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It was built in Warkworth by hot rod enthusiast and current vice president of the Te Awamutu Rod and Custom Club, Chris Hawkings.
The only part still intact was the cab when Chris obtained it in 1977. In its former days, it was used by the Campbell family in Matakana to pull kauri logs out of the bush.
“I put the motor in and built the chassis. I have accidentally blown it up three times and had to rebuild it, but that’s what hot-rodding is,” Chris says. It has a 5.6-litre, supercharged 6-71 engine and can cover a quarter mile in just 17.7 seconds at 118 miles an hour.
The original Essex had a dickie seat that folded out of the rear for extra passengers, but Chris has replaced it with a flat tray on the back. It also has Foose mag wheels from the United States that are each forged from a single piece of aluminium.
