M U R P H A N D B A I R D O S H A R E T H E I R W I N N I N G WAYS NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR SEPTEMBER 2020 ISSUE 357
SHELBY COBRA 427 • MERCEDES 220 S • MERCEDES 170 DS • CORTINA GT ESTATE • DFF 240R
Shelby Cobra 427 THE REAL DEAL
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Mk 2 Cortina GT … A N D I T ' S A N E S TAT E
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MERCEDES 220 S
AVOIDING SPOILING
VAUXHALL RECALLED
THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE NOT SO BAD
RO N TAU R A N AC: TH E WO RLD’ S ‘ M OST S I G N I F I CA NT’ R AC I N G CA R E N G I N E E R
IN THIS ISSUE
#357
September 2020
FEATURES 4 Shelby Cobra 427 O F T E N I M I TAT E D
2
14
Mercedes 220 S
24
Mercedes 170 DS
28
Cortina GT Estate
38
Vauxhall memories
50
The ‘Mad’ Modeller
G R O W I N G O L D G R A C E F U L LY
N O T Y O U R U S U A L TA X I
N E A R LY O N E I N A M I L L I O N
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
D E D I C AT E D C R A F T S M A N
NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR
28
24
64 COLUMNS
64 KITS AND PIECES A Kiwi-Chinese collaboration
38 REGULARS
49 SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 82 BEHIND THE GARAGE DOOR
70 MOTORMAN Classics in fine form
84 READERS’ WRITES
76 MOTORSPORT FLASHBACK Brabham’s better half
96 NATIONAL EVENTS
86 PRICE ON ... Alternative fuels
88 CLASSIC GARAGE 100 NOTICEBOARD / EVENTS DIARY 102 LOCAL SPECIALISTS 104 DAILY DRIVER AND NEXT MONTH
90 STAR INSURANCE MARKETPLACE Cortinas for all
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ISSUE 357 / SEPTEMBER 2020
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Feature: 1956 Mercedes 220 S
WELL-PRESERVED
PONTON
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NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR
The Mercedes 220 S is an unflashy example of just what makes the marque so special, and marked the transition from imperious carriages to the brand’s modern cars By Ian Parkes, photography Stephen Perry
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T
he lines of the 1956 Mercedes 220 S are deeply satisfying. From behind the large steering wheel the bonnet is more aggressively curved than it looks from the outside. It creates definite channels between the wings and leads the eye to the iconic three-pointed star emblem mounted atop the radiator. Owner Harindra ‘Harry’ Pilapitiya says that this was all quite deliberate. Not to put too fine a point on it, Mercedes designers thought it helpful for drivers to have a gunsight to aim through when piloting their cars.
LIKE A PONTOON From the outside, the front of the car has a friendly, unthreatening face, and the lines flow harmoniously to a neatly rounded and tucked-in tail. The modest tail lights are no more than what was considered necessary at the time. The slightly longer lines, subtly accented by chrome trim, all flow together and work just a bit better in this W180 than in the previous, shorter, four-cylinder model, the W120. To create the W180, that body was made longer in the front
ISSUE 357 / SEPTEMBER 2020
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Feature: Cortina GT Estate
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NEWÂ ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR
A TRADESMAN’S THE CORTINA ESTATE GT ESTATE Whether it was learning to drive, taking a test, a road trip, a traffic ticket, or a first motor sport outing, most readers of this magazine will surely have shared a motoring memory with a Cortina By Terry Cobham, photography Strong Style Photo
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ISSUE 357 / SEPTEMBER 2020
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Feature: Vauxhall’s in New Zealand
Vauxhall of fame A ramble through Vauxhall’s heyday, its legacy racing, and personal highlights in New Zealand By Gerard Richards
A TRIUMPH OF AMBITION I was sitting in my cave the other day when my gaze fell on a two-page advert I’d rescued from English performance car mag Cars and Car Conversions, now long gone, from 1972. I’d mounted this advert onto a board, as the image was very alluring for several reasons. It
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NEW ZEALAND CLASSIC CAR
was pitched in the vein of the American pony car adverts, using Dayglo-style colours, specifically touting performance racing connotations. I’d never seen English saloon car manufacturers use this type of lush artwork to sell their wares before. The image included a pit scene, a Ferrari prototype, while the hero of the piece was ... the
1972 Vauxhall Firenza SL Sport! Really? A Vauxhall? Unfortunately, we didn’t see any, or almost none of the Firenza-style coupés in New Zealand, and only a few Viva GTs landed here so, unlike the Cortinas with their crossflow heads that lent themselves so readily to bigger carbs and exhausts, Vauxhalls never really acquired a sporting reputation.
ANGLO-AMERICANA The flavour of post-war Vauxhall products was undoubtedly determined by the desperate need of Britain to export to offset the debt incurred during World War II. The industrial slogan at the time in Britain stated baldly: ‘Export or Die’.
While Britain endured austerity, the top-end models — like the Cresta and Velox — were larded with chrome Over the pond, US confidence and its cars expanded with its highway network, so Vauxhall with its General Motors (GM) owners, themselves front runners in auto excess, played a significant role in Vauxhall’s styling cues. While Britain endured austerity, the top-end models — like Top: Vauxhall Cresta outside stationer’s shop, Mairangi Bay Auckland early ’60s (photo: Max Patterson Collection) Above: Mid-1950s Vauxhall Velox, Morningside, Auckland 2007
Restored Vauxhall mid-’50s Vauxhall in New Plymouth’s main street, 2008
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Cresta
the Cresta and Velox — were larded with chrome and ornate stuff. As most of our cars in New Zealand came from the UK, these cars and the lower spec offerings like the Wyvern were a common sight on our streets throughout the 1950s and ’60s, and they were still doing sterling duty when I was becoming auto focused from around 1965. The Americana styling influence peaked with the first Victor, the F Type, which looked like a mini ’57 Chevrolet. The later PA Velox and Cresta in 1958 was a better balanced design. Although still a bit fussy and flamboyant in its two-tone colours and bright US-themed interior, surviving examples of the PA model still look elegant and fundamentally usable. ISSUE 357 / SEPTEMBER 2020
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Feature: ‘The mad modeller’
The new storeroom and a treasured display
Models to treasure
One of the joys of classic car enthusiasm is the availability of scale-model replicas of favourite cars, especially if that model also features details you have added that are unique to your car By Quinton Taylor; photography Quinton Taylor, Gary Petersen, and Graham Rollo
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G
ary Petersen has a hobby that has taken him to all corners of our car culture and it all began quite by chance. This Invercargill scale modeller has an eye for detail that helped him develop a solid reputation for making high-quality intricate models of full-size cars for their owners throughout the country. If only a good eye were enough; having one also means that he has to find or make the flourishes the car’s owner has added to the original, to both Gary’s and the owner’s satisfaction. Gary readily describes himself as ‘The Mad Modeller’ and admits that his dedication to making the best possible model is an obsession. They are toys to some but from hot rods to classics, these models are significant to their owners and their families and they go a long way towards being works of art. “Some people come back as regulars, and I’ve made some really good
friends, people I would never have met if I hadn’t got into modelling hot rods. Craig Stare from Christchurch [Muscle Car Madness and long–time hot-rodder] and Graham Rollo from Dunedin for example. ‘I’ve done three models for Graham — a ’30 Model A coupé, a ’39 Tudor, and a ’59 Chrysler Imperial — and I always set up a display at Muscle Car Madness in Rangiora,” Gary explains.
HUNDREDS OF HOURS Gary’s models can regularly take more than 100 hours to complete, including the research required to find or manufacture specific items peculiar to the model being constructed. Painting the models also takes hours of patience and skill. The longest a model has taken him was 160 hours. Most are mounted on a plinth and encased in a clear display case
Gary’s Chevrolet Camino makes a good work wagon
to protect and retain any parts should any of the more delicate items be dislodged. It doesn’t stop there. Gary often makes a copy of each one for his own collection. He probably has more hot rods, modified, and custom classic cars; trucks; and motorcycles under one roof than anyone else in the country, and his collection just keeps growing. “I was about 12 or 13 years of age, I think, when I started with models,” Gary recalls. “I spent a bit of time at my grandparents’ place in the school holidays and one day I found a box of old model parts my uncle had been playing with years before. Some of the models used to belong to my dad. They were stuck in the bottom of a wardrobe and had been left there. As kids of that age do, I dragged it out to have a bit of play round with them. It sort of all took off from there.”
“I’ve made some really good friends, people I would never have met if I hadn’t got into modelling hot rods”
Finely detailed 1996 Lincoln model for Dunedin collector Mark Cameron
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ISSUE 357 / SEPTEMBER 2020
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THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES IN CORTINA
Kiwis love their Cortinas and, for buyers who can no longer reach the heady market heights commanded by the iconic Mark 1, even the later models are edging upwards in value — if you can find a good one By Ben Selby
T
he Cortina, spawned on 20 September 1962, was Ford’s answer to growing demand for a mid-sized model to take over from the Anglia-styled Consul and sit under the Zephyr Mk3. In fact, it was originally supposed to be called the ‘Consul 325’. However, Ford suits found inspiration for the new car’s new name in Italian ski resort Cortina d’Ampezzo, adding a welcome touch of glamour and fun to a car for everyone from senior management to the factory floor. In the eyes of Cortina fanatic and member of the Classic Cortina Car Club Blair Sands, it was the right car at the right time for the Blue Oval. “In 1962, Ford just got it right. The Cortina was England’s affordable car for the people,” he says.
Cortina connection
Kiwis lapped up the Cortina like you wouldn’t believe, providing a strong and enduring base for its appeal as a classic. Whether a two-door, a four-door, or an estate, chances are you have known someone who commuted to and from the office in a Mk2 Super, who souped one up, or who worked hard enough to purchase a Lotus Cortina. “For us growing up in the late ’60s to early ’70s, the Cortina was an affordable car, which, with a small
amount of money, we could push out the performance of to achieve 100mph, the goal of most of us young guys then,” says Cortina fan Dave Watson. Today, the Cortina, particularly the Mk2, is transitioning from an affordable classic to a blue-chip investment. “Mk1 four-doors, whether a Super or a GT, are likely to fetch around the $30K mark these days. If you want an immaculate two-door, you are looking at between $50K and $60K and, if it’s a genuine Lotus Cortina, it’s going to be $100K plus. Even some Lotus replicas are changing hands for that much,” says
Ford suits found inspiration for the new car’s new name in Italian ski resort Cortina d’Ampezzo Calvyn Snelgar, president of the Classic Cortina Car Club in Christchurch. Mk2s are more down to earth in terms of price, with your average fourdoor changing hands for $25K to $30K. One of the most sought-after Mk2s has to be the 1600E, thanks to its loaded
factory-options list and Lotus-tuned suspension. However, according to John Dorking from the Classic Cortina Car Club, it has a low profile here, as the locally produced GTE took its place in our market. “The 1600E is not well known in New Zealand for what it is, so getting hold of one of these would be a wise investment for the future,” says John.
Later versions
Mk3 Cortinas, whether a 2000E or a GXL, tend to fetch the same prices as Mk2s. However, the Mk3 and the often overlooked Mk4s and Mk5s, while relatively underappreciated for some time, are at last having their time in the spotlight. A tidy Mk4 or the Mk5 came out with just enough panel tweaking to be more than a facelift can be the most affordable way for most into classic Cortina ownership. “If you can afford to spend the money on an Mk1 GT, for example, has it appreciated to a point where the growth is stagnating to a degree? One option is to look at the cost of a Mk3, where the purchase price may be less but the ability to increase in value is greater,” says Dave Watson. “At the moment, a nice Mk5 2.3 Ghia can be purchased under $10K. The same can be said for Mk4s.
We know best how to insure classic cars
Again, I think the Mk3 is an underrated generation, but they seem to be growing in interest,” he adds. The biggest issue now with buying a classic Cortina is finding one. Once they were a dime a dozen; now, cars on the middle ground between wrecks or cherished restorations are very thin on the ground. A quick trip through the classifieds reveals mostly shells or examples that need a substantial amount of work. If you are keen on putting a Cortina in your drive, get involved with clubs like the Classic Cortina Car Club, for members will be the best source of good examples.
The biggest issue now with buying a classic Cortina is finding one What to look for
Well, according to Blair, Calvin, and Dave, in a word, rust. “It’s English, so no matter how long it’s been here, check the wheel arches, sills, and the pillars for rust,” they say. Another grey area is the subject of originality. Some examples have been subjected to an engine swap or have been made to look like more desirable models. “If interested in any model, do your homework. Ask yourself, is the registration on hold? Is it an original GT or has it been rebadged? It’s also good to speak to owners of the model you are interested in and find out what they have had to rectify. None of these things are showstoppers, but they can help or determine the price or value,” says Blair. There is no sign that the Ford Cortina’s iconic status is diminishing. “As long as owners get out into the masses with their Cortinas, let everyone see them, and new younger owners keep buying them, the Cortina brand will stay popular and hold or increase its value,” says Calvyn. The Kiwi love affair with the Ford Cortina runs deep, so investment in this motoring icon is certainly a safe bet.
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