Video of the appearance of Stu & Glynis’s ’37 Cabriolet on The Hot Rod Show back in 2015 has recently become available online.

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Cal from NAC Car Culture visited Big Shed Customs on his way back from the Kaikoura Hop in September 2016. At the 15:30 mark is where the workshop feature starts.

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Cal from NAC Car Culture interviewed Mark with the Cab Over at the Kaikoura Hop. At the 6:05 mark is where the interview begins.

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Diary of Big Shed Customs trip to the USA

Read about the events that unfolded during the epic journey of the Big Shed Customs truck in October/November 2015. This article was published in the April 2016 edition of NZ HOT ROD magazine.

Big Shed Road Trip – Read the article »

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Big Shed Customs Cab Over was at the World of Wheels Custom Auto Show in Birmingham, Alabama, 12 – 14 February 2016 and won the following awards:

• 1st place – ISCA Total Custom (International Show Car Association)
• 1st place – Best Truck

The post First place for Big Shed Customs in World of Wheels Custom Auto Show, Birmingham, Alabama appeared first on Big Shed Customs.

New Zealand’s Mark Stead usually works on three to four builds a year in his 40,000 square-foot shop. Assisted by one-full time employee, Stead does all the work himself on the cars, except for upholstery. So when Stead decided to build his own truck, he realized it would require working after normal shop hours. He committed 30 hours a week to get it done over the course of about two years.

Stead used the shape and style of a 1940s-era Ford C-Series cab-over engine design—enhancing the looks with his own free-hand work. The body panels were formed by hand from sheets of raw metal. He crafted a boxed suspension, and put together an independent front suspension, Corvette C4 rear end, and Ford 5.0 Mustang engine. The rear lights are from the clearance lights of a truck cab, giving the style Stead was seeking. Headlights from a MINI Cooper complete the brilliant combination of parts and brands.

Stead made the rounds of custom shows in New Zealand, but recently spent a short holiday in the States with his truck. He shipped the truck to Long Beach, Calif. In the four weeks that followed, he added 2,600 miles to the odometer as he traveled the West, stopping at events like the GoodGuys Rod and Custom Fall Nationals in Scottsdale, Ariz., where we met him.

Stead had to untangle a mess of red tape to bring the truck in to the US. Besides obtaining US insurance and clearing US Customs, he had to prove that the truck was street-legal in New Zealand.  In the end, the New Zealand license plate survived legal scrutiny, even if the steering wheel is on the wrong side. The plan now is to store the truck with an American friend until he and his wife Tanya return next summer to continue their tour.

The post Custom Builder from New Zealand Tours US with His Creation appeared first on Big Shed Customs.

Big Shed Customs featured on episode 2 of The Hod Rod Show which aired on Face TV (Sky 083) on 8th May 2015.

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GREEN MACHINE: Mark Stead’s hand-crafted cab-over custom truck is the lone South Island entry in the custom show at the CRC Speedshow in Auckland.

Stead, who owns Big Shed Customs in Blenheim, is lining his distinctve truck against about 50 others of the country’s top custom vehicles as he defends the custom car/pickup category award won at last year’s event.

Besides the Speedshow award, Stead’s hand-fabricated vehicle can also boast a top five at the 2013 Whangamata Beach Hop, and top 10 hot rod at the 2013 Street Rod Nationals.

The truck has even featured in Australian Street Machine magazine which Stead says very few New Zealand vehicles feature in, and even fewer trucks.

One of this greatest satisfactions is proving nay-sayers wrong, with the fact his project could be done.

The hugely popular custom show is a “show-within-a-show” at the eighth annual Speedshow.

Stead has revealed that it was only a “spooky coincidence” last year that led him to making the trip north.

“Last year we received a text from a close friend saying she had seen an advert for the Speedshow and we should look at it. About an hour later, the show’s director, Ross Prevette, phoned to ask if I would like to be involved. It was one of those spooky coincidences in life that you cannot ignore.”

Now 49, Stead has been around car restoration as long as he can remember.

“We have my father’s 1928 Plymouth in the shed nearing the end of its restoration. It was the car I came home from the maternity hospital in, so you could say it started then!

“Custom work is my real passion. There are a couple of vehicles due to be finished later in the year that have major modifications that we are proud of. The owners are absolutely rapt with what we have done.”

As well as cars, he’s interested in motorbikes and plans to bring a custom chopper, which fits nicely on the back of the cab-over, to a future Speedshow.

The Speedshow, which runs this Saturday and Sunday, also boasts a second show-within-a-show in the Classic Show featuring around 40 of New Zealand’s finest original and restored classic cars and motorcycles.

“With a record 28 new car and motorcycle brands represented at the show, fans can indulge their passion for exotic autos like Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren and Maserati, or for those with a valid motorcycle licence, join Harley-Davidson for a test ride straight from the show and back again,” Prevette added.

“We’ve also got high speed motorsport in miniature with the North Harbour Radio Controlled Car Club’s inaugural New Zealand Indoor Offroad Championship.

“Sell or buy a car or motorcycle in our special Park ‘N’ Sell Zone for competition, classic and custom vehicles, and indulge your passion for automobiles and motorsport at the speedshow.”

The post Lone South Island custom entry at Speedshow appeared first on Big Shed Customs.

Mark Stead is a panelbeater by trade. His apprenticeship was primarily spent doing smash repairs, and that continued right through until the mid ‘90s when, as Mark puts it, “I’d basically had a gutsfull”. He’d been doing the occasional bits and pieces for people with old cars, working in their sheds. Realising there was a demand for quality restoration and custom work he took the plunge and rented a tiny workshop in Blenheim. “It grew from there,” explains Mark, “so six years ago we built a big shed-type workshop at home and Big Shed Customs was born.” Mark is joined by full-time qualified mechanic Steve Mitchell (who has also just about finished his time as a panelbeater) and Mark’s partner Tanya Borck who helps out as much as possible once she’s finished her day job as a primary school office lady. Big Shed Customs has morphed into a true one-stop shop, handling basic tidy-ups through to full concourse quality restorations and jaw-dropping custom work.

Mark and Tanya’s Cab Over was supposed to be a workshop hack, but Mark got carried away, as you do. More than 3000 hours were invested in the project, which has a totally hand fabricated body. The couple has put 13,000kms on the injected 302 Ford powered truck since it was finished 15 months ago.

Almost all work is handled in-house thanks to the team’s varied talents and a comprehensive range of equipment that includes an invertor spot welder, Pulmax power hammer, an alignment machine and electrostatic spray equipment in a purpose-built booth. Be it a chopper, a vintage car restoration or a custom, nothing’s too big an ask and it all gets the same level of craftsmanship and attention to detail.

If you’d like to know more check out www.bigshedcustoms.co.nz, phone (03)577 9573 or find them on facebook.

’53 Customline is getting the full resto. The chassis and running gear are completed, the bodywork’s done and the doors are in the spray booth. It’s got new rear quarters, sills, trunk floor and the front section of the floor was also replaced.

Mark chopped the Falcon ute’s roof 2”, and reskinned it (while lengthening it for better proportions) using part of a Falcon wagon roof. Five and a half sheets of panel steel have been used to fabricate new rear guards, door skins, sills and a complete floor from firewall to tailgate. The tailgate’s inner and outer skins were also handmade at Big Shed Customs. Mark has repowered it with a 5.4-litre late model Falcon Boss V8.

Big Shed Customs has carried out all the work on this ’48 Chev pickup. It has a HQ Holden front end, brakes and steering grafted into the stock chassis, and the running gear is all 5.0-litre Holden Commodore. It has a new floor, inner and outer skins on the back of the cab, new firewall, a 3” roof chop, new door skins and inner fenders. Headlights are Subaru Impreza. The running boards and fenders will be moulded into each other, but can still be unbolted separately.

Big Shed Customs restored this 1922 Cadillac from the ground up. The door skins were replaced, and while they were apart new timber frames were made – which, along with chrome and upholstery – was the only part of the work that was farmed out. The Caddy is dead stock apart from a secondary 12-volt electrical system (6-volt was retained) which powers H4 inserts in the headlights, plus indicators and stereo.

Mark has given his dad Graeme’s ’28 Plymouth a tidy-up and repaint. Graeme’s owned the coupe for more than 50 years.

A tale of two choppers: the customer didn’t want his chopper (left) to look like a kitset bike, so he imported the Ultima 140cu.in. engine, six-speed trans and wheels, and had Big Shed Customs build the frame. The smaller project (right) is a pushbike for the upcoming Graperide bike race in Blenheim. Three guys bought choppers, are installing 50cc engines, and Mark is doing some fabrication work and has made the chopper style fuel tanks. Sure beats pedalling!

Top: Mark and Tanya’s latest personal project is this fully scratchbuilt ’37 roadster. Mark fabricated all the panels, which are based around a Saab power operated top. The engine came from Mark’s brother, who lives in Dallas, USA. The 6.8-litre V10 is out of a wrecked Ford F250 pick-up.
Left: No tape measure needed here! Big Shed Customs sets its chassis up on a wheel alignment machine (not shown) so everything is in the right place and square before the welder is fired up.
Right: This ’70 Boss 302 Mach 1 is in for panel, paint and a refinished engine bay. It’s not ready for paint in this photo; it’s just parked in the spray booth.

’64 International pick-up truck and ’42 Merc convertible are in for full restorations.

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The year 2000 saw the purchase of a rare steel 1937 club cabriolet from Argentina; it was a basket case project which had arrived in Blenheim.

These cars are factory fitted with a front and rear seat, compared to a convertible which has only a front seat. It was a major project but Stu had a vision and he’d proved the doubters wrong once before.

Undaunted, work began in 2009 using a recommended panelbeater but this ended up being a nightmare in itself, lots of money spent, long waits and two court cases gave him a body which in places was over 1” thick of bondo. You get the picture.


The idea had been to attend the 2011 Invercargill Nats in the new car but this did not happen so again the ‘Hup’ was called on to fulfil the mission.

The chassis work was done by Stu and an engineer mate, Matt Novis. They started with the original ‘37 frame rails with an intricate 1” box section space frame structure. The 8’ Ford rear end is supported by an air-ride system and four links and frame rails are C-notched for clearance.

Front end is Heidts independent, with a power rack and pinion, and Shockwave air shocks. There’s 11” discs on front, matching calipers, drum brakes on rear, all with a Ford bolt pattern. An aftermarket dual master cylinder/ booster combo is also used. Another interesting part is the electric-operated hand brake.

The engine is an injected EB Ford Fairmont 5.0L 302 engine with mild cam rebuilt by son-in-law Paul McIntosh. This is backed up by a BTR 4-speed Fairmont auto trans. Bodywork time – again. The body was assessed by ‘metal magician’ Mark Stead (Big Shed customs) in Blenheim. He quickly confirmed the worst that a complete rebuild would be required.

So it was shot across the strait to Wellington for dip-stripping. This really showed up how much had been covered up by the earlier repairer.

Mark became really entrenched in the project and major metalwork included two new door frames and skins, two new rear quarters, half a trunk lid, new strengthened sills and a host of other mods including removing all the handles, now all electrically operated.

After all the bodywork was complete the car was also painted at ‘Big Shed’, by Vaughan Hall in a colour Stu and Glynis had a hand in creating called ‘ Stu’s hot rod pink’.

All the electrical was also handled in-house by local Steve Mitchell Mechanic/ Sparky. I reckon he deserves a medal because I saw the miles of cable he had to sort out, and this car has a computerised engine and electric everything! Headlights are Autoloc.

One of the highlights of this car is the hood, with the help of two electric actuators; it is a real treat to watch it do its thing, kinda similar to watching a Ford retractable in motion. Speaking of the hood, it was louvred in the ‘70s and once graced Brian Robinson’s 1937 Ford sedan in Autorama back in ‘78.

The paintwork is set off nicely with Foose 17” x 7” on front and 17” x 8” on rear. Tyres are 225/50 x 17” and 255/60 x 17”.

The interior had to be created from little more than a pair of Mazda bucket seats and Stu’s homemade console. Will Sales from Classic and Custom Auto Interiors in Christchurch handled this brilliantly as per usual making a new rear seat, and all new panels to upholster, and covered them in two shades of grey vinyl. The bare roof hood bows were covered in top grade black fabric. Stu cut down a ‘40s dashboard and fitted it with a complete instrument set-up from Dakota Digital. A Vintage Air and Heater package is also employed.

The trunk area is a continuation and has a removable access panel to get to the Air-Ride components, consisting of 5-gal air tank with twin compressors and the usual solenoids etc.

The revised ‘Big Plan’ was now to debut the car at the ‘Beach Hop’. A few days before leaving for Whangamata the trans had shifting problems and the grille stainless was being installed the night before they left. How often does this sort of thing happen?

After entering ‘the Hop’ they heard that the Street Rod Nationals were on the following weekend in Taupo so they entered. Both Stu and Mark Stead were elated to receive a Top Ten placing here.

Since leaving his current home town of Kaikoura the new car has clocked up 3,000 km and the best part is that due to the great weather 2,000 of them were with the top down!

There are now the small special trophies (stone chips) but these are only earned if you are out there enjoying your ride.

The Windles and ‘PIGLET’ continue their endless fun and are current members of Hurricane Rodders of Dunedin where they come from.

Stu would like to especially thank Mark Stead from Big Shed Customs for all his help and getting the project back on track. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea to take on someone else’s cock-up and make it good.

Stu also thanks his wife Glynis for her patience and understanding during the rebuild and the years of drama surrounding it.

There are too many others who’ve helped and contributed along the way to mention individually, so a big thank you to you all as well!

The post Piglet – Stuart & Glynis Windle’s 1937 Ford Club Cabriolet appeared first on Big Shed Customs.

Mark Stead shows off his 1st place award in Custom Car or Pickup category

The CRC Speedshow is New Zealand’s biggest, most exciting and most diverse automotive and motorsport show. The Castrol EDGE / Teng Tools Customs and Classic Show is a new custom vehicle show held within the main show. Big Shed Customs were fortunate enough to be invited to exhibit the Cab Over at this show. And proud to say the truck won the Custom Car / Pickup section.

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The lowdown

Who: The Metzger Family (represented by Adrian)
What: 1932 Chevrolet BA Confederate 5-window coupe

What else is in the garage?
On the family farm near Tapanui we also have a 48 Dodge 3½ tonne truck which all of us learnt to drive in.

What was your first car?
That was a 1973 Morris Minor truck which had no heater. That is something you notice in West Otago.

Road rage – what makes you see red?
People who won’t get out of the way when you’re passing.

Your best driving memory:
It has to be when we drove this home from Blenheim very recently. We drove it down the beautiful West Coast to surprise my parents, who knew it was being restored but didn’t know it had been finished.

History of the vehicle:
My Grandparents bought this car new in about 1932, at the time it was touring around A&P shows as an exhibit. My family lived in Arrowtown then and it took my grandmother about three weeks to drive it there from Invercargill visiting all her friends and family on the way. It was transferred to my father when he was 17 and he used it till the early ‘60s, then it worked as a farm hack for a good few years thereafter.

Tell us about the project:
It was pushed into the stables on the farm in 1971 and pulled out in 2009; it was all there but obviously in need of a lot of work. The engine and transmission were done in Invercargill, the radiator was custom-made in Auckland and seeing as I travel a lot between the US and New Zealand, I brought a lot of parts over, including new fenders made in Ohio from the original stamps.

We shifted it up to Marlborough for the bodywork and finishing to be done by your local ‘car artist’ Mark Stead, who has done a wonderful job. His craftsmanship was key to the project; plus I have a childhood friend who lives here and kept us in the loop on progress.

Why a Chevrolet?
Because of the family history and its place in the history of the district, it’s now back in the same shed it was housed in during the 1930s.

Would you sell it?
No, never, it will be staying in the family

The post Out The Back appeared first on Big Shed Customs.

By Craig Stare
The very talented Mark Stead from Blenheim wanted something different, very different in the way of a workshop “ hack “ to promote his business,’ Big Shed ‘ customs. Sure it would have been easy to just paint up a jailbar or Chevy truck and stick on his company name. You’ll work out fairly quickly that Mark never takes the easy way out, and it’s always done right. After seeing a COE truck at a rod event in Dallas, he thought it would be very cool for his shop and knew he could make one a lot better. Amazingly enough he found a complete cab with guards rusting away in his own home town. The downside to this was that the owner wouldn’t sell it to him.

After a period of sulking subsided, he convinced himself that he could just build one. He’s not sure if it was too much bourbon or not enough, but he inevitably opened his big mouth and announced for all to hear that he would construct one from scratch, with just his thought pattern to go by! Surrounded by disbelievers, they became his big inspiration to keep going, most saying it would never happen. It also didn’t help to see a custom model of one in a local toy shop with big wheels and an unusual green at that. Just two years and two months later after cutting out the first pieces for the floor pan, Mark drove his dream down the road for the first time.

The basis of the truck was a Toyota Hilux chassis which he modified to his own ideas. The modified front suspension now has HSV Holden discs, and runs a disc brake Falcon rear end with 4-bar links. Mark chose an injected 303 Ford engine and 4-speed Falcon auto and utilises a complete stainless exhaust system. At first glance the truck appears to have no radiator, at the front anyway! There is one on either side under the deck. Wheels are Billet Specialties, front 20” x 9” with 245 x 35 x 20” tyres and rears are 20” x 10” with 295 x 45 x 20”. Mark created all the bodywork himself and the amazing metalwork also extends into the cab area. The truck is basically a concept vehicle based loosely on the old ford COE with every panel being hand crafted, including the tray, guards and grille. Headlights are ‘04 Mini with Hella truck marker lights on the rear and motorcycle mirrors.

When it came to paint this was also done in-house with a special mix green which knocks you off your feet in the sunlight. The interior consists of hand fabricated seats all covered in cream leather and features Autometer gauges, electric windows and electric door poppers. Beating the odds completely the truck was debuted at the 2012 Beach Hop. Four great mates worked their a….. off doing some real long hours alongside Mark but want no recognition in print, just beers! Whilst driving in the grand parade Mark overheard a lady say what a peculiar green the strange truck was painted. This appealed to Mark’s warped sense of humour so the next person to ask the colour of the truck was told it was called Peculiar green. This seems to go hand in hand with convincing some people that it’s powered by an air-cooled aeroplane engine! Of course there is also the poor sod who asks what it used to be? The reply….”just half a pallet of panel steel mate!”

It has taken 3,000 hours to create this masterpiece and wife Tanya thought that was great as this was 3,000 hours where she had the television remote! Thanks to the guys at Big Shed customs, Malborough Motor Trimmers, Resene, Tanya and all the doubters who said it couldn’t be done. As a member of Sun Valley Roadsters, and a head full of ideas there’s a lowboy fenderless, completely hand built ‘37 roadster well under way. I guess this means only one thing really; Tanya is going to have that remote for a while to come yet.

The post Empty Pockets – Just a peculiar green truck! appeared first on Big Shed Customs.

This article about the Shelby Mustang restored by Big Shed Customs appeared in the Mat 28th edition of The Selwyn Times.

By: Craig Stare

I spotted this car several years ago undergoing a major restoration at Big shed customs in Blenheim. Brendan and Gail Woods are the lucky owners of this extremely rare 1968 Shelby Mustang convertible, one of the rarest Mustangs ever produced. This car (2057) is one of just 402, GT500 convertibles ever produced. The 500 refers to it being powered by a 428 Cobra Jet engine and in this case backed up by a C6 automatic. Its factory colour is Acapulco blue with saddle tan interior, this combination only featured in 17 of those 402 cars!

Brendan and Gail now live in picturesque Akaroa, but still own a farm in the Selwyn district. The car was built on the 26th February at the Metuchen assembly plant before being shipped to North-Western Ford (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) in April of that year.

Along with nine other Shelby convertibles, this car was loaned to the newly opened Playboy mansion in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. It even drove in the grand opening parade. Some of these cars stayed as long as six months mainly used for V.I.P transportation. The car was still brand new.

It doesn’t stop there with No 2057 also appearing in several episodes of theTVcomedy series ‘Get Smart’. The main actor, Don Adams was a frequent visitor to the Playboy clubs.

The car went through several owners and by 1996 it was painted yellowwith a brown roof and lived in Canada. In 2010 Brendan replied to an advert and purchased the car, from Japan. The car was shipped back, totally stripped back to every nut and bolt and repainted to its original Acapulco blue, and the car fully restored on a rotisserie.

Since completion, the car has driven the length of New Zealand twice, once to the Mustang convention in Auckland and again to the Beach Hop in Whangamata.

The post The Snake Bite appeared first on Big Shed Customs.

The post 1937 Ford Cabriolet on cover of NZ Petrolhead magazine appeared first on Big Shed Customs.

The awards for Top 5 Cars went to:

• Ian Neary, Auckland, 1959 Ford
• Martin Bennett, Cambridge, 1937 Ford pickup
• Zane Ratcliffe, Hamilton, 1959 Cadillac
• Trevor Halstead, Hamilton, Studebaker
• Mark Stead, Blenheim, Big Shed Custom Cab

The post Beach Hop Pictorial – Top 5 Cars 2013 appeared first on Big Shed Customs.

Here’s the article:

By Craig Stare
I SPOTTED this car a couple of years back, halfway through its restoration at Big Shed Customs in Blenheim, and was told of its interesting history.

Brendan and Gail, who live in the picturesque Akaroa village (Banks Peninsula) bought the car at auction in Japan in May 2010. At this point the car was painted yellow with a brown roof. It was a far cry from its original Acapulco blue which it was painted in when it rolled off the Metuchen assembly plant on the 26th February, 1968. The car is one of 402 GT500 convertibles produced in 1968, and is powered by a 428ci, 4bbl big block Ford with a C6 auto.

Mark Stead’s ‘Big Shed’ fully restored the car to its original spec’s, including the paint and factory saddle coloured interior.

We mentioned history….. this car was one of 10 Shelbys which were loaned to the Playboy mansion in 1968 and also appeared on an episode of the ‘Get Smart’ TV series.

The post Shelby Mustang featured in Beach Hop Pictorial appeared first on Big Shed Customs.

Is Shelby number 2057 a “secret agent” in disguise? The history of the car is certainly special, but is it also hiding another secret?

Serial Number 8T03S173659-02057 was built as an Acapulco Blue convertible with a saddle interior. This combination would be seldomly used, with only 17 Shelby convertibles having these colors. In the coming years, 2057 would have an interesting history and become a world traveler.

In April of 1968, the car was intially sent to Northwestern Ford in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Along with nine other convertibles, 2057 was taken to the newly opened Playboy Mansion in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Minar Ford in Minneapolis also supplied cars to the mansion. These cars stayed at the mansion anywhere from one month to as long as six months. It is believed they were used by staff and special guests. A Grand Opening Parade was held in conjunction with the opening of the mansion. All ten cars participated in the parade.

I traced the history of all 17 Shelbys built in this color combination and it strongly suggests the car was used for the TV series “Get Smart”. Get Smart was 1960s comedy series that starred Don Adams. Adams was a secret agent. He was also a comedian that frequented the Playboy clubs. The car appears in season four (1968). After studying several episodes in season 4, the following information about the car was noted: The Acapulco Blue, GT500 has a saddle interior and no air conditioning. The car also has the later style reflectors, Lucas fog lamps and large, lettered Goodyear tires.

In one episode, a special “secret agent” steering wheel phone can be seen. You can also see there is no air conditioning vent. This is an important clue.

These clues eliminate thirteen of the seventeen cars. Of the remaining four cars, only one appears to have a history that matches the time frame for the television series. That car is # 2057.

In early 1969 the car was sent to Colorado. There it was sold used by Courtesy Ford in Denver. There is also some information the car may have made a brief appearance at Johnny Harper Ford in Wheatridge, Colorado.

The first owner, David had the car for about a year before trading it back to Courtesy Ford. David had several Shelbys over the years. He enjoyed them all. He was unaware of the early history of the car. Like many cars, the history trail ends for a time.

Thanks to the Shelby American Automobile Club we again find the blue convertible in 1996. The owner, Dennis Pelletier, lived in Canada. Numerous attempts to find this owner have been unsucessful. However, we do know the car was repainted a pale, yellow color. A brown convertible top nearly made the car unrecognizable.

In 2010, I got an email from the new owner. The first thing I noticed was the email address was from New Zealand. The story sounded very typical. “I have found a Shelby in Japan and am awaiting transport of the car to my home in New Zealand. I was hoping you could help me with a few items?” I immediately had that sinking feeling in my stomach. We have all heard the stories before….send a deposit and we will send you the car. Fortunately, I already had heard this car was really in Japan and it was for sale. Cars imported to Japan usually have a special Japanese VIN stamped into the body. Brendon, the new owner, was able to recite the VIN.

2057 sits in Japan awaiting shipment to New Zealand

A short time later, Brendon, sent the first pictures of the former Playboy Mansion car. Overall it looked very solid. I am happy to report the car is currently undergoing a complete restoration. It will be painted Acapulco Blue and the white top will return. Brendon continues to search for the missing history of his car and how it started its international travels. But, then again a secret agent would be good at covering his tracks.

2057 in New Zealand undergoing restoration

Here are some more pictures of the progress. The Coralsnake is worldwide, so a few pictures from the other side of the world are no problem.

The finished body on the rotiserrie is always an exciting time. It takes a lot of hard work to get to this stage.

The Acapulco Blue and saddle will look awesome. Its a shame to cover those beautiful floors with a carpet.

The engine is in place and the car is ready for final body fitment.

This shot was taken just before the finishing touches were added. It looks as good as new.

Here is Mark, the restorer, with the finished car. It’s back to the original colors.

Original article: http://www.thecoralsnake.com/History22

The post The Secret History of Shelby No. 2057 appeared first on Big Shed Customs.

The ‘Peculiar Green’ truck built by Blenheim classic car restorer Mark Stead, second left, and the pink 1937 Ford Cabriolet, fourth from left, he restored for Kaikoura couple Stu and Glynis Windle line up with the other top vehicles at the New Zealand Street Rod Nationals in Taupo

Keep on truckin’

Success at two North Island car shows brings kudos to Mark Stead’s custom car-building skills and, he says, endless bragging rights.

The truck he drove to the shows took him two years and two months to build and is identified on its registration papers as a 2012 Big Shed Customs COE (cab over engine).

It was one of the top five “People’s Choice” vehicles among 1000 entries at the Whangamata Beach Hop in the Coromandel late last month.

“Voters” made their choices by dropping money into a bin beside the vehicle they liked the most.

“The car attracting the most cash was the overall winner and the money in all bins was donated to community causes in Whangamata.

Bragging rights: Blenheim car restorer Mark Stead stands beside the 2012 Big Shed Customs COE truck he built, identified among the top vehicles at two North Island car shows.
photo: Derek Flynn

Last year the beach hop car vote raised more than $30,000.

The following weekend was Easter and Mark lined his truck up with other contenders at the New Zealand Street Rod Nationals in Taupo.

There, it and a 1937 Ford Cabriolet Mark restored for Kaikoura couple Stu and Glynis Windle were among the top-10 vehicles.

The Windles took home the Taupo Rodders club trophy.

This week Mark’s truck is back home at his Big Shed Customs workshop, opened in Riverlands 12 years ago.

The qualified panelbeater builds custom cars and restores hot rods, street rods, muscle cars and classic vehicles.

The truck is the first Mark has built for himself and he worked on it after hours, most week nights and nearly every weekend.

A HiLux chassis was chosen for its strength and wheel base size, and the readily available suspension and steering parts.

He fitted the chassis with a 5-litre, 302 Ford fuel-injected engine with a 4-speed Falcon auto gear box and diff assembly.

The body was based on the style of a 1950s delivery truck.

Asked about the goods his 2012 vehicle will deliver, Mark said: “Mates say ‘a fat head and an ego.”

Hear how he created the cab and deck, though, and he has the right to feel a little proud.

“I can’t draw . . . I [just] knew what I wanted.”

He drew some cardboard templates then cut into 10 sheets of panel steel which were stretched and shrunk into shapes using a power hammer and an “English wheel”, a metal-making tool that forms compound curves from flat sheets of metal.

“Everything has a natural shape. My hands and my eyes tell me where it’s at.

“With my eyes I can see where I want to go next and by running my hands over it I can feel any imperfections.”

Finally, the truck was painted metallic green, specially mixed to resemble an empty Heineken bottle.

The truck’s official colouring is identified as “Peculiar Green,” inspired by a woman Mark overheard last year exclaiming: “That’s a peculiar truck and what a peculiar green.”

Peculiarity helped it stand out, he said, and people at the North Island shows had started referring to “that Blenheim truck”.

It is easy to handle on the road with power steering and a 5-litre engine but Mark doesn’t want to talk about fuel efficiency.

“I don’t know. I just put fuel in it.”

View original article at:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/8548743/Keep-on-truckin

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