SEMA Wrap Up 01 January 2020 07:25 Rare Spares General, Rare Spares (0) Share There are car shows, and there are car SHOWS. We’ve used capitals in this case as we’re talking SEMA. The Speciality Equipment Market Association holds a massive get together once a year and has done so since 1963 after a number of automotive aftermarket parts makers, including Dean Moon and Vic Edelbrock saw a niche that needed filling. [More]
Super2 Mid-Season Recap 17 July 2019 11:37 Rare Spares General, Rare Spares (0) ShareSuper2 is the name given to the second level of Supercars racing in Australia. It’s undergone a number of name changes in recent years, but the level of entertainment and gripping racing hasn’t. It’s provided a home for superseded top tier Supercars, and is a place for drivers aimi... [More]
1970s Aussie Street Machines 19 June 2019 12:17 Rare Spares General, Rare Spares (0) ShareStreet Machine. Two words that, for a slowly diminishing band of brothers, mean a lifestyle, a form of rebellion, a chance to self-expression via changes to sheetmetal, shoehorning into a tight engine bay a donk that shouldn’t fit but does, or layers of luscious custom “kandy” pear... [More]
Rare Spares’ Automotive Movie Guide – 5 of our Favourites! 10 April 2019 10:27 Rare Spares General, Rare Spares (0) ShareThere are some topics in life which are more divisive than pineapple on pizzas. Star Wars versus Star Trek, Holden versus Ford, Connery versus Moore. Best car films in any discussion fall into the divisive category. What makes for a good car film, though? Is it the car or cars? The story line... [More]
How did Datsun become Nissan? 27 March 2019 10:13 Rare Spares General, Rare Spares (0) ShareThose of us of a certain age will remember that the brand name Nissan was unheard of, and Datsun was synonymous with small Japanese cars. However, there is a substantial history to both companies. Datsun itself was founded in 1911. Part of the name, DAT, comes from the company founders. Kenjiro Den... [More]
The Holden ECOmmodore 26 February 2019 09:12 Rare Spares General, Rare Spares (0) ShareHolden has a history of quietly sneaking concept cars or forthcoming design changes into public view. Possibly its biggest hidden in plain sight concept of the last two decades was the ECOmmodore of 2000. Ostensibly a four door coupe version of the VT Commodore, it would eventually point the way to... [More]
History of the LS Engine 10 July 2018 04:49 Rare Spares General, Rare Spares (0) ShareThere’s a saying in the automotive world: “There’s no replacement for displacement.” Somehow, that tag became attached to an engine, in a vee shape and packing eight cylinders, made by Chevrolet in America. In the late nineties General Motors and Chevrolet debuted a new V8. ... [More]
A Look into the Career of Allan Moffat 26 June 2018 05:13 Rare Spares General, Rare Spares (0) ShareAlthough Australian motorsport has its fair share of locally grown heroes, there’s one that hails from Canada. He’s a name with a familiar voice to many thanks to his 1970s TV adverts for Ford and Victa but it’s his on track prowess that he’ll be remembered for. He is, of cou... [More]
The Positives and Negatives of Buying at a Classic Car Auction 14 June 2018 06:00 Rare Spares General, Rare Spares (0) ShareIt’s an automotive enthusiast’s dream. Head to an auction that features a list of classic cars, the type that had you gazing at the poster on the wall for hours. Up for grabs is a Lamborghini Countach, perhaps a Tucker Torpedo, maybe even a classic Ford Model T. Niggling away is a quest... [More]
Beginners Guide to getting into Motorsport – Part 2 05 June 2018 07:12 Rare Spares General, Rare Spares (0) ShareIn the first part of our article about how to enter motorsport, we finished with some hints about obtaining the relevant license to getting into entry level motorsport. There are those that have both the time and monetary resources to drive their private car in track days. And here, setting a budge... [More]