DREAM SHED

— BIGGER THAN TEXAS

New Zealand is home to some amazing collections of vehicles, and, like many of you, we’ve come to expect that they can be just about anywhere — it might be the middle of suburbia, or that seemingly abandoned barn on some lonely provincial stretch; you don’t know unless you know. Some, on the other hand, are well-known secrets, such as the Ross brothers’ — Mike, Tony, Tim, and Simon — Cambridge-based set-up, for example. It’s based at the family’s C&R Developments earthmoving yard and would have to be quite possibly the most impressive shed that we’ve ever set foot in. “We’ve been collecting cars for 30-odd years,” Tim explains. “Occasionally, we’d pick up the odd one we wanted, and we ended up storing them at what I call ex-mates’ garages!” he laughs. There was always an intention to build a new shed, but the brothers’ big earthmoving business ensured that time and energy were always diverted elsewhere. “We’d talked about it for years and never had time or money. Then, one day we all just thought, bugger it! We made it happen, because, if we didn’t make time, we’d eventually run out,” Simon adds. “All the cars had been spread all over the place in old sheds and the like, so the collection was well and truly built up over time.” The massive new shed — which is more akin to a hangar — is split into two halves, one for the cars and the other for the heavy machinery. While we know you’re reading about this in a car magazine, believe us when we say that the machinery side is possibly more impressive! “A lot of the car guys we get visiting the place are just blown away,” Tim confirms. “You just don’t see that sort of stuff every day.” Before you even set foot through the front door, though, you’ll be drawn to the unnerving sight of a huge black Peterbilt erupting through the front wall. It’s the same model as featured in the movie Duel and came about through a lucky chance more than anything.

the brothers do not discriminate on the basis of badge, regarding anything they consider cool to be worthy

“We wanted something bursting out of the wall, but it didn’t have to be the Peterbilt,” Simon explains. “Our good friend Don Jones, from Jonesy’s Garage, donated it, and a couple of the boys hung it up over a weekend. The guy from Tirau who does all the corrugated iron did the flaring to make it look like it was bursting through the wall.” Inside, things are nowhere near as crazy, but every bit as awe-inspiring. The retro diner was a unanimous must-have — the brothers always wanted the old ’50s look, and it’s so well done that plenty of visitors expect it to be fully functional. As the brothers point out, though, it’s more just a cool place to hang out. “Unless Dale Gerrand and his hairy mates come around — they always make sure to leave the fridge empty!” the brothers laugh. A mate, Chris Jacobson, took on the job of crafting the diner. The Ross brothers just worked out a design and Chris got to work, hitting the nail on the head as far as the end result goes. The boys are also grateful to Mike Morse, who works for them as a painter and spent plenty of time prepping and painting everything to make it look as good as it does.

The Cars

The car side of the display was started around two-and-a-half years ago, and, while initially it was just meant to house the brothers’ various cars, they soon found that a lot of the boys who work at C&R Developments and friends from around the place also wanted to be a part of it. As a result, it’s actually more of a museum now, with about half of the exhibits being from the Ross family, and the other half having been loaned for display. The brothers don’t have favourites among the collection; they just like the 1960s and ’70s muscle car era they grew up with, which is represented by the majority of exhibits. That said, some are more special than others — case in point, their father’s Aston Martin DBS V8. He passed away in a car accident in 1981, but they managed to hang on to the car. It was parked up for years, rebuilt at work, and finished around 12 years ago. Another mate, Paul McMillan, came in and worked on it, and Dale ‘Daigo’ Gerrand’s team from Cambridge Panelworks did an amazing job on the aluminium panels and paintwork. The Z28 Camaro is a pretty special example too, powered by a 302ci small block and fourspeed, and was brought in from the States out of Indianapolis. It’s kept company by a rare Z28 pool table that was picked up a few months ago. Now, you can’t have a ’60–’70s garage without a Corvette, right? Well, the brothers have got a big block 454ci 1971 one of those. It wasn’t just purchased just for the hell of it; Simon has owned it since the late 1980s — “When I was a young fella!” is how he puts it. It’s very clear that the brothers do not discriminate on the basis of badge, either, regarding anything they consider cool to be worthy of display. As such, Blue Oval fans will find themselves well catered for. Regular readers should recognize the 1964 Fairlane Thunderbolt — a very detailed replica built by Steve Keys and featured on the cover of NZV8 Issue No. 124. When Steve listed it for sale, there was no way that it wasn’t going to join the fray! The ’68 Torino’s previous owner had started building it to race, as a sort of street and circuit car, but he ran out of time and energy. The Ross brothers picked up where he left off and finished it. Granted, it was 90 per cent done, but now it’s a clean 100. Perhaps the most special Ford in attendance, though, is actually an Australian. The XY Falcon is a genuine GT, running a 351W and four-speed. The brothers had known about it for a while and were recently given the opportunity to own it. It was parked up in storage at David Mills’, out in Pukekohe. They told him that if the owner ever wanted to sell it, they’d be keen. One day, he got in touch, and the now XY holds its own special place in this special shed.

That XY GT isn’t the only rare Aussie here — the HK Monaro is a genuine Bathurst edition powered by a 350ci small block. Then there’s the VL Walkinshaw, build number 241, which, aside from the big-diameter Simmons wheels, is all original. There’s also an AC Cobra kit car — of course! — “We’d been looking for one and there just happened to be one for sale down the road in Cambridge. We had a look and it was all right,” Mike says — so we’re sure that you can put the rest of the picture together. As for Mopars, there’s some real candy. The RT Challenger was once owned by serial car buyer Mark Barton. Mark built it up, but the boys bought it off Dolph Rasmussen out of Paeroa. However, we’re sure you’ll agree that it pales in comparison to the extreme Challenger race car, styled off the infamous Vanishing Point hero car. You’ll have seen it on the cover of our last issue, No. 166, but, if you’re after a quick summary: 358ci Nascar motor, aftermarket everything, custom-fabricated everything by Mitchell Race Xtreme (MRX), built to compete in Central Muscle Cars (CMC), although it hasn’t had the chance to race just yet. Challenger aside, most of the cars in the collection retain a rego and WOF to ensure that they can be driven whenever anyone feels like it.

The Big Stuff

The machinery side, which mainly comprises equipment that was already lying around, was finished just before Christmas 2017. As soon as you walk through the door dividing the two halves, you’ll realize that you’re standing inside a gigantic bucket, acquired from the Rotowaro opencast mine in Huntly, and originally from a 400-tonne Komatsu PC4000 excavator. However, the size of what you’re standing in is immediately put to shame by the unit taking pride of place in the centre of the room. “It’s a Komatsu 575 Super Dozer,” Tony proudly explains. “It’s more or less the biggest dozer you can buy. You’ve got to order one, as Komatsu does not carry them in stock. There were only 42 ever made, and it’s still usable, but decommissioned. When it was working, it was based down in the Stockton mine for the Kaipara Group on the West Coast.” In the corner is a brilliant recreation of an old mechanic’s workshop — a novel idea thought up because, even though the guys all had hordes of cool old shit, people would just walk right by it if it was put on display. By creating an authentic

environment, the brothers draw you in; it works — the display looks, smells, and feels as if you’ve stepped back in time. Parked outside is nothing less than the world’s largest motor scraper — a Cat 660, brought from North Queensland after the contractor had finished with it. It’s from the late ’60s or early ’70s, which fits perfectly with the brothers’ time frame of interest, but, due to its length of about 21m, they can’t quite fit it inside. While most of this stuff would be the height of interest to most visitors, what the brothers get really excited about is a bulldozer. Naturally, it’s a bit special. Imported out of Sharon Springs just outside of New York is their the 1958 Euclid TC-12, which is effectively two Euclid C-6 bulldozers that have been split down the middle and joined into one, with each engine driving the track on its side. “That was how they made more power back in those days,” Tim says. “The C-6 was powered by a 6-71 two-stroke Detroit; the TC-12 was powered by two. We used to run them in the 1970s, and all the ones in New Zealand got wrecked or scrapped, but we always wanted to track one down.” Then there’s a bunch of smaller dozers from the ’40s and ’50s, and some dump trucks and machinery from the 1970s, when the brothers were working out of Twizel in the upper Waitaki. “We were there for 10 years in the 1970s, known as Baker Construction then, mainly doing the earthmoving forming the canals,” Mike tells us. “There’s a bunch of machinery we bought new for that project that we’ve managed to track down and are keeping here. We’re slowly restoring everything one by one,” we’re told. “There’s a lot of guys who used to work for our father, and for us later on, who have returned and are happy to come in and potter around working on stuff.” Among the stuff that’s been tracked down is a 1959 International Payhauler 95 — one of their father’s first trucks. It was traced to the bottom of the South Island and has now been stripped back for a full restoration to original. The aim is to have the International restored by Easter, when there is a big earthmoving display at Wanaka. The Ross boys are hoping to take the International and the TC-12 along. There’s no rest for the wicked, but the shed’s now got to a stage at which it’s on the back-burner — the boys are all too busy doing what they’re meant to be doing. “Looking at bookings, there’s not many gaps,” says Mike. “It’s a good deal for the car clubs, as they enjoy coming for a Saturday — and we try to keep it just to Saturday. As the wives all say, ‘If we spend any more time in the shed, we may as well shift our beds there!’”