Don’t miss New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 319!

22 June, 2017

The Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser is now one of the most sought after vehicles the world over. From workhorse to collectors’ favourite, the FJ40 has had a grand life. We look at the tale of the Muir brothers’ love, loss, and being reunited with their trusty 1977 FJ40. We check out the hard slog that went into restoring this truck to make it one of the best examples in the world. 

Other features include a very special Kiwi-built, aluminium-bodied genuine AC Cobra, Donn Anderson’s tribute to the Triumph Stag and Michael Clark’s Motorsport Flashback focuses on the role Formula Ford has played in the progression of motor sport greats. 

We also celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mazda’s relationship with the rotary engine, and what the future might look like for the Wankel rotary. We also check out the best way to bring a car to New Zealand from anywhere around the globe.


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Travelling companion

It’s easy to see why the Morris Minor Traveller was one of the best-loved variants of the Morris Minor. Introduced in 1953, it was equipped with the same independent torsion bar front suspension, drum brakes, and rack and pinion steering as its saloon sibling but, with their foldable rear seat increasing versatility, many Travellers were used as trade vehicles, says Derek Goddard. Derek and Gail Goddard, the owners of this superbly restored example, have run Morris Minors since before they were married in 1974.
“Our honeymoon vehicle was a blue Morris Minor van — it was a rust bucket,” says Derek.

Super Leicht Gullwing

It’s fair to say that nothing much in the classic Mercedes world gets past Mercedes-Benz Club stalwart Garry Boyce so it wasn’t surprising to learn that around 15 years ago he had sniffed out an extremely rare 300SL lightweight Gullwing as well as a 1958 300SL Roadster hiding away in the Waikato. The cars were not for sale but Garry eventually managed to persuade the owner to allow him and his restoration team to take a look at the Roadster. They discovered a very distressed but largely unmolested car. The car was so original that the body had never been off the chassis, meaning most of the parts and fittings were still present and correct, as they had been fitted by the factory.