January 2021 • By Greg Stokes, GMS Hot Rods
Presented by HandHFlatheads.com

The world maybe crippled by Covid 19 but in New Zealand (NZ), the Jalopy Dust Up was a dusty-fun way to see in 2021. Hosted by Noddy Watts of Beach Hop fame (Australasia’s biggest hot rod, classic car and rock & roll festival) and his partner Andrea, Dust Up was just what the doctor ordered.

Not wanting to miss out on the fun I had begun acculmlating Model T parts for some time and shipping them back to NZ for a cheap, simple build. Nothing is ever cheap nor simple, though, and we didn’t really start on the build until December 23, 2020—just 10 days before the Dust Up scheduled for January 3, 2021. 

My dad, Mark, who lives an hour away from my shop GMS Hot Rods in North West Auckland, had been buiding the Model A engine, and on day one he started driving up every day to help. I had accomplished some pre-assembly, but there was no floor, no seats, a steering column mount needed to be done, no gas tank, no plumbing and a list of a million other small jobs. As usual everything took longer and no matter how well you prepare, there were still items I needed but we made it work even when it felt like we wouldn’t make the Dust Up we pressed on.

We were installing the engine on the January 1st, knowing it could fight us the whole way. By the 2nd I realised I really needed more time, and due to the poor weather, there was talk of postponing the event to the following day. With the car still up on stands and the list of things to do appearing to grow, jokingly, I sent Noddy a text: ‘Please postpone as I need the extra day.’ The weather worsened and the call was made to postpone the event. Phew!

Dad had done a fantastic job on the engine, the hard work had paid off but a leaky gas tank was replaced with a removeable boat tank and once the radiator was on and the hoses fitted up we were really on track. The motor fired right up as I had done my home work well with jetting specs from Clive at Stromberg for the dual 97s.

My partner, Tania, helped me upholster the seats with grey army blankets then I could ‘test’ the car on our back lawn before she pulled out the 3-inch paint brushes and brush painted the car black. This really set the tone for that thirties look. This was the night before and I still had little jobs to do—ever tried to work on a car with wet paint?

We loaded up the next morning and drove 2-1/2 hours south to Waihi where the car was met with a lot of positive feedback. It was a great feeling of accomplishment and to share the fun further I said to dad: “we will share the driving.” It was great to see him enjoying it as much as I was. The car really surprised us—it really honks! And the T front end and steering were nowhere near as bad as we imagined. The story of this little car has only just begun....

Meanwhile, the Jalopy Dust Up was a sure way to inject the fun back into the hot rodding calendar. Based at the picturesque Waihi Beach Dirt Track, Dust Up delivered a smorgasbord of pre ’65 style hot rods, vintage midgets, and vintage stock cars. New Zealand is at the peak of its summer right now, so the weather was scorching and the racing was all just for fun: No prizes, no grand appearances, just good old-fashioned fun in the dirt.

For further information about what Noddy Watts does for the hot rod and classic car fraternity in New Zealand, check out www.beachhop.co.nz or look up the Beach Hop or Kiwis on Tour on Facebook.