The Eastern Bay of Plenty Branch of The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand
Po Box 2168, Kopeopeo, Whakatane 3159
Email: easternbayofplenty@vcc.org.nz
November
Classic Car Breakfast Sunday 6th October
John & Jacqui Taggart’s Cadillac Eldorado and Barry Spry’s Ford V8 Club Night: Last Thursday of the Month (except December) at Whakatane Athletic Clubrooms, Short Street, Whakatane 7.00 pm Social get-together Branch Meeting starts at 7.30 pm Followed by Supper
Club Captain’s Report:
What we have done in October:
Saturday 5th Te Aroha Cruise-In
Four cars from our Branch trekked to Te Aroha to a smaller display this year, but a larger market. Never the less there was a great range of cars and other vehicles and plenty of things to look at. A great day out and no rain.
Next day Sunday 6th Classic and Vintage Breakfast
We had seven branch cars attend, slightly less than usual. Always a good event and usually there are different vehicles that turn up. This time there was a Ford Pilot, I haven’t seen one in years.
Sunday 20th Club Run arranged by Noel and Lois
We met at Te Teko and drove to Neil Surtees to view his collection of re-built cars (in some cases far superior than original)
A MK1 Cortina that is awaiting a V8 engine, it is probably in by now. Many other vehicles waiting for attention, Imp’s, Mini’s, Ford’s and a very nice early 50’s Cadillac, I wonder what awaits this beautiful car.
After Noel presented Neil with a box of beer, as thanks for allowing us to view his stuff, we headed to Noel and Lois’ place for a picnic lunch and a look around their fantastic garden and look through Noel’s huge shed’s.
This was a great run and a great turnout of 19 cars and 36 Members and friends attending.
Also the weekend of Friday 11th – Sunday 13th
Two cars travelled to Taumarunui for their Rally, a great Rally, no rain, an enjoyable weekend.
Coming up:
November:
Wednesday 13th Mid week Run
Thursday 21st – Sunday 23rd Inter-Branch Visit with Gisborne Branch to Mahia, followed by the trip home for some via Napier, Taihape and Ohakune. Arriving home Tuesday 26th Thursday 28th Club Night preceeded with a Pizza dinner. Events at other Branches are in the Calendar of Events
December:
Sunday 1st Classic and Vintage Breakfast
Saturday 14th Kawerau Christmas Parade followed by BBQ Picnic Lunch No Club Night in December
Saturday February 1st
Our East Coast Rally and 50th Anniversary Celebrations
We welcome new Member Billy Watson
With a 1974 Ford Capri
Steve & Joy Growden
Members who attended October Events
Te Aroha Cruise In Saturday 5th
Ford Cortina
Bruce & Lorraine Seddon Mercury
John & Jacqui Taggart
Les & Gail Costar Ford Capri
John & Jacqui Taggart Modern
Classic and Vintage Breakfast Sunday 6th
Cadillac Eldorado
Simon Cherrington ’39 Ford Deluxe
John & Sharon Burton Jowett Javelin
Noel & Lois Davies
Noel & Lois Davies
Ford Falcon S/W
Barry Spry ’48 Ford Coupe
Barry Keene ’26 Willys
Les & Gail Costar Ford Capri
Club Run Sunday 20th organised by Noel & Lois Davies
Ford Falcon ute
Trevor & Odell Sutton Triumph 2500
Barry & Marianne Spry ’48 Ford Coupe
John & Jacqui Taggart
Cadillac Eldorado
Wayne & Sharon Taylor ’34 Cadillac
Bruce & Lorraine Seddon Mercury
Bevan, Elliot & Charlie Lange Chrysler Valiant
Les & Gail Costar Ford Capri
Ben & Marion Vermeulen Talbot Camper
John & Sharon Burton Modern
Friends of McCann’s Modern
Harry & Gay Sutcliffe Wolseley 1800
John Mackintosh Mazda MX5
Steve & Joy Growden Ford Cortina
Arthur Van Thiel Audi
Clive & Louise Wood Morris Minor
Trevor Marshall Sunbeam Rapier
Phil Leaming Ford Zephyr
Jean Mackintosh BMW
Lesley McCann Modern
Steve McCann Modern
The Ford Pilot at the Classic and Vintage Breakfast
Les.
Club Calendar of Events commencing November 2024
Fri 1st – Sunday 3rd
Sunday 3rd
Wednesday 13th
Sunday 17th
Thursday 21st – Tuesday 26th
Sunday 24th
Thursday 28th
December
Sunday 1st Saturday 14th
January
Sat 18th - Mon 20th
Wednesday or Sunday
Sunday 26th
Thursday 30th
February
Saturday 1st
Northland Branch Far North Tour
BOP Branch - Car Boot Sale
Mid-week Run details closer to time
Waikato Swap-meet
Inter-branch visit to Gisborne & Mahia some are going on to Napier Sunday night, over the Gentle Annie to Taihape on Monday staying at Ohakune, then home
Tuesday
South Waikato TTT Rally
Club Night, Pizza Meal starting at 6.00pm Athletic Clubrooms, Short St, Whakatane with the Meeting starting at 7.30pm
Classic Car Breakfast
Kawerau Christmas Parade & BBQ Picnic Lunch
No Club Night in December
Wanganui Burma Rally (Wellington Anniversary weekend)
Mid week Run or a Sunday Club Run
12th Annual Rotorua Lakefront Car Show 10am – 2pm Club Night, Athletic Clubrooms, Short St, Whakatane from 7.00pm with the Meeting starting at 7.30pm
Those Members wishing to have dinner prior to the meeting, we meet at the RSA from 5.00pm for pre-dinner drinks & dinner at 6.00pm
Our Annual East Coast Rally along with our 50th Anniversary Celebrations & Service Badge Presentations
If you don’t have a Vintage or Classic Vehicle, come along to events in your modern
Our Annual East Coast Rally & 50th Anniversary Celebrations
Saturday 1st February 2025
Please support our East Coast Rally Sponsors
REPCO Nicholson Autos
Commerce Street Autos Whakatane Printers
Te Aroha Cruise-In
Words and photo’s by
Bruce Seddon
We like Te Aroha as a pretty town stuck in a time warp and their annual cruise in car show marks spring weather when we are keen to get out and about. Last year we cruised over with Bevan and were parked up in the middle row of the main street – Bevan’s Valiant and our Jaguar XJ12 surrounded by American low-riders. Ye-ek! This year we picked up a friend at Tauriko (Tauranga) who wanted to attend her first car show in style. I had prebooked registration to ensure a display park, hopefully among more aesthetically pleasing company.
As we joined the display entrance a couple of cars in the lineup made way for us to break into the queue. We were directed by the marshals to park with the group we drove in with and as they were all American classics our 1959 Mercury matched them. Hours later after circulating around all the cars on show I joined some of the owners of the cars surrounding us and found they were an American Classic Car Club. They thought we were club members and treated us as such, to the extent that towards the end of the show when the organisers came looking for a representative of the club to attend prizegiving they were directed to me. I was tempted to carry out the duties of collecting their club award, but demurred and organized a genuine club member to do the job. It was only when I helped them pack away their signs that I let them know I hadn’t paid my club fees yet.
We enjoy the wide range of cars on display – vintage, classics, hot rods – and the ambiance of the small town main street. This year the spring market stalls were set up in the central Domain grounds which was an attraction for those less interested in cars. There were plenty of attractions for children and a pageant added more interest.
Steve and Joy Growden and Les and Gail Costar joined us in our stroll up and down main street and there were truly cars for all tastes. I photographed many, but have included the 3 that I felt best match our vintage inclinations – a 1937 Lincoln Zephyr a 12 cylinder flat head engine, a 1939 Chevrolet Master with well presented 6 cylinder ohv grey motor in its engine bay, and a blue 1936 MG NB Magnette roadster with sparkling chrome all over. Checking out the MG’s specifications later I found that it has a 1271 cc 6 cylinder motor. I wonder if there were any smaller 6 cylinder motors than that.
Our friend thoroughly enjoyed her introduction to a classic car outing, and we drove home happy with our day out in the sun.
’37 Lincoln Zephyr
’39 Chev Master
’36 MG NB Magnett
The MG Magnette’s 1271cc 6 cylinder engine Bruce.
October Monthly Run
Words and Photo’s by Bruce Seddon
The October run was organized and led by Lois and Noel Davies with a gathering point in the middle of Texas at Te Teko. Put on your cowboy hats and saddle up your horses. It is a surprisingly convenient gathering point – a tidy spacious carpark with the convenience of well maintained toilet facilities. Bear it in mind for future starting points.
The word had gone out that we were headed to an interesting destination and combined with a super fine day we had a large turnout. I’ll leave Les to provide exact numbers and will just tell you that our numbers probably affected global warming with our emissions on the day.
From Te Teko we headed out west on SH30 to the western edge of the Rangataiki Plains to the rural property of Neil Surtees. Neil has a complex of sheds which contain his workshops, garages, and parts storages of an amazing collection of automotive items. Neil is an accomplished engineer who has built, modified and collected many award winning automobiles. His output is prolific and varied – hot rods, classics, pro-street, and vintage preservations have all attracted his attention and skills over many years.
The large turnout of branch members spent a couple of hours examining Neil’s collections and displays and listening to his narrative and explanations of the many projects. Everything from an intact Model T to motorbikes, classic caravan, hot rods, classic American cars and trucks, Hillman Imps, Ford Escorts & Anglias, large specialist tool displays and all sorts of memorabilia. However, I did note that his first car – a 1959/60 Humber 80 – that sat in the back shed on my last visit, has now moved on to a new owner.
On display were his early 1950’s Ford pickup which sits on a modern Toyota frame with Toyota diesel engine destined to shortly become daily transport for Neil’s son, much modified Ford Anglia on a Mazda MX-5 running gear and engine, and his beautiful VW Beetle with front mounted Lotus engine. All three are beautifully finished and are marvels of Neil’s engineering skills.
In his engineering workshop his latest project sat on the hoist – a Mk1 Cortina – with its intended motive unit sitting on a nearby engine stand. The Cortina is going to get a 5 litre Toyota “hemi” V8. More “out-of-the-box” thinking.
After leaving Neil holding a gift carton and beverages to compliment his fridge our convoy of cars rolled on to another rural garden setting for a picnic lunch – this time hosted by Lois and Noel at their hillside garden property overlooking the plains from Whakatane to Kawerau. As always, their gardens are award winning they are especially colourful in spring. They have invested a lot of time and effort into the design and maintenance of their gardens which tumble down their steep hillsides. I wonder how Noel then finds the time to keep advancing progress on his numerous Ford Falcon projects.
After allowing time for us to enjoy lunch in the gardens, Noel opened his sheds to allow us to check out his workshop progress. The upper shed contains finished Falcon wagons and projects in active progress. The lower shed is full of parts and “maybe” projects. Noel’s version of nirvana.
Thank you Noel and Lois for great excuse to get our cars out and enjoy each others company.
Melz caravan
Neil’s office
Bruce
We have some more photo’s that Les took of the Te Aroha Cruise-In
And the October Club Run
At Te Teko before we set off
More of the car’s at Te Teko
Some of Neil’s creations
Ford Truck, Anglia and VW
And Barry Spry checking out more of Neil’s creations
Picnic lunch in Noel & Lois’ beautiful garden setting
THE VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF NZ
Eastern Bay of Plenty Branch
Postal Address: PO Box 2168, Kopeopeo, Whakatane 3159
Branch Officers: 2024/2025
Honorary Branch Member: Lorolei Pollard
Chairman: Bevan Lange 027 460 3466 bevanlange@gmail.com
Vice Chairman: Clive Wood 027 276 9806 cjwclockmaster@gmail.com
Secretary: Margaret Leaming 027 351 0432 phil.leaming@xtra.co.nz
Treasurer: Joy Growden 07 304 9777 growden@xtra.co.nz
Club Captain: Les Costar 07 323 6406 les.gail.costar@gmail.com
Committee: Steve Growden 07 304 9777 growden@xtra.co.nz
Lorraine Stock 07 307 1965 alanlorraine.stock@gmail.com
Alan Stock 07 307 1965 alanlorraine.stock@gmail.com
John Burton 021 02501138 wairakael@hotmail.com
Lytle Hall 027 703 4539 lytlehall.hall@gmail.com
Trevor Marshall 07 308 7957
Running Board: Interim Editor Gail Costar 027 271 7022 les.gail.costar@gmail.com
Beaded Wheels Reporter: Bruce Seddon 07 322 2137 bruce.seddon@xtra.co.nz
Almoner: Lorraine Stock 07 307 1965 alanlorraine.stock@gmail.com
Name Badge Sales: Margaret Leaming 027 351 0432
VIC Collators: Bevan Lange 027 460 3466 bevanlange@gmail.com Bruce Seddon 07 322 2137 bruce.seddon@xtra.co.nz
Parts Shed Supervisors: Phil Leaming 07 304 8415 phil.leaming@xtra.co.nz
Steve Growden 07 304 9777 growden@xtra.co.nz
John Burton 021 02501138 wairakael@hotmail.com
Branch Delegate: Bevan Lange 027 460 3466 bevanlange@gmail.com
Raffles: Lorraine Stock 07 307 1965 alanlorraine.stock@gmail.com
Supper Supervisor: Lorraine Stock
Community Liaison: Lytle Hall 027 703 4539 lytlehall.hall@gmail.com
Archivists: Les & Gail Costar 07 323 6406 les.gail.costar@gmail.com
Saleable Items: Barry Spry 07 312 4737 basa.mi@xtra.co.nz
EBOP Cloth Jacket Badges $7.50
EBOP Car Window Stickers $1.00
EBOP Lapel Badges $6.00
EBOP Cloth Jacket Patches $10.00
EBOP Car Bumper Badges $20.00
EBOP VCC Windscreen Stickers $2.00
EBOP Cloth Caps $15.00 Rally Number Holders s/s $15.00
NZVCC Winged Lapel Badges $7.50 VCC Cloth Winged Badges $13.00 (these will be available at Club Nights)
EBOP Name Badges $15.00 (to be ordered) Please wear your name badge to VCC functions.
Club Night: Last Thursday of the month (except December) At: Whakatane Athletic Clubrooms, Short Street, Whakatane 7.00pm Social Get-together Branch Meeting starting at 7.30pm
And to fill the empty page
“I’D LIKE TO TRADE IN THIS CLASSIC, THE ONLY WOMEN I PICK UP IN IT ARE CLASSICS TOO”
Another photo of the MG at the Te Aroha Cruise-in
