Car Features

Ringbrothers, the world-renowned custom car builder and parts manufacturer, has unveiled its latest custom creation, “TUSK,” a meticulous and thorough remastering of the iconic 1969 Dodge Charger. Engineered from the wheels-up, TUSK is an uncompromised expression of the original with extensive fabrication and carbon-fiber components combined with a modern chassis, suspension and Mopar’s most powerful crate engine: the 1,000 horsepower Hellephant. Limited to just 100 units, the rare and coveted Hellephant serves as the soundtrack, powerplant and inspiration for the Charger’s name.

Owner: Damien de Waal

Damien found the Ranchero in Hermanus. It initially looked decent however when he decided to jack the car up the jack just broke through the floor and the car stayed exactly where it was. It was all just fiberglass under the car as all the steel had rusted away. Damien was lucky enough to find a replacement body that had no rust on it whatsoever from an area in the Karoo.

Riaan goes on to explain:

I like to tell people that I grew up in a muscle car/V8 house and it was always very exciting when my dad came to fetch us from school driving his V8 cars. My dad owned Holden Monaro’s and Ford Fairmont’s since I can remember. He restored cars all his life, making parts, fabricating body panels where the rust took over. From a very early age, he involved my brothers and I in all of his projects; rebuilding engines, panel beating and spray painting. I bought my first car when I was 18 for a R1000, a 1971 Ford Fairlane 500.

Herman says:

The vehicle started as a project in Hermanus that was abandoned. The owner had it on the internet and Ivan Snatched it up. Ivan dad had originally built the Hot Rod to her brother Wayne’s specifications and preferences, with a Cummins 5.9l turbo diesel engine and 5 ton Mercedes tip truck manual gearbox. Unfortunately her brother Wayne was killed in a car accident when the project was all but complete.

The body of the car was in very bad condition at it was originally a drag car. As the body was fiberglass, rust was no issue. The chassis was the only part that had to be sandblasted by Pro Strip Media & Powder Coating in Mesa, Arizona. The body work took about 4 months to finish. 

I had been trying to buy this car for the past 5 years. I had never seen it but Ralph at Motown Auto Parts had been to the owner’s house to do some minor work on it and had told me it had a Chevy 383 in it but that was all he knew. 

Some fathers bond with their sons over fishing trips or camping weekends. Others find it on the sports field. For Durban airline pilot Mark Ovenstone and his son Connor, that bond was forged in grease, metal shavings and late nights in the garage. Their shared love for hot rods didn’t just build a car—it built a legacy.

Article and Photos by: Stefan Daniël Kotzé

The Type 2 T1s built between 1967 –1979 are still cool in their own right though. They are more accessible and they still fetch reasonable prices too. For the owners of these buses, it’s rarely about the money, more about the culture, lifestyle and everything else that goes hand in hand with owning one of the classics. It’s usually more of a love and often hate affair that could last a lifetime. When you own one of these, you’re normally in it for the long haul.

By : Gerhard Van Vuuren
Photos: Jacques Lamprecht