SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram

23,000 auto parts, what would you grab?

23 November, 2014

 

data-animation-override>
“Win one of ten Repco gift cards worth $50 by telling us what you’d use it for”

If you want to feel totally immersed in automotive products and parts just head to Repco’s new auto centre over at 79 Wairau Road on Auckland’s North Shore. They’ve opened the doors to their new store — which happens to be the biggest Repco in the country — and you’ll have more than 23,000 parts available to you over the counter as well as access to approximately 450,000 automotive parts to be ordered in if need be.

Repco’s first Auto Centre was opened in Lower Hutt three months back, and it wasn’t long until the concept travelled up the country to Auckland. Everything related to automotive parts, tools and equipment can be found under its roof. And while you’re in the store you can check out the interactive touchscreens, which you’ll be able to use to search for tips on such things as changing wiper blades, performing body repairs, and information on filters.


IMG_0896.jpg

To celebrate the opening of Repco’s new auto centre, we have ten Repco gift cards worth $50 to give away — all you need to do to go in the draw is to scroll down to the bottom of this post to the ‘comments’ section and share a comment stating what you’d spend your gift card on.

Last Tango in the Fast Lane

30 April, 2026

In the mid ’80s, I locked into a serious Nissan/Datsun performance obsession. It could have kicked off with my ’82 Datsun Sunny, though this would have been a bit of a stretch of the imagination, given its normally aspirated 1.2-litre motor — not the sort of thing to unleash radical road warrior dreams. But it did plant a seed, and it was a sweet little machine and surprisingly quick, in contrast to all the diabolical English offerings I had endured.
I was living in South Auckland at the time and was an unrepentant petrolhead. Motor racing was my drug of choice, and I followed the scene slavishly. Saloon car racing, with the arrival of the international Group A formula, was having a serious renaissance here and in Australia and Europe. There was suddenly an exotic air in local racing that had been absent for 15 years.
I was transfixed by this new frontier of motor racing that had hit our tracks in 1985–87 and the new array of machinery on display. In 1986, the Nissan Skyline RS DR30 made a blinding impression on me. The Australian Fred Gibson-run, Peter Jackson-sponsored team of George Fury and Glenn Seton were the fastest crew of the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship. But Kiwi legend Robbie Francevic snuck through to win the Aussie Championship in his Volvo 240T after a strong start and consistent finishes.

NZ Classic Car magazine, May/June 2026 issue 405, on sale now

26 April, 2026

Reincarnation of the snake
We are captivated by a top-quality sports car
The Shelby NZ build team at Matamata Panelworks has endured a long and challenging journey, culminating with the highly anticipated public unveiling of the 427SC and firing up of its sonorous V8 at the 2026 Ayrburn Classic Festival of Motoring in Queenstown on February 20. This is a New Zealand-built car with loads of character and potential.
The car is now back in Matamata, and I finally have an opportunity to get up close and personal with it. But before then, the question that must be asked is, “Why would ya?”
The first answer is easy, as mentioned in the last issue of New Zealand Classic Car (#404). It was a great way to use up all the surplus Mustang parts acquired while converting brand-new Mustangs into Shelbys. The unused new Mustang parts would be great in any kit car, but the 427SC in front of me cannot be classified as one.
This is not a kit car. The reality is that it is a high-quality, factory-made production car.
Possibly the second answer is because the CEO of Matamata Panelworks, Malcolm Sankey, wanted to build a replica of the car that is a distant relation to the Shelby Mustangs scattered around his showroom floor, a car created long before the first Mustang was even thought of, and the brainchild of Carroll Shelby back in the early ‘60s.