Pimp my ride, Canterbury style

14 July, 2016

 

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No matter what has been thrown at Cantabs over the past five years, generosity in the south is still strong!

Many of us have heard of Make a Wish New Zealand, and the wonderful work they do. They grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to bring hope, strength, and joy. Thanks to the Bayleys Foundation and Make a Wish, one Canterbury teenager has had her wish granted by having her car ‘pimped’, thanks to the generosity of some local businesses and the team from Rockabilly Show and Shine. Two years ago, Enya Beynon — then 16 years old — was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer and underwent surgery and months of chemotherapy, finally coming out on top. 

Given the opportunity to have her wish granted, Enya asked to have her car — a very plain and sorry-looking 1985 Daihatsu Charade — pimped. The Rockabilly boys teamed up with several very generous local businesses, spending several weeks whipping the little hatchback into a gleaming jewel of its former self. 

The car now wears new paint, upholstery, tyres, wheels, and a pumping sound system. Rather than just park the car in the driveway and hand the car keys back to Enya once completed, a car cruise was arranged for July 10, leaving from New Brighton, and ending up at Burgerfuel in Spitfire Square at Christchurch Airport where the Charade was parked, under a cover, ready to be given back to a very excited Enya. 

After receiving a personal makeover herself, Enya was driven in the cruise by Maureen Fairburn in her stunning Hemi-powered ’34 Ford Coupe. With 75 cars taking part, an area had been roped off so that parking wouldn’t be an issue once everyone arrived. 

After a few words from Make a Wish, as well as Robbie Baigent of Rockabilly Show and Shine, the covers were lifted to reveal Enya’s pimped-out ride. Left almost speechless, the look on her face pretty much said it all. Given the opportunity to address the large crowd, Enya said, “Oh my goodness, wow, that is seriously amazing, I can’t believe it.” Her mum, Shannon, also said a few words before Enya was given a tour of the car, and how to work the new stereo. A few photos, and even more hugs and thank yous, brought the end to a wonderful day. Now Enya’s road to recovery can be done in style. 

Motorman: When New Zealand built the Model T Ford

History has a way of surrounding us, hidden in plain sight. I was one of a group who had been working for years in an editorial office in Augustus Terrace in the Auckland city fringe suburb of Parnell who had no idea that motoring history had been made right around the corner. Our premises actually backed onto a century-old brick building in adjacent Fox Street that had seen the wonder of the age, brand-new Model T Fords, rolling out the front door seven decades earlier.
Today, the building is an award-winning two-level office building, comprehensively refurbished in 2012. Happily, 6 Fox Street honours its one time claim to motoring fame. Next door are eight upmarket loft apartments, also on the site where the Fords were completed. Elsewhere, at 89 Courtenay Place, Wellington, and Sophia Street, Timaru, semi-knocked-down Model Ts were also being put together, completing a motor vehicle that would later become known as the Car of the Century.

Lancia Stratos – building a winner

On his own, and later with his wife Suzie, Craig Tickle has built and raced many rally cars. Starting in 1988, Craig went half shares in a Mk1 Escort and took it rallying. Apart from a few years in the US studying how to be a nuclear engineer, he has always had a rally car in the garage. When he is not playing with cars, he works as an engineer for his design consulting company.
Naturally, anybody interested in rallying has heard of the Lancia Stratos, the poster child and winner of the World Rally circuit in 1974, ’75, and ’76. Just as the Lamborghini Countach rebranded the world of supercars, so, too, did the Lancia Stratos when it came to getting down and dirty in the rally world.