PRIZE CAR WINNER

HOW DO YOU GET SEVERAL THOUSAND ADULTS TO SIT IN SILENCE LIKE SCHOOL KIDS AT ASSEMBLY? PUT A BUNCH OF AWESOME PRIZES UP FOR GRABS, AND YOU’RE MOST OF THE WAY THERE …

We’re sure that the giveaways at this year’s Beach Hop need no introduction, featuring perhaps the most eagerly anticipated prize draw ever! That stunning ’56 Ford F100 took centre stage, joined by the cool Jack Daniel’s ‘ Tiki Lounge’ retro caravan, the usual $10K in cash, and a brand-new Harley-Davidson XL883 Sportster — and the winner would be given the opportunity to choose whichever of the prizes best took their fancy. As far as the prize-drawing method is concerned, it was business as usual this year. With all of the entry forms piled into the retro caravan, Mark Leishman from Magic FM was invited to dive in and pick one at random — the phone number on the form would be dialled, provided the form had been filled in correctly. And so Noddy punched the number in, activated speakerphone, and held it up to the microphone, waiting for someone to reply. And reply they did. The only other requirement for winning was to be present at the reserve at the time of the draw, and luckily, a stunned Linda Burrows certainly was, as she made her way through the crowd and up onto the stage. Clearly a bit overwhelmed by the whole scenario, Linda managed to take it in her stride, and along with the winners of the years past, didn’t deliberate too much before settling on the ’56 Ford F100 — a great choice, if you ask us! That truck is one neat machine, which the Beach Hop team found in the dry climate of Reno, Nevada, shipping it home to bring up to the usual Hop standard. This included the American Racing rims, supplied by Mag and Turbo Tauranga, Whangamata Service Centre’s addition of FiTech electronic fuel injection (EFI) to the 351ci Cleveland engine, and a full transmission overhaul by Kaspa Transmissions in Glenfield, before Jimmy T at Peninsula Panel and Paint blasted it with a few coats of House of Kolor Tangelo Pearl paint. New for 2018, thanks to the involvement of Harley-Davidson New Zealand, was the 2018 Harley-Davidson XL883 Sportster, bringing the Saturday afternoon giveaway draw count to two. Paula Watson was the winner of the second draw, and. while she didn’t have a motorcycle licence, we’re sure she’s got a great incentive to tick that off the list — plus, it didn’t sound like her husband would have let her sell the bike, anyway! Congratulations to this year’s winners, who we hope to see back here — with their orange beauties — at Repco Beach Hop 19 next year!