Mustang

NZ Classic Car magazine, January/February 2026 issue 403, on sale now

Morris’ ground-breaking, world-beating, Minor
It was Britain’s biggest small car, and it got Britain mobile again.       Morris Motors celebrated its millionth Minor in December 1960, a car that defined the British motor industry, and was in production for 10 years alongside the iconic Mini of 1959.
Whakatane dentist John Twaddle has a passion for Morris Minors going back to 1982, and he still has his first example. There are now three ‘Morries’ in his garage. One, however, is quite special, a rare ‘Minor-Million’. 
One of just 350 made commemorating the millionth Morris Minor produced, the first British car to hit a million units, the well-rounded little Brit’ would end production in 1971with a tally of over 1.6 million units.
John finished his Minor Million six years ago, resplendent in lilac, its official factory colour. He calls it his ‘Minor Resurrection’, and it has won numerous awards.
This summer edition also comes with our annual FREE classic car calendar, a must for every garage wall.
Every issue comes with our FREE huge wall poster; this issue, our poster is of a couple of garage mates, a 1957 Ford Ranchero and a 1968 Lincoln Continental. 

Time Machine

Our featured 1968 Shelby Mustang GT350 is a true survivor with only 53,000 miles (85,800 kms) on the clock. Its colour is called Meadowlark Yellow and was a special order with the paint code WT6066 for 1968 Shelbys only. In total only 109 cars got this colour and only eight were fastbacks. The vehicle was originally assembled at the Ford Metuchen plant in New Jersey in May 1968 before getting the Shelby treatment at the Ionia plant.
The first owner was a serviceman based in Japan with the US Air Force. He sold it in 2005 and the car was imported to New Zealand after being purchased for a museum in Putaruru. The vehicle then ended up in a private collection in October 2006 where it stayed for 15 years and only travelled 2000 miles (3200km approx.) in that time. The current owner has owned it since July 2021.

Almost mythical pony

The Shelby came to our shores in 2003. It went from the original New Zealand owner to an owner in Auckland. Malcolm just happened to be in the right place with the right amount of money in 2018 and a deal was done. Since then, plenty of people have tried to buy it off him. The odometer reads 92,300 miles. From the condition of the car that seems to be correct and only the first time around.
Malcolm’s car is an automatic. It has the 1966 dashboard, the back seat, the rear quarter windows and the scoops funnelling air to the rear brakes.
He even has the original bill of sale from October 1965 in California.