Beaded Wheels Issue 345 April/May 2017

CLASSIC, VINTAGE AND VETERAN MOTORING FOR 70 YEARS

No. 345 April/May 2017

NEW ZEALAND’S FOREMOST HISTORICAL MOTORING MAGAZINE $7.95

NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE RALLY

9 418979 000012

1917 PARLIAMENTARY TOUR NATIONAL VETERAN RALLY MAGAZINE OF THE VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF NEW ZEALAND

David Murray supplied this photograph. He thinks the vehicles are Windleburn’s service-cars on Parapara Road (Wanganui-Raetihi) – early 1920s. Cars are both Hudsons. (Early Wanganui registration number, pre 1925).

John Loudon has supplied this photograph. He is looking for information on the make of the car, details about the occupants and any other information that may be available.

management committee Contact National Office for all queries regarding VICs, logbooks, historic race licences, lighting endorsement, registration of vehicles, address changes, subscriptions, membership cards, speed events.

The Vintage Car Club Of New Zealand (Inc.) National Office, PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140 Phone 03 366 4461 Fax 03 366 0273 Email admin@vcc.org.nz

branches ASHBURTON PO Box 382, Ashburton 7740 ashburton@vcc.org.nz AUCKLAND PO Box 12-138, Penrose, Auckland 1642 auckland@vcc.org.nz BANKS PENINSULA 27 Showgate Ave, Riccarton Park, Christchurch 8042 bankspeninsula@vcc.org.nz BAY OF PLENTY PO Box 660, Tauranga 3140 bayofplenty@vcc.org.nz CANTERBURY PO Box 11-082, Sockburn Christchurch 8443 canterbury@vcc.org.nz CENTRAL OTAGO C/- 4B Roto Place, Wanaka 9305 centralotago@vcc.org.nz

2 Beaded Wheels

Please note this information changes annually - these details are valid until October 2017.

PRESIDENT Diane Quarrie 06 876 4009 president@vcc.org.nz

REGISTRAR Rod Brayshaw 07 549 4250 registrar@vcc.org.nz

CLUB CAPTAIN NORTHERN REGION Paul Collins 027 292 2204 nicc@vcc.org.nz

SPEED STEWARD Tony Haycock 021 662 441 speedsteward@vcc.org.nz

CLUB CAPTAIN SOUTHERN REGION Alon Mayhew 03 443 7030 sicc@vcc.org.nz

BEADED WHEELS CHAIRMAN Kevin Clarkson 021 0270 6525 kevin@vcc.org.nz

SECRETARY/ TREASURER Michael Lavender 03 325 5704 hon.sec@vcc.org.nz

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING OFFICER Ross Holden comms@vcc.org.nz

Ed Boyd 06 348 4547 mgmt3@vcc.org.nz Tony Bartlett 06 867 9850 mgmt1@vcc.org.nz David Yorke 06 358 8060 mgmt2@vcc.org.nz

ARCHIVIST Don Muller 03 385 6850

archivist@vcc.org.nz

A full list of branch addresses and contact details can also be found on the VCCNZ website at www.vcc.org.nz CENTRAL HAWKE’S BAY C/- 94 Mt Herbert Road, Waipukurau 4200, centralhawkesbay@vcc.org.nz EASTERN BAY OF PLENTY PO Box 2168, Kopeopeo Whakatane 3159 easternbayofplenty@vcc.org.nz FAR NORTH C/- 64 Mangakaretu Road, RD2, Kerikeri 0295 farnorth@vcc.org.nz GISBORNE PO Box 307, Gisborne 4040 gisborne@vcc.org.nz GORE PO Box 329, Gore 9740 gore@vcc.org.nz HAWKE’S BAY PO Box 3406, Napier 4142 hawkesbay@vcc.org.nz

HOROWHENUA PO Box 458, Levin 5540 horowhenua@vcc.org.nz KING COUNTRY C/- 34 House Ave, Taumarunui 3920 kingcountry@vcc.org.nz MANAWATU PO Box 385 Palmerston North 4440 manawatu@vcc.org.nz MARLBOROUGH PO Box 422, Blenheim 7240 marlborough@vcc.org.nz NELSON PO Box 3531, Richmond 7050 nelson@vcc.org.nz NORTHLAND PO Box 17, Whangarei 0140 northland@vcc.org.nz

NORTH OTAGO PO Box 360, Oamaru 9444 northotago@vcc.org.nz NORTH SHORE C/- 7 Godwit Place, Lynfield Auckland 1042 northshore@vcc.org.nz OTAGO PO Box 5352, Dunedin 9058 otago@vcc.org.nz ROTORUA PO Box 2014, Rotorua 3040 rotorua@vcc.org.nz SOUTH CANTERBURY PO Box 623, Timaru 7910 southcanterbury@vcc.org.nz SOUTHLAND PO Box 1240, Invercargill 9840 southand@vcc.org.nz

SOUTH OTAGO C/- G. Beaumont, Tuapeka Mouth, RD 4, Balcultha 9274 southotago@vcc.org.nz SOUTH WAIKATO PO Box 403 Tokoroa 3420 southwaikato@vcc.org.nz TARANAKI C/- 297 Huatoki st, New Plymouth 4310 taranaki@vcc.org.nz TAUPO PO Box 907, Taupo 3351 taupo@vcc.org.nz WAIKATO PO Box 924, Hamilton 3240 waikato@vcc.org.nz WAIMATE 4 Harris St, Waimate 7924 waimate@vcc.org.nz

Please note this information changes annually - these details are valid until October 2017.

WAIRARAPA PO Box 7, Masterton 5810 wairarapa@vcc.org.nz WAITEMATA C/- Embroidme, 23E William Pickering Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632 waitemata@vcc.org.nz WANGANUI PO Box 726, Wanganui 4540 wanganui@vcc.org.nz WELLINGTON PO Box 38-418, Petone, Wellington 5045 wellington@vcc.org.nz WELLSFORD/WARKWORTH PO Box 547, Warkworth 0941 wellsfordwarkworth@vcc.org.nz WEST COAST C/- 17 Loris Place Greymouth 7805 westcoast@vcc.org.nz

Beaded Wheels Issue 345 April/May 2017

FEATURES

Beaded Wheels Publisher THE VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF NZ (INC.) The Historic Vehicle Authority of New Zealand ISSN 0113-7506 Vol LXVIII No. 345

Editorial Committee Kevin Clarkson (Chairman), Judith Bain, Bevars Binnie, Rosalie Brown, John Coomber, Mark Dawber, Marilyn McKinlay.

12

25th VCC National Motorcycle Rally

16

Back in the day...

18

Early Indians and the 1914 Electric-Start Hendee Special

22

E Type Jaguar

26

1917 Parliamentary Tour

30

Detachable Wheels

34

Three Rivers Rally goes International

36

Rally Snippets Canterbury – Annual Rally 2017 Auckland – Auckland Veteran Rally Otago – Dunedin-Brighton Rally Waimate – Run to Omarama

38

National Veteran Rally 2017

Material for Publication Reports of restorations, events, road tests, historical and technical articles should be submitted to beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz.

Email of text and photos is preferred, digital photographs should be high resolution eg 300dpi. Alternatively mail your contribution to PO Box 13140, Christchurch 8141, typed or neatly printed, double space on one side of paper only. No payment is made to contributors. The opinions or statements expressed in letters or articles in Beaded Wheels are the author’s own views and do not necessarily express the policy or views of The Vintage Car Club of NZ (Inc).

25th VCC National Motorcycle Rally, see page 12.

Email beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz

Advertising Address Classified and Display Advertising to: PO Box 13140, Christchurch 8141.

Phone 64 3 332 3531, Fax 64 3 366 0273 Rate schedule available on request.

COLUMNS

Back Issues Available on request to PO Box 13140, Christchurch 8141.

Correspondence & Editorial Contributions

1917 Paliamentary Tour, see page 26.

Phone 64 3 332 3531, Fax 64 3 366 0273 PO Box 13140, Christchurch 8141.

Subscriptions Beaded Wheels subscribers change of address to PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140.

Phone 03 366 4461, Fax 03 366 0273 Annual subscription (6 issues) $45* inc GST Australian subscription (6 issues) NZ$76* Other countries (6 issues) NZ$136*. *Payment by credit card will incur additional bank fee processing charge of 3%

Production Typesetting & design by RGBDesign Printed by Spectrum Print Ltd, Christchurch.

Closing Date for June/July Issue Editorial Copy Advertisements

24 April 2017 10 May 2017

The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.) National Office Phone 03 366 4461 Fax 03 366 0273 Email admin@vcc.org.nz

Postal Address PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand.

Address 12 Aberdeen St, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Website www.vcc.org.nz Copyright Information The contents are copyright. Articles may be reproduced complete or in part provided that acknowledgement is made to “Beaded Wheels, the magazine of The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc)” as the source. Beaded Wheels reserves the right to digitally store all published material for archival purposes.

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Otago Branch Dunedin-Brighton Rally, see page 37.

4

President’s Message

4

As We See It

5

VCC Events

6

National Office News

7

Mailbag

9

Timelines

10

The Way We Were

11

Captain’s Log

37

Book Reveiw

40

Mutterings of a Mature Motorcyclist

41

Two Wheels and Other Things

42

Brass Notes

44

Marketplace

50

Swap Meets & Rallies

52

Idle Torque

62

Passing Lane

COVER Peter and Jenny Van Linden riding their 1983 BMW R80 in the National Motorcycle Rally. See page 12. Photo: Mark Heaslip.

Beaded Wheels 3

president’s message

At the recent Executive Meeting held in Auckland two new initiatives were introduced to the delegates.

The Vintage Car Club will have its own Facebook page up and running soon. You may ask why should we have a Facebook page? It is a modern world-wide engagement tool which can reach audiences with little or no cost. It is a platform to share information and is great for promotion.

It is an opportunity to tell our story. It will link members together throughout New Zealand, will give a better awareness of the VCC and its activities to members and non-members and it will be easy for international people to see what’s going on in the Club. Anyone who is on Facebook can follow our VCC page for updates whether they are a VCC member or not.

So, how will our page work? It will be a VCC corporate page in which national and significant events, announcements and interesting related news from here and overseas will be posted. It will not be for complaints, or for buy sell and exchange.

However that is not to say that in the future a separate group can’t be formed to share photos, news of Club members or requests for historical information on a vehicle or parts. A guide on how to join Facebook will be sent around the branches for those members that are keen, all that is needed is an email address. Quite a few branches already have very successful Facebook pages.

I am excited to announce that the Executive has agreed to hold a VCC National Day later this year. The idea is that on a specific date an event in which all branches participate will be held with all proceeds going to a national charity.

It will have a participation element for members, a fundraising element for a charity and media interest due to the number of vehicles participating.

How will it work? Each branch will organise a fun run and the set entry fee will go to the selected charity. It will be open to anyone who would like to participate, such as other car clubs and members of the public. Entrants will not need to be driving a club eligible vehicle so a member of the public in a 2016 vehicle could enter for instance. This has the potential to raise a huge amount for charity as well

4 Beaded Wheels

as we see it

as gain the Club valuable publicity both regionally and nationally.

It is possible to create this event for little or no cost. Branches would have the responsibility of marketing and promoting the event in their region. The national body will give marketing and PR support with branding and a template pack so that each event across New Zealand is to a similar standard.

A well-known national charity was nominated by the Executive but a little more work will need to be done before a public announcement is made. Delegates at the meeting were enthusiastic and positive about this proposal and I urge all members to get behind this. If successful it could become an annual event.

I am occasionally told that a member thinks the Club is “not doing enough” to encourage events for the particular era of vehicle they are interested in – let’s say in this instance Veterans – and they are proposing that a new club should be formed. My challenge to those people is don’t think about forming another club, get motivated and organise an event that suits you within your branch and within the Club … if you want more motoring specific to your vehicle then I politely say get off your behind and organise it. Don’t wait for other people to do it for you.

One of the strengths of the Vintage Car Club is our large membership. We have used this to our advantage over many decades to lobby government agencies to get concessions our VCC members enjoy and other vehicle clubs also get the benefit of. Two that immediately come to mind are; the cheaper registration negotiated by the late Sir Len Southward and the WOF exemptions fought for by Rod Brayshaw.

Our historic vehicles must only meet the safety requirements applying at the time they were manufactured.

I know that a lot of our members also enjoy belonging to one-make clubs or special interest groups, and I am not criticising that, but the reason we are still able to drive our historic vehicles essentially in the form that they were manufactured and virtually without any interference on our roads is due to the vigilance, perseverance and sometimes hard fought battles by the VCC and we shouldn’t ever forget that.

Diane Quarrie VCCNZ National President

In February I took part in the National Motorcycle Rally and the After Rally Tour which were based in Waitomo. I attended as a non-competitive entrant representing the Management Committee on behalf of National President Diane Quarrie.

This was a rally with a difference as the organisers, a mixture of Waikato and Auckland Branch members, had only limited time to get things under way.

Normally an event such as this is organised by a branch on behalf of the Management Committee. On this occasion that did not work, so we are grateful to Bob Hayton of the Waikato Branch, and his team for picking up the challenge with only six months left to go. Bob was assisted by others on his committee, his wife Gillian who was the secretary, and by Peter Alderdice and Lynda and Martin Spicer from Auckland. Many other members assisted in other duties such as marshalling, setting up, catering and all the others jobs that need to be done to ensure a successful event.

I have been to several National Motorcycle Rallies over the years and I can confidently state that this rally and the After Rally Tour were right up there with the best of them. We had great weather every day except for a bit of rain on the Sunday for the field tests and display. We had great roads every day with lots of gradient variations and many, many turns.

In fact on one day someone estimated that we did between 1,500 and 2,000 corners for that day’s ride of about 110 kilometres.

Motorcycle nirvana! The organisation was great and everything worked as it was supposed to. The venues were great, the food was excellent and served in a timely manner and even the beer was not very expensive! Of course the members present also helped to make the event great and, as always with motorcycle events, the camaraderie was well in evidence.

Bob and his team provided a magnificent event and they are to be congratulated. This shows what can be done in a short time frame if the team work together. Thank you Bob, Gillian, Peter, Lynda, Martin and the other members who put their hand up to help.

Kevin Clarkson Chairman, Beaded Wheels

This list of events is compiled from the VCCNZ National Calendar of Events, and branch events as listed in each branch newsletter. Any deletions, additions, alterations need to be notified to Beaded Wheels by the Branch Secretary before 10th of the month prior to magazine publication

2017 VCC National Events 14-17 April 11 August 12 August

National North Island Easter Rally, Auckland Executive Meeting, Blenheim National AGM, Blenheim

APRIL

Brian Parker Memorial Rally Gerald Lynch-Blosse Memorial M/C Rally 8 Waikato M/C Mooloo Meander 9 Gore Ladies Run 9 Hawke’s Bay Club Run 9 Horowhenua Ted Green M/C Rally 9 Marlborough Garage Raid, run to Grovetown Lagoon 9 Nelson Ladies Run 9 Wairarapa Club Captain’s Run 13 Sth Cant Mid-week Run 14-17 Auckland National North Island Easter Rally 14-17 Nelson Chairman’s Break Away to Golden Bay Tour 15 Ashburton Easter Run 15 Wanganui Castrol Motorcycle Rally 16 Nth Otago Ngapara Coal Pit Hill Climb 18 West Coast Morning Tea at Shantytown 21-22 Taranaki Maunga Moana Rally 22-23 Canterbury Autumn 3 Day Run 22 Central Otago Autumn Festival Rally 23 Northland Combined Swap Meet 23 West Coast Club Run 25 Nth Otago Field Tests 29 Canterbury Scooter Run 29 Waikato Twilight Run 30 North Shore Northern Raid Rally 30 Gisborne Club Run

MAY 6 6 11 13 13 13 13-14 14 14

8 Far North 8 Nth Otago

Ashburton Manawatu Sth Cant Canterbury Gore Southland Wairarapa Marlborough Nelson

VCC Events

Swap Meet Post Vintage Rally Mid week Run Rural Run (All Day Trial) Night Trial Waimea Motorcycle Rally Motorcycle Reliability Trial Mothers Day Run to lunch John White, Restoration of the Year/John Stichney Memorial Gymkhana/New Clubrooms official opening 14 Sth Cant PV/PW/P60/P80 Rally 16 West Coast Morning Tea at Shantytown 18 Wellsford/Wkwth AGM 19 Taranaki AGM 20 Northland Motorcycle Rally 20 Southland PW/P60 Rally 21 Hawke’s Bay Ladies Run 21 Nelson Sandy Bay Hill Climb 21 North Shore Club Run 25 E Bay of Plenty AGM 26 Marlborough Noggin & Natter & Night Trials 27 Waikato Training Day 28 Gisborne Club Captain’s Wing Ding 28 Marlborough AGM 28 West Coast Club Run

JUNE

3-4 Waikato 3-5 Canterbury 4 Sth Cant 4 Wanganui 8 Sth Cant 10 Gore 11 Marlborough 11 Nelson 11 Wairarapa 11 West Coast

Double Fifty Irishman Rally All British Day Annual Burma Rally Mid week Run End of Season Run Events Trophy AGM Winter Wander AGM

14 Central Otago 14 Hawke’s Bay 14 Nth Otago 14 North Shore 15 Ashburton 17 Manawatu 18 Otago 18 Sth Cant 18 West Coast 20 West Coast 21 C. Hawke’s Bay 21 Gisborne 22 Auckland 24 Far North 24 Waikato 25 Canterbury 25 Gisborne 25 Marlborough 25 North Shore

25 Taranaki 25 Wellington

AGM AGM AGM AGM AGM Night Trial AGM Restoration Rally Rosco Trials Morning tea Shantytown AGM AGM AGM Malloy Trophy Club Run AGM Club Run Midwinter Prizegiving Dinner Auckland/North Shore Combined End of Rego Run Colonial Cup Rally

JULY

1-2 Wellsford/Wkwth Winter Woolies Wander 8-9 Canterbury Mid Winter M/C Run 6 Sth Cant AGM 9 Rotorua Central North Island Swap Meet 9 Wairarapa Margaret Gee Memorial Rally 12 Sth Cant Mid week Run 15 C. Hawke’s Bay Twilight Run 16 Horowhenua Night Owl Run 16 Marlborough Snow Run 16 Nelson Marlborough Br Snow Run 18 West Coast Morning Tea at Shantytown 23 Taranaki Breakfast Run 23 Waikato Club Run 23 West Coast Club Run 30 Gisborne Club Run

While Beaded Wheels makes every attempt to check the accuracy of the dates published in this column we advise readers to confirm all dates with the individual branch concerned.

Find out more about the Vintage Car Club Join our enthusiasts as they motor their classic cars, trucks and motorcycles.

Visit vcc.org.nz to download membership application forms or contact your local branch directly for application forms and details.

See page 2 for contact details of your nearest branch.

Beaded Wheels 5

Julie Cairns-Gee

National Office Manager VCCNZ Inc National Office, PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140 ph 03 366 4461 fax 03 366 0273 email admin@vcc.org.nz www.vcc.org.nz Office Hours Mon – Thur 9-5pm

national office news Executive Meeting The Executive meets every March and during the August Annual General Meeting weekend. Their last meeting was 11 March in Auckland. Minutes are sent out to branches, and your representative will be able to report on the contents.

Notice Of AGM On page 10 you will find a Notice of AGM and request for nominations for the Management Committee positions.

John L Goddard Trophy Nominations A notice regarding the John L Goddard Trophy appears on this page. Please put some thought into nominating a worthy member. More information is available in the branch manual, one of which your branch secretary holds, another should be placed in a known location accessible to all branch members. The branch manual is also available on the club website.

VCC Historic Race Licence (HRL) If your licence has expired, you will need to complete a “HRL Renewal Form” – (Section 23S of the Branch Manual) and forward this, along with payment of $23 to the National Office and a new one will be issued. This form is on our website or you can contact your branch or the National Office for a copy.

Updates To Your Membership File If you have any alterations such as a change of address, phone numbers, email or vehicle details please advise the National Office. The best contact is to email admin@vcc.org.nz Please do not forward this information to the club’s Management Committee. All administration tasks should go directly to the National Office which is where the information is based and processed.

Transfer membership between branches The relevant forms must be completed.

These can be obtained through your branch secretary. Branch levies do vary between branches so the fee may vary from the annual subscription notice forwarded in February if you transfer after this time.

There is often confusion amongst the membership between what is “The Executive” and who is the “Management Committee”. there are 46 (or 47) Club members who sit on the Executive Committee.

The Management Committee The Management Committee is made up of 10* club members. These people are elected annually by the Club membership.

They undertake the day to day running of the Club.

The Constitution covers the full description of the Executive and Management Committee under clauses 6 and 7. The Club Constitution is available on the Club website www.vcc.org.nz or it is recorded in each Branch Manual. You may also obtain a copy by contacting the National Office.

The Executive The Executive is the governing body of the Club and is made up of one appointed delegate from each of the 36 branches plus the Management Committee. Therefore

*sometimes 11 if there is an immediate Past President

6 Beaded Wheels

John L Goddard Trophy

for achievement NOMINATIONS CLOSE 9 JULY 2017 Members of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand are invited to nominate a fellow member for this annual award.

The nomination should be for any member who they regard as having been involved in a significant achievement. It may be a particularly significant restoration, a memorable motoring journey or an important historical article or series of articles published in Beaded Wheels; or some special service to the Club.

Nominations for the Award should be forwarded to: John L Goddard Award, Vintage Car Club of NZ (Inc) PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140.

Accommodation Deals Asure Accommodation still offer a discount to financial Club Members. Bella Vista’s deal expired in October 2016.

Understanding Your Club National Structure There are two separate entities involved in the management and governance of the club, The Management Committee and The Executive.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Beaded Wheels Beaded Wheels is the voice of The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.) and its 36 branches covering the length and breadth of the country. The efforts of our members continue fostering and ever widening the interest in this segment of our country’s history. It is to these people, who appreciate the fascination of age, the individuality and the functional elegance of vehicles from a bygone era, that this magazine is dedicated.

Beaded Wheels – Our long established title may have readers wondering about its origin. By way of explanation beaded edge wheels use beaded edge tyres that are kept in place by reinforced rubber beads, which fit into the rolled edges of the wheel rim. This style of wheel was a distinctive feature of early motoring being used on early bicycles, many pre-1924 cars and most motorcycles until 1927.

The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand adopted the title Beaded Wheels for their quarterly club magazine in March 1955 which was the successor to the monthly Guff Sheet.

mailbag

mailbag Car ID Please These photos are from Joe Mouat.

The editorial committee reserve the right to p­ ublish, edit or refuse publication of any item ­submitted as comment. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily express the policy or views of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.) or the publishers. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Help Needed I’m not sure who I can ask for help, but this photo is of my uncle (left) and my father (right) in front of my grandfather’s car in Invercargill in the 1930s.

I thought it was the back of a Model A Ford but a friend in the VCC says no.

Is it possible to identify it from the little the photo does show?

Ross Stewart ross@quidnunc.co.nz Information for photo The photo on page 2 of Beaded Wheels issue 344 is taken on Main Street, Pahiatua in approximately 1935.

The billboard referring to Talkies is on the side of the King’s Theatre (now the Regent Theatre). Service station owner Bernie Wills’ bus (possibly an Albion) is leading the parade.

Snow and Glady Greaves Reaching out for a Rover I am trying to find out about a 1915 Rover I own which was initially sold by a company called Davis and Boyd in Hastings in, I believe, April 1915. After some years I think it was donated to Len Southward’s museum who sold it in perhaps 2006. Could any of your members help with what happened to the car in the intevening period. Any help would be gratefully received.

Howard Gutteridge h.gutteridge426@btinternet.com Packard Information I displayed my Packard at the Rotorua Branch February meeting. The Packard is a 1924 sedan Series 2 Single Six built on a 126 inch wheelbase. It was bodied in New Zealand by a coachbuilding firm trading as Stevens and Co, and Stevens

and Son in Christchurch. It seems to have spent its life in Christchurch.

The car was first registered in 1927 to William Smith, Garden Road, Christchurch. From 1931 to 1943 it was owned by George Moley of Clyde Road, Christchurch and then owned by one family since 1943. I purchased the car in 2008. If anyone can assist with historical information about the car or the coach building company please email to philcm@slingshot.co.nz. Any information would be appreciated.

Phil Monk Member Rotorua Branch Issue 343 Just as a matter of interest, the Veteran Car Race on page 2 of Beaded Wheels issue 343 is also featured in the book Veteran Years of NZ Motoring by Pam Maclean and Brian Joyce and is captioned “New Zealand’s first car race, Addington 1905” no other details.

Graham Clark

Tom Williamson (left) at Arapuni power station outside the blacksmiths shop.

Outside Meremere Hotel. Sam Anderson (second from left) supervisor at Hora Hora power station.

Peter Williamson at Arapuni power station circa 1930.

He would like to identify the sports car and the car with Peter Williamson standing beside it. Any details we know are in the captions. Respond to the writer at 147 Te Hono Street, Tauranga 3112.

John Callinan 1938 Austin 10 Cambridge Does anybody recognise this car?

I recently bought this 1938 Austin 10 reg. AW 8442 (see photo), but have no paperwork to help with certification.

Last licensed in 1969, it is almost totally restored, probably some years ago. Maybe in the Wanganui area.

Dark blue with black guards, sliding sunroof, homemade carpets and roof lining. The floor has been cut around the gearbox and plated with Tekscrews.

I would appreciate any help to get this car on the road with the original plates.

Andy Hammond Member Waikato Branch Phone 07 823 5712 atepushrods@gmail.com

2017 National Veteran Rally I was first introduced to the Wanganui Branch in 2011. It was shortly after Rob and I purchased our first vehicle, a 1938 Chev 1 ton truck. I use it as my office on rally days. We attended a few meetings and outings and competed in the branch rallies.

Now we also have a 1938 Chev flatback sedan (purchased 2015) and a 1926 Buick Master 6 (purchased 2016) and have started to travel further afield with both of these cars.

It wasn’t until about March 2015 that I become more involved when I took on the Rally Secretary position just in time to do the Annual Rally held on Queen’s Birthday Weekend.

Beaded Wheels 7

mailbag

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TLIFMLI ELITMSED FT SETLE SIMLE CPALA CEDCE LPPLA ITEED ILFT LNOT YOUR USUAL ANOT YOUR USUAL USU RUOY TON COACH TOURS: COACH TOURS: :S R UOT HCAOC .x✓ Eight People Per Tour Max. aM ruoT reP elpoeP thgiE ✓ ✓ Eight People Per Tour Max. .sl✓ Stay at Botique Local Hotels. eto✓ Stay at Botique Local Hotels.

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I had no idea what to do, or expect, but with the guidance of those who had gone before the Annual Rally 2015 was a success. I have to say I learnt a lot about rally administration.

The branch did not hold the Burma Rally in 2016 as the Dunedin Festival of Historic Motoring took precedence.

Shortly after returning from Dunedin I found out that the branch was hosting the National Veteran Rally in January 2017.

This meant we started planning for 2017 at the same time as planning and organising the Annual Rally for 2016. Just as well I already had one rally under my belt.

As the year went on the National Veteran Rally planning turned to organisation. The next Burma Rally was scheduled to be run at the same time, meaning two separate rallies with two separate identities, with over 100 vehicles altogether.

Thank goodness we could combine a couple of activities (Friday night welcome barbeque and the prize giving dinner).

I can now look back and say “we did it”.

Since 2015 I have learnt a lot more about rally administration and organisation. I have also learnt a lot about Veteran vehicle rally entrants. They travel great distances, sometimes through inclement weather (weather bombs), are ready on time, but don’t mind waiting if you are not, they enjoy their food, a chat and appreciate all activities organised for them.

I enjoyed being Rally Secretary for the National Veteran rally and would like to thank all entrants for helping to make it a fantastic event.

I appreciated the thoughtful, positive and friendly feedback from many of you.

Linda O’Keeffe Rally Secretary, Wanganui Branch

Nash Story I have just read the Nash story by Jared Dacombe and would like to congratulate him on his effort, both the story and the restoration.

I love the photo taken at Levels, really trying. Having young members like him will surely be needed as lots of older ones fall off the perch.

I have included a couple of photos from my father’s album that you may be interested in. Camper vans are nothing

new it seems. This one and the Model T raceabout with my mother and him in it were vehicles he was involved with as a mechanic in the Balclutha area.

Doug Algie

PISTON RINGS WE CAN MAKE CUSTOM RINGS FOR MOST CARS, TRUCKS & SMALL ENGINES

Late model 3 piece oil rings now available

TC ACONTACT TNOC CONTACT TONY TONY KC O CYAHAYCOCK HHAYCOCK YNOT

UNDER THE OWNERSHIP OF PUKEKOHE

reb mVCC member em CCV VCC member

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NEW ZEALAND’S LARGEST RANGE OF PISTON RINGS FOR VINTAGE CARS

JOHNSON’S PISTON RINGS est 1920s

Ph: 09 238 4079 Fax: 09 238 4437 email: enquiries@fesltd.co.nz 129 Manukau Rd Pukekohe Auckland 2120

THE VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF NEW ZEALAND (INC.) National Office: PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140. Telephone: 03 366 4461

NOTICE OF MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the Club will be held on Saturday, 12 August 2017 at Clubs of Marlborough, Alfred Street, Blenheim, commencing at 9.00am.

Rule 8: ELECTION OF OFFICERS Nominations for the Management Committee must be received in this office by 5pm 18 June 2017 accompanied by a current biography and photograph of the nominee and their association with the Club.

The biography shall contain the name, address and occupation of members nominated for each position.

Not less than 75 clear days before the Annual General Meeting the Management Committee shall cause notice to be given to all members intimating the date for closing nominations for the offices of:– President Club Captain – Northern Region Club Captain – Southern Region Secretary/Treasurer Beaded Wheels Editorial Committee Chairman Registrar Speed Steward Three Other Members of the Management Committee

and shall invite nominations for such offices to be forwarded in writing to the Secretary/Treasurer to arrive not less than fifty-five clear days before the date appointed for the Annual General Meeting.

Every such nomination to be signed by the Member nominated, their nominator and seconder. Only a Member who has served at least one year upon the Executive of the Club shall hold the Office of President. Members shall be eligible for election to the Management Committee if they shall have paid all monies due by them to the Club and have been financial Members of the Club for at least six months prior to nomination.

If the number of candidates for the Management Committee exceeds the number of respective vacancies to be filled, an election shall take place.

Job descriptions may be obtained from the Branch Manual. Contact your Branch Secretary or National Office.

Management ­Committee 2016-2017 Present Officers President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hon. Secretary/Treasurer. . . . . . . . . . .

Club Captains– Northern Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Southern Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

D Quarrie M Lavender

Registrar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R Brayshaw Speed Steward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T Haycock Beaded Wheels Chairman. . . . . . . . . . . K Clarkson

P Collins* A Mayhew

Three other members of management committee E Boyd, T Bartlett, D Yorke

* Paul Collins has indicated that he is not standing for re-election.

historical snippets of motoring interest from years gone by Graeme Rice

timelines 100 YEARS AGO April/ May 1917 – Two Mr W Wilsons were quoted in an advertisement in the 25 April Otago Witness. One was Woodrow Wilson, American President, who declared war on Germany, the other was a Dunedin Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealer who claimed “these motorcycles are designed by men of genius.” Mr Arthur Davidson from Milwaukee, Vice President of HarleyDavidson had been spending a few days in Dunedin.

75 YEARS AGO 1942 – Horses were making a comeback.

After three years of petrol rationing there was a sudden demand for harness and saddles. The trouble was that the industry had been in decline for 30 years and there were no apprentices, few tradesmen and old saddlers suddenly coming out of retirement.

Worse still there was a scarcity of metal for buckles, stirrups, clips and spurs. Stables were scoured for old harness to either strip or repair.

50 YEARS AGO 1967 – The muscle cars were here. Ford’s Falcon GT with the Mustang derived 289 ci 225 bhp V8 fed by a four barrel carburettor and with four on the floor was capable of 120 mph. Even third gear was good for over 100 mph. Coming with wider wheels, radial tyres, bucket seats, front disc brakes, safety belts, a heater and reversing lights, this was a formidable machine.

30 YEARS AGO 1987 – Watch for the pitfalls of buying a car overseas. Take a holiday, buy a car and ship it home but then add duty, GST, shipping costs and insurance. A Mazda RX7 bought in Japan for $10,000 could cost $24,000 by the time it was on the road here. Sounds bad? Not really, a new three door 1000cc Toyota Starlet retailed at $19,995 and even the miniscule Daihatsu Mira cost $15,495. You could see why enthusiasts made the trip.

Beaded Wheels 9

Andrew Anderson

the way we were Duncan Rutherford’s father with the 1911 Coupe de L’Auto Delage.

Last issue we dwelt on the pressures of parts and supplies in the expansion of the Club beyond the University and the beginnings of a sporting facet of our activities fostered by Clem McLaughlin’s older brother, the late, very lamented John and his paddock at Taumutu. This sporting interest was to be further driven by contacts with those older petrol heads who were embarking on a modern car club via the Pioneer Sporting Club whose motorcycle operations were well under way again as the war finished in the last half of 1945. The Vintage Vehicle Association (VVA) sent a representative, Rob Shand, to this foundation meeting and interaction was swift. Our members were prominent spectators at Pioneer and later Canterbury Car Club events, such as their Halswell hill climbs, and Duncan Rutherford, a regular competitor in a Traction Avant Citroën coupe, took a lot of interest in Spud Jackson’s work on the 14/40 Sunbeam due to his family interest in Amuri Motors who were the Sunbeam agents in the marque’s heyday. He passed on to us a lot of early Sunbeam sales literature including parts lists and these two photos of which more later. The eighth excursion of the VVA on 2 May 1948 was to watch a Canterbury Car Club grass hill climb in which our members, Tom Clements with 501 Fiat and

10 Beaded Wheels

Doug Gregg with 1922 Dodge competed, and very creditably too.

Before we leave Teddy Gregg and his tyre establishment, can anyone tell me what became of his really nice late 1920s straight eight Marmon 7 seater saloon, a most imposing machine?

Back to the Coupe de L’Auto Delage.

As readers may know, the Christchurch Vauxhall agents, Scott, Morgan and Co, had been sent one of Vauxhall’s victorious 1,000 mile trial cars, the late Jack Newell’s famous Y2. Young Wally Scott proceeded to vanquish all comers with this car for years.

Not unnaturally, other maker’s agents were soon demanding similar benefits from their factories.

Louis Delage responded to his agent, J S Hawkes Ltd and dispatched one of their four 1911 Coupe de L’Auto cars with which Bablot had won the 388 mile race at a 55.2 mph average speed and Rene Thomas and Guyot had come 3rd and 4th. Built to a three litre capacity formula and 800kgs minimum weight, the four cylinder 80mm x 149mm engine had a very advanced horizontal valve design and coupled to a five speed gearbox with a direct drive on fourth. It delivered 50 hp at 3000rpm. All of which should, by all the rules of war, have given old Y2 a very serious run for its money. In Christchurch, half a world away from its makers and

tuners, the Delage was simply too complex for its purpose and no-one could get it to really perform, whereas old Y2 was really a very basic simple machine to both maintain and drive. J S Hawkes Ltd was in some trouble by this time and was duly helped

by Duncan Rutherford of Leslie Hills and it would appear that his son Leslie took on the Delage as a swifter machine than his father’s Alldays and Onions. On Duncan’s death in 1918, Leslie inherited Leslie Hills and the Alldays and Onions while later on, as Amuri Motors, also inherited, got fully involved with Sunbeams, the Delage was obviously a conflict of interest and thus had to go.

With Leslie’s son Duncan’s involvement with the VCC of NZ a frantic search for the Delage began. It was traced to the North Island and finally found by Roy Cowan in a burnt out farm shed near Waipukurau just weeks after the fire that had even melted all the engine aluminium castings and gearbox casing and deemed a write off.

This in turn launched searches for a reputed GP Peugeot in the MacKenzie country which, of course, finally turned out to be my 1914 TT Sunbeam at Irishman Creek and the ex-Anthony Wilding 1914 GP Alda which was traded in for a model T Ford in Invercargill and all trace of it lost thereafter.

BW

Paul Collins North Island Club Captain

captain’s log Just the other day a colleague and I were watching a video of the 2004 National Veteran Rally & 50th Dunedin to Brighton Rally. This was a great video showing all these lovely Veteran vehicles out and about in the Dunedin district. At the end of the events it was stated that there were 107 vehicles in attendance.

Just 13 years later we struggled to get 30 Veteran vehicles to enter the National Veteran Rally at Whanganui.

Where have all the oldies gone?

Are they just languishing in sheds or garages, gathering dust, because the owner has reached the point where it has become too hard to start, or drive the vehicle in modern traffic. How about encouraging the grandchildren to take an interest in these lovely vehicles and get them out and about again. Or maybe a friend or fellow branch member could offer to drive the vehicle for the owner on the odd occasions.

Let’s see if we can find ways to encourage some of these Veteran vehicles back on some of our club events. These were the foundation of our club in the early days, part of our history. Don’t let them disappear into the background. They create a lot of interest and help promote the club when they do appear. The recent Parliamentary Tour Re-enactment was a good example of this, drawing much publicity and attention at the various venues they attended along the way.

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25th VCC National Motorcycle Rally Waitomo 17-19 February 2017 The Rally of Corners

Words John Shennan Photos Mark Heaslip

T

he 25th National Motorcycle Rally was organised by a committee assembled at short notice. One may have thought this committee would be hard pushed to organise everything for a national calendar event. Well how wrong could one have been. Entry forms came out well in advance, followed by regular newsletters with updates on choices of activities, information on an array of accommodation, as well as detailed information for the after-rally tour.

The choice of location for the rally was excellent. The Waitomo district and surrounding King Country is simply motorcycle mecca, with its gently winding roads and light traffic. The After-Rally Tour was hub style which was ideally suited to this part of the country giving a great choice of daily destinations from inland countryside, lakes and that impressive West Coast with its formidable shoreline and relentless surf. All of this could not only be enjoyed by the rally participants but also the supporters of the After-Rally Tour.

Like previous National Rallies we were pleased to welcome visitors from overseas.

Harry and Nel de Boer from Holland with their 1928 Indian Scout, Lester Hamilton and John Hughes from Wollongong NSW along with Adrian Wallace, Peter Van Linden and Tim Sieber from Illawarra.

The preceding weeks leading up to mid-February were not great weather-wise, but participants arrived at Waitomo Rally headquarters on the Friday afternoon in good calm weather for registration.

12 Beaded Wheels

With the main event looming on Saturday it was time to go through the rally pack and acquaint oneself with the programme. This was detailed in a most useful 34-page booklet with names of participants and their machines. All the rally instructions, including the AfterRally Tour sheets, contained a brief history of the places of interest along the way. All this was neatly labelled in our rally packs.

The team of plotters obviously did a lot of research to make up such easy-to-read route plans. Also contained in the booklet were interesting extracts from Bruce Anderson about the first rally at Masterton 1967, Neville Olsen about previous rallies 1989 to 2015, the Hastings Rally 1975 by Hugh Anderson, and 50 years of national motorcycle rallying by Bill Munro.

On Saturday morning bikes were grouped by the year of manufacture for people’s choice judging. This was between a stunning 1913 BSA, a 1913 LMC, a 1914 Rover Coventry, a 1916 Triumph and a 1918 Royal Enfield. The most popular marque was Triumph with 28 entries followed by BSAs at 17. There were 127 bikes in total which made for a jaw dropping display.

Bob Hayton gave the day’s rally briefing advising that bikes were to get away at half minute intervals.

There were three courses of approximately 70, 90 and 115 miles with timed sections all heading south of Waitomo.

We headed to PioPio High School for lunch and field tests on wonderful country roads with little traffic.

The ride back to Waitomo through the back country was a real pleasure with its sweeping corners, hills and exquisite country side. Breakdowns were minimal, however Neville Olsen picked up a nail in his rear tyre on his 1924 BSA just after morning tea, but he managed to continue riding all the way back to Waitomo on a flat tyre. Yours truly wasn’t so persistent, and was forced to ask for trailer assistance due to ripping out the tyre valve only a mile from Waitomo. There’s nothing more difficult to manoeuvre than a heavy bike with a flat rear tyre.

Social hour was at Woodlyn Park situated half a kilometre from rally headquarters. Snow van den Brook was MC for the rest of the evening, doing a sterling job of keeping us informed of the night’s activities.

Overcast skies and mist in the valley on Sunday meant things were not looking great for the gymkhana which was eventually cancelled. Despite this some of the riders took the opportunity to ride out to see the Marakopa Falls and the Natural Bridge. Everyone gathered at Rally HQ and it was a perfect time to catch up with old friends in a relaxed atmosphere. The highlight of the afternoon was to see Ken Campbell’s Indian V8 that he brought to the rally especially for everyone to see and hear it running. Ken is well known for his prowess in motorcycle engineering.

He firmly states that the Indian V8 was an engineering experiment, something that he always wanted to do, as opposed to

Catherine Bannon

Chris Clark

Kevin Clarkson presents Paul Tomlin with the trophy for best performaance on a HarleyDavidson.

recreating something of yesteryear. With a turn of the key the big V8 burst into Warrick Laing life, the sound was stirringly unique with 2.7 litres of raw power bubbling away, the bike straining at the leash wanting to get some air into its lungs. Ken gave everyone a short demonstration by riding around the HQ. A very successful 25th Anniversary prizegiving dinner was held at Woodlyn Park. Kevin Clarkson presented the prizes (see page 16), he then went on to acknowledge two people who had contributed to the National Rallies immensely over the entire 50-year period. Maureen Bull and Bill Munro spoke about their involvement with the VCC. Such history is always well

Robert Young

Robert Gudopp followed by Peter Simpson Beaded Wheels 13

received. Their long service was applauded as they helped cut the celebratory cake.

The guest speaker for the evening was Bill Hohepa who had been filming the bikes and interviewing their owners over the previous two days. In conclusion Kevin paid tribute to the rally committee for their efforts to ensure everyone was well looked after and in particular the team of back up people who did a sterling job.

Jon Turney

Zipping Along on the James – A Ride to Remember Words Ray Clarey

I guess this started in April 2016 with Peter Bull asking me if I would be keen to ride a motorcycle in the 25th National Rally in February 2017. I must have given him a tentative yes and gradually things progressed from there. Peter is my son-inlaw and the eldest son of Maureen and the late Glen Bull of Masterton.

Glen and Maureen have long been Vintage motorcycle enthusiasts collecting and repairing old bikes, organising and attending rallies and staunch members of the Vintage motorcycle fraternity. Maureen has written four books ably recording New Zealand’s motorcycle heritage. They organised the first VCC National Motorcycle Rally held at Masterton in 1967. It has been held every two years since, making this event the 25th anniversary. Glen passed away 14 Beaded Wheels

on 5 August 2015, so his and Maureen’s collection of bikes was subsequently bequeathed to members of their family.

Soon after my tentative nod to give the rally a go, Peter submitted our entries for the event. I still didn’t really know a lot about such events, especially the Nationals, and trusted Peter to make the right decisions. It transpired that I was to ride the 1955 James Colonel, a feisty 225cc two-stroke originally purchased by Peter when he was fourteen. The machine needed a bit of maintenance to make it reliable and to pass the requirements of the NZ Transport Agency and obtain a Vehicle Identity Card.

So with full registration, warrant of fitness, new tyres, new rear brake linings, clutch and idling issues sorted by Peter (I offered moral support), I took the James

David Williams with Bill Munro in his sidecar.

on two test runs a few weeks before the big event. We did the ‘getting to know you’ bit and got along just fine for two old timers. I was fortunate in being able to wear Glen’s riding suit and helmet. With the Bull aura all around me, I was already half way there.

We registered on the Friday afternoon and then presented ourselves the next day with our bikes to Rally Headquarters at the Waitomo Caves Domain for a 9am compulsory entrant briefing. Bikes were parked in rows relevant to our riding numbers, arranged to ensure that older and slower machines were away first. I was number 62 from a field of 126.

We had previously been issued with our route instructions and the average speed for the two timed sections. Peter had chosen my options as 36mph on the long route of 115 miles. This meant I had to try to maintain a speed of about 43mph to achieve that. I told him I was surprised about the confidence he had in me, when he said, “Ray, I might have had a couple when I filled that part in!”

The route instructions were brief and sometimes slightly cryptic until you got the hang of it. I taped mine onto the petrol tank but had trouble reading them with the constraints of looking down with a helmet on, so I tried to memorise up to five or six instructions at a time, then stop briefly to read and memorise the next lot. We had already been advised in the briefing notes about the three routes (short, medium and long) so you couldn’t take it for granted that the bike ahead was on your selected route. I did however follow the odd sidecar combination where the navigator in the sidecar was gesturing instructions to the rider. If the signalling agreed with what I thought I would zip past when it was safe and wend my way on.

As a first timer at this event I listened carefully at the briefing and picked up some tips. The organisers weren’t disclosing that much about the route but they had to be safety conscious. They mentioned that a longish part of the route had recently been sealed but the surplus chip had not been swept off due to the inclement weather.

I was circumspect on this winding hill

country road and chose to only use my rear brake, stay in third gear and stay out of the loose chip windrows. I knew there would be no prizes for crashing the bike or breaking down and not finishing.

The El Toro Crew (the Bull family entry of six bikes) had ensured that we all had adequate top-up fuel supplies carried by the back-up teams. This was important for me as I wanted to be certain that my 20:1 two-stroke mix was 95 octane petrol with Penrite oil. I knew the little James purred along on that mix, sometimes up to 55mph on the speedo when the road conditions were suitable.

Having lived in the King Country gave me an insight into the types of roads we were likely to encounter, but as it turned out the only part of the route that I was familiar with was the section of SH4 from north of Waterfall Hill to the Mokauiti turnoff. The little bike zinged along this stretch and I just loved it, especially catching up to bigger machines whose riders obviously didn’t know this piece of highway as well as I did.

Our route was from Waitomo to Piopio for lunch and back via the northern limstone hills. I thought I would get a sore backside but didn’t, in fact I felt pretty good. It must have been something to do with the satisfaction of making it back in one piece, bike and all. The James was a little beauty and performed so well. It was the only James entered in the competition along with five other two-strokes.

As a happy conclusion I was honoured to receive the Glen Bull Memorial Trophy.

This new trophy was donated by guest of honour Maureen Bull and I didn’t have a clue that it existed. What a surprise and what a delight to be the first winner. Glen was surely riding on my shoulder this trip.

The next National Motorcycle Rally is to be held in Blenheim in 2019. I’m keen to take part now that I have a taste for it.

Oh, and I’ll need a reliable mechanic. BW

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After Rally Tour Eighty participants were divided into two groups for this hub style tour. On certain days, the organisers planned for each group to ride to different destinations. However, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday we all rode together to one destination. This worked extremely well and the backup team looked after everyone admirably.

Monday 20 February. In excellent weather everyone gathered early at Rally HQ to be briefed on the day’s run to Te Awamutu, a ride of approximately 100 miles. The route wound its way via wonderful undulating country roads with minimal traffic, passing the occasional settlements and places of interest. A visit to Trevor Hall’s motorcycle shop in Te Awamutu was not to be missed.

Tuesday morning was another fine day.

Today riders were split into two groups, one going to Mokau taking a ride on the river boat and the other to Kawhia viewing the Marakopa Falls and Mangapohue Natural Bridge on the return journey. After the briefing everyone got underway, similar distances for each group of approximately 100 miles.

Wednesday morning, great, another fine warm sunny day. The destination today is Mangakino for the entire group.

After briefing the first bikes got underway, however there was a slight change in route.

A farmer had driven his herd of around 300 cows over a three mile stretch along Waitomo Valley road. Consequently, the thick manure left behind was not considered conducive to two wheeled transport.

Heading east and rising some 800 metres the group encountered thick fog and visibility became a challenge. Once down on the flat following Waipapa Valley Road conditions improved. Some stopped at the

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Waipapa Dam to survey the splendour of the surroundings.

Thursday, yes, another great day with the group splitting for two runs, one to Kawhia and the other to Mokau.

The final day of the tour took the group to Ongarue and Okahukura for lunch via Waimiha. An interesting derelict sawmill located near Waimiha was inspected.

Again a very scenic part of the country, perfect for motorcycling. There is a considerable amount of history to be told about these once thriving settlements. The main trunk line reached the Waimiha area in 1901. The first European farmers arrived in 1909. Sawmills working through the native timber were prevalent. One had to be careful however due to the road conditions which have been compromised due to the heavy logging trucks.

The supporters tour also had a full programme throughout the week, visiting towns and villages and places of interest along the way. They followed the bikes on some days, doing their own thing on others. Jillian Hayton did an excellent job as organiser and bus driver.

So the very successful 25th National Motorcycle Rally drew to an end.

Thanks, must go to the rally committee for their tireless work to ensure everyone enjoyed themselves and the rally to run as smoothly as it did. The backup team who were sometimes kept on their toes, the sponsors, and those working behind the scene.

BW

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VCC 25th National Motorcycle Rally Results First Overall - Montagu Trophy

David Henwood Wairarapa

1980 Honda XL500S

Rob Knight Memorial Cup Best performance Veteran

Don Green Auckland

1916 Triumph ‘H’

The Canterbury Cup Best Performance Vintage

Peter Bull Wairarapa

1929 Norton Model 18

Back in the day...

The Waikato Cup Best Performance PV

Steve Murray Canterbury

1937 Harley-Davidson U

Young Cup Best Performance PWV

Ian McKinlay Canterbury

1955 BSA B33

The Otago Cup Best Performance P60V

David Henwood Wairarapa

1980 Honda XL500S

The Northland Trophy Best Performance P80V

Kevin Stevenson Canterbury

1981 Suzuki Katana

Combination Clock Best performance M/Cycle & Sidecar combination

Paul Tomlin Auckland

1925 Harley-Davidson Model J Combination

Helen Lane Memorial Plate Best Performance - Lady Rider

Gillian Stevenson Canterbury

1981 Suzuki Katana

National Motorcycle Interbranch Teams Interbranch Gymkhana

Wairarapa

Peter Bull, Ray Clarey, Dave Henwood, Paul Tomlin

PPG Concours Cup Concours d’Elegance

Martyn Seay 1954 Triumph Terrier Auckland Geoff Hockley Memorial Trophy Best Performance - Harley-Davidson

Paul Tomlin Auckland

1925 Harley-Davidson Model J Combination

Tim’s Trophy Best Performance - Twin Cylinder

Aaron Janes Wellington

1956 BSA Golden Flash

Best Performance - Two Stroke

Ray Clarey Wairarapa

1955 James Colonel

Words and photos Brian Skudder

Reading and enjoying Kevin Wiley’s article about buying his first car made me think that many Beaded Wheels readers must have similar entertaining stories to

I

tell about their first car.

n my case, I too was a first year apprentice motor mechanic earning the huge sum of £2/3/4 a week and paying £2 a week board. Out riding my bike around Whangarei I spotted a 1931 Morris Minor for sale for £45. The year was 1955 and cars were hard to get new, overseas funds were needed so second hand vehicles were still expensive.

Blinded to the car’s shortcomings, and being a gullible youth, I drew out my £30 of savings and wheedled £15 out of my parents and I owned a car.

It wasn’t long before the troubles commenced. Hard starting frequently required a push start, probably in hindsight because of poor cylinder compression, and perhaps valve timing because I believe the overhead camshaft drive was by a tapered gear on a vertical shaft which was prone to slipping. I was too green or lazy to investigate this problem deeply before other ills befell the car. One of these problems was a fabric universal joint disintegrating, so I fitted a brand new fabric joint that I got from Auto Parts Whangarei.

The car proved unable to give me reliable transport to go to my parents’ farm 20 miles north on the occasional weekend and was definitely no use as a chick magnet. I did drive a girl up a secluded sideroad once and we encountered a muddy puddle the width of the road which I bravely attacked at speed and the floorboards flew up drenching the poor girl in muddy water.

The cost of running the car exceeded my budget so the decision was made to quit it. Like Kevin, I dismantled the car and sold bits off getting £25 for the front axle which was going to be used for a trailer, and not much for anything else.

I remember giving Brian Jackson the radiator to exhibit when his museum was in South Auckland somewhere. I don’t recall what happened to the rest of it.

My next car, which cost £145, was one of the greatest cars I’ve ever owned. A two door 1938 Morris Eight which served me well doing many trips to Auckland and once up to Kaitaia.

BW

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Early Indians

and the 1914 Electric-Start Hendee Special Words Bob Bullock

Here’s a brain-teaser to begin with.

Can you guess which year Indian had the highest motorcycle production number?

O

riginally known as the Hendee Manufacturing Company, they later changed to the more familiar title of the Indian Motocycle Company in November 1923. The omission of the letter ‘r’ in ‘motorcycle’ was to avoid any possible patent infringement lawsuits from the automotive and motorcycle manufacturing industry. The two co-founders were George M Hendee and Carl Oscar Hedstrom (he preferred to not use the name Carl).

Company president Hendee was born 19 October 1866 in a suburb of Boston.

His family were involved in the retail trade so business and economics came naturally to young George. He was also a keen and talented bicycle racer who, in 1886 at age 20, won the National Amateur High Wheel Championship of the United States. George was extremely dedicated

18 Beaded Wheels

to the sport of bicycling and, combining this with his business acumen, in 1898 he began manufacturing and selling his own brand of safety bicycle. There was the Silver King model for gentlemen and the matching Silver Queen model for ladies. He was astute enough to recognise the ‘dawning of the age’ of internalcombustion engines and their application when combined with the bicycle. George decided early on to be part of that new-age and began looking for business opportunities to present themselves. Luckily enough he didn’t have long to wait.

Company design engineer Carl Oscar Hedstrom was born 12 March 1871 in the small village of Smolend, Sweden.

His family emigrated to the United States in 1880 and settled in Brooklyn, New York. At age 16 he graduated from the eighth grade and began an apprenticeship with a small factory in the Bronx that manufactured watch cases. Early on he had shown his mechanical aptitude and soon developed and improved it further within his apprenticeship with machinetool use, pattern making, as well as forge

and foundry work. It was good experience and knowledge that would stand him in good stead when it came time to establish the fledgling motorcycle company. He was also keen on bicycling and while not directly involved with the competitive side of the sport, he had a passion for their construction. To this end he soon began constructing lighter and more durable bicycles in his home workshop for local professional racers. He soon gained a reputation for his sound designs and quality work and turned his attentions to building tandem pacing machines. Around 1899 several small De Dion-type engines had been imported from France and he duly obtained one to study its design and construction. He was able to improve the design to enhance its reliability and performance (which was reported as being sadly lacking at the time). Naturally enough it didn’t take long before he incorporated one of these engines to power one of his tandem pacing bicycles. He teamed up with Albert Henshaw to ride this tandem on the Madison Square Garden track during the 1900 season.

Co-founder George Hendee on a 1904 Indian.

The successful performance of this machine soon came to the notice of racers and race promoters alike. One of these was George Hendee who was at that stage promoting races in the newly opened Springfield Coliseum. The stage was now set and once ‘the two main players’ had made their acquaintance, it wasn’t long before that old saying applied, ‘the rest is history’.

George Hendee commissioned Carl Oscar Hedstrom to design and build a singlecylinder motorcycle which he successfully achieved. It made its debut in June 1901.

A decision was made by the two men to continue production of the new motorised bicycle. They established the Hendee Manufacturing Company and began motorcycle production on the top floor of a building at 216 Worthington Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, where George Hendee was building his bicycles. By 1907 the company was rapidly expanding with increased production forcing a change to larger premises at the intersection of State Street and Wilbraham Road in the Highland Community area of Springfield. Further factory extensions occurred in 1912 as well as the acquisition of land and the construction of a large, single-story factory in East Springfield.

Once the State Street/Wilbraham Road extensions were completed, an aerial view of the factory showed it to represent a large A or Indian teepee shape. From that point

on the factory was affectionately referred to as the Wigwam.

When the Indian Motocycle Company ceased production in early 1953 sections of the factory were leased out to other businesses and tenants. Kings department store occupied the northwest section of State Street (the top of the teepee) for many years. Photos of the building in 1981 show a derelict, rundown and tired-looking old factory. Large, ornate semicircular windows on the fourth floor show where Hendee’s office was and from where he directed the daily operations of the one-time world’s largest motorcycle company. Prior to the Hendee acquisition in 1907, this section also housed the first vocational high-school in the United States. Unfortunately, this historic part of the factory was demolished in 1985. Fortunately part of the East Springfield factory was saved. The Indian Motorcycle Museum is now situated there.

It hosts an annual Indian Day gathering in summer for riders and their classic Indian motorcycles to celebrate together, as well as displaying some of Oscar Hedstrom’s hand tools used to construct the original prototype Indian, some of George Hendee’s personal effects, various Hedstrom speed trophies, the prototype Indian car, and a number of Indian motorcycles.

In the early years, under Oscar Hedstrom’s engineering expertise, development followed improvement with the company soon establishing a lead within the motorcycle industry. A production

bottleneck soon arose at the Worthington Street factory due to a lack of casting and foundry facilities. Hendee approached several companies with a view of subcontracting out engine production and eventually signed a contract with the Aurora Automatic Machinery Company in Aurora, Illinois. Aurora would build the single-cylinder, Hedstrom-designed motor for Indian, while they (Aurora) paid Indian a royalty to sell excess motors that were branded as Thor. Aurora’s contract with Hendee allowed a certain amount of free play as several motor brands, as well as carbon-copies of the complete Hendee motorcycle were manufactured and sold by Aurora, the early Reading-Standards being one of the more well-known Indian clones.

Oscar Hedstrom moved to Aurora in late 1902 through till early 1903 to oversee engine design improvements and establish the prototype and production assembly process. A total of 143 motorcycles were built in 1902. Engine production continued at Aurora for the next five years until the Hendee Manufacturing Company bought the much larger State Street factory (the Wigwam) and established their own engine production facilities in 1907. Production rose to 2,176 that year.

The very early tyres fitted to the 1901 Indians were made from natural rubber (white in colour) and extruded in straight sections with butted ends. When fitted to the wooden rims (yes, that is correct) they were wrapped around, then glued both to the rim and at the butted ends, then fixed with a wooden dowel. Their correct name was a ‘single tube, pneumatic rubber tire’ being 1½ inches wide by 28 inch diameter. (Imagine repairing a roadside flat on that?) Later Indians featured steel rims with conventional rubber tubes and tyres, although the tire size had increased to two inch wide.

The single-cylinder motor that powered the early Indians were of IOE type (overhead inlet above side exhaust valve).

The inlet valve was automatic ie, (suction or atmospheric) in operation. The motor displaced 13.7 ci (224cc), was rated at 1.75 hp and could propel the 75 lb motorcycle plus rider up to 30 mph. It was single-speed, with fixed drive (no clutch) and had two chains driving the rear wheel (one from the motor countershaft sprocket and one from the pedal crank sprocket). There was no front brake (Indian and Harley-Davidson both fitted front brakes in 1928) but a standard bicycle type, New Departure, coaster rearwheel brake was fitted which operated when back pedalled. The new Indian was handsomely finished in dark Royal Blue enamel. Colour options began in 1904 with Beaded Wheels 19

Indian co-founder Carl Oscar Hedstrom poses proudly with a circa 1901 Indian.

vermillion (later called Indian Red) and black and then as dark green in 1905. Bright nickel plated parts were handlebars, control linkages and rods, wheel spokes, pedal cranks, frame head fittings plus all sundry nuts, bolts, screws and other small parts.

Three dry-cell batteries plus the spark coil were carried in two cylindrical containers attached to the front frame downtube. This could be described as a total loss system as there was no generator and riders were expected to either carry fresh batteries when undertaking a long journey, or to charge their existing ones frequently. Generally, riders could expect to travel 800 to 2000 miles between battery charges.

Simple contact-breaker points were geardriven via the crankshaft and housed in a tin cover adjacent to the exhaust valve mechanism on the right-side crankcase.

Riders were relieved from the chore of battery maintenance worries when the new 1908 models saw the fitting of German made Bosch magnetos. These were an optional extra that added a further $40 or 18 percent to the base price. Cost conscious buyers could still opt for the older diamond frame, battery ignition models till the old-stock machines ran out after 1909. Oscar Hedstrom’s design work even extended to constructing the original Hedstrom concentric carburettor. It proved to be suitable for either single or twin motors and remained in use until the advent of the totally new side-valve Powerplus model in 1916.

20 Beaded Wheels

Having covered the early history of the co-founders, the Indian factories and their earliest production model, we shall now chart the course of the little, single-cylinder motorised bicycle through to the company’s peak year, and the reasons why it declined from that point.

Single-cylinder motorcycle production continued through to 1906 when the first V-twin racer made its appearance. One year later the first V-twin road model was catalogued. It appeared to be basically a double-up of the standard single-cylinder motor with a displacement of 35.2ci (576cc) and rated at 4hp. It still retained the early fixed drive, single-speed transmission and overall appearance of the single-cylinder model. Early Indians up to 1908 had a strong family resemblance to bicycles with a motor built into the frame. The rearward sloping cylinder actually supported the saddle-mounted seatpost. The small curved fuel tank perched on the rear fender behind the saddle and because of their distinctive appearance soon earned the new model their ‘camel-back’ nickname. The early 1901 model fuel tank held slightly less than 1 gallon (3.2 litres) while a small, forward compartment held 1 quart (0.95 litres) of engine oil. In 1907 a separate, larger, oil tank was mounted on the engine behind the rear cylinder. It carried a handoperated plunger pump which enabled the rider to reach down and inject an extra dollop of oil into the motor if extra speed or adverse conditions required it. Prior to

that improvement, the rudimentary oiling system consisted of oil simply draining from the oil tank down into a rear, crankcase mounted, sight-glass regulator. Situated on the left side of the crankcase (the hot, downward sloping exhaust pipe occupied the right side). A small lever was rotated down to allow oil to drip onto the left flywheel where centrifugal force threw it upwards, lubricating the cylinder bore in the process. In 1910 a new, ‘automatic’ mechanical oil pump was fitted to the right crankcase. When fitted to the twin-cylinder motors, the oil feed line was routed to the lower rear section of the front cylinder. This was to compensate for the lack of oil sling which directed the majority of the oil to the rear cylinder. The system of oil supply to the motor was referred to as a total loss oiling system as the oil was either burned in the combustion process or it leaked from the motor. There was no return to the oil tank and riders had to wait until 1933 before a dry-sump circulating-oil system was introduced.

The next big step for Indian was the introduction of the new loop frame models in 1909. There were several reasons why the new design came about. It is not widely known today, but when Carl Oscar Hedstrom designed the first Indian in 1901 there were approximately 200 other makes of motorcycles in the United States. Some were only prototypes, while others only lasted a year or two. By the mid 1920s only three remained; Harley-Davidson, Indian and Excelsior, collectively known as The Big Three. From the outset (1903) HarleyDavidson had utilised a loop frame design, with many customers now demanding that Indian fall into line and update their products accordingly. The camel-back design had served its purpose to attract bicycle riders to switch over to a motorised version but it was now time to move on to a more modern style. Motorcycles were growing larger and more powerful, V-twin engines were being developed, multi-speed gearboxes and robust clutches fitted. Larger fuel and oil tanks were necessary, the age of the camel-back had passed. The 1909 V-twin motor displaced 38.61 ci (633 cc) and was rated at 5 hp, however a larger 60.32 ci (988 cc) 7 hp version was also offered that year. As the name suggests the front frame downtube extended down, then curved around and cradled the engine. The bicycle style single top frame tube was replaced by upper and lower top frame tubes which effectively doubled the frame strength as well as providing a convenient space to locate an enlarged two gallon (7.57 litre) fuel tank. The rider’s saddle was situated several inches to the rear of the rear cylinder

instead of being directly above it. The increased wheelbase length was added to the handlebars to keep the rider ergonomics in the same proportions.

A total of 4,771 machines were produced in 1909.

1910 model improvements An automatic mechanical oil pump, a leaf spring front fork (which the company called a Cradle Spring Fork) which would remain in production until 1945. Some models would receive two-speed transmissions, footboards, starter hand cranks and the famous Indian tank script.

Production increased to 6,137 machines in 1910.

1911 model improvements These were mainly confined to internal engine components such as new flywheels, main and pinion shafts, inside (male) connecting rod, left crankcase and front cylinder plus larger inlet valves and valve seats. The old-style Indian block lettering used on the fuel tank up to that time was discontinued, with all models receiving the new florid Indian tank script used from then on through till 1940. Indian’s racing prestige triumphed in 1911 with their incredible 1-2-3 placing in the famous Isle of Man Senior Tourist Trophy (TT) race held for the first time over the long, mountain course. It was noted that their two-speed, countershaft gearboxes and all-chain drive systems proved to have the definite advantage over the English single-speed belt-drive racing machines. At home, Indian motorcycles were setting new transcontinental records with Volney Davis riding his 5 hp Light Twin 6,200 miles from San Francisco to New York City in the record time of 20 days, 9 hours and 11 minutes from 26 June

Volney Davis with the single speed 5hp Light Twin on which he made two transcontinental crossings.

through till 16 July. He slept between four and six hours every night and had to tackle engine repairs in a local blacksmith’s shop, as well as pay a social visit to Louis Mueller, the previous record co-holder. Remember that in those pioneering days main roads were almost non-existent, with mile after mile of atrocious conditions such as deep mud and sand. Sometimes the roads were so bad that he had to ride along the railroad line. He completed the journey in gentlemanly style and set his own pace on the extraordinary venture with a further 4,200 miles completed on the return trip. On 4 July Erwin G. ‘Cannonball’ Baker (also to become famous for his transcontinental record setting) won The President’s Race, the feature event of the Indianapolis, Indiana, July the Fourth program. An unusual event was the staged, head-on collision of two steam locomotives. For his success, Cannonball earned a handshake from President William Howard Taft, the only time such an honour was bestowed on a motorcycle racer in American history.

Another notable achievement in 1911 was the introduction of the awesome, ‘big base’ eight-valve 60.92ci (998cc) V-twin racers that Indian developed to contest the hugely popular sport of motordrome racing where crowds of 10,000 were common. The motordromes were short 1⁄3 or ¼ mile circular or oval, steeply banked 60 degree, wooden tracks. They first appeared in 1908 and were operating in most major cities by the peak year of 1912. Riders such as Jake De Rosier, Paul Derkum, Ray Seymour and Maldwyn Jones soon rose to fame, with many becoming well known for their daring racing exploits. Jack Prince, an engineer from New Jersey who had designed and built bicycle tracks, next turned his attention to constructing the much larger, motorcycle motordromes. Real estate brokers usually provided the money to build the ‘dromes that were ideally situated close to local amenities, on vacant land and readily accessible with public transport. In 1910 the large one mile circular Playa del Rey ‘drome in Los Angeles opened.

Spectators were seated above the track and were able to watch the exhilarating, close formation, highspeed motorcycle racing that took place a matter of feet below their seating positions every time a lap was completed. Only about half a dozen of the big base eight-valve twins were made and they were loaned to favoured riders only. The specially developed racing machines were technically advanced for their time and featured ported engines. This meant

oil-soaked wooden tracks, narrow racing tyres and downright dangerous riding practices (like grabbing another rider’s handlebars) … saw initial public acceptance turn to hostility against the ‘murderdromes’ that the cylinders had auxiliary exhaust slits cut vertically down the lower portion of each cylinder, which were designed to vent both exhaust and crankcase pressures.

The brakeless machines featured carburettors fixed in the wide-open position, with the rider’s only speed control being the handlebar mounted magneto kill-button.

The large, big base flywheels were designed to store extra kinetic energy to smooth power pulses and ensure the engine didn’t die when operating the kill-button. There was no kickstart fitted, the high-compression engine being brought to life by a tow start. The high-speed, ported engines made for impressive night racing with flickering flames and the staccato bark of the exhaust emanating from stubby, unmuffled exhaust headers. The acrid smell of burnt oil, racing fuel and hot engines combined with the hysterical cheering of thousands, the rumbling wooden track vibrating underfoot as half a dozen racers in close formation fought for supremacy at speeds approaching 100mph, with not a single rider conceding an inch to his opponent. That was the palpable and pervasive atmosphere that hung over the motordromes, and predictably it couldn’t last forever. The oil-soaked wooden tracks, narrow racing tyres and downright dangerous riding practices (like grabbing another rider’s handlebars) by some riders, along with serious and even fatal injuries to both riders and spectators (two Indian riders and six spectators killed in the September 1912, Newark, New Jersey motordrome accident) saw the initial public acceptance turn to hostility against the ‘murderdromes’ and most were closed by 1916. However, road and long, board track events such as the 1914 Marion (Indiana) 200 mile, Dodge City (Kansas) 300 mile International Races and 100 mile races held on one mile board tracks at Brooklyn, New York and Los Angeles, California soon gained in popularity with Harley-Davidson, Indian and Excelsior spending enormous amounts to field teams of four to eight riders on specially developed, racing machines.

Annual production for 1911 totalled 9,763 machines.

Continued next issue.

Beaded Wheels 21

HIN BE

D THE WHE

EL

E Type Jaguar

George and Maryanne Kear’s 1966 4.2 litre 2+2 Coupe Words Greg Price, photos Kevin Clarkson, Greg Price

T

hey reckon that if you want to keep an idiot interested in the short term, you give him a piece of paper with ‘Please turn over’ printed on both sides.

Editor Kev, on the other hand, knows that if you want to keep this scribe interested in the long term, you promise him an E Type Jaguar to write about. And that’s exactly what he did. I doubt that there would be anyone out there who dates from my era who has not lusted after an E Type Jaguar at some stage and I’m sure that many of you still do. Even if you have not been up close and personal with one it is not hard to understand their attraction. (The E Types, not the blokes lusting after them.)

And, whether you like it or not, here’s some background on the beast. (Beast?

Jaguar – get it?) March 16 1961, when I was still at boarding school in Auckland, the Geneva Motor Show on the other side of the globe opened its doors to the public and it became obvious that the star of the show was going to be Jaguar’s new 150mph E Type sports car which was unveiled in coupe form. My boarding school’s library 22 Beaded Wheels

had limited reading for the English car fans, but there was a preponderance of Saturday Evening Posts, which had those memorable advertisements for American cars, so anything British had to be pretty striking to divert my attention away from (for example) 1959 Cadillacs. The new E Type certainly did this for the younger schoolboys who (mostly) did not know what ‘phallic shape’ meant, but all were certainly in awe of the modernistic lines and claimed performance. I mean the E Type looked like it was going 150mph even when it was parked. My first glimpse of one, albeit in 35mm form, was at the local picture theatre on a Saturday afternoon during the intermission commercials. The E Types began sporting some of the more humorous bumper stickers, including my all-time favourite, “Running in, Please Pass. It may be the only opportunity you’ll ever get.”

Maybe not so relevant now, but in the 1960s and 1970s if an E Type had passed my Mark I Zephyr when I was going flat out, I’d have probably thought that I’d stopped

and then got out to see why – such was the speed differential.

The E Type was developed from the C Type and D Type racers, and it’s not hard to see why.

Sir William Lyons was one of the British motor industry’s outstanding personalities, and was the creator of the SS and Jaguar marques. Sir William was reportedly curiously ambivalent about the E Type, possibly because he thought it may not sell in the same numbers as did his saloons. Of the two body styles he much preferred the closed version. At £2,196 it was £99 more expensive than the roadster. Like the open car it was an uncompromising two-seater but there was a roomy luggage platform with access by a rear-opening door. It was reportedly slightly faster than the open version, due to its greater weight being offset by the aerodynamic superiority of a closed body over an open one.

More popular in Britain than in the mainstream American market, the E Type benefitted from a 4.2 litre power plant in 1965. In 1966 it was joined by a 2+2 version

which was only available in closed form and that is the example I finally got up close and personal with for this Behind the Wheel article, thanks to George and Maryanne Kear, here in Christchurch.

And I got to drive it as well. How good is that?

George and Maryanne’s E Type is a 1966 4.2 litre 2+2 and although assembled in Britain it was exported new to the USA. Initially painted in pearlescent green, the Yanks wanted it in primrose, so it was repainted prior to export. It was still primrose (albeit with some evidence of gloss loss) when in May 1997 the original USA owner in Scottsdale, Arizona, listed it for sale in Hemmings, a local car trade magazine, along with a Jaguar 3.8 S Type.

You could have them both for US$6,750.

The advertisement read, “Jag ’67 XKE 2+2, 73,000 miles, 4-speed with air, runs, but needs brakes. Also included 3.8 S type.

US$6,750 for both.” Mutual friends Wayne and Jeanette Robson (VCC Nelson), then resident in Sacramento, California, spotted the advertisement and alerted George here

in New Zealand. George promptly arranged for the Robsons to fly to Arizona to check it out. While it was located in Arizona, the car was registered in Ohio because Ohio has less stringent emission controls.

(Thanks for nothing, Ralph.) It was not a runner because of some fool ‘repairing’ the petrol tank with a cheap sealant of some sort that promptly dissolved with the

Once the E-type was safely home in George’s garage, he set about the process of carefully dismantling it and taking many photos…

USA’s crap unleaded petrol and then found its way through the petrol lines and into the motor – the reason why it no longer ran. The owner had by-passed the fuel system by connecting a tin of gas to the carburettors – hence the claim that it ran.

The owner had started to dismantle the

car with the intention of restoring it, but he had subsequently managed to source an E Type roadster, so the coupe and the S Type had to go. George negotiated with the owner and they eventually agreed on a price which George told me was a steal.

(And believe me, it was.). Despite how it looked in the Arizona photos the car was very much complete, and the visible rust was only minor. It just remained for George to arrange to get it transported from Arizona to Los Angeles and then on to San Francisco, where it was packed into a double-decked container with five other cars. The E Type was placed on a platform above a Mustang. Unfortunately a forklift was used and at some stage the bonnet suffered some damage as a result. George was present for its unloading when the container was eventually delivered to Port Lyttelton and the all-up cost landed was just under NZ$12,000 which included the costs of the flights and accommodation for the Sacramento-based friends.

The project did not commence on the best foot as back then all imports had to be Beaded Wheels 23

right-hand-drive, and if they weren’t, then the Land Transport Safety Association (LTSA) as it was known back then, would confiscate the original Bill of Sale upon the vehicle landing in New Zealand, and hold on to it until the vehicle was converted to right-hand-drive and certified. When George eventually started the process upon completion of the restoration the certifcation facility wouldn’t proceed because George only had a copy of the Bill of Sale. Fortunately the original was eventually located at the LTSA, and the E Type finally became road legal in New Zealand.

One can only speculate as to the outcome had the original document not surfaced.

But back to this amazing rebuild story.

Once the E-type was safely home in George’s garage, he set about the process of carefully dismantling it and taking many photos, on the reverse of which he carefully noted the condition of the various parts and what, if anything would be required for the rebuild. One of the first jobs was to build a solid frame that would not only hold the body (remember, these did not have a chassis) but would enable the car to be rotated through 180 degrees during the rebuild – just the ticket for getting the paint into all those crooks and nannies.

Removing and replacing the motor was fun – not. George found that even without the harmonic balancer in place there was still only about 1 ⁄8th of an inch clearance, and the motor had to be almost at a 45 degree angle to clear everything.

In order to remove the surface rust, George relied on powder-blasting, as opposed to sand blasting, which many of you know would have completely stuffed up the magnificent lines of the bonnet.

Once all the original paint had been 24 Beaded Wheels

removed and the minor rust in the doors sorted George set about replacing all the universal joints and other joints that had been neglected over the years because of difficulty of access for that all-important lubrication – grease. No replica parts were needed and the Jaguar-Daimler Club sourced all the parts for him.

While the odometer showed some 70,000 miles, and the engine had been dismantled for inspection, George figured that it would probably benefit from some attention so he went the whole hog and fully reconditioned it while it was in bits. The all-synchro manual gearbox is distinctly better than the traditional Moss box. One can only wonder how the assembly line guys managed to feed all those pipes and tubes in and out of the monocoque chassis. For example, there are a number of pipes coming into the cab and out again – including water, hydraulic brake fluid and vacuum tubes. Originally made of steel, they are now stainless, primarily because George does not want to have to fiddle with these again in his lifetime. Among the other modifications to make this E Type functional for frequent use was a second fan. George claims this was mainly for keeping the damned thing cool whilst waiting at VCC checkpoints on rallies.

Turning now to the wheels (no pun intended) well-known South Island wire wheel expert Gary Morton attended to these as one of his first jobs after he moved from Christchurch to Mt Lyford Village, and the quality of his work is patently obvious when closely examining them – as I do with these projects.

George did the paintwork himself and the colour is not just red but Cinebra

(cinnamon). George reckons that if Sir William Lyons had seen this colour he’d have remarked, “I’m having it.” On closer inspection it would seem to be slightly iridescent, but Jaguar didn’t use iridescent, rather it used ‘pearlescent’. Pearlescent can best be described as that ground up metal dust that is the last thing you want to be seeing in your drained engine or gearbox oil. But it does look great mixed in paint and, depending on the tint, has the effect of changing the colour slightly when the sun shines on the edges. When this car left the production line in March of 1966, and before being repainted Primrose, it was factory pearlescent green.

The train-spotters will have noticed that the personalised plate reads XKE 67, not XKE 66. Well an acquaintance of George’s had the XKE 67 plate up for grabs, so why not? Near enough is good enough.

And hey. It’s an E Type! Who is looking at the plate anyway?

The Test Drive This is the best part. By the time George said ‘would you like to take it for a spin’ I was already seated in the car with my seat belt on. Turning the key to the start position, the engine turned over briefly before quietly roaring into life. I opted not to try to reach the claimed maximum speed of 150mph while exiting the Cutler Park grounds, as the maintenance team had spent so much time replanting all the trees after the quakes, I didn’t think they’d appreciate me tearing them all up in my attempt to reach the road via the shortest /fastest route. I opted for a sedate drive out on to the McLeans Island Road and headed west. Like other Jaguars I’ve driven or owned in the past, this had a close-ratio

box and was quite direct. Very quickly we Cost? reached the 50mph limit for this piece of I mentioned earlier on in this article that road, and I knew I wouldn’t get away with George negotiated a really good purchase trying to claim that the 80 speed limit sign price for the base car from Arizona. And was in mph if a local constabulary officer while George did divulge to me the total happened by, so I kept it around the 50mph cost of restoration I’m not going to mention mark – okay, I’m lying. I did just the once it here, but I can say that this was no (or was it twice?) stick my foot down just cheque book restoration, but regardless of to feel the surge of power. Now I know why the cost, this is an amazing restoration, they have seat belts. It’s to stop you and and I’m as jealous as heck. Would I have your passenger being thrown into the back swapped my 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood for seat area whenever you accelerate too hard. an E Type back when? Probably not, if for I wanted to take the E Type home for a few months but George was a bit reluctant to agree to this – in fact I didn’t quite pick Fuel economy – Seriously? You’ve got up his two word response to my request as an E Type and you’re worried about the noise from the motor masked exactly fuel consumption? Who gives a fat what he said, but I did pick up the last rat’s butt! Just gimme an E Type and word which I’m sure was ‘off’! Like VCC I’ll worry about how I will be able member Ian Clements’ XK140, I could have driven this all day. In another life I had the to afford the petrol when the time privilege of judging Ian’s XK140 for the New comes to replenish the tank!

Zealand Classic Car Concours D’Elegance a few years ago and while that exercise didn’t involve a test drive, Ian nonetheless generously offered me the opportunity to go for no other reason that you cannot store 44sq a hoon way out to Darfield, and then a metres of stuff on the bonnet of an E Type. couple or three circuits around Ruapuna circuit during the photoshoot.

Acknowledgements Once the five-year restoration was Quite often with restorations like completed, George and Maryanne began this one, there are other players in the enjoying the E Type. This has included background and without whose help, attending the Jaguar Nationals in Blenheim assistance and advice such rebuilds just some three years ago, three Canterbury wouldn’t happen. So George would like to VCC show weekend tours, several Classic thank Rex Cameron and Peter Bell for the Motoring Society club runs, and of course motor rebuild. Warwick Gibson for crafting the Dunedin International Rally earlier in the upholstery, Leon Phillips for mentoring 2016. Since Dunedin, George gets the E and sharing his extraordinary knowledge Type out about once a week for a cruise and skills in Jaguar restoration – especially around the block – or further. bonnets, and of course Maryanne, without

whose support and enthusiasm, would have seen this project probably stall.

And for my part, I’d like to thank George and Maryanne for letting me have a play in their pride and joy, and the photo that Editor Kevin took of me at the wheel is now my screen saver! (Well, wouldn’t you?) BW

Technical Stuff

Interestingly enough, the USA versions of the E Type came with the higher compression ratio of 9.00:1 (as opposed to 8.00:1), and triple Strombergs. George’s example (for some unknown reason) came with the much-preferred triple SUs. 3-door coupe body Rear Wheel Drive manual 4-speed all-synchro gearbox Petrol / gas 6-cylinder engine with displacement 4235 cc / 257 ci Wheels: Wire wheels with knock-on splines Advertised power 190.5 kW/255HP Length: just over 15 feet Weight: 3748 lbs Top Speed: claimed at least 145mph Acceleration: 0-60 mph, 7 seconds!

Fuel economy: 17.5 mpg (imperial) or 14.6 mpg (US).

Overall Rating: BFR (Bloody fantastic, really!)

Beaded Wheels 25

1917 Parliamentary Tour Centenary re-enactment of the 1917 Parliamentary Tour Words Barry Birchall, photographs Derk Schoemaker, Noel Hall

In 1917 Auckland was a very different place from today. The population was 140,000, radio had not yet arrived, the telephone was only for the very wealthy and a new car was the price of an average house. The road between Takapuna and Whangarei was just a clay track and only recommended to be used in summer. In January 1917, 25 members of parliaments (MPs) went north in 34 motor cars to see the opportunities in the north. One hundred years later a group of Veteran car enthusiast left Auckland again with a few MPs.

T

he Hon Maggie Barry ONZM waved 40 Veteran cars away from Devonport on Sunday morning.

The Hon Mark Mitchell, MP for Rodney, travelled with us as far as Warkworth. The Hon Kelvin Davis, MP for Te Tai Tokerau, joined us in the evening at the BBQ in the grounds of Waitangi Hotel and again at the civic reception at Kaitaia along with The Rt Hon Winston Peters. The Hon Todd Muller, MP for Bay of Plenty, rode with us for two days from Omapare to Auckland. Along the route the Far North District Council, Kaipara District Council and Auckland City Council hosted civic receptions, with mayors or councillors in attendance, and Cheryl Mai, Mayor of 26 Beaded Wheels

Whangarei, joined us for dinner. John Callesen and Alan Hardacre had driven furthest to the start line, having made the trip from Manawatu to Wellington, where they picked up letters from the Speaker of the House. These were presented to mayors along the route. We were able to cast the Government crest alongside North Shore Branch emblem on the plaque as long as we didn’t use the tour for political purposes.

Excellent motoring country The tour straddled two long weekends, starting on Auckland Anniversary weekend and ending on Waitangi weekend.

While the original party had faced a lot of

Beaded Wheels 27

mud, our concerns were over traffic, but by leaving and returning on Sundays our fears proved largely unfounded. On the main highway north of Puhoi the traffic was moving at the speed of a Veteran car but nobody seemed to mind, and driving north through the dreaded Dome Valley, there was remarkably little traffic. Not all the roads were sealed, as the organisers had tried to follow the original route or avoid sections of SH1 where they could, and we found plenty of single-lane bridges to cross. Unlike 1917, the weather in the Far North was excellent. The scenery all along the route was superb. We left Paihia early and had stops in Kerikeri, Whangaroa, Mangonui and Kaitaia.

Kaitaia was our northernmost point, and turning south in very light misty rain we went through Broadwood and on to Kokukohu where we had lunch. There was no mud on that segment as the travellers experienced in 1917. We crossed on the car ferry to Rawene and then travelled down to Omapere where we stayed overnight.

The next day we motored through the Waipoua Forest to Dargaville. The run finished that day at the museum on the hill where we were joined by members of the Northland Branch. On the final day, Sunday, it was a very early start for a long run into Auckland. We returned to Auckland using some back roads where again we avoided the traffic.

28 Beaded Wheels

Seeing the sights We briefly became part of the Warkworth A&P Association’s 150th celebrations while having lunch and were featured in their newsletter. Waipu Caledonian Society did us proud, including a little skit. We had a lay day in Whangarei and there was a well-attended car show in the morning at the historical museum. In the afternoon, many visited two car collections. The next day we went through to Kawakawa where we had a short steam train ride, then on to Paihia.

On the original tour in 1917 the party left the cars in Kawakawa and went by train and boat to Russell. Our other lay day was in the Bay of Islands, an opportunity for participants to sample the area. We had a car show on the Village Green in Paihia in the morning. In the afternoon some went to Russell. Others went to look at a collection of cars for sale. One couple took a bus tour to Cape Reinga, and who should they pass on the road but Laurie Cocker in his 1906 Cadillac and Kevin Barbour in the 1910 Hupmobile, on their way to the light house. These two retraced their route the next day to join us for lunch. The Northern Advocate newspaper had publicised the event so all the car displays attracted the public.

on it all morning at Whangarei, but the problems were terminal and the car had to return to Auckland on a transporter.

In Hikurangi, just north of Whangarei, we lost a second Model T Ford when John Morrison’s car had bearing problems. Paul Collins also had to leave his 1913 FN in Whangarei when he found he couldn’t get more adjustment out the brakes. On Friday morning we had two more casualties not far from Kaitaia when first, the pinion shaft of the 1910 Overland broke, and then the 1914 Saxon had to pull out when the brakes locked up and they couldn’t be freed. On the last day Graham Power’s 1915 Studebaker pulled out with an engine issue.

Breakdowns and other disasters Monty Scarborough’s Model T Ford had problems from the start. Some worked

A Vintage Car Club family affair The North Shore Branch supported the tour and hosted an excellent

Others were able to continue Someone clipped Vern Jensen’s 1909 Buick coming into Warkworth, but I was told the modern in the wrong came off worse. In Kawakawa John and Paul Julian had problems with the 1912 Wolseley when some loose bolts got between the crown wheel and pinion. After spending the rest of the day and next day carrying out massive repairs in Kawakawa, with some assistance from a talented engineer.

The Julians rejoined us in Paihia and completed the tour.

pre-tour function. The Northland Branch provided us with marshalling and lunch at Whangarei, where members also provided support at Dargaville. Members of the Far North Branch were on hand to help at Kawakawa, Paihia and Kaitaia. National President, Diane Quarrie and husband Geoff capped off our tour by joining us on our return to Auckland. Such great support all along the route demonstrates that Veteran motoring is alive and well in the North.

A nod to Colonel Bell At the Civic reception in Kaitaia we were honoured to be addressed by descend-

ants of Colonel Bell, the instigator of the original tour. The organisers of the 2017 tour did not have to distribute petrol along the route, as Colonel Bell and his team had done in 1917, and they hadn’t picked up the costs for the meals or accommodation. On the original tour the group had stayed in Kaikohe but there was insufficient accommodation, and we were not as brave as Colonel Bell who would have had the group billeted out.

A miscellany of comments Doug Hamilton had purchased a 1904 Cadillac to go from London to Brighton and he said after the tour that the London

to Brighton run will now be a walk in the park. The food was excellent, in fact the main complaint was that there was too much of it. Lots of new friendships were created, the sign of a successful tour. A few days after the tour Craig Marshall sent all participants a DVD shot on the run.

The tour organisers acknowledge the support from Vero, Metropolitan Rentals, OTS Vehicle and Machinery Movers and all the others that assisted us on the tour.

BW

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  

½



–        

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Beaded Wheels 29

DETACHABLE WHEELS Words and photos the late Ivan D. Taylor

Riley 9hp Victoria 1907. Photo Motoring Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photo

In the early years of motoring tyre blow-outs and punctures were an ongoing problem and many different ways were invented to make the inevitable changing of the tyre, or the repairing of the tube much easier.

Without doubt the biggest advance was the development of the detachable wheel where a complete spare wheel was swapped instead of having to repair or replace the flat tyre on the roadside. Two English companies Riley and Rudge-Whitworth were in the forefront of this development.

I

n 1907 Percy Riley decided that the current methods of attaching the tyre to the wheel by removable rims which were held on by various means of bolts and clamps was both clumsy and dangerous and decided to design a better system for their new 1907 9hp car. He designed a completely new wheel which could be used as either the front or the rear wheel.

It was pegged and held onto the hub by one central locking nut. He patented the locking device on 30 June 1908 but not the wheel or the concept of a removable wheel. This lack of foresight was to cause trouble in later years. However the 1907 30 Beaded Wheels

9hp twin Riley was the first production car in the world to be fitted as standard with detachable wheels. The 1907 catalogue made the following statement:“This wheel is carried on the car permanently by a suitable fixing arrangement and in the case of a puncture the spare wheel replaces the punctured one. The average motorist can remove the wheel and fit the spare in a minute or so. The advantage of this arrangement over others is at once apparent when it is considered that the change is quite permanent and not merely a makeshift attachment” In Percy’s original design, the wheel’s large hub shell had a three-hole centre which picked up corresponding drive locator pegs. It had a simple right-hand thread for closing onto the hub, with a central plunger which, when engaged allowed the removal of the wheel. Inside a disc located on slots cut into a fixed dog on the hub, so when the plunger, to which the disc was attached was disengaged. The wheel could not be removed. A special spanner depressed this plunger to allow the removal of the wheel. This design was the subject of a British Patent No. 13857 dated 30 June 1908. These wheels were fitted to all their 1907 and 1908 models. In 1908 Riley produced a larger 12/18 hp V Twin model and Victor and Stanley Riley decided to re-design Percy’s wheel as they thought that a stronger

wheel was required for the more powerful and heavier car. This wheel used the same pegging system but they re-designed the lock nut. In this wheel, the inside of the hub had a spring pawl fitted in it, which located onto a toothed ring screwed into the wheel’s hub shell, so that when the nut was tightened it locked into position. The wheel could then only be removed by using a special spanner which depressed the pawl allowing the wheel nut to be removed. This design was the subject of Patent No 2297 and registered in 1909. From 1909 all models were fitted as standard with this new wheel. Riley’s publicity stated “Off and on in a minute, Guaranteed for three years, simplicity and safety.” It also stated that “In the event of a bent wheel resulting from a smash simply fit the spare wheel and you are quickly on your way”.

My 1909 12/18 Riley-Twin is fitted with these wheels and they are really simple and quick to change. I have found that it takes longer to jack up the car and remove the jack than it does to actually change the wheel.

In 1908 a special Riley (above) was privately entered in the French Grand Prix and was fitted with Percy’s new detachable wheels but the organisers rejected them as they considered them dangerous and insisted that alterations had to be made, demanding that the wheels also be bolted to the hubs in the normal way. This was

The Riley which was entered for the 1908 French Grand Prix.

impracticable and the car was withdrawn.

Following this decision Victor Riley expressed his dissatisfaction to the French organisers pointing out that the detachable rims being used by several entrants were far more dangerous than the detachable Riley wheel. He pointed out that he had them on his own car for over 12 months and had experienced no trouble.

He also made the point that Grand Prix racing was intended to improve the breed not hinder it. In 1909 the rules were changed allowing Riley wheels to be used and several manufacturers immediately changed over to them.

However that was not the end of it.

A team of Austins were entered for the 1909 race using Riley detachable wheels but on arrival they found that their cars were also banned. This was because the rules stated that no spare parts were allowed to be carried on or in the race cars during the race, and their spare wheel was ruled as a spare part, although spare tyres and tubes were allowed to be carried.

After much argument they were allowed to start but they had to remove their spare wheels, which defeated the whole purpose of using the detachable wheel.

Like Victor Riley, Herbert Austin was not very happy with the French organisers and told them so. In preparation for this race the Austin team had run a special practice race day at Brooklands where the drivers were required to stop and change a wheel several times, as training for the Grand Prix. The use of the Riley wheel quickly became almost the standard choice for racing and sporting trials cars in England despite the difficulties within several European countries.

Further improvements were made in 1912 and also patented. Riley’s detachable wheels became very popular with other car manufacturers with 182 other companies either fitting Riley’s detachable wheels as standard, or offering them as an

optional extra. Most manufacturers who used these wheels put their own name plate on the hub nut, often giving no recognition to Riley, the actual maker of the wheel. This practice caused a lot of confusion as to who actually built their wheels. Although the majority were wire spoked, wooden and steel artillery detachable wheels were also available.

Orders were even coming from the USA with orders from Pierce-Arrow, Packard, Chalmers and EMF. GM also showed an interest but never actually ordered any. In 1912 an estimated 10% of their production was being exported to the USA. The majority of these wheels were wooden, complete with their matching Riley hubs.

The demand was such that a separate company The Riley Manufacturing Company with Victor Riley as its manager was established in 1913 just to manufacture wheels. Factories were also set up in France and Germany as several European car manufacturers were now fitting them as standard or listing them as an option.

The wheel side of the company was so successful that the Riley brothers seriously considering concentrating wholly on the manufacture of wheels, and ceasing car production. Fortunately they decided to continue manufacturing both cars and wheels.

Serious competition was now coming from Rudge-Whitworth, and in the USA Goodyear was also experimenting with various designs.

The Rudge-Whitworth company, based in Wolverhampton, was originally founded

by Daniel Rudge a cycle manufacturer in 1869. He was associated with John Pugh who had established Whitworth, a factory manufacturing nuts and bolts. In October 1894 the two companies merged and moved to Coventry to form Rudge-Whitworth Cycles, concentrating on the new Safety Cycle. They also became involved in motorcycle manufacturing producing their

first Rudge motorcycles in 1911. In 1907 the company experimented with detachable automotive wheels, producing their first wheels in 1909. Their first design was a variation on the hub nut and pawl system, not unlike the Riley system. They tried to obtain a patent for their design but ran into trouble with a legal battle with Riley.

They endeavoured to obtain the patent for ‘A detachable wheel’, not a locking system, as Riley’s patents were only for the locking method not the wheel. Ongoing court battles between Victor Riley and John Pugh continued for several years seriously restricting both companies’ production, and with costly court and legal expenses.

Finally in 1914 it was settled following a session before Lord Haldane and four Law Lords which ended in a ruling in favour of Riley. Pugh indicated he would appeal and not long after this decision they were on their way to the appeal court hearing in London when Victor Riley and John Pugh found themselves travelling in the same railway carriage compartment heading for London. Discussion arose about the costs to both companies and they decided that enough was enough. With the shake of a hand they decided to take no further action and that both companies would be free to continue manufacturing their own design of wheels without restrictions.

On arrival in London they visited the court together and asked that all further proceeding be cancelled. They then went to the War Department office and offered the use of both their factories to assisting with the war effort.

J F Buckingham, a close friend of the Riley brothers and a regular competitor in trials in his 12/18 twin Riley, was also a great friend of John Pugh and the two were motoring in the Riley when one of the front wheels fell off while crossing Finham Bridge. The wheel was put back on but it fell off again after only a few miles. They decided to change over the two front wheels as the locking pawl might work better on the other hub. It did and they continued the journey discussing that there must be a better and more

A Belgian advertisement for Riley wheels featuring the Blitzen Benz in its 200 hp form Shortly after this race it achieved 200 kph.

Beaded Wheels 31

positive way of holding detachable wheels on. This incident was the catalyst for Pugh to completely re-think his designs and he developed the Roll Up Thread with left and right hand threads on the hubs and a special winged hub nut. This did away with complicated pawls and springs and the special spanner, which was replaced with a lead hammer.

The ironical conclusion was that after the war Rudge Whitworth new wheels survived and Riley’s old wheels did not.

Riley found that they could not compete on price and eventually post-war Rileys used the Rudge wheel as did most post war manufacturers. The Rudge name survived as a bicycle manufacturer under the ownership of Raleigh Cycles, whose present owner is EMI the record company.

Riley were absorbed into the BMC family and disappeared. The Riley name is currently franchised to BMW but still owned by a great grandson of one of the original family, Victor Riley.

BW

The patent drawings for the original Percy Riley 1907 wheels on the right, and on the left the later 1909 version designed by Victor and Stanley Riley.

WIN

this limited edition Beaded Wheels cap Here at Beaded Wheels we are always on the lookout for a good article for a future issue.

To encourage you to put pen to paper two lucky authors or photographers per issue will win a limited edition Beaded Wheels cap.

We can accept articles in handwriting, typed or via email.

Post to: Beaded Wheels, PO Box 13140, Christchurch 13140 or Email: beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz High resolution digital photos are preferred.

Please contact me if you wish to discuss an idea for an article. Kevin Clarkson, Chairman Beaded Wheels Editorial Committee. Phone home 03 385 9821 or email kevin@vcc.org.nz Our lucky winners of the Beaded Wheels caps for this issue are John Shennan and Gaynor Terrill.

32 Beaded Wheels

Vintage Cars, Trucks, Motorbikes & Tractors

Estate of Bill Troughton Tullywill, 19 Puketutu Rd, Matamata

DUE TO THE PASSING OF THIS WELL KNOWN VINTAGE VEHICLE ENTHUSIAST WE WILL HOLD A TWO DAY AUCTION TO SELL HIS COLLECTION OF VINTAGE CARS, TRUCKS, MOTORBIKES AND TRACTORS ALONG WITH A LARGE SELECTION OF OLD COLLECTIBLES AND CURIOS.

Saturday 22nd April – 10.00am Tools, Collectibles, Vintage vehicle parts, Farm implements, Small motors and a broad selection of items gathered from many years of collecting.

A large number of interesting and varied items with something for everyone including many highly collectible items.

Sunday 23rd April – 11.00am Vintage Cars, Trucks, Motorbikes and Tractors plus a good selection of stationary motors in operable condition, many show pieces.

Vehicles Include: 1906 Model N Ford, ’28 Ford Model A Tourer, ’29 Graham Paige, ’21 Ford T Charabanc, '2‘ Ford AA 1ton Truck, ’29 Chev 1ton Truck, ’39 Chev Coupe, ’56 BMW Isetta, ’57 Gogomobile, ’69 Daihatsu Delta 3 wheel Trucks x 2, ’34 Royal Enfield, ’41 Indian Scout, ‘50’s Triumph Tigress and others.

Tractors Include: Lanz Bulldog x 2, Field Marshall, Allis Chalmers B, Farmall B, Oliver DC3 tracked, McCormack’s, Ferguson’s, Farmall’s and many more plus over 50 Stationary Motors most in good running order.

Campervan/Motorhome parking is available onsite for those wishing to stay overnight.

For further enquiries contact Alastair – 021 473-270 Or check out the website on www.abauctions.co.nz

~Specialist Auctioneer to Commerce and Industry~ Beaded Wheels 33

Three Rivers Rally Goes

International Words and photos Rodney Clague

Chris Bamford and Michelle Belanger from Edmonton Canada with a 1924 Model T Ford, Suzanne and Mark Dunn 1930 Model A Ford - Model T borrowed from Mark for the rally. Photo Gisborne Herald

O

ver the past few years around January/February Roger Thorpe and his wife Chris from England have travelled to New Zealand to visit their daughter Alex, husband Jonty and their daughter Annabelle in Gisborne.

While here they took part in our annual Three Rivers Rally in a 1925 Jewett acquired for this purpose. Roger owns a garage and it is around this time of the year that it gets snowed in so they move to the Antipodes to a warmer climate for a couple of months. Inhabitants of the garage include a Vauxhall 30/98, a Bugatti Brescia and a Jaguar XK140 coupe.

In December 2016 our branch received an email from Chris Bamford in Canada stating that he and his wife were to visit New Zealand around the same time as our rally, and sought to obtain a ride in a vehicle. Chris had included pictures of two Model T Fords that were among his collection, a 1926 New Beauty tourer and an earlier model raceabout. Knowing that Mark Dunn had restored a few Model Ts in his time, I rang him to see whether he would lend them his 1924 Ford T pickup for

the rally. I didn’t know at the time that the motor was in bits on the floor in his shed.

He agreed and the motor was reassembled in time for the rally. Chris was delighted with the offer.

We met Chris and his wife Michelle on the Friday prior to the rally, and Chris was able to take the T for a test drive. He had to get used to the throttle and spark levers being reversed on right hand drive vehicles, but managed that okay and was impressed with the way the Model T ran.

On the day of the rally Roger and family, along with Chris and Michelle, lined up in their vehicles with the 28 other entrants. This took them up to Motu via a circuit around Patutahi and Te Karaka before heading up Whakarau Road. This contained several miles of gravel and had also been the scene of a huge scrub fire just days before. All arrived safely at Motu for lunch on the school grounds.

In the afternoon several people took the opportunity to see and pat a kiwi from the nearby DOC sanctuary for young chicks.

Kiwi eggs are hatched in Rotorua and some are returned to the sanctuary to be reared

for 12 months before being returned to the Whinray Reserve. Other options in Motu were to visit the Motu Falls and the old church nearby.

The return trip to Gisborne was via the Te Wera/Wharekopae Road (more gravel) passing through Rere and Ngatapa along the way. The final dinner was held that night at the White House, where Doug and Doreen Green were declared the winners of the Vintage class in their 1929 GrahamPaige, Tony and Judy Brierley winners of the Post Vintage/Post War section in their 1957 Morris Oxford, and Barry and Tessa Keene winners of the P60/P80 section and first overall in their 1973 MGB V8 roadster.

Chris and Michelle returned to Canada overwhelmed by the hospitality of Vintage car enthusiasts they met while touring the country. Maybe we will convince them to return in 2021 for the Taranaki Rally.

Special thanks to Brian Williams and his committee for organising a memorable run in the Gisborne backblocks.

BW

Chris and Michelle set out on a summer’s outing in their Model T raceabout.

34 Beaded Wheels

Chris and Michelle meet up with a kiwi at the DoC kiwi sanctuary at Motu.

Chris Bamford dressed up for a jaunt in his New Beauty Ford T on a Canadian winter’s day.

BW

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rally snippets

Canterbury: Don Mullers MG, Canterbury Branch Annual Rally.

Auckland: Terry Jenkins’ Dodge and Barry Birchall’s Cadillac.

Annual Rally 2017 Canterbury

Words Tony Becker, photos Andrew Morison

Canterbury: 1911 Ford T Alister McKenzie. 1st Veteran Concours Shaw Trophy. 2nd, Cockram Challenge Trophy.

Canterbury: 1959 Mercedes Benz 190SL Malcolm MacGibbon. 1st PWV Concours Bonne Belle Trophy, 2nd Post War Vehicle Section

A field of 72 Veteran, Vintage and other classes of eligible vehicles rambled into the Canterbury hinterland after field tests and a full morning enjoying Cutler Park on the gorgeous February day. What a show they presented. Section winners and losers rejoined at the clubrooms for the traditional after match function complete with commiserations and conversations. Successful members’ trophy list was headed by Andrea Dallow after an outstanding effort. Piloting her 1954 Hudson Jetliner to win the Club Captain’s Trophy, Andrea will need her car’s large boot to accommodate all her successes on the day. Management Committee representation included Diane Quarrie who together with Branch Chairman Leigh Craythorne spoke at the evening dinner.

Auckland Veteran Rally Auckland

rally. No new restorations were seen out, but we had some out-of-branch support from Wallace McNair and Anne Thompson in the 1913 Delage from Waitemata Branch and Tim Edney in his 1912 Minerva from North Shore Branch.

It was good to see Cedric Pegrum driving his Model T Ford as he has just recovered from some serious surgery.

There were two routes, a long and a short, the short attracting three entrants, the rest opting for the 40 mile one. The long route seems to have been a double figure of eight taking in parts of Drury, Runciman, the outskirts of Pukekohe, Bombay and the base of the Hunua range.

The short route stayed around Drury and Runciman. The writer had his hands full driving Barry Robert’s 1909 Rover so recollections of the route may not be all that accurate.

The rally finished at the Drury Hall with a good lunch by Kate Winterbottom and her hockey ladies. The Charabanc won the short route and Jack Nazer and George Mihaljevich won the long route in the 1913 Talbot, The Weta.

Words and photos John Stokes

Canterbury: 1954 Chevrolet Sedan, Roy Grainger.

Fourteen out of 16 entrants started on this year’s Auckland Veteran Rally which was plotted by Ryan Winterbottom and Norm Dewhurst. The two non-starters had had mechanical problems on the Parliamentary Tour the week before the Otago: 1916 Dennis fire engine.

Canterbury: Overall winner, Andrea Dallow in the Hudson Jetliner. 1st. Post War Vehicle Section, Best performance by a Lady Driver, 2nd in Time Trial.

36 Beaded Wheels

Auckland: McNair Thompson Delage.

Otago: Dunedin to Brighton.

book review

Waimate: Model A in gravel garden in front of workshop. This is an example of how and where some of the parts were found and later used.

Waimate: One of the completed Utes with a V8 flat head.

Dunedin-Brighton Rally

Run to Omarama

Words and photos Graeme Duthie

Words and photos Leendert Denbrave

Saturday 28 January started with 22 cars, two fire-engines, one truck and seven motorcycles meeting at the Countdown carpark for a briefing and assembly. They travelled to the Octagon where there was a great crowd admiring the vehicles and asking the owners various questions.

Commentator Dougal Stevenson introduced Mayor Dave Cull to welcome both entrants and spectators to the city. The Dunedin-Brighton Rally is one of the only events still held from the original festival week. The Wolseley driven by Gary winter and navigated by Sara was the first car flagged away by the Mayor at 11am. As each vehicle was flagged away Dougal Stevenson gave a description of the vehicle. The rally travelled to Kaikorai Valley Road where there was a checkpoint and the time trial started. We continued through Green Island with a small detour through Sunninghirst and then out to Brighton for field tests and lunch. Later we adjourned to Tony and Jane Devereux’s for more socialising.

An enjoyable evening meal was held at the clubrooms. Sunday started at the clubrooms for a run to Glenfalloch for morning tea and prizegiving.

Congratulations to those that received an award.

The last run for 2016, it was the first run for the summer. It started in Waimate and headed south east towards the north eastern edge of Otago, through Duntroon and then on to Kurow for a vehicle check.

After a cuppa we proceeded to Aviemore Dam and crossed to the quiet eastern side of Lake Aviemore where most of the camp sites are. The road is well paved with gentle corners for the older cars and the atmosphere was peaceful with beautiful wild flowers in full bloom.

We passed over the Benmore Dam and arrived in Otematata before heading west to our destination, Omarama. There was to be a short tour of auto enthusiast Murray Stuart’s workshop. The tour ended up taking half of the day. As we progressed I realised this was not just a workshop hobby, but a serious dedication to one specific style of automobile, the reliable Model A Ford. In the shop were many utes and coupés in various states of rebuild, some close to completion and several that were finishing and operable. There were spare parts and engines stored all around, some were stock four cylinder and V8 Flatheads and many of the others were built up with modified Offenhouser and Hogan engines. The shed had a workshop that was a mechanics dream. There is even a clubroom which overlooks his own dirt racing track. The clubroom is very complete with a full bar, kitchen, toilet and shower.

The Waimate Branch thanks the Murray Stuart for allowing us to visit the property.

Otago

Otago: Dunedin Brighton rally.

Waimate

The World’s Fastest E Type Jaguar Phil Shephard Hard cover, 180 pages, $99.99 Motoringpast.com Published by Motoring Past Vintage Publishing Reviewed by Kevin Clarkson

This is the story of one man, A J Shephard, Phil’s father, who had an E Type laying around doing nothing until one day he saw the Dry Lakes Association annual Speedweek in action on the dry salt of Lake Gairdner in South Australia.

The story covers Team Shep’s attempts at creating a new speed record each year from 2007 to 2015. They took the long journey from Perth to the salt every year and the tribulations they endured to do this are covered in detail for every year.

Even though they were able to attempt speed records on only five of those years because of surface conditions at the lake we still get the story of how they got there and back home again. In 2015 they did get to the magic 170 mph they were after and the Jaguar is now having a rebuild to get ready for the next stage of its life.

This is a large book and gives us a very detailed account of the total effort required to get to the salt. It is a must read for anyone wishing to have a go themselves as when reading the book it’s almost as though you were there. Well written, I found myself absorbed in Team Shep’s activities during their attempts to break the record. Highly recommended for anyone who has even the slightest interest in salt pan speed records.

Phil Shephard has been a Jaguar enthusiast most of his life and he has been preparing and racing Jaguars on road circuits, salt lakes and in cross country rallies for decades.

Beaded Wheels 37

Dressed to impress, Wanganui Branch members Trevor and Maureen Roberts with their 1916 Overland

National Veteran Rally 2017 Words Linda O’Keeffe, photos Linda and Rob O’Keeffe

Following the success of the 2012 International Rally in Whanganui the city determined to build on the wide public interest in heritage that the cars fostered.

Each year since, Whanganui has celebrated Vintage Weekend over Wellington Anniversary Weekend.

T

he city is immersed in heritage activity and that is becoming very popular with residents and visitors alike. The branch’s historic Burma Rally is an important part of the Vintage Weekend, as it encourages members to bring their vehicles out so the public can see them driving around the city streets and also up close in the street display.

This year the Branch was also host to the National Veteran Rally. The significance of this was not lost on the Vintage Weekend Trust organisers, as both rallies were included in their marketing material and the Veteran vehicles were to be given premiere parking for the street display.

There were over 100 registered Veteran and Vintage cars, as well as numerous other vehicles of interest, actively involved in the weekend.

At the first meeting the rally committee made a commitment that the National Veteran Rally would be a success regardless of how many entries were received and that we could successfully run it in conjunction with the Burma Rally. The programme was designed so entrants could socialise amongst themselves, with Burma Rally entrants and branch members, have interesting runs, free time to enjoy some

38 Beaded Wheels

of the Vintage Weekend activities and to have a memorable time in Whanganui.

Of the 28 entered Veteran vehicles, three did not make it to Whanganui.

Over 100 rally entrants and club members met at the clubrooms on Friday night for a barbecue dinner organised by Doreen Hardy. The rally was opened with speeches from Diane Quarrie and Peter Hardy.

Rob O’Keeffe organised the Saturday morning run along the riverside to a traditional welcome at the Kaiwhaiki Marae.

After the welcome, informative speeches and hearty morning tea, the highlight of the visit came as the children (and some adults) asked for rides. This extra activity was enjoyed by all and much appreciated by our hosts at the Marae.

Return instructions took the cars back to the “Wheels on Victoria Ave Car Show” where they took centre stage. The main street was crowded all afternoon as locals and visitors inspected the vehicles and cast their people’s choice vote. While their cars were on display 20 people took a scenic lunch cruise on the Veteran river boat MV Wairua.

To end the day some cars went on the optional Vintage Weekend Classic Cruise, a run around the town and to

outer suburbs. All entrants then enjoyed an informal dinner in the Grand Hotel main dining room.

While the rest of the country had been getting a battering Whanganui’s weather had so far held up. Sunday dawned windy and showery for the main rally day. Entrants for both rallies lined up at Moutoa Gardens in numerical order ready to be flagged away by Mayor Hamish McDouall. Although only invited to start the first few cars Hamish and son counted down and vigorously waved all but the last few Burma cars away. Veteran entrants headed east (the Burma entrants west) for a nice drive organised by Ian Chamberlain.

There were a few challenging inclines, especially for the single cylinder cars with two people aboard, and great scenery, but best of all no traffic to contend with. By the time most had returned to Moutoa Gardens for lunch the wind and rain came with a vengeance. This put a real dampener on the riverside festivities.

Everyone scampered for home to dry off and get ready for the prize giving dinner.

The combined dinner was held at the racecourse, with lots of members in period costume. The theme was the Orient Express, with an impressive display set up, including a mock-up of the front of a steam loco. This impressive set was designed and set up by branch members Marion Johnston and Bruce Ardell. They were helped by a select group to keep it a surprise for everyone. Karen Miles (another branch member) and her wonderful band

Jim Baker, 1905 Darracq, getting ready to take Jenny and Dale Conlon out for the day.

provided mood music thorough out the evening. The winners were awarded their prizes and trophies by the Mayor, who had recovered from his busy morning.

Wayne and Shona Richards were awarded the National Veteran Rally Achievement Trophy for the Organisers Choice with their 1903 Oldsmobile.

Rae and Lyn Fairweather and their 1913 Buick were awarded the William McLean Trophy for People’s Choice and the Ian McLean Trophy for winning the rally.

Glenis Millar received the Best Dressed Lady prize. This was well deserved as she (and Ray) had dressed in period costume throughout the weekend.

The National Veteran Rally ended with the Wellington Anniversary Tour organised by Bruce and Jennifer Ardell.

This was a short run, with morning tea at the lovely Arles Homestead, and finished with a tour of their own homestead, parts department and vintage museum.

The weather held off and the remaining entrants and rally organisers enjoyed a light lunch. After brief closing speeches and a final chat it was time for everyone to head for home.

The final result… two successful and enjoyable rallies, proudly hosted by the Wanganui Branch.

BW Some parts of this article have been taken, with permission, from previously published works by Tom Clouston Veteran Car Club Bulletin and Graeme Sibbald Buick Register

Michael Bourne (Wanganui Camera Centre sponsor) checking out the 1906 Cadillac belonging to Laurie Cocker.

Rob O’Keeffe giving instructions for his morning run. The ‘38 Chev truck is the rally secretary’s mobile office.

Wendy Ryland, Doreen Hardy and Ann Bernsten enjoying a well deserved break after the Friday barbecue.

Rally Committee members Bruce Ardell is passenger as Jim O’Neill navigates for Rally Marshall David Robinson in an unidentified vehicle (possibly a Decauville)

Jenny Conlon dressed for a day out.

Beaded Wheels 39

Big End Knocks

mutterings of a mature motorcyclist National Service Days RAF Regiment My plumbing apprenticeship ended 23 June 1951 and full journeyman’s pay was due. The King it seemed had other ideas for me, 9 July 1951 found me at RAF Padgate being issued with a nice new scratchy uniform and a bloody awful haircut. That’s it, I was now 2522772 AC 2 Upton on a whole £1/2/6 a week. I was slightly put out but then all the other blokes in the barracks were ex apprentices and in for the next two years.

The place smelled strongly of Brasso and boot polish as we started the rite of spit and polish of boots and tried to get a shine on the new brasses. Everyone had some idea how to beat those boots into submission; they were ironed, burned and cursed. One poor guy burned his so well the toe cap came off.

The posting to square bashing came though and true to form we were all

about as far from home as possible. RAF Credenhill, Hereford is a long way from St Albans and a world away from the world we knew. The barrack I was in had two other Englishmen, one Scot and the rest were all Welsh speaking, all 20 of them.

It was another world but at least they could sing. This was a thing I found, every barrack room had its share of singers, funny men and all sorts of odd talents. At first some of us didn’t take kindly to discipline and being shouted at by drill corporals. We paid for it two of us with a spot of ‘Jankers’ and quite a lot of cookhouse fatigues (Both of us were plumbers in our other world).

Then we stopped fighting the system and got on with the drill, the training and looked forward to a posting after the eight weeks of training. We were interviewed and given three trade choices; it didn’t mean a lot, I didn’t even consider the RAF Regiment but that is what I got. Watchet in Somerset, even further from St Albans, for the small arms course, living in tents and as muddy as the Somme but then we were moved to Dumfries. I was beginning to think there was a conspiracy to keep me as far as possible from a certain girl; did her mother have a contact at the Air Ministry?

At least we were in billets and I was beginning to enjoy the game and starting to take a pride in that shoulder flash; we felt different and special. We were the first ones into that station for some time and the other plumber and I got a spot of work at weekends repairing burst pipes. That

didn’t last before we were caught out and disciplined for it. The training was hard and very thorough, in fact we began to wonder if we were really being sent to fight some place? All that weapon training and shooting had to be for something special.

The next move was back to Watchet on Sea and the anti-aircraft gunnery course.

My word but we worked on those Bofors guns; the gun crews competing to be the fastest and best; the pride building to be the best. I had never been a member of any team but I was now and how we strained to be the best driven by the Sergeant instructor. That was another intensive six weeks course. We seemed to have been hammering away for ever at this business of being RAF soldiers. By the end of the Bofors course we were sure we were something pretty special. During our spots of leave we got chatting to other National Service blokes in the army and they didn’t seem to be having as hard a training programme as us.

The next move was to Lytham St Ann’s transit camp. After embarkation leave and no pay for a month due to a clerical cock-up some of us got left behind when the rest went off to Suez. Ronnie and I found our way to the stores for fatigues and compensation for no dough.

More to follow next issue.

BW

Vera, Lady Southward Long-time Wellington Branch Patron Vera, Lady Southward passed away on 15 February 2017.

Vera was much more to the Wellington Branch than its patron. She was also a founding member and was secretary at the first meeting in July 1958.

When visiting the UK in 1954 with husband Len (later Life Member of the VCC, Sir Leonard Southward) they watched with great interest the London to Brighton Rally for Veteran (pre 1905 vehicles) which was gaining popularity after the highly entertaining film Genevieve was released. They both thoroughly enjoyed the event and resolved to get involved when back in New Zealand.

Get involved they did!

Len bought a 1915 Ford Model T and the rest is history.

Together they amassed an incredible collection of historic cars and established 40 Beaded Wheels

the first purpose-built New Zealand museum to house them.

The Southward Museum was not just a building but an expression of Len and Vera’s passion, foresight and extreme dedication.

Vera made a huge contribution to the presentation and creation of the beautiful grounds that surround the museum. They remain a monument to her that everyone can enjoy. She spent many years administering the museum in the office and was a Trust board member.

Throughout all of this activity, Vera always supported the Wellington branch by helping quietly behind the scenes and actively participating in all of our important events.

Initially she rallied her own 1923 Swift but later preferred to navigate for Len. Two cars stand out as leading to many adventures for them both in New Zealand and overseas.

Their 1904 Wolseley was restored and they competed successfully in the 1962 London to Brighton run (the first New Zealand car to do so). This car also won major international concours awards.

Vera and Len’s most recognisable vehicle was the 1912 Buick. This superb restoration enabled them to enjoy many memorable miles of Veteran motoring. Together they won the 1965 International Rally (Haast) outright and followed this up with another outright win in the 1972 International in Nelson and of course their names appear on many Wellington Branch trophies.

Vera, Lady Southward was a gracious approachable lady who was always kind and supportive of our younger members, she will be missed.

Remembered by Roger White Vera, Lady Southward Founder Member Wellington Branch 1958 Patron Wellington Branch 1986 – 2016

Frank Metcalfe

two wheels

and other things Last time around I updated you on the ‘starter’ shenanigans of my 850T Moto Guzzi. We finished up with a nice functional button starter working from the unneeded headlamp flasher button. All very well but warning bells about the state of the whole ignition switch had been ringing; the odd occasion when turning on the ignition produced nothing but then second attempt all was well. I chose to ignore these ‘that’s odd’ events in the belief that fixing the starter switch failure had sorted things. I also knew that if the whole ignition switch failed replacement could be expensive and perhaps difficult in regard to obtaining parts. Ignorance was bliss. But not for long.

I set out for a ride about mid-January and stopped at the local gas station for a top up. Filled tank, turned key and flicked starter button. Motor growled once then silence ensued. The warning lights all died, that was it. The key suddenly felt sloppy in the switch and no amount of jiggling could produce any sign of life. I was, I suppose, mildly surprised in a kind of ‘I knew this was coming’ kind of a way and rather grateful that this had occurred on a service station forecourt no more than two kms from home. Even better, not 200 m along the road lived a friend with whom I had shared various work related events at our previous address. Better still, he was on the side of the road tidying up his newly purchased mobile home. Within minutes I was aboard his ute and driven home where I needed to hitch the trailer to my SUV, empty it at the local tip, about two kilometers away, then back to the garage to load the failed Guzzi. This whole process consumed less than one hour and was completed with the dead machine sitting mournfully on the lifter in my shed.

Now the interrogation started. It was very clear right from the off that the ignition switch had breathed its last and thus the only solution was going to be a replacement. Of course for the unfussed and the desperate a bit of wire bodging and a suitable switch buried somewhere out of sight would suffice, but for me this sort of replacement has to be as per original or, at least, faithfully replicate the original.

On the 850T and its sibling models of the period the ignition block is a nice looking aluminium item bolted to the

frame immediately forward of the fuel tank and displayed for all to see, a touch of Italian design. It comprises three separate parts which include the ignition components in one, the ‘designer’ aluminium holder which attaches to the frame rail and a rubber cover which, allegedly, provides weather protection for the whole ensemble.

The deconstruction part was easy apart from the fact that I had filled the large fuel tank immediately before and the tank has to come off to access the fitting and wiring of the ignition, so having scratched around to find containers I drained over 30 litres from the tank so it was light enough to lift and remove. The next bit wasn’t so easy; removing the switch block from the aluminium mounting bracket.

The switch is held secure in its mount by a spring loaded lock which can only be released with the ignition key held in a defined position. All very well but on my old girl past meddling had resulted in a non-standard key being used and it did not have the specific small shoulder in the key cut which would release the spring lock, and it didn’t allow the steering lock to function either. This was beyond my skills so I handed the item to Roy Gardner, he of Vincent building fame and Guzzi guru, who with some jiggling and patience managed to get one of his genuine 850 keys to fit into my worn switch and trigger the release lock. Now the components were separated and what was needed was a new switch that would fit the mounting block.

Time to hit the internet. The switch was the original, a Sipea of Italian manufacture and it quickly became apparent that searching through Moto Guzzi spares sites wasn’t going to produce a result.

Therefore, with Roy’s participation on his computer, we refined the search to Sipea with the appropriate part number which was inscribed on my original switch block.

Results were thin but we soon established that this particular switch, and/or variations thereof, had been widely used in vehicles as diverse as Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Fiat and a few French models. I found a used one in California but it looked too worn. Roy located a new one in Italy; it looked right and the numbers were right, but the supplier did not export. I found the same thing through a Greek site but again no exporting. Finally, the pair of us having

traversed the internet, Roy lucked on to a USA site, MG Cycle, in Wisconsin and they were advertising the same thing we had found in Greece and Italy. I emailed the company immediately to order the parts and soon received a very informative reply to tell me the parts were out of stock and resupply was an unknown. However, the writer went on to explain to me that they stocked an alternative which was good for the Guzzi 750 Sport and the 850 T3 so should fit the 850 T. There were two parts, the switch block and the mounting bracket made to fit the 850 frame. Two differences; the switch provided no key start option and no provision for the steering lock. Neither of those troubled me as I had already relocated and rewired my start switch and the steering lock was mostly a nuisance, best left unused. Great news and the prices were surprisingly modest. I ordered the new ZADI branded parts immediately and a week later they landed in my mailbox.

What a pleasure; the switch was a simple but effective piece with four spade clip fittings and it fitted perfectly inside the new mounting bracket without the need for the previously complicated spring loaded lock, and the new bracket was a perfect fit for the frame mounting lug. And to finish the third part, my rubber weather cover, also fitted perfectly. All I needed now was the electrical expertise to connect the right wire to the right function and so called on my auto electrics contact who arrived the next afternoon. Within a half hour he had tested all wires for function, fitted new spade clips and generally made a first class tidy reconnection job. Turn key, all warning lights function, flick starter button and the Guzzi burst back to life.

A totally successful part replacement at a very reasonable cost, a shade over $100 which included freight from the US, and with the rubber weather protecting cover in place all looks as it always did. In the accompanying photo the rubber weather cover on the ignition switch can be seen immediately forward of the fuel tank; the starter button is incorporated in the switch block, left hand handle bar.

In conclusion a couple of observations: For owners of a similar model Moto Guzzi these ZADI parts will be much simpler to find than original Guzzi Sipea type and very reasonably priced. In my case the supplier, MG Cycle, provided exemplary service. www.mgcycle.com Almost inevitably the wiring on older model machines will have been fiddled with at some time so in fitting new electrical parts every wire needs to be tested for function before connecting; a mistake could be terminal for your much needed new part.

BW Beaded Wheels 41

Diane Ross 38 Keenans Road RD 2, Ashburton randross@kinect.co.nz

brass notes As promised here are more details of the very complete 1913 LMC motorcycle purchased by Ian Bade that was only four numbers away from his 3½ hp model that he’s owned for 55 years. The latest addition is frame number 1458G, engine number 2123G. His older bike is frame number 1454G, engine 1323G. The prefix 2 on the new bike’s engine number indicates it is the 4hp model. LMC was an obscure British make founded by Walter John Lloyd previously associated with Quadrant motorcycles in 1907. Production ceased on his death in 1922. There is one very original 1912 model in Peter Thomson’s collection at Rongotea. There are about 11 incomplete (Ian has three) LMC bikes in New Zealand including one with frame number 1453G in Whangarei, about seven in Australia and Britain only six, two of which were purchased back from the ‘colonies.’

As reported in the last Brass Notes Ian had tried to purchase his latest addition when advertised in Beaded Wheels in 1980 but it had already been sold to Terry Lowe of Tauranga. When Terry phoned offering to sell it last August Ian lost no time in saying yes.

The new addition has all different options to the older bike except for the gearing, both have two speed countershaft arrangement (ie. chain for first gear and direct leather belt drive for top gear.)

Having two identical bikes with different options makes for interesting comparisons.

The new bike has sidecar fittings because the 4hp model was advertised as their sidecar model. About 40 years ago Sir Len Southward called to tell Ian that he had an LMC sidecar chassis for him.

It turned out to be a 1913 Mills-Fulford ‘Herald’ model made for LMC. It is still unknown how Sir Len knew it was the correct sidecar for the LMC. The sidecar has been restored to mate to the new bike and a wicker chair was purchased to fit the other bike from Webb’s October motorcycle auction.

Restoration has progressed well although Ian states his only skill is grinding off rust. Most of the work has been done by local experts on the Kapiti

Theophile Schneider 1913, owned by Hans Compter.

Coast, wheels re-spoking in Palmerston North and the plating in Whanganui.

The assembly stage is complete.

Although the items were catalogued before sending off to the platers they came back altogether in a bag. When plated they looked different and were hard to identify. However having the sister bikes helped to reference what goes where.

Currently the chain guards and the connectors to the sidecar are being fabricated and that will complete the whole outfit. After that it will be starting up and fine tuning the mechanicals.

A year ago Tony Warren from Invercargill bought the chassis and running gear of a rare 1912 Vulcan, salvaged from the Mataura area by the late Neil McMillan. This car is thought to have been bought new by a Gore resident.

The model is a brass bullnose 15.9 hp light car. The only other one Tony knows of is at King Island in Australia. That owner has been able to provide patterns and information. Neil McMillan was also a prolific documenter of Vulcan vehicle’s and his notes have proved invaluable.

Tony is working on the running gear while his father, Arthur, has been doing the woodwork for the body that is being skinned. Guards are also being made.

New wheels will need to be manufactured.

Tony would be interested in finding some suitable CAV headlights if anyone can help.

Hans Compter from Northland has given me some details of a rare car he came across while working in France in

Theophile sparkplugs.

1965. The car turned out to be a 1913 Theophile Schneider double phaeton. It was painted in green WWI army colours and had its rear section cut off. The lady owner had inherited it from her father who had served in the war and it had been commandeered by the government in 1914 because of a shortage of vehicles to be used at the front. It was used near Verdun but returned to her father, who had been a high ranked military person, after the war ended. He had then put the car away under his house in the Savoie region where it stayed unused till his death.

When Hans heard this story he couldn’t believe that the lady actually offered the low mileage family heirloom to him for the quite affordable sum of 3000 anciens francs about NZD $200 then. He took ownership in 1966 and as of 2016 has owned the car for half a century. In 1968 it was transported on a 1952 Renault tip truck to the Netherlands and in 1983 it was amongst the 60 rare cars in the Compter luggage when they moved house to New Zealand. There is no intention of restoring ‘Theo’. He will just continue to preserve and enjoy her presence in their collection. The engine runs and it is

I am always happy to receive historic or restoration articles and updates on Veteran vehicles as it is only by readers’ input that this column can continue. Email your Veteran stories to me at randross@kinect.co.nz 42 Beaded Wheels

CAST IRON

WELDING Powder Spray Process, Cylinder Heads, Manifolds, Cooling Fins, Castings, Mechanical Repairs & Rebuilds

THOMAS ROWE MOTORING ENGINEER ltd

1905 Alldays & Onions owned by George Lee.

estimated that Theo would have only done about 3000 kilometers.

Christchurch man George Lee has been a car upholsterer for many years. His expertise in trimming Veteran, Vintage and motor vehicles from the high end of the market is well known. Although never interested in restoring a car unless it was rare and interesting, when he was led to a 1905 Alldays and Onions motor and gearbox on the West Coast that the owner was prepared to give him, he couldn’t walk away. This was the start of a project taking ten years. Such is the old car network in New Zealand he was soon led to a burnt out chassis in Nelson. Then a client told a colleague whose mate had a chassis. Word got around and collectors starting directing parts they had been keeping in the hope someone would want them started finding their way to George. A complete set of lights came from a man who was disposing of his father’s car light collection. A diff was located in the North Island and a spare one and a motor came from England.

Many hours were spent making the parts that couldn’t be found. The pattern to make the seats was made from original seats borrowed from another Alldays and Onions. The 1905 Swing Seat Tonneau 10 horsepower twin-cylinder Alldays and Onions has a three speed and reverse gearbox and does 36 miles to the gallon.

The accelerator is a small lever underneath the steering wheel (not on the floor) and the gear change goes forward or back. The brakes are not overly reliable so it has a hill holder (a ratchet sprocket) to stop the car rolling backward down a hill.

It was an honour for the Lees to have a great great granddaughter of Alldays come to see the car at an Easter Rally a few years ago.

An item of interest from Bonham’s Auctions; A 103 year old Rolls-Royce originally purchased for £1,000 in 1912 went under the hammer for £4,705,500 making it the most expensive Rolls-Royce ever sold at auction.

The interior door panels and window shades are of embroidered silk with silk tassels. It has silver and ivory door fittings and the passenger footrest conceals a full picnic set and china tea service for four as well as six decanters.

Built by former royal carriage makers Barker & Mayfair, who built carriages for King George III and Queen Victoria, the exterior echoes distinctive luxury Pullman railway carriages of the era. The elegant passenger compartment has 29 bevelled glass windows. Top speed is 60mph and it does 15mpg.

The car was commissioned by RollsRoyce connisseur John M Stephens who also bought the first Silver Ghost produced in 1906.

The car is thought to be the only example of its kind to survive with its full interior and bodywork as many of its kind were converted to ambulances during WWI.

BW

6 RD Palmerston North

PHONE

06 324-8707

RESTORED CARS MAGAZINE AUSTRALIA First published in 1973.

Most back issues are available.

All vehicles featured are restored or in original condition.

Events, How To’s and Australian motoring history are a specialty.

Subscription Rates

Australia 6 Issues $57.00 or 12 issues $111 New Zealand 6 Issues AUD$91.00 or 12 issues AUD$179 Overseas 6 Issues AUD$106 or 12 issues AUD$209

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Ph 61 3 5476 2212 Fax 61 3 5476 2592

Beaded Wheels 43

marketplace CLASSIFIED RATES Due to space limitation, classified advertisers should refrain from the use of dashes, spaces, logos, blank lines and formatting. All classified rates include GST. The 65 word limit includes contact details. Advertisers requiring ads longer than the standard 65 words, or who require typography or space, must apply display rates. The advertising department reserves the right to edit or return classifieds not meeting the criteria Member of Vintage Car Club No charge for text or photo classified advertising.

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No liability can be accepted for non-appearance of advertisements and the text of all advertisements is subject to the approval of the editor who reserves the right to refuse any advertisements which are not compatible with the aims, objectives, and standards of Beaded Wheels or the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.) In accordance with the provisions of the Human Rights Commission Act 1977 Beaded Wheels will not publish any advertisement which indicates or could reasonably be understood as indicating an intention to discriminate by reason of sex, marital status, ­religious or ethical beliefs. Advertisers should take all care in drafting advertisements as they could be held liable, as well as Beaded Wheels and the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.).

44 Beaded Wheels

1927 OAKLAND TOURER GENERAL MOTORS 6CYL some engine work done, needs wooding out, some panel work done. Good g/box 4x reasonable wooden spoke wheels and lots of spares. Big project. $1,200. Phone Alan 07 307 0637 1935 STANDARD COVENTRY Completely dismantled most parts there. Chassis/brakes overhauled.

Engine block bored, new pistons, rings and crank ground, needs bearings and reassembly. Head repaired, new gasket. Three and four speed gearboxes. Most parts there to rebuild car, body requires a lot of work. Spare block and other parts.

Has plates for certification. May sell parts. Car in Rangiora. Contact Martin 03 313 5153 evenings, martinsusanhome@gmail.com 1950 HUMBER HAWK MKIV English assembled with sunroof. Sidevalve motor, rust cut out, new paint, new radial tyres, new door cards. Radiatorwaterpump recond, red leather very good, starts and motors well, not mint but very tidy. $9,500.

Phone 06 344 4454 or 027 229 0994. Numerous spares available.

1952 MORRIS MINOR 4 door new radial tyres. Met blue paint. Red upholstery. Runs well. WOF and Reg. $4,500. Phone 021 0277 8926 MEM OTAGO 1976 AUSTIN ALLEGRO F amily owned since 1981.

Original and tidy. Manual. 116,697kms. Shed stored, Reg on hold. $3,000. Phone Jim 07 888 0772 Matamata MEM WAIKATO 2 HEAD GASKET KITS FOR 1939 RELIANT $30 each.

1 crown wheel and pinion set plus 2 axle shafts to fit 1937 Austin/Riley. Austin parts are new $500 or offer. Phone 06 354 5960 MEM MANAWATU A GOOD RANGE OF VINTAGE AND SOME VETERAN cars available for sale. Cars are listed for free with regular sales. I have clients looking for Veteran cars, and Model A Ford open cars. Contact Rushmore Motors for a free emailed or posted brochure of cars available. rushmoremotors@xtra.co.nz Phone 03 528 7924, 027 2245 045.

BALANCING BALANCING BALANCING, We can balance most Vintage and single cylinder engines, fans, driveshafts etc. Work is carried out on a modern digital machine. M S Coombes Ltd, 344 St Asaph Street, Christchurch, Phone 03 366 7463, Fax 03 366 7462, Email: mscoombesltd@clear.net.nz COACHWORK F or all your coachwork, woodwork and timber rim steering wheels for your Veteran, Vintage or commercial vehicles contact Designs N Wood, John Martin, 11 Bell Avenue, Cromwell.

Phone/fax 03 445 0598, 021 109 1309 or email martin_jw@xtra.co.nz MEM CENTRAL OTAGO

DISTRIBUTOR & FUEL PUMP PARTS AND SERVICE e rebuild distributors, vacuum advance units, W mechanical fuel pumps and supply parts new, NOS, remanufactured and used.

Vacuum advancers restored.

Electronic ignition kits to eliminate points.

Quality Rebuilds, 85 Polo Prince Dr, Manurewa, Auckland, 2576. email: peter@qualityrebuilds.com www.qualityrebuilds.com

PHONE PETER 09 267 4700 CARBURETTOR RECONDITIONING — including classic and performance makes. 40 plus years trade experience. Free advice. Contact Graeme Tulloch, Tulmac Carburettor Specialists on 027 612 2312 or (Levin) 06 368 2202 HUBCAPS – any problems contact me.

I now produce either hubcap skins or complete hubcaps. These are top quality replicas. Pressed not spun to the closest possible original specifications. I can manufacture any model that uses the skin system plus many others provided they do not exceed 10½" in diameter.

For more information phone Dave Patten Replica Manufacturing (2003) Ltd, Phone 027 247 7956, 160 New York Street, Martinborough. dave.patten@wise.net.nz

AC FUEL PUMPS Brand new boxed. 4227 $40, R10 1538473 (kit) $30. (Also 5 used ones) $60 the lot.

Phone 03 354 9264 MEM CANTERBURY MAGNETO AND COIL WINDING SERVICES Magneto USED TYRES 500/520 X 14 Three half worn repairs, coil rewinding, work guaranteed. We buy retreads one like brand new. Phone Owen 03 308 and sell magnetos of all types except aircraft.

Waimutu Road, RD2 Marton 4788.

8134, 027 434 5636 MEM ASHBURTON 728 Phone Warwick 06 327 3849, 027 281 8066, GOT VIBRATION PROBLEMS? walandlynn@farmside.co.nz MEM The crankshaft pulley/balancer/damper may be the cause. Rubber perishes over time. John at AVAILABLE TO SWAP TRIUMPH. CN f rame motor Harmonic Damper Rebuilds can rebuild your gearbox clutch 1913 Clyno barrel Douglas gearbox pulley like new. He has a proven system to around 1913 unknown model Douglas two lobe re-rubber and re-sleeve dampers. Most can be drive hubs Sturmey Archer BS gearbox Humber rebuilt as good as new and save you money and gearbox Alldays Allon rear fork fuel tank 1929 BSA engine repairs. 027 666 3350 or 07 863 3350 tank cap AJS rear carriers rough 1928 and 1930 damperdude@gmail.com complete with toolboxs Triumph LS rear carrier DRIVESHAFTS DRIVESHAFTS DRIVESHAFTS We can alter or make driveshafts with fabric components to take modern universal joints and yokes, as well as performing dynamic balancing.

We also carry a large range of driveshaft components for car, trucks, industrial and marine. M S Coombes Ltd, 344 St Asaph Street, Christchurch, Ph 03 366 7463, Fax 03 366 7462, Email: mscoombesltd@clear.net.nz

email taylorhq@xtra.co.nz COLLECTION OF AUCKLAND WEEKLY a nd Freelances which contain many car advertisements (mainly 1930s). Happy to copy for someone’s garage wall, adverts include 1935 Austin 7, 1936 Ford, 1937 Austin 10, Ford 10 and many more up to 1938. Also a copy of a radio record newspaper of 1939. For cost of photocopies and postage. Phone Byron Husband, 06 357 5921, 027 223 1428.

DISCOUNTED ACCOMMODATION f or Beaded Wheels readers. Mitchell Corp offer value for money 3-4 star hotels, motels, serviced apartments and B&B’s. For bookings phone: 0800 804 653. Ask for the Beaded Wheels preferred rates. Payment is by credit card at the time of booking.

PENRITE OILS We carry a large range from Vintage to Modern engines. Gearbox, diff, S.U dashpot and water pump grease.

M S Coombes Ltd, 344 St Asaph Street, Christchurch, Ph 03 366 7463, Fax 03 366 7462, mscoombesltd@clear.net.nz

FORD MODEL T MAGNETO COIL PLATES rewound, old unit to be returned. $350. Phone 021 0233 3948 MEM CENTRAL HAWKES BAY

PISTONS PISTONS PISTONS ­PISTONS FOR VETERAN, VINTAGE, CLASSIC & ODDBALL ENGINES. We can supply piston sets for most makes and models. All piston sets come complete with rings and gudgeons. We have over 700 listings at competitive prices.

M S Coombes Ltd 344 St Asaph St, Christchurch PH 03 366 7463, FAX 03 366 7462

HONDA SCAMP 600 ENGINE c omplete running ok when car dismantled. Reasonable offer. Phone Bill 027 201 0565 Mosgiel MEM OTAGO HOUSE SITTING R etired UK based farmer VCC member looking to do house sitting in any area.

I spend summers in NZ and have a classic car here. Happy in town or country and with animals.

Contact Hal Junker 021 0228 4298. Or email halbjunker@outlook.com MEM

PENRITE ENGINE C O O L A N T A colourless hybrid-organic non glycol based corrosion inhibitor designed specifically for use in Veteran, Edwardian, Vintage and Classic Car cooling systems. M S Coombes Ltd, 344 St Asaph Street, Christchurch, Ph 03 366 7463, Fax 03 366 7462, mscoombesltd@clear.net.nz

LEATHER COAT men’s size, 48 inch chest which would fit someone about 5 foot 8 or 9 inches tall. This brown garment has a belt and a very good lining, and is nicely aged with very little colour around some edges. $150 plus freight from Dunedin. Hec Browett phone 03 455 6314 or email VINTAGE ENGINE SHORTBLOCKS h.browett350F@outlook.com M EM OTAGO We can in most cases rebuild your shortblock using MGF 1996 G reat condition, 96,00kms, over $4,000 modern shell bearings, new pistons and rebuilt oil spent on repairs recently, new head gasket, cam pump. Please contact us for more information. belt, hoses, brake pads, rear suspension, joints and M S Coombes Ltd, 344 St Asaph Street, tyres. Offers around $4,000. View Central Otago Christchurch, Ph 03 366 7463, Fax 03 366 7462, area. Phone Selwyn 03 445 1994 or 027 225 5070 mscoombesltd@clear.net.nz MODEL A FORD STARTER DRIVE AND KEY as NASH METROPOLITAN GEARBOX dismantled, produced by Sneyder’s, in original package. $20 85% complete $75 also A55/A60 gearbox complete plus freight from Dunedin. Phone Hec Browett 03- $100ono. Ph Jim 03 3844-148 MEM CANTERBURY 455-6314 or email to h.browett350F@outlook.com NEW USA VINTAGE WIRING P eriod woven look

MEM OTAGO modern insulation. 10, 12, 14, 16 gauge and HT coloured and contrast tracers. Easy prices by metre or longer (discount). Phone 03 354 9264

AUCTION

1 80 Plus lots of automobila and related collectibles.

To be held at the HB Vintage Car Clubrooms, 67 Sandy Road, Meeanee, Napier at 10am on Sunday 7 May 2017 in conjunction with the 25th Hot Rod and Classic Car Festival being held by the Marineland Street Rod and Custom Klub. Lots of petrol tins, oil tins, several signs. Many old style jacks, heaps of old collectible spark plugs, boxes of old and interesting tools, Large old pedestal type spark plug cleaner, old repco sign, lots of other goodies … something for everyone. Net proceeds from the sale will be going to the family of the late Dick Goodall who was a member of the branch for many years. Catalogue and some photos will be available to download from the hbvcc website from early April. www.hbvcc.org.nz Viewing and registration from 8am Sunday 7 May. Early viewing and registration for HBVCC and hot rod club members from 3 – 5.30 pm, Saturday 6 May 2017.

Bring plenty of cash with you as payment will be by cash only. Eftpos machine at the swap meet. No cheques accepted.

Enquiries to Steve on 021 460 159 VALVES exhaust quality stainless for Vintage engines. Available in blank form or machined to size required. George Calder, 307 Hoon Hay Rd, Christchurch. Phone 03 338 5372 or email gandkcalder@clear.net.nz

VINTAGE CAR REPAIRS

Unit 1 11 Penn Place, Upper Riccarton, Christchurch (formerly 15a Empire Road, Belfast) Phone 341 5100 Fax 341 5101

All Classic and Vintage Car restoration.

• Panel making • Wooden body repairs, • Bumpers and moulding repair 37 years experience • Competitive hourly rate.

MEM CANTERBURY

PERIOD BATTERY FILLER TOPS Pottery and hard rubber some with names Lucas Peto Exide. $20 the lot (51). Phone 03 354 9264 MEM CANTERBURY VINTAGE & CLASSIC QUARTZ h alogen bulbs.

Replace your existing bulbs without rewiring the headlamp assemblies. Up to 100% brighter than your existing Tungsten bulbs. Will fit most reflectors fitted to Pre & Post war cars and motorbikes. Also available in single filament 55 watt P22 & BA 15 bases for use in spotlamps and mechanical dip reflectors. Most bases and configurations available in 6v & 12v. Further info: Norm & Jan Sisson, sole NZ Agent. Phone 03 389 0643 Model Boat Supplies, 38 Ottawa Road, Christchurch 6.

Email modelboatsupplies@snap.net.nz

QUICK CHANGE REAR AXLES One Halibrand, excellent condition. One Bennett type complete with hubs (has been rebuilt). One Bennett type no hubs (good condition). Phone Roy 07 847 5648.

MEM WAIKATO

VINTAGE AND VETERAN CAR ADVERTISING AND SALES. I maintain a database of buyers and sellers of Vintage and Veteran vehicles, placing buyers and sellers together. No hidden costs.

No computer, no problem. Just give me a call.

Whether buying or selling a Vintage or Veteran vehicle, contact me first. Contact Rushmore Motors Ltd 03 528 7924, 027 2245 045, or rushmoremotors@xtra.co.nz

RADIATOR CORE FOR 1917-23 FORD T $ 600. also Hood Bows complete for 1926-27 Ford T $2,200. being landed cost from USA. These were over supplied and are surplus to me. Phone Graeme Duthie 03 488 5242, 027 242 0861, email graemeduthie@xtra.co.nz M EM OTAGO VANGUARD SERIES 3 parts, tail lights, generators, water pumps, 1 diff complete, speedos. Offers on all items. Phone Richard 04 577 0350

VINTAGE TRUNKS made to order or stock sizes.

Dust proof and waterproof. Phone Allan on 06 844 3959 or 0274 469 331 Napier. MEM

MEM WELLINGTON

VETERAN GAS MOTORCYCLE LIGHT restored, complete. 6” glass diam., 8” bezel. Veteran wooden coil box with 4 coils no.675, A Watson and Co. Birmingham, Jones speedo large 4” face, 0-60 mph, Veteran brass pair E&J gas headlamps all in excellent condition. Harley-Davidson Eagle Hog mirror ‘live to ride ride to live’ with eagle.

Bosch Zu4 Mag dual ignition, fully rebuilt, unused.

Watford mag C6 ex Rolls Royce, excellent condition.

Offers for all. Phone 07 348 4227 MEM ROTORUA

WOODEN WHEELS made for your metal­ work. Steam-bent felloes, any shape spokes.

New beaded rims available in some sizes. Phone Vern Jensen 06 323 3868, 16 Osborne Terrace, Feilding.

MEM .

Beaded Wheels 45

1936 CHRYSLER AIRSTREAM 132,000 miles, three owners, last owner 25 years.

Genuine metallic Chrysler blue. Current reg and WOF. Original papers. $22,000 ono. Phone John 03 314 7092 MEM CANTERBURY

1935 MORRIS 18/6.

A rare car in original tidy 1952 4AD ROADSTER 1500SM SINGER SPORTS condition. Reg and WOF with heaps of parts. Excellent condition, 78,262 original miles. WOF and For more info phone Dave 022 026 1584 or 03 236 Rego current. $30,000 ONO Phone 03 443 9234, big.trout@xtra.co.nz 7910. Car based in Winton, Southland.

MEM SOUTHLAND

FOR SALE, V8 60 MIDGET #10. R aced Western MG BGT 1970.

The car is in good mechanical Springs, New Zealand 1960s. Offenhauser heads, condition, has been regularly maintained, and has reg twin ’81 carbs, Harman Collins magneto. Nordon and wof. Upholstery in good condition; some original steering box. Alloy panels. Torsion bar rear. The real and some replaced. Owners handbook. Exterior McCoy. Last ran March 2015. Phone Roy 07 847 5648. paintwork is showing its age. $10,000 ono. Phone/txt

MEM WAIKATO Ian 021 624 401. MEM WAIRARAPA

GLASS REFLECTORS u sed to mount number plates and on saddlebags and mud flaps for Veteran Vintage and classic vehicles. Many styles and colours. Email enquires to peter.alderdice@me.com MEM AUCKLAND

BRITISH CAR KEYS with original codes. Romac, Wilmot, Breedon and Union brands for Lucas ignition, door, glovebox and boot locks. NOS. Suitable for MG, Austin, Morris, Triumph, Singer. Locks are stamped with the code ie (FP 235) Series are FA, FP, FR, MRN. Single key $8, two keys $14 inc postage within NZ. Ph 09 299 8801, mstokes16@yahoo.com MEM AUCKLAND

1928 WILLYS WHIPPET PICKUP. Warranted and Registered. Those interested please email Clive at blunden@slingshot.co.nz or ring 03 439 5207.

MEM NORTH OTAGO

1931 CADILLAC LASALLE rumble seat coupe imported from USA approx 10 yrs ago, all paper work in order never certified. Still some work to do. Side valve V8 353 ci syncro 2nd & 3rd, twin side mounts, wire wheels, golf bag door, trunk and rack. I want $85,000. 1931 LaSalle phone 021 742 302 email oldhop@clear.net.nz. MEM CTRL HB

1907 WOLSELEY SIDDELEY ROADSTER 10hp CF. Motor has run, wheels and chasis completed. Still needs upholstered. Rego on hold, number plate WS1907. Has a certified factory record certificate from the Bristish Motor Industry Heritage Trust.

Genuine offers considered. Email klodge@xtra.co.nz or phone 03 689 7778 or 027 222 6548 MEM WAIMATE 46 Beaded Wheels

Please advise National Office of any changes of address or sales/purchases of vehicles.

Email admin@vcc.org.nz or post details to VCCNZ, PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140

1947 FORD V8 ½ TON PICKUP New Zealand new, right hand drive. Stripped from the ground up and recently Registered and WOF. List of work done and new parts fitted available. Phone Rodger Bisset 03 445 0809, 0274 331 693, rodger.bisset@ihug.co.nz

MEM CENTRAL OTAGO

1969 FORD CORTINA MKII, 1600 SUPER R eg and WOF. Tidy original condition. Currently used for club runs. Workshop manual, receipts/paperwork and a few spare parts included. $9,000. Contact carl.lou@paradise.net.nz for more information.

Phone 03 960 6572 MEM CANTY

1934 MODEL 68 GRAHAM COUPE Needs restoring, reconditioned motor/gearbox. Dashboard redone, reskinned hubcaps. Some spares. Open to sensible offers. Phone after 5pm weekdays 07 850 5052 or 022 317 8743.

1934 AUSTIN SEVEN New battery, tyres 90%, new crown wheel and pinion. All new interior to very high standard, new wiring, new floor pan, new roof.

Personalised plates optional. Reluctant sale – open to serious offers. Phone Bruce 027 453 2002 or 09 401 1007 ah MEM FAR NORTH

Want to find out how Vero has made home insurance go further?

1938 SINGER 9 SPECIAL Excellent order. Must be seen to be appreciated. Numerous spares. Registered and warranted. Very low mileage. $9,000. Phone 03 328 8479 MEM BANKS PENINSULA

See our ad on the back page

1969 JAGUAR XJ6 4.2 In very tidy order. Well 1970 TRIUMPH HERALD 13/60 N ew paint, new 1938 DX VAUXHALL Goes very well. Tidy with maintained. Ruby red. Leather upholstery. Wooden tyres. In tidy condition. $7,250. Phone 03 308 8437. near new upholstery. Four owners since 1938.

Good tyres. $10,750 ono. Phone Ron 03 688 1128. dash. Automatic with air conditioning. $9,500 MEM ASHBURTON

MEM SOUTH CANTERBURY ono. Service handbooks. Phone 03 313 8901

MEM CANTERBURY

1929 WILLYS KNIGHT O lder restoration. Sleeve valve motor which has been rebuilt. Car has been in continuous use with current owner for the last 30 years. More photos available on request.

Asking $15,000 ONO. Phone Tony 06 377 3064 or wandmlane@xtra.co.nz MEM WAIRARAPA

PERSONALISED PLATES FOR SALE. $500. Phone Dale Whitaker Wanganui. Phone 021 088 82371 M EM

1947 ROVER 16 SALOON, A sound motorable car. Full history, receipts, handbook, spare parts list and workshop manual, original papers. Registered and warranted. $15,000. Phone 07 888 7008, m.arthur@xtra.co.nz

Beaded Wheels 47

1926 DODGE SEDAN Ready for restoration. Motor reconditioned, front & rear mudguards panel beaten.

4 new tyres, good bodywork no rust. $8,000 ono.

Phone Jim Ritchie 03 424 3353 MEM CANTERBURY

1938 MG VA 4 SEATER TOURER Imported to NZ in 1998, present owner since 2005. With Tonneau, Hood cover and full “wet weather gear” plus tool kits, Instruction Manual and Service Parts List.

Offers: Contact brehauts@xtra.co.nz

1914 OVERLAND 79 T tourer low mileage since full ground up restoration by quality tradesmen. Powerful Veteran car, spare parts with handbook, parts list, inc several years of Willys Overland, USA club news. Best restoration award, 2008 Overland Club, Vic Australia.

Ph 021 0233 3948 MEM CENTRAL HAWKE’S BAY

1971 TRIUMPH HERALD 1360 Complete rebuilt in 1990. Very low mileage since. Reg and WOF, Receipts for repairs. Very reluctant sale. Located in Tauranga area. $10,000 ono. Phone Snow Greaves 07 548 1140 or 021 280 3311 MEM BOP

1961 TVR GRANTURA One of only 200 made at Blackpool. Full body off resto, chassis retubed & rebushed, new shocks, wire wheels, tyres & exhaust.

Motor 1600 MGA, fully rebuilt, balanced & fitted with correct period HRG aluminium cross flow head. Brakes, kingpins, driveshafts, steering rack all rebuilt. 20k?

You tell me. Roger 021 025 46184 MEM NTH SHORE

1926 MODEL T FORD ROADSTER E lectric start (6 volt). Current WoF. Very good road condition. Full restoration mid-2000s, leather upholstery and hood and complete engine reconditioning. Some parts, wheel (spokes) and rims, luggage rack, jack and various Model T Ford publications. Recent valuation available. $27,500 ono. Phone Hamish 0272 515 695.

FREE ADVERTISING*

$21 Text only advertisement.

Up to 45 words including phone number, no photo.

Additional words over 45 up to a maximum of 65 words, 15 cents per word.

Classified advertising in Beaded Wheels magazine is free *for all current financial members of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Inc buying or selling club eligible vehicles or parts. Our standard advertising charges apply for all non-members or members wishing to advertise commercial services.

Email your advertisement to beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz or complete the form below and post to Marketplace, Beaded Wheels, PO Box 13140, Christchurch 8141. See page 3 of this issue for deadline for receipt of advertisements and payment for our next issue.

$54 Text and colour photo advertisement.

Up to 45 words including phone number. Supply a colour photo of your vehicle. Include SAE for return of photo, digital photos may be submitted to our email address: beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz

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WANTED

FOR SALE

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CONDITIONS OF FREE ADVERTISING stamped addressed envelope is supplied by the advertiser. Digital • • Free advertising is limited to one advertisement per financial photographs may be supplied by email in .jpg format, send a high member of the Vintage Car Club of NZ per issue. Members resolution file to achieve best results. must state their membership number when submitting the • Advertisements must be resubmitted for each issue they are advertisement. required to appear in.

• Advertisements must be of a non-commercial nature.

• The recommended length of advertisements is 45 words – the • • Advertisements must be submitted in writing, by email maximum space available is 65 words. Beaded Wheels reserves (preferred), post or fax. Photographs will only be returned if a the right to edit all copy.

Advertisements will be published on a first come, first served basis. While every attempt will be made to include your advertisement in the issue immediately following receipt – limited space may mean some advertisements will be held over until the following magazine for publication.

All free advertisements will automatically be listed on the VCCNZ website.

Payment where required must accompany your advert. Cheque should be made payable to Beaded Wheels. Post payment & advertisement to marketplace, P O Box 13140, Christchurch 8141. VCCNZ members must be financial and state their branch to receive free advertising.

48 Beaded Wheels

wanted to buy

TRIUMPH SD o r Ricardo gearbox handlebars wheels wanted, anything, any condition. Have baby motor need the rest King Dick stand as pictured left hand side or complete BSA and King Dick fuel caps, Alldays gearbox any condition. Phone 09 533 8050, taylorhq@xtra.co.nz MEM AUCKLAND

SCINTILLA MN6 3/4 MAGNETO. Any condition whole or parts. These Magnetos were installed in three litre Lagondas and some Amilcars. I would be grateful for any help in acquiring one or information on them. Phone Peter on 027 611 9835, peter@ chatsford.co.nz

ALDIC CENTRE CAPS wanted for 10” mini rims.

Wanted original hub caps for 1962 Chevrolet car as pictured. Phone 027 663 9018 MEM SOUTHLAND

CENTRE CAP for standard fitment alloy wheel and a windscreen washer solenoid (as pictured) for a 1986 Toyota Corolla 1.6GL Liftback. David North: phone 02117 23281 or email northd14@gmail.com

DYNAMAG WANTED as pictured about 1932 Vintage, poss Austin used them?

Phone John 0274 877 629, jsjmcc@xtra.co.nz

FORD V8 17" WIRE WHEELS, must be in good usable condition. Phone or text Steve 027 249 5815 or 06 753 2464 evenings. MEM TARANAKI

1930 DODGE DC8 CHASSIS in good condition FORD 1939 STANDARD V8 GEARBOX . Also any wanted. Phone 07 868 8259 evenings or other parts to fit this model. Phone Rodney on 021 946 487. MEM WAIKATO 03 324 2999 and leave message or overlander50@ hotmail.com 1948 CHEV THRIFTMASTER 15 inch 6 stud steel artillery wheels. Four would be nice as I need to FORD MODEL A GEMMER 2 tooth steering box in get this truck on the road. Phone Patrick Smith, good usable condition. Phone Peter Robinson 06 Motueka 03 528 8501, 027 313 9102. MEM NELSON 356 7404. MEM MANAWATU 1955ish FRANCIS BARNET Falcon or James Captain wanted. Condition immaterial, but machine must be complete. Phone 06 376 8222.

PHOTO OF A DELAGE CAR a pprox 1911 Model owned by Jack Rutherford and his father John of Opawa Station, South Canterbury. Details required to build a new body. Contact David Hall 12 Mirbeck Ave, Cambridge 3434, phone 07 827 9040.

MEM WAIKATO

TOOLS FOR ANY MODEL ROLLS-ROYCE Pre-war only.

Good clear photos and description please. I buy on GEARBOX # 785A-1A w ith Overdrive # HR6-15, to behalf of my UK brother. Buyer will buy and pay suit 1939 Imperial Chrysler C23. Contact Simon direct. Contact John Charlton phone 07 975 1062, Aurisch email spka1960@gmail.com MEM TAUPO johncharlton@slingshot.co.nz

8 TO 14 FT STARLINER CARAVAN or similar HEADLITE HORN SWITCH, column mounted for 1917 262 HEAD FOR HUDSON ENGINE 1951 TO 1954 fibreglass caravan. Built late 1950s early 1960s. Ford T Phone 021 0233 3948. MEM CENTRAL HAWKE’S BAY must be in good order (ie crack free). To be correct it Any condition. Phone/text Andrew 027 611 6225.

MODEL A FORD PARTS. I buy selected original must have 262 stamped on the head. Please reply to Email steamer.boy@gmail.com MEM CANTERBURY Model A Ford parts in good condition. Most parts Trevor Johnson, phone 03 471 0632, 027 284 8611, ANY VETERAN BUICK PARTS WANTED: 1 913-14 considered. Phone 03 528 7924 or text 027 2245 045. trevor.dot.johnson@xtra.co.nz, 55 Ellesmere street, Dunedin.

MEM OTAGO 4 or 6 cylinder motors, chassis or anything else.

MEM NELSON What have you got? Phone 021 024 57984 MORRIS 1000 in good running condition wanted to

M EM BAY OF PLENTY buy. Body not important, would prefer 1100 motor.

AUSTER SCREEN OR SIMILAR wanted to adapt to I am in the North Island. Phone Robert 027 444 Model A Phaeton. Phone 03 325 2846. MEM CANTY 1333.

M EM HOROWHENUA BACK WHEEL HUB FOR 1929 ESSEX. Also need soft MOTORBIKE Classic road racer wanted, top arms for 1925 Rugby roadster. Phone Graham anything considered. Phone Roger 022 165 3547 or 07 308 7683 after 5pm. MEM BAY OF PLENTY bsa_rodger@fastmail.net BRACKETS that rivet to the underside of front ONE OR TWO 2 1" tyre rims wanted to fit 1926 fenders for a circa 24 Model T. Maybe useable Studebaker Duplex gun-carriage hubs. Phone Cliff 03 brackets off an unusable set of fenders 249 6609 or cliffirene @ kinect.co.nz MEM SOUTHLAND you have in your parts pile. Any leads greatly appreciated. Phone Peter McQuarters 03 307 2376, aeromedia@xtra.co.nz MEM ASHBURTON

Deadlines for the next issue of Beaded Wheels are Editorial Received by 24 April 2017 Advertising Received by 10 May 2017 Email beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz for more information Beaded Wheels 49

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idle

Ashburton: Ashburton Branch members at Millstream Radius Rest Home.

Auckland: Philip and Caroline Henley 1906 Cadillac on the Parliamentary Tour (Broadwood Kohukohu Rd.) Auckland: Martin Seay’s 1954 Triumph Terrier.

Ashburton: 1915 Douglas motorcycle owned by Percy Roulston at Veteran Car Club weekend in Ashburton.

Ashburton: Three cars entered in Concours at Ashburton Branch Annual Rally.

Auckland: Errol McAlpine’s Ford Model A 440 at Ellerslie Concours.

Ashburton Owen Wilson We extend our sincere sympathy to Joe Barker and his family on the sad loss of Judy.

Our 48th Annual Rally, with 48 entries, was held on 28 January. Our destination was Mt Somers Station and I enjoyed the long route, well planned by Club Captain David Oakley, with a lot of shingle.

On 17-19 February we hosted the Veteran Car Club’s Mid-summer Adventure at our clubrooms.

Ollie Hurst’s tourer is now up to the top coat stage. Good progress since the article I wrote earlier about this restoration.

Veteran Ray Miller 1918 Hudson Vintage Mike Hillyer 1930 Model A Post Vintage John Rickard 1938 Austin 7 Opal Post War Neil Holland 1953 MG B Post 60 Roger Hart 1977 Triumph 2.5 Post 80 S.McMillan 1982 Subaru Commercial Donald Williamson 1932 Ford B4 Concours Michael Kingsbury 1959 MGB Best Lady Driver Ruth Kinvig Morris Eight People’s Choice Barry Hunt 1929 Rugby Overall Winner Mike Hillyer 1930 Model A Hard Luck Trophy Sue and Dave

Time Trial

Cornelius Jim Rooney

1952 Chevrolet 1965 Daimler

At our February club night we discussed options to encourage and attract younger members. The meeting was well attended and many ideas were discussed. Many people not yet in the club are unaware that we do cater for cars later than they perceive. Ways were discussed on how to promote this.

On 12 February some 15 vehicles went to Radius Millstream Home to take residents for a ride around town. This was well received and everyone enjoyed the outing.

52 Beaded Wheels

Auckland: John and Pat Campbell’s 1955 Plymouth and Lilliput caravan.

won a trophy at the Ellerslie Concours with his 1930 Ford Model A 440 convertible sedan. Hugh Hulse has bought a 1929 Ford A Tudor PV: Denis Kemp (94) is busy repainting his 1937 Willys Model 37.

Classic: John and Pat Campbell have Auckland John Stokes finally got the 1955 Plymouth V8 sorted Motorcycles: Rob Lauder spoke about and have tested it at a Lilliput caravan rally his motorcycling experiences at our January in Rotorua. Bob and Debbie Ballantyne meeting and Martin Seay displayed his won the January club run in their 1972 1954 Triumph Terrier 150cc. New members Holden Torana. are Tony Bowman, 1974 Laverda SF2 and General: a number of our members Brian King, 1936 BSA Empire Star and displayed their cars at the Ellerslie Concours ‘52 Matchless G80S. Peter Alderdice is d’Elegance. A week later members manned assembling the engine of his 1917 Harley- a stand at The Galaxy of Cars at Western Davidson 1000cc. Don Green, 1953 Norton Springs where John and Pat Campbell won Dominator 88 and Martin Spicer, 1973 Best Presented Car with their 1929 Dodge Honda CB350 F won their classes at the Red DA. New promotional material for the Eye Rooster Rally and Paul Hunter won the branch was given out and raffle tickets Bert Cuthbertson run on a Honda 750cc. to support the North Island Easter Rally Veteran: Mike Loosemore has had the were sold. A good number of our members engine on his 1916 Hupmobile running. attended the Art Deco event in Napier Denis Lowe has enhanced the perfor- and four of our members attended the mance of the 1903 Oldsmobile with some Eastern Bay of Plenty Rally on Waitangi tappet adjustments. Another Veteran weekend. About 25 vehicles, including owners meeting was held in January at the David and Kaye Porters 1904 Darracq clubrooms. Several vehicles were displayed attended the Glenbrook Vintage steam day. and attendance was good. A significant The Dewhurst/Winterbottom combination number of Auckland Veteran owners providing a superb morning tea. We hope attended the Parliamentary Tour re-enact- to see many of you at the North Island ment, organised by Barry Birchall and the Rally at Easter.

North Shore Branch.

Vintage: Tom and Jan Gibson have joined with a 1923 Jewett. Errol McAlpine

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Central Hawke’s Bay: Cars at Wimbledon Hotel.

Canterbury: Three Chevrolet Corvettes.

Canterbury: A Mk lV Zodiac and 3 Mustangs including an 800hp model at right at Daniel Smith’s.

Central Hawke’s Bay: The Central Hawke’s Bay members at the Veteran and Burma rallies.

Canterbury: Holdens FJ and GTS.

Bay Of Plenty Bryce Strong Our February Club Night speaker was Pat Buckley from Amped 4 Life, an organisation formed to help bring insight and understanding to teenagers about the dangers of substance abuse and the importance of making good choices. Pat is a dynamic and powerful speaker who drives home the reality – ‘Your life can change with one bad choice.’ Our members (most of whom are grandparents) were very attentive to Pat’s speech.

February’s midweek run visited Harbourside Macadamia’s orchard, the biggest macadamia farm in New Zealand, located near Katikati. Members purchased macadamia products and the owner gave a talk on the operation. A highlight for many members was the arrival of an immaculate 1934 Chrysler Airflow.

The Ladies Luncheon is always popular and was held this month at the home of Jan and Owen Smith. More than 20 members enjoyed both the splendid harbour views and the Smith’s hospitality.

The February mid-week run was organised by Branch Chairman Jim Smiley.

We met at the Aongatete shelter for morning tea, followed by a talk by Barbara McGillveray, chairperson of the Aongatete Forest Restoration Project. Later we were conducted on a short walk through the forest.

Sadly, Yvonne Allen, who has for many years looked after the branch’s catering

Canterbury: Buicks on display, part of the Daniel Smith collection.

needs, advised she is standing down from this role. Our thanks go to Yvonne for all her hard work, and also to her husband Ivan who has supported her in this role. A fitting presentation was made to Yvonne and Ivan at the February Club night.

Canterbury Tony Becker Our summer motoring season in full swing offers several options from picnic runs to long distance rallies. Perhaps being spoiled for choice influenced the surprising dip in members entered for the branch Annual Rally. Just 72 entries, about half of last year’s Diamond Jubilee event. A large group of Cantabrians were among the 52 Haast Pass commemorative rallyists the previous week, however, the remaining large pool of members failed to come up to expected numbers for this, our signature event. A new format was successfully tried

by Greg Lamb and Trevor Lightfoot plus regular helpers. After morning tea three field tests made good use of our superb Cutler Park in the warm sunshine before departing on the rally itself.

Some 60 vehicles traversed North Canterbury on our first monthly 9-90s mid-week event of 2017. The destination was the Daniel Smith car collection, Rangiora. A breath-taking array of exotic muscle cars of the ‘50s to ‘80s, plus Vintage, classic and even motorbikes, greeted us.

Our congenial host unveiled a vision for the future of his 10 hectare Rangiora

Central Hawke’s Bay: Merv McCullough’s moon buggy lime spreader.

property. A facility that will display classic and Vintage vehicles of car club members and individuals. Daniel Smith’s ambitious plan will feature regularly refreshed displays in a setting of lake, trees, tracks, tavern, café and relevant commercial businesses.

We very much look forward to the fruition of Daniel’s dream. The branch motorcycle section’s December wind-down activity began with a convivial catered barbecue for 54 members. Nice food and a great social get-together. 2016 was finally laid to rest with a lunch at Leithfield pub on New Year’s Eve after a circuitous motorcycle run.

A couple of days later, it was off around the bays for a twisty ride via Gebbies Pass to Diamond Harbour and back via Lyttelton Tunnel Central Hawke’s Bay John Foot As I write this it is hard to contemplate that it is for the April/May edition of Beaded Wheels and with the next one we will be on the slippery slope to Christmas again. On 8 January our first outing of the year was a run from Waipukurau to Akitio where we met up with Wairarapa Branch for lunch; 11 cars from Central Hawke’s Bay and 42 from Wairarapa.

Next was a run to Dannevirke to attend Wheels with Attitude organized by the Dannevirke Wheels Club. This event is open to any wheeled form of transport and I believe there were approximately 600 vehicles present this year. Nine members Beaded Wheels 53

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Gore: Gore Branch 50th Festival Rally featuring the red 1954 Trojan 20 owned by Angus Petrie from Southland Branch. It was originally the service truck for Motor Sales & Service in Gore - the Routes Group agent.

EBOP: From Waikato - the winning team members of the East Coast Rally.

EBOP: Branch members, Alison and Walter McFarland travelled on the Parliamentary Tour in their 1915 Studebaker roadster.

EBOP: Farming Like Grandad day, and cars were on display.

attended the National Veteran Rally and Burma Rally and a further six members attended the Burma only. One vehicle from the branch attended the Manawatu Branch Veteran Rally. On 9 February we had a run to Dannevirke to meet up at the Catching Pen cafe for morning tea before Merv McCullough took us on short tour around Dannevirke, finishing at his collection of vehicles before a visit to a garden centre.

There is no usual club run for February because of the Art Deco weekend. Our branch is still growing and we now have in excess of 100 members. We would like to welcome new members Garry and Kaye Carswell, Bernard and Chris Murphy and our second junior member Josh Higgins. We look forward meeting you at our events.

Central Otago John Loudon During our December Christmas Party evening these awards were presented.

The Tapper Trophy for best restoration of the year went to Allan and Gail Porter’s 1963 Humber 90. The Loudon Trophy for people’s choice went to Maureen and Pete Johnston’s 1928 Model A Ford.

This year’s car show in Cromwell encouraged a lot of people to inspect the hundreds of mainly hot rod type vehicles. We took advantage of the crowd and had an open day in our Parts Department resulting in a steady stream of buyers all day.

We hosted the Haast tour group of about 55 vehicles who used our clubrooms to meet 54 Beaded Wheels

and have supper on the Saturday evening prior to the tour starting on Sunday.

It is no surprise to see 80% of the members now use cars from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s era which shows us that our elderly members like a bit more comfort such as a heater, air con and better riding.

You often hear of old cars that grandad had owned and stored away and are now back on the road. This happened to me just recently as down the drive late one afternoon came a very original 1925 Dodge sedan driven by the grandson. He had been told it needed a valve grind but due to another commitment I couldn’t help.

He then asked for advice about restoration. The whole car, though in a well-used condition, should be just maintained and used as is. Any restoration work would spoil the originality of the vehicle so my advice was to leave it as grandad left it and treat it with respect.

EBOP Peter Donovan The annual East Coast Rally held on Waitangi Weekend was well organised and enjoyed the advantage of magnificent weather. A huge amount of effort had gone into the course planning, providing marvelous coverage of the local district, plenty of observational challenge and plenty of unfamiliar locations. The Post 80 prize went to locals Alan and Lorraine Stock in their beautifully restored 1980 Datsun 280ZX. Because of the number of

Gore: Participants in Gore’s 1st Rally in 1966. Back row; Stuart Milne, Bob Herron, Graham Taylor, Barry Newland. Front Row; Wayne Nicol, Colin & Joan Pearce, Neil McVicar, Cheryl Taylor, Gerry Pethick.

Post 60 entries, four places were awarded, but first place went to locals again, John and Karen Spackman in their 1965 Rambler.

They also won the Tom Gibbons Trophy and were overall winners. The PWV prize went to Tony and Judy Brierley in a ‘57 Morris Oxford. The team prize went to the Waikato contingent.

Our members are regularly joining with the classic car group for Sunday breakfasts followed by a short run providing wider friendships based on common interests.

This involvement is proving a big hit with members.

The Costar MG, the Growden Rover and their four owners travelled to Wanganui for the Burma Rally and Vintage Weekend, while Walter and Alison McFarland entered their 1915 Studebaker in the Veteran Rally. McFarlands and their Studebaker also travelled in the 100 year anniversary tour. Alison has also commented about the difference between this tour and the original: Then they had to battle with mud, poorly formed roads and weather, while the memorial tour had blazing heat and modern traffic to deal with.

The Farming Like Grandad day, held near Kawerau late January proved to have great family appeal. The Kawerau Waterwheel Restoration Group organised this event. It showcased early cultivation methods and machinery, and attracted a large number of Vintage and classic cars for

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Hawke’s Bay: Car Rides. Steve Trott’s 1935 Auburn.

Hawke’s Bay: The Parade – T Charman’s 1930 Ford Model A Pickup.

Hawke’s Bay: Last Check, last question .

J Brook’s 1925 Maxwell.

Horowhenua: Shannon car show.

Horowhenua: Mark Gibbson checking out the entrants from three branches.

Horowhenua: Mark Morgan with his new baby.

display, providing great family entertainment.

Canada. More on the rally elsewhere in this issue.

Our Chairman Gavin Bartlett has completed the restoration of his 1928 Ford AA truck and obtained the necessary registration and warrant of fitness the day before the rally. He expects to take it to the Model A Club rally in Hawke’s Bay at Easter.

the clubrooms where 28 prizes were given out. The overall winner was Wayne Nicol from Southland Branch in a 1908 Cadillac, the oldest car in the rally, and he was also first in Commercial field tests. Gore’s Mary Tremaine in a 1930 Model A was first for both lady driver and field tests. Peter and Shirley Jenkins from Christchurch in a Daimler V8 had come the furthest to the rally. The evening meal held after prize giving ended a great day.

Gisborne Rodney Clague It is with sadness that I report on the passing of our treasurer, Rosalie Douglas, on 13 January. Rosalie had served for a number of years on our committee acting as secretary and in later years as our treasurer.

She also looked after our clubrooms and with her husband Allan very rarely missed a meeting or club run. Committee meetings were generally held at their home followed by suppers designed to cater for an army.

Her presence will be sorely missed.

Our seventh Three Rivers Rally was held on the weekend of 10 – 12 February and attracted 29 entries, including a regular attender from England, Roger Thorpe, driving his 1925 Jewett tourer which he had purchased some years ago for Vintage motoring around New Zealand. We also had the pleasure of the company of a couple from Canada, Chris Bamford and Michelle Belanger, who were touring New Zealand and had noted that our rally was being held during the period they were here.

They sought a ride in a vehicle, but were delighted when Mark Dunn offered them the use of his 1924 Ford T Pickup. The rally took entrants from Gisborne to Motu via the Whakarau Road, returning to Gisborne via the Te Wera/Wharekopae Road. Chris and his wife experienced roads that they said would never be allowed to rally on in

Gore Jim McFadzien The branch clubrooms were bursting at the seams on 25 February with the crews of 55 entries in our 50th Anniversary Festival Rally. Participants were invited to come in period dress, and it showed that today’s dress standards have slipped.

All the colours of the rainbow were there, even hippies of the anti-war era with their fake tattoos. Colin and Joan Pearce were judged as the best dressed couple. Some seven Veteran and ten Vintage vehicles competed with Ford vehicles topping the list with 12 entries, more than twice any other make. Our route took us through a rest home village in Gore and past another in Wyndham where pre-warned residents were all waving. The long route took cars as far as Fortrose where the Mataura River meets the ocean, and the check-in was at one of the huge sheds near Edendale where tulip bulbs are processed for export. As it was a showery day, it proved a wise move to have the field tests held inside, and folding chairs and lunches were seen heading indoors. Prize giving was back in Gore at

Hawke’s Bay Esther Smith The 2017 Art Deco Rally attracted 204 entrants. Bentley was our feature marque and the Bentley tour, with many of the cars from overseas, took part in the event. The street parade of 280 pre-1946 cars up Emerson Street was amazing and the crowds turned out in support. The inclement weather literally put a damper on the rest of the day which resulted in only a small attendance at the prize giving. The weekend is choreographed by Steve Trott and Steve Donavan and it takes months of planning. We catered for 200 people on the Friday opening event, where the elegant lady contest is always a hit. Then over 450 people for the Saturday morning tea and about 200 for Sunday breakfast. It’s great to see so many people enjoying our facilities.

The spares department did a roaring trade and the library was a popular bolt hole. Our Vintage car rides around the CBD were popular, sedans were the vehicles of choice Beaded Wheels 55

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Manawatu: Colyton clocks.

Manawatu: Veteran run Caccia Birch house.

Marlborough: Some of the motorcycles on display at our Heritage Day celebrations.

on Saturday, but on sunny Sunday it was the open cars.

In the midst of Art Deco fever, our usual branch events carry on, the mid-week runs are always popular. Derek’s kitchen is back for another year, so all must be right with the world.

We would like to acknowledge the passing of Dick Goodall a very long time member and supporter of the HB branch and the VCC. We have been asked by his family to assist with the auctioning of his collection of parts and memorabilia on Sunday 7 May at the clubrooms.

Horowhenua Peter Nightingale Our year started with a great display at the local AP&I show on Wellington anniversary day, an interesting line up of cars and motorbikes. Club captain Bob Barton has just restored a great example of an LE Velocette ex police motorcycle and he also had an unrestored model there. A good opportunity for the public to see how much work goes into a restoration.

Mark Morgan’s 1925 Chevrolet tourer restoration is finished and was on display at its first outing.

The Len Haycock’s New Year’s day picnic was also enjoyed by six of our members.

Swap meet day is next month so preparation for this is in full swing.

A big day out was a run down to Waikanae to be part of the 40 cars that were to drive on the new Peka Peka to McKay’s 56 Beaded Wheels

Manawatu: Veteran run tractor.

Marlborough: Lunch stop on Port Underwood trip.

expressway. What a line up. Mark Gibson put this together and had the best range of models lined up. We went south from Wakanae to south of Paraparamu in the left lane with sightseeing buses coming towards us and walkers and cyclists on the north bound lanes. It is an incredible engineering achievement with 18 bridges, 230 archaeological sites uncovered, 1.4 million plants planted, five hectares of wetland created, 30,000 fish collected and relocated and new scenic views to be seen.

The Shannon annual car show was on the next day with another great outing for those that attended.

Marlborough: Heading into Port Underwood area on the Forestry block track.

There was a run to Ward beach in January with some electing to travel as far as Clarence to see some of the lesser damage caused by the November earthquake. Ward beach has undergone a very marked change with the seabed lifting and exposing the rocks to the light of day. It is interesting to note that the natural movement of the earth is approximately 2m every thousand years, but during the November quake it moved that much in the space of about two minutes.

Our annual Heritage Day at Brayshaw Park was a great success. All the societies within the park had their rooms open and provided light refreshments. With Vintage Marlborough Carroll Wiblin and Veteran cars on display, Vintage and The new year has started and we farm machinery displays, model trains, and welcome new members Cade Vercoe, Leon of course the grand parade, there was plenty and Varley Broadbridge, Janet Steggle and for all to enjoy David Hall. We look forward to their participation in branch events with their vehicles. Manawatu Ian Howell On 2 January we had our annual run January and February was a busy to Trevor and Doreen Harris’ bach at period for Veteran owners with the Linkwater. Some took their lunches and National Veteran Rally in Wanganui, the had a picnic, while some just went for a Parliamentary Tour less than a month later, cuppa and a chat. This always attracts a and our own branch Veteran run, organised good turnout because of the warm welcome this time by Derek Haycock. This started we receive and the very pleasant surround- at the clubrooms and went to visit Caccia ings. The Marlborough Sounds are such a Birch House, an historic 1890s property. beautiful place to be.

Fully restored, it is an amazing house, full of The run to the Onamalutu for a barbecue character and style. Next stop was a garage was cancelled because of bad weather but raid to look over Derek Haycock’s 1915 Fiat members enjoyed a relaxed lunch and natter project. A lot to do still, but this car will be at the clubrooms instead. a great touring Veteran.

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Northland: The 1938 Morris 8 (ME 38) complete with wicker hampers for training racing pigeons.

North Otago: Picnic at Borton’s Dam.

North Otago: There’s always time for chat.

North Otago: From left, Ernest George’s 1926 Chrysler pickup, John Adamson’s 1924 Model T pickup, Denis and Pene’s 1948 Bedford truck and the writer’s 1928 Willys Whippet pickup. .

The Dannevirke Wheels with Attitude show on 5 February celebrated 20 years of growth with record entries, attracting all ages of cars, motorbikes, and commercials. A good number of cars on show were provided by our local members. All credit to the Dannevirke Wheels Club who have established a popular must do event, attracting enthusiasts from all over the lower North Island.

Club Captain Bryan’s February run was to Colyton to visit a very large collection of clocks, promoted as containing the largest collection of clocks, watches and other time pieces in the southern hemisphere.

February club night featured guest speaker Mark Buxton, who talked about his use of 3D imaging as an adjunct to his precision tool making business. Mark brought along several examples of his work involving a mid ‘30s Buick tourer that needed replacement windscreen parts. He used the process to make exact patterns ready for casting in bronze.

Coming events include the Post Vintage rally on 6 May heading somewhere over the hills into the Tararua district. Members from other branches are most welcome.

Lastly we were pleased to award 25 year badges recently to Ron Persson and Des Locke.

Northland Bruce Cosson What a privilege it was to host the Parliamentary Tour cars last month. On

another fantastic blue-sky day they called in to Northland Branch for a bite of lunch, and what a treat that was. Dozens of cars from everywhere just came streaming in through the gate. All dressed up too, looking totally resplendent and ready for a fun tour. Great stuff. We loved it. Call again anytime.

The feature car for April is new to the Northland Branch. The 1938 Morris 8 (ME 38) came from Hamilton with the transfer to its new owner at Bombay. From the new owner; “It took me four hours driving at 40 mph to get the car back home. When on the motorways I stuck to the middle lane to let cars pass on either side of me and so I wouldn’t get stuck on an exit if I took the left lane. When off the motorways I kept a good eye on the rear view mirror and pulled over frequently to let following traffic past which was much appreciated by the modern traffic. Four hours nonstop and she went beautifully.” The car can be seen here, all set up with racing pigeon wicker training hampers on the carrier. “We chug off out to Whangarei Heads for a short distance fly.” And what about the colour huh? Delicious.

North Otago Clive Blunden It was third time lucky for the midweek run on 16 Feb to Borton’s Dam. No rain this time, a very good turnout of 19 people and nine cars, including Royston Shirreffs’ 1937 Vauxhall, Neil Rooney’s 1924 Buick

and John Adamson’s 1968 Hillman Imp. We left Oamaru for Ngapara via the back roads then went to Georgetown via the “hill climb” hill. All made it to the top, albeit some slower than others. Everyone enjoyed a great picnic by the dam.

On 18 and 19 of Feb we were invited to show off our old commercial vehicles at the 150th celebrations of the building of Clarks Flour Mill, Maheno. Even though there are not many commercial vehicles in our branch four of us managed to attend.

Club night in February was both different and enjoyable. The Club Captains had organised an orienteering run where we were given 30 questions and the names of 30 streets where we could find the answers with the help of a few clues. It turned out to be a good lesson in the geography of Oamaru. The weather was colder than usual, but it did not put anyone off.

North Shore Mary Lloyd North Shore and Auckland branches took on the task of organising the 2017 Far North Parliamentary Tour. Apart from some initial trepidation and hard work getting the Veterans roadworthy, everything fell into place nicely and in time.

The tour kicked off with a barbecue at North Shore clubrooms and everyone enjoyed a convivial evening catching up.

An early start on Sunday morning saw the entrants on the road in perfect conditions. Despite concern that the cars might Beaded Wheels 57

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North Shore: Craig Marshall’s 1915 American La France

North Shore: David Lane’s 1912 Model T.

slow the traffic they were motoring along so much it was difficult to get that perfect photograph. There were smiles and waves all round as onlookers reminisced about the good old days and the grandeur of the Veterans. From all accounts, everyone had a wonderful time in the winterless north with few problems. A week later, returning home, the lunch stop was at Kaukapakapa, where a large crowd had gathered to welcome them. Tired and dusty, they were all glad of the break and spectators enjoyed checking out the cars. The tour ended with a dinner in Auckland’s town hall where everyone was dressed to the nines and enjoyed a delicious dinner.

We had a good turnout for the Galaxy of Cars at Western Springs on 19 February however, the organisers were disappointed so few other cars attended due to the many events on.

Good progress is continuing on the 1923 Dennis bus which has been painted in its original colours. Frames for the seats are well under way and all glass has been installed. The Chev taxi is being prepared for painting, door jambs and dashboard have been completed. Window frames and small parts are being prepared for chroming. The Bedford tow truck has had new panels fitted and is progressing well. Recommissioning of these vehicles is getting closer.

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Rotorua: Humbers and Hillman.

North Shore: Paul Collins’ 1913 Fabrique Nationale.

Otago Graeme Duthie The beginning of the year is quite busy with the Jackson rally and the Brighton Run. The Jackson Rally is an annual event, it is the first run of the year and is run on the peninsula roads but as there is mainly only two roads, one down and one back, other areas are used with the finish being on the peninsula. This year I found a road that has not been used before but unfortunately the cars were traveling in procession and missed the turn off so not many experienced the different route.

The Brighton Run experienced a good day and the event was well organised so everybody appeared to enjoy themselves.

There was a good attendance at the dinner and the prize giving on the Sunday. The prize list takes a page of our magazine which is too much to cover here. Refer to our Otago Roadrunner for the results.

Sparkoholics is underway again with some very interesting destinations. We also are committed to man power for the Best of British and the Otago Rally. Coming up we have the Vintage/PV Rally, the Restoration Rally and our monthly run on the last Thursday of the month 1pm from the club, just bring your afternoon tea.

Southland: Dave Hart’s twin engine Mini Moke that was on display at the Southland February Meeting.

Humber 90s and a Hillman Minx, now rare on our roads, were once very popular mid-size cars. Even more exciting was a Humber Sceptre Mk II – I lusted after one, but could not afford it back in the day.

Dodge and Bedford ambulances were again brought north from their base in Feilding and were joined by a modern one.

At the February club night Phil Young’s rare 1924 Packard Single Six was on show.

He bought it in Canterbury a few years ago as a restored car but found a lot of remedial work had to be done to get it roadworthy.

On our February Sunday run, devised

by Kevin Scott, we drove south towards Reporoa. No straight line navigation, no names on the roads to be taken, lots of junctions at which to turn left or right and interesting questions to be answered. After 60 km of busy main highway which may have been rather hard on the drivers of the little Austin 7s we drove east of Reporoa village amongst scenery we had never before seen, and there was absolutely no traffic – very enjoyable motoring indeed.

The writer and his wife in their Triumph 2500 for the first time ever won an event with all questions answered correctly. But that came at a cost, they had been first to Rotorua Ronald Mayes leave but last to return to the clubrooms for Our annual January show on the village afternoon tea due to a puncture and a flat green at the Rotorua lakefront attracted spare. some 130 vehicles for display and an interesting variety of vehicles were seen. Two

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Rotorua: Extremes! 1959 Cadillac and Fiat 500.

Southland: The start of the Southland Rally in February.

Rotorua: Several big lads had to sit in the back of Phil Monk’s Packard to enable it to fit through the Rotorua clubrooms doorway.

South Otago: South Otago Branch picnic at Tahakopa.

Southland Dave Harris At the February meeting Dave Hart At the January meeting we had Angus showed his twin engine Mini Moke. This Petrie along with his 1954 Trojan truck. He car was built as a prototype by the factory has owned this for many years using it as for a light 4WD military vehicle and is one a workhorse on his farm and it sat unused of 10 made. It has two 1275cc Mini motors, for some time before he undertook a full the front one driving the front wheels via a restoration.

4 speed manual gearbox and the back one The February mid-week run started from driving the back wheels via an automatic the racecourse and took us out through gearbox.

Woodlands, Rimu, Mokotua, around the back of Ballance, down to Bluff and South Canterbury back to our destination, the Awarua Shannon Stevenson Communications Museum at Awarua Radio We were saddened to hear about the ZLB, for lunch and a good look around. recent passing of several long term members; The Southland Rally was held on Russell Stevenson, Gordon Stevenson and 4 February and the 62 entries were evenly Barry Lovegrove, our thoughts are with split between the long and the short with their families. both routes ending up at the Glenham The Ladies Rally was held on 8 January.

Community Centre for field tests. Overall Organised by Bob and Carolyn Gibson winner was Bill Ainge from Gore in his and attended by over 15 vehicles, this 1929 Austin 12/4. run took members through Cave, Opihi The Ladies Run was held on 12 February. and Woodbury regions to reach the Tin The run took us through town to Shed farmyard cafe complex at Rangitata, Kennington and Winton before arriving before taking members into Timaru, to the at the Central Southland Museum where Aigantighe Art Gallery gardens. It was a there are display rooms set up with different close call judging picnics, the prize pinny themes. going to Ross Luscombe for wife Delwyn.

A Moped run was also held on Our Night Trial took place on 14 January.

12 February. This started in Winton The run and questions that were organised and attracted 28 bikes. They first visited by Kevin and Ngadia Manchester certainly Findlater’s Sawmill before lunching had members’ collective brain cells at Tussock Creek then visiting Brian stretched.

Cartwright to look at the V8 motor bikes The following Saturday, 21 January, be builds. was our public open day at our branch clubrooms, showcasing our facilities. Several

South Canterbury: Winner of the Ladies Rally prize pinny, Ross Luscombe with wife Delwyn.

South Canterbury: The 1928 Renault Vivasix entered on the Haast Tour by John and Sylvia Bartlett, at Wanaka. Previous owners of this vehicle include “Lyalldale Waltz” author Issac Thompson, and late SCVCC member Russell Cross.

of our members’ vehicles were on display and a number of attendees expressed an interest in joining.

The long-awaited Haast Tour took place between 4-10 February. Attended by over 45 members’ vehicles between 1912 and 1980, the week-long tour took participants north from Cromwell, with overnight stops and social Happy Hours at Haast, Fox Glacier, Hokitika, Westport and Hanmer Springs.

The Chairman’s Rally was held on 19 February. Attended by over 15 vehicles, this rally took members via Esk Valley and Hunter regions to reach the Waimate Bush Town heritage precinct. While at Bush Town, we visited our branch sponsored Totara Tree – which has developed since being planted in October 2013.

South Otago John Cook Our well attended picnic run, held in late January, led us to Our Hut Tahakopa, with a stop off at Owaka to visit Maureen and Neville Martin’s Station Gardens. At Tahakopa we were welcomed by Don and Eleanor Sinclair at Our Hut and given a run down on the building’s restoration. They are very passionate about preserving the history of the area. We were shown a video of the railway history of the area, with two sawmills operating at Tahakopa at the time, with a number of railway sidings along the line as well. We finished off with a video of cable cars operating around the streets of Dunedin.

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South Canterbury: Herb and Jules Fox’s 1924 Dodge 4, on the Haast Tour near Treetop Walk, Hokitika.

Taranaki: Maxine and Albert Gordge winners of the 44th Waitara Mini Vin Tour with the trophy.

Taranaki: Merv Adlams newly restored town sedan Taupo: 2017 Open day.

1931 Ford Model A slanted windsceen model on show with its black and apple green paint job.

Seven Blue Smoke and Pedals members attended a Moped and Scooter Rally held in Winton in February, put together by Southland Branch members Lindsay Johnstone and Bruce Marshall. A visit to a sawmill at Tussock Creek showed us how the owner has restored a steam driven generator to power his sawmill and any excess power is then sold back to the grid.

The highlight for me was a visit to Brian Cartwrights Workshop at Tussock Creek.

This man has a need for speed! He custom builds Bavarian V8 motorcycles for anyone who wants one and in his spare time he does V8 dirt bike drag racing, 132 mph in 200 metres.

Taranaki Colin Johnston.

An excellent attendance of members and other car clubs’ visitors, enjoyed a picnic run out to Lake Rotorangi which took us out east and over the Mangamingi Saddle where we saw spectacular views of the back country hills and valleys with our Mount Taranaki on view in all its glory. Lake Rotorangi is the largest lake in Taranaki.

The reservoir was created in 1984 by the damming of the Patea river. It’s a delightful spot with camping and boating facilities.

We then motored to Lake Rotokere Scenic Reserve which is a stunning 230 hectare forested hill-country catchment with extensive wetlands and 17.8 hectare natural lake. It is a pest-free forest reserve 12 kilometres east of Eltham in South Taranaki. With 60 Beaded Wheels

a lake, camping, picnic spots and wetlands, the scenic reserve has long been a popular recreation spot and now also has a strong conservation focus.

Merv and Leonie Adams have their 1931 Ford Model A Town sedan on the road after a four year restoration and it was on show at the Waitara Hay Day for the first time.

This model has the slanted windscreen and looked splendid sporting its black paint job with apple green wire wheels and pin striping.

The 44th Waitara Mini Vin Tour was held in February and again members enjoyed an easy run around the streets of Waitara and then out into the back country roads with 10 questions to answer instead of silent checks. Congratulations to this year’s winners Maxine and Albert Gordge driving a 1930 Ford Model A who lost no points.

2nd place went to Ron Hyatt in a Morgan and 3rd place went to John and Meg Muter in a MGB. Taupo Greg Nattrass After a quiet holiday break with no activity for our branch, February started with our new year’s barbecue. An evening where the members supply the salads and desserts, and meat supplied by our branch is cooked up by the committee. This evening was a great way for all to get back together after the break and turned out to be a great success as we saw members that had seemed to fall by the wayside making an

Waikato: Waikato open day – the La France is under scrutiny. Photo Hugh McInally.

Waikato: Blue smoke and pedals. Photo Graham Boswell.

appearance. Our run for the month was the annual outing taking the members of the local blind group for a drive in our cars.

We went for a short drive in the country before reassembling again at the local rose gardens, where we went for a walk to enjoy the gardens. Then back to the cars for the return trip to our clubrooms where our visitors spoilt us with a tasty afternoon tea. Our final event for the month had us getting together with our cars to show them off to the public with an open day.

Waikato Gaynor Terrill The branch year has had a busy start.

The Blue Smoke and Pedals event in late January was threatened by rain, which fortunately stayed away. The course at the clubroom’s venue was challenging and required driver skill to keep the mopeds upright. There were a number of new riders out on the day, who competed on an even footing with their more experienced counterparts.

The branch has recently purchased a defibrillator and at the February clubnight a member of St John’s came along to demonstrate how to operate it. He made it look easy and hopefully we will all be confident to use it in the case of a real emergency.

This was followed by a quiz night with teams of six determined by drawing names.

A challenging set of questions were set to be worked out by brain power alone, no google searches allowed.

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Waikato: Waikato open day. Photo Hugh McInally.

Waitemata: Lochinver Lakeside.

Sunday 26 February saw another successful branch open day. There was an amazing display of vehicles representing all club eligible classes. Members of the public took the opportunity to talk to branch members about their vehicles, visit the parts shed and enjoy the refreshments available.

There were 12 inquiries about joining the Club and a further two signed up on the day.

Lately the branch has experienced good growth and during December and January we welcomed five new members.

March looks like being another busy month with the Ladies Rally, Mooloo Meander and the Vintage Venture all on the calendar.

The new sunshade sail between the clubrooms and the library building has provided a suitable shady spot on these humid Waikato summer days.

Waitemata Di Humphreys It was great to have southerner Peter Croft with us at our Chelsea W.A.L.S.H hill climb last November. He had entered the event with his 1948 HRG but sadly the Kaikoura earthquake forced him to forgo the HRG drive north. He was able to share the Lawrence Poolman 1931 C Type Montlhery Midget with me and so while Peter and I were having fun in the MG, Lawrence was doing his Waitemata Marshal duty. Speed Steward Tony Haycock arrived in 1930 Durant style and the rumour that

Waitemata: Fascinating Tech Night at Fraser Cars. Wanganui: Wanganui Mayor (Hamish McDouall) doing his job at the Burma Rally.

Waitemata: Winterbottom Team lead the Lochinver Charge.

Lionel Rogers returned from France to manage the Chelsea start line was true.

Members and branch friends who were lucky enough to get themselves on the short list for a weekend visit to Lochinver Station enjoyed a magnificent 4WD track, perfect for Vintage machines. This gave us a true motoring adventure that we hope will continue every year. The rotten weather bomb that came through that weekend in January could not dampen the Waitemata spirit but it sure caused those camping to have a sleepless Saturday night.

Keith Humphreys decided to organise a tech night every month for Waitemata’ites and extended the invite to Daimler SP250 club members. Bright ideas need a manager so between us we have sorted a year’s worth of interesting tech nights. The first, held in February, was to Fraser Cars, the Lotus 7 look-alike kiwi made kit car. Based on the North Shore this company not only makes new cars, they also tune and repair.

While they are unable to certify their own cars they are able to certify other machines so in the workshop were some other interesting vehicles. All present found it a fascinating place to visit.

Wanganui Fay Chamberlain What a busy time for the branch.

Despite the inclement weather turnouts were great for both the Burma Rally and the National Veteran Rally, with Wanganui citizens absolutely amazed at the variety of

Wanganui: Bruce Ardell’s museum/collection ... the barbershop quartet, includes Faye Chamberlain as pianist, and North Island Club Captain Paul Collins and others.

cars in the crowded streets. The three day Wellington Anniversary weekend was a great success, with Vintage cars playing a large part in it. Several minor runs were held through the three days and visits to museums, up the river and round the town were all given great coverage by the local newspapers. The Burma Rally was won by David and Glynis Robinson, and the Veteran winners were Rae and Lyn Fairweather.

The annual Taihape New Year run was well supported. This was followed by another happy evening to start the year.

Members enjoyed a barbecue at Ed Boyd’s Car Museum, incorporating a short run around the district organised by Evan and Lindsey Forsythe. Frank James headed the list of winners.

The first club night of the year was a very interesting talk by local member Rob O’Keefe who purchased the late member Alan Osman’s 1926 Buick. Historical car movies of the early production of Buicks followed and will be continued at a later meeting.

Club nights continue to be well supported. New members are being welcomed all the time. Sunday runs are also receiving a lot of interest.

Wellsford – Warkworth

Anne Hamilton Warkworth celebrated its 150th A&P show on Auckland’s anniversary weekend Beaded Wheels 61

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Wellsford-Warkworth: Doug, Leon and Anee Hamilton on the Parliamentary Tour.

West Coast:

Wellsford-Warkworth: Wellsford-Warkworth at the West Coast: 150th A&P show

and the branch turned out in force. We ran a Retro stall, raising money for the Hospice.

It was run over two days and Sunday saw us hosting the Parliamentary Tour cars for lunch. Some 40 cars, including four from Warkworth area, looked magnificent parked in the middle of the show grounds. Doug and I, along with Leon and Brendda Salt as backup/part time crew, joined the tour at Wellsford in our 1904 Cadillac. It was our first long tour, and our first in the little Cadillac, which we bought from Bruce Nelson in Melbourne some two years ago.

We hoped to at least make it to Whangarei but she didn’t miss a beat all the way up the coast. I did the entire run with a huge grin on my face. Leon joined Laurie Cocker in his 1906 Cadillac while Brendda kept tabs on everyone. On the second stage to Paihia Leon went with Doug and they had problems with the car missing a bit.

Laurie, with his magic hands, kept the car going and they all arrived with big grins as well. This set the pattern through Kaitaia, Omapere and Dargaville. The little car even managed the huge long hill through the Waipoua forest and past majestic old Tane Mahuta. A thrilling week.

A good crowd attended the Posh Picnic with most getting into the spirit of the day.

62 Beaded Wheels

It took a bit of effort to stop the gazebo We have noticed various motoring blowing away but that added to the fun. groups passing through the area and considering the congestion on the main highways West Coast June Campbell with the Kaikoura route being out of action, We welcome new member David Cook it is great to see these vehicles still coming with a 1950 Morris Minor Low Lite and a through. We can only hope that they return 1954 BSA motorcycle. home with happy memories of the West We started the year with a New Year Coast and were able to enjoy our beautiful dinner and get together, members coming scenery on the off chance they struck fine from Springs Junction in the north to weather.

Hokitika in the south. Several vehicles travelled to the Inangahua A&P Show at Reefton for a display and grand parade.

We also displayed cars at the Shantytown In this column we acknowledge the recent Heritage Day where there is always a lot passing of club members. of interest, particularly with the younger Information is supplied to Beaded Wheels by generations.

VCCNZ Branch Secretaries.

It is rumoured that we have a Triumph Herald which is new to the branch being Emms, Barry Canterbury made ready to enter the trials circuit this Goodall, Robert E (Dick) Hawkes Bay Kiesanowski, Bernie Canterbury year.

Lovegrove, Barry South Canterbury Five vehicles are preparing to attend McSaveney, Bryan Canterbury the Model A Rally in Napier at Easter. A Matthews, Robert (Bob) Canterbury group of local members are also joining up Newland, Ross Hawkes Bay Palmer, Brian Marlborough with the Nelson Classic Car Club to travel Silke, Ken Nelson south. Roger Devlin who is President of the Speight, Richard Marlborough Indian Owners Register New Zealand is Stevenson, Russell South Canterbury going to ride his 1941 Army Indian motor Stevenson, Gordon South Canterbury West-Hill, Raewynn Northland cycle up to the Coromandel for the club’s national rally.

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