Being stuck in a traffic jam at 6am on a Sunday morning is no joke. But this was no ordinary traffic jam. This was a queue consisting of cars that you’d gladly line-up to see anywhere in the world, and in the case of the annual Cars in the Park pilgrimage to Zwartkops Raceway, the cars that start revving up outside the gate from 5.45 am are unique.
Where else could you see a Rat Truck, a giant truck-version of a rat rod that uses two Peterbilt V8 diesel engines joined one behind the other to produce 750 kW of motivation and enough torque to uproot the entire pit lane infrastructure at Zwartkops?
THE RAT TRUCK RULES
The Rat Truck, with the legend “Henkbilt” on its doors, was one of the spectator highlights at this year’s event which saw close to 3 000 cars and 13 000 spectators enjoying what turned out to be the first day of Spring in Pretoria on August 4, 2019.
The truck was a behemoth creation that also featured two turbochargers towering into the air like elephantine trumpets, what looked like World War Two bomb casings mounted just below the cabin, and, bizarrely, peace signs for indicator lights on the massive grille. Mad Max himself would have approved of Henk’s creation!
OLD ZEPHYRS AND A MINT MERC PEGODA
That early morning pre-dawn trip to Zwartkops enables you to see a plethora of cars being driven into the circuit, to join the other 2 999 special-interest vehicles that make this the biggest car show in Africa. Here you would see a pair of early 1950s Ford Zephyrs in preserved but unrestored trim followed closely by a mint lady-driven Mercedes-Benz 230 SL with the so-called Pegoda roof, worth a lot more than R1-million today.
This story is from the Edition 104 edition of SA Hot Rods.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Edition 104 edition of SA Hot Rods.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
“My Pretty One” 1972 Opel Manta 1900
Owner: J.S Orlandini
Twin Turbo 350 Small Block Chevy
Designed and built by Nico at RS Performance
Building A Cal Look VW Beetle Part 1
There are few cars quite as cool as a souped-up VW Beetle that can easily kick the asses of more expensive car during a street race or on a drag strip.
Sema Battle Of The Builders
2020 Winner Brady Ranweiler 1963 Chevy 2 Door Wagon
Behind The Scenes At Disc Brakes Wildwood
Wilwood's new facility adds an additional 100,000 squarefeet to its manufacturing arsenal. The barrage of CNC machinery is run for two shifts each day, up to six days a week, with tooling designed in-house. That adds up to 10 tons of shavings spit out of the CNC machines each month!
The 100 Horsepower Upgrade: Cam Only 5.3L Test
What’s a cam swap really worth?
THE HISTORY OF RODDING SOUTH AFRICA THE FIRST GENERATION PART 3
In this issue, we follow the story of Eddie Jardine and friends during their rodding days.
Custom autosound
JAYCE’S CLASSICS SPARES OLD AIR PRODUCTS
E-STREET 2 EFI SYSTEM AFFORDABLE UNIVERSAL THROTTLE BODY ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION
Convert your V8 from a carburetor to the E-Street 2 EFI system in a single day with only basic mechanical skills and minimal tools.
AEROMOTIVE RELEASES NEW TRUE VARIABLE SPEED FUEL PUMP CONTROLLER
The state-of-the-art speed controller is designed to improve overall fuel system efficiency, reduce fuel temperatures and is compatible with Aeromotive’s line of brushless gear pumps.
