Volume Number 109 / Number 08 / September 2024
HB Branch Contacts
Send in Your Contributions
Chairman’s Report
Club Captain Report
NZVCC AGM & Executive Report
Calendar of Events
65 Year Anniversary
Mid Week Run Report
Sunday Club Run Report
Your Branch Photos
An Austin Healy Auto-biography
Up and Coming Events
Notice Board
Spare News
Classifieds
BRANCH DETAILS
Address: PO Box 3406, Napier 4142
Clubrooms: 67 Sandy Road, Meeanee, Napier
Phone: Please note that the landline number has been disconnected, please refer to our website
Email: hawkesbay@vcc.org.nz
Website: www.hbvcc.org.nz
Club night is the 2nd Wednesday of the month @ 7.30pm at the Clubrooms - Supper provided.
Clubrooms, Library & Spares Department Open: Tuesday morning’s @ 9am -11am. Morning Tea available.
Hawkes Bay Branch Contacts
Non Committee Roles Committee Roles
Chairman:
Ian Elmsly (Kay)
C. 027 479 0682
E. ian.elmsly@xtra.co.nz
Past Chairman:
Esther Smith (Graham)
C. 027 464 7314
E. Humber@xtra.co.nz
Secretary:
Larry Morgan (Cindy)
C. 021 401 092
E. hawkesbay@vcc.org.nz
Club Captain:
Robert Benge (Katrina)
C. 021 757 215
E. horselessauto@gmail.com
Treasurer:
Paul Eager (Carol)
C. 027 231 4304
E. hbtreasurer@vcc.org.nz
Committee:
Malcolm Blair (Lesley)
C. 021 576 360
E. malcolmblair52@gmail.com
Alastair Chalmers (Jean)
C. 020 4088 4523
E. alastairchalmers@hotmail.co.uk
Steve Donovan (Pam)
C. 027 217 7730
E. stevedon@xtra.co.nz
4
Craig Manning (Beth)
C. 021 954 958
E. cmanning@inspire.net.nz
Mercia Paaymans (Hans)
C. 027 325 0112
E. hapmap@xtra.co.nz
HB Branch Life Members:
Allan Harris
Trevor Charman
Librarian:
Larry Morgan (Cindy)
C. 021 401 092
E. lazzer56@gmail.com
Club Custodian:
Steve Donovan (Pam) C. 027 217 7730
E. stevedon@xtra.co.nz
Wednesday Run:
Barrie Browne (Lyndsay) C: 027 270 1238
E. clydebrowne@xtra.co.nz
Cruise Ship Co-Ordinator:
Colin Barnes (Judy)
C. 027 695 7075
E.cruiseshipcoordinator@xtra.co.nz
Mag Editor:
Kay Elmsly
C .027 286 6480
E. hbvccmag@gmail.com
Spares Manager:
Brian Taylor (Margaret) C. 027 443 6009
Spares Assistant Manger:
John Durry (Jenny) C. 022 676 9401
Groundsman:
Trevor Charman (Lyn) C. 027 292 6068
E. trevlyncharm@actrix.co.nz
Mix & Mingle :
Malcolm & Lesley Blair
C. 021 576 360
E. malcolmblair52@gmail.com
Beaded wheels:
Diane Friis
C. 027 305 1716
E: di.friis@xtra.co.nz
Send In Your Contributions
Articles, Photos, Reminiscenes, Mechanical Tips, Notices, Funnies
Please submit your contributions by: 20th of the Month
Late contributions are accepted only if time allows, please phone to check if this is ok.
Email to: hbvccmag@gmail.com
Editor: Kay Elmsly, Mobile 027 286 6480
Contactable during work hours 9am-5pm Monday-Friday
Theviewsexpressedhereinarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyexpressthepolicyor views of the Editor, the Hawke’s Bay Branch of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc), the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc) or other publishers. The editor/committee reserves the right to accept, edit, publish, abridge or decline contributions submitted for publication. All names, dates and times published are checked against the material supplied and the editor/committee can have no responsibilty for mistakes in the copy supplied. Some material maybeheldoveruntilthereissufficientspacetopublishit.
Club Run Photos by: Flores Snelgrove
Chairman’s Report
By Ian Elmsly
Greeting to you all from an absentee Chairman! Great to see the club in such good heart with activities well supported, despite a number of members being away, trying to escape the winter. Captain Robert has certainly hit the ground running and is a great asset to have alongside the Chair.
From all accounts the “Daffodil Run on the 24th Aug was a great success and many thanks to Malcolm & Lesley Blair for their tremendous efforts. The pictures that have flowed through from Floreshavebeenmuchappreciated.
Upcoming events are well in hand with the two biggies being Safari (full at this point) and the just launched 65th Anniversary being held 22-24 November. This event is open to all members andexmembersandwewouldreallylikeregistrationsearly.
As we manage the load of Mix & Mingle nights, the September night will be slightly special as it is the last one before Christmas so lock it into your calendar. It will have a slightly higher price tagbutasusualwillrepresenttopvalue!!!
Sothatsitfromme,short&sweetandwilllookforwardtoseeing youattheSeptemberevents.
Ian-Chairman.
Club Captain Report
By Robert Benge
I just wanted to follow up from the August club night meeting again, just to pass on my thanks to all those club members that managed and supported to keep the ship on course with organising of the many club events over this period of not having a club captain.
Being the new boy on the block so to speak and being relatively new to Hawkes Bay, I don’t have a lot of contacts for organising events and club nights so with that in mind I’d ask if anybody has any ideas or knows of any good guest speakers for club nights please don’t hesitate to contact me or just tap me on the shoulder when you see me next at a club event, I would really appreciate your help in this area.
With spring on the horizon I would just like to remind you we have a great number of up coming events planned with the main focus is our 65th anniversary rally from the 22nd to 24 November which I hope all club members will get behind this event. This is gearing up to be a fantastic weekend for all of our members. It would be great to see some of the long established members out with some of the clubs early veteran and vintage cars from years passed.
So please mark this in your calendar and come along to help us celebrate the 65th anniversary rally entry forms will be out soon so come along and let’s make our 65th anniversary a memorable one.The organising committee is in place and planning is well underway we are looking for the following if you are able to assist in anyway please don’t hesitate to make contact the organising committee.
Club Captain Report
By Robert Benge
Listed below are items we are looking for:
Early club Photos or rally programs
Information on the early HBVCC club history would be greatly appreciated
The whereabouts of some early club vehicles and possible ownership contact details.
If you’re able to assist in any way or have any of the above, please don’t hesitate to contact Diane Quarrie or myself
Diane Quarrie: Cell 027 333 1329 or email: quarrienz@gmail.com
Robert Benge: Cell-021 757 215 or email: horselessauto@gmail.com
Please make sure you get out and support all of the upcoming events when possible from the mid week runs to club nights etc.
One final thing please don’t forget our next club night which is Wednesday September 11th should be an interesting evening. This is going to be based on Antique & Collectibles evening with club members to dust off their favourite or treasured items and come along and tell fellow members a little bit of a history about the item more information to follow shortly within the Magazine.
Safe & happy motoring
Robert
2024 NZVCC AGM and Executive Meeting Report
By Larry Morgan
The 2024 AGM and Executive Meeting were held in Tauranga on the weekend of August 9-10th. The AGM was completed relatively quickly as there was no need for elections for any of the Officers’ positions. Reports from the the various club officers were received and here are some of the highlights.
2024 Annual General Meeting
Financial Report
The club has returned to operating with a surplus following on from the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, although the effects of increased costs, resignation of members and cancelation of Beaded Wheels subscriptions all have an impact on the bottom line. The support we receive from Vero is still makes an important contribution to the club’s positive financial performance.
Office Systems
The online membership application process has been a great success and enables a quick turnaround on membership approvals. Online VIC renewals are now possible and the option to use an online VIC/DOMAS application form has been tested and is almost ready to go live. The Branch Portal is a great resource for all branches allowing easy access to current live membership and vehicle data.
Archives
There is a report from Don Muller (VCC National Archivist) in each issue of Beaded Wheels, but I would like to highlight a current project they are working on. “The NZ Motor & Cycle Journal” was published from about 1905 to the late 1920’s, and Ian Goldingham of the Waitemata branch has been working hard to locate issues and with the help of the National Library get these digitised. Once complete, this magazine will be available on the Papers Past website. If you happen to have any old copies of this magazine, pleaseletusknowandwecanhelpIanfillinsomeofthegaps.
National Day
KaarenSmyliecontinuestodoagreatjobcoordinatingourNational Day with the emphasis on supporting the Cancer Society. The 2023 event received excellent national news coverage, signed up many new members and raised over $80,000 for the Cancer Society, making the VCC the largest annual donor to this worthy cause. The 2024 event has been featured in the Air NZ inflight magazine as well as in the AA Directions magazine. Kaaren and her team have worked hard to provide promotional material to all clubs, so let’s hopetheweatherwasonoursideonAugust25th.
NZTA
Despite numerous personnel changes we have a positive relationship with NZTA. They have accepted our DOMAS as the path for getting vehicles back into the NZ transport fleet (this ability had been lost for a few years). Discussions are ongoing around new number plate rules, and George Kear (our NZTA representative) reported that good progress has been made regarding 12 month WOF’s. Therewillnodoubtbemanyrestrictions,butmanyofuswill appreciatethebenefitsifwecangetthisthroughthesystem.
John L Goddard Trophy
This was presented to Robert Bains of the Whanganui VCC. Robert has been running the Gumboot Rally around Taihape for over 40 years, and for 28 years has been doing everything from his wheelchair. Many of you will have attended this event, and everyoneagreedthathewasaworthyrecipientofthisaward.
August 2024 Executive Meeting
This followed the AGM. Here is a summary of the main items discussedatthismeeting.
A Remit was put to allow the Vehicle Technical Committee to make the final decision on vehicle acceptability for Factory Built and Historic Racing Vehicles and for Period Specials (this decision currently rests with the Management Committee). The remit was passed.
All clubs were asked to make better use of the National calendar of events when planning activities to try and avoid clashes with neighbouringbranches.
VeroRally2026–theNelsonClubarebusyworkingonthisevent.By popular request a competitive event has been added, with the format to be like that used for the 1972 event. Regular updates are emailedtothosewhohaveregisteredfortherally.
Constitution and management structure – this was discussed at lengthatthepreviousExecutiveMeeting(March2024),sodelegates were generally aware of the background. The need for changes to the club’s constitution are partly because of updated Incorporated Societies legislation (due to come into effect by April 2026), but also because many members believe that the current governance structure is not fit for purpose. The Wellington branch had requested clarity regarding issues with the current structure, so this was addressed at this meeting. All delegates present were asked to vote on whether aspects of the current structure were currently serving the needs of the members. Things such as meeting frequency (only 2 per year at present), consistency of representation (there might be a different delegate at each meeting), and the inability to separate management and governance functions were discussed and voted on. Most of those present agreed that the current national structure is not fit for purpose.
A draft update to the constitution has been prepared and will now gotoallclubsforcomments.
Calendar of Events for September 2024
MID-WEEK RUNWednesday 4th September
ALWAYS the 1st Wednesday of the Month.
Meeting Time: 10.00am for 10.30am departure Location : VCC Clubrooms
MIX & MINGLE NIGHTFriday 27th September
From 6pm at the club rooms. BYO
CLUB NIGHT MEETINGWednesday 11th September
Please refer to page 13 for more information. Come along and have a cuppa after the meeting. See you there.
CLUB SUNDAY RUN - Sunday 15th September
More information on this run will be emailed at a later date.
Refer to page 15 for more information about our last Mix & Mingle Night for 2024
Every Tuesday morning the Club and the Spares Department are open between 9am & 11am. A cuppa is made around 10am for those that would like to have a sit down and have a natter.
Antique and Collectibles
Evening Club Night - 11th September
Come along to what’s promising to be an interesting evening. Bring an item that has some significance to yourself sentimental or has meaning to you.
Be prepared to give a little bit of a presentation to the other members of approximately three minutes on your item.
As long as it fits in the club Rooms it’s welcome.
We plan to display the items so everybody has an opportunity to view each others Treasures.
Come along, let’s make it an interesting and fun evening.
Please be mindful that depending on the number of items we receive and the timeframe for the evening we may need to split it over two club nights. We will make it as fair as possible for each person to present their item.
Roam & ChromeHB Daffodil Day,
Sunday 1st September
The Branch has aligned our Daffodil Day for Cancer alongside the Roam & Chrome car display, to be held on Sunday 1st September at PerfumePoint,Ahuriri.Wearecallingonmembersto“parkup”and displayyourcarsandhelptheCancerSocietyvolunteers presenttoraisemoney!
Assemble from 8am at Nelson Quay, and park where directed
DecorateyourcarifyouwishinDaffodilcolours!
AssisttheCancerSocietymembersrattlethedonationbuckets A sausage sizzle will be stationed and manned by VCC volunteerson-site
Want to help?
Contact:CraigManning021-954958 or MalcolmBlair021-576360
The display runs from 9-11am and is our big chance to help this extremely worthwhile cause and do our bit! The club has aligned with this event as it presents us with a great opportunity to tap into as many people as possible and do our bit for something I dare say impacts on virtually everyone of our members in one way or another.
Any members unable to assist but still wants to make a donation may do so to the HBVCC a/c 06-0701-0389864-00 using your name &“Daffodil”asareference.
LET’S GET BEHIND THIS CAUSE - SEE YOU THERE!
Mix & Mingle Night -
Friday 27th September
This will be the last Mix & Mingle for the year as we have several other big events in October and November.
We will be making a special menu with the main being eye fillet steak!
COST: $15.00 per head
Come along and join us for our last Mix & Mingle of 2024.
Look forward to seeing you!
Please contact -
Malcolm & Lesley on Ph 06 843 7664 or Malcolm on mobile 021 576 360 or email on malcolmblair52@gmail.com OR Put your name on the list at the club - NO LATER THAN 24th SEPTEMBER PLEASE.
Art Deco Picnic -
Friday 25th October
TIME: 12.00PM - 2.00PM
WAIKOKO GARDENS A & P SHOW GROUNDS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE HAWKES BAY A & P SHOW
Vintage cars in the garden which creates a naturally themed backdrop.
Encourage people to dress up in their art deco wear, people bring their own picnics, and we may add in some art deco music if budgets allow and there has been chatter of a fashion flaunt of sorts as well.
This is a great idea and gives you a chance to dust off your Art Deco finery.
No entry charge.
More details to come. If you need any other information contact Steve Donovan on 027 2177730.
News Flash -
Ladies Lunch 9th November
NEWS FLASH !!!! SAVE THE DATE
Put it in your diary!
More details to come in next month's mag.
Organsier - Carol Eager
To All Members65 Year Anniversary
This year represents the 65th Anniversary of the Hawkes Bay Branch of the Vintage Car Club Inc and the club are to stage an Anniversary Weekend of celebrations from 22nd November to 24th November.
The weekend will commence on the Friday with the “Rally Opening” from 5-7pm at our Clubrooms.
Saturday is the Rally, with the Clubrooms being the starting point and the destination, a lovely country setting for your picnic lunch and the chance to wander the Gardens & a “collection”. Saturday evening is the “Gala Dinner” to be held at the Taradale Club, Napier (time to be confirmed) with the “theme” for the night to be the “sixties” being the period of the clubs formation, with a Buffet Dinner, a time of reflection and entertainment.
Sunday will be an Open Day at our Clubrooms with a display of vehicles, including some from the original members, and a display of the “Branch History”. A continuous morning tea is to be provided together with a lunchtime BBQ being available.
To assist with the ongoing planning of this event of your club's history, it would be great to have participants commit early, and Entry Forms for the Anniversary Rally will be available late August. Just like motoring, start your motor early and confirm your attendance!!
Participation is open to all current and past members, together with those from other VCC Clubs. If you know past members who may wish to attend please ask them. This is your weekend and your anniversary so let’s make it a celebration to remember.
Any questions please don’t hesitate to contact the Rally Secretary on hbvcc65@gmail.com Entry Forms are available at the Club Rooms.
Regards
HBVCC65 Rally Secretary
Attention Members!
Club Room Hire
Our clubrooms are available to members to hire for special events!
Costs are: $150 Hire fee
Refund of $50 providing the club rooms are left in a clean and orderly manner.
The booking club member must be present for the full duration of the booking hire and is responsible for the premises including the locking up and securing of the building and site.
For further enquiries please contact Steve Donovan - Club Custodian on mobile number 027 217 7730
HBVCC - August Mid-Week Run
This month Kevin and Pauline McGrath’s run titled Town & Country.
But as you all will know, that title sounds simple, and to a greater degree it was, except that there were signs along the way to find, the signs are all on the LH side of the road, we were informed, but what was not mentioned was that some signs were almost behind us before we realised that we had passed them.
Leaving the club rooms on a sunny day with hints of spring and the clubs gardens looking a picture apart from the authors Mazda Bongo van cluttering up the view, sorry but the Anglia is having gear box seals replaced.
So off they went heading down to Taradale, down Church Rd across to Puketapu on to Waiohiki out to Fernhill down Ngatarawa Rd across to SH2 into Stock Rd, now we were going to a café for lunch and without looking at the end of instructions, wondered where we would finish up.
Down Crystal Rd into Middle and on to Te Aute Trust Rd and along here, Richard & Anne Comrie’s 1957 900cc 5-seater Austin A 35, made a nice setting in this part of Hawkes Bay. The Comrie’s are heading overseas, and we wish them a safe journey, so today Lee Anne Freeman was taking it for a spin and looking after it while they are away. From here it was out to SH2 and on to the Paper Mulberry Café where food cabinets were looking grand and all gathered were happy to chat after a nice long drive.
Question time and Kevi wants our answers and out of this Doug and Barbera Bixley came out on top and were given some chocolate bars as a reward.
We thank the McGraths for pulling together an excellent drive, interesting questions and great finish. But that’s not all Kevin is filling in for the next two months while we are away, thanks mate. Next month it is the turn of Jim and Barb Speers and October belongs to John Cocking QSM and Lee Anne Freeman the result of which will again be a super day out for both months.
November will be my turn, and we need to decide what to do for December and Christmas.
Barrie Browne.
Daffodil Day Country Run and
BBQ - Sunday 25th August
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of…vintage and classic cars coming down the Burma Road!
(apologies to Wordsworth!)
More than 25 cars, and around 60 members turned out on Sunday 26th August for our annual Daffodil Day Run. This year’s event was organised by Malcolm and Lesley Blair, who sent us on a drive through the countryside - with a list of questions to be answered along the way – followed by a quiz and BBQ dinner at the clubrooms. The run took us from the clubrooms, through Taradale, Waiohiki and Bridge Pa, where we turned off along Raukawa Rd, and then onto the Burma Rd. It’s always a nice drive along there, and when you reach the top the view over Central Hawke’s Bay is stunning. You just have time to catch your breath before you’re over the cattle stop and onto the gravel of a narrow and windy road that takes you downhill to the intersection with SH2. Leaving the state highway at the Pakipaki roundabout, and heading towards Havelock North, we meandered through St Georges Rd, Crosses Rd, Napier Rd and Whakatu, and eventually back to the clubrooms where tea, coffee and biscuits were waiting. There was only one carrelated incident on the way, which was apparently repaired with an axe (I didn’t get any details of that, but it sounds intriguing!).
Once everyone had returned and our question sheets had been tallied, prizes were handed out to the winners, with a special prize for ‘Best Dressed’ participant going to Kevin McGrath – his combination of black and yellow was definitely elegant – especially the yellow-framed glasses! New Club Captain Robert Benge organised a short general knowledge quiz to keep us busy before the BBQ dinner was ready.
We were honoured to have Jackie from the Cancer Society and her mother Eleanor, join us for the afternoon and take part in the run. Jackie spoke briefly about the work of the Cancer Society, and how grateful they are for fundraising events such as ours. Thanks go to Malcolm and Lesley Blair for organising the run and the BBQ, and to Robert and Katrina Benge for running the quiz and being our MCs for the evening. A lovely day, an excellent drive, with dinner and good company, and all for a great cause.
Diane Friis
Your Branch Photos
Daffodil Run HBVCC
Your Branch Photos
Your Branch Photos
Your Branch Photos
An Austin Healey auto-autobiography
Alastair Chalmers
Hastings Hawkes Bay 2021
Part 5B
As usual everything runs behind schedule and we approached the first round, The Welsh International Rally, without the time to carry out our usually thorough checks on the preparation of the car resulting in us arriving at the start with an untried and untested car and a very rusty driver having had no time to do some minor events in preparation.
Forest rallying is an expensive sport, entry fees are high as the Forestry Commission own the roads and rally cars make a mess of them so the costs to repair them are passed on, a rally team consists of driver and co-driver and at least 2 other people to service the car between stages and another 2 or 3 to check and repair any damage to the car at the main service areas and to stand any kind of a chance a new set of tyres is needed every couple of stages. Rallies at this level are 2 day events, so at least 3 vehicles with 6 or 7 people all needing accommodation, events are never on your doorstep, makes one event cost more than a season’s racing at club level which you can do on your own.
Round 1, Welsh International Rally, stage 1, blown head gasket, retired. Load it up and take it home.
Round 2, Rally of Cumbria, day one, finished well down the order as I was still learning about the car and the rapidly changing grip levels on forest roads, tarmac is pretty consistent.
Day 2 slid wide on the exit of a right hand corner in Kielder forest into a ditch, kept it planted on the throttle, I at least remembered that bit but forgot that on full right lock the next place it’s heading for is the ditch on the other side of the track, straight in and stop very suddenly. Forest ditches have the same consistency as porridge and slowly suck you to the bottom, no spectators this far intotheforestsothatwasanother“gameover”non-finish.Atleast the car wasn’t damaged and we had got a lot further than on the first event but still no results in a 5 round championship, this was notgoingwell.
Round 3, Scottish International Rally, starting from Perth, where I was born, this must get better, back in the homeland, the city where I grew up, what can go wrong? Day 1 we had a gearbox problem, stuck in 3rd gear but managed to get to the service halt and fix it and finished the day towards the back of the Peugeot competitors which meant the back of the field as we ran at the back of the main event, the roads were very badly cut up with all the 4 wheel drive cars ahead of us. Day 2 we had a reasonable run and made it to the finish but a long way off the pace of the quick guys.
Part way through the day as we were flat out in 5th gear when I should have been in 6th but my hand would not leave the steering wheel to change up, on the top of a hill on a winding forest road through an area which had been clear felled and you could see for miles, I glimpsed a loch in the valley below me and the thought crossed my mind that if we went off there our clothes would be out of fashion by the time we hit the water. It was around then that I remembered why I had stopped doing this 11 years earlier and I was now getting closer to 50 than 40. Whilst it is probably the biggest adrenalin rush you can ever self induce the risk level was too high for me and that coupled with the costs was the last special stage rally I drove on.
Again I had reached that point of “where to from here?” as I don’t go out competing to make up numbers, I have to be running at the sharp end to make all the time and effort worthwhile.
To be continued (only another 24 years to go)......
PART 6
The Addiction of Motorsport and the Caterham years
I have likened the addiction of motorsport to being similar to that of being a drug addict with 3 important differences, it is more costly, it is more dangerous and it is infinitely more addictive with no known cure. So here I am in late 1997, I’ve sold the rally car to some up and coming future Colin McRae, the Sprite has been sold to a competitor in the Spridget series, a Croatian dentist living in Weisbaden who we had become very friendly with and he was convinced that my Sprite was heaps faster than his as I kept beating him, it was just that his car was very difficult to drive as it was set up like a skate board, and he had invited me to share the car in some other European races with him but I needed something else to go fast.
Now for another of my not so bright ideas, a little fed up with all this pre-event planning and the commitment to the time and costs for preparation I thought that perhaps a nice big red Ducati or something similar that I could just take out of the shed on a nice day and go for a blast into the Derbyshire hills would satisfy the need. I was at the point of taking my motorcycle licence test having completely ignored the fact that I would probably kill myself within the first few weeks of owning one as I always want to squeeze the throttle that little bit more than common sense and self preservation tell you not to when salvation presented itself in the form of a Caterham test day at Donnington Park circuit, I don’t remember who told me about it but I’m very grateful to them as they’re probably the only reason I’m typing this story now and have not been applied to the land as fertiliser.
I made some arrangements with one of the teams who would be there as they ran cars in the Caterham championship series and I was going to test drive their top class Caterham Superlight 2.0 litre Vauxhall red top engine car and their lower class 1400 Rover “K” series engined Roadsport class car. There was the inevitable briefing to start with followed by my first run which was in the 2 litre car, nothing like starting at the deep end, a number of laps getting progressively faster to the point that I felt that my helmet was being ripped off my head on the straights, corners were taken with a little bit of lock to turn in and then apply the opposite lock to correct the slide as the back end drifted out slightly exiting the corners with all 4 wheels pointing in a straight line and, as I knew Donnington quite well having raced there frequently, using all the track and kerbs to full effect. I thought that the lap times must have been impressive but in de-briefing I found I was 4 seconds a lap off the pace, WHAT!!! In discussion I was told that Craner Curves which I was taking hard in 4th gear should be hard in 5th gear but my gear choice for all the other corners was correct so out for a second try having taken a bravery pill, this thing was heaps faster than the Sprite, entry speeds into corners lots higher and braking could be a lot later, lots to learn. I halved the deficit on my second run and then it was lunchtime, time to pause and think. The afternoon session was in the smaller engine car so a bit slower and easier to come to terms with and out on the track were some regular series competitors who I was asked to stay away from to avoid holding them up as they would be running at race pace. That was the wrong thing to say to me so I let them go out onto the track and waited a short while before I went and chased them down to find that they were holding me up in corners, ok, decision made, I’m having one of these for 1998 and as I know plenty about BMC stuff and sprites but nothing about Caterhams I’m going to have it run by one of the teams who do this stuff all the time.
1998, a yellow 1400cc Caterham roadsports has been bought with the rather endearing numberplate of L 14 TOY, slightly changed to L 1.4 TOY and delivered to Team Parker Racing for the start of the season.
The class rules are quite specific as the cars have to run sealed engines, full road legal lighting, windscreens and full size number plates, Team Parker were 2 young guys whose first season had been 1997 so they should have been up to speed and keen for results. First race at Silverstone, practice shows me that slip streaming is going to be a big part of racing in a one make series of 2 seater little bricks driven by yuppies from London who think they are Formula 1 material. I found that I needed to lay a marker down in qualifying when one of said yuppies wanted to punt me off on the pit straight by getting half way past me and then drifting across the track heading for my right front corner, as I was right at the edge of the track with grass on my left I decided to let him know that I was there by giving him a little biff, my front right to his left rear, he seemed upset with the outcome of losing a wing and unsettling his car, no damage on mine but he never bothered me for the rest of the year but at almost every race he took someone out.
The racing was very close, fast and like a long train, the slightest mistake, missed gear or a car problem could see you plummet from near the front to the back in half a lap as the train just closed up and didn’t let you back in. The Parker boys, having been surprised that this amiable older guy who had reacted as I had at Silverstone qualifying was a hard charging racer who frequently ran near the front but was also very frustrated that an intermittent car problem which dropped the car briefly into ”limp you home mode” often saw me finishing towards the rear of the field and Team Parker could not identify the problem. At the end of the season I collected the car from Team Parker, took it home and gave it a comprehensive strip down and rebuild, an intermittent fuel pump problem had been the cause simply sorted by a new fuel pump, not impressed by using a “professional” team so a decision was made to run the car ourselves in the future. To Be Continued
Calendar of Up and Coming Events
September 2024 October 2024 Future Events
1st September Roam&Chrome Proceedstothe CancerSociety
2nd October MidWeekRun& Committee Meeting 6th November MidWeekRun& CommitteeMeeting
4th September MidWeekRun 9th October ClubNight 9th November LadiesLunch
10th September CommitteeMeeting 13th October Sunday Club Run 13th November ClubNight
11th September ClubNight
15th September Sunday Club Run
18th-21st October SafariRun Weekend 17th November SundayClubRun
25th October ArtDecoPicnicat A&PShow 22nd, 23rd and 24th November 65thAnniversaryof theHBVCC
27th September Mix and Mingle Night
Notice Board
Welcome to the Club!
Alan Rudge - 1964 Rover Sedan, 1981 BMW Motorcyle
Bishop
Sheryl
Spares News - August 2024
By John Durry
Hi All
For the first week of the month for the sausage sizzle we had a great turnout of over 32 members. In the three months that the sausage sizzles were going the club made $71.60, and we want to thank the members that put it all together, it was a bit of fun and something different. Unfortunately this won’t be continued in the near future.
We wish to thank Des Fenwick for the spray gun, valve remover, catalogues and Ford headlight glass, we will be putting the catalogues on Trade Me to see what we can get.
Also thanks to Bruce Hislop for the brake boosters, also Larry Morgan for his lights, and all the people who have put scrap in the scrap bin.
Until next time.
Cheers John Durry
CLUB SPARE PARTS CORNER
For any enquiries phone:
Brian Taylor on 027 443 6009 or John Durry 022 676 9401
Classifieds
For Sale/Wanted
Wanted:
Jaeger or Smiths Tachometer or parts to match the speedo and clock in these photos.
Wanted
It is 4 1/16 inches or 1004 mm across the bezel.
I would consider any condition if I can get the parts I need from it to repair the one I have.
Contact: Bruce Mobile: 027 246 9899 or 06 876 6161
Email: bmck@xtra.co.nz
ClassifiedsFor Sale/Wanted
For Sale:
Clothing Tape: Mend your furs in time for winter Art Deco Festival 2025.
$4 per metre.
Phone: Carolyn on 06 844 3323 or Email: carolynasian-seed.co.nz
ForSale
1969 Triumph Herald Convertible
1969 Triumph Herald Convertible for Sale. It is in a good condition but is not on the road (no WOF and registration is on hold).
I am based in Auckland.
Please contact me through the email address below.
David McEwen david@mcewen.co.nz
