SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram
Search
Close this search box.

Don’t miss out on grabbing a copy of New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 295

23 June, 2015

You better grab the July issue of New Zealand Classic Car (Issue No. 295) while it’s still available in stores.

In this issue we celebrate the historic Kiwi one–two finish at this year’s famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. We also take a look back in time to 50 years ago, when a jet-powered Rover made its second and final race appearance at Le Mans.

Ford’s Deluxe series of flathead V8-powered pre-war coupes and convertibles have always been a favourite amongst classic car enthusiasts and hot rodders alike, such as our featured 1939 Ford Coupé convertible.

We go searching, but without much success, for Suzanne Somers or Halle Berry while road- testing Ford’s final Thunderbird.

We get up close and personal with the Ferrari 458 Speciale, the fastest version of the prancing horse’s jaw-dropping 458 Italia. Read our verdict.

If it’s bling you’re after, then read all about our in-depth look at the shiny art of chrome plating.    

Escort services – 1968 Escort 1100 Restomod

19 September, 2024

The Escort started off as a 1968 1100 cc two-door sold-new in Britain. At some point it was retired from daily duty and set aside as a pet project for someone. When that project began is unclear, but much of the work was completed in 2014 including a complete rotisserie restoration.
By the end of 2014, it was finished but not completed. Its Wellingtonian owner bought it sight unseen from the UK and it landed here in early 2020. It was soon dispatched to Macbilt in Grenada North, Wellington for them to work their magic.
Macbilt had two instructions: to get the car through compliance for use on the road; and to improve the vehicle and finish the project so it drove as well as it looked. Looking at the car now, it has an amazing presence and stance. It can’t help but attract attention and a bevy of admirers.

Lunch with … Cary Taylor

11 September, 2024

Many years ago — in June 1995 to be more precise — I was being wowed with yet another terrific tale from Geoff Manning who had worked spanners on all types of racing cars. We were chatting at Bruce McLaren Intermediate school on the 25th anniversary of the death of the extraordinary Kiwi for whom the school was named. Geoff, who had been part of Ford’s Le Mans programme in the ’60s, and also Graham Hill’s chief mechanic — clearly realising that he had me in the palm of his hand — offered a piece of advice that I’ve never forgotten: “If you want the really good stories, talk to the mechanics.”
Without doubt the top mechanics, those involved in the highest echelons of motor racing, have stories galore — after all, they had relationships with their drivers so intimate that, to quote Geoff all those years ago, “Mechanics know what really happened.”