> 73BACKK in late June Kiwi rodders John and Val Saunders struck
it lucky while visiting Australia when they chanced upon Rod
Hadfield. Rod Hadfield is an absolute Australian hot rod icon, and
they got bench racing and mentioned their itinerary listed a visit
to Castlemaine which is about 130 kms north of Melbourne and is
known as The Street Rod Centre of Australia. Rod’s museum contains
many of the rods he’s constructed during a long career in building
modified vehicles along with memorabilia collected which decorates
the walls. It’s an amazing place and is a must visit attraction.The King of Castlemaine
A Snapshot of Rod Hadfield’s Hot Rod Collection
Beau” T” is a Model T coupe powered
by a blown, Ardun-headed Ford and
is themed on a 1960s drag car.The Fire Chief has a Fiat Topolino
body with a V12 motor. John
discovered that Rod is a man of
few words, and when he said
to him “is that hard to drive”
he replied, “it’s not that easy.” >Haddy’s Hambster merges a ’ 17 Dodge cowl to a ’ 22
Model T rear. Up front is a 302ci Commer truck inline
6. Alongside is a ‘22 T powered by a 392ci Hemi.L-R John Saunders, Norm
Hardinge and Rod Hadfield.Henry’s Best is a very rare Model T Ford Couple
with twin superchargers. It really is a beautiful
car with that unique body that those models had.