New Zealand Mustang News

Its Dunedin's turn this coming weekend with our annual road race also for classic and historics will send you some images. as its a street circuit they dont allow any high powered cars ie V8's etc.. Several years ago there was a fatal accident involving a Holden Commodore which killed a spectator. The deceased was in a NO GO area).
This put the "kybosh" on V8's etc. on road circuits. Some of the historic single seaters are much more rapid than the V8's.

A Flathead V8 Special single seater on display
As is the norm they are all better prepared and maintained than they were in there heydays and with modern technology/lubrication and tires,
they are all much faster than they were when originally raced

The 26th. NZ Mustang Convention held in Auckland
Report from the Taranaki Mustang Club
by Rae Simpson

The Taranaki Mustang Club during refuleing on their way back

Dale Mathers from Coastline Automotive knows a thing or two about Racing Mustangs (not only) in NZ. He is currently working on his own project, a Boss 302. Have a look at his page at http://falcon-vs-mustang.com/69bossmustang.html

Recently he sent us pictures from the biggest classic car race on the South Island of Christchurch/Ruapuna.
Thanks to Dale and Terry Marshal for sharing

This is driver Williamson in his BOSS 302

Dunedin Car Shows
Dunedin hosts a variety of US car shows plus the Southern Festival of Speed at the Oval Circuit on 27th. Feb.2005. February and March saw the USA Day and All Ford Day (March 6th). John Noble was there and catched a few impressions featuring the "most" southern Mustang club in the world.
More information available about Dunedin on www.dunedin-tourism.co.nz/sfos

The Fleetwood Mustang on sale for 60.000 NZD
John Noble reports of the Fleetwood Mustang being on sale.
A young farmer named Ivan Segedin imported this 289 powered Mustang in the winter of 1965 to New Zealand, after he saw Sir Gawaine Baillie (an English driver) whit his Galaxie blowing off the dust of the track at Sandown Park/Melbourne. The import of a Mustang was quite an adventure back then due to restrictive laws. In fact the car had to be resend from NZ abroad to get permission on the road and to bypass tax laws. This action was sponsored by BP.
Anyway it is the first NZ racing Mustang ever paving its tires into NZ circle tracks. Fleetwood Motors and Dennis Simmons panel shop get credit for their involvement in the buying process of the car and parts, but actually did not sponsor the race series.
Having been just one of about 2800 ex-factory K-code mid 1965 Mustangs, the engine underwent a number of modifications rasing the power level up to 350HP topped by 48mm Webers and backed up by an imported T10 four-speed gearbox.
(Information - based on New Zealand Classic Cars mag 1/2005)

Pictures courtesy John Noble

Team Mustang explores new sales and promotion opportunities
at the NZ 40th Anniversary Mustang run.

which are both located in Central Otago.
There were 20 Mustangs in Alexandra for the lunch break.
They headed off to Queenstown at 1-00pm whilst Diane and myself returned to Mosgiel.
We had accompanied them from Dunedin to Alexandra a distance of aprox 120 miles You would feel at home in the Queenstown area as it has a Bavarian Alpine outlook"

The PDL Mustang race car and a 66 Shelby Hertz

The Great New Zealand Mustang Run (John Noble)

Kaitaia to Bluff: 29 March to 9 April 2004
It won’t have escaped the attention of many Mustang owners that this year is the 40th anniversary of the production of the very 1st Mustang.

To celebrate this milestone there was a major event in NZ, the first ever NZ Mustang Marathon - 3000 km from Kaitaia to Bluff. All seven Mustang clubs are co-operating to organise this historic event.

The "Great NZ Mustang Run" left Kaitaia on Monday 29th March and finished in Bluff 12 days later on Friday 9th April. This was the biggest single marque event ever held in this country.

Dale Mathers from Coastline Automotive on DSOs for New Zealand

I had a 73 Mach 1 years ago that was sold new in NZ and had a 96 DSO, now this car was a private import! In other words, someone in NZ travelled to the USA in 72/3 and ordered this car for export, drove it in the US then shipped it back, when it was 6 or so months old.
Just about all Mustangs were imported this way.
Very few came direct to Ford Dealers and then sold by them new to the public. Back then there were restrictions on imported cars in NZ and some Ford Dealers payed private individuals to import the car of their choice for dealership resale, when they travel to the USA.

Its hard to believe today, but our NZ dollar was worth more than the US currency back then!! We were mainly a food supplier to Great Britain and North America, so if you were a farmer, the government allowed you to import whatever you wanted, hence how most of the Mustangs came to NZ. I still know of a Farmer that has a 70 Mach 1 that he purchased new and still owns to this day!!
BTW - I've just unloaded my container from my USA trip in August with a 67 Shelby G.T.350 and a 69 Cobra Jet and a McLaren race car. The AC Cobra belongs to my friend.