WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

When cars are featured in magazines, be it NZV8 or any other, the articles are only ever a snapshot of the current time and a record of what’s already happened. Once the article has been printed, the cars often evolve, devolve or move on. Some go on to become bigger and better, some disappear never to be seen again, while others remain unchanged for years to come. We decided that celebrating clocking over 200 issues was a decent reason to find out where some of our previous featuree cars are now, what the owners have been up to since, and, in some cases, what’s about to happen next.

ISSUE #2

1973 PLYMOUTH CUDA

Perhaps one of the most lusted after cars ever to be built in New Zealand, the ’73 Cuda belonging to Wayne Grimmer set the benchmark for street cars back when NZV8 first hit the shelves. The car was legendary for its 604ci Hemi built by Ray Barton — an engine that pushed the car into the nine-second zone.

After our article on the car, Wayne developed it further by having Terry Bowden enlarge the rear wheel tubs to allow the car to change from 12-inch wheels to 14-inch wheels. The motor was replaced with an aluminium-blocked Ray Barton Hemi, once again displacing 604ci. After a few years, Wayne gave in to fellow E-body lover Rob McBride, who had wanted to purchase the car for many years. Rob kept the car, almost untouched, until around two and a half years ago, when Wayne was lucky enough to pry it back off him. Since then Wayne has added a Hydratech brake booster, a dry sump oiling system for added ground clearance, and an improved cooling system. He’s now regularly street driving the car — something he regrets not doing enough of before selling it originally.

The ’73 is ready to race again, too, with Wayne planning on bringing it out for the Petrolhead Father’s Day Drags, whenever that ends up being held next.

With this car having been away from the strip for so long many people have probably never seen it before, but we know they’ll fall in love with it, just as the rest of us did all those years ago when it debuted.

ISSUE #15

1972 HOLDEN MONARO

Aaron Jenkins’ HQ Monaro was one of the iconic cars of the annual Father’s Day Drags, running a best of 9.8 seconds thanks to a nitrous-injected tunnel rammed big block engine.

Many people were surprised when Aaron put the Monaro up for sale eight years ago, but when he reappeared with his twin turbo Torana [as seen on the cover of issue 144], it all made sense. Like the Monaro, the Torana set the standard for tough Aussie street cars for the time, and it still holds the title of fourth