Help the '4 Stroke Engine Club'

The 4 Stroke Engine Club encourages stroke survivors, aged in their 20s to 60s to get involved in the dismantling of impounded cars.

Removed parts are sent to wreckers' yards for spares and the car bodies converted for stock car racing.

The new project encourages participants to go under the bonnet of cars for therapeutic rehabilitation.

The idea launched at Manfeild (Manawatu) in June after health psychologist Dr Sara Joice observed many struggle in traditional, clinical settings designed primarily for geriatric patients.

So when one of her clients – and a founding member of the club said he loved car racing, she made some enquiries.

The group meets twice a week and it is already helping some of the members to overcome disabilities, such as loss of muscle control, co-ordination, speech impairment and memory loss. But it is psychological affects such as loss of confidence, self-esteem and social contact the club assists the most with.

"It's about having meaningful activity to engage the brain," Joice said. "It might look messy, but dismantling a car involves problem-solving and deductive reasoning.”

"What's helpful too is that they are accepting of each other and tolerant of the challenges each is facing in their recovery – because stroke affects everybody differently."