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Land Rover’s amazing Valentine’s Day gift

23 February, 2015

Valentine’s Day 2015 presented four good friends with a slightly better gift than a box of Cadbury Favourites. As students of Otago University 15 years ago, Will Radford, Jeremy Wells, Anthony Dawson, and James Shatwell chipped in for a 1957 Series I Land Rover. ‘The Landy’ was a staple in their many adventures and trips throughout the country. Of course, time moves on, and after 15 years of ownership, The Landy was listed for sale on Trade Me, with a story of the friends’ many adventures, and their sadness at parting with it.

Land Rover New Zealand had come across the auction, and with the help of Will’s wife Claire, began a secret operation to restore The Landy from the ground up. Tony Katterns and the Custom Metal Shapers team were enlisted for the restoration. Broken parts were replaced with genuine Land Rover parts, while some of the characteristics that made it theirs — such as some of the dings and bumper stickers — were retained.

James McKee, Land Rover New Zealand’s marketing manager, says, “A heart-warming tale accompanied the listing, documenting the many journeys and stories this Land Rover has been part of and showing just how much the vehicle meant to the four guys. We decided it was an amazing opportunity to help them continue their relationship with this classic vehicle, so we bought it and restored it back to its former glory.”

The Landy was taken for a tour of the South Island following the restoration, to recreate some of the adventure shots Will included in the Trade Me auction, before it was returned to Auckland in time for Claire to hide it in the shed for the four mates’ ultimate Valentine’s Day present.

We will have a full feature on The Landy in New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 293, on sale April 20 — be sure to keep an eye out for it, to read all about The Landy’s history, and the adventures of four good mates. Check out the video of the story and the work that went into the vehicle below:

“Gotcha!’’ The continuing tale of a Nissan/Datsun tragic – part two

8 May, 2026

In 1996, I was on a mission to buy a suitable pavement scorcher and visited the now-defunct Manukau City Car Fair. Unbelievably, among the sea of four-door utilitarian Japanese compacts was the absolute jewel in the crown, my automobile wet dream — a 1985 two-door R30 RS Nissan Skyline FJ20 Turbo five-speed manual in nice condition. The owner wanted $10,000 — a great deal.
But what did I do? I bailed out, paralysed by indecision. The money would have been a stretch, but it was the worst automotive choice I ever made. Instead, I went for a rusty Toyota Sprinter 8 Valve Twin Cam Coupé, which was pretty terminal from the get-go. I know. We’ve all done it, but there was really no excuse for passing up the Skyline, and I was haunted by that for years.

Last Tango in the Fast Lane

30 April, 2026

In the mid ’80s, I locked into a serious Nissan/Datsun performance obsession. It could have kicked off with my ’82 Datsun Sunny, though this would have been a bit of a stretch of the imagination, given its normally aspirated 1.2-litre motor — not the sort of thing to unleash radical road warrior dreams. But it did plant a seed, and it was a sweet little machine and surprisingly quick, in contrast to all the diabolical English offerings I had endured.
I was living in South Auckland at the time and was an unrepentant petrolhead. Motor racing was my drug of choice, and I followed the scene slavishly. Saloon car racing, with the arrival of the international Group A formula, was having a serious renaissance here and in Australia and Europe. There was suddenly an exotic air in local racing that had been absent for 15 years.
I was transfixed by this new frontier of motor racing that had hit our tracks in 1985–87 and the new array of machinery on display. In 1986, the Nissan Skyline RS DR30 made a blinding impression on me. The Australian Fred Gibson-run, Peter Jackson-sponsored team of George Fury and Glenn Seton were the fastest crew of the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship. But Kiwi legend Robbie Francevic snuck through to win the Aussie Championship in his Volvo 240T after a strong start and consistent finishes.