NZ Classic Car

I regularly search through classic car auction sites simply because I like to keep an eye on what’s increasing in value and what’s not. One of the questions that gets asked regularly is ‘Does the car have matching numbers?’ This terminology can mean different things to different people, but I suspect that what people are asking is ‘Does the car still retain its original drivetrain?’. For the purists among us, this can mean checking that the drivetrain is completely original to the car. Is the engine correctly stamped, in some cases with several numbers that match those on the vehicle’s VIN? These raised numbers, often visible on the vehicle’s engine block, provide the series number, displacement range, and date and location of its manufacture. Then there are other engine items such…

The Rootes Group’s Imp, offered first as a Hillman, represented economical motoring for four adults in a comfortable and lively package. It was just the ticket when fuel-supply issues resulting from the 1956 Suez oil crisis forced motorists to look for cheaper, more fuel-efficient transport. It deserved to succeed but, as a wholly new design, it suffered from underdevelopment, and poorly managed production issues. It was also made by a workforce unused to the demands of a car industry, and industrial troubles hugely affected its success. THE SLUG After the Suez Crisis, Rootes Group planners realised that there was an urgent need for smaller fuel-efficient cars in its then–mainly medium and large car line-up. Britain’s fuel supply was cut by 20 per cent during the crisis, creating a strong demand for cars…

The rotary motor to date has been one of those engineering feats that has almost always delivered more promise than anything else In 2023, Mazda plans to start selling a rotary-powered car again. Gone is its penchant for attaching this moniker to something sporty. Instead, Mazda plans to use a small rotary to augment the range of a new small SUV battery-powered vehicle. One end of the electric motor will contain a small single-rotor Wankel motor, to credit its inventor, that will drive the generator and thus extend the range from 100-plus kilometres to something like 600. The rotary motor to date has been one of those engineering feats that has almost always delivered more promise than anything else. HITLER’S PART IN THE ROTARY MOTOR Self-taught German engineer Dr Felix Wankel came up with…

Taihape is a little town about a quarter of the way up the North Island. It makes a convenient coffee stop for those driving north to Taupō or beyond. While some choose to power on through, I have stopped there many times. About three months ago, we stopped there again with friends, on our way to Taupō for a holiday. Unfortunately, I had parked the car in front of a dress shop, which immediately demanded investigation by our wives. My friend and I spent a few dutiful minutes in the shop prior to being evicted for somehow not having the right spirit of enquiry. Outside, we were considering how much damage might be done to our bank accounts when one of the locals pulled up to buy a pie at…

Remember that bit in The Sound of Music when “Climb every mountain/Ford every stream” is sung by the Mother Abbess? Well, that’s what plays in my head when I consider the mighty Toyota Land Cruiser. Over here, and over there, in the land of Australia (not Austria, this time), prior to Toyota’s arrival, the farming community’s rugged right hand was at the helm of a Land Rover. When the Land Cruiser arrived, and especially in Australia, where big highway miles are a vital part of country life, that all changed. During the ’90s and ’00s, it appears that no Aussie bush-ranger would drive anything else. THE LEGEND LIVES ON It was largely the same here, although the tough Toyota’s legendary reliability over hundreds of thousands of miles took a little longer to accumulate.…

The New Zealand government purchased two Rolls-Royce Phantom VI limousines for the 1970 royal tour. After the royals left New Zealand, one limousine went into vice-regal service as the official car for New Zealand Governors-General until 1996. The other Rolls-Royce went on to have a more varied life in the colonies. During the royal tour, the Rolls-Royce’s strait-laced face and radiator took on a bit of a grimace after a meeting with a local — a sheep on a rural road. The front end repaired, the limousine was sold to the Westhaven cabaret in Auckland, which used the car as a courtesy vehicle for its customers for two years. Auckland funeral directors WH Tongue and Son Ltd then bought the limousine and had it converted into a hearse. The rear seats…