Powercruise is another one of those car events that helps combat illegal activities on the road. It enables people to go for a hoon with their mates on a safe race track with plenty of runoff and safety marshall's.
The event features many different activities such as the burnout contest. This helps stop people from doing illegal burnouts on the street and is also safe for the crowd and drivers because if something breaks on their car their is less risk of people getting injured. There is also another type of burnout contest called the powerskid competition where the driver must perform the longest straight line burnout without using any form of braking.
The most popular event is the cruise where you can drive your custom car around a race track with your mates and family in the car. The speed is restricted so it is relatively safe to cruise around the track. You can still skid around but just under the restricted speed limit. You can drive around in anything as long as it is safe to drive which means it is more accessible to car enthusiasts who can't afford to go and race.
There is also drag racing at Powercruise and some pretty cool machinery turns up. This ranges from old school classic muscle cars to wound up JDM import cars. Another type of racing held at Powercruise is the off-street races which enable people to race against each other without the pressures of lap times or starting lights.
There is also an awesome car show that is full with custom built show cars and classic cars such as this 1968 Dodge Charger.
Overall, the range of cars and events that are held at Powercruise is so diverse which is great as it makes it more interesting to go to and means that there is something for everyone.
If you would like to participate at Powercruise or wish to find out more about Powercruise, click here.
Stay tuned for more cool daily car stuff. Thanks for reading!!!
Last weekend, we stripped down the front subframe of the Mini so that we could send it to the blasters to remove many years worth of mud and road gunk. This required the engine to be pulled out completely, so here is how we removed the engine. (Sorry for the lack of good photos, we were very busy and only had a cheap phone camera on hand :))
We started off by undoing all the required engine mounting bolts and disconnecting the axles from the engine. This meant the engine was not connected to the subframe any more and we could just lift it out.
The engine was simply hooked up to an engine crane with a strop and lifted out of the subframe. I say simply but having to remove loads of grease and muck that had glued the engine in over the years was not so simple to remove.
Here is the subframe with the engine removed. This had a lot of dirt and old underseal on it but surprisingly little to no rust. It also looks dead straight so we may not have to straighten it after all which will save us some more time.
Stay tuned for more updates on project Whixbox. Thanks for reading!!!
The Saker SV1 is a shining example of the many great cars kiwi's have built over the years. With original styling that is reminiscent of Group C and Le Mans cars of the 80's and 90's, the Saker SV1 is one kit car that looks seriously awesome.
The Saker was first introduced in 1989 by Bruce Turnbull of Turnbull engineering. The SV1 was the first model released and was originally intended to be powered by a range of motors such as the flat four engines on offer from various Subaru models like the WRX. However, people have fitted engines such as the Toyota/Lexus 1UZ-FE V8 for more power and a sound that is reminiscent of a Le Mans car.
The SV1 was sold in kit form and could be built by the customer any way they wanted. This left the options for the interior, engine/drivetrain and bodywork completely up to the builder so no two Saker's are the same.
The SV1 was followed by the SVS GT in 1999 which was a more race oriented variant of the SV1. Alongside the SVS GT was the SVS Sprint which was an open top version of the SVS GT. In 2002, Saker Cars started to be produced in the Netherlands under licence. These cars differed slightly from the New Zealand built ones as they had reworked bodywork but the chassis was still the same and customisation was still limitless.
The new Saker was called the RapX and has a more modern looking and unique front and rear body design that is completely different from the SV1, SVS GT and SVS Sprint. This new Saker is mostly produced with a Subaru flat four which propels this 785 KG supercar to 100 KMH in 3.4 seconds which is staggering for a car with only 275 BHP.
Overall, the Saker has enjoyed a popular following over it's many incarnations and is still popular today in kit car circles. Thanks for reading!!!
As far as import drag racing goes, the R32 GT-R is one hard to beat car. This particular car, built by R.I.P.S racing, is an incredibly quick drag car and sounds absolutely exquisite. I actually had the pleasure of seeing this beast at the Masterton Motorplex a little while ago and it absolutely flew down the strip. Anyway, here is a quick video of the Skyline in motion. Enjoy folks!!!
Stay tuned for more awesome videos and car stuff. Thanks for watching!!!
Now you may think that we at Home Built NZ have a soft spot for Mini's. This is true but it isn't the reason why we have featured two Mini's in the space of two weeks, how could we possibly resist reviewing a Mini that has a mid mounted Suzuki Hayabusa engine? This car is also the current NZ Super Mini Challenge and Open class champion which is not surprising considering how light and powerful it is.
This mental little car is owned and built by Steve Midgley and is easily one of the most mental Mini's I have ever come across. The bodywork is all bespoke and made by Steve himself and looks radical with miglia style flair guards, lightweight holes/vents cut out and a "time attack" front splitter. The stylised headlight covers look awesome and further reinforce the cars "evil" presence on the race track.
The Mini is powered by a chain driven 1300cc Suzuki (sounds familiar...) Hayabusa motor that was extracted from a 2006 Suzuki GSXR1300 and is completely standard apart from a custom radiator and custom headers to an Adrenalin R muffler. The engine makes around 200 BHP and with the car weighing 640 kg means that it is a little rocket and has been clocked at 230 KMH at the old Pukekohe track. The engine is matched to the bike's original transmission and is linked to a Toyota Hilux LSD. Interestingly enough, the wheels are driven by shortened Toyota Caldina GT-T axles and hubs.
The body is reinforced by a full roll cage and has fully independent and adjustable suspension all round. Brakes are Wilwood discs front and rear with 10.5 inch rotors and 4 piston calipers on the front and 8 inch rotors with single piston calipers on the rear.
Inside the car you will find a custom made dashboard with aftermarket gauges, a racing steering wheel and a bucket seat. This is all purpose built and has the race ready look.
The Mini rides on 3 piece revolution wheels that are 13 X 8 on the front and 13 X 10 on the rear. These are shod with Dunlop slicks which help provide enough traction to handle the Hayabusa's 200 BHP. Revolution wheels always look good on British classics like the Mini and Ford Escort as the four spoke design has a period look to it.
Overall, this Mini is a terrific little beast and must be quite a challenge to drive. I would like to thank Steve Midgley for allowing me to review his wicked ride.
If you would like your car featured on our website, please contact us at Homebuiltnz@gmail.com
Thanks for reading!!!
Specifications
Car: 1970 Austin Mini "Minibusa"
Engine: 2006 Suzuki GSXR1300 "Hayabusa"
Gearbox: 6 speed standard Suzuki
Power: 200 BHP
Torque: 138.7 NM (estimated)
Weight: 640 KG
Interior: Custom dashboard, racing steering wheel, bucket seat, aftermarket gauges, full roll cage
Wheels: 3 piece Revolution 4 spoke alloys, 13 X 8 front, 13 X 10 rear
Tyre's: Dunlop slicks all round
Body: Custom Mini body with custom Miglia style flair guards, front splitter, rear diffuser, drilled vents
Chassis: Custom tubular rear end to hold Hayabusa engine, monocoque front
Suspension: Independent all round, fully adjustable
This weeks Trade Me find is a crazy home built rally car. This car is called "Mr Shifta" and is a heavily modified Hillman Hunter. The seller describes it as "one of the nearest cars you'll get to the good old Group B Rally car days."
"Mr Shifta" is powered by a 4.4 litre Rover V8 but was previously equipped with a 3.8 litre version which was dyno'ed at 375 BHP. The engine is said to have "all the good bits" in it and features upgrades such as a dry sump lubrication system and Motec fuel injection. The engine is matched to a NZ built T10 close ratio straight cut gearbox with a 3.5:1 MK 2 Jaguar limited slip differential.
The engine is covered by this awesome looking carbon fibre bonnet that has a huge scoop to allow air into the glorious intake trumpets.
The interior is race ready with what appears to be a partial carbon dashboard with all the essential switch gear and gauges laid out purposefully.
Also present are Racetech seats with full Racetech harnesses and a full roll cage.
There is also a stack of tyre's that may come with the sale which includes dirt and tarmac tyre's.
Overall, we agree that this awesome car is pretty much as close as you can get to a Group B rally car. With Rover V8 power and rear wheel drive it's sure to be a crowd pleaser. This car is for sale in Palmerston North and has a current asking price of $30,000. You can go to the listing by clicking here.
What's your verdict on this cool contraption? leave a comment below or on our Facebook page. Thanks for reading!!!
Burnout contests are the most pointless form of motorsport yet they are incredibly fun to watch. The contests are immensely popular both here and in Aussie and attract thousands of people every year to these events.
The aim of a burnout contest is to make as much noise and tyre smoke as possible until either your engine blows or your tyres blow. The sport originated from a combination of people doing illegal burnouts on the street and drag racing and so people started these legal burnout contests to try and stop offending on the streets and have fun. I can't find any info on when the first burnout contest was held in New Zealand but I think it would have started around the early 1960's due to the increase in popularity of muscle cars.
People enter these events in pretty much anything from cruddy old Commodore's to some pretty expensive machinery such as Chevy Chevelle's or this V8 powered Ford Anglia. Car's are preferred to be rear wheel drive as this is apparently the best way to do burnouts.
With burnouts there is always a risk of things going wrong due to the close proximity of brake and fuel lines to the tyres, there is always a possibility of fire or accidents due to wheelspin.
The Aussie's take burnout contests far more seriously than us and they tend to not stop once their tyre's have burst and car's have caught fire. They also spend many thousands of dollars building their cars specifically for burnouts.
As you can see, New Zealand burnouts are not as serious as Aussie burnouts and are more for fun than competition.
Overall, if you want your car to die in a cloud of tyre smoke then burnout contests are for you. Then again, they are fun to watch :)
Stay tuned for more cool car stuff. Thanks for reading!!!
Carrying on the theme from yesterday, we found some full length videos of the Nissan Mobil 500 on Youtube that we felt was worth sharing. Enjoy folks!!!
Here's some highlights from the 1987 race.
Here's the full 1991 Nissan Mobil 500. My favourite car is the GTR Skyline at the front as it is insanely quick and sounds awesome.
Here's the full 1992 Nissan Mobil 500. This was the last year for the turbo cars due to complaints that the V8's couldn't keep up.
The Nissan Mobil 500 was an awesome race event that was held on the closed streets of Wellington. It started in 1985 and was originally called the Nissan Sport 500. This was later changed to Nissan Mobil 500 after Mobil became a sponsor in 1986.
In 1987, the race became an official round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship and cars like the Schnitzer BMW M3's raced alongside NISMO Nissan Skyline's. The WTCC did not race at Wellington after problems involving F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone charging an exorbitant amount to enter car's in the event.
From 1988 onwards, the Nissan Mobil 500 featured racing series such as Group A and the Australian Touring Car Championship. These races were televised all over the world and even featured onboard camera's inside the car's. The arrival of Group A saw the introduction of beasts like the R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R which decimated pretty much everything. It was no surprise then that the GT-R was banned in 1993 after complaints from teams like Holden that simply could not keep up with the turbocharged GT-R.
Unfortunately in 1996 the street race was cancelled for a number of reasons and despite a revival attempt in 2006, the event has never been held again. Over the course of the race, the layout has changed twice due to safety concerns and developments. I hope that one day they will revive the Nissan Mobil 500.
Is there a cancelled New Zealand race that you want back? Leave a comment below or on our Facebook page. Thanks for reading!!!
Instead of just doing a write up on a historic NZ car, I thought I would combine a car review as well. This car is a very special car and is the current Duncan Mackenzie hill climb champion. The Mallock also holds the record for the fastest time around the Port road street sprint track which is quite a feat.
This car is owned and built by Tim Sillay. There is a bit of a back story behind the construction of this Mallock, it all started off after the 2009 Duncan Mackenzie hill climb series with Tim tied for the series when at the Wallaceville hill climb, Tim went off the hill backwards in fourth gear in his Nissan 240RS. This completely totalled the 240RS and Tim vowed that he would never race again. Six months later after a lengthy period of recovery, Tim decided he would build the Mallock. He bought the plans and components to build the Mallock and embarked on building what is possibly the ultimate Mallock sports car.
The car is powered by a Nissan FJ20 twin cam straight four motor that is normally found in cars such as the DR30 Skyline RS, S110 and S12 Silvia's. This particular engine is putting out 230 BHP and 160 LB/FT which is great considering it is naturally aspirated. The engine breathes through twin side draft carburretors and features a lovely tubular exhaust system. This is backed up to a 4 speed Ford Escort gearbox and diff.
Cooling is taken care of with a large radiator and oil cooler that are mounted by the front diffuser to allow air to pass through them.
The Mallock is made up of a tubular chassis with a lightweight fibreglass body that simply bolts on. The front nosecone and rear wing supports are made out of carbon fibre which adds to the car only weighing 550 KG dry and 637 KG wet. Suspension is double wishbones at the front with a Mumford 4 link rear end with pullrods and rockers.
The wheels are 13 inch 4 spoke alloys that are shod with super sticky Michelin Pilot Super Sport's. The black wheels are a nice contrast to the yellow body. Braking comes from AP Racing 4 pots all round.
Inside the snug fitting cockpit is a small racing steering wheel with an electronic HUD display and a carbon fibre bucket seat with safety harnesses. A roll bar protects the driver from any accidents that may occur.
Tim has been experimenting with the aerodynamics of the car and has got a flat underbody with front and rear diffusers and a wide rear wing.
Overall, this Mallock is one awesome racing car that is perfect for it's intended use as a hillclimb and sprint car. I would like to thank Tim Sillay for allowing me to review "the most winningest" car in the Hutt Valley Motorsport Club.
Thanks for reading!!!
Specifications
Car: Mallock Sports car
Engine: Nissan FJ20 Twin Cam 16 Valve four cylinder
Gearbox: Four speed Ford Escort gearbox and diff
Power: 230 BHP
Torque: 160 LB/FT
Weight: 550 KG dry, 637 KG wet
Interior: Racing steering wheel, electronic dash/speedo, carbon fibre bucket seat with full racing harnesses, roll bars
Wheels: 13 inch four spoke shod with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyre's
Body: Fibreglass with carbon fibre nosecone and rear wing uprights
Chassis: Tubular with flat undertray and front and rear diffusers
Suspension: Double wishbone's front with a Mumford four link rear end
