Month: January 2026

Some builds start with a dream car. Others start with what most people would call scrap.

This 1934 Real Henry Ford Roadster began life as a rusty ex-Durban wreck — the kind of car many would have written off as too far gone. But in the 2010s, Phillip Kingma of Benoni saw something different. Where others saw corrosion and decay, he saw the bones of a proper low-boy street racer waiting to be brought back to life.

And just to be clear — no good cars were harmed in the making of this machine.

From Childhood Passion to Classic Resurrection

Like many young boys, his fascination started with anything that had wheels — and the bigger it was, the better. That childhood curiosity quickly turned into a lifelong love for cars.

As a teenager, he began learning the ropes by helping his father with small automotive repairs. That hands-on experience laid the foundation for everything that followed. His first real taste of restoration came with a Beetle Baja, which he repainted himself. From there, several restorations followed — but nothing would compare to the challenge and scale of the 1954 Dodge Royal.

Some cars get restored.
Some cars get modified.
And then there’s Wayne’s 1928 Chevrolet — a mostly wooden-bodied classic that looks like it rolled straight out of another century… but hides a very different story underneath.

At first glance, it’s vintage charm. Real heritage. Real character. A car from an era where craftsmanship meant timber, steel, and patience.

Some people restore cars.
Some people modify them.
And then there’s Bertie Strauss — a man who builds machines purely for himself, in his own private workshop, to his own uncompromising standards.

No production line.
No customer builds.
No shortcuts.

Just passion, power, and precision.

When building or upgrading a Toyota 4AGE 20V engine, it’s easy to focus on major components like camshafts, intake systems, exhaust upgrades, and ECU tuning. However, one critical part of the valvetrain is often overlooked — valve springs. These small yet vital components control valve motion and directly impact engine reliability and performance, especially at higher RPM.

In this article, we break down the differences between OEM valve springs and the STK Racing Single Valve Spring Kit, and explain why upgrading should form part of your performance strategy.

This is my story about my cars and my passion.

My name is Jayshree James — but in the classic car world, most people know me as Cortina Girl. That name isn’t just a nickname. It’s a piece of my heart.

I was born into a world of petrol fumes, spanners, and the unmistakable rumble of old-school Ford engines. Some kids grew up playing with dolls or video games — I grew up in the garage with my dad, handing him tools, wiping grease off chrome, and learning the language of carburetors and camshafts. My childhood wasn’t just surrounded by classic cars; it was built around them.

Some builds start with a plan.
This one started with a vision — and a refusal to build “just another Cobra.”

It began with a Kit Car Center Venom RT kit — the larger tub version of the well-known Cobra replica. The car looked fantastic out of the box. The proportions were right, the presence undeniable. But that wasn’t enough.

It didn’t start out wild.

It started life as a standard Opel Corsa bakkie — simple, reliable, built to work. But like most good builds, it only needed the right vision… and the right people… to turn it into something completely different.

I’ve nicknamed her Marlena—and like most long-term relationships worth having, this one has been built slowly, patiently, and with heart.

This isn’t a quick flip or a trend-driven build. Marlena is the result of thirteen years in the garage, constantly evolving, constantly changing, and always reflecting the vision in my head. Long before I bought her, I knew I wanted one. Growing up, there was always a similar bakkie in the family, and that shape, that sound, that presence quietly embedded itself into my DNA. This build is as much about nostalgia as it is about craftsmanship.

Some people inherit money. Others inherit land. I inherited a love for classic cars.

That passion was passed down to me from my grandfather and father, long before I ever understood what a carburetor was or why chrome bumpers looked better than plastic ones. My grandfather was one of the first young men to drive a car in Aberdeen, Eastern Cape, back in the early 1940s. To me, that always sounded like something out of a history book, yet for him it was simply life.