Got room for a 1936 Ford Sedan in your garage?

8 December, 2014

If you’ve ever wanted to own a hot rod, but never had the cash, then this may be your chance. The New Zealand Hot Rod Association (NZHRA) in conjunction with The Mount Shop are running a raffle with the prize being a 1936 Ford Sedan.

After running previous lotteries, with the prizes being two-seater vehicles, NZHRA have listened to the overwhelming call for a family car this time around and have responded with the purchase of the Ford.

The car has a lot of history being previously owned by Nelson’s Wayne Gardiner for around 35 years. When Wayne was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2011, his fellow members at Golden Bay Rodders hot rod club pulled together to get it back on the road. Wayne had the pleasure of driving the car for about eight months before he passed away and the car was left to his daughters.

Since being purchased by NZHRA, the car has been bought back to top condition, as well as having new wheels fitted, which were provided by Auckland-based wheel wholesalers BG Marketing.

A few more custom touches are set to be added and NZHRA are aiming to showcase the completed vehicle at the Kumeu Classic Car and Hot Rod Festival on January 17, 2015. It’s at this event that tickets will go on sale for the first time.

The vehicle will also be on display at Hibiscus Rodders’ Beach Festival in Orewa on January 23–25, at Leadfoot Festival in Hahei on February 6–8, and Repco Beach Hop in Whangamata in the last week of March. Hot rod clubs nationwide will have tickets for sale during this time, as will the NZHRA office via their website, hotrod.org.nz.

 

Travelling companion

It’s easy to see why the Morris Minor Traveller was one of the best-loved variants of the Morris Minor. Introduced in 1953, it was equipped with the same independent torsion bar front suspension, drum brakes, and rack and pinion steering as its saloon sibling but, with their foldable rear seat increasing versatility, many Travellers were used as trade vehicles, says Derek Goddard. Derek and Gail Goddard, the owners of this superbly restored example, have run Morris Minors since before they were married in 1974.
“Our honeymoon vehicle was a blue Morris Minor van — it was a rust bucket,” says Derek.

Super Leicht Gullwing

It’s fair to say that nothing much in the classic Mercedes world gets past Mercedes-Benz Club stalwart Garry Boyce so it wasn’t surprising to learn that around 15 years ago he had sniffed out an extremely rare 300SL lightweight Gullwing as well as a 1958 300SL Roadster hiding away in the Waikato. The cars were not for sale but Garry eventually managed to persuade the owner to allow him and his restoration team to take a look at the Roadster. They discovered a very distressed but largely unmolested car. The car was so original that the body had never been off the chassis, meaning most of the parts and fittings were still present and correct, as they had been fitted by the factory.