Get your calendar at the ready — we’ve got the dates for the 2015–’16 Historic Muscle Car series

15 July, 2015

The calendar for the 2015–’16 Historic Muscle Car (HMC) series has been unveiled, and while it may look geared towards those around Auckland, there are talks of extending the love to muscle and classic fans down south.

The season will start on September 12–13 at Hampton Downs Raceway, before heading to Pukekohe Park Raceway on October 3. To kick off 2016, the series will return to Hampton Downs Raceway for the dual-weekend New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing (NZFMR) meeting, being held on January 15–17 and January 22–24, before finally ending on April 2–3 at the Hampton Downs Raceway Legends event, held in conjunction with the Historic Racing Club. Organizers have assured us that this final event will not clash with the 2016 Whangamata Beach Hop event.

The series has made attempts to include Manfeild in this calendar, but this is unlikely to come to fruition until the 2016–’17 season comes around. Expansion to the South Island is also a talking point for the Historic Muscle Cars, but this is only in its early phase of discussion.

The 2015 NZFMR event held in January saw the Historic Muscle Car series produce some exciting racing, with a group of entries from the Australian Trans-Am series travelling from across the ditch to be part of the fun. Aussie Ian Woodward in his signature white Pontiac Firebird proved the man to beat on both weekends, while Kiwis Kevin Gimblett and Roger Williams both appeared strong in their Chev Camaros. The Australians ultimately ended up on top, winning five races to the Kiwi’s three. Check out all the action in the event coverage below:

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Several New Zealand entries flew to Australia to compete in some of the Australian Trans-Am events, with Gimblett, Glenn Allingham, Murray Brown and Dale Mathers all producing strong performances. While these four entries will unfortunately have to skip round one in September due to time constraints, they will return for round two and beyond.

Of course, the series isn’t all about the Mustangs and the Camaros. The Historic Saloon Car sub-series will also make a comeback, with the plethora of giant-killing Ford Escorts, Anglias, and Japanese classics sure to spring an occasional surprise on their high-powered V8 brethren. We’re hoping to see Mike Coory’s stunning Datsun 240K GTR replica among those back on track.

For more action, check out our HMC gallery below.

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.

Get your calendar at the ready — we’ve got the dates for the 2015–’16 Historic Muscle Car series

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