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dale Dragstrip’s in w Ir at g n ti ee t Car al drag m h the Nitro Reviv ge of the FED, Gasser and Stree ‘n it w e su is IC P E is ra a Surf GET AMONGST th the USA. We have massive cove k at the Pukehin ising ac b ck ki en in Th t ! Fund ra g action last even ol-as drag racin ome Community co es e aw m so an d r fo an n ty n io Reun of Ple to roam around. ay es B d ri y n ol n co su e of th s in red Sand Autorama show with hund
HOLY!! 2025 is ROCKIN past already! We are already a month in and there’s been sooo much going on! A few of the bigger shows of the year have already rocked through with Kumeu and Muscle Car Madness done and dusted. I’m on a mission this year to capture some different shows so have been flicking through my planner to see what new ones I can get amongst for the magazine and YouTube channel. I managed to get along to the Rodders Beach Festival in Orewa for the first time. This awesome weekend has been running for years but I’ve never managed to get to it with so many other shows going on. What an awesome event this is! I can see I need to catch the entire weekend next time and not just the Saturday. It’s an awesome weekend with a heap of cruising, shows and just an awesome time for all who get involved. Plus, it’s a stunning beach with a campground right next door to the show! How cool is that! I must say, I was pretty stoked they had an Aussie Muscle Car section for the show too! About time! Hahaha, I’m not biased at all eh! It’s always tricky this time of year as to which way to cruise with so many shows happening on the same weekend. Definitely let me know if you have a show coming up as I’ll be hitting different one’s this year for sure. This issue has been
Check out our video coverage on our YouTube channel
funny to put together. I’ve been quietly trying to keep the magazine to a normal sort of size. Still twice as big as other magazines, but normal for us you know. BUT when I started going through the Nitro Revival photos, it was OMG!!! I want them all in here! Haha. That was such an EPIC event!! Everything about that event is beyond cool! I don’t know how many times I said ###YEAH when flicking through the photos. Everything about Nitro cars is cool. I’m not even going to apologize for this issue being bigger than usual! The Nitro Revival day was just way too cool to contain myself! So just GET AMONGST! We’ve got the Pukehina Surf ‘n Sand Autorama Show in here as well. It is an awesome local show that raises funds for the local Fire Brigade and Surf Life Saving Club.
full-noise at the moment too. There’s meets all up and down the country so if you’re into the drag racing, get amongst the coming events in the back of this issue and get some dates in your diary to get along to. It’s an awesome scene! So, GET AMONGST this issue and don’t forget to check out our coverage of the shows and events on our YouTube channel as well. There’s heaps of action over there!! Cheers all. Keep them wheels turning and burning! See you out there. ROCK N ROLL! Giggles (aka Bogan)
The support from locals and car owners from afar is absolutely amazing for this one. It’s on again soon so grab the date in here and get it in your dairy for sure! Photo credit goes to the awesome Rod Dunn from Creative Auto Photography
I’ve also managed to park my butt in between a few shows to get some work done on the Coupe. I actually thought I was rockin along really well, but then there’s always nek-minute! The headers have to come out again to get modified and that’s a full-on sucky job in those Coupes. The drag racing scene is
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OCTANE FIX ONLINE: CONTENTS:
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Pukehina Surf ‘n Sand Autorama 2024 ...........................................................04
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Nitro Revival 2024 - Irwindale Dragstrip USA.....................................................64
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Up-coming Events ............................................................................................176
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EDITOR / PHOTOGRAPHER / VIDEOGRAPHER: Kelvin Couchman (aka Giggles or Bogan)
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DESIGNERS: Lisa Lewis / Kyla Saunders
Hold onto your hats and get ready to rock along to this awesome day out again. This awesome fundraising day which includes a now massive car show with a live band and festivities plus a heap of food and knick knack stalls to wander around at the local Pukehina Primary School is an awesome day to GET AMONGST! This all started years back in a car park behind the local tavern on the beach but grew in size so quick, that it’s now located at the local rural primary school. Even the school grounds grew too small after its debut as the venue, so extra fields have now been included into the show area thanks to the neighbouring farmer getting behind the event to support this awesome cause. The fundraising goes toward the local Pukehina Surf Lifesaving and Fire Brigade services.
Being a small local beach community, the traditional means of financial support don’t go a long way, but with this awesome fundraising event now in place, the two entities have been able to build new buildings, purchase well need equipment and simply become more efficient at supporting the local community and surrounding areas. Check out the sponsors board and you will see how many local businesses have got behind this awesome cause and day with locals supporting locals all the way. In typical Bay of Plenty style, the weather has been awesome for every event with last years event being an absolute scorcher! Luckily with the school being one of the first schools built in the area way back in 1914, the now massive shade trees
provide awesome shelter to kick back under, enjoy a picnic or cold ice cream and watch the festivities going on in front of the live band. There is also a marque with tables set up under to chill out in the shade with a cold one and watch the goings on. That is after you wandered around the massive amount of cool rides rolling in to get amongst the day and support this awesome cause. It all happens pretty quick, with the fields filling up fast with muscle cars, hot rods, classics, bikes and anything different and cool welcome to come along. Shows like this are awesome to wander around I reckon. The variety makes for an awesome wander and the casual park up and get amongst attitude of the day makes for an awesome atmosphere. With around four hundred cars to wander around and mates to catch up while wandering, it really is a cool day to get along to.
Among the festivities is the fundraising auction with a heap of goodies donated from local businesses to be auctioned off on the day. Everything from tools, clothing and holiday vouchers to bottles of Jack Daniels and jackets were donated to be auctioned off, adding to the awesome amount raised on the day. The local Fire Brigade ran a demonstration on how fast a small fire can get out of hand and how they go about saving the situation. The annual “Tug of war” held between the Lifesaving crews and the Fire Brigade is always a crack up to watch. Locals jumping in at each end of the rope to boost the crews to see who will take away the bragging rights each year. This year the Fire Brigade managed to pull the Lifesaving crew over the centre, claiming the victory and a no end of bragging rights for the year. We shall see what the Lifesaving team have up their sleeves for this year’s
event coming up to steel them bragging rights back. At each show, the daunting task of picking the top car of each brand is taken on with prize packs and awards presented towards the end of the show to the owners of the chosen rides. With the quality of the rides spread throughout the show, this is a such a daunting task to take on! Deciding which ride will actually take the award has to come down to the quality of the finish rather than style or design. Each build is a personal design of the owners where there really is no right or wrong as that is what the owner wanted. I appreciate all builds that way. It’s the same desire and dream that gets the wheels turning whether it’s an import build, American or Aussie Muscle. Of course, Aussie is best, but that’s just my opinion! Hahaha… LOOKOUT!
The show is only from 10am to 2pm, so it’s a quick day to get amongst with so much going on. Although, cars start rolling in way earlier to make the most of it as the fields fill up pretty fast before the ten o’clock kick off. The coffee, hot dog and steak sandwich bbq’s are ready to serve early so it’s a great way to start the day watching the different rides roll in. Definitely get the dates for this years show into your diary! Every year this show gets bigger and better and the team of locals behind it certainly have it sorted to create an awesome fun day to chill out and GET AMONGST!
David & Hariata Chase taking away the award for Top Ford with their stunning XA GT Falcon Hardtop.
Even the forth paddock was packed with awesome olds-cool rides to wander about.
You can’t beat a good Nitro drag car start-up to draw a crowd.
PRESS PLAY TO SEE THE FULL VIDEO
www.mountshop.co.nz
Nitro Revival 2024 IRWINDALE DRAGSTRIP USA
What an EPIC experience this was! When Bruce Taylor wandered up and said “I’ve got a spare bed at SEMA if you’re keen” three weeks out from needing to be there. My first question was “who will I be sharing it with?” hahaha. Always think on the side of caution when someone says that to you! SEMA has always been on the “to-do list” but I was still like, “I’ve got a bit too much going on really”. Then he mentioned heading to the Nitro Revival Drags after SEMA and I was just IN! That entire era of Nitro snorting FED’s and Gassers fully roaring down the drag strips has to be the most epic era of all!
awesome show, but to see so many of these original Front Engine Dragsters lined up together is mind blowingly cool!
Even just flicking through the thousands of photos I captured at the events makes me go “OMG!”
The atmosphere at the track and around the pit area is sooo cool! It’s like generations of drag racers come together to make this event what it is.
There’s nothing close to this event in lil ole NZ here. We simply do not have the population of rev heads to have so many amazing machines lined up together to create such an event. Our Nostalgia Drags that Bay Rodders Tauranga run is an awesome event here and definitely one of my favorite weekends. Along with Dragstalgia at the Masterton Motorplex with the Outlaw 71 and Wildbunch crews putting on an
The families that gather around the dragsters, all having their own part of the crew and things to do with either Dad or even Grandad donning the gas mask and helmet to shimmy their way into the cockpit ready for that massive supercharged Nitro snorting V8 to be cranked into action. The incredibly intense exciting roar and bark from the Nitro exploding straight out
the open headers, shaking and twisting the long chassis of these dragsters is just mind blowing and makes you grin just from seeing and hearing it. Not to mention the punch in the guts the compression of that engine leaving the headers does to you! These things are out the gate cool! Nitro Revival is more of a reunion for these drag racers and families than a drag racing meet. The pit area is alive with laughter, welcomes and stories, only to be broken with the incredible roar of a supercharger ripping into action with a loud roar for old times sake. The story behind Nitro Revival is just as
cool as the event itself and rings true to how many feel and say to this day. The late Ron Johnson, Steve Gibbs (Big Hook) and his daughter Cindy kicked this event into action in 2017. Steve was instrumental in launching the Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield way back in 1992, saying “we want a place, other than funerals where racers could get together”. How true does that ring to the heart! The Nitro cars and Gassers were the golden area of drag racing and to celebrate this in the fashion of Nitro Revival is perfect.
museum of auto art At first glance of a Front Engine Dragster, you might think who the F is going to sit on top of a nine inch diff head and pour Nitro into an engine that simply wants to rip the car apart! Which is pretty much how it is, but the combinations work incredibly well. The cars are light and sleek using wings to hold the car down and straight while that screaming V8 wants to launch the thing into space if it could.
You can honestly tell with the vibe in the car park and pit area, which is massive, that this really is a reunion for these families to get together again and re-live the excitement of the Golden era.
The long length of the chassis working with physics to keep the front wheels down on the track after the initial launch and at around six seconds later, it’s all over apart from the parachutes blowing in the breeze to try and pull the car up before the sand pit.
Theres no roped off areas in this living
Every time I flick back through these
photos, I think “DAMN that must have been an amazing era in the States!” I’m so jealous! Hahaha. When I mentioned the pits were massive, that’s probably an understatement. It honestly took me hours to wander around the pit area. With a long lane for just the FED’s lined up down both sides to check out, getting to the end of that lane and seeing all the Gassers lined up the same ready for a cackle fest was just awesome. In the other direction were the street cars. By street cars, I mean the awesomely cool muscle cars from the sixties and seventies fully decked out for drag racing, complete with the graphics, flames and painted logos from sponsors. It really was like stepping back in time to the coolest era ever!
Bruce Taylor - the instigator!
Even the push rigs for the FED’s lined up made for an awesome display of coolness! Old pickup trucks donning flames and race graphics set up to push start the dragsters fully completed the scene. In amongst the pits were lots of stall holders selling nostalgic goods for the caves and cars alike. Old photos and helmets on display and of course the t-shirt stands which is a must do to have a Nitro Revival shirt for the cave. A large marque was set up for autograph signing with around fifty drag racing heroes of the hey-day signing magazines, t-shirts and old photos from the day. Grabbing selfies with adoring fans and just enjoying the atmosphere. Ed Iskenderian at the young age 103
A revival wouldnt be complete without a bunch of New Zealanders
years old was there to sign autographs proving that drag racing is good for the soul and body!
It is definitely an era I wish I was part of and I fully got the excitement from the ones there who were!
Big names and “hall of famers” in the scene like Don Prudhomme, Tommy Ivo, Bob Muravez (aka Floyd Lippencott Jr.), Richard Tharp, Herm Petersen, Bruce Larson, Butch Leal, Linda Vaughn were there just like the hey-day at Irwindale.
It was definitely an era of “give it a go and HANG ON TIGHT!”
Before even entering the dragstrip area, hundreds of hot rods, muscle cars and good ole classics to vintage cars were lined up on display in the car park area. It was like stepping back in time walking up to the dragstrip. The vibe, the atmosphere, the noise, the colour and vision of coolness fully setting the scene for an awesome day at the strip and for the realization of “holy, I’m actually here!”
The Irwindale Drag strip is such a cool dragstrip. It is short at only an eighth mile, but the prep is unbelievable! Walking along the track is a case of keep moving or your shoes will stick to the tarmac and you’ll loose them for sure! It is so sticky! I was wondering why the prep burnouts weren’t so big, but certainly found out why, they don’t need to! These cars were wheel standing straight off the line with so much grip. The entertainment value for the stands was absolutely awesome!
This wasn’t like a full-on drag racing meet as it is more of a fun reunion. With some cool demo runs from the nostalgic cars in between the muscle car and hot rods racing, it made for an awesome relaxed day at the strip with some cool action going on. The times are fast with so much grip all the way down the track and with the track being short, the action is nonstop and awesome! The track itself opened way back in 1965 but unfortunately this was to be its last drag meet. As with every drag strip it seems, development has loomed down on it with the land now being classed as commercial for building on. But what a fitting way for the track to go out on, I mean to have the coolest event ever as your closing meet, that says it all. California in its hey day of drag racing back in the sixties must have been amazing. There are so many drag strips close to each other, it must have been full-on action everywhere! Come night fall with the sun setting, the parade of FED and nitro cars rolled out onto the strip for what’s known as Nitro Alley. Sixty iconic drag cars were parked side by side along the length of the track. Each to start up one after the other for a massive display of Nitro flames bursting from the header pipes. The noise or blower belts spinning and the cackle of the nitro burning was insanely cool with that many cars firing up. The night light bright with flames and the amazing note of nitro burning fulling the air. Steve Gibbs had the honor of pointing the finger to the first car in the lineup “Vegabond”, saying “Fire em up” and it was all go from there on, one after the other firing up in front of two packed
grandstands and people lining the drag strip wall to watch this incredible event unfold. With the nitro running out and the cars slowly running dry, massive explosions from the end of the strip started up with an awesome fireworks display to end the night off along an awesome round of applause and cheers from the crowd as the cars rolled on one by one back down the return lane to the pits in front of the ecstatic crowd. Out back a few Gassers started their own cackle fest to end the evening off as the
massive crowd dispersed back through the pit area display. This is such an epicly cool event!!!! The word Nitro does that all by itself but when you add “Revival”, the golden era of drag racing springs to life like nothing else! Massive thanks to Bruce for wandering up that day and springing that on me! It was honestly out of the blue with about three weeks notice to get everything in place to do it, but it was so worth it to experience what the “Revival” is!
There was a good contingent of kiwis rocking around there as well so it was almost like a reunion for ourselves, but what a cool way to have a reunion! With the Irwindale Dragstrip closed now, we are still waiting to hear where the event will be heading to but watch this space as we will most certainly be watching for it. If you are into drag racing, this event is something you will really want to GET AMONGST!
Check out the chain driver blower for no slip!
Awesome to see the Junk Bros car looking sharp!
TWO just has to be better than one!
Just one of the iconic drag coupes of the scene
Check out HOT ROD REVUE’S YouTube channel for more great videos https://www.youtube.com/c/HotRodRevuetv
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The grip on this track is unreal!
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The coolest era EVER!!!
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Check out what’s coming up and what’s going down. > Watch out for our massive coverage of the Kumeu Classic Car and Hot Rod Festival where we camped up for the weekend and GOT AMONGST this huge show of cool rides. > Plus we have huge coverage of the awesome day at the Rodders Beach Festival in Orewa with a Retro Fashion contest, Aussie Muscle Car section and a heap of cool Hot Rods and Muscle Cars to get amongst!
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