WEIGHT DIVISION —

SMALL CAR PLUS BIG POWER — YOU DO THE MATHS! IT’S A PHILOSOPHY THAT APPLIES TO THIS RADICAL CHEV MONZA THAT IS PUNCHING WELL ABOVE ITS WEIGHT

SMALL CAR, BIG POWER

With the number of cars that we’re given the opportunity to feature — most of which your average Kiwi petrolhead would give a left nut or breast (hey, it’s 2018) to own — we also get the occasionally unenviable task of sorting through the mounds of paperwork comprising the stories and specs behind each vehicle. And, every once in a while, there’ll be one that stands out above the rest. In the case of Michael Wallace’s track-attacking Chev Monza, it isn’t so much because of the car’s meticulous and excessive standard of build but its background — the ‘why’ rather than the ‘what’. “Dad and myself have been involved in motorsport all our life — motorbikes, karting, and car racing,” he reveals. And the family racing background goes a lot deeper than that too, as Michael explains: “The family on Mum’s side has been involved since the 1940s, with Mum’s dad, Ian Kelly, racing cars but unfortunately passing away at a young age.”

Her stepdad, Rob Thomson, was just as passionate about racing, later supporting his sons Kevin, Brian, and Bernard with their racing careers, along with many others. “Rob also supported Dad in building karts, which we all raced with a lot of success throughout New Zealand,” he says. And, in the years bridging then and now, his dad has also built a Trans Am Light, a car for NZV8s, and now one for Enzed Central Muscle Cars (CMC) for him to race. Pretty lucky guy, right? But when it comes to motor racing, luck is only part of the equation. As they say, ‘to finish first, first you must finish’, and the Wallace family know the value of a quality build all too well. As such, the list of who would be trusted to build the latest addition to the fleet was not an extensive one, with pretty much only one name making the cut: AV8 Motorsport, run by Wayne Anderson and his son, Tony. The fact that the Andersons were on the wrong island, at the wrong end of the country, didn’t even matter. “Both Dad and myself have a great relationship with Wayne and Tony, and it has been a lot of fun and laughs building the car,” Michael says. “Dad and Mum spent most of their time in Auckland at Wayne’s place building the car over the past two years.” The extent of its race engineering should be obvious, and Michael mentions that it was a difficult car to build, having been one of the first in the series that differed greatly from the Camaros, Mustangs, Falcons, and Commodores that comprise the bulk of the CMC field. However, having the AV8 Motorsport team on board — who had built a very similar Monza for

Wayne to race, as featured in NZV8 Issue No. 137 — ensured that not a single dollar or hour would be wasted. But it is far from a copy-and-paste replica. As Michael and his dad have a great relationship with Wayne Anderson, harking back to the NZV8s racing days, the old fella — who, impressively, is nearly 80 years old — was given pretty much free rein to build the Monza at AV8, with guidance from the Andersons. How many race car builders can you think of who’d give you permission to use their workshop and equipment to build a car like this, as well as offering plenty of assistance with it? “Dad pretty much built most of the car, except the engine,” Michael says. “And Wayne has so much knowledge of how to set a car up — he couldn’t have done it without him; it would have been so much more difficult.” The cornerstone of the build is a weapons-grade power plant built by Hendrick Motorsports in the US. The Nascar-spec 410ci SB2 makes

The cornerstone of the build is a weaponsgrade power plant built by Hendrick Motorsports in the US

around 800hp and will easily rev to well over the CMC series’ displacement-mandated 8000rpm maximum, so the dry-sump oiling system was added for extra high-rpm insurance. Similarly, there would be no gambling on a second-hand transmission, with a brand-spanking Andrews 431 four-speed dogbox unequivocally suggested as the only gearbox of choice … so that’s what you’ll find in there. But, while the engine and gearbox arrived at the AV8 Motorsport workshop nicely packaged and ready to drop in, the rear end required significantly more work to get right. Yeah, it’s a Ford nine-inch diff on paper, but that’s about where any likenesses end. Its housing has been subject to extensive re-engineering to work with the stock Monza rear suspension mounts — as per CMC rules — while functioning on a custom three-link with adjustable roll centre. It’s the same up front, with more lengths of tubing having been transformed into custom A-arms, all operating through Penske coilover shocks and Eibach springs. And the scaffolding doesn’t end underneath, either, with the Monza’s body seam welded from front to rear and stitched together with a chromoly roll cage that would perplex your

high-school trigonometry teacher. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that it was crafted by Michael’s dad before being welded together by Tony Anderson. For a dedicated race vehicle, it’s far more sumptuously appointed than anything Michael would have had the privilege of racing as a younger man, but everything has its purpose. If it won’t aid his lap times in some way, shape, or form, you will not find it here. As you can tell by the Kiwi-made Racetech race seats, and full swag of Auto Meter carbon-fibre gauges, that strict, minimalist regime has not got in the way of style or taste. Obviously, from the outside, things have followed a similar path — similar, but certainly not the same. While it’s 100 per cent race car, the Monza Mirage widebody kit is a striking concession to form, almost taking precedent over function — ‘almost’ because the added aero is sure to prove beneficial in a vehicle like this, but any functional advantage is clearly overshadowed by its aggressively retro styling. We’d love to see that sort of treatment on a more sedate road-going version, but, as this is a racer, Signbiz finished it off as one — the custom livery is designed in a retro style, and the number ‘151’ is a nod to Michael’s dad’s old race number. It obviously also showcases the Wallace family’s many sponsors on a vehicle that is well equipped — both mechanically, and driver-wise — to see the podium in the not-too-distant future. And, if it doesn’t, it’s sure to sit at the top of the list as one of the series’ most recognizable cars. As Michael puts it, having placed well within the top 10 in the first two race meetings that he’s competed in: “I’m really excited just knowing that it’s still not perfectly set up. Every change that Wayne’s made to it, it feels like a whole new car, and there’s a lot more left in it.” Punching above its weight? We’ll have to let future Enzed CMC seasons do the talking.