Whangamata Beach Hop 2020: Grant Wallace and his 1939 DeSoto hot rod

The stunning wooden panels are a head turner but it's lust at first roar when the 350 Chevrolet V8 engine opens up at the Repco Beach Hop 20.

Self confessed car nut and Taupō hot road interior renovator Grant Wallace says Beach Hop is like an annual holiday for him, wife Melissa and son Will, 16. They go for the week, making quite a splash in their burnt orange 1939 DeSoto hot rod towing a sleek silver caravan.

A relatively new hot rod, in 2016 or 2017 Grant converted the DeSoto four door sedan into a two door American-style pickup truck with feature wooden panels at the rear and painted a retro burnt orange.

Grant says it's great fun seeing people he hasn't seen for ages.

"I devote myself to car events, and sometimes it turns into extra work and comes back to my career."

He says he loves the hot rod scene and also enjoys doing up boat interiors for Lake Taupō boaties in Taupō and Tūrangi. A recent project is the new airstream-style coffee trailer for coffee cart the Steaming Bean on Lake Tce, Taupō.

This year 'the young fulla', Will, has exams and won't be able to go. So for the first time in a long time it will just be Grant and Melissa heading to Whangamata for the Beach Hop.