THE UNDERSTANDING BETTER HALF …
dawned with totally opposite weather, which was perfect for the show and shine. An impressively large number of cars entered the streetkhana, from Bruce Carter’s show-winning Reid-built ’33 Tudor to the street–strip warriors of Bobby Owens and Geoff Sadler in their ’34 and ’32 coupes, respectively. I had considered entering my roadster but then decided that the knockers would love me to break or bend something, so I opted to grab the camera and capture the action instead. Dad’s car has been renowned over the years for putting on a good show at these events, and, as I wandered around looking for a good position to photograph from, it blew me away to hear how many people were waiting to see his car run. In an era when most people seem too scared or not interested enough to beat up on their cars, it was very enjoyable to see these cars being used in this way rather than just being part of a static display. After a few good runs from various cars, Dad was up. A few stabs of the throttle, and the car got up on its tyres instantly; with plumes of smoke either side, it looked good. It sounded great, too, as the blown 401 small block Chev revved hard, breathing through the two-into-one exhaust system. The car stopped, and, regretfully, before it was stopped fully, Dad banged it into reverse — to back into the ‘garage’ on the streetkhana course. The car bunny-hopped backwards and went no more. Damn! That was gonna be real good. As I walked back to the pits, people sighed and offered words of encouragement. No matter how strong a Jerico box is, it just doesn’t like shifting into reverse fast! We jacked the car up and got it out of reverse, but the rumbling sound was too much to run it again — what a bummer. My mum was the first to comment: “We thought you’d just blow the tyres off it right through the course like you usually do.” I thought that was pretty cool. Dad responded like a kid in trouble, with a sheepish-looking, “Yeah, I know; wish I had done that now.” Wayne Gibbens ran Dad back home to pick up the trailer to tow the car home the following day. What none of us realized was that Mum had been looking forward to going to Mount Maunganui beach rather than spending most of a day driving back to Auckland and then back down again with a trailer. No problem, there’s still tomorrow, right? So, on the way home, we did all lunch at the Mount before heading home; we drove past the beach but didn’t stop. Next time for Mum? I’m not so sure! How many times have you been to a rodding event in different parts of the country but not really spent any time checking out the area where the event is being hosted? I think Dad believes he has it all sorted, though: to make up for no beach visit, Mum will probably get Jerico replacement parts for Christmas — things wouldn’t be the same if it happened any other way!