Halliday Racing Developments

28/07/2026

Nothing too crazy to report over winter. We've been keeping busy with customer cars, but we've still managed to keep a bit of pressure on our two current race cars.
#3 Mk2 Es**rt has just scored a new set of rear springs, and we're right in the middle of building a new set of headers. The old set sat a little too close to the alternator, and at the Taupo round at the start of the year they managed to cook a section of the wiring loom!
The new headers will be equal length with a firing order spiral, so we're hoping it'll sound a bit more like #194... and maybe even find a few extra horsepower while we're at it. 😜
Always something happening in the workshop!

23/06/2026

HRD Secretary here (Rebecca) 🙋‍♀️
Hi everyone! I'm posting on behalf of the team today, so here goes...
The much talked about third Es**rt of the century 🤣 is getting closer to being finished. Robbie wanted to wait until it was completely done before sharing any photos, but judging by the workload around here 😬 that might not be until later this year!
I don't know all the technical details (and if I asked, I'd probably get a 30-minute explanation anyway, but I do know the colour looks absolutely amazing.
A huge shout-out to my brother-in-law Glenn Carr for all the panel work and paint. The quality of the work is incredible, and the car is really starting to come together.
Anyway, that's enough from me. Hope you all like the update! 👋

15/06/2026

Same axles… diff-erent specs! 😅

Lined up here are our two Group 4 rear ends an English axle with Wilwood brakes and an Atlas fitted with AP Racing calipers. Looking forward to seeing both of these back out on track when the season gets underway again! 🏁💪

07/06/2026

I have gathered a few photos of what are possibly some of the lesser-known race cars that Rob and Don built over the years, including an early livery version of the very well-known #103 Es**rt. It's also nice to see the Japanese cars getting in on the action in the early 1980s, around the time Rob had shifted his focus towards skid steer loaders.
Anyway, it's neat to see that we've come full circle. From race cars back then to building and maintaining them today, the passion for engineering and motorsport is still very much alive. 💪🏁

22/04/2026

Bit of a shame we won’t be making the last round this weekend 😭
With winter closing in though, it’s officially project season 💪
We’ve got a pretty unique one in the shop at the moment… a BMW V8-powered ute. It has run before, but the automatic transmission has called it quits, so it’s time for the next phase.
We’ve put together a short video showing the progress so far from machining and welding to a fair bit of head scratching 😅
Check it out 👇

12/04/2026

With most people nowadays not knowing what a VHS Tape is I thought I would share some old footage of Rob Halliday (aka the boss or dad) in the mk2 lotus cortina from skope way back

https://youtu.be/BHApxJrxwAw?si=bfJNjfRetjXuFsfm

01/04/2026

After an awesome weekend with our latest Mk1 Es**rt, we thought we’d share this link to the original car along with a bit of its story and its latest owner.

This is Part 1 of our latest feature car, the amazing Halliday brothers Ford Es**rt MkI. This incredible little machine is a multiple New Zealand national ch...

24/03/2026

Our last race with HMSC and what a way to finish!
After a tough run with a few issues,(3DNFs) we finally had the engine on point and it showed. One of the closest finishes I’ve ever been part of! 🔥🏁💪

Race 3 handicap from the 2026 legends of speed meeting at Hamton DownsMk1 BDG ford escortlast round of the Historic Muscle & Saloon Cars0.337 second finish b...

16/03/2026

With Legends of Speed coming up this weekend and celebrating Kiwi ingenuity and engineering in motorsport, what better time to show off some of our handy work.
Here’s a look at the English / Atlas hybrid diffs we’ve been building. Using axles and L*D units from 3J Driveline, these setups strike a great balance between weight and strength.
Running the lighter English centre paired with Atlas 18-spline axles gives you the best of both worlds lightweight where it counts, but strong enough to handle the load when you're trying to put the power down, even on higher-powered road and race cars.