Renegades SPCA Run (and Janines Birthday)

The Renegades put on a good run and its for a great cause. Based in the picturesque grounds of the Auckland SPCA the Rods are parked for general viewing by members and the public.

The focus of the day is to raise funds for the SPCA which is in turn used to buy food for the various animals that find their way to the SPCA throughout the year.

This day can often raise about $20,000 for the SPCA.



A drawcard for the day is the appearance of some of the stars from the TV series Outrageous Fortune. We grabbed a few of them for a chance of photo with us and our car.




Early afternoon there is an auction of donated goods. They usually auction off some very good stuff like spa pools and kayaks. There are certainly some very generous businesses out there.

Afterwards there is plenty of time to wander around the array of vehicles on display.






During the day, some volunteer to offer rides in their rods for a Gold Coin donation. All the funds go to SPCA of course.


As a reminder of what its all about, volunteers wander the grounds with some of the Animal shelter guests. You also get a chance to do a tour of the shelter facilities and even to adopt a pet if you wish.

North Shore Rod and Custom Club Shed Raid

Terry's work is well regarded. You pay for it but you are guaranteed of a good job. This is Geoff Sadlers cahssis for his street legal drag car that will run a 32 Ford 5 window coupe body


Just look at these welds. Bloody near art!


A few of the members have pooled together in a good sized shed out Diary Flat/Silverdale way.


Keith Golders Roadster is well under way.



Chhris Piaggi's workshop is an absolute treasure trove. Everywhere you look there is so much stuff stored away. Its just like being a kid in a candy store again.






G&R have alsorts on the go.





Roger & Ange Dukes 28 Chev Sedan

Latest Pics

Rocker Cover Racing

I went to the Renegades Burger Fuel run last night. You go along in your car and grab a burger, have a bit of a yarn and then enter into the Tappet Cover Racing if you've bothered to build one. I have seen the racing before so knew what to expect but this was the first time I have had a Rocker to enter.

The idea is you build a Rocker Cover that has the least amount of friction and is the first to get down the ramp and across the line. Keeping the friction down on the wheels and bearings is a key part of it, but you also need something that will run straight as hitting the sides of the ramp really slows you down.

Mine ran fairly straight all night and I was generally pretty happy with it. I managed to win all my heats and got through to the "knock out" round where I came up against a black and a white Rocker Cover that were very well built and had obviously had a lot of time and engineering put into them. I was a bit embarrassed about the look of mine really and I was concerned at going up against them as they were clearly very fast.

That said I managed to knock the black one out in the first semi final, this had the crowd cheering for their favourite brand as the black and the white ones are Chev Rocker covers where as mine is Big Block Ford.

Next I was up against the white one. It was a best out of 3 with runs made in alternate lanes i.e. you had to have a go on the left and on the right.

As luck would have it I won race one and two so there was no need for the third. I came away with the much coveted trophy, a leg of lamb, $20 Burger Fuel Voucher and a $40 Bar Tab. Pretty happy with that. Oh and yeah the trophy is a bit of a piss take, its more about the bragging rights I think.

It was certainly nice to beat the professionally made Rockers, I think they might have been a bit pissed off!

Bellagio Breakfast

It was an absolutely cracker weekend weather wise in Auckland this weekend and I had done a bit of an e-mail round to see if anyone was interested in cruising down to the Bellagio Breakfast at Manukau City on Sunday.

It turned out quite a few had other things planned as it was Fathers Day and the Annual Fathers Day Drags were on also.

A few of us still got together though and upon arrival we found the weather had brought a heap of cars out with plenty to see. As is usual we bumped into a number of others we knew and stopped for a few chats interspersed with checking out the cars.

After that we came back to the North Shore and had brunch. What a great way to spend the day. For me its a day out like this with friends, cruising in the Coupe and enjoying great weather, that makes all the toil in the shed worthwhile.

Re-doing Inlet Manifold Gasket

I took the top off the engine to repair a leaking inlet manifold gasket. I needed to drain the radiator water and refill it with anti freeze as I hadn't done that since getting the car going, so thought while its drained I might as well repair the gasket too.

I took the opportunity to add a phenolic spacer (that's the black block under the carb) as this means I can now add the bigger air cleaner. It wouldn't fit before as it would hit the distributor.

I also back wired some of the wiring. Moved the electric fan switch to the front of the engine. Replaced the joiners in the heater hoses under the dash as they were nylon and had deformed in the heat. I have now fitted brass ones.