NZV8 182 preview

INSIDE NZ’S BIGGEST FORD COLLECTION

1957 CHRYSLER 300C + NZ’S BIGGEST FORD COLLECTION + TURBO XR FALCON 416803 510003

$10.99

9

ISSUE 182 ∞ JULY 2020

JULY 2020 ISSUE 182

TURBO XR FALCON

SLICK LS VK

PLUS:

THE CARS OF CHARLIE BAILEY, DIY SEAT-BELT INSTALLATION, AMC HORNET, 20 YEARS OF BEACH HOP MUSCLE GARAGE

S U N D A Y S

O N

16

contents JULY 2020

20 The Cars

16: CLASSIC GAS BLOWN COUPE — LAND SPEED NOVA BUILD 20: FACTORY FAST — REAL-DEAL RACER 28: FAKING IT — BATTLE-READY LS VK 60: SECOND CHANCE — FALCON ON BOOST 112: SMOOTH SAILING — TOUGH RAMBLER HORNET

28 60

112 6

themotorhood.com

8 Special Features

40: THE GOOD TIMES ROLL — 20 YEARS OF BEACH HOP 56: MAXIMIZING MODERN MUSCLE — DROP YOUR DAILY’S ET 68: DRIVEN — THE CARS OF CHARLIE BAILEY 78: FUEL, SPARK, SUCCESS — YOUR BUSINESS SURVIVAL GUIDE 86: THINK BIG — NEW ZEALAND’S BIGGEST FORD COLLECTION 100: MAKE IT CLICK — DIY SEAT-BELT INSTALL

40

The Other Stuff

04: SHORT SHIFT 08: NEWS 10: DAILY GRIND 12: JUST QUICKLY 14: IN THE BUILD 36: SUBSCRIBE AND WIN 38: STRAIGHT TALK 50: DRAGGED UP 52: NZ’S QUICKEST 54: AEROFLOW RACE DIARY 94: SOCIAL SCENE 96: CONCEPT CORNER 118: CMC NEWS 122: CARGO 124: A DECADE AGO 126: LOCAL SPECIALISTS 128: COMING NEXT MONTH

94

68

86

78

96 themotorhood.com

7

FEATURE 1957 CHRYSLER 300C CAR

WORDS: ASHLEY WEBB PHOTOS: STRONG STYLE PHOTO

CHRYSLER’S ‘LETTER’ CARS ARE AS GOOD AS IT GETS TO MOPAR ENTHUSIASTS, AND THEY DON’T GET ANY BETTER THAN A REAL-DEAL 1957 CHRYSLER 300C FACTORY-BUILT RACE CAR

20

themotorhood.com

O

wen Grigg started buying old American iron as soon as he obtained his driver’s licence, his first car being a ’38 Chev — although he really had his heart set on a ’50s American car.

However, as his budget was, quite naturally, somewhat limited at that time, he settled for an earlier version.

From that small automotive beginning, Owen very quickly became more ambitious and, after taking more than a passing liking to 1958 Chevs in particular, he was soon travelling the length and breadth of the country with a good buddy buying up old ’58s in an attempt to corner the market. Owen reckons that at one stage he owned seven or eight of them in various states of disrepair.

As time went by Owen’s passion for American cars grew stronger and spread to other marques — including Mopars — and he ended up buying a very nice ’57 Dodge sedan powered by a good old flathead six-cylinder engine with three-speed manual gearbox. Looking back, Owen is in no doubt that this car was the catalyst that kick-started his passion for buying old Mopars. He vividly remembers the day he and a friend went to collect some 1950s Mopar parts from a chap up north and as they pulled into the driveway they were both stunned by the beauty of a 1961 Chrysler 300G that the owner had just imported. Wow! Owen thought, a ‘letter’ car actually in New Zealand. This was the first such car Owen is aware of being imported into this country.

themotorhood.com

21

SPECIAL THE CARS OF CHARLIE BAILEY FEATURE

A

WORDS: CAMERON SHARFT PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

THE CARS OF CHARLIE BAILEY ARE LIVING PROOF OF THE OLD ADAGES: WORK HARD, PLAY HARD — OR, DO THE MAHI, GET THE TREATS

few months back we featured Charlie Bailey’s gorgeous pro-tour Chevelle (NZV8 Issue No. 170) and there was an unexpected response to the eight-week build along with the list of his previously owned vehicles. Yes, that compilation was long and quite an accomplishment for a guy so young. It was only after we received messages

68

themotorhood.com

asking where he had been hiding that we realized you’d certainly need to be driven to have amassed such a stable of muscle.

And driven is what we found Charlie, after asking about all those cars, trucks, and bikes. It all started way back up north, well before he could even drive (see what we did there?). His passion for all things automotive began in the sand dunes on

the outskirts of Kaitaia. Actually, it happened well before that, but for the sake of brevity, let’s begin on Ninety Mile Beach.

When Charlie was a young 12-year-old whippersnapper, his dad showed him the ropes, letting him drive a Chev-powered Land Cruiser in the backblocks and along those wide-open sands among buses and day trippers. It was there

that Charlie found the drive for his first successes.

Noticing tourists and city slickers taking their rentals on to softer sand and then frantically panicking when they were stuck, he set up shop in the dunes — with planks and shovel at the ready — waiting for opportunities to arrive. Remember, this was a kid with half a decade still up his sleeve before he could even look at sitting for his driving licence.

So there he was and there they were: townies in distress. Down he goes, digs them out, and the rewarding coins and notes start flowing for our young barefooted entrepreneur. Charlie not only helped the multitudes, he also on occasion enjoyed the pleasure of driving a few flash cars off the beach for wayward owners. His first foray into business had begun …

Fast forward three years and it’s Charlie’s birthday.

He’s turned 15, saved more than a few lost souls, and it’s time to make some life decisions.

“School wasn’t for me,” he recalls. “I was always doing stuff that made my teachers mad. I’m pretty sure some of their comments would get them in trouble with the SJW [social-justice warrior] crowd today.”

Realizing you need to pay to play, Charlie hung up his tertiary jandals and headed out into the big wide world — yes, on his birthday. Picking up an apprenticeship with a local builder, our young

themotorhood.com

69

TECH SEAT-BELT INSTALLATION WORDS AND PHOTOS: TODD WYLIE

BETTER! SE IS EVENLASSIC U O T R E F SA RC MAKING IT LTS IN YOU COOL, BUTLING REAR SEAT BE IS R A C IC L S CLAS INSTA OWNING AA STEP-BY-STEP TO HERE’S

O

wners of old or modified cars are an interesting bunch. On one hand, they’re keen to add big engines, superchargers, fancy wheels, and custom paint, and on the other, many don’t want to fit seat belts as it ‘ruins the look’ or ‘is too much work’. We can bet those people would change their tune if they spent a bit of time with the Police Serious Crash Unit (SCU), or even investigated the outcome of some low speed crashes with no seat belts or lap-only belts. We’ve personally been on the receiving end of some ‘show and tell’ from

100

themotorhood.com

the SCU, and it’s pretty scary stuff. Crashes that you’d assume the occupants walked away from, or at worst be taken away in an ambulance, were fatalities. The more you learn, the worse it gets.

The New Zealand Land Transport rule specifies that cars built after 1955 require lap belts for frontseat passengers, although rear seat belts are not required to be fitted on vehicles built prior to 1979.

Luckily, thanks to the LVVTA, there are simple, approved ways to install belts into most vehicles that were not factory fitted with them, even if that may inconvenience owners of some vehicles who

believe looking cool is more important than life.

The vehicle that we use here for our step-bystep installation of rear belts was previously fitted with two sets of lap belts front and rear. The rear lap belts were installed to allow for a baby’s capsule and small-harness-type child’s seat to be fitted. That worked well until the child outgrew the harness-style seat, and a safer solution was required. The way forward was to install lap-anddiagonal belts in the rear, not just in the outer seating positions, but also adding a third belt in the centre.

THE REQUIREMENTS Every make and model of vehicle is different in its design and construction, so will require a different solution and what you see here is just one of many possible ways to go about the installation process. This set-up can be adapted to suit many different vehicles and gives a good indication of what’s involved in the installation process and what’s needed to meet the LVV Certification requirements.

Before the installation took place, a discussion was had with the LVV Certifier who would be certifying it on completion, to ensure that the installer and certifier were on the same page.

If you’re unable to discuss with your certifier, you can find plenty of information in The New Zealand Car Construction Manual, or in the LVV Seatbelt Anchorages Standard, which is available free of charge on LVVTA’s website.

N installation is that suitable DEprinSciIplG THunE the of e (behind derlying r anchorages

The r the uppe ed to t be added fo chorages ne strength mus . As upper an s) er ring a ld du ou G sh 20 r’s proximately the passenge a load of ap one that t d bu an , st sk ith ta l w al be able to m cture is no sm thick 50x50m suitable stru ction of 3mm crash, adding se a y. g tra tin el fit rc hieved by l under the pa could be ac n (RHS) stee static hollow-sectio r la ld be to use gu ou w an is ct re th e retractor to fit belts to th ay re w he t w es pl lts The sim or to use be covers. In able) versions sightly plastic (non-retract un r de un y tra el ther of these rc ei pa pt e ce th ac t sits atop ners wouldn’ ow e ur-intensive cl hi bo ve la e for the more this case, th g tin op d ea e retractors gh, inst and hiding th options thou ctable belts tra re g lin al option of inst . the boot area down inside

THE BELTS

There are various standards that seat belts fitted to vehicles in New Zealand can meet, the most common ones being the US FMVSS standard or European ECE standard. There are a number of seat-belt specialists throughout the country who are able to supply (and install, if needed) a wide range of compliant seat-belt options. The belts installed here though were imported from a US website, chosen as they not only meet FMVSS standards but also feature retractors that work on both a horizontal and vertical mounting angle and have a retro ‘aeroplane-style’ buckle to match the previously-installed front lap belts.

WHAT’S A ‘DOUBLER PLATE’?

A ‘doubler plate’ is an approved off-the-shelf mounting-plate system that allows seat-belt anchorages to be secured to sheet-metal parts of a vehicle. There are specific requirements for the plate’s thickness and minimum sizes they must meet (all outlined in the LVV Seatbelt Anchorages Standard). The flat plate sits inside the vehicle, while the section with the nut sits under the vehicle, and both sections are riveted together using Monel rivets or bolted using 5mm bolts.

Doubler plates must not be welded to the body due to the effect welding heat can have on the strength of sheet metal. Doubler plates can be purchased through seat-belt specialist businesses, some compliance centres, and some chain partssupply stores for around $10–$15 per pair.

themotorhood.com

101

FEATURE 1970 RAMBLER HORNET SST CAR

WORDS: CONNAL GRACE PHOTOS: LEWIS GARDNER

IT WASN’T JUST SMOOTH SAILING THAT GOT BARRY LETHBRIDGE’S RAMBLER HORNET BUILT TO THIS STANDARD — IT’S ALSO WHAT GOT IT OVER HERE FROM AUSTRALIA!

112

themotorhood.com

A

ustralia presents a land of opportunity to Kiwis looking to make a dollar — for decades, workers have been crossing the ditch in pursuit of the mighty dollar, and some of them even returned when they were done.

Barry Lethbridge was one who came back,

and he didn’t return empty-handed either.

Having owned a long list of vehicles in his time, Barry made the most of his time in the great southern land by keeping his eyes open for something special to add to the list.

By way of its size and population advantage over New Zealand, supply and demand have

traditionally dictated that you are more likely to find the car you’re after — and at a lower price — in Australia than in New Zealand.

Since Barry was already there, it made sense to keep an eye open. Even better was the fact that he didn’t need to travel any further to find the car he was after.

themotorhood.com

113

SUBSCRIBE THIS MONTH AND SAVE EVEN MORE!

SU BSCRI B E, REN E W, OR E X TEN D YOU R SU BSCRI PTION TO NZ V8 M AGA ZI N E A N D SAVE A FURTH E R 20% OFF THE SUBSCRIBER DISCOUNT!

SIX MONTHS

$54

ONE YE AR

$98

T WO YE ARS

$169

$43.20 $78.40 $135.20 SAVE

SAVE

SAVE

$22

$53

$128

$11

$33

$94

USE CODE: V8JUN20 AT CHECKOUT TO SUBSCRIBE

W W W. M AGS TORE . NZ OR 080 0 727 574 Terms and conditions: 1. Offer ends Sunday, 5 July 2020. 2. New Zealand delivery addresses only. 3. Offer available on subscriptions purchased through Parkside Media only. 4. Offer is not available in conjunction with any other offer. 5. Discount code must be entered at checkout to receive 20% discount. 6. See www.magstore.nz for full terms and conditions.

S U B S C R I B E T O D AY –