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Barry Meguiar to film at the 2015 Repco Beach Hop

9 February, 2015

The head of the Meguiar’s car-care empire, Barry Meguiar, and his Car Crazy film crew are headed to the Repco Beach Hop to film two very special episodes of Car Crazy TV. With Beach Hop being known as New Zealand’s premier car event, the Meguiars Car Crazy crew will spend three days capturing the cars, people, and scenery to broadcast to a global audience.

Car Crazy TV is viewed by over 27 million households in over 60 countries including Mexico, Central America, South America, Spain, Portugal, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, China, Japan, India, and Australia; it’s a great way to showcase our local scene to such a huge audience.

With such a packed schedule, Barry generally only visits a country once, but after filming in New Zealand a few years back he loved it so much he vowed to return — and Beach Hop 15 was the perfect occasion.

Car Crazy TV showcases celebrity guests, rare automotive collections, car shows and events that have never before been televised to an international crowd. Host Barry Meguiar’s quest is to showcase the people behind the car hobby, by embedding himself into real ‘car guy’ experiences in each episode.

The car hobby is over 100 years old; it’s a passion of one generation, which is passed on to subsequent generations, and this hobby is truly one activity that the whole family can participate in. The Meguiar’s family had a passion for great-looking cars. His family roots go back to 1901 when Barry’s grandfather started a polish company when the car hobby was in its earliest stages. Barry’s whole life has been spent loving and caring for cars; his passion for expanding the car hobby has seen him travel the world unraveling the hidden gems of the automotive realm, exploring museums, and supporting car clubs and events. His passion has developed a central hub for car enthusiasts worldwide through Car Crazy TV, Car Crazy Radio, and the website carcrazycentral.com.

Make sure you’re at Beach Hop during March 25–29 to see Barry and the crew hard at work. We’ve also heard the local Meguiar’s crew may have a few competitions running at the event, as well as their usual event-only deals, so pop in to the Meguiar’s stand to find out more.

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.