Enthusiast Essentials: have you got all of these in your shed?

29 July, 2016

With the diverse range of vehicles covered by our motoring titles, New Zealand Classic Car, NZV8, and NZ Performance Car, it’s clear that the car enthusiast demographic is incredibly varied. So how do you curate a shopping basket to cater for a car person, whether they’re into imports, V8s, or classics? Our editors have discovered a heap of products this month, and there’s sure to be something that every car enthusiast will want to add to their collection.

Vintage style

Now these would look cool in your garage! Road-Relics stocks a range of reproduction parts for Australasian petrol pumps, with clock faces, decals, pump parts, visibowls, nozzles, and more, all to cover early electric and manual pumps.

Large decals have an RRP of $30, globes have an RRP of $395, and there’s a special RRP of $35 for an oil-bottle spout, cap, and decal of choice. All prices include GST.

Call 027 9377 177, email [email protected], or visit road-relics.co.nz for more information.

Stop the surge

If you’ve got a first-gen Camaro, Holden HQ, or anything else with a terrible factory fuel tank design, Holley has you covered. The new Holley HydraMat solves the problems associated with traditional fuel pickups up steep inclines, and during hard cornering, acceleration, stopping, and low-fuel conditions. HydraMat’s unique internal reservoir means fuel remains available even under extreme fuel conditions. It acts as a 15-micron pre-filter, and is also suitable for alcohol, ethanol, methanol, and E85 fuels.

To find out more, or to purchase for $369.68 plus GST, contact the team at Segedins Auto Spares on 09 638 6439.

Low loader

If your show car or race car sits at the right height, you’re probably no stranger to trailer-loading hassles. Futura Trailers has just the solution, with its new aluminium Low Loader. Lower it to the ground with just one press of a button, simply push or drive your car onto the deck, raise the trailer, tie the load down, and you’re off.

The trailers are built in Auckland from lightweight, high-strength, precision-machined 6005 aluminium, and simple lifting technology allows for safe and easy loading.

Pricing starts at $7800 for the single axle or $10,900 for the tandem. For more information, or to order, email [email protected], phone 021 918 800, or visit futuratrailers.com.

Handle the jandal

Get your second-gen Mustang handling the way it deserves to, with the Hotchkis Total Vehicle System package. The package includes tubular control arms — designed for ultimate grip, with geometry-corrected suspension angles — and Hotchkis coil springs, with rose-jointed adjustable strut rods, heavy-duty tie rod sleeves, and a lightweight 32mm front sway bar. The rear end gains Hotchkis multi-leaf springs, subframe connectors, and an adjustable rear sway bar, with a full set of Fox aluminium sports shocks. The kit includes everything required for installation into your ’67–’70 Mustang, for a vintage Mustang that handles like a modern sports car.

For more information, pricing, or to order, get in touch with Paul Manuell at Eastern Automotive Performance Centre on 09 274 2941.

Dune slayer

Sometimes the quad bike just ain’t cutting it across the sand dunes, or you want to take a buddy along with you for the ride. You could pour cash into a heavy old four-wheel drive, or make the smarter choice and get your hands on the new Maverick Turbo. With an additional 22kW on the regular model, the Maverick Turbo is home to a Rotax 1000R and good ol’ snail, and pumps out 98kW.

Available now for $35,699 — Contact JFK Powersports on 09 276 6817 to book a test ride.

Unrivaled support

Fortune Auto is a name that needs no introduction across these pages — it’s recognized for its high-end suspension products, most notably found in a gaggle of time-attack series and Formula Drift. It’s the only company still assembling and servicing shocks in the US, and every shock that leaves the factory floor is hand-built to the customer’s requirements.

Fortune Auto shocks are available at a starting price of $1950, ranging up to $12,000 — for further information check out fortune-auto-newzealand.com.

WedsSport SA10R

  • Finish: Zebra Black
  • Size: 18×10.5-inch
  • PCD: 5×114.3
  • Offset: +25

prosportauto.co.nz

Faded no more

Prolonged exposure to UV rays and the elements causes plastic headlight lenses to become oxidized and a yellow hazed look is produced over time. The Rain-X Headlight Restoration Kit provides an easy, three-step solution to restore your headlights back to their original clarity. Not only will your headlights be clear once again, but night-time visibility for the driver and other motorists will also be improved.

Available from leading automotive and hardware retailers for a retail price around the $60 mark — head to rainx.co.nz for further information.

Volks Rollers

Wheels, as they say, make or break the car. And, if you’re looking to update your old Volkswagen’s looks without detracting from its classic essence, look no further than EMPI classic wheels. These look great on any classic Volkswagen and are available from Qualitat, the official stockist, in a wide range of multiple sizes.

EMPI wheels are priced from $175 (incl. GST), and you can find out more by contacting the Qualitat team on 09 579 3710 or visiting qualitat.co.nz.

Get pumped

Whether you’re restoring a classic or looking after your daily-driver, at some point, you will need to replace the fuel pump. Do it right, and use a BN-brand mechanical fuel pump for your carburetted engine, with hundreds of available models to suit all kinds of British, European, and Japanese vehicles, and tractors. The fuel pumps are made to ISO 9001 quality certification — tried and tested — and start from $90 (excl. GST).

Get in touch with Quality Rebuilds Ltd at qualityrebuilds.com or phone 09 267 4700 to find out more.

 

Escort services – 1968 Escort 1100 Restomod

The Escort started off as a 1968 1100 cc two-door sold-new in Britain. At some point it was retired from daily duty and set aside as a pet project for someone. When that project began is unclear, but much of the work was completed in 2014 including a complete rotisserie restoration.
By the end of 2014, it was finished but not completed. Its Wellingtonian owner bought it sight unseen from the UK and it landed here in early 2020. It was soon dispatched to Macbilt in Grenada North, Wellington for them to work their magic.
Macbilt had two instructions: to get the car through compliance for use on the road; and to improve the vehicle and finish the project so it drove as well as it looked. Looking at the car now, it has an amazing presence and stance. It can’t help but attract attention and a bevy of admirers.

Lunch with … Cary Taylor

Many years ago — in June 1995 to be more precise — I was being wowed with yet another terrific tale from Geoff Manning who had worked spanners on all types of racing cars. We were chatting at Bruce McLaren Intermediate school on the 25th anniversary of the death of the extraordinary Kiwi for whom the school was named. Geoff, who had been part of Ford’s Le Mans programme in the ’60s, and also Graham Hill’s chief mechanic — clearly realising that he had me in the palm of his hand — offered a piece of advice that I’ve never forgotten: “If you want the really good stories, talk to the mechanics.”
Without doubt the top mechanics, those involved in the highest echelons of motor racing, have stories galore — after all, they had relationships with their drivers so intimate that, to quote Geoff all those years ago, “Mechanics know what really happened.”