The Targa Bambina approaches

3 May, 2015

The Targa Bambina is just around the corner — held over May 14–17 — and teams will be putting in the last-minute hard yards to ensure their cars are competitive and ready.

Racing begins on May 15, with the Targa Bambina Welcome Function and Charity Auction commencing at 7pm on Thursday, May 14, at the Simunovich Olive Estate in Bombay. The Welcome Function provides a fantastic opportunity to meet the Targa family, sponsors, enjoy a three-course meal, and support the Kids in Cars charity.

Targa NZ raised $25,000 for the Kids in Cars charity last year, and hope to match, if not exceed, that benchmark. Auction items can be donated by contacting the Targa office, or you can purchase a ticket, or make a contribution on the night. The purchase of tickets is open to all of the Targa family and past competitors.

And, of great importance, Targa NZ are still in desperate need of timing teams. Three weeks out from racing, volunteers are needed to avoid having to cancel any stages. If you know of friends, family, or competitors who aren’t competing at this event, who’d be interested, please get in touch with the Targa office.  

Westside story

For the young Dave Blyth, the Sandman was always the coolest car and he finally got one when he was 50. “I have always had a rule. When you turn 50, you buy or can afford to buy the car you lusted after when you were 20. I was 20 in 1979 and the HZ Sandman came out in 1978. It was the coolest of the cool — I just wanted one,” he says. “Back then a Sandman cost $4500 new and a house was worth about $20,000. I made about $30 a week so it was an impossible dream then.”
Dave was heavily influenced by the panel van culture of the time. “I started with an Escort panel van and upgraded to a Holden HD panel van with a 186ci six cylinder. I started a van club, Avon City Vans.

NZ Classic Car magazine, November/December 2024 issue 396, on sale now

It took 19 years for Steve Radich to achieve his dream of owning a Skyline Hakosuka, but what he ended up with is perfection in an extremely low-kilometre example which is our cover feature in this issue.
Back in 2005, Steve hatched a plan to one day own his dream Skyline: the legendary Hakosuka. Over the next 15 years, the list of Skylines Steve bought and sold went as follows. First was a 1998 Nissan Skyline GT, with two doors too many. It was replaced with a red GTT of the same year, but with the correct number of doors! Finally, in 2020, Steve found himself looking at a white 1999 GTR sitting in his shed.
“I was well down the path of getting to the dream of trading my way to owning a Hakosuka,” he says.”
Don’t forget that this edition also comes with our FREE huge wall poster. This issue features a fully restored 1968 Ford Cortina GT Mark II.