New Zealand Classic Car 389, September/October 2023

Wolf in wolf’s clothing
In the September/October 2023 issue 389,  we discover there’s much more to this cute 1973 Triumph GT6 British sports car, than meets the eye.
John Burke of Paremata is the owner of our stunning cover car but felt the car was somewhat underpowered and that annoyed him. So he took this pristine example of a 1973 Triumph GT6 and installed a V8 engine from a Triumph sister manufacturer, Rover. The resulting car is a restomod that really ticks a lot of boxes.
Picking over the past
Designed, originally for life on the farm, Ford’s pickups have become a worldwide style icon and the coolest of them all are the mid-century survivors.
Jim and Daphne Ledgerwood have been around Fords most of their lives. They love their Ford coupés and two door hardtops, while also making room for an occasional Chevrolet. Their Wanaka based ‘Originals’ collection, featured in New Zealand Classic Car’s July 2022 issue is headed by an outstanding time-warp black 1940 Ford Coupé, its original factory assembly markings and documents offering something of a nostalgia trip.
Un parapluie pour quatre – an umbrella for four
Citröen’s iconic 2CV embodies French chic. It is a triumph of minimalist design with a large dose of practicality, packaged to make the most of the least.
The Michelin family, famous for its tyres and its eponymous guide to the best food in France, created to encourage more gastronomes to travel, conducted a survey to determine the best way to get more French people more mobile.
The answer from Citröen vice-president Pierre-Jules Boulanger was an affordable, simple and rugged ‘umbrella on four wheels’, that would carry four adults, plus 50 kg of farm goods at 50kph. An ability to handle rough roads, tracks, even fields, would be essential. Famously added to the design brief was a requirement that it should carry a basket of eggs across a ploughed field without whipping up an omelette.
Chevy van is a Star
Fads in the car world have left a legacy of weird and wonderful creations but one of the most comfortable niche vehicles has to be the luxury panel van.
The big automotive manufacturers, always one step behind pop culture, took note of it and started to build vehicles for the new market. Starting with a commercial van, they added a few extra seats, wild graphics to the exterior and strangely shaped windows. Under the bonnet, initially, lurked the conventional 4-cylinder engines designed simply for getting goods from point A to B. Over time these were upgraded to bigger and more powerful engines.
1957 MGA Roadster
A thing of beauty and a joy forever.
For Norm Hammond, this car’s owner, it was love at first sight – and that was back in 1957 when he was 16 years old and visiting the west end of London. He had always been fascinated with cars and as it happened he was standing on a corner waiting for the lights to change when a Jaguar came through the intersection. He duly noted it, but then right behind it was a new MGA roadster. Hammond says: “The Jag caught my attention, but the MGA stunned me. It was blondish, curvaceous, and racy.”
Valletta Concours, Malta – A city built by gentlemen, for gentlemen
James Nicholls was invited to be a member of the judging panel at this year’s Valletta Concours.
The brainchild of brothers John and Joel Saliba, the Valletta Concours is the finest event of its kind in the Mediterranean, and I was delighted to be invited to be a member of the judging panel led by Mr Concours, also known as Jeremy Jackson Sytner, whose mother hails from the island.
I was in exalted company with such car luminaries as Michael Quinn, the grandson of Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons, and Professor Peter Stevens  – one of the world's best-known and most sought-after automotive designers.
Kits & Pieces
Goodwin GT – Chasing a dream
Most of the New Zealand-designed cars Patrick Harlow has written about have made it into production, albeit with varying degrees of success. Some, regardless of their merits, only got as far as the prototype stage.
Patrick first discovered the Goodwin GT through a 1972 Motorman magazine story. The car received about a dozen words in a story about ‘The National Motor and Transport Show’ in Wanganui. The show was a success, drawing in around 90,000 people over 15 days in May of that year. What caught his attention were two black-and-white pictures of concept or prototype show cars. Both cars were being prepared for production. Exciting stuff, but they both vanished without a trace for decades.
Lunch with … Brett Riley
Brett Riley is surely one of our most naturally talented drivers. He beat many of the drivers who went onto fame and fortune in Formula 1 and came within a hair's breadth of making it himself. Mid 2023, Brett will turn 70. He doesn’t look it but he’s recently retired and finally ready to reflect on all the great things he achieved, of chances missed and the importance of being as savvy out of the car as in it.
Mary Carney - Part 2
Pukekohe magic
We take up racing driver Mary’ Carney’s story again on 8 March 1970, a magical day at Pukekohe when Mary made history.
Motorsport flashback
Woolfy
Allan Woolf was as much a fixture of the local motor racing scene as checkered flags. Michael Clark looks back over a racing career that started in the middle of the previous century.
Marketplace report
The hottest hatch
When it comes to practical performance, it’s hard to beat the hot hatchback
The concept of putting big power in a car designed to take you to the supermarket took off like a rocket in the late ’70s. One, in particular, is regarded as the greatest of all and, for the discerning types, it's not the Golf GTI but the Peugeot 205 GTi.
Price on by Greg Price
Electric vehicles (again)
I don’t want to sound like a stuck record, but …
Book reviews:
Lost in time: Formula 5000 in North America
Vauxhall cars 1945 to 1965: A Pictorial History
Coaching from the bench
Don’t be lead astray
Jim takes a look at the differences between applying lead and plastic body filler to achieve the perfect finish.
Behind the Garage Door
Morgan cowl caper
One of the downsides of restoring a handbuilt car is finding the right part –– and then getting it to fit. It’s not often you get this lucky.
Our classic car news this issue is:
Goodwood Festival of Speed celebrates 30 years
A MSNZ Distinguished Service Award for Bruce Dyer
Hamilton Classic Car Meet
North Canterbury Classic Gathering 
The 13th annual Horsepower display and swap meet at Trentham Racecourse