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Celebrating the blue oval: Auckland All Ford Day

16 April, 2015

The annual Auckland All Ford Day, held on Sunday, April 12 at Smales Farm Business Park, Takapuna, had a large turnout of Ford-based vehicles, from vintage cars to hot rods, brand-new Falcons and Mustangs, and everything in-between. The event is organized by five Auckland Ford clubs: Auckland Falcon Owners Club, GT Falcon Club, Auckland Mustang Owners Club, Ford RS Owners Club, and Ford Anglia 105E Enthusiasts Club. The organizing committee also includes representatives from the Auckland Ford dealerships.

What began as a small club event back in 1999, is now one of the largest one-marque-only events in New Zealand, and this year proceeds from the gate and refreshment purchases went towards the Foundation for Youth Development (FYD). FYD supports under 18-year-olds, and works to provide the skills needed to improve the lives of all young Aucklanders, covering the entire spectrum from at-risk youths to others who just need a nudge in the right direction to stay on track. FYD’s programmes teach life skills that are not part of the school curriculum and focuses on building a youth population with a positive outlook.

USA, Australian, and English–origin, Ford-based vehicles were all accounted for in the crowds that filled Smales Farm Business Park to capacity.

John and Robyn Della-Mura’s recently imported ’36 Ford three-window coupe features Mercury hubcaps and red tuck-and-roll interior for the ultimate in ’50s styling.

Tania Foster’s early custom-themed, bare-metal ’36 Ford three-window coupe always draws a crowd wherever she goes. It’s a fitting tribute to her well-known, late-husband Steve.

It was excellent to get up-close and personal with the ex-Craig Pulman Falcon coupe race car of the ’80s. It’s one trick car that’s pushed the boundaries of the rule book.

The Auckland Mustang Owners Club were out in force with a dedicated area for Pony cars, featuring the old and the new.

This 1970 BOSS 302 Mustang was perfect with a 302 and a Hurst-shifted four-speed.

Looking ready for the race track, this 1965 GT350 Mustang exuded the Carrol Shelby influence.

All day this Shelby Super Snake widebody had a crowd around it, boasting its 1000 horsepower under the hood and it is reportedly capable of running 9.2 seconds in the quarter-mile.

This line-up of Cobras was impressive and it showed each owner’s different take on the high-performance sports car.

It’s super rare and impressive, and this 1968 Shelby GT500KR was actually driven to the event in its immaculate form. It featured a 428 Cobrajet under the hood and original Goodyear tyres.

This sleeper 1978 Ford Escort runs a 347ci Windsor and runs 11.7 seconds at 118mph in the quarter-mile.

These three ’34 Fords were just a few of the many hot rods in attendance.

Warren Fairhurst recently purchased Alan Hulse’s ’32 Ford three-window coupe, and he has been making a few changes to it as he drives it.

Sam Ferebend’s ’39 Mercury convertible is immaculate throughout and very rare.

Fast Parts’ Scott Campbell turned up in his street-strip Mk2 Cortina, seen here with his mascot.

Paul McCarthy’s Zakspeed Escort is always impressive to view.

The ex-Rod Harvey ‘PROLOW’ blown Falcon still looks good after all these years.

Athol Anderson has been enjoying this trick ’32 Ford Tudor having recently updated the interior.

Jock Hinton’s heavily modified ‘Chop Suey’ F100 is dwarfed by this Ford Bonus alongside it.

Jon and Marlene Robben ventured up from Cambridge in their cool Model A pickup.

Bert Quinn’s recreation of a Perana V8 Capri sure looked like a lot of fun.

This ’57 Ford retractable looked great alongside one of the previous Beach Hop–giveaway Mustangs.

Dave Brown’s flamed ’40 Ford coupe was originally built in the USA by Chip Foose’s father, Sam Foose.

Ross and Lizzy Maulder’s striking F100 gets used to the max, and is enjoyed by the entire family.

Gary Wright’s ’38 Ford coupe has great stance and colour contrast, with the cream solids against the metallic blue body.

This tough Falcon coupe was one of a few blown street machines in attendance.

Trent Smythe’s ’66 Ford Falcon is one slick ride, shown here with son Couper’s Merc pedal car.

This 1923 Model T was the oldest car in attendance and was actually driven into the event.

Ian Neary’s famous ’59 Ford retractable is the suitable calling card for Mothers.

Zoe Radford’s supercharged Sprint is one tough street car.

Stance is everything, and Ian Taylor’s ‘BILIT’ Model A coupe, built by John Reid in the ’90s, has it all going on.

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.

NZ Classic Car magazine, May/June 2026 issue 405, on sale now

26 April, 2026

Reincarnation of the snake
We are captivated by a top-quality sports car
The Shelby NZ build team at Matamata Panelworks has endured a long and challenging journey, culminating with the highly anticipated public unveiling of the 427SC and firing up of its sonorous V8 at the 2026 Ayrburn Classic Festival of Motoring in Queenstown on February 20. This is a New Zealand-built car with loads of character and potential.
The car is now back in Matamata, and I finally have an opportunity to get up close and personal with it. But before then, the question that must be asked is, “Why would ya?”
The first answer is easy, as mentioned in the last issue of New Zealand Classic Car (#404). It was a great way to use up all the surplus Mustang parts acquired while converting brand-new Mustangs into Shelbys. The unused new Mustang parts would be great in any kit car, but the 427SC in front of me cannot be classified as one.
This is not a kit car. The reality is that it is a high-quality, factory-made production car.
Possibly the second answer is because the CEO of Matamata Panelworks, Malcolm Sankey, wanted to build a replica of the car that is a distant relation to the Shelby Mustangs scattered around his showroom floor, a car created long before the first Mustang was even thought of, and the brainchild of Carroll Shelby back in the early ‘60s.