Articles by Greg Stokes

The Morrari Recreation has been one of my Dad Mark Stokes’ dream projects for at least 10 years. It is a recreation of the late Garth Souness Morrari which ran in the sixties in the All Comers class. It was a Morris Minor body draped over an unwanted and outdated 1955 Ferrari Super Squalo Grand Prix chassis. It ran a 327 Corvette engine. It was called The Monster but media of the day coined the name Morrari and it stuck. Are play on the words,…

It was early March when the sixth annual model a day was held in Oratia in West Auckland. Hosted by Chris Hornblow and Shane Adlington this great day is a casual afternoon to celebrate all things Model A. Just on 50 Model A cars were in attendance including one Model T powered by Model A. The furtherest travelled was Kev Topham from Masterton with his Model A coupe which he drove all the way up within seven hours. The casual afternoon is a…

It was early March when the sixth annual model a day was held in Oratia in West Auckland. Hosted by Chris Hornblow and Shane Adlington this great day is a casual afternoon to celebrate all things Model A. Just on 50 Model A cars were in attendance including one Model T powered by Model A. The furtherest travelled was Kev Topham from Masterton with his Model A coupe which he drove all the way up within seven hours. The casual afternoon is a…

Back on the first weekend of February, a grand opportunity arose for me to display my Model A pickup at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona California, USA. This show is the ‘Grand Daddy’ of them all and attracts over 600 vehicles displayed indoors and over 1100 vehicles show up each day to be displayed outside. It has been a bucket list thing to attend all these great USA hot rod events with my own New Zealand built hot rod and the…

A Covid delayed Repco Beach Hop went off with great success back in November at the cool Coromandel town of Whangamata. New Zealand's largest celebration of the 50's & 60's proves to be as popular as ever with people coming from all over New Zealand as well as other parts of the world. The nearly week long event kicks off on the Wednesday at Waihi, then onto Thames on the Thursday and then Onemana on the Friday. The main parade day in…

Passion and zest for life is all about goals and influences and living life to the max. With that we all have our heroes who we look up to or are influenced by. For me growing up in the world of hot rodding a whole world away from where it all began in the USA I had my share of influences locally in New Zealand but also internationally. One of those guys I looked up to was the late Gray Baskerville who was a writer and photographer for the…

A welcome return to the rodding calendar in October was the Trouble Bound Side Show supporting West Auckland Hospice. Brilliant weather gave a taste of the summer season on its way and the no location filled to capacity. This year the Glenora Rugby League Club in Glen Eden was the perfect new venue for this ever-popular West Auckland show. "We tripled the size of the venue and it looks like we tripled the turnout", said Shane Adlington of…

The New Zealand Hot Rod Association (NZHRA) recently celebrated a Covid delayed 60th anniversary. For two weeks during September the "Diamond Cruise" traveled from one end of New Zealand to the other stopping at hot rod clubs and shops all over the country. Those who attended said it was an unreal journey as the cruise zig zagged its way across the country starting in Bluff and concluding in Cape Reinga. Just over 20 hot rods, classics and…

It was the holy grail to visit the El Mirage Dry Lake with Project 29. This has been the location for land speed racing in California for over 60 years. Hot rodding for me is all about the history and heritage and how that inspires us moving forward. Living all my life a whole world away from the USA motherland of hot rodding in Auckland, New Zealand my influences and inspiration first came from my dad and his rodding buddies. Wherever he…

Back in April, my work horse Chev pickup blew the transmission so my daily driver for just on three weeks was my 1929 Ford Model A tudor. In an era where we are now been forced into electric cars, watch emissions and climate change, it truly was a case of turning back time as I used the old Model A each day. Car enthusiasts in particular always have a hankering for the past and the nostalgia around it and the desire to own an all original non…