A TRUE ’60S NZ SURVIVOR
We are so lucky as car crazies living in New Zealand. It’s relatively easy to import a cool car from almost anywhere in the world — especially from the land of the V8s, the good ol’ US of A. Most imported cars have a cool backstory, but what’s cooler than an American car that was ordered and bought new in the ’60s by your parents and has remained in the family ever since?
In 1961, Michael Hood’s father, Mitty Hood, ordered his new Plymouth Belvedere with a 313 Poly (5.2-litre) V8, through Motor Sales and Service in Gore for £2150. It was a very different choice from all the Aussie and English cars that were coming into the country at the time, not to mention a big investment (you could purchase a 1961 Holden for only £700 and a good house would set you back about £1500).
