PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
DECEMBER 2023
NUMBER 335
PHOENIX Hairmans Riley 9 Special
Still an elegant and well enjoyed car, the Chairmans Riley 9 Special
NEWSLETTER OF THE WAITEMATA BRANCH VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF NEW ZEALAND
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PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
WAITEMATA BRANCH DIRECTORY CHAIRMAN: CLUB CAPTAIN: SECRETARY: TREASURER: BRANCH DELEGATE: EDITOR: SCRIBE PAST CHAIRMAN: COMMITTEE:
ROBERT CHAPMAN 021 038 3281 robman@orcon.net.nz STAN SMITH 0274 775 475 vintageaircraft@xtra.co.nz GRAEME BANKS 027 500 3806 grabannz@gmail.com JACQUI GOLDINGHAM 09 445 8811 goldienz@orcon.net.nz GRAEME BANKS 027 500 3806 grabannz@gmail.com 027 24 55 786 michael.john.greig@gmail.com MICHAEL GREIG 094456760 goldienz@orcon.net.nz IAN GOLDINGHAM 09 445 8811 BRENDAN LAMAIN 021 132 4557 brendanandterry@gmail.com MAX JAMIESON, MIKE HOPE-CROSS, HAMISH ANDREWS AND ROB SCOTT.
COMING EVENTS Looking Forward……… Month
Waitemata
Other Events
Swap Meets
These are blank as I do not have Twink to remove the lines, so much for being an editor.
I have tried rubbers but no luck. Dec.
Jan. ‘24 Feb
10th Ryders Film and Xmas Dinner. Drive like you stole the car. 4th Steam Run
Club Night 7th December. See you at the RSA Room, King George V Memorial Hall, Library Lane, Albany, 7.30 pm .
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PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
Christmas Dinner & Movie @ Ryders Sunday 10th December 2023
This is it, your last vintage fling for the year. There is no Christmas Barbecue, there won’t be a New Years Bash! So, make sure you come along to celebrate the end of a year that we all want to forget. Ryders are just back on their feet please help support their efforts to still be there for us. Dinner is a nicely rounded $50 a head with a decadent ice cream included. The Movie is a special long forgotten treat that is not often seen but will tell you something about your age/sense of humour! Usual afternoon run starts 3.30pm at Albany Hall. Gates at Ryders will be open from 4pm for those who go directly Dinner starts early at 5.45pm due to a slightly longer movie Please, Please RSVP the Goldies by Thursday night the 7th Dec to let know the chefs know how many of you and your friends are coming. Ian or Jacqui Goldingham Ph 09 4458811 email: goldie@kiwilink.co.nz
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PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
4th Feburary 2024 First of the Runs of the Year! Stan’s Steam Run to the legendary Glen Afton Line Heritage Railway. It is the live weekend,toots and whistles with plenty of steam. Suitable for all ages and and interests.Bring $10 for the ride and enjoy a day out not far from the end of the motorway. Bring out a car, any one and enjoy the summer driving and picnic hard with the family. Details closer to the event.
Busy month February, on the 11th is the annual Ellerslie Car Show for the best of the best displays which we are always asked to attend and display the sporting side of the Vintage Cars. A chance to show off your pride and joy. It is a good day to meet up with old friends and visit other club stands, plenty to feast the eyes on. Details to follow as expected.
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PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
March 3rd, 2024, is the Brit and Euro Car Show at Lloyd Elsmore Park, with a fine and massive display of cars and the related clubs. We will be there as a Branch and many members will attend with their related one make groups. Once again, a large free event for the family with access to the Howick Historical Village. A chance for a family picnic again and take the young about with the phrases, “ I had one of those when I was younger”, “Don’t buy them, they rust as fast as you look at them”, “Could we smuggle that one home?”.
Events that may appeal to members next year. February 10th, Auckland Branch Veteran Run. Always something new to see. March 2nd-11th. The North Island Club Captains Tour covering the Lower North Island, New Plymouth , Napier to the Manawatu. Enjoy a relaxing tour with enthusiasts. Cheaper than a European Car Rally or ships cruise. March 9th-10th. Irish Women’s Rally, run by the South Waikato Branch. Backroads, gravel and farm tracks. Limited to 30 cars. April 26th-28th. The Highland Fling. Usual suspects will organise it and it will be a trial of person and machine with Nature thrown in as well. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Exam time has just finished.
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PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
Auckland, 27 November 2023.
Dear Editor, A Parting in the Mists of Time From the Talbot factory ledgers I know my Talbot AM90 was erected on 10 December 1930, bodied by Darracq between 9 and 24 January 1931 and delivered to the dealers Geo. Griffith & Co on 30 April 1931. Its registration papers confirm that it was first registered with the Kent County Council as KJ591 on 1 May 1931. Jerome Smithson, the English gentleman who brought this car with him to New Zealand, told me of how, whilst out walking one lunchtime back in the mid 1950’s he came across the Talbot lying semi derelict in a remote corner of Filton Airfield, Gloucestershire. Jerome had just cause to be on the aerodrome. He was completing an electronics engineering apprenticeship with the Bristol Airplane company at the time. The Talbot was in sad shape – the fabric body tattered and torn, a rod through the block, accident damage to the off-side quarter that had stove in the petrol tank, snapped the bumper support section off the chassis rail and destroyed half the boot lid. Nevertheless, Jerome tracked down the owner, paid him £22 and with the help of a friend with a V8 of some description, towed the car home. The 90 couldn’t go but it could stop. Despite its neglected state the Talbot brakes were superior to those of the tow vehicle and it did the retarding for both. The car was registered to Jerome on 17 July 1956 after much work to render it again roadworthy and he enjoyed the Talbot for many years, bringing it with him when he emigrated to New Zealand in !973. However, despite enquiry over the years I have no knowledge of what happened to it between its first registration in 1931 and it being registered to Jerome in 1956. And no photographs at all of it in the UK. Until now, that is. Just recently a fine collection of old photographs was posted onto the Talbot Owners’ Club Facebook page. This collection included the photograph below. The second car from the right is KJ591, my 1931 AM90! Where and when this photo was taken is, as yet, unknown, but it is apparent from the clothing it dates from the 1930s and judging from its condition KJ591 looks quite new. Perhaps early 1930’s? Perhaps the gentleman standing on the running board was the first owner? Time may yet tell. The car to the left of mine, VN2525, is also a 1931 AM90 Talbot, a Weymann panelled saloon. Sadly, it does not appear to have survived.
Regards, Kevin Beesley.
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PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
!931 AM90 Talbot, UK registration KJ591, near new back in the 1930’s. The gentlemen appear to be men of means, as you would had to have been to purchase a Talbot that cost around £670 at the time. Note the admiring young lady at the upstairs window. Inset: My car’s original rear number plate hanging up in my garage
Is it that time already. We have one more event for 2023, the Ryders Film evening and Christmas Party. Some have asked why the change of timing this year for this Red-Carpet Event. The reason is that Ryders was severally flooded at the beginning of the year and have only just got back into operation. The club has had a long association with the film night and are helping them get back on their P a g e |7
PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
feet so hence the change for this year. For your driving pleasure there is a route sheet from the clubrooms to the venue where a fun time awaits. Then the film. One film critics review wrote, Quote " Makes JAWS look like a toothpaste commercial. Makes KING KONG look like LASSIE COME HOME. Makes TOWERING INFERNO look like a bonfire in a bungalow. So be warned you need to be a little drunk to enjoy the film. Stan's Steam Day 4th February mark it on your new calendar. The first Sunday of the month is a live Steam Day. Bring the Grand Kids. I have been asked to write a couple of comments on my recent bike trip around Germany on my 1951 Vincent. I am not going to bore you on what I did. Some points may help. For navigation I use a Tom Tom system. If I have time, I programme it to Shortest Way, no Motorways. This takes you into places less travelled and more important to me no traffic. If I need to get somewhere I change the programme to Fastest Way, no Motorways but this usually takes you through cities. If I have to take the Motorways as to catch up, usually because of minor breakdown. Each country is different. Autobahn Germany Free. France Peage and Italy Autostrada are toll pay motorways with automatic toll booths every few kilometres. Austria and Switzerland use a Vignette which is a sticker to be displayed. Austria uses a weekly system but Switzerland yearly about $80. Fines are quite high, and they can catch you by photo or toll booth when leaving the country. Living in New Zealand does not exempt you. The owner of the property in Europe where the vehicle is registered has to pay; I know I have been caught several times. There are excellent car and bike museums in Europe. Do your research. To events you may not have heard of. Veterama Swap Meet in Mannheim Germany is Europe's largest. Also, Mercatino Usato Swap meet at Imola, Italy mainly bikes but some car. Both bigger than Beaulieu Autojumble but little British except MG and Jag. I use Google Translate on my smart phone to communicate, an excellent service but a bit lazy on my part. Hope this helps. Everyone, Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Chairman Rob. P a g e |8
PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
The Day at the Aerodrome The organisational abilities of the Humphries are exceptional; that ability to cajole, insist participation, force attendance from often stubborn and recalcitrant members of different clubs to attend the day that Keith had organised at Ardmore to see the progress of, yet another Mosquito was rewarded. It was a good turn out of members of the SP250 Club , the Vintage Austin and the Waitemata Branch. Many had not surfaced for a while, and an excellent selection of modern and appropriate cars were seen out with many bringing friends along, and I pleased to take my younger brother and family as well. On arrival at the workshops of Avspecs we saw above various aircraft exercising, biplanes and a Spitfire in two seat configuration. Was this introduction to the day organised by Keith? As we entered the workshop, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the complexity and size of this project. We were privileged to be so close to such an important part of aviation history and to see the quality of the work that this workshop and country are able to bring to the international historical flying fleet. In the same area sat awaiting the restoring hands was a Grumman flying boat and a Curtiss Warhawk which served in Finland. In the adjacent hanger was the two seat Spitfire we had seen earlier in the sky and a Harvard (such a familiar sound over Auckland for many years and still heard today) and the remains of many recovered wrecks from jungle sites of many makes. After this was lunch at the nearby café which enable us to have a wonderful sight of a variety of aircraft taking off and landing. Next time a visit to the NZ Warbirds collection at Ardmore. Thankyou Keith and Avspares for a great memorable day that was enjoyed by all.
Michael Greig. Also supplied the photos, below and on the back page. Chipmunk, Mosquito, Curtiss Warhawk and Mosquito. P a g e |9
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Rambling Section from the Editor: I get lost in the electronic world the wretched computer and end up down many rabbit holes from which escape is very difficult. One detour led me to a story which, the Chairman may complain as it concerns motorcycles. It is a Vintage Sporting Car group, don’t let them be corrupted by this bike obsession ( which for both of us is a private passion) he tells me. This was an interview from the Brooklands Society’s guest speaker, Elspeth Beard, who at a youthful age in 1982 decided to travel around the world on her 1974 BMW R60/6. She returned with the bike from this journey in 1982. Her visits included New Zealand, Australia, across the Nullarbor, Thailand, India ,Afghanistan , Iran and onward to the UK. She found there was little interest in her trip from the bike magazines and it was only many years later that it has come out as a book. After her journey, she completed her architecture qualifications and converted a water tower into her residence. A marvellous role model for young women: tenacity, self-confidence, and an adventurer. The book on her journey and life is titled, “Lone Rider”. Please ask the library to order it for you and have a look at her website. elspethbeard.com Good Christmas present for a young girl.
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PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
Gentlemen of Note in the Trade. Wynyard Street Motors, 1 Wynyard Street, Devonport 09 4451357 WOF for older cars, they do the Riley, and motorbikes as well. I use them as it saves me from the traffic from Belmont to Takapuna, one of Auckland’s most crowded road.
Roger at Action Bike Wreckers. : Still doing WOF for motorcycles on 62A Barry’s Point Road. Call for an appointment.09 489-7987 Don’t forget Mac’s Garage. Top advice, professional service and well known and respected in the Vintage Austin and Riley world. 09 443-3733, found at 4 Ashfield Road, Glenfeild.
Aegis Oil is a local firm headed by Paul Radisich, famous on the track. He gave a talk at the Auckland Clubrooms on the product. There is a Vintage and Classic range and well suited to our cars. Please support them. Members gave testimony to the use of soluble oil in the radiators at 5% rather than antifreeze.
From Morley: I would like to recommend Andrew of AJ Auto Electrician. He is restoring his own MGB and is very conversant with pre computer cars. He is based in Albany, but happy to work on your vehicle wherever. He came to my place and in less than a couple of hours had my electrics all done and dusted at a very reasonable price. He is self-employed and I would happily recommend him. Andrew, A.J. Auto Electrician. 021925068 From the Editor. J.C. Glass, Automotive repair and replacement.02102714927 j.c.glass@yahoo.com Jarrad Coleman did the stone chips on the windscreen, required for the WOF, and provided the certificate needed. Came and did the job right away at home. Very pleased.
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PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
The return of the ever-popular Uncle Mikes Sheds of Enchantment and Treasure. (All enquiries to the editor at 0272455786, he is the agent). This month’s selection comes from the opening of another shed, hereto inaccessible. Recovered from the rear of the building-ette ( shed) is an outboard of desire, a Johnson 9 Hp. With fuel tank. Perfect for the launch, large dinghy or dory of a certain age. It is short shaft with a personalised stand. Hold yourself not back, let those arms reach out to clasp it and place with pride on the stern of your fine craft. Be all in for $500 or near offer. Available to purchase is a 15-foot narrow yacht , powered by sail, oars or 2hp. Seagull, with registered trailer. On the road for $1000. Pair of large Lucas Horns of postwar design, High and Low tone, will suit a gentleman’s conveyance. $75 for the pair. A nice chromed Clear hooter for a small sporting car of the post-war era. $40. Jerrycan with ‘ N Arrow Z D’ and 1955 pressed into it. Perfect for the military amongst us. Offers. Lawn Master 350 Reel mower (locally made still). The perfect machine for the bowling or putting green. Gives that manicured finish. Good running order, $300 ____________------------------------------________________ Mike Courtney at the grass event at Mike Hope-Cross Event Centr.
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PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
Rex Bentham It is with much sadness that we share the news that one of our drivers has driven his last race. Rex Bentham who campaigned his lovely dark green XK150 Jaguar in many of our early Roycroft and Taupo events has passed away after a short battle with cancer. Rex was a real Jaguar fan and later purchased the bronze Mk 2 Jag that he raced in many historic events. Rex was one of life's gentlemen and he'll be sorely missed. He was a pleasure to race with, pit with and of course socialise with. Our heartfelt sympathy is extended to Glenda and the Bentham family. Rest in peace Rex. Graeme Banks
Farmers Santa Parade Our Secretary Graeme was invited to take part in this year’s event as part of the Mustang Club. His 1994 Convertible will actually be vintage eligible next year as well. It was a fun afternoon, and his cartoon character was BB Butterfly from the Australian Emma Memma show that is about to tour the country. The star of the show is former Wiggle Emma Watkin and she led in another Mustang. Auckland Branch were represented by Allan and Shaaran Price who had the Charabanc full of life size Teddy Bears, Russell McAlpine who carried Shaun Johnstone the Grand Marshal in his model A and anther Model A of Glen Morris carrying the Deputy Mayor. What a great afternoon P a g e | 15
PHOENIX Number 335 December 2023
PHOENIX The OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER of THE WAITEMATA BRANCH of the VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF N.Z. INC.
Maria sharing an interest of her old Uncle Mike.
CLUB NIGHT THURSDAY 7th December. 7.30 pm at the RSA Room, King George V Memorial Hall, Library Lane, Albany. Take Exit 410 Oteha Valley Road. Travel west along Oteha Valley Road, ahead through 2 roundabouts and straight ahead at Traffic Lights into Albany Highway then almost immediately RIGHT into Library Lane then very soon go right again into the parking area. The RSA Room is at the rear. P a g e | 16
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