Hotrods a lifestyle

Drew Galog with  the  1927 T-Roadster he is taking to  the NZHRA National Hot Rod Show in Dunedin...
Drew Galog with the 1927 T-Roadster he is taking to the NZHRA National Hot Rod Show in Dunedin. Photo by Hamish MacLean.

Few cars represent a subculture more clearly than the hot rod.

For Drew Galog, his custom-built hot rods represent a way of life for him and his brothers, Jay and Steve.

The Balclutha brothers don't just shine their cars and show them off, they build them and drive them.

''We drive them all the time. A lot of people build show cars and display them and never drive them anywhere, but I don't, I drive them. I try to get them out all the time, when the weather's OK,'' Mr Galog said.

For petrolheads from Otago and across New Zealand it's all happening in Dunedin on October 25 and 26.

The New Zealand Hot Rod Association's National Hot Rod Show is being hosted by its Otago clubs and the Delta Rod and Custom Club from Balclutha will be represented.

The Galog brothers alone are bringing five cars to be judged at the show.

Mr Galog has built a 1927 Ford Model T roadster and a 1932 Ford coupe. He runs an engineering shop in Balclutha and for the trade show in Dunedin he has spent seven months building a T-bucket but left it in pieces so that at the trade show he can bolt it together each hour ''so that every hour people can see something''.

He said some hot rod fans spend $70,000 to $80,000 on their cars. He does everything but the upholstery in his cars.

''When you do it for yourself you don't worry about it, it's your `fun'. That's what you enjoy doing,'' he said.

The New Zealand Hot Rod Association handbook states: ''The most popular definition of a Hot Rod would be a modified vehicle of American origin, originally manufactured prior to 1949.''

And the handbook notes that many people these days are becoming interested in cars from the 1950s and '60s.

Judges will select best custom, best stock, best classic, best street machine: the list of sub-categories ''just goes on and on'' Mr Galog said.

Vehicles go on display at 8am at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin on Saturday, October 25, and the cars stay on display until Sunday afternoon.

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