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Wait no more, Leadfoot Festival is here — watch it live on The Motorhood

5 February, 2015

While we’re gearing up to make the trip down to Leadfoot Festival in Hahei for the weekend of February 6–8, 2015, we understand not everyone has the time or budget to make the trip to Leadfoot Ranch. Lucky for those not attending the event, Rod Millen and the Leadfoot team have arranged a special live stream for you to enjoy the action from the comfort of your own home for as low as USD$20 — and we’ve got it right here for you to watch:

Although the festival is perceived as having mostly vintage and classic racers from the golden era, there will be plenty of up and comers to keep us turbocharged petrolheads enthused. For starters, Sloan Cox will be contesting the driveway in his Mitsubishi Evo VIII, which is built on a custom tube frame and sports a 600kW+ 4G63 mated to a Hollinger six-speed sequential gearbox. The centre diff ratios have also been changed which should suit the driveway perfectly allowing for an extremely competitive package and one to look out for.

Three times Pro7 (RX-7) champion and SS2000 champion Andy Duffin will be bringing along his 20B-powered Mazda RX-7 FD, which was on the cover of Issue No. 214 of NZ Performance Car. With a measly 1000kg of weight, a wild 10,000rpm 20B engine, an Elite Racing six-speed sequential gearbox, and some serious driving talent, Andy Duffin should be able to pilot the RX-7 at a competitive rate during the festival.

Host Rod Millen will be contesting three vehicles during the festival, first of which is his Toyota Celica, which he used to break the famous Pikes Peak hill-climb record back in 1994.The Celica is powered by a 671kW (899hp) four-cylinder engine and runs a staggering 45psi of boost. It’s not just the engine that makes it go fast however, the body is made from carbon and the aero is still impressive even by today’s standards. The second is his 2000 Toyota Tundra off-road truck, which was designed and built for competition to support the launch of the vehicle at the time. An extremely light and nimble vehicle, this should be exciting to watch. Rod’s third car that we’ll get to see is his 1973 Mazda RX-3, which he used to win the New Zealand Rally 1975–1977 — a great piece of history.

A swag of competitive drifters will be in attendance including several of New Zealand’s best. ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett will be bringing along MADBUL, Cole Armstrong will be bringing the Nissan 250GT, ‘Fanga Dan’ Woolhouse in his Holden Commodore VE, Curt Whittaker in his Nissan Skyline R34, Shane Allen in his Ford Falcon, and Jodie Verhulst in her 1993 Toyota Supra.

Coaching from the bench: Casting plastic knobs and rubber parts

16 July, 2026

Casting rubber items is simple if you have a good original to work with. The item doesn’t have to be perfect. You can use plasticine to smooth out cracks, and you can even make whole prototypes out of low-fire modelling clay available from craft stores if you need to. Prototypes can also be made of wood or metal.
You will need mould dams to contain the liquid urethane moulding solution until it cures. You can build boxes out of strips of wood, but I have found that small plastic boxes and bowls such as those you would use for leftovers in your fridge work well if you spray them with a mould release agent.
Temperature is important to the chemical processes involved, so work in an area that can be maintained at around 20 degrees. You will also need adequate ventilation because the fumes can be dangerous to breathe. And you will want to wear latex gloves to protect your hands.

Fraser Cars – low flying into the fourth decade

10 July, 2026

With almost three and a half decades under its belt, Fraser Cars is one of New Zealand’s longest-surviving car manufacturers. The company first opened its doors for business in 1988, during the boom time for kit manufacturers. During the ’80s, around 40 different companies were building kits and turnkey cars for this niche market. Of those, only Fraser and Almac Cars (established 1981) are still in business today.
Most of the new kit car companies were killed off in the cradle by the threat of new legislation that never eventuated and definitively by the sudden availability of high-performance Japanese cars when the floodgates to second-hand imports were opened. The now long-retired founder of the company, Neil Fraser, first came across Lotus Seven replicas while racing Lotus Cortinas in the early ’80s. He regularly found himself racing against a little Caterham, a Lotus Seven–styled car built in England. He was very impressed by its simplicity and handling. In 1986 Fraser built his own Lotus Seven–type car, using the knowledge he had gained from several close looks at the Caterham.