while sifting around. Enjoy.

1992 BMW 318IS (E36)

STARTED AS A BUDGET DRIFT HACK, THE BOSS MAN’S E36 CIRCUIT RACER NEARS COMPLETION — WELL BEHIND SCHEDULE, MASSIVELY OVER BUDGET, AND INFINITELY BETTER THAN EVER DREAMED

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WORDS: CONNAL GRACE PHOTOS: ADAM CROY

’ve been obsessed with race cars since I was a kid,” Marcus Gibson remembered. “I used to pour over old magazines and sketch race car floorpans — basically a layout schematic for dream builds— when I was, like, eight years old.”

This in itself is unlikely to come as a surprise, since we’re talking about the very man who calls the NZ Performance Car throne room his office, but what may catch you off guard is the technical detail he’s hidden in plain sight behind the facade of a track-spec BMW E36.

What you see before you is the final form of the race car he’d always wanted to build. It represents the apex of the course this build has taken — one that’s covered an arduous and often frustrating path into the world of custom car construction, but one that’s also blessed him with the skills, knowledge, and friendships that only a journey such as this can. And that’s all been before he has even turned a wheel in anger …

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Stripping the layers back reveals a complex and twisted story beginning some five years ago. Having sold his Mazda R100, which he considered unsuitable for his intended purpose of circuit racing, he began thinking more seriously about getting into drifting. A pretty small budget was planned, and options got explored. Not only did the car have to be suitable in terms of size, wheelbase, and weight, but it had to be different to what everyone else was building in New Zealand.

After deciding on a BMW E36, a call with Kyrie at Quest Fabrication alerted him to a shell available through Ray at HellBM Motorsport. There was no question that this was the one, and, with the E36 shell rehomed within his workshop, work begun stripping everything from the car.

He built a rotisserie and got to work removing over 100kg of road-car fodder, before seam welding the entire chassis. With this done, the shell was trailered over to Quest Fabrication, which was tasked with fabricating an eight-point roll cage.

EVENT REUNION

BLE EARDEDING FRIED RUMS , GOO TYRES, A ROUND VIBES ND REUN D — SU ALL ION 2 RELY THE B 0 ONLY IGGEST R17 WAS OTA PART PLAN Y ON THRYE ET? WORD S: MAR PH C U OTOS: RICHA S GIBSON RD OP IE

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here is no denying that the New Zealand rotary community is one of the biggest in the world, and we have a love and passion for the little Wankel engine that never seems to wane. With this in mind, it seems a nobrainer to have an event that is pure pulse and no piston like REunion. And it’s fair to say that the Powercruisestyle event, now in its third year, has been cemented on the calendar for all New Zealand rota heads — well, if the fact that the sheds sold out in 30 minutes and a total of 258 rotaries rolled through the gates over the two days is anything to go by. There was also a welcome expansion in 2017, with the event going from being held on a single day to being held over a weekend filled with cruising, burnouts, drag racing, drifting, and plenty of other sketchy-at-best on-track antics.

Sure, the format for the event is nothing new, but what gives it a really good vibe is that it allows one engine only. It’s something that’s been missing since the Rotary Summer Drags days, and it’s clearly been missed by many, as it brought cars out of the woodwork that have not been seen (or used) for years. Sights like the Grand Parade, with 258 rotaries lining the entire front straight of Taupo Motorsport Park, are a great sign that the community is truly alive and kicking. While not an official world record, we are pretty sure that this number of rotaries must be close to being one.

Perhaps next year the Guinness team needs to stop by for lunch?

However, nobody came to hard-park on the front straight; everyone was there to beat on their pride and joy. This was most evident on the skidpad, which, thanks to its run in, allows for the fan favourite, the ‘tip-in’ — a manoeuvre that takes some

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1979 TOYOTA CORONA MARK II (MX41)

CAN IT REALLY GET MUCH BETTER THAN 12 CYLINDERS AND ONE HELL OF AN INDUCTION SET-UP SQUEEZED INTO SOME CLASSIC TOYOTA STEEL? IF THE WAVES NATHAN’S MX41 HAS BEEN MAKING AROUND THE WORLD ARE ANYTHING TO GO BY, THEN IT’S A RESOUNDING NO WORDS: JADEN MARTIN PHOTOS: RICHARD OPIE

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The engine in an RX-8 is well set back from factory, and that was something the team didn’t want to mess with when adding another rotor. This meant cutting into the tunnel to allow the fitment of the longer 20B block

HEART ENGINE: Al Marsh Rotorsport short-crank 20B, 2000cc, triple-rotor BLOCK: Lightened and clearanced S5 NA rotors, peripheral-ported housings, Lanetti 2mm apex seals, Precision Engineering short crank, MFR rotor bearings, MFR dry-sump front cover INTAKE: Jenvey throttle bodies, ITG filter, custom CNC intake manifold EXHAUST: 1.75-inch primaries, three-inch exhaust, twin SMB mufflers FUEL: Bosch 600cc injectors, Bosch 044 pumps IGNITION: NZEFI coil pack, NGK plugs ECU: MoTeC M800 COOLING: PWR radiator, custom oil cooler, custom diff cooler EXTRA: Full wiring loom, oil catch-can

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arcus van Klink has pedalled a ton of rally machines in the last 10 years — from Evo IIIs to Datsun 1200s. Any passionate rally fan will know that a few of them met their demise in high-speed unplanned off-road excursions, while others, like the Datsun, still reside in the van Klink workshop. But it’s his replica Group B RX-7 that you’re likely to know best, thanks to that high-pitched 10,000rpm 13B exhaust note echoing through the forest and its long list of rally wins that includes four national championships. It’s a regular on the gravel and a welcome sight at rallies all across New Zealand. But Marcus recently felt that it was time for a new challenge — time to wipe the slate clean and build something modern, something no one had seen before.

That’s not easy when you’re not going four-wheel-drive (4WD), and the only engine that interests you for the new project is a 20B peripheral port (PP). “I’ve tried the 4WD thing when I first started rallying and that ended in a few written-off Evos. I really enjoy the rear-wheel-drive stuff, and that’s what I’m known for,” he said. With that in mind, he started looking at chassis. The FD RX-7 was quickly ruled out due to its small size: “I had looked at an FD, but they are not much larger than the RX-7, and with the speeds we are doing you want some room around you.”

The answer came in the form of the RX-8 chassis; but, with a bigger footprint, comes added weight — a total of 1378kg, to be precise.

When it came to building the car, Marcus knew just who to call, Palmside Automotive in Christchurch — he just hoped that the Ford Escort specialist would take less arm twisting than when it had built his RX-7. Again, the team was not sold on the project at first, but it wasn’t about to back down from the challenge.

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DRIVELINE GEARBOX: Quaife 69G sequential six-speed CLUTCH: AP Racing twin-plate FLYWHEEL: Custom DIFF: OS Giken limited-slip (4.9-ratio)

FROM HIGH-SPEED POLICE CHASES AT THE HANDS OF A THIEF TO BEING SLAMMED AGAINST THE CONCRETE WALLS OF MEREMERE, BRYCE’S DRAGON BALL Z TRIBUTE 180SX-FRONTED S14 HAS LIVED ONE HELL OF A LIFE

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WORDS: JADEN MARTIN PHOTOS: ADAM CROY

reaking the mould to build something that screams ‘you’ can be a hard slog, as the scene is increasingly inundated with bigger and better examples. Thankfully, you don’t have to throw mass amounts of cash at the newest, trendy bits and spend half your life doing it — mix up some hard work, a simple idea, and a whole lot of nostalgia, and you could be on to a winning combination.

Like many of us, Bryce was all about street-sifting antics when he originally lived in Wellington. He purchased the S14 as a daily-driver, and no doubt it landed him in regular amounts of mischief. Nonetheless, what he hadn’t expected was the rather rude 5am wake-up call one morning when a joyrider decided he wanted in on such activities, and took off down the street in the Nissan. Awaking to the familiar sound of the diff chirping, Bryce jumped into his flattie’s Evo VIII, and the pair screamed off down the motorway for 40 minutes before the police managed to cut the ofender off in Lower Hutt. The car was recovered and the scum who took

it were promptly chucked in the cells, which was the exact point at which Bryce told us things spiralled out of control. “I thought of selling it, [after having had] that feeling you get of someone else invading your car, but I decided, nope, I’m going to do the opposite and actually make a thing out of this,” he said. Cogs really began to turn, and he reminisced about his high-school days when a local example appeared on the scene sporting a carbon-fibre 180SX front in champagne gold.

But before any proper gnarly stuff happened, the car served multiple tours of thrashing at various North Island tracks before having an unfortunate bump and grind session with the concrete barriers at Meremere Dragway. That little encounter set the wheels in motion towards what the car has become.

Bryce told us, “It had to be different. I spoke with Julian from Animal Style in the States, and I always liked the outlandish style on his S14. So I thought I’d try to combine the two and have a super low, super aggressive S14 with a 180SX front.”

Biggie Smalls

NZ Performance Car: Hi, Suheib. That’s a pretty serious machine. Have you always been into drag racing, and how did you get involved?

Suheib: Hi, NZ Performance Car. I’ve always been into drag racing, watching and competing for many years, and have done so in many different types of cars. You sort of fall into drag racing; I found myself keen to get in on the action just from hanging with the boys who are also all into it, and they convinced me to have a go — I’ve been competing ever since.

It’s a thrill, for sure. How did you come to own your current car?

I purchased it looking pretty much the same as what you see here, but it’s what you don’t see that has changed — the motor, gearbox, rear diff, shocks, and the tyres, plus all the tuning work to suit the new package.

The silent killers! What has been your best pass since competing with this car?

Best pass I’ve done in this car so far is a 9.64 at 125mph [201kph] at Meremere.

Damn, she moves alright. What changes are coming to keep her running fast?

Well, I’m always looking to go faster [laughs]. We are currently building a new 11:1 short block kindly sponsored by Steve Walker from Mike’s Engines, Whangarei, with a new Holset turbo set-up, and the aim is to break into the eight-second bracket.

Sounds serious. Would you build something similar if you were to start again?

I love this car, and wouldn’t not build it again — but, if I had to choose something different, it would definitely be an Evo III. And who would you say that you look up to in the drag racing world?

That’s a hard one; there are so many local guys killing it nowadays, but I probably look up to my boys at Assyrian Performance the most. We all push each other to go harder, run faster, and build big. I don’t really know; I really just love drag racing.

That’s the one! We look forward to seeing you break into the eights. Cheers, Suheib.

DAILY DRIVEN

2012 toyota 86

PHOTOS: MARCUS GIBSON

Name: Ben Phillips Location: Auckland Occupation: Spray painter NZ Performance Car: Hi, Ben. How long have you owned the 86, and what made you pick it up?

Ben: Hi, NZ Performance Car. I’ve had it for a year and a half now, and originally bought it after getting to the point with my AE86 [NZPC Issue no. 207] where it was either restyle the whole car, or start fresh with a new chassis. This was the only suitable next step, since I like how the old Levin was and wanted to leave it as is.

I took the styling from my old car. Red paintwork with gold wheels, wide arches, a roof spoiler, and a duckbill sort of spoiler. It’s just my later version of the old car. I chose the KM4SH kit simply because it didn’t have the cutouts in the front guards like all other Rocket Bunny kits do, which means stone chips up the doors etc. Also it’s less common, and as Speedhunters are notoriously hard to order from, there won’t be any knock-offs on Aliexpress.

Logical choice then. How does it compare to your old AE86 as a daily driver?

The AE was a neat vehicle. It was hard to let go of it, and it’s not possible to compare the two vehicles fairly. It would be 1983 tech, compared to 2012. Air conditioning is the main thing, compared to being stuck in a sweaty little Bride seat — the floor would heat up and heat would come up through the shifter. Not my favourite in summer.

The resemblance is quite uncanny. Do you plan to chase power, or are you happy with what it’s got?

I’m not overly impressed with the current power, but satisfied — the car lives in traffic jams. I have just had to put a new motor in it though, since the boxer is such a sack-of-shit of a design, so I won’t be doing anything to it in the near future. I have other vehicles that are more interesting, which take priority of the spare funds.

That’s the joys of owning older cars right there. So, where did you draw your inspiration for the styling on this one?

It’s a hard choice where to funnel build funds, that’s for sure! Thanks for sharing her with us, Ben.

ENGINE: 4U-GSE, 1998cc, four-cylinder DRIVETRAIN: Six-speed manual INTERIOR: Factory

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EXTERIOR: Volkswagen red by GT Refinishers, Rocket Bunny and Speedhunters collaboration KM4SH bodykit, custom boot spoiler, Buddy Club tail lights, custom front splitter, roof wing, gold mirror tints WHEELS/TYRES: (F) 18x9.5-inch Work Meisters, (R) 18x10.5-inch Work Meisters, gold metal flake centres SUSPENSION: BC Gold coilovers, Cusco arms