The pressures of raising a family
meant Duncan wasn’t able to spend
a lot of time or money on the car but
just enough to keep it going. He was
a member of NSRA Auckland and was
heavily involved in the Kumeu Classic
Car and Hot Rod Show with his brother
Mal from the very first show up until
number eight. It was this event which
really showed the public show the
public the depth there was in the art
of hot rodding and classic cars in West
Auckland and then the entire country.
Many trips were made to the drags
and Duncan used to go to all the
Fathers Days Drags and in 2008-
also attended the Night Speed Drag
Wars at Meremere drag strip with Jed
Dyer. In the early days, The Falcon
would run a 15.8 on a good day, but he
got it down to run consistent 14.2s.
The rebuild was started in 2012 when
Almo from Auto Magic said, “don’t
come back until you’ve fixed the rust!”
Duncan thought he’d have it done and
dusted in three years. He remarked
“It took over seven years and a wild
journey of passion for this car which
has nearly had me throw the towel in
when I hit the wall with money or was
overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude it
took to get it across the line. My daughter
Daniella was married Feb 2018, and
the Falcon was ready to take her to her
special day. I would say the last year of
actually getting it finished, and then legal
ready to go on the road has been the
longest, but to see it complete is quite
something and I can’t help thinking, it
looks so good, is that really my car?”18 > NZ HOT ROD SEPTEMBER 2019