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New Zealand Classic Car 378, June 2022 is out now!

30 May, 2022

When it comes to big Aussie sixes, we naturally think of Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores. However, back in the ’70s Ford offered another option, taking the average-sized English Cortina and squeezing the 4.1-litre Falcon engine under the bonnet. This tempted only a few of Ford’s customers away from the much-loved Falcon. Read the full story in New Zealand Classic Car 378

 


 

We also find out what it takes to bring an MG basket case back to life: self-reliance, dogged determination, and an epic restoration project — resulting in one of the best MGs we’ve ever seen.

We often hear about the little old lady who only drove her car to church on Sundays. The story is almost true for our featured Ford Galaxie, which was owned by a lady from Austin, South Dakota, for 48 years. She wanted comfort, reliability, and a good-looking car, and she certainly got all three.

Check out one man’s tribute to one of Bruce McLaren’s victorious Can-Am cars, plus much more, including a full and comprehensive official Targa New Zealand programme, with maps, itineraries, driver profiles, and listings.

What to expect in the June 2022 issue of NZCC


Galaxie time capsule: A star in their eyes 


Back from the brink

 Feature Car: 1968 MGB GT


Building a winner 

Feature: McLaren M20

Plus lots more in New Zealand Classic Car 378!



GET YOUR COPY HERE

Motorsport Flashback –The right racing recipes, and cake

17 September, 2025

If a top-fuel dragster sits atop the horsepower list of open-wheel racing cars, then cars designed for the massively successful Formula Ford category are close to the opposite end. Invented in the mid-1960s as a cheap alternative to F3 for racing schools, the concept was staggeringly simple: introduce the Ford Kent pushrod to a spaceframe chassis; keep engine modifications to a minimum; same tyres for all; ban aerodynamic appendages; and you get the most phenomenally successful single-seater class of racing car the world has ever seen.
The first-ever race for these 1600cc mini-GP cars took place in England in July 1967, but it quickly took off. The US and Australia were among the earliest adopters. It took us a little longer because we had the much-loved National Formula, comprising predominantly Brabhams, Ken Smith’s Lotus, and Graham McRae’s gorgeous self-built cars, all powered by the Lotus-Ford twin-cam. After a memorable championship in 1968/69 the class was nearly on its knees a year later. The quality was still there with Smith winning his national title, just, from McRae, but the numbers had fallen. Formula Ford was the obvious replacement and was introduced for the 1970/71 season as ‘Formula C’.

Angela’s ashes

28 August, 2025

In November 2018, Howard Anderson had a dream of finding a 1964 Vauxhall PB Cresta to recreate the car he, his wife, Ruth, and three friends travelled in from London to Invercargill in 1969. The next night’s dream was a nightmare. He dreamed he would find the original Angela but it was a rusted wreck somewhere in Southland.
Howard’s inspiration came from reading about a driver in the 1968 London–Sydney Marathon who was reunited with his Vauxhall Ventora 50 years later. He, Ruth, and her parents had watched the start of the rally from Crystal Palace in South London. The fashion at the time among the rally and race set was to paint bonnets flat black to avoid the sun’s reflections flashing into the driver’s eyes, thus saving them from certain disaster. Howard admired the flat black bonnet on the Ventora so much he had Angela’s bonnet painted dull black.