Motorama revs up for another show
One of the Waikato’s biggest auto shows will show off hundreds of classic cars. Morrinsville’s Yankee Haulers Hot Rod Club is staging its eighth annual Motorama on the weekend of February 8-9.
Club president Todd Sherburd said the event has been a continued success story for hot rod and classic cars, getting bigger and better.
A motor show was originally hosted in Morrinsville for a number of years by the Austin Healey Club.
‘‘This event was held on the same site and attracted a small number of exhibitors,’’ Mr Sherburd said.
Yankee Haulers were asked if it would take over the administration and continuation of the event.
A committee was formed and the name changed to Motorama.
With little known about hosting a car show, Mr Sherburd said the club got into gear and in 2007 held the first Motorama. Staged at the polo grounds, the Motorama has grown from 100 display cars to over 750 cars, bikes and trucks.
Mr Sherburd said public numbers have continued to rise each year as more people put the Motorama on their annual calendar.
‘‘About 5000 people come through the gates,’’ he said.
‘‘The Motorama is a celebration of all types of cars. It is open to anything that is unique, from T buckets to Jaguar xj6, steam cars to 2013 FPV.’’
Activities and attractions over the weekend include a get together and poker run cruise on the Saturday, followed by a lighthearted prizegiving.
The evening programme again includes a drive-in movie at the same venue, with a ‘‘big rig night glow’’ on before the classic trucker film Convoy.
Each year Yankee Haulers add to the programme, with the motor show on the Sunday featuring the inaugural Miss Retro Motorama pageant.
The host club has given a proportion of the profits from the day to local community groups and the Westpac Waikato Air Ambulance.
‘‘This year we expect to give to other local community groups who rely on local funds to keep going,’’ Mr Sherburd said.
Yankee Haulers is made up of about 60 members.
‘‘Most of the cars are from the muscle car era and earlier,’’ he said. Bugatti has launched a belt and it wants about NZ$125,000 for it. The buckle was made by Geneva-based bespoke watch maker Roland Iten and a total of 44 are planned, of which 11 have already been completed. They feature white gold detailing which will differentiate them from the following series of 11 which will use rose gold. Evidently it’s a precision instrument that uses 100 hand-crafted components to help you slip it through the loops of your Levis and make it nice and snug. Jeez.