Fantastic All Ford Day

23 February, 2016

 

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If you are a fan of the blue oval, and the fine machinery produced by Henry Ford’s team of merry men, then the Christchurch 2016 All Ford Day was a must-do event.

Hosted, once again, by the Canterbury Mustang Owners Club, the February 20–21 event had a great turnout of vehicles — no doubt encouraged out by the beautiful weather.

Ford owners celebrated a weekend of their cars, starting with a cruise, held on Saturday afternoon, which involved taking part in the Henry Ford Memorial Run. This cruise was attended by a large group of owners. 

With rain causing problems for the 2015 event, this year’s host club would have been very happy to be greeted by the polar opposite of bright sunshine on Sunday. Held at the Wigram Airforce Museum grounds, cars flooded the field with many clubs well represented, such as the Falcon Fairlane Car Club, Classic Cortina Club, and, of course, the Canterbury Mustang Owners Club, as well as the many individual owners who took the opportunity to get their rides out of the garage. 

As well as food stalls, there were a number of vendors selling hats and clothing, and the two local Ford dealers ventured to the event to showcase the latest offerings from Ford, including the new right-hand drive Mustang. 

It was great to see such a diverse range of vehicles on show. With a large number of Mustangs, including a black Super Snake, there was something to suit everyone’s taste, whether it was an Escort, Cortina, Falcon, GT40, or a T-bucket, the day had it all. 

Well done to the organizers for another great show, and a little shout-out to Mother Nature for helping out this year with the sunshine. 

Merry Christmas from NZ Classic Car magazine

The Classic Car magazine team is taking a few weeks’ holiday from the work computer and heading to the beach for some kickback time.
Merry Christmas, and have a wonderful summer holiday to all our readers, followers, and fans. Enjoy this special extra time with the family. We will be posting archive articles again in mid to late January.
Have fun, be good and be careful out there.

Two engines instead of one?

Popping two motors into a car is not only complicated, it doesn’t always end well. Donn Anderson recalls early attempts, including John Cooper’s ill-fated original Twini Mini built 58 years ago

For a boost in performance, better traction, and perhaps improved handling to some, two motors seems an obvious solution. It would also eliminate the need to develop a larger engine replacement from scratch, but would that outweigh the not inconsiderable technical difficulties?
The idea of using a pair of engines dates back at least 86 years to the Alfa Romeo Bimotor single seater racing car that was officially timed at 335km/h, or 208mph. Taking a lengthened Alfa P3 chassis, the Italians fitted two supercharged straight eight 2.9-litre and 3.2-litre engines, one in front of the cockpit, and the other behind the cockpit.