About Us

Originally from Putaruru, Eric Livingstone served his apprenticeship at a Chrysler Dealership where he took on the role of service manager and stayed there for fifteen years before taking up the offer to move to Waihi again as service manager for another Chrysler Dealership.

Eric later moved to Auckland where he accepted the same position at a major Ford Dealership remaining for a further nine years before purchasing West Auckland Engine Reconditioners in 1990.

Eric is an A-grade mechanic with a solid background in the automotive industry. He is well known in the car scene particularly for his Hemi powered T-Bucket which has been on the road now for over 40 years, and is still winning National Awards.

He is the holder of a number of Chrysler proficiency certificates; including engine management and performance, automatic transmissions, hydraulics and service management. During his years with Ford he gained a Ford Diploma in service management, and a certificate in vehicle assembly processes, parts and service operation. He also holds CNG and LPG certification.

Eric personally handles all transmission work at WAER and his extensive and expert knowledge of Chrysler vehicles, engines and Torqueflite transmissions has gained the company an excellent reputation around New Zealand. The workshop has developed into a One Stop Shop performing repairs and services on a wide range of vehicles. Project vehicles and restoration have become a big part of the business with many vehicles having a rotisserie style restoration performed.

Eric is supported by a highly skilled staff of five who collectively represent over 100 plus years of experience in the automotive industry.

1990 - 1998
The business was purchased in 1990, a small engine reconditioning shop situated at Keeling Rd in Henderson.
Larger premises were purchased in 1992 and the operation was moved to 20 Henderson Valley Road, Henderson.
A major purchase of specialised equipment in 1998 allowed all machining operations to be retained in house. Further expansion of the workshop allowed more room for project vehicles.
2004 - 2017
In 2004, a specialised dyno room was built and a German Maha Dynometer with Superflow equipment was installed.
2017 presented us with an opportunity to expand the workshop further, creating more floorspace and room for another hoist.

The WAER Team

Eric

Eric is an A-grade mechanic with a solid background in the automotive industry.

He personally handles all transmission work at WAER and has extensive and expert knowledge of Chrysler vehicles, engines and Torqueflite transmissions.

Eric built Marion's 1968 Plymouth Barracuda which has won many awards and has been featured in magazines in New Zealand and Australia.

Eric enjoys racing and cruising in his 426 Hemi Powered T Bucket which is well known throughout the country.

Marion

Marion takes care of the administration and is the first point of contact when the phone rings in the office. Being a family business everyone gets involved.

She enjoys all forms of motorsport.

Daniel

Daniel joined the company in 2008 as an apprentice and is now a qualified Automotive Machinist.

He enjoys participating in all forms of motorsport and crews for a well known Blown Alcohol Skyline and also competes with his Honda Civic which is currently making 328 KW at the wheels.

Daniel runs the Dyno and has built up an impressive reputation for tuning.

Martin

Martin is a qualified automotive machinist and has been in the trade for 33 years and with us since 2001.

Martin enjoys building the performance engines and even more seeing them in action.

Martin enjoys cruising in his Challenger.

Jim

Jim joined us in 2014, a Chrysler trained A Grade Mechanic who is passionate about all Mopars. He has a stroker big block manual 1974 Dodge Challenger and enjoys hot rodding and drag racing.

Jim also specialises in brakes, manual transmissions and diff rebuilds and fabrication.