NZV8 — Beachhop 2016 Preview

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WH AT A N AU TO S TO R E O UG HT TO BE

Ed.’s Note

TODD WYLIE

Sweet

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idn’t they do well? Against weather that didn’t know if it wanted to be stinking hot or miserably wet, you’ve got to give full credit to the Repco Beach Hop 16 crew for putting on yet another unforgettable event. A total of 250 green volunteer shirts were produced for the event, and we saw them all being worn with pride. Of course, it takes many more people than that to make Beach Hop what it is. From the local council members, to the crews that help close roads and open gates, through to the staff at all the local businesses who tackle the influx of people, each and every one has a part to play in ensuring that event-goers walk away happy.

With the additional Whitianga day tagged on to the front of the event, Repco Beach Hop 16 was the biggest yet, in terms of both duration and attendance. It seems the added day was a hit with participants, too; this, combined with Easter coming just before the event, brought people to Whangamata earlier than usual. The follow-on effect was the Go Waihi Warm Up Party having 120 more cars than last year, and the Repco Tairua Beach Party having even more again. Impressive stuff!

For the NZV8 team, Beach Hop is always the biggest event of the year, mainly due to the production of this very magazine, and the associated DVD and TV show, but we still love it.

For five days — six this year — we’re flat out trying to gather as much information as possible in an attempt to do the event, the cars, and the people justice, so we’re hoping you like what we’ve put

together for you. Of course, the rain makes the job so much harder, with wet cameras, wet cars, and a sea of umbrellas all adding an unnecessary layer of difficulty. Thankfully, in the end, the sun came out for long enough for us to achieve what we needed to, and has saved the magazine from becoming the ‘Highlights of a Decade of Beach Hop’ that we had started to plan whilst taking cover from the elements.

As always, it was great to meet so many car, motorbike, and caravan owners — each as passionate as the next, and all willing to give us a moment of their time, and pose for photos without hesitation. As with the past two NZV8 Beach Hop Annual issues we have produced, our aim with this year’s has been to try and include as many different vehicles as possible. This means that, to give everyone a fair shot, in theory you won’t find too many pics of the same car, even those that’ve been standouts or award winners.

After all, there’s only so many pages into which we can squeeze the 1200-odd entered cars. If, when you finish this magazine, you feel like you still need more, we’ve also run plenty of coverage and even more photos on our website — themotohood.com. Search ‘Repco Beach Hop 16’ and you’ll find days’ more entertainment.

Of course, as always, we’re keen to hear your feedback and any suggestions on what you’d like to see us put together next year.

See you there, Todd editor@v8.co.nz

The Beach Hop Annual team L-R: Rod Dunn, Todd Wylie, Connal Grace, Kevin Shaw, Adam Croy

EDITOR Todd Wylie, todd@v8.co.nz DEPUTY EDITOR Connal Grace, connal@v8.co.nz SUBEDITOR Karen Alexander SENIOR DESIGNER Mark Gibson MEDIA SALES CONSULTANTS Dave Maddox-Kane, dave.maddox-kane@parkside.co.nz Dean Payn, dean.payn@parkside.co.nz

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Rosie Simkins, rosie.simkins@parkside.co.nz

ADVERTISING COORDINATOR

Rebecca Frogley, rebecca.frogley@parkside.co.nz

ADVERTISING PRODUCTION Parkside Design EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES editor@v8.co.nz CONTRIBUTORS Adam Croy, Rod Dunn,

Corey Ealand — BLADEcam, Kevin Shaw, Noddy Watts, Kit Wilson, Kym Wylie

THIS 2016 BEACH HOP ANNUAL IS PROUDLY PUBLISHED BY

PHONE 09 360 1480, FAX 09 360 1470 PO Box 46,020, Herne Bay, Auckland 1147 EMAIL info@parkside.co.nz WEB themotorhood.com PUBLISHER

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NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS Parkside Media uses due care and diligence in the preparation of this magazine, but is not responsible or liable for any mistakes, misprints, omissions, or typographical errors. Parkside Media prints advertisements provided to the publisher, but gives no warranty and makes no representation to the truth, accuracy, or sufficiency of any description, photograph, or statement. Parkside Media accepts no liability for any loss which may be suffered by any person who relies either wholly or in part upon any description, photograph, or statement contained herein. Parkside Media reserves the right to refuse any advertisement for any reason. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Parkside Media, the publisher, or editor. All material published, gathered, or created for NZV8 Magazine is copyright 2014 Parkside Media Limited. All rights reserved in all media. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.

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Contents

BEACH HOP ANNUAL 2016

01: ED’S NOTE 04: NODDY’S VIEW 06: NOSTALGIA RACER 08: WHITIANGA — DAY ONE 12: WAIHI — DAY TWO 16: WAIHI FEATURE CAR 20: DRIVE-IN MOVIE 22: SPOTLIGHT: THE POWER 24: TAIRUA — DAY THREE 28: TAIRUA FEATURE CAR 34: NOSTALGIA QUIZ NIGHT 36: ONEMANA — DAY FOUR 40: ONEMANA FEATURE CAR 44: SPOTLIGHT: GREAT PLATES 46: THE GRAND PARADE 50: FORD NZ RESERVE 54: MAIN STREET CAR SHOW 58: PRE-’49 HOT ROD SHOW 60: CENTURY BATTERIES SHOW

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62: TOT ROD SHOW 64: CLASSIC CAR FAIR 66: RETRO CARAVAN SHOW 68: MOTORCYCLE SHOW 70: THE MUSIC 72: RETRO MARKETS 74: SATURDAY STAGE SHOWS 78: SATURDAY FEATURE CAR 84: THE LUCKY WINNER 86: FROM ABROAD 88: NIGHT CRUISING 90: SPOTLIGHT: THE DETAILS 92: SUNDAY FEATURE CAR 96: NOSTALGIA FAIR & CAR SHOW 98: TOP 10 SHOOTOUT 102: TOP BIKE 104: TOP CARAVAN 106: TOP CAR 112: SPOTLIGHT: THE CREW

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Noddy’s View

Two -part

Triumph

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often tell people that running Repco Beach Hop is an easy job — the hard part is getting there! This year was no exception. In our view, Repco Beach Hop 16 was one of the best yet, as everything went like clockwork each and every day with no major hiccups. This comes from the experience of running 15 events previously and learning from our mistakes — and, of course, the hard-working crew who make our life so much easier. But the real hard work was getting there …

We had the ambitious idea of building a hot rod from scratch to prove that it’s still possible to do it in New Zealand. We had a vision. We had a plan. We had some awesome sponsors. And we had a team. Without a doubt, the car is the best giveaway car yet and a real credit to those involved. You can read all about it in this very magazine. It was damn hard work — but we did it!

The same goes for the ADRAD Route 66 Retro Caravan. Once we started pulling it apart we found hidden problems that needed to be fixed, but the end result was one seriously cool caravan.

With Easter falling just a few days prior to the official start of Repco Beach Hop 16, we predicted that entrants might arrive earlier, so we planned the Whitianga Power Tour for the early arrivals. I’m glad we did, as 200 cars were on show in Whitianga and everyone seemed to enjoy the day. Waihi turned it on once again for the Go Waihi Warm Up Party, with 600 cars on show — more than ever. Then the rain came as we headed to Tairua for the Repco Tairua Beach Party. We were very lucky and the show went on, with the weather improving in the afternoon — it was still a fun day.

Thursday night, and the Amediate Engineering Nostalgia Quiz Night saw more than 40 teams battling it out and having a really great night. If you’ve never been to the Quiz Night, then you’ve missed out on a real treat — it’s just one big party full of happy people. This year, we managed to raise $3000 for the Whangamata Area School.

Congrats to the Mavericks for winning and then donating their $1000 cash prize to the school — well done!

Whilst the Quiz Night was going off, the Woodstock Marquee was also rocking, thanks to the Snitch 7 Days Comedy Show. Four of New Zealand’s best comedians — from the 7 Days TV show — had people in stitches with their extremely non-PC show; they don’t hold anything back, and the sold-out crowd lapped it all up.

Another great success!

Bad weather threatened the Castrol Edge Thunder Cruise but thankfully it held for a cracker of a show. We’ve never seen so many cars and people

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lining the cruise route to Onemana — it was magical. School kids, the elderly, Ford fans, Chev fans, Mopar fans — they were everywhere. It was another highlight for us.

Saturday’s forecast was for thunderstorms — Yikes! More than 12 months’ hard work down the drain? Nope — the gods smiled on us and the clouds parted right on cue; perfect! Whangamata was pumping, and in our view was the busiest and biggest ever. Once again, everything just ticked along like clockwork. The shows at the Ford NZ Reserve were fantastic, with a record nine entrants in the New World Retro Wearable Arts & Junkyard Fashion Show and a stunning line-up of beauties in the CTek Retro Pin Up Competition. ‘Eugene from the caravan park’ stole the show at the Hop Idol finals — a very talented man.

Then it was the big one – the programme draw.

Congrats to Richard Thomson of Papamoa, who won the 1934 Ford coupe ‘ZZ Hop’ — a very happy man!

We had a great line-up of bands for the festival, with many Beach Hop favourites back on stage plus a couple at the event for the first time. Each and every venue was pumping,

with people dancing and having a great time.

Sunday had a nice slow start thanks to daylight saving ending during the night! But the crowd at the Classic Cover Insurance Nostalgia Fair didn’t sleep in; the place was packed and stallholders were run off their feet. We had the top five cars, three bikes, two caravans, and one tot rod on show at the Century Batteries Top 10 Shootout and they were all worthy winners — congrats to you all! We made the $10,000 entrants’ draw, with the cash going to Bev Oswald from Katikati. Then it was all over for another year!

The highlight? Obviously, it was so many people having so much fun — plus the end result of ZZ Hop. What a car!

The lowlight? The very heavy-handed approach by the Police — they were certainly the ‘fun police’ this year; it was very disappointing. We’ll be working alongside them once again to ensure the festival is a safe place for everyone.

A big thanks to all our sponsors, crew, and supporters — you all rock!

Noddy Watts Beach Hop Central

1964 ½ Mustang Convertible

1970 Mustang Boss 302

1983 Mustang GT Convertible

1994 Mustang GT

2003 Mustang Mach 1

2015 Mustang GT

Welcome back to the future.

Thanks for another great Beach Hop. We loved meeting you all and sharing some of our exciting range.

Your local Ford dealer can help you find the Ford for your future, which is where we’ll see you – at Beach Hop 2017.

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Nostalgia Drags

QUICKEST BEACH HOP CAR WORDS: TODD WYLIE

Nostalgia Drags

QUICKEST BEACH HOP CAR D

WHAT WAS THE CAR THAT RAN THE QUICKEST ET AT THE PENSKE NOSTALGIA DRAGS, THEN TOOK ON THE CHALLENGE OF ATTENDING REPCO BEACH HOP 16?

ue to the way that Easter fell this year, Repco Beach Hop 16 was the weekend after the annual Nostalgia Drags, as opposed to the other way around. This gave Beach Hop organizers the chance to offer recognition for the quickest car from the drags that was entered at Repco Beach Hop 16.

The early pick for the car that would take the honours was Beach Hop regular Ian Rainbow’s nine-second street-legal ’50 Chev Business coupe. That wasn’t the case, though, as equally regular Beach Hop attendee, Geoff Sadler, was quicker and faster than Ian on the day, running a best of 10.35 seconds at 132.80mph.

Geoff’s Rod Bods fibreglassbodied ’32 coupe has been terrorizing the strip for around five years now, and has continued to get quicker and quicker over that time, having run an outright PB of 10.27 seconds at 132mph.

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The car runs a Murray Smith–built 496ci big block Chev, putting out 536hp at the wheels, and, thanks to careful planning and the correct parts, is still totally streetable. This big

power motor is strapped into a Terry’s Chassis Shoppe–engineered chassis, and is backed with a manual valve body TH400 transmission. Since it’s been on the road, the car has clocked up

an impressive 12,000 miles and more than 250 passes down the drag strip, and Geoff still loves it as much as the day he first drove it.

Enjoying ‘Quickest Street Car’ type events, Geoff’s goal is to take the car to America and, along with a few other Kiwis, compete in the nowlegendary Drag Week. In preparation for that, the car was pulled off the road not long after Beach Hop for a few minor tweaks and a bit of winter maintenance.

Geoff didn’t let the weather put him off driving the car plenty at Repco Beach Hop 16, including partaking in the Repco Pre-’49 Hot Rod Show and a few laps of town, as well as enjoying the Castrol Edge Thunder Cruise out to Onemana. And yes the car was driven from Auckland to Beach Hop and back home. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is one tough street car!

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Whitianga DAY ONE

WORDS: KEVIN SHAW

Whitianga

Power Cruise

D

WITH THE DAY BEFORE BEING A PUBLIC HOLIDAY, CRUISING TO WHITIANGA WAS THE PERFECT WAY TO SPEND TUESDAY AND KICK-START THE WEEK THAT LAY AHEAD

ay one of Repco Beach Hop 16 certainly was a day of firsts. It was the first year that Beach Hop had started on a Tuesday. With the event running on the week following Easter, it was logical to kick off a day earlier and piggyback onto the long weekend, stretching the festival out to a six-day affair. Cruising into town on Monday, it was evident that plenty of

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others also thought the extended event was a great idea, the atmosphere and number of cars being reminiscent of the Wednesdays of Beach Hops past.

Another first was the day’s destination of Whitianga, a popular tourist spot just 50 or so miles north of Whangamata up State Highway 25. As always, entrants turned up early so by 9.30am Ford NZ Reserve, aka Williamson Park,

was packed with 150 carloads of eager hop-goers raring to go. As the organizers had thought a few dozen cars would be a good turnout for the Tuesday, they were blown away. The day couldn’t have been better, with clear skies and sunshine for the cruise up the coast. Many others who were heading towards the Coromandel Peninsula merged in along the way, pushing the numbers to well over 200 cars.

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A sad first for the week was the first breakage.

A lovely 1958 Bel Air took that unfortunate honour — just north of Tairua, heading around a gentle right curve, the right rear axle broke at the bearing, resulting in the wheel bending the wheel arch as the car slid to a halt. However, most of the vehicles made it through OK, and we regrouped just north of Whitianga for a cruise into the town centre. Noddy played the Pied Piper in the Beach Hop Ford Ranger as the cars poured into the town. A large piece of the main street

and the adjacent reserve had been closed off for Beach Hop entrants, and boy did they need every inch of the available parking. No one expected the number of cars that turned up, and the sight of a couple of hundred cars full of hungry and thirsty tourists must have made the local retailers’ day. With the scorching weather, most hop-goers were content to have a quick wander around the cars before settling into a local eatery or watering hole and just making the most of any shade they could find.

01 Mercury Bay Community Board Chairman Paul Kelly (right) presented Rex Thompson with the trophy for Car of the Day. Rex also received a battery from sponsor Century Batteries.

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02 Kirsten Richmond (right), from the Thames Coromandel District Council, with Andrea Whitehead (left) and Hayley Paillandi (middle) from Guthrie Bowron, who won the best-dressed staff award.

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There was entertainment aplenty, with live music in the main street and plenty of dancing going on. Come 12.30, a flash mob of local kids hiphopped their way along the main street, some with talent, others with plenty of enthusiasm; occasionally a few showed a bit of both.

Regardless of ability, it was great entertainment and showed the support the local community has for the event. The local council was also there, having been incredibly helpful with getting the Whitianga event off the ground.

Mid-afternoon saw another first for Beach Hop: a drag race that actually involved cars — if you don’t understand, you will when you read the Waihi coverage. Technically, it was more of a push race than a drag race, with two teams of four pushing a 1964 Ford Galaxie and a 1965 Chev Impala 100 metres up the main street. Whatever the case, the two cars were staged either side of the Christmas tree, which was smaller than usual. When the lights went green, the teams were off. Some may claim the Ford beating the Chev as also being a first, but, to be fair, the Impala had a poor 60-foot time by comparison and the pushers assured us they would have defeated the Ford over a longer distance!

Winding up the day, there was a brief prizegiving, with awards for the best-dressed shop window (Taste Café), best-dressed staff (Guthrie Bowron), and car of the day as chosen by the local community board (Rex Thompson’s 1963 Chrysler Imperial). We think the real winners were the locals and all those who made this inaugural trip to Whitianga. Here’s hoping it happens all over again next year.

03 04 03 Being Whitianga locals, Phil and Ave Andrews didn’t have far to travel in their immaculate 1969 Mustang Mach 1. Their matching-numbers 428 Cobra Jet has been meticulously restored to betterthan-factory condition.

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04 You can’t have a drag race without a Christmas tree, so a tiny ornamental one was found to be used on the day. Sadly, most people there didn’t understand why someone was standing in the middle of the road with a tree on her head, but the racers got it!

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Waihi

DAY TWO WORDS: KEVIN SHAW

Go Waihi

Warm-Up Party

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ORIGINALLY JUST A LAID-BACK PRECURSOR TO BEACH HOP FESTIVITIES — THE GO WAIHI WARM UP PARTY HAS BECOME A FULL-BLOWN PART OF IT ALL

f we thought Whitianga the previous day was a big event, it had nothing on Waihi. The weather gods were smiling again; with temperatures in the mid 20s and not a cloud in the sky, this was shaping up to be a great warm-up party. The increase in the number of entrants in Whangamata meant the crowd at Williamson Park — aka Ford NZ Reserve — was huge! The multitude of spectators eagerly waiting in Waihi was larger than usual, too, and by 10am there was not a parking space to be

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had within half a mile of the centre of town.

The ‘Go Waihi’ team must have been planning the day since the end of last year’s event, as the set-up was managed with precision. Early arrivals from other parts of the country were ushered into the side roads, keeping the main street clear, but, with a couple of hundred cars arriving before the main cruise from Whangamata, space was rapidly dwindling.

Around 11am the main parade arrived, and what an entrance it made. Noddy was again leading the way in the trusty Ford Ranger, horn honking so

everyone knew they were coming. Before long, everyone else joined in, the sound of klaxons and the melodious notes of the ’50s car horns reminding us all of an era when things weren’t designed only for a purpose; they had to look and sound good, too!

Despite the roads being closed further out from the main street than in past years, once the massive influx of cars started arriving we wondered where they were all going to fit. The Beach Hop team had to work overtime to fit the massive number of cars into little old Waihi

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01 Clare Jones and her daughter, Emily-Violet Walters, were out enjoying the atmosphere in their ’68 Camaro.

Purchased back in ’89 by Clare’s dad, BJ, the car was driven until 2004, when it was stripped down for a rebuild. It sat around for four years in parts as a decision on what engine to use couldn’t be reached. “Dad wanted a 350 and I wanted the original 327,” says Clare.

Unfortunately, BJ passed away before the car was finished, so it was up to Clare to complete it. Because the 327 engine was beyond repair, a 350 finally filled the engine bay. “Dad will be laughing about that one,” Clare says.

The new motor was fired up for the first

time on what would have been BJ’s birthday.

02 It’s not even 10am, the crowds are building, the side streets of Waihi are already full, with not a parking space to be had within half a mile of the main street, and the convoy of cars hasn’t even left Whangamata yet — such is the popularity of the Go Waihi Warm Up Party!

03 Brian and Liz Smith from Ajay’s Ford V8 Parts were on hand with a huge array of parts to drool over. With regular buying trips to the States, they are not limited to early Fords; they can source just about anything, from parts to complete cars.

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04 Repco Beach Hop brings out some very talented people. Dean of Lovich Design, who has more than 20 years of experience, puts the finishing touches to his airbrushed canvas of the late David Bowie. The canvas was auctioned on the Sunday, and sold to a lucky buyer for $2000.

05 Noddy presents Kim Mitchell with the Mayor’s Choice Best Classic Car trophy for his stunning 1968 Camaro. The award was sponsored by Thiess Global Mining.

The base of the trophy is made of quartz mined from 250 metres underground, but is not guaranteed to have any gold in it!

06 Graham and Sue Stuart were over from Gisborne in Victoria, and they were having a ball. This is their third Beach Hop, and they assured us that they will be back as they have such a great time every year! They were making the most of the great weather in the 1984 Corvette that is Warwick Dawes’ daily driver.

07 Robert Slack headed over from Aka Aka in his 1957 Pontiac Super Chief.

Small block Chev powered and with an overdriven TH700R4 trans, this is one cool cruiser that is regularly seen at Beach Hop.

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and the town was soon stretched to the seams.

As in previous years, the overflow was pushed up Martha Hill by the old Cornish Pumphouse but before long that was also overrun with cars, with even the access road full. Thanks to a bit of ingenuity, most of the cars were accommodated somewhere in the town for us to enjoy.

In Waihi, Beach Hop has almost become a victim of its own success. Waihi is no longer the low-key lead-in to the festival — it is now definitely part of the main event. The support from the town is obvious, with all the local retailers getting into the mood and dressing up their shops. They all recognize the value of tourism and appreciate the money spent by the visitors, whom they hope will return during the year. For participants and spectators alike, it is the first chance to check out the hop cars — and there was certainly plenty to see; with car numbers up from 400 to around 600, market stalls and trade displays lining the streets, there was pretty much something there for everyone.

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08 The last thing we expected to find under the hood of a low-rider was a throttle-body injected LS1, but that’s exactly what Bradley West’s ’64 Impala convertible is running. The throttle bodies are modified Toyota items on a custom manifold Bradley sourced from a drift car. The 3½-year, ground-up build was only finished the morning of the Go Waihi Warm Up Party, where the Impala made its public debut, the firewall being just about its only original part.

09 Nick Blair from BOP RV has been importing these awesome Americanmade caravans for around a year now.

As you can imagine, the combination of modern construction and retro looks was a hit with the crowds. Even the 16-foot version, as seen here, comes complete with a bathroom and bedding for three — features that have

given the caravans wide appeal.

10 Well known for his work with Police Ten 7, Graham Bell is another (almost) local who regularly takes part in Beach Hop in his 1958 International pickup. The International is Graham’s regular driver, powered by a small block Chev backed up by the everreliable TH350.

photographed, rides in town. His dad Paul, his uncle Ash, and his granddad Rob Willis knocked up the custom tot rod over a period of about four weeks. As with every good Beach Hop project, it wasn’t quite finished, with working headlights, tail lights, and something sticking out of the bonnet still to be added.

11 Alan Butler’s 1969 Dodge Coronet 500 sat just right with its low ride height and 18-inch Sons Of Boyd wheels.

Alan’s owned the car for nine years, but only painted it at Christmas. The new look is so good that now he’s toying with the idea of adding modernized suspension as well as an injected Hemi.

For now, though, the car runs a 383.

13 Over from Australia for the Nostalgia Drags and Repco Beach Hop 16, Reece Robinson was having a great time in Waihi. Being out in his dad Lee’s 1965 Cadillac made it just that extra bit special. The Cadillac is certainly a bit bigger than the Holden Gemini that Reece is building back home!

12 Seventeen-month-old Lucas Mitchell of Auckland had one of the smallest, yet one of the most

14 It was a refreshing surprise to see a Hurst four-speed floor shift in the cabin of this slick ’66 Oldsmobile 442.

15 Phil Burney usually attends Beach Hop in his 341ci Hemi–powered ’57 DeSoto, so he was understandably pleased to have his ’65 Coronet here for 2016. The tough Mopar is an original Mr. Norm’s Spaulding Dodge vehicle, with a genuine 77,000 miles on the clock, and has only recently become road legal in New Zealand.

This ’65 Coronet is one of only 413 optioned with a ‘drag pack’, including 426ci Wedge, side-exit exhaust, A833 four-speed manual, 8¾-inch diff with 4.56:1 gears, and rear suspension lift kit.

While braking performance was also taken care of with Mopar cop brakes, Phil has swapped the original front drums for Wilwood calipers, operating on a two-line system. Despite the drag strip–oriented set-up, Phil can live with the Coronet cruising along at 3200rpm at 100kph. With the noise this thing makes, we can’t blame him!

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If admiring the cars and enjoying the bands belting out the tunes around the town wasn’t enough for you, just after lunch there was some alternative live entertainment: the ‘Drag Race’, this time without cars. This really is a sight to behold — blokes in frocks running a relay race, complete with mid-point hula hoops, up and down the main street. After the teams of three ‘ladies’ had done their runs, complete with pushing, shoving, and wardrobe malfunctions, one team was declared the winner — but don’t ask us who it was; we were too busy laughing at the debacle we had just witnessed!

Mid-afternoon there was a formal prize-giving, MC’d

by Gold FM’s Brian Gentil. The award for best hot rod, sponsored by OceanaGold, was won by Warwick Dawes’ 1946 Chevrolet convertible. The best classic car award, sponsored by Thiess Global Mining, was won by Kim Mitchell’s 1968 Camaro. Best-dressed boy was Lewis Lehmann from Morrinsville, bestdressed girl was Akelah Ganley from Glenbrook Beach, best-dressed man was Murray ‘Elvis’ Peterson from Te Awamutu, and best-dressed lady was Vicky Shield, who was over from Brisbane. With the formalities over, most people chose to hang around and enjoy the day before cruising back to Whangamata for the drive-in movie that night.

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Feature Car

1946 CHEV CONVERTIBLE WORDS: KEVIN SHAW PHOTOS: ADAM CROY

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