The New Zealand Hot Rod Association (Inc) or NZHRA is an

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and iden ...

of hot rod clubs in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The club describes its mission as:

Origins

The NZHRA was founded in 1961 with the

Mayor of Auckland City The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when the Auckland City Council and mayoralty was abolished and ...

Dove-Myer Robinson Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (15 June 1901 – 14 August 1989) was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980. Holding office for 6,543 days in total (17 years, 10 months, and 30 days), his was the longest tenure of any holder of ...

, as patron.‘Something special’, Buick draws All Black’s attention
Molly Houseman, Otago Daily Times, 12 July 2021. retrieved 16 April 2022

Shows

The NZRHA organises annual hot rod shows in association with member clubs. The Street Rod Nationals have been held annually since 1997. Another of the regular events since 1994 is the Kumeu hot rod and classic car festival.

Drag racing

The NZHRA began organising drag racing events in the mid-1960's. The first drag race occurred in 1966 at the Kopuku open cast coal mine. From 1993 drag racing fell under the auspices of the New Zealand Drag Racing Association.

Speedshow

NZRHA clubs, Glen Eden's Harbour City Rod Club and Howick's Southside Streeters, organised a display of early hot rods at the 2012 CRC Speed Show. One of the significant cars on display was a 1919 Dodge bucket named ''Vandal''. This rod had been built in the mid-1960's by Tauranga hot rod builder John (JR) Reid. Reid had gone on to found ''Rods By Reid'', an internationally recognised award winning rod and customisation company based in Tauranga. The cars on display had been participating in the NZRHA's 50th Anniversary national hot rod show.

LVVTA

At the instigation of NZHRA President Tony Johnson, the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association (Inc) (LVVTA) was formed. Due to the New Zealand Government proposing to change vehicle certification legislation, Johnson worked with the Ministry of Transport to find a way to certify modified vehicles. The object was to allow hot rodding to continue and while at the same time provide a means to comply with changing motor vehicle safety measures. The end result of this collaboration was the adoption of the NZHRA-written ''New Zealand Hobby Car Technical Manual'' as the legally accepted criteria for registration of all types of low-volume vehicles in New Zealand.

Great Kiwi Rolling Rod Show 2020

In a response to the Covid-19 lockdowns preventing static displays of custom cars and hotrods, Dean Taylor of the NZHRA associated Te Awamutu Rod and Custom Club suggested a series of rolling hot rod shows throughout the country in May 2020. NZHRA associated clubs that were reported as participating were Te Awamutu Rod and Custom Club, Egmont Rod and Custom Club, Whangarei Rod and Custom Club, Stragglers Cambridge, North Canterbury Rodders, Whitestone Rodders, Kustom Car Club, Street Machines Southland, Dargaville Rod and Custom Club, and the Tornado Rod and Custom Club. Sixty to seventy cars participated in the Te Awamutu portion of the event.

Affiliated clubs

* Ashburton’s Americar Rod & Custom Club IncAshburton to host hot rod nationals in March
April, 18 January 2018, Ashburton Courier, retrieved 18 April 2022 * Central Otago Rod and Custom Club

References

{{reflist Sports organisations of New Zealand Motor clubs