AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

WE ALL LIKE TO THINK THAT THE NEW ZEALAND CAR SCENE IS AMAZING, SO ROMANIAN TOURIST LUCIAN GEORGE MUTU DECIDED TO PUT THAT THEORY TO THE TEST

WHAT DO THEY THINK?

When Todd suggested that I write an article about my trip to New Zealand, I felt very honoured and scared at the same time. I’ve been a fan of the magazine for years — thank God for social media and the internet — but to actually contribute was something really special. Yeah, I’ve had photos and articles featured in my local mags, but that’s different. The heavy cold I’m dealing with that transformed me into a zombie doesn’t help much, either. But first thing’s first — let me introduce myself. I’m George Lucian Mutu and I’m a chopper and hot rod enthusiast — that really sounds like an AA introduction. I’ve been playing in my little corner of the internet called dWrenched.com for quite a while, let’s say since late 2011. It’s where I feature choppers, hot rods, and kustoms, plus related events and lowbrow artists I really like. It’s passion-fuelled, so I think it’ll live long and prosper. It’s how I became friends with many people around the world. There are times in a man’s life when he starts to boil if pushed too far, just like these vintage cars that we love so much. Then you have to hit the brakes and just take a breather. I was in that spot. So, I decided to take a vacation from all the work BS I was dealing with. That, plus my friend Kenton McKay’s invitation to visit him in Brisbane, Australia, got me on a 20-plus-hour flight down under in mid October, last year. Since I was heading south, I just had to make the pilgrimage to New Zealand and visit Burt Munro’s Indian plus other gearhead attractions — and, yes, I

already knew much more about New Zealand than The Lord of the Rings, the All Blacks, and Hobbiton — mainly thanks to NZV8 and from being a bit of a history buff as well. The week spent in Brisbane was surreal. I was ready for a cultural shift but wasn’t expecting it to be so great. I’m from Romania, an ex-communist country in Eastern Europe that, even after almost 30 years of democracy, still has great problems adjusting to the new era of globalization. So yes, Romania. I know what you must be thinking — what? Where? By the way, I got tired of trying to quickly explain ‘where’ and I adopted the easy ‘Europe’ answer. I was expecting to meet the nice relaxed people that we all see on postcards and during weather forecasts — you know, relaxing on the beaches and what-not — but I wasn’t expecting so much more. People here are genuinely kind and open. I usually come off as a socially awkward person since I don’t care too much for what other people have to say. But, with some folks, I guess I just click, since I easily felt included in Kenton’s family and in the Notneks hot rod club — can you figure out the tricky acronym? Jokes and history were shared, there was a lot of making fun of each other — the whole shebang! Cruising in Kenny’s chopped Merc, in the monster ripper Galaxie 500, or in the super sexy 1938 V12 Lincoln Zephyr were awesome experiences too! Not to mention Kenny’s daily-driver, ‘The Effie’, an F100 Ford built by Dave Halle in the US. That pickup used to push-start record-holding cars at Bonneville. As you can imagine, Kenny’s collection is a special one, including some pretty cool bikes. Along the way, I had the chance to become

friends with other cool people, like the automotive artist Aden Jacobi, Paul from the Barons Moto Club, and Dave ‘Lowballs’ Gregson. Thanks to Dave’s divine craftsmanship, hamburgers will never be the same for me! I loved sharing history stories with Dave, Kenny’s brother, another very cool cat, with an amazing collection of skateboards. I also had the opportunity to check out some very cool hot rod shops while I was there, and the local Harley-Davidson dealer. “You’ll love New Zealand even more,” Kylie, Kenny’s wife, told me when the departure day came. Hugs all around were in order, and, with my mind still incapable of processing the whole wowza-Brisbane episode, I turned my thoughts to New Zealand, Munro’s bike, Classic Motorcycle Mecca, and Auckland. Right from the get-go, I was happily impressed by the gentleman who stopped and offered me a lift downtown in his pickup truck a few miles away from Invercargill Airport. Let’s just say I can get spaced out pretty fast. He dropped me off right in front of Classic Motorcycle Mecca, and, since it was already closed, I was like a kid in front of a (closed) candy shop. Soon I realized that Invercargill is a very small town that can be easily checked out in an hour or so. Just as soon, I realized that the people were even more friendly here than in Oz, all smiling and saying hello as I went by. It was a habit that I quickly put into practise myself. I just thought to myself, it’s a regional thing, since Invercargill is the southernmost city of the Commonwealth. As I was doing my next-day plan over a beer and a hamburger (Dave, you bastard!), the barman came and slid a piece of paper on my table with Oreti Beach on it. “It’s not far from here, you should check it out. It’s where Burt used to race,” he said. If hot rodding started somewhere in the ’40s and ’50s in the US, then it soon escalated in Australia and New Zealand. Yep, I did me research (as Burt might have said). Hot rods, muscle or American trucks all over. I could get used to this! The “100 or so hot rod clubs” that I’d heard being quoted, sure gives a wide perspective of how and why cars have the huge impact that they have in New Zealand’s society. Even my Airbnb host, a 50-ish lady, had some history related to bikes, and, you know, the Munro Challenge is a worldwide event. At E Hayes and Sons, I spent ‘a bit’ of time lingering around the Munro Special, it took me a few minutes to really take in that I was there, next to it. The Velocette is also an example of Munro’s quest for speed, and I don’t know why people don’t make more of a fuss about it; they should. Standing in front of the Offerings to the Gods of Speed cabinet

was a soul-tingly moment too. The rest of the E Hayes Motorworks Collection is impressive as well. I even had the opportunity to exchange a few words with a very pleasant employee — after which, I realized that he was Mr Neville Hayes. I wasn’t ready for what Classic Motorcycle Mecca had to offer — or had on display, to be exact. It was just how Kenton McKay had put it — I could spend weeks there. The location is packed with motorcycle history and greatness. The John Britten Cardinal V1000cc, along with other Britten-built bikes, or the Moriwaki Z1000 Kawasaki are worth particular mention. Excelsiors; Flying Merkels; vintage and old Harleys and Indians; the Brough Superior collection; Nortons; even Vespas; and a great selection of mopeds, scramblers and racers. I was excited all over again — for me, this was like seeing the Sistine Chapel. (I’ve also seen that, but wasn’t that impressed — each to his own, I guess.) There were many cool cars on the streets — maybe the Targa rally that was going on had something to do with it, I don’t know. In Transport World, you can easily get lost, and my oh my, it’s the biggest collection of trucks in the world! The beautifully aligned Ford coupes at the entrance don’t let on to you that you’re about to enter a city-like collection. And the 1940 Dodge Airflow Texaco Tanker just can’t go unmentioned. By closing time at the museum, my feet had started to give up on me; my camera battery had been flat a long time; and I was in a high, ecstatic state of mind. I don’t even remember the trip back to my host’s place. The next morning saw me off to Auckland, sitting in the plane next to someone who was a New Zealand motorcycling and race car driving legend. Now he is a pit mechanic for a car racing team. I wanted to slap myself to see if all of this was real. I forget his name — I’m so bad at names — but he had an Aeroflow cap, that much I remember! Right after leaving the airport, I collected my

for me, this was like seeing the Sistine Chapel

motor car magazine stash, including NZV8. My host was Harley, and I swear I thought that was his nickname. It wasn’t. Now, I’m used to life in a big fast-paced town, but Auckland is the next level. I was ready for a Bucharest, Romania’s capital (you can perhaps think of New York), but 10 times worse. The no-honking, no-swearing attitude of the city made me confused. Even when it’s busy as hell, this town ‘works’. Plus, it’s also packed with cool cars. Or perhaps what I consider cool cars you just consider cars. Thanks to Harley and his wife, we spent two days relaxing at Mangawhai beach in a very nice caravan. I even bit the bullet and sent an email to Todd — yeah, your Todd, the editor of this magazine — asking if he could hook me up with a job. Yep, that’s how much I was impressed, and I even started thinking about sticking around, if that would be possible. In my mind, I was already a friend of Todd’s — I read his columns every month! Funny flip side: he didn’t know me! Todd kindly replied with a no, but as we went back and forth emailing, we kinda hit it off. When I offered to buy him a beer at the following weekend’s competition at Meremere Dragway on 28 October, an event I had spotted in the magazine, he had to decline, because he was going to be in Wellington. When I realized that I couldn’t get to the dragstrip because I don’t have a driver’s license (I can’t afford my dream car — a particular chopped ’49 Chevy — so I don’t see the point), Todd did some magic and got me the opportunity to tag along with one of his friends, Richard Snow. Richard is a very cool cat with a bitchin’ Holden SS ute. It’s simple as that. It kinda felt weird to hop up into a man’s car without knowing him (I don’t do that on the first date — just kidding). ‘Use it on the weekdays, and race it on weekends’ is a saying that I often read in magazines, but this is a lifestyle here! After introductions, I had a small chat with the Meremere Dragway manager, Gary Boggart, and one thing is for sure, these people live for this. “You don’t make money off of this,” said Gary. While Richard popped the slicks on, I strolled around the drag camp. Being at a drag strip was also a first for me. Seeing the cars from the magazine’s photos in action, with sounds and fumes, with earth shaking under your feet, is something I can’t put into words. The lads from the Harley dealer that I had visited the previous day were now racing each other on the strip. How cool is that? Just another Sunday for them, I guess. Being pushed by Reb Hammond to sit in his Barracuda after he insisted three times, I think

(rule number one: don’t touch another man’s car), was also a nice experience. Having some cold ones afterwards sealed the day. I was used to the mindset in Europe of owners’ ‘My precious’ attitude to their cars — where you can’t really get near their cars, let alone start a conversation. Over here, you have that will to share with others your passion and stories. All this time, I had been posting photos here and there on my Instagram, showing off the time of my life. Seeing these, Jon Pearson from Jon’s Speed Garage messaged me, asking me if I wanted to check out his bikes, since I was already in Auckland. Of course! So, even though he had a wedding planned for the afternoon, he still managed to squeeze me into his plans, showing me the surrounding areas of Albany, Silverdale, and other regions I can’t spell. On that day, I experienced the wrath of New Zealand storms, and I was also not used to it raining five, or even seven, times per day either! By now, I was convinced that New Zealanders are extremely hospitable, and from another planet! Before checking out Jon’s WLA Harley, his Ironhead chop and other bikes he has stored, we checked his friend Rene’s barn cave. Yes, barn cave. I think Rene is an itsy-bitsy Indian fanatic. His collection consists of a few vintage Indians, a pretty rare Army Indian Scout, and a few modern toys. That place is packed with tons of Indian memorabilia. The Auckland Museum was a nice — read, awesome — stop too, and I’m sorry that I didn’t have the chance to visit Shaun’s Badlands Customs shop that I had been invited to, due to bad timing, or some hot rod shops, like Rocket Speed Equipment in Hamilton. Two weeks later, it was time to say goodbye to New Zealand and to put to an end to my soulsearching and amazing trip. It was mind-boggling how easy conversations and stories with these gents started and went on and on like we were old friends. And how, with zero plans and no agenda, I got to meet some really cool, passionate people. My hardtail Harley Sportster chop was a subject opener in our discussions, letting them know that I was their kind of person and we all had common interests. Since doing this trip, I’ve quit my old day job, and now I pay attention to what I want to do and to be. Not long after I got home, my mom passed away. So, what do you do when you feel like you’re hitting the red zone? Indeed, you hit the brakes and just move on. And start to cherish the little things more and not take everything for granted. It’s funny how these metal creations on two or four wheels can bring people together. Because, after all, that’s what it’s all about. A huge thank you to everybody in this story of mine and thanks Todd for giving me the chance to do this article. By the way, I left Hobbiton and riding a bike in your beautiful landscapes off my to-do list intentionally — just to be sure I’ll have an excuse to come back.

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