AUGUST
Sunday 6th Breakfast at the Hub 8.30 am
Wednesday 9th Club Night 7.30 pm
Wednesday 16th Petrolheads Coffee and Cars 10.00 am
Sunday 20th Daffodil Run for Cancer
SEPTEMBER
Sunday 3rd Breakfast at the Hub 8.30 am
Wednesday 13th Club Night 7.30 pm
Sunday 17th Club Run – BBQ Breakfast
Wednesday 20th Petrolheads Coffee and Cars 10.00 am
OCTOBER
Sunday 1st Breakfast at the Hub 8.30 am
Wednesday 11th Club Night 7.30 pm
Sunday 15th Club Run – BBQ Breakfast
Wednesday 18th Petrolheads Coffee and Cars 10.00 am
Huka Falls, next to the helicopters. Special menu for Club Members. IMPORTANT: Please let Owen know by 3pm Friday if you will be there: 07 378 8327. Please be seated by 8.30 am.
Third Sunday of the Month.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the articles and materials presented
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Chairman’s Report for July 2023
July has been a reasonably busy month! Breakfast kicked off the month’s activities with a cheerful crowd gathered at The Hub for the usual array of breakfast morsels. I was in Wellington and missed this occasion.
The Hobby Show in the Event Centre was well attended by the public, with Saturday’s attendance (perhaps because of the rain) being quite substantial. I understand Sunday was not quite so busy, and by the time I returned late in the afternoon, there were few interested bystanders. Mid-afternoon Sunday usually sees the displays being rapidly packed away and the more substantial exhibits being readied for departure. Our display, being close to the goods exit, is usually one of the first to exit. We had the task of loading Richard Izard’s Le Nef onto the trailer and preparing it for a trip to The Point in the rain. We are very grateful to Richard for the loan of this vehicle, which created significant interest. The effort put in by a number of volunteers to ensure our vehicles were safe and any questions answered was appreciated.
Club Night on 12th July took the form of a Pot Luck Mid-Winter Christmas meal. As usual, there was a very interesting array of food set out. Both main course dishes and desserts were quite delightful and more than adequate in quantity. Un-
fortunately, there was a reduced number of participants this year, perhaps because of the school holidays sequestering grandparents? I am aware of a number of our members who had grandchildren staying for the holidays or were out of town minding children. That is a pity as it was a very pleasant evening.
As is the norm when we have had the Hobby Show, there was no monthly run. I have no doubt it will be back on the agenda in August.
Primarily because many members found morning tea and club night on the same day a bit of a conundrum, Petrolheads morning tea has been pushed back a week. This month it was on the 19th at Café Lacus out at The Landing. Unfortunately, I was “otherwise occupied” as I am told it was very well attended with very happy participants. This function seems to be going from strength to strength.
At the time of writing, Maureen Ransley and a small group of willing assistants were preparing lunch for a visiting car club. I am very grateful to Maureen for taking on this work, but I am hopeful that in future, such requests will be met with a polite message which provides a list of local caterers. There is a small profit in providing these services, but it places an undue burden on one or two club members, which I believe to be unfair.
By the time you read this missive, the new carpet will have been laid. My thanks to those members who put up their hand to assist in emptying out the hall for the carpet layers and who subsequently returned the furniture to the hall.
The final matter is that I have regularly emailed one of our Council officers for an update on when or if we will be allowed to return to the lakefront. Alice has advised that she has not been able to obtain further information on future plans for this area. I will keep on Alice’s back in this regard.
Safe travels.
Eric
Club merchandise available on Club Nights.
Baseball Cap - $16.50
Polo Shirt - $38.50
Bucket Hat - $17.80
Fleece Jacket - $59.00
Club Lapel Badges and Car Stickers
We have most stock available at the club rooms.
If your car's interior needs some love, reach out to us! We'll be happy to help!
Faded or worn leather/vinyl seats, Damaged leather steering wheel, Scratched dashboard or door panels, Cracked vinyl armrest and shifter,
As an alternative to replacing, Fibrenew can repair & make it look great again.
Don't replace, renew with Fibrenew!
DEAN WILLS
FIBRENEW BAY OF PLENTY
Locally owned and operated
Ph: 021 215 6889
Email: bayofplenty@fibrenew.co.nz
Web: www.fibrenew.co.nz
Taupo
Auto & Marine Trimmers
16 Manuka Street
07-378 6969
grant@taupoautomarine.co.nz
www.taupoautomarine.co.nz
Vehicle Servicing
Car Repairs
Vehicle Brakes
Car Exhausts
Shock Absorbers
Towbars
Tyres
Warrant of Fitness Safety Checks
Batteries
28 Oruanui St
Taupo
Owners: Susan & Peter Wall
07 3783132
Mobile 021 717131
Well, chaps and chapesses, did you know that the inventor of the windshield wiper was a woman, as were the inventors of vehicle heating and Kevlar fibres? Women made pioneering trips with the first motor vehicles around the dawn of the 20th century, and a woman made the first circumnavigation of the globe in a car in 1929.
It wasn’t Carl Benz, but his wife Bertha who ensured the success of the automobile. Carl Benz invented the automobile in Mannheim in 1886, but no-one trusted his new horseless carriage, so in 1888, Bertha Benz seized the initiative and drove the vehicle 66 miles (106km) from Mannheim to Pforzheim. She was very courageous as there were only a handful of paved roads and no road signs – most of the way, she had to steer the car over uneven dirt roads. Hatpins and garter belts were apparently pressed into service for necessary repairs at various points, but in the end, this tour de force was a success.
The fact that even the first automobiles could be counted as comfortable is down to the creative spark of an American woman named Margaret Wilcox, who is considered the inventor of car heating. She was one of the first female mechanical engineers and was granted numerous US patents for her inventions. In the autumn of 1893, her car heating system consisted of a combustion chamber under the car and a system of pipes beneath the passenger compartment through which heated water was fed. This important invention made driving easier in foggy and cool weather by keeping the windows fog-free and the interior of the car warm, which made for a more pleasant and safer driving experience.
The year was 1899, and the Eisenach vehicle factory in Germany was ready to take all of its motor vehicles on an outing. The factory manager, Gustav Ehrhardt, understood his wife’s enthusiasm for cars, and Wilhelmine Ehrhardt drove one of the four Wartburg motor vehicles that were first taken on an outing. Imagine the looks Wilhelmine received as the very first female car driver in Germany. On 3 August 1901, Wilhelmine made motorsports history with her participa-
Margaret Wilcox Car Heater Design.
tion in the Eisenach–Meiningen–Eisenach long-distance automobile trip through Germany’s Hainich mountain range.
Mary Anderson noticed that drivers had trouble driving in rain and snow because they had to keep getting out of the car to wipe their windshields. On 10 November 1903, she was granted US Patent Number 743,801 for her “Window-cleaning device” for automobiles and other vehicles “for removing snow, rain, and sleet from the glass in front of the motorman.” Her device had a lever at the steering wheel height that the driver could operate by hand. When the lever was operated, a spring-loaded swing arm with a rubber band would be actuated and then returned to its starting position. Mary Anderson was the inventor of the windshield wiper.
In 1927 at the age of 26, Clarenore Stinnes embarked on her adventure to be the first person to circumnavigate the world in a car. Her tour in a 34.5-hp Adler Standard 6 through ice and heat, mud, and scree took 25 months. There were often no roads, maps, petrol stations, or workshops. The fact that this life-threatening expedition was completed at all was due in no small part to the stubbornness of a woman for whom turning back was not an option. The odometer showed 29,054 miles (46,758 km) as she crossed the finish line in Berlin on 24 June 1929.
Mary Anderson’s Windshield Wiper Design.
Prior to this success, she was an accomplished race car driver, and by 1927, in her first two years of racing, she had won 17 titles.
In the mid-1950s, General Motors launched its famous “Damsels of Design,” a group of ten women that General Motors brought on board in an attempt to reach female consumers. Their department was taken over by Bill Mitchell, who allegedly said, “No women are going to stand next to any senior designers of mine.” Eventually, nine of the ten Damsels left, but despite the widespread sexism in the industry, one of the original Damsels, Suzanne Vanderbilt, stayed on and tenaciously worked her way up GM’s ranks, ultimately to the title of Chief Designer of Chevrolet’s Interiors Studio in 1972. She worked as an executive on cars such as the Nova, Camaro, and Chevette.
Stephanie Kwolek was a researcher at DuPont’s textile fibre laboratory in Buffalo, New York. In the early 1960s, she worked on a fibre for reinforcing radial tyres. In 1964, she had trouble converting a solid polymer into liquid form, and instead of the clear, syrupy mixture she expected, the liquid was thin and opaque. She “spun” the liquid in a rotary evaporator to remove the liquid solvents, leaving the fibres behind. This “happy accident”, as she described it, was how she discovered Kevlar, a material that proved to be five times as strong as steel, yet with the same weight and fire resistance.
Suzanne Vanderbilt.
Jutta Kleinschmidt took any clichés about women in automotive settings and confidently banished them to one of the most remote and inhospitable places you can imagine – the Sahara Desert. In 1988, she took part in her first Paris-Dakar rally on a motorbike, while in 2001, she became the first woman to win the world’s toughest desert rally. Over a race distance of 6,600 miles (10,000 km), she led the field by 159 seconds in a Mitsubishi Pajero. Jutta Kleinschmidt subsequently took part in the cross-desert race several times in a VW before starting the 2007 Dakar Rally in a BMW X3 CC for the X-Raid BMW team. With her combination of courage and technical know-how, she repeatedly left her mark on the race over almost 20 years.
Danica Patrick is one of the most successful women in NASCAR and IndyCar motorsports. Between 2005 and 2018, she was active in both race series. She contested her first IndyCar race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2005. In 2008, for the first time in history, a woman won an important racing competition when Danica Patrick celebrated her IndyCar win at Motegi, Japan. The team she was driving for was owned by Michael Andretti, son of the famous Mario Andretti. In total, Danica contested 116 races in the American race series over eight years,
and she secured seven podium finishes and three pole positions. In 2013, she also became the first woman to secure pole position at the Daytona 500 race. Her brave decision of 2018 to quit at the right time was yet another example of her acting as a role model.
Yay, you go girls. Never let it be said that women know nothing about cars! Danica Patrick’s Winning Car in the 2008 IndyCar Race.
FORMAT
9 00 AM Meet at Memorial Park, Main Street, Palmerston North
● Run length: Approx 100 miles
● Fuel is available in Eketahuna
● Lunch is $25/per head - Eketahuna Hotel
● Rally Entry Fee includes a Plaque
● Run will conclude at the Clubrooms for Prize Giving and BBQ Dinner
● Please bring your own Drinks for the BBQ (water/tea/coffee will be available)
● Please advise any dietary requirements (GF, DF)
ENTRANT NAME
VCC MEMBERSHIP NO
NAVIGATOR/PASSENGER
NAME NAME TELEPHONE ( ) EMAIL
ADDRESS
VEHICLE MAKE/MODEL/YEAR
PAYMENT DETAILS
Please make payment via Internet Banking
Manawatu Branch VCC 03 0718 0027253 00 Ref: Name, Reg No., VINTAGE RALLY
Please send completed Entry Form to Organisers: Cliff Bennett, 473 Ruahine Street, Palmerston North, Phone/Text 0212837088, Email to cliffbennett@xtra.co.nz
If you haven’t received an email confirmation of entry by the closing date, please contact the Organiser
ENTRIES CLOSE: 28TH AUGUST 2023
In the worldwide craze to reproduce classic vehicles with modern underpinnings, a new company has emerged in the UK to add another retro-styled vehicle to the mix. Warwickshire-based China Ventures is behind the revival of Morris’ vanmaking division and plans to start production of the iconic Morris J Series delivery van re-imagined as an electric vehicle (EV). The name of the new van is the Morris Commercial JE. Designed and built in Worcestershire, not far from the original Morris factory, the JE is expected to cost £60,000, and the company is taking pre-orders now, with deliveries scheduled for next year.
The original Morris Commercial J-type was a 10 cwt (0.5 ton) van launched by Morris in 1949 and produced until 1961. After the formation of the British Motor Corporation in 1952, by the merger of Morris and Austin, the Commercial name was dropped, and the van was marketed simply as the Morris J-type.
The van followed the emerging trend at that time of having forward controls and sliding doors on each side. It was made in both left and right-hand drive versions.
As well as complete vehicles, the J-type was also supplied in chassis form to external body makers, and it appeared, amongst other uses, as a pick-up, tipper truck, ice cream van, and milk float. The J type was fitted with a 1476 cc four-cylinder side-valve engine based on the one used in the Morris Oxford car.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and Morris Commercial will be back, breathing new life into that classic design. The new EV van takes inspiration from the original J-Type but has undergone a complete modernization. The front grille and distinct round headlights are nods to the past that the makers hope will evoke a sense of nostalgia among admirers of the brand.
The JE will have a payload capacity of 1000kg – which is in line with an entrylevel Ford Transit –accessed by a sliding door in the side and double rear doors.
20
It has a modular chassis (passenger van and pick-up versions are to follow) with lightweight carbon-fibre bodywork and lithium-ion batteries to deliver a 200-mile range. Morris Commercial also says it will be able to adopt autonomous driving when legislation allows.
If you were hoping the re-emergence of the old J Series van may mean a reborn allelectric Morris Minor is on the way as well, then unfortunately, you will be disappointed. Morris Commercial is a separate company from Morris Motors – which is owned by Chinese manufacturer SAIC Motor – and they have announced no plans for a reborn Morrie.
by Fiona Holliday
We waited outside the roller door of the AC Baths building on a pretty cold and drizzly Friday morning. When the door finally rolled up, we were allowed to drive inside into the comparative warmth of the interior to our allotted area to get the cars sorted out and parked up. We had five cars in the show, and as it happens, there was one each from Germany, USA, Italy, England, and France. The cars all looked lovely and shiny, but there was a bit of last-minute fussing and wiping down to get the raindrops off. Peter Lockie unloaded the banners, ropes, etc., from his VW bus, and we set about making our area look good and safe for the cars. Other exhibitors were arriving as well and starting to set up those enormous train layouts that look so involved and difficult - I can’t imagine setting up and putting away that lot every time there’s a show. Anyway, that was it for us on Friday, so we went for coffee, as you do.
Volunteers from the club took turns doing 2-hour shifts on both Saturday and Sunday during the Expo. There were a lot of people looking around at the trains and other exhibits, and some came over to chat with us. A lot of people were interested in the 1904 La Nef because it’s such an old and rare vehicle (fun fact La Nef
is old French for boat, and you can see why). Quite a few people patted the chrome grill on Barry Hoffman’s Packard - you don’t see that much chrome in one place these days! It was nice hearing people talk about the cars they had when they were younger, which led to other car-related memories.
It was a horrible weekend weather-wise, but a perfect one for an indoor show like this one. Sunday afternoon arrived, and the show was broken down, and we left quite quickly, leaving the train guys to pack away all the track, rolling stock, and landscaping once again.
Barry Hoffman’s Packard Clipper.
46th Annual “Rubber Duckie” Motor-Cycle Rally
16th September 2023
NEW PLYMOUTH
ENTRIES CLOSE 8th September 2023 with Rally Secretary, Sue Street, 36 Essex Street, New Plymouth. Ph (06) 753 9100
email: sue.street@xtra.co.nz
You are invited to…..
SOUTHERN SCENIC TOUR
29TH – 31ST JANUARY 2024
With three days of Veteran motoring from Dunedin- Gore – Owaka – Dunedin. Starting on Monday 29th January 2024, following the National Veteran Rally in Dunedin Returning Wednesday 31st January.
We will be travelling at a relaxed pace, with a backup trailer for peace of mind. Mark these days on your calendar!
Tour organiser is: Nevin Gough easttaieri@yahoo.com or 0211150312, Marion McConachie bmmcconachie@xtra.co.nz or 0273387008
The 2024 Founders Prince Henry Tour
Rotorua Vintage & Veteran Car Club (Inc)
SULPHUR CITY RALLY
1. One person in each vehicle MUST be a financial member of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand and may be called upon to produce their current membership card.
2. Driver must hold a valid driver’s licence and may be required to produce this document to the Rally Organiser or to a Rally Marshall.
The Rotorua Vintage & Veteran Car Club cordially invites you to take part in their Annual “Sulphur City Rally” to be held on Saturday, 26th August 2023 at the RVVCC Clubrooms, Neil Hunt Park.
3. At all times, drivers must strictly observe the provision of the Road Code.
4. If fewer than three vehicles are entered in a particular class, then these vehicles will be placed in the next appropriate class.
5. In the event of a dispute, the decision of the Organiser, in consultation with the Committee and Chairman and Club Captain of the Rotorua Vintage and Veteran Car Club Incorporated shall be final. ACCOMMODATION
Special rates are available for rally participants at the Distinction Hotel Rotorua here:
or
PROGRAMME
Friday, 25th August 2023
Rooms, tea and coffee available
4.30pm Rally packs available at RVVCC Club -6pm
Saturday, 26th August 2023
8.00am Tea/Coffee available at RVVCC Club
Rooms, rally packs can be collected
8.45am Briefing
9.15am First Car away
6.00pm Distinction Hotel, Rotorua (NO BYO) for 6.30pm buffet dinner (great menu)
I have read and accept this Indemnity Waiver.
entirely at my own risk. Signed .................................................................................. Date ......................................................................................
event is as a non-competitive guest only and I do so
of NZ Inc, and accept that my participation in this
member or representative of the Vintage Car Club
for the consequences of any action by an official
Representatives, for any loss, however caused, or
NZ Inc, Rotorua Branch, its members, Officials, or
waiver below.
members, we ask that you sign that indemnity
insurance only covers incidents involving Club
capacity and because the Club’s public liability
we welcome you as a guest in a non-competitive
in this event in a vehicle owned by a Club member,
Vintage Car Club of NZ Inc and you wish to drive
This means that if you are not a member of the
member of a recognised overseas organisation.
be a member of the Club, or if resident overseas, a
owner of the vehicle or the driver on the day shall
by a financial member of the Club. Either the
Club Rules”. All vehicles accepted must be entered
“Events should be open to vehicles as defined by
eligibility.
of participants of the following rule regarding
The organisers of this event draw the attention
We have some more nice books this month, which will be added to the library:
• Bathurst Celebrating 75 years of racing at Mount Panorama
• A Tribute to the Indy 500 Legent Scott Dixon
• 50 Years on Track - A histoy of motorsport in New Zealand
• Classic Cars - A celebration of the motor car from 1945 to 1975
• Trucks Across New Zealand
The library is for you to browse and/or borrow books that interest you and will be open every time we meet in the clubrooms. Come and have a look round!
Our fully equipped modern workshop facility offers a reliable, accurate and affordable solution to all your reconditioning and machining needs. Includes high performance race/street, general automotive, motorcycle, marine, light and heavy diesel and industrial. We offer extremely quick turn around times and can pick-up or deliver if required
Brian Henson / Scott Murray
Unit 6 / 465 Broadlands Road
Rotokawa, Taupō 3378
Ph; 3773570 Fax; 07 3773572
Email; Engines@hmltd.co.nz
Taupo
Mobile: 0274 496363
“Sherry”
(subject to change)
August 2023
Sunday 6th August
Wednesday 9th August
Wednesday 16th August
Sunday 20th August
Monday 21st August
September 2023
Sunday
Wednesday 13th September
Sunday 17th September
Monday 18th September
Wednesday 20th September
October 2023
Sunday 1st October
Wednesday 11th October
Sunday 15th October
Wednesday 18th October
November 2023
Sunday 5th November
Wednesday 8th November
Wednesday 15th November
Sunday 19th November
Monday 20th November
Tuesday 21st November
December 2023
Saturday 2nd December
Sunday 3rd December
Friday 15th December
Wednesday 20th December
pm
Coffee and Cars 10.00 am
the Hub 8.30 am
Club Night 7.30 pm
Coffee and Cars 10.00 am
Club Run – Boot Picnic Pow Wow
Committee Meeting 5.30 pm
Hospice Run
Christmas Dinner
at the Hub 8.30 am
Christmas Morning Tea 10.00 am
Petrolheads Coffee and Cars, 10.00 am
