Martin Bennett achieved something many Kiwis can only dream of – having the hot rod he built selected to be displayed at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas – yes, you read that right, a Kiwi was asked to display his car in the home of hot rods.
This is no ordinary hot rod either – it is a lovingly rebuilt replica of a famous US Show vehicle UncertainT, built by Steve Scott in 1965.
The builder, Martin Bennett from Cambridge, was inspired after he decided to build up a 1/24th Revel scale model he had of UncertainT (Acquired when he was 13 but never assembled). In Kiwi fashion he took the model to a local woodworking guru Clive Plumtree who felt he could make a 24 times larger reproduction.
A lot of planning then went into the build to source all the required components and as much information and history as he could find on the car which had not been seen since the 1970’s.
Two years was then spent getting the various parts made including a Hilborn built injection system, remade engine dress parts from Moon, Radir made the 12-inch-wide rear piecrust tyres, Rebel the 12 spoke wheels and Stewart Warner some of the old style gauges. Several things had to be changed to make it roadworthy and driveable in New Zealand but otherwise Martin stuck as close to the original as possible.
The engine is a 63 Buick 401 cuin ‘Nailhead’ found on eBay and the 727-Torque-flight truck box was found locally. The Winters quick change was a find at the Palmy swap meet while the front suspension, axle and mounts came from Magoo’s with the Schroeder torsion bars made in the States via Caldwell’s.
March 2019 Martin and friend and assistant builder Mark Rendle went to the Detroit Autorama to see Chuck Millers recreation of the ‘Red Baron’, which he had built 50 years earlier. Chuck introduced them to the promoters of the ISCA (International Show Car Association) and Pete Toundas suggested they would like to have UncertainT as a feature car for their 2020 show circuit.
A few deadlines were missed, but Martin and Mark got it running at the 11th hour for shipping to SEMA with help from Graeme Cox (Graeme Cox Engineering), Mark Jones – painting, Mike Gibson – upholstery, and Erynn Cross (Cross Auto Electrical) who did the wiring in Martin’s shed at home. Nigel Weber of Steamworx did the urgent small machining tasks, Performance Imports built the engine and Jim Brown the transmission. From SEMA it will appear in seven or eight US shows and return to New Zealand in April 2020.
Martin comments that “The SEMA experience was amazing and the car was well received with many people remembering the 1/24th scale model. We met many celebrities and even the guy Junior Conway who painted the car originally back in 1965 for Steve Scott.” He would also like to thank everyone who helped with the build.
Full specifications for UncertainT will be included in the article on our website motorequipmentnews.co.nz/article/uncertaint
UncertainT Tribute
Owner:
Martin and Marion Bennett, Cambridge, New Zealand
Club:
Stragglers Rod & Kustom Club (inc)
Model:
923 Ford Model T
Chassis:
75 x 50 RHS
Engine:
1963 401 Buick Nailhead
Roller Rockers, Performance Cam Ported heads
Hilborn Injection, Holley EFI, Hunts MSD magneto, Moon Dress-up gear
Transmission:
727 Torque flight, 2400rpm Stall Converter
Diff:
Winter VB Quickchange, 3,70 ratio
Suspension:
Front – Custom 'Schroeder' Torsion bars
Rear – Custom Inverted leaf springs
Steering:
Fiat Pinto rack and pinion
Brakes:
Front – Wilwood single pot callipers, 12" rotors
Rear – F100 Finned Drums
Wheels & Tyres:
Front – 16"x3" Borrani wires/Kenda 3.00x16
Rear – 16"x12" Custom ET's/Radir Piecrust 12.00x16
Interior:
Jaz Seats – Antique leather
Gauges:
Stewart Warner (60's style copies)
Body:
Custom Built
Paint:
PPG Candy Tangerine with Gold Flake
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