Hot Rods Question for Aussie's & Kiwi's

Best looking roadster I have seen in a long time.

 

Hey @Al Consoli , I think I used your car as an example in post #13. Really cool ride. Do you have any more pics with rear fenders?

 

I think one reason for the rib is to add a bit of strength to an otherwise floppy metal plate. Think of the oil can effect of a flat floor pan.

 

Clem,

I (and many others) tend to agree with you regards the "nothing to do with safety" BUT the powers that be have a fixed policy/opinion. It's not the only STUPID law . However it is not discrimination.
The NZHRA negotiated the fender laws on behalf of the past present and future members. It could easily have been a grandfather law, where only existing cars could go fenderless . Most of the existing cars would be sold or disappeared by now. They do not allow exemptions to be passed on with ownership, even if it is to a member...
I see it like members of the local golf club, yacht club, etc etc... if you are not a member you cannot expect to share the privileges members have.
Now I know of several clubs who have members from out of town and expect no more than annual dues, one that has NO membership fees, No rules, No meetings , no politics and no events. The only cost is the $35 annual affiliation fee to NZHRA and $10 a year for the fender exemption.
You only have to attend two NZHRA sanctioned events a year and have them signed off in your log book for a fender exemption, it's pretty easy to do. Taupiri swap meet and Palmy swap meet are always sanctioned events. As is Bay Rodders Mid winter run and swap meet...no entry fees , no more than attendance for participation.

 

It's not always easy even with an exemption,there are still ignorant cops around, most of whom have come here from other countries that think we all have to run fenders, won't accept an exemption.... or think that we can only drive hot rods to and from an event, or we have to have a hood (bonnet) on the car etc etc. One (Pom) even asked for proof that the T bucket had not been driven more than 5000 km in a year, and was ready to impound it and make my nearly 80 year old mate walk home ...about 11km. After ranting and raving for 15mins, he refused to recognise a fender exemption issued by a "non government entity"..... until his boss turned up and sent him ( the stupid ignorant cop) packing, with an apology to my old mate.

 

Someone previously said that even converting to disc brakes on the front was a nightmare with the powers that make the laws, you would think as safety minded as the law makers are they wouldn't make it difficult for hot rodders to upgrade their braking . HRP

 

What I can’t understand is how all these stringent regulations came into being. Was there a period when hot rods were the major cause of death and destruction in your countries? Rule making tends to be a reactive process. Too many school kids getting run down in front of the school? Create a “school zone” with speed bumps, crosswalks, and lowered speed. Had another incident? Add more speed bumps and a crossing guard. Was there a dark period when everyday the news paper headlines read, “Auto fatality linked to increased horsepower of recent engine swap”, “Citizen hits dog, blames mud on windscreen from following fenderless hot rod”
I think that a lot of folks think of Australians and New Zealanders as adventurous, fun loving and fearless, not to mention creative and talented. How did all of those oppressive regulations come to be the law of the land?


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If you think about it here in the United States in the late 40's and 50's there was a lot of negative press about the hot rodders racing and speeding, the saving grace was organizations like the NHRA and with that came people that went to bat with their local & government officials.

Today SEMA has watchdogs to intervene and work with lawmakers to keep our hobby alive and well making sure that no laws are enacted that would be a death nail to our hot rod & custom cars. HRP

 

I'm glad we don't have all the stringent laws here that they do in Australia, the guys that have replied to this thread sure have to be dedicated because they have to jump through a lot of hoops.

I read where they must have collapsible steering columns, can you not have a original column in a 1932 Ford or 1940 Ford coupe?

 

Guess the restorers can.

 

I think the problem is to properly convert to disk brakes. My car came with a front disk brake conversion and a verbal warning that the front brake hoses needed to be reworked. When I got it home, crawled under, the braided steel lines looked to be in good condition.

Took it for a test drive, broke off a line at the caliper turning into my driveway. The flex hose did not have enough length for a hard left turn...

The following modifications quickly happened:
1. Dual master cylinder
2. Relocate the hard lines to the front (Involved fabricating new brackets)
3. New flex brake hoses

Here in Cochise County. AZ, there are no vehicle inspections. In 41 years, I have been pulled over twice and given "FIX IT" warnings. Once for a severely cracked windshield and once for a burned out headlight.

Russ

 

Many of us grew up driving cars with a single master cylinder and most will admit that a dual master cylinder is a update that makes sense, I have lost brakes with a single master cylinder in the past but negligence and lack of maintenance was the problem, even a well maintained fruit jar master cylinder is adequate in most cases. HRP

 

Thirty years ago one of my students dragged what he called an "Alabama swamp buggy" back to Maryland. It was on an old Ford truck frame with a beam front axle. Corvair bucket seats bolted to the plywood floorboard, black iron pipe roll bar complete with gas elbows for the bends, and conduit for a steering column support and dash loop. Every joint in the steering and suspension made sloppy look like first class engineering. He said it was street legal. My first thought was, "I should move there because I could build anything I want". Instantaneous second thought, "Look at what the hell's aimed at you!"

 

I would like to thank you guys that have opened my eyes to the rules and regulations you have to comply to in your country's, It makes me realize how easy we have it in the USA.

 

^^^ That's my vote for best car with cycle fenders right there. ^^^

 

Do you have a side view that shows the wheels? what are they? HRP

 

thanks, that’s probably the best explanation I’ve heard on this topic !

as for the club thing -
I have nothing against joining a club, previously been a member of the local rod and custom club and served on the committee, but for me personally, I couldn’t now join one knowing that I wouldn’t be able to commit my time to support their meetings and events, even though in the past I have been invited to do so, just for the fender exemption.
As a side note - Many years ago, when I first sought insurance for my old cars, my farm insurer insisted that I belong to a club or they would not insure the cars, - so I just changed to another insurance company.

 

They are chromed artillery wheels.

 

Man, they look nice, did you have them chromed? HRP

 

I got them through Summit, but they are a special order and I think I waited 7 or 8 weeks to receive them. They are made by U.S. Wheel.

 

Thank you, I just don't remember ever seeing chrome artillery wheels in the past, special order males sense. HRP

 

Since they invented lawyers and got rid of "sorry, that was MY fault" from people's vocabulary.

 

Oh yeah, those guys, but I thought that was why insurance was mandated, not build standards.

 

If I want to embed myself in a steering wheel why can't it be a chromed chain link one.

 

Vehicle insurance is not mandated in Australia. Whilst it is very unwise to do so many drive uninsured vehicles in Australia. Quite often the uninsured vehicles are "shit boxes" or driven by people who have multiple accidents (which puts their premiums up) or the owners just don't care - so if you are in an accident with one of these people your insurance has to pick up the tab and then try to get it back from the uninsured driver.

And don't ask how many times I have been hit (had an accident with an uninsured vehicle)

NOTE: In Australia as far as I know (in all states) you have personal injury insurance to cover medical expenses if you are injured in a road accident which included as part of your drivers license. But that does not cover vehicle or property damage. And again you would be surprised at how many people drive without a drivers license, or a license which has expired, or the wrong class (eg driving a motor bike when you only have a car drivers license)

 

Yep, that is part of our problem. The law mandates I have to have insurance to cover the other driver’s injury, but not his vehicle damage. Have seen more than a few people get hit by a driver with no insurance and lose their car.

I could not live with myself if I hit your car, and could not pay. My crapbox cars get insured to cover your health AND your damage... even if I don’t insure for my damage. Sad that many people no longer think that way... it’s not often you hear “sorry - my fault”.

I guess our stringent engineering requirements started back in the 70s, when we had the supercar scare. Factory Holden’s and Fords were being race homologated to support our national passion for V8 circuit racing. The “scare” killed off the manufacturers interest in factory race cars. Emissions laws soon followed. The odd tool doing burnouts in the wrong place/time has kept the public’s fires stoked to remove “hoons” from our roads... and made it easier to regulate vehicle mods.

cheers,
Harv

 

I believe here, the cycle fenders have to be lengthwise, a 1/3 of the circumference of the tyre and the rear bottom edge of them have to finish around 15 degrees below the centreline of the axle.
All part of the laws here that allow us to build a car in your shed at home and get it licensed on the road. Many have come before us to allow this to happen and fight the law makers and dogooders, this I appreciate even if I’d prefer no guards myself but life’s like that.
“You can’t always get what you want” but if you ,,,,,,,,,

 

That killing of road registered factory race sedans almost happened overnight . I think i was about 22 or so and really wanted a L34 Torana or SLR 5000. Anyone from Melbourne remember Kevin Dennis Motors in KEW. ? He was a used car dealer who was converting the older straight 6 Torana XU1s to V8 to meet the demand by young guys who wanted a fast and sporty V8 sedan at a reasonable price. At that time i had a HK GTS V8 Monaro. As a trade in he would only give me $ 800 for the Monaro . For the U.S. guys still reading those supercars are worth up of $100K or more now for nice ones. You,ll have to go to google images if you want to know more .

BTW, to keep this thread on track i have three '36 Ford spare wheel covers up in the attic of the shed. One day they,ll get used

 

Do most of you guys make your fenders or do you use motorcycle fenders?