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Sink your teeth into NZV8 Issue No. 119

9 March, 2015

They say things get better with age, right? Well, this month’s issue may well be the best yet, and it’s just one issue shy of NZV8’s tenth birthday. Think of it as a delectable entrée to the main course filet mignon that will be next month’s tenth-birthday issue of NZV8.

For starters, we get up close with the latest of Matamata Panelworks’ show-stopping creations — a 1965 Ford Mustang fastback — into which thousands of hours of custom work have been poured to create the stunning masterpiece you see here. To find out more about the car, you’ll have to pick up a copy, but believe us when we say it is one of the finest cars we’ve ever had the pleasure of featuring.

Of course, we can appreciate that this sample of finely crafted Mustang perfection won’t appeal to all palates — let Francis Noble’s super-tough Holden HZ ute cater for the hairy-chested amongst you. Boasting a GM 572ci crate motor, topped by a BDS 8–71 supercharger, the largest tubs this side of King Henry VIII’s bathroom, and the finest shade of West Auckland matte-black paint, this street-legal tyre shredder is the final say in tough. Period.

This slick 1950 Mercury is not only a marvellous example of ’60s kustom culture, it also happens to be the giveaway car at Repco Beach Hop 15. That means that you — yes, you — could be driving it home from Beach Hop. Get reading, and start dreaming — it might be time to dust off that lucky rabbit’s foot, and start crossing those fingers.

The feature-car selection is rounded off with a smooth line-up, including Kathryn McDonald’s 1969 Valiant VF — a street-legal dragster that could run a 10-second quarter mile on the school run! We’ve also got a sweet hot rod, in the form of a 1937 Chevrolet Coupe, and Inky Tulloch’s wild GT3-spec Camaro, purpose-built to destroy lap times across the globe.

In case you weren’t able to make the trek down to the Taranaki to check out Americarna 2015, we did the hard work for you — pick up a copy to soak up all the very best that Americarna had to offer.

Muscle Car Madness is another big one, as this year marked the 25th anniversary of the event — it may as well be a public holiday down in Canterbury! We were there to check out the crazy cars and happenings that such an event has to offer, and once again, were not disappointed.

The race-heads are also treated to a full event report on round four of the Central Muscle Cars series, held at the Highlands Festival of Speed. Featuring competition from across the ditch, in the form of Australian Touring Car Masters, this round was most definitely a season highlight.

All the tasty special features are there too. We’ve got the scoop on drag racing in the Middle East — the drag-racing scene in their part of the world is something else, and has to be seen to be believed! Legendary engine-builder David Vizard is back at it, and this time he’s got an article on flow-bench testing, and how to extract every last drop of power from your cylinder heads.

We also look into ethanol and how it’s produced in little old New Zealand, and take a peek into a shed that would do any petrolhead proud — anything with a ’50s American diner in it is good in our books!

NZV8 Issue No. 119 — on sale for only $9.99, or online at giveamag.co.nz, pick a copy up and treat yourself — it’s well worth it.

NZ Classic Car magazine, July/August 2026 issue 406, on sale now

21 June, 2026

Rebirth of a brilliant Grand Tourer –1973 Datsun 240Z
How often do we long for that ultimate dream sports car, and that dream comes true? This is about one of the most influential Japanese cars of all time, a car that changed the sports car market.
This is about much more than the restoration of an iconic classic sports car, the 240Z. It’s about the culmination of a dream over many years and the friendships made. It’s about the people who helped and the professionals whose approach ensured that the dream became a reality, an attitude typical of the industry we call ‘classic restoration experts’.
It is no surprise that the outcome after a lengthy search by Conrad Van der Geest for the right Datsun 240Z culminated in a trophy for the best Japanese car at this year’s Caroline Bay Beach, Rock N’ Hop at Timaru.
Originally a roadworthy car in running order, it was left-hand-drive and had been driven for several years by its Timaru owner, as Conrad explains.
“A neighbour, Dave Barron, knew I was looking for one and introduced me to the owner. I had seen the car being driven around Timaru. It was unusual for one of these coming originally from California, so it was a really clean car instead of rusty, as they are prone to rust. The story goes that the grandfather passed it onto his grandson, who decided to sell it, and that’s when it came over here.”
Every issue comes with our FREE huge wall poster; this issue, it’s our cover car for this edition, a 1973 Datsun 240Z

The butterfly effect

18 June, 2026

The man on the mountain bike pedalled over, taking it all in. Gazing in wonderment at this small Japanese coupe with butterfly doors, he said, “Wow, I have never seen one of these before. What is it?” When I told him it was a Toyota, he nearly fell off his bike.
The Toyota Sera is unique amongst ’90s Japanese coupes. The Sera, which is Italian for ‘evening’, can trace its roots back to Toyota’s AXV-II concept car. Launched as part of a trio of Toyota concept cars at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, it shared its underpinnings with the P70 Toyota Starlet. The similarities ended there, thanks to the AXV-II’s low-slung and rounded coupe styling with butterfly doors. These doors were held upright by gas struts when fully open. Glass covered the upper section of the doors and the rear hatchback.
These features, much to everyone’s surprise, were carried over to the production Sera in 1990. Toyota marketed the Sera, which means ‘will be’ in Spanish and ‘princess’ in Hebrew, as a funky alternative to the much-loved MR2.