THE REAL DEAL — HAND-FORMED ALUMINIUM-BODIED AC COBRA NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR JULY 2017 ISSUE 319
TOYOTA FJ40 LAND CRUISER • AC COBRA • MCLAREN AUSTIN ULSTER REPLICA
SURGICAL PRECISION ISSUE 319 $9.99 INCL. GST JULY 2017
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FJ40 SHIPPING GUIDE IMPORTING CLASSIC CARS
LAND CRUISER
RESTORED PERFECTION
STARRING ROLE AUSTIN ULSTER REPLICA
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF MAZDA AND THE ROTARY ENGINE
CONTENTS
319 JULY 2017
6 6 RESTORED 4WD ICON
TOYOTA FJ40 LAND CRUISER
18 CULMINATION OF A DREAM
1966 AC COBRA
28 MAZDA AND THE ROTARY ENGINE
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS
72 MCLAREN AUSTIN
BUILT JUST IN TIME FOR MCLAREN MOVIE
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64 VEHICLE SHIPPING
WE CONSULT THE PROFESSIONALS FOR THE RIGHT ADVICE
COLUMNS
46 MOTOR SPORT FLASHBACK 52 KITS AND PIECES 58 MOTORMAN 70 LOCAL MARKET REPORT 92 PRICE ON
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EVENTS 82 86 89
TARGA HAWKE’S BAY: FULL REPORT AND RESULTS RALLYING IN NEW ZEALAND 50TH ANNIVERSARY HISTORIC MUSCLE CARS
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REGULARS
40 READERS’ WRITES 42 ONLINE THIS MONTH 44 SUBSCRIBE AND WIN 78 NEWS 90 EVENTS DIARY 94 BEHIND THE GARAGE DOOR 96 CLUB CORNER 97 QUICK QUIZ / CROSSWORD 100 AUTOMOBILIA 102 SELL YOUR CLASSIC 103 EDITOR’S PICK 104 CLASSIC CARS FOR SALE 110 LOCAL SPECIALISTS 112 NEXT MONTH
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FEATURE
1977 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser
Surgical procedure A T R U S T Y, O L D W O R K H O R S E BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE BY THE O R I G I N A L F A M I LY O W N E R S Words: Ashley Webb Photos: John Galvin
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FEATURE 1966 AC Cobra
W ITH A H A N D - F O R M E D A LU M I N I U M BO DY AND A 427 UNDER THE HOOD, THIS COBRA I S T H E T Y P E O F C A R T H AT D R E A M S A R E MADE OF! Words: Todd Wylie Photos: Adam Croy / Simon Tippins
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he good old Kiwi grapevine and our can-do attitude are undeniably part of what’s helped to put New Zealand on the map. There’s not much that Kiwis won’t try their hand at, and, through sheer determination, we generally do a damn fine job of things. Of course, as the country is just a thin sliver of land at the bottom of the globe, built on farming, everyone knows everyone — or, at least, someone who does. It’s a combination of these factors that is responsible for the vehicle you see here — a 1966 AC Cobra. The car is the culmination of a dream for retired farmer Hugh — a dream that took him three decades to see through to completion. Why did it take so long when most Cobra replicas take only a few years? Because this is a 1966 AC Cobra, not a 1966 AC Cobra replica — the lack of that extra adjective being a significant factor in the car’s prestige, value, and heritage.
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FEATURE
50 years of Mazda and the Rotary engine
REV
1967–2017
LUTION
MA ZDA AND THE ROTARY ENGINE
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THIS YEAR MARKS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY O F M A Z DA’ S F I R S T PRODUCTION CAR TO U S E T H E R OTA R Y E N G I N E . THE NOW-ICONIC MAZDA COSMO SPORT WAS THE VEHICLE FROM WHICH MAZDA PROPELLED ITS ONGOING USE OF THE WA N K E L R OTA R Y Words: Brad Lord Photos: Mazda / New Zealand Classic Car archive
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lthough the basic principles behind rotaryengine dynamics can be traced as far back as the 16th century, it was a 17-year-old German teenager named Felix Wankel who made the dream a reality. Wankel first started toying with the idea of building a different type of engine in 1919. Although he didn’t know much about internal-combustion engines, his determination and fascination led him to continue his studies to develop what would eventually become the rotary power plant. In 1924, when Wankel was just 22 years old, he established a small engineering laboratory where he was able to further his research and development. During World War II, he managed to continue his work and was supported by the German Ministry of Aviation and other large corporations that saw real promise in his dream. Wankel formed the Technical Institute of Engineering Study (TES) after the war’s end. There, he continued research on rotary engines and a rotary compressor that was being developed for a wide range of commercial purposes. It was at this time that a prominent German motorcycle manufacturer — NSU Motorenwerke AG, or NSU — started to take an interest in Wankel’s work. NSU had also had dealings with rotary-engine design, and, in 1957, NSU and Wankel together developed a prototype of the Type DKM, which offered a cocoon-shaped housing that themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car
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MOTOR SPORT FLASHBACK
Words and photos: Michael Clark
The Historic Formula Ford groups are strong in both the North and South Islands — there isn’t a better bang for your buck in classic motor racing 46 New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com
THIS MONTH, MICHAEL REMINDS US H O W T H E R E M A R K A B LY C O N S I S T E N T E N T R Y- L E V E L F O R M U L A F O R D P L AY E D SUC H A B I G PA RT I N TH E R AC I N G C A REERS OF SO M A N Y YOU NG KIWI RACING DRIVERS The start of something In July 1967, the Ford Motor Company was riding the crest of a very large wave — the Mustang had been a great success on both road and track, and, everywhere you looked in motor racing, the blue oval was to the fore. In late May, a Ford-powered car had won the Indianapolis for the third year in a row, and, in mid June, Ford again defeated Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In between these two feats, the Ford-badged Cosworth DFV had won on debut in the Netherlands. Cortinas were invariably the thing to have in rallying, while the Falcon Sprint was still winning in the British Touring Car Championship. And, if all that wasn’t enough, Ford gave its name to a new category of racing at the bottom end of the ladder. Openwheeler categories have a limited life — Formula 5000 was invented in America in 1968, and, by the end of 1976, it had been ditched; the much-loved Formula Junior category arrived in 1958 and forked off into Formulas 2 and 3 at the end of 1963; and, while Formula 1 (F1) has been around since 1947, it has taken many and varied turns over these past seven decades.
Entry level Formula Ford, however, has stayed remarkably consistent since the first-ever race on July 2, 1967, at Brands Hatch in south-east England in the county of Kent — appropriately, Ford’s code name for the engine chosen for this new entry level of motor sport. The success of the category lay in its simplicity — combine a mildly tuned production engine with a space-frame chassis, mini-F1-lookalike body and road tyres, and you had a category that, all of a sudden, introduced open-wheeler racing to a whole new group of potential participants.
New Zealand’s ‘Mr Formula Ford’ behind the Swift in which he won his second title and in front of a painting of his 1978/’79 title-winning Titan MkIX
Formula Ford has played a major part in producing top racing drivers since Emerson Fittipaldi went from Formula Ford to F1 Grand Prix winner in the space of what seemed at the time to be a matter of months. He heads the following impressive list of world champions, IndyCar champions, and Indy 500 winners, who all cut their teeth in Formula Ford — names like world champions James Hunt, Jody Scheckter, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, Mika Häkkinen, and Jenson Button — and then there’s our own Scott Dixon, three-time Indy Racing League (IRL) champion and winner of the 2008 Indianapolis 500.
Kiwi drivers Countless New Zealand drivers used Formula Ford to advance their careers, including Craig Baird, Dave McMillan, Steve Millen, David Oxton, Greg Murphy, Brett Riley, Mike Thackwell, Shane Van Gisbergen, Fabian Coulthard, Jonny Reid, Mitch Evans, and Richie themotorhood.com | New Zealand Classic Car
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KITS AND PIECES
Words and photos: Patrick Harlow
RS60 ON THE TO DO LIST
THERE’S NOTHING QUITE LIKE BUILDING Y O U R O W N C A R F R O M S C R AT C H , E S P E C I A L LY WH EN YOU KNOW A LMOST NOTH I NG A BOUT CAR CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN WITH …
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MOTORMAN
Words: Donn Anderson Photos: Donn Anderson, Adam Croy
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