Hot rods rescue St Johns

17 November, 2014

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“Getting the hot rods out of the garage and out on the road for a Sunday cruise is great, but getting them out for a great cause is even better”

An impressive level of support was seen for the combined efforts of Auckland’s North Shore car club East Bay Rods and the Silverdale Business Association in hosting a charity display for St Johns at the Silverdale Shopping Centre on Sunday, November 16.

Much of the community came out to check out all the cars on display during the one-day deal, which cost just a gold coin donation to St Johns. Over fifty of East Bay Rods’ vehicles were on display with the addition of other cars, and also a preferred parking area for visiting hot rods, street machines and classics.

Local businesses also sponsored each car on display as a way of fundraising for East Bay Rods itself who are very active in hot rodding throughout New Zealand. The event was so successful it’s looking like it’s likely to become a regular thing, which sounds like great exposure for the hot rodding hobby.

Racing Mazdas

12 June, 2026

Both Rod Millen and Ron Kendall were rotary racing kings, emanating from the North Shore of Auckland, where I grew up. And the ultimate rotary techno guru was Bill Shiells, who developed the engine into a rocket ship while working out of Gulf Mazda in Takapuna from 1969, and later in his own business, Rotorsport. He began to extract some phenomenal horsepower from the enigmatic rotary engine. Bill was one of the first to race the Mazda RX-2 Coupe in 1971 and achieved immediate success, causing others to sit up and take notice, particularly the North Shore’s racing elite. They included Robbie Francevic, Rod Millen, Ron Kendall, John Woolf, John Le Feuvre, and Rex Findlay.

Range Rover CSK — the original SUV

5 June, 2026

The Range Rover, thanks to Charles Spencer King, went into production in 1970 boasting an iconic shape that would last until 1996. The vehicle that would create the SUV moniker came about because Rover decided it was time to add a bigger four-wheel-drive vehicle, one with a 100-inch wheelbase, to the model range. Land Rover made a 109-inch wheelbase model but the standard vehicle had a 88-inch wheelbase.
The new model would be more suitable for road use than the existing Land Rover, which was considered to be predominantly for rural use. To make sure it could cope on any road it came standard with the Rover 3.5-litre V8 engine. The body design was originally sketched by King and went into production with only a few minor touch-ups by the Rover styling team.
According to King, “The idea was to combine the comfort and on-road ability of a Rover saloon with the off-road ability of a Land Rover. Nobody was doing it.”

Hot rods rescue St Johns

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