Blue Ovals only: Henry Ford Memorial Day Display

13 September, 2016

As we all know, the success of most automotive events is largely dependent upon the weather. Well, the second weekend of September 2016 blessed us with amazing skies, and we were rewarded with a stellar show put on by the Waikato Mustang Owners Club. The annual Henry Ford Memorial Day Display and Swap Meet was originally scheduled for July 31, but ended up being postponed due to bad weather — we can tell you that it was well worth the wait.

Considering it was hosted by a Mustang club, you can be sure there was no shortage of them, but it was so much more than that. Dedicated to everything ‘Blue Oval’, with around 800 cars on display ranging from Model Ts through to the latest Falcons and Mustangs, as well as a hefty swap meet, the event was not just for the Ford lovers — any petrolhead would feel right at home.

That said, a bit of Ford love certainly wouldn’t go amiss — not when sights like this were on offer wherever you’d look.

Or sights like this, although the Mach 1’s bum isn’t the only big thing in this photo. Just check out the decent-sized crowd milling around.

But if you were after big, you couldn’t go past the big chunk of Ford Aeromax truck hiding in the background of this photo — see, it wasn’t just Mustangs!

And not-so-big Fords were in attendance, too. Check out Ashley Hollings’ remote-controlled Model A tow truck, powered by a pair of mobility-scooter motors, and built by her dad, Jono.

It didn’t have to have a Blue Oval badge to be welcome, either. The Shelby Cobra is a massive part of Ford history, and one that’s spawned countless replicas across the world. This one looked beautiful, and we’ve gotta hope the ‘427’ fender badges weren’t lying!

On the opposite end of the performance scale, these Model Ts paid a fitting homage to the grandfathers of modern motoring.

In fact, just about every year of Ford production seemed to be present and accounted for — an excellent turnout for what is a truly excellent event. Twenty-two years sure seems to have perfected one of the best ways to kick the old event calendar in the guts, and get the horsepower party started!

Escort services – 1968 Escort 1100 Restomod

19 September, 2024

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

11 September, 2024

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.”

Blue Ovals only: Henry Ford Memorial Day Display

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