CLASSIC, VINTAGE AND VETERAN MOTORING FOR 76 YEARS
No. 378 October/November 2022
9 418979 000012
BEHIND THE WHEEL 1936 DODGE CONVERTIBLE
New Zealand’s Foremost Historical Motoring Magazine $8.95
FOOT DOWN TACKLING THE TARGA
NATIONAL DAY DAFFODIL RALLY FOR CANCER DRIVING OUR HISTORY
William and Frederick Burnside, from a well-known local farming family, purchased a plot of land on the corner of Coronation and Shirley Roads as an Auckland depot in 1914. The contracting firm, Burnside Brothers, has since occupied this corner site. Originally the Burnsides used horse-drawn vehicles and equipment for their activities as agricultural and roading contractors. They completed their first roading contract for Manukau County Council in March 1914. Burnside Brothers also operated a taxi service prior to 1929. Colin Burnside and his nephew Noel (a former Manukau City Councillor) sold their contracting firm
NATIONAL OFFICE
The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.) PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140 Phone 03 366 4461 Email admin@vcc.org.nz
VCCNZ LIFE MEMBERS Andrew Anderson Roger White Norm Dewhurst Rod Brayshaw John Coomber
VCCNZ MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
PRESIDENT Diane Quarrie 06 876 4009 president@vcc.org.nz SECRETARY/ TREASURER
CLUB CAPTAIN NORTHERN REGION Kaaren Smylie 021 664 341 nicc@vcc.org.nz CLUB CAPTAIN SOUTHERN REGION Alon Mayhew 027 202 9491 sicc@vcc.org.nz
Burnside Brothers in 2011. The new owner continued trading under the Burnside name. The present office building is located on the site of the former blacksmith’s shop. Photo supplied by Norm Sisson. Photographs Required: Submissions of suitable prints and information are welcome. Post or email original photographs or high resolution digital files of historical interest with any available information to: beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz or Beaded Wheels, PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140. Laserprints/photocopies are not suitable. Photos will be returned as soon as practicable. REGISTRAR Neil Beckenham 09 426 5831 registrar@vcc.org.nz SPEED STEWARD Tony Haycock 021 662 441 speedsteward@vcc.org.nz BEADED WHEELS CHAIRMAN Kevin Clarkson 021 0270 6525 kevin@vcc.org.nz Tony Bartlett 06 867 9850
mgmt1@vcc.org.nz
George Kear 027 221 4332
mgmt2@vcc.org.nz
COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING comms@vcc.org.nz ARCHIVIST Don Muller 03 385 6850
archivist@vcc.org.nz
Murray Trounson 03 339 8830 mgmt3@vcc.org.nz
Please note this information changes annually - these details are valid until the next AGM
VCCNZ BRANCHES A full list of branch addresses and contact details can also be found on the VCCNZ website at www.vcc.org.nz 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 3144 bayofplenty@vcc.org.nz CANTERBURY PO Box 11-082, Sockburn Christchurch 8443 canterbury@vcc.org.nz CENTRAL OTAGO C/-114 Shortcut Road, Luggate, RD2, Wanaka 9382 centralotago@vcc.org.nz CENTRAL HAWKE’S BAY C/- 448 Tukituki Road, RD1, Takapau 4286 centralhawkesbay@vcc.org.nz EASTERN BAY OF PLENTY PO Box 2168, Kopeopeo Whakatane 3159 easternbayofplenty@vcc.org.nz
2 Beaded Wheels
FAR NORTH C/– PO Box 312 Kaitaia 0441 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/- 923 Taringamotu Road, Taumarunui 3994 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 C/- 125 Forbury Road, Saint Clair, Dunedin 9012 otago@vcc.org.nz ROTORUA PO Box 2014, Rotorua 3040 rotorua@vcc.org.nz SOUTH CANTERBURY 19 Redruth St, Timaru 7910 southcanterbury@vcc.org.nz SOUTHLAND PO Box 1240, Invercargill 9840 southand@vcc.org.nz SOUTH OTAGO C/- 1931 Breakneck Rd, RD 4, Balclutha 9274 southotago@vcc.org.nz SOUTH WAIKATO PO Box 403 Tokoroa 3420 southwaikato@vcc.org.nz
TARANAKI C/- 7 Leatham Ave, Strandon, New Plymouth 4312 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 WAIRARAPA PO Box 7, Masterton 5840 wairarapa@vcc.org.nz WAITEMATA C/- 8 Jean Place, Stanmore Bay, Whangaparoa 0932 waitemata@vcc.org.nz WANGANUI PO Box 726, Whanganui 4541 wanganui@vcc.org.nz WELLINGTON PO Box 38418, Wellington Mail Centre, Lower Hutt 5045 wellington@vcc.org.nz WELLSFORD/WARKWORTH PO Box 547, Warkworth 0941 wellsfordwarkworth@vcc.org.nz WEST COAST C/- 143 Ward Street, Cobden Greymouth 7802, westcoast@vcc.org.nz
CONTENTS
Beaded Wheels Publisher
The Vintage Car Club of NZ (Inc.) The Historic Vehicle Authority of New Zealand ISSN 0113-7506 Vol LXXIII No. 378
Issue 378 October/November 2022
Editorial Committee
Kevin Clarkson (Chairman), Judith Bain, Rosalie Brown, John Coomber, Mark Dawber, John McDonald, Greg Price.
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 2546, Christchurch 8140, typed or neatly printed. 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).
FEATURES 10 13 14
Daffodil Rally for Cancer 2022
16
Tackling the Targa VCC President Diane Quarrie grabbed a buddy, her Spitfire and drove them all to the Targa Results board.
20 22 26
Harley-Davidson 1957 XL Sportster
30 33
Humber Super Snipe MkIV
36
Rally Snippets 36 Balcairn Trial – Banks Peninsula 38 R’Oil Can Rally – Waitemata
40
VCCNZ 2022 AGM including details of this year’s John L Goddard Trophy winners
Production
42
Experiences with a 305cc Honda Dream
Closing Date for December/January:
COLUMNS
Email beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz Advertising Enquiries
Classified and Display Advertising to: PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140. Email beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz Phone 64 3 332 3531 Rate schedule available on request.
Back Issues Available on request to PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140.
Correspondence & Editorial Contributions
Phone 64 3 332 3531, Fax 64 3 366 0273 PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140. Email beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz
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) $52* inc GST Australian subscription (6 issues) NZ$112* Other countries (6 issues) NZ$185* Digital subscription (6 issues) NZ$39 available from vcc.org.nz or issuu.com. *Payment by credit card incurs additional bank fee processing charge of 3% Design: RGB Design & Print Ltd, Christchurch Editorial Copy 26 October 2022 Advertisements 10 November 2022
Never Too Old To Learn Fernando Roger White reflects on 30 years enjoyment of his DeSoto.
A Young Lad and an Old Talbot Part two of Alistair Robinson’s Talbot journey
President’s Message
32
Book Reviews
The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.)
As We See It
41
Archivist News
5
VCC Branch Events
43
Marketplace
National Office Phone 03 366 4461 Email admin@vcc.org.nz
6
National Office
48
Swap Meets & Rallies
7
Mailbag
51
Trade Directory
Postal Address: PO Box 2546,
9
Timelines
52
Idle Torque
The Way We Were
66
Passing Lane
12
Targa VCC style
16
R’Oil Can
38
The Motolug Collapsible Motorcycle Trailer Stuart Francis describes his handy new bit of kit
4
Address: 12 Aberdeen St, Christchurch,
10
Behind The Wheel 1936 Dodge convertible
4
Christchurch 8140, New Zealand.
Daffodil Rally for Cancer
Market Place
43
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. Reproduction of articles must be at least 12 months after original Beaded Wheels publication date. Beaded Wheels reserves the right to digitally store all published material for archival purposes.
COVER Roy Grainger’s 1936 Dodge convertible is a head turner. Greg Price gets to see if this car lives up to its sleek styling in this issue’s Behind the Wheel, see page 22. Photo Greg Price.
22 Like us on facebook Beaded Wheels
The Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA) is the worldwide organisation dedicated to the preservation, protection and promotion of historic vehicles and related culture. The Vintage Car Club of NZ (Inc) is a founding member of FIVA. VCCNZ Registrar Rod Brayshaw is the New Zealand delegate to FIVA and also a member of the FIVA Technical Commission.
DRIVING OUR HISTORY
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The old saying “third time lucky” rang true and most of the 29 branches that participated in our National Day held very successful events up and down the country. Due to atrocious weather conditions three branches were forced to postpone their events. Because of that we are not able to advise a definitive amount for the total raised but I am pleased to say that it will be close to, if not more than, $70,000. This is a fantastic result and I thank our National Co-ordinator Kaaren Smylie and the participating branches for an outstanding achievement. More branches and members are realising that this event has the potential to raise our public awareness substantially, with the bonus of gaining new members. For example Waikato Branch, with the aid of a laptop, were able to sign up members immediately using the online membership application. They also later emailed all participants who had completed the non-member entry form with information on the Club. As a result of that, when some prospective members turned up at their club-night they were immediately able to sign up 11 new members, all because of exposure at the National Day. As previously mentioned in Beaded Wheels 377, there were no nominations received for the positions of Hon Secretary/ Treasurer and Registrar. I am
AS WE SEE IT In December last year we farewelled Bevars Binnie who decided to retire from the Beaded Wheels editorial committee after giving us seven years of his sage advice. This month we welcome new member John McDonald from Banks Peninsula Branch who is willing to give it a go to find out what the internal workings of Beaded Wheels is all about. John is a keen photographer and has supplied us with many photos over the years. We wish him all the best in his future activities with Beaded Wheels and I’m sure he will have a positive
4 Beaded Wheels
pleased to advise that Neil Beckenham has been co-opted to the role of Registrar. Neil is a member of the Vehicle Technical Committee and has gained a good working knowledge of our VIC system. We are still looking for someone to fill the position of Hon Sec/Treasurer. The Club’s Executive and AGM meetings were held recently in Auckland, hosted by Auckland Branch. At the meeting I updated members with what we have coming up for the next year or so. The Club/Branch Manual is well out-of-date, and the task has commenced to bring it into line with current Club procedures and policies. On-line VIC applications are also on our radar. Work is nearly completed on producing a new version of the Vehicle Technical Code which will be available on the Club website. The process on updating our Strategic plan has begun and more information will be going out to Branches before the end of the year. To assist in publicising the Club a new brochure has been printed and branches have supplies. The Management Committee has decided to produce blinds and Tear Drop Flags for branches. They have already received their pull-up blind and a tear drop flag, more useful for outdoor situations is in the process of being designed. Membership remains steady and since the on-line membership application went live in May
contribution to make. The Beaded Wheels forerunner, The Guff Sheet, started in 1953 and morphed into Beaded Wheels in in 1955. Since that start in 1953 we have enjoyed a relatively low “staff” turnover illustrated by the fact that John is committee member number 39. Like most publications some of the issues we need to deal with on a frequent basis are things such as pricing increases of paper, printing, and postage. These problems have been made worse by covid which has affected shipping quite markedly although that is showing signs of returning to normality. To offset some of the costs the bookstand
2022, we have received around 200 new applications via this method. We are fortunate that we continue to get new members, but it seems that we are not retaining them. This is an area that is directly in the hands of branches and members. An important piece of legislation that will affect both the Club and branches is the new Incorporated Societies Act. One fundamental point is that new constitution/rules will need to be adopted and re-registration of every incorporated society will be required by December 2025. The focus of the new Act is to strengthen the governance framework and provide increased protection for those who belong to and run incorporated societies and it imposes a number of new requirements and obligations. One of these is that officers of a society must meet defined standards of integrity (like those imposed on directors of companies) and they cannot be undischarged bankrupts, prohibited directors or convicted criminals. The new Act specifies that the make-up of a governing body of a society is a committee or board made up of officers who are elected or appointed. This is how branch committees currently operate so this will not necessarily mean any change to branch constitutions in that regard. However, I am just giving you a heads-up that it will affect
and subscription price has been raised to $8.95 from this issue. I would emphasise that this has no impact upon members as they receive their Beaded Wheels free as one of their member benefits. Perhaps casual purchasers and subscribers may wish to look at becoming a member of the Vintage Car Club to get a free copy - the difference between buying six copies each year is getting much closer to the cost of becoming a member! Over recent years we have been the beneficiary of many talented writers sending us their stories for publication and magazine quality has improved as a result.
the governance of the national body. The Club is governed by the national executive which is made up of the duly elected members of the Management Committee and delegates (who are elected at a branch AGM or appointed by their Branch). Delegates are not elected by members of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand. We will be taking legal advice on whether our current governance structure can continue under the new Act. As a first step, a discussion paper will be sent to branches towards the end of this year setting out on a broad basis what changes the Management Committee will be recommending. Once that has been extensively canvassed amongst branches and members and discussed at the March 2023 Executive meeting the process of drafting a new Club constitution will commence. This as an opportunity to update and future proof our constitutions to reflect modernday procedures and technology (such as on-line banking and zoom meetings) so that the rules that govern us (both at national and branch level) will guide the future operation of our Club.
Diane Quarrie VCCNZ National President
However, we are always on the lookout for more stories so to all you knowledgeable people out there – how about putting something together. Once it’s in print it can be a valuable source of information for other members as well as being entertaining reading. Additionally, you will be able to bask in the warm glow of happiness knowing that you have helped us produce a better magazine.
Kevin Clarkson Chairman Beaded Wheels
DRIVING OUR HISTORY
VINTAGE CAR CLUB BRANCH EVENTS
Photo Jacqui Goldingham
OCTOBER 7-9 8 8 9 11 12 12 14-16 14-16 15 15 15 15 15-16 15-16 16 16 16 16 17-20 19 19 21-24 22-23 22-24 23 26 27 28-30 28-31 30 30 30 30 30
Canterbury Gore Southland Waikato Gore Bay of Plenty E Bay of Plenty Marlborough North Shore Far North Manawatu Waikato Wellsford/Wkwth
Swap Meet P60 Run Vintage/PVRally Road Runners Moto 60 Auction Night Local Run Midweek Run Biennial Rally Top of the South Targa Car boot Sale Motorcycle Rally Motorcycle Run Kauri Museum 60th Anniversary Banks Peninsula Peninsula Hillclimb Canterbury Girder Fork Motorcycle Rally Central Otago Sunday Run Rotorua Club Run Taupo Club Run Wanganui Sunday Run Central Hawke’s BayEast Coast Adventure Auckland Mid Week Tourers Waikato Wednesday Wander South Canterbury Mt Cook Rally Auckland Annual Hunua 100 Rally Manawatu 60th Anniversary Celebrations North Shore Treasure Hunt & Lunch Rotorua Midweek Run Otago Midweek Run Banks Peninsula Wigram Revival Ruapuna Hawke’s Bay Safari Weekend Bay of Plenty End of Month Run Gisborne Club Run North Otago Teapot Rally with Waimate Rotorua Lakefront Car Show Taranaki Garden Festival Run
NOVEMBER 2 2 4-6 4-6
Wanganui Wellsford/Wkwth Auckland Gisborne
Night Trial Midweek Picnic Annual Motorcycle Rally Inter Branch Weekend
4-6 Otago 50th Taieri Tour 4-6 South Canterbury Safari Weekend 5 Canterbury Hororata Highland Games Run 5 Southland Commercial Rally 5 Wellington Annual Rally 5 Waikato Veteran Rally 6 Bay of Plenty Swap Meet & Family Day 6 E Bay of Plenty Tauranga Swap Meet 6 Gore Ladies Run 12 Ashburton Methven Motor Show 12 South Otago 50th Rally 12-13 Manawatu Overnight to Napier 12-13 Northland Far North Tour 12-13 South Canterbury All American Weekend 12-13 Southland Arrowtown Motorcycle Rally 13 Central Otago Sunday Run 13 Rotorua Club Run 13 Waikato Gypsy Rose Run 15 Northland Run to Kauri Museum 16 Waikato Wednesday Wander 18–20 Central Hawke’s BayVeteran Rally & Homestead Run 19 Horowhenua Tararua Trundle 19 North Otago Swap Meet 19-20 Central Otago Combined Rally 20 Banks Peninsula Hawkswood Sprint 20 Canterbury Homestead Run 20 Gisborne Tahaenui Fete 20 North Shore Vauxhall Collection Raid 20 Otago Commercial/Veteran Rally 20 South Canterbury Vintage/Veteran/ Commercial Run 20 Taupo Club Run 20 Waikato Swap Meet 20 Wanganui Sunday Run 24 Otago Midweek Run 26 Canterbury Motorcycle Annual Rally 26 Nthland/Far North Dunny Run 26 Wairarapa Gold Medal M/C Rally 27 Auckland Club Run/Ladies Run 27 Gore Josephville Hill Climb 27 South Waikato TTT Rally 27 Wairarapa Vintage Day at the Brewery – Mangatainoka
27 Waitemata 30 Auckland 30 Rotorua
Manunui Hillclimb Mid Week Tourers Midweek Run
DECEMBER 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 7 9–11 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 14 21 24 26
Canterbury North Otago South Canterbury Otago Otago Taranaki
Vintage Annual Rally Winsor Rally Christmas Party Moped Rall Christmas barbecue Combined Clubs barbecue Waikato Veterans Run (including all ages of vehicles) Wanganui Restoration of the Year South Canterbury Three Day Tour Canterbury Christmas Social Evening Central Hawke’s BayChristmas Party and Gymkhana Far North Christmas Dinner Gore Christmas Run Manawatu Crosshills Picnic Northland Christmas Lunch Waikato Motorcycle Run Waimate Christmas Run Central Otago Christmas Dinner Waikato Wednesday Wander Waikato Santa Claus Canterbury Boxing Day Run
JANUARY
1 Banks Peninsula
New Year’s Day Little River Picnic 1 Manawatu Len’s New Year Run 1 South Canterbury New Year’s Day Fairlie 1 Wanganui Gumboot Rally 8 Gore Picnic Run 8 Waikato Blue Smoke & Pedals 8 Wairarapa Coastal Run 11 Wanganui Club PIcnic 15 Otago Jackson Rally
NATIONAL EVENTS 3-6 February 2023 National Motorcycle Rally, Southland 24 -27 February 2023 National Veteran Car Rally, Auckland
This list does not contain all branch events – Check branch newsletters for up-to-date details of smaller events. This column is compiled from the VCCNZ National Calendar of Events, and 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.
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.
A valid Vehicle ID card (VIC) is required for any vehicle entered in a National VCC event. Visit www.vcc.org.nz for more information on how to obtain a VIC for your vehicle.
Beaded Wheels 5
NATIONAL OFFICE NEWS Contact National Office for all queries regarding VICs, historic race licences, logbooks, registration of vehicles, lighting endorsement, address changes, subscriptions, membership cards, speed events.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION TIME SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW DUE
In early September the annual accounts for membership for the year 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2023 were sent out. These were sent via email or for those members that do not have an email address in our system, the invoices were posted. If you haven’t received your invoice, let your Branch Secretary or National Office know by early October. There are still postal delays, so those invoices sent by post could take until early October to be received. Emailed invoices will come from our bulk email address nationaloffice@vccnz. nz, please check your junk email folder if you have not received your subscription invoice. Membership cards will be forwarded to financial members in November. Members who have not paid by 1 November 2022, will show as unfinancial. Reminder notices will be sent before Christmas, and again in January, along with branch secretaries being advised of their unfinancial members. Members whose renewal invoice is unpaid at the time of the March 2023 Executive Meeting will cease to be members as per the constitution, and will lose any previous continuous membership.
If you intend to resign it would be appreciated if you notify the National Office by 31 October 2022. You will be able to pay directly into the Club’s bank account, or via credit card, via a link in the email with the invoice. Cheques are no longer accepted. You must use your full membership number as the payment reference for internet banking (this is shown on your subscription invoice). CHANGE OF ADDRESS/ DETAILS
Please advise the National Office if you have changed address, phone number, email address or vehicle ownership. VCC VERO INSURANCE SCHEME
There being no nomination received for the position of Registrar at the last election, pursuant to the Club constitution the Management Committee has co-opted Neil Beckenham to that role. Neil is a member of North Shore Branch and has held various roles on the branch committee and is also the branch VIC signatory. He is currently on the Vintage Car Club’s Vehicle Technical Committee. He has been selfemployed for most of his working life and is a qualified watchmaker/ instrument fitter and certified welder. He has also worked as a professional car restorer. He has owned or currently owns a variety of makes of vehicles and does not limit himself to one particular marque.
BRANCH TRANSFER
To transfer between branches, complete a transfer form. This can be obtained through your branch secretary or from our website. Please note that the transfer form must be signed off by both branches involved in the transfer.
COMMUNICATIONS WITH NATIONAL OFFICE
Please include your membership number in all communications with National Office including payments to the National Office bank account. This can be found on your membership card in the top right-hand corner.
Please note: Financial membership of the Vintage Car Club of NZ Incorporated is a requirement to be insured under the VCC/Vero Insurance Scheme. BOUGHT A VEHICLE THAT HAS A VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF NZ VEHICLE ID CARD?
Upon a change of ownership, the Vehicle ID Card is no longer valid. It is easy to transfer this into your name. Complete the VCC Change of Ownership form (found on the Club Website, through your branch or direct from National Office).
NATIONAL OFFICE HOURS
Mon-Fri 9.30am to 1.30pm. Email us on: admin@vcc.org.nz
Linda Duffell Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Inc Office Administrator
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CLUB REGISTRAR APPOINTED
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 to foster and ever widen 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. In March 1955 The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand adopted the title Beaded Wheels for their club magazine which was the successor to the monthly Guff Sheet.
MAILBAG The editorial committee reserve the right to publish, 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.
NOT JUST ANY TALBOT
I was delighted to read Alistair Robinson’s confessions in Beaded Wheels 377 on his youthful lusting after a Talbot. Not just any Talbot but the 1930 AM90 fabric tourer which I also stumbled over many years ago, and have ever since regretted not taking the plunge and buying. I saw the 90 at that auction, nearer Whakatane than Rotorua. It was in a paddock surrounded by 20, 30 or more cars, almost all from the ‘30s – ones which the late lamented Michael Sedgewick called “grey porridge”. This must have been around the 1974 period when VCC acceptable cars finished very firmly at 31 December 1931, so there! How times have changed. AM90 stood head and shoulders above the rest of the offerings. It did not sell but I heard later it had gone to a new home for $3000, presumably to Len Hodgekinson. I had gone to the auction from Hamilton, where I lived at the time, with my good friends Harold Storey and Ken Antrim. Harold was driving and Ken navigating. So I was all on my pat malone in the back of Harold’s Wolseley 6/110. Somewhere east of Rotorua we came across a young guy hitchhiking, so Harold, being Harold, stopped and said “jump in”. Which was fine and hospitable. However the only spare seat was in the back with me, which in theory was ok except this young fella was also carrying a full size surf board! So for the rest of our trip the board straddled the width of the back seat and out both rear windows! Fortunately it was mid summer but I was pleased to reach our venue and be able to warm up. Reminiscing about Talbots - what happened to the c1927 tourer
that Bill Shannon restored in New Plymouth in the ‘60s? It went up to Auckland to Jim Lewis(?) and then sold to another Auckland member who moved to the Gisborne area. Another Talbot, a saloon c1930, was in Te Awamutu 1971 when I moved to Hamilton. Anyone know where that car is now?
TIMELINES JUNE / JULY Correction. Don, thanks for correcting my mistake about the Triumph Dolomite’s cylinder head configurations.
The Sprint did indeed have just one busy camshaft keeping 16 valves in order. It’s one of those details I should have checked before sending the copy off. Just goes to show old memories aren’t always as dependable as we’d like them to be, You obviously had an interesting working life and it would be good to hear more about it.
I look forward to Alistair’s next episode.
Graeme Rice. Beaded Wheels columnist
Ian Howell Member Whanganui
ROLLS-ROYCE SEARCH
EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING
I placed a wanted ad a few months ago, simple process, just sent an email. No charge. I was after old Coleman lanterns as I ventured into a new collecting hobby. Then promptly forgot about it. The first reply came before I had even received my copy, then followed another three to four calls within a week and a couple more over the next month or so. Deals were done and I used a few magic fairies around the country to collect and eventually they made it back to my shed. They will know who they are, but the members from Whangarei to Dunedin were all great to deal with, willing to do a deal. Maybe I gave them some space back in their sheds! I am pleased to report that with the exception of one they are all now runners. The parts lantern has been valuable in its own way. The purpose of this letter is to commend to you all the virtues and effectiveness of the classifieds in Beaded Wheels, free, national coverage and you get to deal with some fine folk around the country. By the way, there might still be more room for another lantern or two. Thanks Beaded Wheels. Stephen Caunter Member Nelson
I was intrigued by Archivist Don Muller’s story about the 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I that served as a taxi in Arthur’s Pass in 1951 (Beaded Wheels 377). Don finished his article believing that there was perhaps another Rolls-Royce in Otira at the time, but lacked definite proof. There was indeed another example. In the late 1960s as a teenage tramper who walked by road from Otira to Arthur’s Pass (something possible in those days), I recall seeing a large white Rolls-Royce in one of the railways garages, an incongruous sight I have never forgotten. I believe the car is the 1922 RollsRoyce Silver Ghost, purchased in Britain by Christchurch businessman and philanthropist Robert McDougall. In 1947 following his death its next bandleader owner used it as a party bus. In 1954 John Souter
of Arthur’s Pass was the next owner, intending to use it as a taxi in addition to the Phantom I he already had and the subject of the Beaded Wheels 377 article. Unfortunately a Public Service vehicle required four wheel brakes, and following an unsuccessful attempt to comply, the Ghost passed to Roly Parker of Arthur’s Pass for use as a private car. His ownership for 30 years was punctuated by the Otira river flooding, sweeping both car and garage down river, parts being found two miles downstream. It was while being restored after the floods that I saw it, later changing hands to Parker’s son-in-law, then again to a Stewart Wilkie who began a restoration with a four door touring body. I’ll cease things here, suffice to say the car has since completed a trans-continental tour of North America and in 1997 completed a re-enactment of the 1907 Peking to Paris event. A much happier conclusion that so nearly ended in a flooded river. John McDonald Member Banks Peninsula
MEMORY LANE
Congratulations to Don Muller for penning such a nostalgic article about the Arthur’s Pass taxi in the August 2022 Beaded Wheels. Having lived and started work in Christchurch mid-1950s I recall the Rolls-Royces at Arthur’s Pass and the characters who kept the town and its skifields running. Await subsequent story about the “other Rolls” which was a 20/25hp model, if I recall correctly. Colin Miller EACC Member Wellington
PEDAL CAR DELIVERY
▲ Mr Roly Parker of Otira with his 1922 Silver Ghost following restoration. Photo: Attributed to the Nelson Photo News, 8 April 1972.
Reading Greg Price’s story on the J40 pedal car reminded me of delivering these to McNaughton’s garage in Riverton about 1956. I had an after school job on the Invercargill to Riverton freight service, Western Transport. I can recall at least two of
Beaded Wheels 7
MAILBAG
tricks of the trade your workshop hints wanted
Making changes to your vehicle? A word of advice. When you insure a vehicle, the insurer usually asks about the vehicle and any modifications that have been done in the past. They are interested because the modifications may be a factor in the premium they charge, or even whether they will insure you at all. Many of us modify our vehicles to a greater or lesser degree during our ownership. Some of those modifications may well be of interest to your insurance company so to avoid a potential problem at claim time it could pay to give them a call and tell them what you have done. After all, it is better to have that sorted now rather than find at claim time that those modifications may have an impact on your claim. Supplied to Beaded Wheels by Kevin Clarkson
Beaded Wheels is always looking for hints of a technical nature. If you have a top tip that deserves a wider audience email us today and we can help spread the word. 8 Beaded Wheels
these being delivered, if they were sold in Riverton, I don’t recall seeing them being used. McNaughton’s were the Standard/Triumph agent. I don’t know where the cars were picked up from in Invercargill but they created interest when we unloaded them. Murray Beer Alexandra
THE CLUB BRAND (TAKE TWO)
As a new member of the VCC I was a little taken aback with the proposal to change the club logo, a topic of one of my first club nights. I listened with interest trying to understand why this was so passionately presented to members by the Exec Committee. Most of the arguments made little sense to me but, as a new member, I listened patiently and tried to get my head around the proclaimed reasons for a change and the benefits it would bring. Certainly I hadn’t joined the VCC in spite of a logo. I have to admit it all made little sense to me. A set of essential requirements for our logo were presented to us but examining the proposed new logo clearly identified that it did not meet these same requirements. In fact the current winged logo was a better fit to the requirements than the new one proposed. Further examining the logos of a wide range of national and international historic vehicle clubs revealed that they also didn’t meet the requirements we were setting ourselves! So what was going wrong? It seemed to me that our club had perhaps been infiltrated by a gang of recent graduates from marketing school who had possibly mistaken us for some sort of corporate giant needing to better manage its branding to grab additional market share of all/any other vehicle clubs? Today New Zealand and tomorrow the world? Some pushing for this change seem to be suggesting that if we don’t do this the club will continue to wither and die.
President Dianne declared in last months Beaded Wheels that the net loss of 89 members in 2020/21 was “a sobering figure”. She did not explain further why we should give up our Gin and Tonics for a life of abstinence and I for one thought that a 1% net loss on a membership of some 8500 is pretty damn good going in these difficult and competing times. Not sure if Dianne plays squash, maybe Croquet, Bowls even, perhaps is in a Radio Ham Club, is a volunteer fire fighter, belongs to Lions, Rotary or attends a Church! There probably are not many clubs or organisations in New Zealand that are struggling to maintain their memberships in these very different times with many small ones falling by the wayside. Most of these I am sure would be very envious of the VCC’s large and relatively stable membership backed by a very capable organisational structure and a healthy financial position. All while having (apparently) a logo that doesn’t explain who we are and what we represent/offer. Not a bad effort over 75+ years! In Soap Box in the Aug/Sept 2022 issue we were advised to address our name and logo and to “get on with it and use the inertia that has already built up”. As the definition of inertia is “a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged” this was a curious challenge given the overall theme of the opinion piece. Somehow though it did seem to be good advice until such time as a much more compelling and robust case for change is identified and agreed by members. Alan Thompson Member – Wellington
VINTAGE CARS AND PETROLS FUTURE USE.
New Zealand has a long history of difficult transition when it comes to motor vehicle fuel. Octane ratings, removal of lead and aromatic additives have all been undertaken in a way that has caused problems for the motoring industry and users alike. The Government is now talking about decarbonising the industry by 2050 which has led to suggestions that bio fuel will be the only alternative available. I am a retired motor mechanic who spent a lifetime ensuring the most efficient fuel use by maintaining correct tuning and fault repairs of all my customer’s vehicles, and also working through the lead-removal obstacles. I am concerned that as a nation, we will go through another rough period getting this new directive to work, and at the cost of all our major investment in the veteran, vintage, classic and modified vehicles and motor caravans currently in use in New Zealand. I am not against lead removal, and that of hydrocarbon content of petrol, however I do have grave concerns about the way we, as a nation will do it. There are serious implications regarding the latter for our older cherished vehicles, many of which make up our individual assets. I ask the readers of Beaded Wheels to start a dialogue around this and urge the car clubs of New Zealand to address the need to support the ongoing ability to maintain the use of our cars. I know there will be alternatives and the majority of our old car owners will want to do the right thing, but I am concerned that the impact of the total value of our vintage fleet has not even been considered by the bureaucrats who are advising the government at present. Like many of us I will not be on this earth by 2050, but I am sure our vintage cars will be and they, and our planet, need protection. Roger Lusby
In December 1953, relatively soon after her coronation, HRH Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip visited New Zealand. It was the first time that a reigning monarch had visited this land – and the crowd went wild! Incredibly, part of the Royal itinerary included factory visits. This was unusual for Royals, but New Zealand was keen to show off our rural productivity and the secondary industry capabilities which relied on those home-grown products. Watties Cannery in Hawke’s Bay, the Waitara Dairy Company, Dunedin’s Roslyn Woollen Mills and the clothing enterprise that was Lane, Walker, Rudkin (Christchurch) were all visited. And, the Ford Motor Company in Seaview, Wellington. “Why!”, you may well ask! And, “Why would they visit an American-based motor factory rather than the truly-British Austin plant, for instance, which the Royals will have passed on their way to Fords?” It’s a fair question. New Zealand’s contribution to the war effort had been enormous. Ford New Zealand was very involved – indeed, the Managing Director, George Jackson, had been a member of the Government Supply Council and he was also Director of War Production. While all of the
Ford facilities around the world had shifted to war production, the New Zealand Ford factory was the only one anywhere to manufacture munitions. Much of the labour force to do so were women, girls and incapacitated men. Millions of grenades, mortar bombs, fuses and bomb strikers were made there – as well as military vehicles – it was an impressive feat. So, the singling out of the Ford plant was most appropriate. Naturally, the Royal visit was also an opportunity to showcase the English vehicles being built by Ford – the result of New Zealand’s preferred customs tariff for British goods. So, when on Monday, 11 January 1954 the Royal couple toured the Ford assembly plant in Seaview, there were no Americansourced vehicles to be seen! Instead, the new Mk I Consuls were everywhere and – as the Consul name suggest – they were earning badly-needed export revenue to help Britain pay for the war. New Zealanders were doing our bit for Mother England! An hour was set aside for the visit but the Royals, being genuinely keen to have a good look and to speak with some of the workers, often deviated from the planned route and their visit went on considerably longer.
John Stokes, Wgtn
photo: simoncars.co.uk
TIMELINES
A ROYAL VISIT TO A MOTOR FACTORY
Peugeot 203. Photo Georg Sander, Flicker.
1902
120 YEARS AGO
1922
100 YEARS AGO
1947
75 YEARS AGO
1972
50 YEARS AGO
1992
30 YEARS AGO
VETERAN VEHICLES
Cars were increasingly in regular use in many towns in the Dominion. Many Port Chalmers people saw their first car as one was unloaded off the S S Moeraki. Wellington residents saw cars daily and more were on their way. Mr Percy Leigh, a New York Motor Car expert, visited Wellington to organize shipments for the New Zealand Motor Car and General Agency Company. One shipment was due on 30 November, with half of the cars pre sold.
VINTAGE VEHICLES
Transition time for the venerable Vauxhall E-Type 30/98. Taking its place was the OE with a smaller 4225cc, 110 — 125bhp four‑cylinder engine with overhead instead of side valves and a top speed of 85mph with a third gear maximum of 60mph. Vauxhall guaranteed 100mph with special bodied versions. Lacking the E-Type’s thunderous appeal, the OE had detractors, but sold 312 cars compared to 270 E-Types before the GM takeover.
PW VEHICLES
Peugeot showed the 1290cc 203, their first monocoque bodied car, at the Paris Salon. Enthusiastic 203 buyers preferred not to buy the older 202 model, waiting almost a year until the new car, complete with a column gearchange and synchromesh on all four speeds, became available. Quite a number of 203s reached our shores courtesy of Australian assembly from September 1949.
P60 VEHICLES
Where NSU had met their demise Mazda’s rotary engined brigade looked like succeeding. Car and Driver magazine listed the advantages of the rotary. “It has no valves, pistons, connecting rods or chains. It has turbine smooth performance.” The RX2, they claimed, will just about suck the doors off any small sedan, passing a BMW 2002, a Triumph, an MG and a Porsche 914. All done in incredible silence with a zero to 60mph time of 10.2 seconds.
P80 VEHICLES
Mitsubishi celebrated their 75th anniversary with the slogan “Providing performance with an environmental edge.” Hence the new Mirage and Lancer ranges featured low drag bodies with a claimed drag co-efficient of 0.31 and a new, more economical 1.6 litre engine as an option to the older 1.3 version. In addition to the multi-point fuel injection the new engine featured a tumble type combustion chamber flow pattern, more efficient than the usual swirl types.
Compilation of developments in the motoring world this month in history. Graeme Rice QSM
Beaded Wheels 9
DAFFODIL RALLY FOR CANCER 2022 DRIVING OUR HISTORY
WORDS KAAREN SMYLIE
▲
▲ EBOP: Sometimes having a yellow van is really fitting!
On Sunday 21 August with the beginning of Spring imminent, the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand welcomed in the change of seasons with their annual National Day, the Daffodil Rally for Cancer. VCC Branches from the far north to the deep south participated, as well as members of the communities who joined the events for the day. Participants donated charitably at their specific branch event and enjoyed a great day out driving, car spotting and socialising. This was our third Daffodil Rally campaign, and each time the money that has been raised has grown exponentially. One of the stand-out advantages of this event is that monies raised by each branch stay within the region and directly support their local branch of the Cancer Society. There are still some branch results to be received, however most have now come in and, combined with the Cancer Society online branch donations, our organisation has raised well over $60,000! A wonderful result from all our hard-working members. Once again our Daffodil Rally for Cancer provided a fantastic opportunity for us as a club to showcase what we are passionate about. There was much interest in the Club from the public who turned up at various events and many branches took advantage of our new streamlined online memberhsip system to sign up new members on the spot. As National Co-ordinator for the VCC Daffodil Rally, I have to say I am truly honoured to be part of such a fantastic group of people. Not only did you give generously, but you encouraged members of the public to donate as well. Members, friends, and your families, thank you all. Canterbury: New members Henry and Michelle Little manned the desk for raffle sales and membership enquiries. Canterbury Branch have signed up 17 new members since the event.
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C
M
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CM
MY
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▲ Getting into the swing of things in Whanganui.
Breaded Wheels half page 2022 - 3 ed.pdf 1 20/09/2022 3:30:36 PM
▲ Wanganui Branch event.
▲ Otago: Graeme Duthie and his Model T taken during Daffodil Delivery photo courtesy of Gerard O’Brien, Otago Daily Times.
SUPPLYING NEW ZEALAND
with a comple te range of Shipping out of COKER USA monthly
HALF PAGE FOR COKER
18 Parkwood Place, East Tamaki, Auckland
THE WAY WE WERE
CLUB IN RECESS
The next instalment remembering the origins and very early events of the Vintage Car Club as recalled by Andrew Anderson
ANDREW ANDERSON VCCNZ FOUNDING & LIFE MEMBER
Having achieved the necessary “riches” from the Bowater tunnel, I had to find the time to spend with Firth – Vickers stainless steel mill for which company we were New Zealand agents. So, after a week’s recuperation at my Aunt Gladys at Leigh, I duly set out for Sheffield in the 12/50 Alvis passing through London en route. Just beyond the North Circular, there was a very nasty noise from the engine department and no further movement! Fortunately, a very Vintage looking garage stood right there beside my disaster, and they promptly assured me of their best care and attention to the 12/50. I duly extracted my kitbag and got the necessary railway passages to Sheffield okay, leaving the garage with Firth’s head office address for contact. True to their word, within a fortnight I got contact from them advising that the long sojourn in the Bowater car park had ensured a pretty substantial degree of moisture
▲ A lvis maintenance.
settlement in the engine resulting in a pool of water under the oil. Bearings, both main and big end, had thrived on this “water cooling” but the big fibre timing wheel had absorbed sufficient water to simply disintegrate. A new fibre gear and all was well! A quick weekend trip and we were back in Sheffield, 12/50 mounted as should be. Back home in New Zealand at this point, the Club was officially in “Recess” but no less than 15 veteran and vintage cars ran under its banner for the celebration of Ashburton’s 75th anniversary!
Beaded Wheels The Beaded Wheels team is always on the lookout for a good article for future issues. To encourage you to put pen to paper two lucky authors or photographers per issue will win a limited edition Beaded Wheels cap. 12 Beaded Wheels
A session at Firth’s stainless foundry was of particular interest as they were experimenting with various alloys to best suit the rapidly evolving market for jet engine blades. The test rigs for this and the wind tunnel testing for optimized blade gas flows were fascinating. They also cast very thin sleeves for Bristol radial aero engines which were all sleeve valve and gave me some good pointers to solving Minerva sleeve valve problems back home!
writers wanted
Alas we are not in the position to provide financial recompense for services rendered but we are sure you will be compensated by the satisfaction of seeing your words and photos in print. Email your articles and ideas to: beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz High resolution digital photos are
preferred. Or contact our editorial committee chairman, Kevin Clarkson, if you wish to discuss an idea for an article. Phone 021 0270 6525, kevin@vcc.org.nz Our winners of the Beaded Wheels caps for this issue are: John Dodson, Murray Cormack
NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN Words and photo Steve Cornwall
When we were getting ready for the 2022 Winter Woollies in Wellsford I thought I had better check our Citroën’s WoF and horrors of horrors, it had lapsed. I phoned the garage in Kerikeri to book the inspection but was told that due to Covid staff shortages I would have to wait a few weeks for the check, five days before the rally. I made my own visual checks and everything seemed OK under the car and all of the electrics worked. Alas life and old cars don’t always go as we would wish and the car failed the test. While the car was on the hoist the mechanic saw that one front brake pipe had severe rubbing wear on its top side and there was a small blow from the exhaust. It was a careful drive home before lifting the car onto four axle stands for the repairs. A quick phone call to Autofrance had the new brake pipe on its way north and then it was off with the rear section of the exhaust system. The pipe had broken half way through and was being held together by the large flexible hanger. Fortunately it didn’t break in two when I undid the clamps and hangers and I was able to wire the muffler and pipe before it broke completely. Fell Engineering in Haruru is the only stainless steel welder in the Bay of Islands and are very good at fitting in small jobs for local customers. It was ready in 24 hours. Now to the front left hand brake hose. In my haste I loosened off the two brackets nuts but not the male tube nut so unwinding the bracket nut merely twisted the brake pipe until it broke; silly me so I said to Jen that we needed a quick trip to Whangarei to get the correct joiners. Stop 1 Lamberts, “sorry we haven’t got the 3 piece joiner set; try Owens.” Stop 2 “Owens sorry, try B.N.T” Stop 3 “B.N.T; we have two tube nuts but no joiner.” Stop 4 “Lamberts, we have the joiner”! One hour after arriving in Whangarei, Jen is chauffeuring me back home to Paihia with all the parts. After a good night’s sleep it was down to the garage for the repair. The Citroën Light 15 has a very narrow engine compartment; 6 inches narrower than the Big 15 so I couldn’t remove the metal brake pipe without removing the engine and gearbox. Fortunately there was sufficient slack in the length of the metal pipe for me to manoeuvre the pipe under the mudguard. When I overhauled the brakes about three years ago I purchased the correct flaring, bending and cutting tools.
With the car at the maximum safe height of the axle stands I was able to “square cut” the end of the pipe and clamp the protective coil spring as far back as possible. With great care I was able to fit the flaring tool under the mudguard to make the double flare. I also had to make up a short section of joining pipe which I bent to 90 degrees with a tube bender. I gave Jen one very important instruction before I started the flares. “Make sure that I put the flare nuts on first and the correct way around”; thank you Jen for checking on me! The correct Citroën brake copper washers are slightly larger than normal and are impossible to buy now so I have a collection of copper washers that I have sanded level with 400 grit wet and dry paper. I then selected the three best washers. Ron Anderson is a great source of knowledge for me and he suggested that I anneal the spare copper washers with a butane blow torch which would make them good again. The flare was completed, the brake hose was fitted, everything was lined up and the tightening process was started. I was able to bleed the brakes with my “one-man kit” and everything seemed fine until I asked Jen to help with the final bleed. When she put her foot firmly on the brakes the trunnion began to leak quite badly. With care and determination I kept tightening the trunnion until the leak stopped. A quick road test down then back up Te Haumi Hill revealed a successful brake repair and a quiet exhaust. From a failure WoF on Monday morning the car passed its WoF three days later and we were off to the Winter Woollies again. I had been thinking about the annealing process and how to do it. At the excellent Winter Woollies Rally I was speaking to Doug Grant about annealing the washers and he said, “get a brick and lay the washers on the brick while heating the copper with a butane torch”. Eureka, after tinkering with cars for 50 years I have now learnt how to anneal washers and have successfully undertaken the task on my spare washers without burning my fingers. Beaded Wheels 13
FERNANDO
60,000 MILES BEHIND THE WHEEL Words and photos Roger white
Thirty years, seven international rallies, lots of adventures and many laughs along the way – Roger White’s DeSoto has done it all.
The DeSoto marque (named for the 16th century Spanish explorer of the Mississippi - Hernando de Soto) was created by Chrysler Corporation in 1928 to bridge the gap between their prestigious Chrysler brand and their economy line Plymouth. The idea was to provide high specification at very competitive pricing. So successful was the concept that American production records for new models were shattered with over 34,000 units shipped to dealers in the first six months. The secret was high performance six cylinder fully pressurised engine, four-wheel hydraulic brakes and the Chrysler reputation for engineering excellence, all for just $845. ‘Fernando’ was built in August 1928 in the Chrysler USA plant, (later RHD versions were built in Canada to avoid import duties in Commonwealth countries) and shipped fully built up for New Zealand. The first owner was a Mr N S Moore of Lee Street Blenheim who registered the car on 1 February 1929 and he seems to have kept it until 1955. The car remained in the Marlborough region until purchased by some university students who brought it to Wellington in a very run-down state. It was parked on the side of the road and naturally deteriorated rapidly. Luckily it was spotted by my friend Tim Edney who owned a Chrysler 75 roadster (Jaffa) at the time. Tim and his friend David Huddleston rescued the wreck and put it into safe storage. In 1977 Tim decided on a career move and relocated to Australia taking the Chrysler with him but not the DeSoto. I purchased the project for $450 and put it into storage. It was 10 years before I got serious about the DeSoto restoration. There was only one way to start — the dreaded strip down and clean up. Of course, we found that everything was worn, the woodwork rotten and completely missing at the rear of the rumble seat. The panels were in bad shape with rust holes all around the lower sections.
14 Beaded Wheels
Fernando at Irishman Creek 2015.
The woodwork was replaced using Southland Beech, a really nice wood to work with, even for one with limited skills and rudimentary tools. New lower body patches were manufactured, and gas welded in. The valances and mudguards repaired, and metal finished. The hickory wheels were stripped using BASOL 88 to get rid of layers of old paint and varnish. They were then soaked for two weeks in a mixture of turpentine and raw linseed oil. An old washing machine bowl proved to be just the thing for this. To complete the process each wheel had two coats of marine spar varnish. The chassis was completely stripped and painted with Rust Kill and then an enamel top coat. All the axle and gearbox bearings were renewed, and the brakes refurbished. The engine required new piston rings and valves and general fettling; this was carried out by fellow member John Wilkens. We shaved 60 thou from the head to improve the compression ratio. We now had about 110 psi indicated at cranking speed. The water pump was reconditioned and a new honeycomb radiator core from National Radiators in Dunedin took care of the cooling. The local poly tech were just getting involved with the new Glasurit two pot paint system and were looking for cars to paint for training. So once the body panels were completed and mounted back on the woodwork, we took the body on a trailer to their paint shop. They duly did a great job for the cost of materials. Unfortunately, like many of those early two pot paint jobs, blistering did occur on some panels after 10 years, necessitating some repair. The chroming was completed by Hutt Valley Electroplaters and then I completely rewired the car adding in blinkers as is the norm these days. A new windscreen frame was made from aluminium extrusion and wind wings manufactured. The seat frames were discarded and new bases made from plywood and composite foam
▲ Rear body section ready to be painted internally with rust kill.
▲ As purchased 1977, the rest is in the trailer!
which has stood the test of time. My friend Dale Conlon made the hood and seat covers to enable me to complete the trim in grey leather. After five years of constant work and $18,000 of expenditure we were ready to go for the 1992 second Pan Pacific International rally at Palmerston North. The DeSoto was used as an official vehicle as Diane and I were active on the rally committee.
THE ADVENTURES BEGIN… Wtih over 30 years of constant touring and rallying throughout New Zealand Diane and I liked to think that we had been everywhere it is possible to take a vintage car and challenged the most notorious roads available, but there was always more to find. Some highlights; Cape Reinga, 90-mile beach, Waikaremona, Motu, Napier Taupo, Gentle Annie, the Bridge to Somewhere and beyond. The East Cape to Cape Egmont Challenge. Ngawi and Cape Palliser. The DeSoto has been South many times, Invercargill/Bluff, Dunedin Baldwin Street ascent. Dunstan Trail through the Styx and over the Nevis, through the Haast, over the Arthur’s and Lewis passes many times. Through the Molesworth and over the Rainbow Road, Takaka Hill road and French Pass, to name a few. Only once have we had to resort to a tow truck when a big end failed. All the other problems that occurred (broken axle, loose wheel, leaking water pumps, faulty condensers etc) were fixable on the road with the help and support of many VCC members, especially Angus Katon and Ian Ridd in the deep south.
▲ Chassis ready for test run.
▲ Body on, showing off poly tech paint job.
1928 DESOTO MODEL K SPORT ROADSTER • 6-cylinder side valve Ricardo combustion, full pressure 4 bearing crank 2900cc 55 hp • 3 speed crash transmission, 4-wheel hydraulic brakes, cruising speed 55 mph 17 mpg. • Restoration cost $18,000 (1992) Maintenance over 30 years about the same, (excluding the cost fuel and oil!) • Value today $40,000. SUMMARY: A thoroughly enjoyable, easy to drive and practical vintage car that can comfortably achieve 250 miles in a day’s motoring and still leave time for happy hour! Most hills are negotiated in top, with second only needed on tight steep corners. First is reserved for the ascent of Baldwin Street. DOWNSIDE: Weak headlights in spite of trying halogen and LEDs. Fuel consumption
15 Beaded Wheels
Newly finished and on test.
Beaded Wheels 15
TACKLING THE
TARGA Words Diane Quarrie Photos Diane Quarrie and Proshotz.com
Targa is an event run on public and closed roads. Its origin stems from the Targa Florio, the world’s first sports car race held in Sicily in 1906. This year VCC National President Diane Quarrie and fellow VCC member Gaynor Terrill tackled the challenge with gusto (and a fair bit of trepidation) … the big question is – how did the girls do? In 2018 Banks Peninsula member Rod Corbett put a proposal to the Management Committee of the Club that in conjunction with Peter Martin the Targa organiser, a VCC specific category could be added to the event. It would use the VCC’s time trial competition formula (the object is to collect the fewest number of penalty points) but on closed roads and would require entrants to be a member of the VCC which would bring in a lot of new members. The Management Committee readily agreed and since then the Targa VCC Time Trial has gone from strength to strength. This year for the first time a new two-day event joined the five-day group which gave more people the opportunity to participate. With encouragement from Rod Corbett, driving in the Targa had always been on my bucket list. The initial idea was that Viv Harris and Kaaren Smylie and I would all enter our Spitfires forming the all-girl Firebirds team, but sadly Kaaren’s car did not make the event. Other vehicles in the two-day event were a 1956 MG Magnette, 1968 MGC Sebring, 1954 Mk1 Zephyr convertible, 1990 Ford Telstar and a 1934 Bentley whose age, when combined with its driver and navigator totalled 242 years.
Diane and Gaynor, foot down and heading round the corner. Photo: Proshotz.com
16 Beaded Wheels
Diane Quarrie & Gaynor Terrill #43 Triumph Spitfire. Photo: Proshotz.com
Entered in the five-day event were a variety of MGs, Fords, Mazda MX-5s, Jaguars, Mercedes-Benz and a Jensen-Healey, Alfa Romeo and Austin-Healey Sprite. Friday night was set aside for scrutineering and dressing my 1966 Spitfire (the “Spit”) in her signage and numbering and collecting our registration packs. The rally booklet was very comprehensive with instructions in the form of tulips and included distances and additional written clarification. At the briefing that night we were advised we weren’t allowed to go over 130kph on the special stages. My navigator Gaynor Terrill and I just looked at each other. By this stage I was having serious doubts that we would be able to keep up the average speeds in the special stages which were in the range of 70 to 78 kph (on mainly bendy hilly back-country roads). Time traps would also hidden somewhere on each special stage and if you were too fast or too slow at that point, you would incur penalty points. My idea that I could make up time on the straights just flew out the window. In the back of my mind I worried that we would be so slow that the whole of the field would pass us on each stage. Would my rather rough Spit be up to the challenge, and more importantly would my driving be up to it? At the very dark and cold briefing early the next morning, Rod Corbett advised how it would work. For the special stages Rod and Anne would go first in their BMW Alpina with the rest of us “newbies” starting at one minute intervals. We were instructed
alcolm Edgar and John Reeves pushing the boundaries M in the 1954 Ford Zephyr MK1 convertible. Photo: Proshotz.com
Beaded Wheels 17
Mike D’Alton and Ian Stewart 1934 Bentley whose age, when combined with its driver and navigator totalled 242 years. Photo: Proshotz.com
that no-one was to pass Rod. Two minutes behind the last of us, Ray Saunders in his MGB GT was in front of the five-day entrants who were instructed that they weren’t allowed to pass Ray. Rod assured everyone that it would work …. and it did. This was the first time that either myself or Gaynor had used a Rally Safe machine which uses GPS to track the car, counts down the start of each special stage plus shows distance covered and time elapsed. However Gaynor soon got the hang of it. She is a clever cookie and she was able to roughly calculate our time in her head and let me know if we were too slow or too fast. We found out at the lunch stop in Taihape that the more serious entrants had downloaded time and distance calculators to aid in their timekeeping and were using their cellphones to continually calculate the speeds required to maintain their average speed. ▲ Diane and Gaynor testing the helmets.
18 Beaded Wheels
This was something new to us, having come from a VCC rally background where any form of electronic timekeeping was banned. Combining the RallySafe unit and the booklet, Gaynor could easily calculate the distance coming up to hazards or cautions which was so helpful. Leaving Whanganui, the first special stage was over Fields Track which was icy, narrow and windy. Next was Mataroa which gave glorious views to Mount Ruapehu via Waiouru to end up in Taihape for lunch. The next three special stages over the Gentle Annie had it all, from fast and flowing to light and twisty, winding up and down hills and over one lane bridges ending in Havelock North. That night it was great to catch up with all the VCC Time Trial entrants for a meal and conviviality and we were entertained by ‘Suck and Pluck’, entrants Jeff Sewell and Paul Newton respectively with their very own brand of bluegrass. The second day commenced with the Crownthorpe special stage which started off fast and flowing before tightening and twisting to the end (with a caution note to take care as this stage has caught the unsuspecting out before). The second stage started just out of Napier at Eskdale and was a narrow road winding its way along the valley floor and then climbing out before ending on the Napier-Taupo Road. It was then back to complete the Crownthorpe stage again, this time we were warned to take extra care as the second time through can bite the over-confident. After lunch the
▲ Diane and Gaynor receiving their medals at the finish line.
▲ Pleased as punch – Paul Clark and Knud Neilsen in 1989 Mazda MX-5 at end of event.
Jeff Sewell and Paul Newton in an MGB. Photo: Proshotz.com
Raukawa stage had lovely flowing roads along the ridge lines of Hawke’s Bay’s famous sheep country. The final stage started in Central Hawke’s Bay on a narrow tight-in-places undulating road with several tightening corners that could cause issue if not treated with due diligence. Again the event finished in Havelock North. As well as trying to maintain the average speeds in the special stages, we had to motor pretty quickly (but within the speed limits) to get to the start of the next stage. Definitely no stops for coffee and not much time for toilet breaks. I did learn that it paid to turn off your helmet microphone when you dashed in to use the toilet! The two days went really quickly and the whole event was like a well oiled machine in terms of the organisation. The highlight for me was being able to drive the three consecutive stages on the Gentle Annie Road from Taihape to Hawke’s Bay. I’m pretty sure it’s something that I will never have the opportunity to do again. Initially, being able to use the whole of the road in the special stages took a bit of getting used to however I found by the second day that I was getting confident with my driving and making better use of the gears and the entire road. In the first stage on Saturday morning, we were two minutes slow but by the end of the last stage of the second day we were two minutes fast. Gaynor and I were chuffed to find that we won the second Crownthorpe stage with zero points lost.
Having the whole of the road to use without fear of a vehicle coming the other way was an unbelievable experience. Once I had got used to that, it took a bit of effort to mentally remember to switch to stay on the left hand side of the road during the touring sections. It was a real privilege to be able to drive on the closed sections and I was aware that the people who lived along these roads gave up their right to move freely for as long as the road needed to be closed. Gaynor and I had a pact; we were just going to do it for the fun and not going to be too serious and if she thought I was driving too fast, she had to say and I would slow down. Aside from a couple of occasions when her voice through the intercom in our helmets went up a couple of notches, I think I did OK. Rod and Anne Corbett have worked tirelessly over the last five years to forge a partnership with Targa NZ and the Ultimate Rally Group Ltd to create the VCC Time Trial. This event is evolving constantly, growing in strength with new initiatives and increasing numbers involved. If this is something you think you would be interested it, I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending it. The “Spit” survived, my driving confidence and ability grew rapidly, Gaynor and I had fun and we’re still best buddies – I couldn’t have asked for more. Beaded Wheels 19
HARLEY-DAVIDSON 1957 XL SPORTSTER Words and photos Bob Bullock
Early in 2021 I imported a 1957 Harley-Davidson Sportster from the USA. Engine number 57XL 1118 indicated it was an early example from the first year of Sportster ohv production. The Sportster was the successor to the 1952 series K Sports Twin, a 45ci (750cc) 30hp flathead V-twin. American automotive production at that time was favouring the increased horsepower produced from overhead valve design. Harley-Davidson could also see the merits that would benefit their mid-sized models, especially in the face of stiff competition from the post WWII British bike exports flooding into the US. Also, somewhat tellingly, Harley’s only domestic competitor over the previous 50 years, the Indian Motocycle Company, ceased production in early 1953. Company management had failed to keep abreast of current and future market conditions, producing a line of underdeveloped, lightweight singles and twins plus the obselete, heavyweight 80ci (1301cc)V-twin flathead Chief model. Beginning in 1936, Harley-Davidson began producing their line of ohv big twins, featuring the highly successful, rather evocative sounding, 60ci (1000cc) knucklehead model. The 1957 XL ohv Sportster 55ci (883cc) produced 40hp, good for a 100mph top speed. Although respectable figures, the Motor Company were still losing ground in the horsepower race.
20 Beaded Wheels
Almost immediately, Harley began to up the stakes performance wise. Compression ratios increased from 7.5:1 to stabilise at 9:1 thereafter. Inlet valve diameter increased. In 1966, high performance P cams, Tillotson carburettor plus the obligatory Fairbanks Morse magneto completed the high performance package. Power output was now around 60hp with top speed of at least 116mph. December 1968 Cycle magazine drag strip tests of the XLCH, showed 0-60 mph in 5.9 seconds, with a standing start 1/4 mile time of 13.65 seconds, 97. 29mph. The magazine enthusiastically reported that performance testing the XLCH at the New York National Drag Strip was a special treat for the staff which generally empties the office on test day. Revving the engine to 6,000rpm and then dumping the clutch causes all manner of excitement. The rear wheel fairly moans in torment with a great deal of snaking around as the big machine gets underway. A somewhat toned down comment was that fastest elapsed times were produced by bringing the engine up to 6000 and feeding the clutch out just fast enough to keep the revs from climbing. Also, that as the engine heated, the best times were achieved, with a final quote of ‘the fastest top speed of any standard motorcycle tested to date’. With that promise of excitement, there was only one thing to do, go out and buy one. Perhaps easier said than done, where does one find such a gem today? Silly question, ask Mr Google of course. A quick search of Glenn Bator International’s listing in late December 2020 showed a very nicely restored 1968 XLCH for sale
SUMMARY OF THE BASIC SPORTSTER DEVELOPMENT, POST 1968
4,900 XLCHs produced
AMF buys HarleyDavidson
The hard starting magneto dropped in favour of more rider friendly, battery /coil ignition on the highperformance XLCH model.
1968
1969
1970
Cylinders bored out to a nominal 61ci (1000cc) .
Harley-Davidson debuted the new aluminium cylinder/ head Evolution models in 883cc/1100cc displacement.
1100cc replaced by the 1200cc model.
1972
1986
1988
Post 1988: Various updates follow with toothed rubber belt replacing the chain final drive. Five speed gearbox replaces the four speed unit. Improved clutches. Rubber mounted motor/ transmission unit. Fuel injection replaces various carburettors.
in Canada. A couple of emails, money transfer and it was all go. Fast forward to late May 2021 and a Sollys Freight tail loader truck pulls up out the front, the five month wait is over. The packing case is soon dismantled, tie downs removed, bike on the tail loader lowered to ground, a couple of quick photos to record the moment, sign the man’s delivery receipt, then push it up the driveway into the workshop and park the bike alongside the 57XL. Holy smoke — two lovely old bikes together, seems fitting somehow. After a leisurely coffee break to calm the excitement somewhat, it’s back out into the workshop for an initial appraisal, take stock of what we have. First impressions are simply — what a gorgeous motorcycle. Some bike magazines of the day called it a motor with two wheels, a not unkind, but rather apt description. The famous 2.25 US gallon peanut tank perched somewhat incongruously above the large, imposing, ohv V-twin engine, combined with the fat rear tire, abbreviated rear fender, tall front end and rakish, twin drag pipes out the right hand side, only serves to reinforce the image. To sum up, the look is simply timeless. The early Sportsters were known as iron heads, due to their cast iron cylinders and heads.
POSTSCRIPT.
Stockists of new AUTOMOTIVE PARTS CAR, TRUCK & TRACTOR 1912–1997 (85 year span)
ENGLISH AMERICAN CONTINENTAL AUSTRALIAN JAPANESE
Kingpin sets Suspension parts Spark plugs Engine bearings Master cylinders & kits Rear axles Clutch covers Brake & clutch cables Valves, springs, guides Timing gears & chains
Engine gaskets Steering joints Electrical fittings Shock absorbers Shackles (pins & bushes) Water pumps & kits Carburettors Pistons Speedo cables Lenses
After 63 years of continuous production and possibly setting a record in the process, the air-cooled Evo model will no longer pass the strict Euro 5 emission tests. Harley-Davidson has designed and is currently producing, the latest 121hp, 1250cc,liquid-cooled, 60° V-twin to carry the Sportster name forward into the foreseeable future. They already have an electric model in production, where to from here? Watch this space, I guess. I almost forgot, our long suffering readers will be asking, “but what about the 68 CH?” Sorry to say, not exactly a happy ending. After a month down time to attend to a few top end issues, long story short, the bike wouldn’t start. The only time in the last 50 plus years of motorcycle ownership has this happened. Maybe the peculiar, rubber diaphragm Tillotson carburettor or the recalcitrant magneto ignition, not sure. The XLCH did gain a bit of a reputation as a somewhat hard starter, if the settings weren’t correctly adjusted. At the moment she is parked up, bike cover on, going nowhere. The old hands declare there is a definite knack or starting ritual, probably so. It just escapes me at the moment, for sure.
Gearbox gears Crownwheel & pinions Wiper motors (vac) Wheel cylinders & kits Ring gears & pinions Clutch plates Fuel pumps & kits Steering box parts Ignition parts Engine mounts
MECHANICAL RESTORATIONS VINTAGE & CLASSIC SPARES (1980) RD 7 • Fordell • Wanganui • Phone/Fax 06 342 7713
CAST IRON WELDING
Powder Spray Process, Cylinder Heads, Manifolds, Cooling Fins, Castings, Mechanical Repairs & Rebuilds Thomas Rowe Motoring Engineer ltd 6 RD Palmerston North
PHONE
06 324-8707 Beaded Wheels 21
HIN BE
D THE WHE
EL
WHITEWALLS ANYONE?
ROY & SHIRLEY GRAINGER’S 1936 DODGE CONVERTIBLE COUPE Words and photos Greg Price
The combination of wide white-wall tyres, twin side mounted spare wheels, sparkling red paintwork and a convertible top were clearly irresistible to Roy and Shirley – and Me! I mean, who wouldn’t bid on this at an auction? The problem with writing a Behind the Wheel article is that in many instances the owner of the featured vehicle has other cool stuff in their collection, as was the case with this Dodge convertible! Roy and Shirley Grainger have previously featured in one of my earlier Behind the Wheel ramblings with their Diamond T truck (Beaded Wheels 371). During that exercise I had spotted this magnificent convertible lurking in his monster garage. I mean, you couldn’t really miss it, what with those attention-drawing wide white-sidewall tyres, the twin side mounted spare wheels and the flash red paint job. It was just begging to be featured, and being rather an enthusiast of white-wall tyres (Really? You didn’t previously pick that up?) I just couldn’t resist asking Roy and Shirley could I take it for a hoon sometime! Unfortunately the Covid climate prevented this happening for many months, but the recent Canterbury Daffodil Day Rally, the first for at least a couple 22 Beaded Wheels
of years, afforded me the opportunity to get ‘behind the wheel’, as Roy couldn’t resist the fine weather and the opportunity to enjoy the convertible with the top down — in mid-August. But before we head out on to the road, let’s take a refresher course in the history of the marque, and the oft-used expression, ‘If you can’t afford a Ford, dodge a Dodge’ has no place in this narrative, thank you very much! Dodge is an American brand of automobile manufactured by FCA US LLC (formerly known as Chrysler Group LLC), based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles currently include the lower-priced badge variants of Chrysler-badged vehicles as well as performance cars, though for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler’s mid-priced brand above Plymouth. Founded as the Dodge Brothers Company machine shop by brothers Horace Elgin Dodge and John Francis Dodge in the
“Burning petrol in this Dodge is like turning money into pleasure!”
early 1900s, Dodge was originally a supplier of parts and assemblies for Detroit-based automakers and began building complete automobiles under the Dodge Brothers brand in 1914, predating the founding of Chrysler Corporation. The factory was located in Hamtramck, Michigan, and was called the Dodge Main factory from 1910 until its closing in January 1980. The Dodge brothers both died in 1920, and the company was sold by their families to Dillon, Read & Co. in 1925 before being sold to Chrysler in 1928. Dodge vehicles mainly consisted of trucks and full-sized passenger cars through the 1970s, though it made memorable compact cars (such as the 1963–76 Dart) and midsize cars (such as the “B-Body” Coronet and Charger from 1962–79). The 1973 oil crisis and its subsequent impact on the American automobile industry led Chrysler to develop the K platform of compact to midsize cars for the 1981 model year. The K platform and its derivatives are credited with reviving Chrysler’s business in the 1980s; one such derivative became the Dodge Caravan. The Dodge brand has withstood the multiple ownership changes at Chrysler from 1998 to 2009, including its short-lived merger with Daimler-Benz AG from 1998 to 2007, its subsequent sale Beaded Wheels 23
to Cerberus Capital Management, its 2009 bailout by the United States government, and its subsequent Chapter 11 bankruptcy and acquisition by Fiat. In 2011, Dodge, Ram, and Dodge’s Viper were separated. Dodge said that the Dodge Viper would be an SRT product and Ram will be a manufacturer. In 2014, SRT was merged back into Dodge. Later that year, Chrysler Group was renamed FCA US LLC, corresponding with the merger of Fiat S.p.A. and Chrysler Group into the single corporate structure of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. For the 1936 year, even purists will have a spot of difficulty seeing the difference between a Dodge, Chrysler, or Pontiac coupe or roadster, and identification is only made possible by the badging . Right, so now that you know everything about the history of the Dodge, let’s look at the history of Roy and Shirley’s car. It’s worth noting that there were only 1525 of these manufactured back in 1936, so if nothing else, it is a pretty rare example. IT ALL BEGAN AT AN AUCTION
In October of 2018, there was an auction held at the McVicar property in Leithfield. I had previously viewed the Dodge there while on an American Car Club outing. But now the remainder of the late Gary McVicar’s car collection was up for grabs. Roy and Shirley went along with the intention of coming home with the Dodge. When Roy stopped bidding because he’d reached the limit he was prepared to pay, Shirley began prodding him to keep bidding, and as a result, they finished up winning the car. Aren’t wives like that fantastic? The background to the Dodge is a little hazy, but in essence, it would seem that the car (which is right hand drive, and its speedometer is in kilometres) was purchased in an unrestored state from an auction in South America, by a Blenheim individual who intended to restore it to its former grandeur. This chap also bought several other cars from the same auction. Later on, this first New Zealand owner, decided to quit the unrestored cars in his collection, and this is where the second New Zealand owner, Gary McVicar got his hands on it. Over time, Gary got the Dodge 24 Beaded Wheels
restored utilising at least two workshops here in Canterbury. It is rumoured that at least two other Dodges were utilised as donor cars – but not other coupes or roadsters, as far as Ray is aware. Unfortunately when Gary McVicar first became ill he sold off some of his fabulous collection of vehicles, with the most liked being retained at the Leithfield property. Gary eventually succumbed to his illness, but the remaining cars were not auctioned off until several years later. Apart from looking great in Roy’s workshop/garage, the Dodge does get used on the various branch runs, coffee mornings and the Kustoms breakfast meets. I asked about fuel economy, not that I was interested but thought that the fuel-conscious among the readership might be. Roy remarked that, and I quote, “Burning petrol in this Dodge is like turning money into pleasure!”. It would seem that 16–17 mpg would be the norm, but back in 1936, when petrol was only (US) ten cents per gallon, I don’t think that buyers would have been all that concerned about fuel economy, when looks were more important. I mean, you’ve got to admit, it still looks super cool! The Dodge is in good company. It is garaged along with a 1929 Graham Paige, a previously Beaded Wheels-featured 1939 Diamond T truck, a 1971 Ford Falcon XY ute, and a 1962 Ford Fairlane compact with a matching 1962 Lite-weight caravan. Hiding away in another garage are three Mustangs of varying vintages one of which is a 1966 example! THE TEST DRIVE
The Cancer Society provided a fine, reasonably warm day for the Daffodil Cancer Rally, the Canterbury Branch providing the rendezvous point at Cutler Park, and Roy and Shirley took advantage of the opportunity to give the Dodge an outing – along with at least 500 plus other classics. In among all the comings and goings we managed to get to get the Dodge out onto McLeans Island Road to blow the cobwebs off – top down, of course! Pulling away from the shoulder gravel was achieved without any wheelies – something that happens at nights out that way
apparently, and second and third gear was obtained effortlessly. Roy reminded me that there was an overdrive, which is accessed by simply removing one’s foot from the accelerator momentarily. Exiting overdrive is effected by either dropping down in speed, or using the manual knob attached to the steering column about halfway down. There was a little play in the steering (well, I thought there was) but not so much as to be any cause for concern to me. The anti-theft device came in to play during the drive (the gear knob came off!) but it was simply a matter of pushing it back on again. Acceleration was as I would expect from a large capacity side-valve engine, and the overdrive ensured that you weren’t revving the guts out of the motor at cruising speed. We didn’t test the suspension on any potholes, but given the state of many of Christchurch’s streets and roads, it would have been given a decent workout on the way to and from McLeans Island in any event. For my brief sojourn it was a smooth and comfortable ride. Interestingly it has hydraulic brakes. Not sure why I say ‘interestingly’ as many British and American cars had hydraulic brakes by the late 1930s, but my recollections are that many cars retained cable and rod brakes into the 1950s, and from memory they could be difficult to adjust. But the Dodge came to a halt when required, which is what effective brakes is all about, isn’t it? Getting in and out was a bit awkward for me as I was trying not to dirty the clean running boards, prior to taking the photos, but eventually I used them to good effect whilst clambering in, using the top of the windscreen as my levering point. Roy told me that there were still a few fiddly things to do to the Dodge, which I would imagine includes tightening the rear view mirror, and having a look at the passenger door handle which seemed to have an aversion to being opened from the inside, or that may only have been my reluctance to exert a bit of force. The last thing one wants to do during a test drive of someone else’s car is to hand the door handle back to the owner whilst exclaiming “By the way, this’ll need fixing!” So Roy’s homework assignment was to fix the gear lever knob and sort out the passenger door lock, which I’m
pleased to report he did that same evening! So I’ve awarded him an NCEA for effort. The centre-mounted instrument panel was easy to read and featured the usual range of oil pressure, heat (temperature), amp meter, and fuel gauge, nicely circled around the large speedometer, with the odometer just underneath the speedometer needle thingie. The convertible roof is new, of course, and as Roy likes the top down most of the time, it gets little use being raised or lowered. Like many such soft tops, extreme care has to be utilised to ensure that when it is being folded down, that the folds of the hood fabric are not scissored between the frames, lest the frames make smallish cuts to the otherwise immaculate material. Unfortunately on the day it would seem that we did manage to nick the material just a tad – enough to be annoying to a concours judge! Hopefully an easy fix job, or my chances of test driving any of their Mustangs, or the Fairlane, might be put on permanent hold! The interior is narrowish in that sitting three across the front bench seat might be a struggle, but probably not if we were all really good friends? “Of course it won’t go into gear! That’s my knee you’re shifting” would be the norm in that situation. My experiences with floor changes in such situations, were that it was more fun at night, where fumbling in the dark could be excused? But I digress. There is a small parcel shelf behind the seat, but if the motherin-law wanted to come for a cruise, there is a rumble seat, which is reasonably accessible thanks to a couple of strategically located foot pegs to assist with entry and alighting. At each side of the seat, there are two small compartments for your revolvers, or these days, tools, since handguns are apparently banned. I’ve seen similar on Ian and Lindsay Lamb’s 1930 Chrysler 77 Royal Coupe (Beaded Wheels 372). As an indication of just how small the world is, Roy was looking for a couple of tail light lenses, as the Dodge initially came with just the one taillight. Having found a second one, Roy contacted a fellow in the USA who supplied a pair of the red glass ones with ‘Dodge’ emblazoned on each. In a conversation with the USA supplier, he happened to mention a New Zealand metal polisher, Dennis Gooch, who as it turned out, used to etch the words Dodge, Chrysler et al on these taillight glasses as a business for the US market. Roy subsequently contacted Dennis who just happened to have a couple of Dodge lenses left and gave them to Roy, via Jack Porter at a Noggin. So while Roy was exploring the US market for these lenses, there was a pair here in New Zealand, and quite nearby – and free! Once again I am indebted to Roy and Shirley for making their car available for this write-up, and I will look forward to seeing it on many future runs and outings. In closing, did I mention how great it looks with the wide white-walls?
SPECIFICATIONS Engine:
3569cc or 217.8ci, or 3.6 litre. 87hp @3600 rpm 3¼ inch bore, 4 3 ⁄ 8 inch stroke, four main bearings compression ratio 6.5:1 Gearbox: 3-speed with overdrive – floor shift Wheels: Four steel artillery wheels (one on each corner!) Tyres: 16 x 6.00 Wheelbase: 116 inches Price (when new): US$640-995. Depending on the model Weight: 2887 lbs 1936 averages: Household income US$1,713, Home US$3925 Petrol / Gasoline US$0.10 Overall rating: PDGR (Pretty damn good, really!)
Beaded Wheels 25
A YOUNG LAD AND AN OLD TALBOT
The Talbot with Peter laTroube’s 23-60 Vauxhall behind in front of a classic Queenslander Homestead.
Part Two of Alistair Robinson’s Talbot tale begins with a disclaimer; The publisher and the author bear no responsibility if young Jimmy borrows dad’s Model A after reading this story, to see what she’s good for. I might have bought the car I longed for, but I knew it needed a rebuild to get it in shape for some keen motoring. At the North Shore VCC Branch monthly gathering I talked to those I knew about the problem I had, of having this car but having nowhere to do the work. Lawrence Poolman, who had travelled with Wallace McNair and me in the 1922 510S Fiat the previous winter to the Irishman Rally, mentioned that if I helped him sort out his workshop I could use some space for the project. Fabulous, this was what I needed. The shed was in Helensville. It was to become a road much travelled over the following years. Laurie suggested that we leave the body on the chassis as it was in fairly good shape. What needed work were the guards, upholstery and hood. The ash body frame was solid and the fabric covering still looked great. Mechanically, it ▲ The Talbot AM90 prior to my ownership, all needed to a rebuild though. looking better than it really was. Items such as the steering box were good, though the electron steering box pedestal needed a crack welded and was a concern being a magnesium alloy. King pins and wheel bearings checked out fine, but the car needed to come apart so that I’d know that what I had was in top condition and that it would be up for being ▲ Most of the internals of the 90’s engine, driven hard and fast. Being a ready to be reassembled.
26 Beaded Wheels
recent UK import everything was covered with surface rust and was overdue for a good clean down and paint. Having the car in Laurie’s shed was great as he was able to mentor me and advise what to do next and how. When the engine came apart and my old friend Keith Cutten was happy to help and advise me on that. When Keith was in his 20s he and his cousin Keppel had bought the Count Zborowski Straight 8 Miller that had been raced at Brooklands. They raced it at Muriwai Beach near Auckland for the New Zealand Cup in the late ‘20s. Keith was now in his 70s and was very taken by many aspects of the Roesch designed Talbot. I sourced parts from Clares for Spares in London. They had stock that they’d purchased from Rootes when they closed the Talbot works in 1937. Rootes had bought out the combine of Sunbeam and Talbot when Sunbeam had gone bottom up in 1935. New pistons were bought, oil pump gears replaced, conrods crack tested, and new big end bearings poured and machined. The 90 camshaft was still good. The fabroil timing gear was replaced. Keith made a beautiful job of doing the valves and seats, Bill Shields cleaned up the ports and Air New Zealand balanced the reciprocating parts and shot peened the rods. So quick to write about but months of work and driving to make it happen. Luckily most of the car was in good condition and more importantly was all there. The silent third gearbox was a big job, needing a new lay shaft, some gears replaced, a top gear dog and wear in the selectors remedied (to get on top of that business of two gears at once). The differential’s crown wheel carrier was cracked at the flange, so I had a pattern and core box made, cast it in steel and Keith Cutten got on the job and machined it. An engraver got the task of replacing the Rotax instrument panel. The guards were placed in a large plywood box on top of my ex-Keith Cutten A30 and with Campbell
the border collie on the front seat we headed for Christchurch and Auto Restorations. The whole thing was a hilarious, wonderful adventure. Garry Moore offered me a bed in his and Pam’s flat. That was a great scene for a quiet lad from the north as Garry knew everyone in the old car scene, so I had a crash course in “Who’s who.” OVER THE DITCH
There was to be an international rally on the east coast of Australia in 1978. That seemed like the event to aim for. After a little under three years I had the 90 motoring again. The rally was fast approaching, Laurie was on for the trip and a young woman, Dianne Barnard, was keen on coming along. The New Zealand Shipping Company offered sponsored rates, $400 return roll-on roll-off. Having a couple of weeks in Australia before the start to get some miles under the tyres we decided that a visit to Dick Marston in Melbourne would be an enjoyable run. Dick owned a 1930 Talbot AO90. His car had the same body as mine and was the same earlier batch as the Talbot 90 team cars that had been so successful at Le Mans in 1930. Back in Sydney in time for the rally start, the car was running well and we’d had time to iron out some bugs. We were camping each night in a smallish tent and while I was early out of the sleeping bag in the morning, the other two would take their time over breakfast and coffee so every morning we were the last to start. My friend Richard Stanley, who had moved to Melbourne from Auckland’s North Shore, was in his grand old 20/60 Sunbeam. While I’d been restoring the 90 he would often try to wind me up with lines like “Talbots are okay, if they would only keep going”, or “Talbots go well in between breaking down!”. I knew that his old 1924 car wouldn’t stand up against the 90, but just to rub it in we’d come up behind the “Beam” and just sit there slowly pushing the speed up until I knew he was flat stick. I’d then drop the 90 into third, pull out and overtake him, changing back into top as we drew alongside. Oh dear, that young Robinson fellow was a pain! Lord Montague of Beaulieu in his 4½ litre Blower Bentley set himself up for some fun one afternoon. We’d stopped at a viewing area on a nice winding road coming down to the coast near the hippy town of Nimbin. His Lordship pulled in just along the road to look at the view and when he started the Bentley, I started the Talbot and pulled out onto the road behind him. It didn’t take him long to realise there was a matter of honour at stake as the speeds increased on the windy downhill road. There wasn’t room to overtake but I was impressed, the Bentley was moving it. We then joined the Pacific Highway and there were groups of rally cars heading north as well as the motoring public. He kept the speed up and luckily there wasn’t much traffic heading south, so he would pull out and overtake three cars and I’d be sitting right in behind him. We were getting waves and cheers from people in the old cars we were passing. Then Monty overtook a group of five cars, the road was level with sweeping corners for some distance. I’d seen the road was clear so when the Bentley pulled in after the fifth car I kept on and with the speedo reading in the mid 80s (mph) we swept on past, just as the Talbot 90s had done at Le Mans in 1930, leaving the 4½ Blower Bentley behind.
▲ Keith Cutten.
▲ The 90’s styling is definitely art nouveau, insect inspired. It became known as the cockroach in Australia, black and hard to catch.
Back in Auckland I decided to head south for Irishman Rally. I was going to meet up with John Stanley, the brother of the 20/60 owner in Australia. I arrived in Nelson to find he had a change of plan and they were going to the Nelson lakes on a family event. Did I want to come? It was a long way to drive to South Canterbury ▲ Lord Montagu’s heavy metal, 4½ Litre Blower Bentley.
Beaded Wheels 27
was yet to come. At the bottom of the alpine pass heading along the river flats, there was a straight bit of road with trees growing on the sunny side. The whole surface was icy. The Talbot with its beautiful balance waltzed mainly on the crown of the road and we gradually decelerated. It felt like a long time I was holding my breath before we were out of the shade of those trees. I had met a young woman in Australia, and I invited her to come for a Kiwi OE. After a couple of days in Christchurch we headed south to Fairlie to visit Rob and Moya Shand. Rob was one of the founding fathers of the VCC and had a fine collection of cars. The pick of them in my mind was the 1922 eight cylinder TT Sunbeam, then there was most of another TT car but with a Talbot badged radiator. There was Anthony Lago’s own Talbot-Lago Record and the straight 8 Railton Light Sports Tourer. Shand would have to be described as eccentric and we got on very well. It was a sheep farm he had but his private joy was a pedigree stock of Red Devon cattle. The house at Strathconan was a grand old place. It had this small formal dining room with an inset in the wall with its own staircase, for musicians to play for m’lord and lady, very baroque! The night we arrived was the only time I ever saw that room used. We had some red wine as the main course was to be wild venison, then Rob excused himself. After a short while Janet and I could hear bagpipes being warmed up in the distance and when they stopped Moya led us through to take our seats at the table. She then disappeared back to the kitchen. A few moments went by and then the blast of the pipes from close quarters as Shand, kilted up, piped in the roast while Moya, now also in Highland regalia, carried the leg on a plate held aloft. The venison wrapped in a pastry skin and cooked with winter vegetables over many hours was, needless to say, delicious and perfect for the occasion and atmosphere! The Shands were so hospitable and made us very welcome. I got talking to Rob about the history of the farm as in the lounge there were two panorama photos taken in the 1920s of the gardens and grounds. Rob asked if I’d like to come and work at Strathconan after Janet returned to Australia. He felt it was about time the place had a gardener again. First job: the azalea beds. I would have free board and keep and be paid in petrol! Suited me! From Shand’s we drove south through Central Otago arriving in Dunedin in a snow storm, with snow to sea level in the morning. During this stay of a week in Dunedin and environs I looked up Trevor Timms who had recently purchased a 1930 AO70 Talbot that was completely dismantled. It was a car Mike Poynton from Wellington had saved in the ‘50s. At the time Trevor had a 3 litre Bentley, but he had heard good things about Talbots and was keen to have a run in the AM90. His AO70 is one of the cars I now own and motor 40 years later. Trevor said that it was the nicest driving car that he ever owned. After a day trip through the Catlins to Invercargill, we headed north again calling in on the Shands. Rob took me aside to have a fatherly chat, something he never attempted again. He and Moya had obviously been talking about our situation. “Don’t go letting Janet slip through your fingers” he advised, “she is too good a woman to not take seriously.” Of course I didn’t listen. We got back to Christchurch and Garry and Pam Moore, who’s sleep-out we were staying in, turned on quite ▲ A good collection of cars on Irishman. OM of Peter Shaskey, 14/40 Delage of John Stanley a banquet that evening for Janet’s farewell. by myself and so, okay I’d drive to the Lakes. Once there the VCC participants headed for the hall, which was an austere wooden structure inside and out. Tea drinking was the order of the night and I could see it was going to be a long evening. Around midnight John said to me, “shall I see if Zel’s happy driving the Delage home with the kids tomorrow. We might need to get going to Irishman”. Yes! Some action at long last. Zelma was fine with driving, thought us a couple of madmen, but made a fresh Thermos of tea and packed some sandwiches and a bottle of whisky. Campbell was in the back seat with his own poncho and I buttoned the tonneau around him. By 12.30 am we were on the road. Was it cold! Midwinter and midnight in the alpine regions of the South Island. I had so many layers of clothes with a woollen overcoat over the lot, it was okay but only just. The driver was a little better off than the passenger, but the 90 didn’t share much warmth from the engine. About 20 miles down the road we’d dropped down from the mountains into a valley and got into fog. Apart from making it difficult to see the road it started freezing on the windscreen. We resorted to just stopping each time it needed cleaning, that way it took longer but we weren’t risking life and limb. At about 2.35 am we arrived at Springs Junction, down the road a short distance was the Maruia Springs Hotel. John and I couldn’t believe our eyes, the pub was a blaze of light. We made a beeline for the bar. The fire was going and the place was warm and cosy while overhead was a sign, “Bar closes at 3 pm Greenwich mean time”. We were in luck, we had 15 minutes to warm up. We crossed the Southern Alps via the Lewis Pass. There wasn’t another car on the road, and all the way the burble from the Talbot’s exhaust never missed a beat. John took over driving out the back of Christchurch and all I remember was the terrible cold and not being able to sleep. The Irishman weekend is a blur in my memory, apart from the stone age rugby match in Strathconan’s lounge and the Shands patch, a timed sprint for the old cars around the house. Wild days! After a couple of days’ rest we had a great trip back to Nelson. It was still icy cold and we’d been on the lookout for ice, but not until the Lewis summit where the road takes a turn to the left and there’s a sheer drop off on the right to the river bed 100 feet or so below did we experience it. The old 90 started sliding and fortunately for John and myself there was a wide strip of gravel on the right hand side before the drop off. The car got onto the gravel and I regained control. That was a bit close for comfort, but more
and the 14/40 Sunbeam of Richard Stanley. Essex 4 of Bob Bruce in behind.
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▲
▲ The two faces of VCCNZ founder member Rob Shand, The serious piper and the serious farmer.
With Janet back in Australia I needed something to focus on, so I pointed the Talbot south for Fairlie to start on the azalea beds. In the evenings I would carry bits of 1922 IOM TT Talbot up to the cottage and clean and de-rust them ready for coating with a protective coating. The crankshaft, a heavy item, was heavily cracked. James, Rob’s youngest son, was a very talented driver in his MkII Escort. He was leading the South Island hillclimb championship. One evening James was heading to Timaru to catch the latest screen action of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the movie Grease. He had a couple of local girls up front in the Holden ute and suggested that myself and a couple staying at the farm might like to come along in the Talbot. We set off with James out front. The Holden ute was good for about 75 mph, so we trundled along until we got to the long straights across the flat plains. Crossing some railway tracks, James slowed so I thought it time to show him what a Talbot was good for. As we pulled out James booted it and at the lower speeds the Holden had the edge on us but as the chronometric speedo in the Talbot started flicking and ticking its way up past 70 mph and beyond the Holden lost that edge and we pulled away. My two passengers thought it a real hoot that James was left for dead. We got to Timaru and pulled to the side of the road and waited and waited. Eventually the Holden arrived,
Irishman was never complete without the Sunday circuit of Strathconan Homestead. Here in my favourite photo of the Vauxhall, Jack Newell is leaning heavily on the go pedal.
James switched off and in that instant with a great hiss and whoosh the ute disgorged the contents of its cooling system onto the road. Oh dear! We all had such a good laugh. James now has his dad’s Light Sports Railton Straight Eight, and has opened a boutique vineyard and restaurant called “Straight Eight” near Christchurch. To be continued…….
Alistair Robinson, according to his partner, is “a car freak from the cradle to the grave”. Starting at the age of 15 with a Baby Austin (I guess that’s the cradle part) fabric saloon that he still owns, it looks like his later years will be total immersion in Talbots, with a quartet of them to motor and restore. The two major rebuilds that he has embarked on are a pair of 1930 2.2 litre AO70s, chassis numbers 29010 and 29011. The later car is the earliest 18hp Talbot known of that is complete in its components as it left the factory. These cars have been off the road for at least 60 possibly 70 years so it’s time they were motoring again. He lives off grid with his Belgian partner in a romantic bush clad valley with views of the Hen and Chicken Islands near Mangawhai Village, North Auckland. Photo is of Alistair and Lola in the ex Trevor Timms 1930 Talbot 2.2 litre, 18hp. Alastair Robinson
Beaded Wheels 29
HUMBER SUPER SNIPE mk iv Words and photos Neil Hodgkin
I have been a member of the Dunedin branch of the Vintage Car Club for 20 years and haven’t seen or read too much about Humber Snipes in Beaded Wheels, so I thought it was time to redress the balance. I am also a member of the local Rootes Group Car Club that meets monthly and has an annual weekend away. Over the last few years the Snipe has been to Invercargill, Manapouri, Te Anau, Glenorchy, Wanaka, Lake Tekapo, Geraldine and Ashburton, sometimes to coincide with swap meets.
30 Beaded Wheels
My father, who was born in London in 1899, bought the car new with the help of overseas funds and took delivery on 27 September 1954. You’ll notice from the ‘Owner Service Policy’ that my father farmed near Heriot in West Otago. Coincidentally, Heriot was where Charles Todd founded the Todd Corporation back in 1884. Their original home is still lived in and the Todd garage is still operating as Heriot Motors. The Snipe was well suited to the rough gravel country roads but got many trips on the tarseal taking my brother and/or I to boarding school at Waihi in South Canterbury for five years. The car was often complete with cabin trunks on the roof and this continued, as later we both attended boarding school in Dunedin, as did my sister. Dad also had a 1937 International D2 farm truck and after it crashed when the handbrake failed he used the Snipe for his farm jobs, carrying his dogs in the boot and his spray gear and tools on the back seat. Dad was meticulous in keeping the maintenance up on every vehicle he owned, even if there was the odd dent here and there. Dad died in 1980 and it’s fair to say that the Snipe had a very quiet time for the next 20 years. We sold the farm in 2000 and moved to the Taieri where we met and made new friends, one of whom asked me if he could use the Snipe for his daughter’s wedding. That was just the impetus I needed to get the Snipe running properly and back into a more respectable condition. More restoration work was completed some years later for our own daughter’s wedding. The car is still in its original condition although my improvements include: • re-chromed bumper bars, over-riders and wheel trims • replaced the differential, radiator, cylinder head, and carburettor • rust proofed the floor, replaced the carpet, and carried out some upholstery repairs
• fitted and certified three rear seat-belts (the front ones were already installed) • replaced the Lucas headlights for something better than candle power! • removed some rust spots from the bottom of the doors and the boot lid, and • replaced the cross-ply tyres with radials Although the Humber Super Snipe was delivered in 1954, I believe that it was manufactured in 1953 or late 1952. The chrome strip on the front doors was lengthened for the 1954 models which suggests it’s at least a ‘1953’. Then when I had the chance to purchase new windscreen and rear window rubbers, the fitters had trouble re-fitting the windscreen as the 1953 and 1954 models were fitted differently – one from the outside, the other from the inside. In the end I had to get another windscreen to match the new rubber. The Humber Super Snipe has a 4.2 litre, 6 cylinder engine and weighs nearly two tonnes and has travelled 188,500 miles. It starts and runs well and remains a very reliable motor car that will stay in the family for many more years yet!
Beaded Wheels 31
BOOK REVIEWS
MOTOR SHOW CONCEPTS AND RARITIES
By Lewis Mitchell. Published 2022 by Motor Show Publishing Ltd. RRP $34.24 ISBN 978-1-3999-2073-5 Review by Mark Holman FORD CARS (UK) 1945-1995: A PICTORIAL HISTORY
By David Rowe Published 2021 by Veloce, who supplied the review copy. ISBN 978-1-787116-42-9 Review by Mark Holman This valuable Veloce series of books is increasing all the time. As suits the wide range of cars offered, this volume on Fords produced in the UK runs to 160 pages, from the V8 Pilot to the Mondeo. Not all of the cars featured in the book were
Call them what you will: show, dream or concept cars, there have been many reasons for manufacturers and specialist coachbuilders to develop and display cars that are something out of the ordinary. Sometimes it’s to test the waters for a marque’s move to a rather radical new look; think Ford Sierra perhaps. An Italian carrozzeria might be showing the world (and possible clients) what it’s capable of, or a new brand may want to give itself some street and market cred. Whatever the motivation, there’s no doubt that many superb looking cars (and a few bizarre ones) have graced motor shows, concours competitions and the like over the years. sold new in New Zealand; the Granada, for instance. But most other models were. My best school holiday job was as a temporary storeman at Ford’s wonderful Seaview assembly plant in 1961, and the first ‘classics’ I bought about 25 years later were a Mk 1 Consul and Zodiac (my daily drivers for a while!) so this book was of particular interest. It follows the well-established format, explaining a model’s place in the company’s line-up, how & why it was developed, specifications and options plus hundreds To purchase, contact www. batemanbooks.co.nz (in the first instance) or try Paper Plus after 10 October 2022 Reviewed by Greg Price
TOYOTAS – A KIWI OBSESSION
By Steve Holmes Hard Cover, 270 x 220mm 232 pages, 324 photographs RRP $ 45.00 (Paper Plus) Published by David Bateman Ltd 2022
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Toyota is a motoring icon. From modest beginnings, it has become an automotive superpower. As part of its global expansion, the brand first arrived on New Zealand soil in the late 1960s, and has grown to become an integral slice of Kiwi culture. At the mention of the word Toyota, one immediately thinks of Barry Crump, (well, I do!). He has a special chapter in this book, which is another of Steve Holmes’ popular
This newly published softcover brings many of them to life within its 82 pages of photos. The quality of the photos is sometimes variable - motor show lighting isn’t always friendly for cameras – but the range of cars portrayed from the 1950s to 1990s is terrific. It starts with a Borgward Hansa coupe by Bertone at the 1952 Turin Show and ends at the TVR Speed 12 of 1997. The early pages take you through the ‘jet look’ Lancia PF200, the famous BAT cars on Alfa Romeo chassis and some elegant bodies by Ghia on Chryslers. Into the 1960s, a number of Japanese companies used Italian carrozzeria to give their products some style, resulting
in elegant cars like the Hino Contessa Sprint (Michelotti) and the Prince 1900 Sprint (Scaglione). There are photos from shows at Earls Court, LA, Turin, Paris, Tokyo and Birmingham. Various trends keep showing through, from wedge shapes to gullwing doors, safety cars, electric vehicles, tiny city cars, outrageous performance machines and more. So, if names like Fissore Aruanda, Lancia Flavia Zagato, Bertone Shake Buggy, Isdera Imperator, Dome Zero and Ferrari FZ93 intrigue you (as they do me), this book will give you a lot to enjoy.
of photos. The latter are of the ’snapshot’ variety, taken at classic car events in the UK but they illustrate well the cars concerned. If you want to know what colour schemes the Anglia 105E came in, the different trim levels for the various models of Mk 4 Cortina or Capris, or how many Mk 1 Escorts were built? It’s all in here! This is a very useful reference book for owners, restorers and potential buyers of any of these cars.
books on a variety of cars, this one featuring Toyotas, be they standard cars, stock cars, race cars, rally cars and even dragsters. Brendon Hartley got his start in the Toyota racing Series, Paul Radisich, Chris Amon and even the McLaren Toyota feature in the pages, along with the customary assortment of private owners who share their passion for the marque with the readers. The photo credits read like a who’s who of the motoring fraternity’s photographers, and many of the names will be instantly recognisable – Euan Cameron, Ross Cammick and Terry Marshall to name but just three.
A good read for the car aficionado and more particularly the Japanese car enthusiast, who wants to learn more about the story behind the name Toyota (initially Toymoda!) Highly recommended, but don’t just take my word for it, get among the pages yourself! It’s worth the effort!
THE MOTOLUG COLLAPSIBLE MOTORCYCLE TRAILER Words and photos Stuart Francis
I was in the market for a new trailer. My current trailer was heavy, cumbersome and becoming increasingly difficult for your arthritic, geriatric, scribe, to single handedly load bikes onto. Also my back up team (the wife) would rather not reverse a trailer. When searching the internet the Motolug series of collapsible trailers stood out head and shoulders above the rest in terms of design and practicality. The Motolugs are available in four versions: The SE, a single that could carry 350kgs, weighing 65kgs. The SE Plus, a single that could carry 350kgs, with heavy duty suspension capable of being converted to a twin, weighing 70kgs. The HDE, a single heavy weight that could carry 450kgs, weighing 75kgs. The TE, a twin that could carry 560kgs, weighing 110kgs. There are also an optional wheel size and a twin conversion kit for the SE Plus. The Motolug website has detailed specifications for each option. Motolug trailers break down into pieces that weigh no more than 20Kg which easily fit into the boot of a car. It has a built in ramp arrangement and front wheel clamp that makes loading simple. The non-slip wheel tray has troughs to capture the wheels and along with the front wheel catcher, machines are held upright, allowing them to be tied down single handedly. Initial discussions with the UK manufacturer revealed there was a backlog of orders and the shipping cost to New Zealand would nearly double the price. However there was a New Zealand agent, Redman White & Associates (022 476 0441) of Hamilton (New Zealand) who had a number of trailers in stock. The owner was very helpful recounting his own extensive experience of using
the trailers. I ordered the SE the single with heavy duty suspension (convertible to a twin) and a spare wheel. The trailer arrived in five large boxes. The first impression was it was well designed with a number of practical touches that showed that much thought has gone into the design. It is a quality product, fully certified to EU standards, with an excellent build standard using good materials and this is reflected in the price. No tools are required to assemble the trailer, it’s all held together with easily installed pins and clips. The first time I assembled the trailer it took 30min and disassembly a lot less. The second time took about 15 mins to assemble and if I was doing it every week I reckon I could half those times again. To load a machine, the trailer is attached to the tow ball, a long pin is removed from the tow hitch which allows it to pivot up and down once the indent pins have been pulled out (it sounds far more complicated than it is!). The whole wheel tray can be tipped up and locked to allow the machine to be easily loaded and tied down. The indent pins are then released and the wheel tray to be levelled and the long pin reinstalled (I always leave an inch gap between the end of the tray and the ground, if not the compressing suspension puts weight onto the indent pins making
Beaded Wheels 33
them difficult to move). Fit the left hand rear sponson after the machine is loaded (it gets in the way). I tried three very different machines that covered the spectrum of what I was likely to be towing: a Suzuki SP370 trail bike, a 1946 Velocette MAC and my swinging arm Ariel Square Four. It was the latter machine, the heaviest (250kgs) and most cumbersome, which would most likely reveal any issues. The first two machines went on and off very easily but the Ariel revealed two issues. Pushing the Ariel up the wheel tray it came to a sudden halt as the rear stand caught the rear light and number plate mounting brackets (the bracket tops sit 25mm proud of the wheel tray — more of this later). A quick wiggle and the stand rode over the brackets. Bringing the machine back down the wheel tray it came to a sudden stop again but this time it was the side-stand catching the bracket, another quick wiggle and it was free. My main concern was losing momentum whilst pushing a heavy machine up the ramp. As we got the Ariel on the trailer it also became clear that the wings of the pivoting wheel catcher were too wide and would foul the mudguard. Removing the pivoting wheel catcher solved the problem. The Ariel would still sit up in the front part of the wheel catcher and the wheel tray troughs, but clearly not so firmly (more of this later). The loaded trailer was nicely balanced with a touch of nose weight with the lighter machines and a bit more on the heaviest machine. It tows beautifully with none of the clunks and noises you get from some trailers and has excellent ground clearance. Reversing a trailer is always a contentious issue particularly those with short wheelbase and narrow tracks which are known for their skittish behaviour. The Motolug did not exhibit the extreme characteristics (like heading for the nearest hedgerow within a yard of going backwards) of some other trailers I have tried. Nearly a year’s usage of the Motolug trailer has reinforced the view that I made the right choice despite a couple of niggles. The sheer practicality and build quality of the trailer shines through, it also gets the thumbs up from my back up team. It has the added benefit that it can be stored dismantled taking up significantly less room than an ordinary trailer or securely stored in the boot of the car.
enough to hold the suspension units) of the correct box section stainless steel. The 30cms sections were welded on top of each end of the 1m section and holes drilled to replicate the original pin holes. Fitting the drop axle dropped the tray height by 6cms, it doesn’t sound much but it certainly made getting the Ariel on the trailer a lot easier. Although the trailer’s ground clearance has been reduced it is still more than my towing vehicle. I am also looking at replacing the pins and clips with “Pip pins” as the pins and clips have a nasty habit of going walkabout. I am getting too old to be grovelling around on the ground looking for errant pins and clips!
▲T he five boxes the Motolug arrives in.
▲A ssembly step 1- unfold tray and insert axle beam.
▲A ssembly step 2 - fit wheel units.
▲A ssembly step 3 - fit tow hitch, front wheel catcher and sponsons.
▲T he sponson mounting lug.
▲T ucked away in the back of a Ford Mondeo.
▲T ow hitch in level position.
▲T he tipping tow hitch.
▲M odified lowered axle in place.
▲M odified rear sponson mount to clear rear and cente stand.
STUART’S MODIFICATION After using the trailer for a while I decided to make a couple of modifications. I fully recognise that these have invalidated the warranty and are not authorised by the manufacturer. The first thing I did was lower the rear lights and number plate mounting brackets. The brackets are mounted on two rows of screws, eliminating one row and moving the brackets down a row, dropped the bracket tops level with the tray top. The mounting plates were then trimmed down to the tray level. The brackets and mounting screws are substantially engineered and I don’t see the elimination of one row of screws will significantly weaken the mountings. The next thing I did was narrowing the rear wings of the wheel catcher. Partially cutting through the wings of the catcher, bending the ends in to narrow the gap too 100mm (ideal for 3.50 x 19 front tyres) and then welding up the cuts, produced an ideal clamp that clears the rear of the mudguard and holds the wheel very firmly. Loading bikes onto the sloped wheel tray is fairly easy for an able bodied individual, however for your arthritic, pensioner scribe, it’s just a little more difficult, not impossible and a lot easier than most trailers I have used. However I wondered whether I could make it even easier by dropping the axle, reducing the tray height and reducing the tray angle. I sourced 1m and 2 x 30cms lengths (long 34 Beaded Wheels
F ROM
E RS K I N E TO E T Y P E
WHATEVER YOUR PASSION Award Winning Restorations
Mechanical repair and rebuilding. Panel repair and creation. Premium Spray Painting. Precision Engineering. Vehicle Servicing WOF. Vintage/Classic Cars and Motor Cycles.
Contact George Kear: +64 3 366 9988 e: george@autorestorations.co.nz w: www.autorestorations.co.nz 10 Kennedy Place, Christchurch, New Zealand.
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Beaded Wheels 35
RALLY SNIPPETS
A round up of notable rallies and events from around our branches
Father and son combination Evan (driving) and George Kear, Austin 7
BALCAIRN TRIAL
24 July 2022 Banks Peninsula Branch Text and photos John McDonald
“So lets hope for some rain closer to the date…” wrote the Editor of the Banks Peninsula Branch newsletter, as a reminder for the forthcoming Balcairn Trial. And rain it did, in fact a record July deluge that threatened to cancel one of the most popular Branch events on the calendar. In an amazing about turn good fortune was to see the precipitation of the preceding weeks desist for the day, and while conditions could be best described as heavy the courses more than lived up to their reputation as challenging. As always the field of 26 entrants sported ingenious methods of extracting both horsepower and traction, while staying within the rules of course. Special mention is made here of the bolide driven by Phil Mauger, unique in the harnessing of two Coventry Climax engines atop a chassis of unknown make, and wheels suspiciously looking like donations from an Austin 7 Ruby. It was refreshing to see these power plants in this application, rather than their usual placement as driving fire pumps and forklifts. Overall the courses chosen worked well, minor adjustments made to one only when all competitors were defeated. Saturation levels dictated two new layouts this year, both utilizing a former maize paddock replete with foot high stumps, with a generous top coat of swamp. This was most spectacular from a spectator 36 Beaded Wheels
viewpoint, but probably less so from any entrant failing to dress accordingly or waterproof their electrics. Totalling up the points confirmed the nimble Austin 7 in the hands of Thomas Mauger had repeated last years triumph, and again finished 1st overall. Aside from the conditions, this year was notable for the four entrants who entered road registered and warranted vehicles. This in stark contrast to the trials specials that currently predominate, but with a class for them they were welcome additions that we hope proliferate. As always the branch is again hugely indebted to the Fleming family for their generous hospitality, to the hard working recovery team from the Canterbury Land Rover Owners Club, and by no means least of all the competitors who turn out to entertain us with some very clever and original creations.
Warwick Marshall pleased with progress.
Harry Dawber, Pontiac.
Kevin Mercer, Morris 8.
Overall winner, Thomas Mauger.
Damon Rose, Austin 7.
Phil Mauger, Austin 7 Bi-Motore.
John Fowler, Austin 7.
Thoroughbreds at rest.
Reflections amidst the maize stalks.
A quiet word.
Beaded Wheels 37
R’OIL CAN 2022
View a distant Bugatti over the bonnet of Nicola’s Midgely’s 25hp Sunbeam.
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1930 Model A Roadster of Les and Helen Duggan running sweetly after morning repairs.
Jim and Kaaren Smiley’s Model A being pursued by Eddie and Shelley Simpsons 20.9hp Sunbeam tourer.
Pat Bren and Mile Stuart determinedly piloting their 1925 Alvis 12/50
Harold Booth and Grant Bloomfield at Kiwitahi School, ready for the challenging post lunch section.
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This is the rally you don’t want to win! Waitemata’s top-down mid-winter madness for hairy chested motorists has a deserved reputation for being a logistical conundrum.
R’OIL CAN RALLY July 2022 Waitemata Branch Text Ian Goldingham
First you have to decide whether it’s heading north or south. Then try and find suitable overnight accommodations for 40 odd cars and their entourage at a secret mystery destination. Persuade the hoteliers that next year you want to book them out for the night and negotiate a killer deal for dinner bed and breakfast! Only then, can you look at how you are going to get there. This year’s chef d’mission Elizabeth Andrew certainly had to think outside of the box. This is where the organiser gets to be creative, sneaky and it helps to have a good memory of past R’Oil Cans. Fortunately, Liz also had the backing of previous planners who willingly divulged, unused and deleted sections of R’Oil Cans past. She cleverly used the modern assistance of a mapping tool called “Ride with GPS” useful to us vintagents. Previous roads were run in reverse direction, potential private or forestry roadways identified, that will take the entrants onto pathways not normally available to the motoring public. Finding that achievable balance between good stretches of the less travelled gravel and tarmac roads that few people knew about, let alone used! Coupled with this is the challenging job of locating a suitable start point with nearby fuel facilities, a morning tea stop followed by a lunch venue and all with enough parking to safely accommodate the entire field at one time. Finding an appropriate community hall or country school at the right time and distance in the rally is a skill in itself, but hugely rewarding when the event can provide vital fundraising for a remote rural community. The joys of tasting real country baking is one of the R’Oil Can’s major attractions, although the additional weight penalty tends to make the day feel longer. Liz had decided on a later start time, to cut down the mileage to 200 miles rather than the usual 250 making a nice balance of three sections of about 65 miles, each leg with its unique challenge of vintage road surface. The weather was also amazingly cooperative with the Saturday being the small window of relief in an otherwise
at Bren and Mile P Stuart 1925 Alvis 12/50
persistent run of heavy rain fronts. A few showers on the day, but otherwise fine and sunny. Dawn broke early with the start at Ararimu, entrants have arrived from all points of the compass, Napier, Tauranga and Waiuku. The field of cars was of the branch’s usual high standard of Anglo Franco sports cars supported by a bevy of Model As. Armed with a hot coffee, double chocolate toffee cake and commonsense instructions we headed into the rising sun and the seabird coast. No sooner than we had sniffed the salt air and the field was turned on a reverse course back into the hills, which brought us to the edge of the Maramaru Forest. Here we were confronted by Hamish Andrew who as Forestry Marshall 2nd class, dished out the OSH requirements for passage through some 15kms of rugged logging roads. Back on macadam firma the instructions lead us via a delightful route round the back of Lake Waikare to the Waiterimu Golf Club. Here, while supping on hot hambone soup and lamb rolls, we had to wait for the road ahead to be cleared by Kevin Andrew with chainsaw and a local farmer’s tractor. Getting the thumbs up, it was full steam ahead up Matahuru Valley Rd, over the crest and down through the bush reserve, brushing by the slip to exit at Kaihere. South another 20kms and we soared back over the ranges in the opposite direction still on tight gravel roads forbidden to trucks, trailers and caravans. By now Liz had us all guessing, not helped by buzzing through Morrisonville for petrol, before tackling a rearward north western approach to Kiwitahi School for lunch. After lunch, section three revealed the mysteries of the slopes of the Maungakawa massif. Triangulated between Morrinsville, Matamata and Cambridge this huge block of hill country is one of Waikato’s hidden secrets. It has an amazing range of good vintage driving roads with little traffic. We were able to circumnavigate the whole of the Te Tapui Scenic Reserve while enjoying vistas down country in all directions. Drive of the day was Max Jamieson in his 1925 DI Delage ably navigated by his granddaughter Saskia. Finally it was time to descend from our lofty lanes and make tracks across the southern end of the Hauraki Plains to our mystery destination at the Okoroire Hot Springs Hotel. Apart from a dodgy Ford distributor there were no breakdowns, nobody got lost and everybody had a warm bed for the night courtesy of our hosts, who did us proud with a grand evening meal. This year, Terry Roycroft won the rally he didn’t want to win!
▲W aitemata: Max Jamieson and navigator, his grand daughter Saskia, at the end of the Rally.
Beaded Wheels 39
2022 AGM Auckland Branch made a great job of organising the AGM at the Doubletree Hilton at Karaka. Great ambiance and very helpful staff so everything ran very smoothly. Both the Executive Meeting and the AGM seem to run smoothly with very few (only the usual amount) contentious issues. Two members of the Management Committee retired this year. Registrar Rod Brayshaw was presented with a gift and a framed certificate to mark the 20 plus years he has been on the Management committee.
Non-attendees either went shopping or took a journey out to the Manukau Peninsula to look at the lighthouse. It seems a steep climb was involved! On Sunday morning many of the out-of-towners visited a car collection housed in some very grand surroundings followed by a visit to the Auckland Branch clubrooms for a browse through the many books that were for sale and enjoy a chat over lunch. Some took the opportunity of a ride in the branch Renault charabanc.
Chris Leith also retired this year after two years as the Secretary/ Treasurer and he was thanked by National President Diane Quarrie with a gift. The J L Goddard Trophy was presented to Rod and Anne Corbett for their work with the Targa and more details are alongside this report. On the Saturday afternoon the Executive ▲ National President Diane Quarrie Meeting discussed the future thanks Rod Brayshaw for his service for the VCC and members did to the Club for over 20 years on the management committee. some work on forward planning.
JOHN L GODDARD TROPHY Presented to Rod and Anne Corbett
Rod and Anne Corbett have worked tirelessly for over five years to forge a partnership with Targa NZ and the Ultimate Rally Group Ltd to create the “Targa VCC Time Trial”. They came up with a new category aimed specifically at enticing owners of VCC eligible vehicles to enter within the Targa framework. This new class gives drivers and their vehicles a challenging workout but is not a speed event in terms of the VCC rules. The object is to keep as close as possible to the target average speed at all times and collect the fewest penalty points over the duration of the event. Entrants are required to be members of the VCC and the threshold for qualifying cars is set at 30 years, with the idea being to encourage newer models and younger owners every year. The Targa has been a roaring success and this year around 50% of entrants joined the VCC to enter with registrations more than double the number involved in the previous rally (even accounting for Covid).
▲ N ational President Diane Quarrie presenting the Chairman of the Auckland Branch, Shaaron Price, a certificate thanking their branch for hosting the AGM for 2022.
▲ N ational President Diane Quarrie thanking Chris Leith for his service to the Club during his time as Secretary/Treasurer.
With Rod and Anne as stewards, this event is evolving constantly, growing in strength with new initiatives and increasing
▲ National President Diane Quarrie presenting Rod and Anne Corbett with the J L Goddard Trophy.
numbers involved. It has brought new and younger members to VCC branches around the country and has exposed spectators and the public to the excitement and pleasures of historic motoring from Invercargill to the central North Island. Competitors have been drawn from throughout New Zealand. The media coverage, both in mainstream media and classic car media, is extensive and has a great positive impact on the VCC and historic motoring in general. Those who have attended these events will have witnessed the respect in which Rod and Anne are held and will have enjoyed the comradery with all involved. The creation of the VCC Time Trial event is a significant achievement and Rod and Anne Corbett are worthy recipients of the John L Goddard Award.
ROD BRAYSHAW LVVTA CONTRIBUTION RECOGNISED Rod Brayshaw has stood down as the VCC representative of the LVVTA. Rod’s work with the organisation and particularly his contribution on behalf of VCC members was recognised with a presentation held at the LVVTA offices . The citation and certificate read: “Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association. At the time of Rod’s retirement from his role as an LVVTA Council Delegate representing The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (VCC), LVVTA recognises his long tenure and tireless advocacy for the needs of the VCC’s membership, from 1999 to 2022. Rod has worked vigilantly for over two decades to ensure that, within the regulatory framework of the low volume vehicle certification system, the VCC’s needs have been met. The LVVTA thanks you Rod, for all of your efforts. Tony Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, LVVTA” 40 Beaded Wheels
▲ The Management Committee for 2022/23. Back row: Kevin Clarkson, George Kear, Alon Mayhew, Murray Trounson. Front row: Tony Haycock, Kaaren Smylie, Diane Quarrie, Tony Bartlett.
ARCHIVIST NEWS Our club archive is located at the VCCNZ National Office in Christchurch and is open to visitors on Friday mornings. It contains a wealth of historic material, a lot of which has been digitised. It is well worth a visit or if you have any queries do get in contact with our archivist Don Muller phone 03 385 6850 or archivist@vcc.org.nz.
BRITISH STANDARD EXPORTER 1923 Motor, Truck and Motorcycle Sales Catalogue VCC Archivist, Don Muller, has uncovered another gem in our club archive. If you are heading for Christchurch Don welcomes visitors by appointment on a Friday morning. At the VCC Archive there is a large hard covered book British Standard Exporter series. This is the 2nd edition and was printed in 1923. The book comes in three languages, English, French and Spanish. The purpose of these books was to let the world know what British made motorcar and motorcycle products were available for purchase. Copies of the book were held at British and foreign consulates, and chambers of commerce in many countries, with the objective of making as many sales as possible for the advertisers. In 1923 there was no online buying with free postage. To order products each manufacturer had a unique telegraph code associated with their business that they used in conjunction with cablegrams, the overseas equivalent of a telegram. One hundred years old this 230 page interesting book features pages by many British manufacturers, including sections on motorcars. There are too many makes to mention them all, Airedale, Armstrong Siddeley, Austin, Daimler, G.N, Hillman, Lagonda, Riley, Rover, Sunbeam, Autocrat, Meteorite. The commercial vehicle section makes: A.E.C, Guy, Thornycroft, Sentinel etc. The motorcycle and sidecars section makes: Bayliss, Levis, James, New Imperial, New Hudson, Ivy, Norton, Omega, plus other rarities. Included are sections on car bodies and fittings, and motor car and motorcycle accessories.
The book is in very good condition, but I was puzzled by the numerous lumps on all of the pages in the last 1/8th of the book, until I found that sometime in its past a child had drawn two circles on the rear cover and used it as a dart board! This is the best old car, truck and motorcycle catalogue I have ever seen. If you are interested in old motor car, commercial vehicles or motorcycle catalogues of the 1920s ask your club librarian if they have a copy of this book. You will be rewarded with many hours of pleasurable reading. If you require any more information, please give me a call. Who knows your 1922-23 vehicle may feature in this book? Thank you to those who have contacted me about my previous Archivist News articles.
Don Muller Archivist archivist@vcc.org.nz
Beaded Wheels 41
EXPERIENCES WITH A
305cc HONDA DREAM Words and photos John Dodson
Reading the article in Beaded Wheels, No 374, brought back run-in with the ACU Steward, who shall remain nameless. He told memories of my first Honda, also a 305cc Dream. me that I could not use the self-starter. After a “discussion” he was I saw the first Honda Dream at the Nelson Motor Cycle Club unable to produce any rule precluding the use of such a device and annual Aniseed hill climb in October 1959. The machine was a I was a happy chappy again. I must admit that the starter was an demonstrator brought to Nelson by the late Ian Burrell who had a advantage since I was on my way while others were push-starting motorcycle business in Greymouth. As soon as I saw this machine I their 7Rs and Manx Nortons off the start line. The Dream was quite made the decision to buy one. It seemed so much more advanced in competitive on the short road circuit and I did get placed in the design than the English machines I had ridden for five or six years first three in a couple of races. The Dream was totally standard, with its push button start, indicators, twin rear view mirrors, no I just taped up the indicators and other glass parts. To the best of cables flopping around the handle bars (or other parts) and not an my knowledge this was the first time a Japanese motorcycle had oil leak to be seen. been road raced in New Zealand. It was reported as such in the I ordered one from Nelson agent, Parkes and Anderson, and local paper. it duly arrived in March 1960. Mum was still very anti-Japanese The Dream was also raced at Renwick, also near Blenheim. Here following WWII and threatened to “put the axe through the petrol it split a piston but with a new one readily available at 26 shillings, tank”. Fortunately Mum and Dad were away on holiday when the it was back on the road in a few days. It gave no further trouble Honda arrived so I knew that I would have a few weeks before the from there on. threat could be carried out. Mum eventually calmed down when The most unsuccessful meeting I raced at was the Nelson she saw the bright red machine and her threat was never put into annual Tahuna Beach races at New Year. The Honda just did not practice. The neighbours loved it as I didn’t wake them up when I like the sand and the small wheels were just not suited for this sort came home late at night, it was so quiet. of racing. However the Dream was all I had at the time so that is There were two Dreams in the case which came from Auckland what I rode. to Nelson on a coastal trading ship. I went to the wharf to collect The Dream was a real drawcard around my home town of them and the wharfies hoisted the box straight from the ship onto Nelson. I recall having it parked in Nelson’s main street (Trafalgar the Chevy ute and then said “that will be 5 shillings (50 cents Street) and when I returned from having a coffee Nelson garage today!) wharfage fees”. The box never touched the wharf deck. owner, Halsey Logan, was squatting down alongside the bike Anyway I paid up and drove off to the dealer. sussing out the finer details. I quietly slipped the key in and pressed The wharfies probably went straight to their local and drank my the starter. Halsey’s reaction and exclamation are unprintable. five bob! Halsey was a well-known car racer on the New Zealand circuits That night I attended a committee meeting of the Nelson Motor during the post WWII years. Cycle Club and during the meeting the Honda was assembled. I owned and enjoyed many motorcycles from 1955 (new BSA At the conclusion of the meeting a few mates suggested that we 125cc Bantam) until 2014 (SV650 Suzuki) and served on the should christen the new acquisition so off to our local we went, this committee of the Nelson Motor Cycle Club (Inc) holding every at about 10pm and before 10 o’clock closing began. The Dream was office from committee member to patron over many years. Life hoisted onto the bar, drinks were poured and celebrations began. membership was awarded to me in about 2009. Through my The barman poured a small glass of beer into the petrol tank and involvement in the motorcycling fraternity I made many friends, I hoped my new pride and joy was not going to be permanently most sadly have passed on but I do still keep in touch with those damaged, fortunately it went “like a dream”. who are left. Like Gary Arps I found that new techniques John Dodson’s had to be learnt for riding the Dream. With an 1960 Honda Dream, engine much wider and lower that any previous 305cc twin. machine I had ridden I soon found that if one leant into a corner too far then the machine would have damage to its integrity such as bits getting ground away on the road. It only took a short time to change my riding style and no damage was done. Another thing about the Dream was the 16 inch wheels which were not so good on the many gravel roads around at the time. The suspension was also a bit spongy. I had previously owned a 1957 AJS 350cc which had absolutely no vices and was a delight to ride. During the two years I had the Dream I raced it at a road race at Grovetown, just out of Blenheim, and it was here that I had a bit of a
42 Beaded Wheels
MARKET PLACE
DRIVESHAFTS DRIVESHAFTS DRIVESHAFTS We can alter or make driveshafts with fabric components to take modern universal joints and yokes, as well as performing dynamic 1928 CHEV 4 TOURER Partly restored. New parts balancing. We also carry a large range of and panels. Complete car, new tyres, extras driveshaft components for car, trucks, industrial plus a lot of spares Phone Jack 021 100 3444. and marine. M S Coombes Ltd, 344 St Asaph MEM AUCKLAND Street, Christchurch 8011, Ph 03 366 7463, email: 1936 CHEVY F ront guards, bonnet, radiator shell info@mscoombes.co.nz and grill, good condition. $500 or better. Phone or text 027 287 6104. MEM BOP PROJECT OR PARTS 1925 CHRYSLER 50 chassis
FOR SALE
Terms and conditions CLASSIFIED RATES Due to space limitation, classified advertisers should refrain from the use of dashes, spaces, blank lines and formatting. All classified rates include GST. The 45 word limit includes contact details. Advertisers requiring ads longer than the standard 45 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. Members must be financial and identify their Branch. Limited to one free advert per issue, maximum of three insertions per advertisement. Non Member: $21 for first 45 words or part thereof. Text in a Boxed Ad : $24 non-members* Colour Photo Ad in Box: $56 non-members, enclose a clear photo and an SAE if return required.* Advertisements should be typed or clearly printed or submitted through vcc.org.nz/beadedwheels. Advertising Email address: beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz Advert and Payment: to arrive not later than 10th of month preceding publication. Payment by Credit card or Internet banking (for Internet banking details email beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz). DISPLAY RATES* Casual (per issue) 3 Issues (per issue) Full Page $900 $720 Half Page $530 $390 Horizontal ¼ Page $270 $216 All display rates quoted exclude GST and are for finished digital artwork supplied. Artwork can be arranged at an extra charge. Deadline for copy 10th of month preceding publication. Beaded Wheels will consider articles of a technical nature for inclusion in its editorial space. Beaded Wheels however regrets that it is not able to offer editorial space for advertisements nor for the promotion of products. Marketplace advertising cancellations received in writing prior to advertising deadline will be refunded in full. Where possible Beaded Wheels will refund 70% of the advertisement cost for any cancellations received after the booking deadline. *Payment by credit card will incur additional bank fee processing charge of 4% Beaded Wheels makes every effort to ensure no misleading claims are made by advertisers, responsibility cannot be accepted by Beaded Wheels or the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.) for the failure of any product or service to give satisfaction. Inclusion of a product or service should not be construed as endorsement of it by Beaded Wheels or by the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.). 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.).
1937-1939 DODGE body and mechanical parts new and used. Gasket sets 23 and 25 inch motors, water distribution tubes, water and fuel pumps. Phone Peter 027 526 9170. MEM GORE 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 8011, Ph 03 366 7463, email: info@mscoombes.co.nz 1954 CITROEN L15 big boot model. Rego on hold. Has a VIC. Been off the road since 2011, needing rust repairs to sills and driver’s floor, some work done. Have replacement outer sill panels. Other panel work done. Car complete but partly dismantled. Mechanically good. Older paint (silver) may need full repaint. Interior tidy, original seats. Good tyres. Average chrome. Car in Whanganui. iansarahhowell@gmail.com 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 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 EARLY MODEL AUSTIN 7 PARTS: New old stock left hand 22 ¼ inch axle shaft for 1923 to 1930 models - only 2 available @ $50 each. Used early model 11⁄ 8 inch two bearing crankshaft, rear main 1&1/8”, big end journals 15 ⁄ 16 inch - $25. Used early model radiator & surround with cap - $35. Call Auckland Branch Parts Controller: Jack Nazer 0274 836 666
GOT VIBRATION PROBLEMS?
T he crankshaft pulley/balancer/damper may be the cause. Rubber perishes over time. John at Harmonic Damper Rebuilds can rebuild your pulley like new. He has a proven system to re-rubber and re-sleeve dampers. Most can be rebuilt as good as new and save you money and engine repairs. 027 666 3350 or 07 863 3350 damperdude@gmail.com LESTER TIRE CO Four 7.00 x 21 tyres for sale. Used but as new tread. $800 ono for set of four. Photos available. Ph John 027 448 1430. MEM CANTERBURY
and running gear, some body parts. motor reconditioned – need the space. Reasonable offers. Contact Ian 027 294 5629 MEM SOUTHLAND PENRITE ENGINE COOLANT 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 8011, Ph 03 366 7463, email: info@mscoombes.co.nz
SOME MORE VEHICLES FOR SALE AT
RUSHMORE MOTORS ltd
1926 T tourer. Rest, no reg. Ruckstell diff. 1931 Model A Ford Traveller. No reg. 1905 Rover pedal car. Repro. 1923 T tourer.
1957 Mk7 Jag.
1925 Davis tourer.
1933 Riley 9.
1938 Morris 8 sports. 1948 Dodge sedan.
1952 Mercedes 1988 XJS Jag.
1948 Ford V8 coupé. 1987 Ford Falcon. 1950 Austin Atlantic.
Phone 027 2245 045 for pics and info. PARTS FOR SALE: A ustin A50-55, Morris Oxford 53-54, Vauxhall 55 - all very rusty but parts available before being destroyed. Contact Gavin Mead 03 4822-485 or 021 222 918 (no texts) or linwoodholdings@windowslive.com. MEM OTAGO PENRITE OILS W e carry a large range from vintage to modern engines. Gearbox, diff, SU dashpot and water pump grease. M S Coombes Ltd, 344 St Asaph Street, Christchurch 8011, Ph 03 366 7463, email: info@mscoombes.co.nz RUSHMORE MOTORS LTD can market your Veteran, Vintage or Classic car immediately. We have great success with most makes and listing a vehicle it is completely free. We hold a huge database of prospective buyers and we endeavour to match sellers with buyers. If you have an unused vehicle sitting in your garage and would like your bank balance considerably enhanced, give us a call on 027 2245 045 inc a/h. rushmoremotors@xtra.co.nz
Beaded Wheels 43
MARKET PLACE
S ample copy can be viewed with Trevor at 6 Milford St Blenheim or at the clubrooms on Wednesday mornings.
FIAT 501 1920 C C rating 998. VIN/chassis no 1122341. Engine no 101 TIPO. Convertible, Rego and WoF. This vehicle is in Oamaru. Available to view by appointment. Contact Richard Main 021 824 573 mainbuzz7@gmail.com
1930 FORD MODEL A FORDOR SEDAN F ull body restoration circa 1997, motor recon 2017; shell bearings, adjustable tappets, new clutch and exhaust system. No body rust or wood issues. New WoF, Rego expires March 2023. 12v electrics with indicators fitted. Inc radiator stone guard, rear luggage trunk. $37,500. Phone/text 021 204 1410. MEM CANTERBURY
MODEL A FORD REBUILT SHOCK ABSORBERS, as original. With exchange $240 each, or $270 outright. Arms and all connecting parts available. Postal delivery extra. Will be at Canterbury Branch Swap Meet, site no. 153. Phone Jack 03 352 6672, 0274 322 041 Christchurch. MEM CANTERBURY
LINCOLN ZEPHYR, V 12, Convertible coupe, 1938. 18MM TO 14MM SPARK PLUG REDUCERS a nd Number 166 of 220 built. Only one in NZ. Two 7 ⁄ 8 ” to 14mm spark plug reducers now available speed Columbia over-drive, rear axle. $108.000 $16.10 each. Spark plug washers also available. or near offer. A special vehicle for the discerning Ph 03 359 0565 or 021 128 9252 or MEM CANTERBURY enthusiast. Phone 07 847 5648 or 021 033 5979 www.vintagefordparts.co.nz MEM WAIKATO
MARLBOROUGH BRANCH HISTORY. O rders are now being taken for copies of this book. 180 pages with more than 100 photos. $40 plus $10 postage if necessary. Orders to Trevor Harris 03 578 142 or email marlborough@vcc.org.nz. Prepayment directly to Marlborough Branch bank a/c 03 0599 0246604 001
1930 MORRIS COWLEY LIGHT TRUCK. 1958 MGA RESTORATION PROJECT O ne of FUEL TANK LINER, s tops and protects against Chassis built April 1930. Original body built by last Oz built cars. Comes with numerous parts leaks and weeps contact: peter.alderdice@me.com Stevens & Sons, Chch. Rebuilt 1968-72 Good tyres, either reconditioned or new. Considerable body Phone 021 743 906 MEM AUCKLAND engine reconditioned Nov 2000, new clutch 2019. work done but more required to complete. Shed Current rego & VIC. Ph Lyndsay Hossack, 03 689 stored $14,500. For more information and photos 9898 or cowleydale@icloud.com MEM WAIMATE phone Greg 0277 103 035, grnoller@gmail.com MEM BANKS PENINSULA
1931 TALBOT 90 DELUXE SPORTS TOURER . Full restoration completed in 2016. Very motorable and desirable. For further information and photos contact John Bain Ph 027 274 5279 email: fazazz@fazazz.co.nz Fazazz The Motorists’ Shop. ChCh.
44 Beaded Wheels
MAKE THIS 1934 MG PA from my restoration kit. First registered NZ 02/07/39 with NZ papers. International value, dry stored from 1969, approx. 85% complete, Parts are all key matching numbers, as sports or competition classic, fun, when supercharged like factory did! Google MGMMM for parts info. Written & photocollage available, $ 22,500 ono. ohopeian@ gmail.com 027 478 9483. MEM EBOP
FORD, 1926, MODEL T COUPE, PERIOD SPECIAL. Model T body, chassis, springs, and interior. Hydraulic brakes, 17” wire wheels, 1937 Ford 2200cc 8 cyl. engine. 40 Ford three speed, manual, column change gear/box, Model A front and rear axle. Everything just bolted straight in. A fun novel car to drive. Built 1955 USA. $44,000. Ph 07 847 5648, 021 033 5979 MEM WAIKATO
MARKET PLACE
1929 CHRYSLER 77 ROYAL COUPE E xcellent condition and winner of the Chrysler Restorers Club, 2022 Todd Cup (People’s Choice) Email danboliver2017@gmail.com by 20 November 2022 to register your interest. MEM AUCKLAND
1948 WOLSELEY 8HP. A rare opportunity to purchase. Less than 50 believed imported into the country. Partially restored with an abundance of extras difficult to obtain including gears, chrome work, and backup spares, from years of meticulous salvaging. Ph Ivan 027 499 8386 MEM BOP
1936 MORRIS 12/4 SEDAN Running well, current VIC and Rego, will get current WoF. View in Oamaru, $7,000. Phone Gordon and Wendy 027 224 2018 or email wendympringle@hotmail.com MEM NORTH OTAGO
1930 MODEL A FORD RACEABOUT. A seriously good car. Exc. body & mech. Engine is part A and B. Higher compression, pressurized 3 main bearings, gearbox synchro 4 speed. Full through steel mudguards took nearly a year to make. Stainless steel clip together hood frame, hood, side curtains & tonneau covers. High ratio diff. Rego on hold. $65,000. Ph Rushmore Motors 027 2245 045 inc a/h.
VETERAN 1912 HUMBER 11HP PROJECT. C hassis #477. Includes excellent chassis, straight and rust free. Two engines, two 4 speed gearboxes, complete rear axle and diff, wire wheels quick release type, brass radiator, no body, would suit roadster style, mudguards suitable for patterns included plus lots of literature. $8,000. Ph Tristan 027 444 0834, or tandhwin@xtra.co.nz. MEM MARLBOROUGH
1927 FORD MODEL T RACEABOUT. L engthened 6” and lowered the chassis 6”. Ex. body and mech. Higher compression engine. Model A crankshaft bored, pressurized and filtered. Front wheel brakes fitted. Ruckstell diff. Exhaust whistle. No hood kit, but body fitted tonneau covers. Rego on hold. Ford wire wheels. $45,000. Contact Rushmore Motors 027 2245 045 inc a/h.
1942 WLD SPECIAL SPORT SOLO. 750cc flathead V twin with three speed transmission and high compression, aluminium cylinder heads. Very rare, one of only 133 made. Fully restored in 2016. Superb condition. $50k. Phone/text Bob 021 146 0578. rjbullock38@gmail.com MEM NELSON
1930 MODEL A TUDOR. Original motor. Ex. body and mech. Large running board luggage rack. Kick plates, stone guards. Flying quail and cowl lights. Oil pressure and temp. gauge. Rego is lost. $35,000. Contact Rushmore Motors 027 2245 045 inc a/h.
1922 OVERLAND MODEL 4 ROADSTER. Owned for 50+ years and in store for last 30. Starts and runs. Rego on hold. A good vehicle for first restoration with most original features intact. Some spares. For further information ph John Elworthy 021 836 407, or johnselworthy@gmail.com
1924 STANDARD WARWICK TOURER Model SLO4 Rego on hold. Owned for 50+ years, not rallied past 25 years whilst in store. Complete with some spares, driven to storage location. Ideal project vehicle. For further information ph John Elworthy 021 836 407, or johnselworthy@gmail.com
1940 INDIAN FOUR. Fully restored in 2010. WOODEN WHEELS m ade for your metal Goes well. Selling due to lack of use. Rare and work. Steam-bent felloes, any shape spokes. very collectable classic bike. $140k Phone/ New beaded rims available in some sizes. Phone text Bob 021 146 0578, rjbullock38@gmail.com Vern Jensen 06 323 3868, 16 Osborne Terrace, MEM NELSON Feilding, sandvo@callsouth.net.nz MEM MANAWATU
Beaded Wheels 45
MARKET PLACE
MAGNETO AND COIL WINDING SERVICES Magneto repairs, coil rewinding, work guaranteed. We buy and sell magnetos of all types except aircraft. 728 Waimutu Road, RD2 Marton 4788. Phone Warwick 06 327 3849, 027 281 8066, walandlynn@farmside.co.nz MEM
1931 MODEL A FORD DELUXE ROADSTER. High ratio crown-wheel and pinion. Ex. body and mech. Rego and WoF. All the bells and whistles. Picture it sitting in your garage. A great example of a fine Model A. $55,000. Contact Rushmore Motors 027 2245 045 inc a/h.
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 E: info@mscoombes.co.nz RUSHMORE MOTORS LTD can market your Veteran, Vintage or Classic car immediately. We have great success with most makes and listing a vehicle it is completely free. We hold a huge database of prospective buyers and we endeavour to match sellers with buyers. If you have an unused vehicle sitting in your garage and would like your bank balance considerably enhanced, give us a call on 027 2245 045 inc a/h. rushmoremotors@xtra.co.nz
1957 XL SPORTSTER. 883cc medium compression OHV V twin with four speed transmission. Early number, first year model. 57 XL plate. USA import. Superb condition. $60k. Phone /text Bob 0211460578. rjbullock38@gmail.com MEM NELSON
VEHICLE COLLECTION FOR SALE FORD BRONCO 1983
R/H drive V8 auto red/white, new tyres, tidy. Rego on hold. Offers
FORD FAIRLANE 2003
e x govt diplomat’s car. 6 cyl fuel inj auto, radio, t/ bar leather trim. Good condition. Rego on hold.
FORD ZEPHYR 1955
as been restored, red paint, fawn upholstery. H New whitewall tyres. Zodiac trims – good looker. Rego on hold.
SUNBEAM RAPIER 1974
Fastback manual o/drive, twin carbs, yellow paint, fawn upholstery, loads of spares. Goes well, very tidy. Rego on hold.
MGB GT 1973
B ritish racing green, manual o/drive, new rubber. Radio/heater, receipts for motor overhaul, original interior. Rego on hold.
JAGUAR SOVEREIGN 1992
6 cylinder auto, maroon metallic paint, cream upholstery. Excellent condition,. All original pepper pot wheels. Radio/heat/t/bar. Very tidy condition. Rego on hold.
TRIUMPH STAG 1974
V8 auto, hard top/soft top. Very tidy. colour blue. Receipts for auto overhaul. Original interior. Mag wheels. Rego on hold.
VINTAGE TRUNKS made to order or stock sizes. Dust proof and waterproof. Phone Allan 06 844 3959 or 0274 469 331 Napier, acjones760@gmail.com MEM All enquiries for the above vehicles to ALAN PERRY PHONE 027 485 9910 VINTAGE CAR REPAIRS PAPAMOA 1968 XLCH SPORTSTER. 8 83cc OHV V twin with four speed transmission. Superb condition. USA import. $40k. Phone /text Bob 021 146 0578. rjbullock38@gmail. com MEM NELSON
All Classic and Vintage Car restoration. • Panel making • Wooden body repairs, • Bumpers and moulding repair • Competitive hourly rate. Unit 1 11 Penn Place, Upper Riccarton, Christchurch
Phone Grant 341 5100 or 027 223 9474 granttvin@gmail.com
VINTAGE & CLASSIC QUARTZ halogen 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 & BA15 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 027 311 6563 , Amuri Motorcycles, 2C Birmingham Drive, Christchurch. Email modelboatsupplies@snap.net.nz 46 Beaded Wheels
VALVES exhaust quality stainless for vintage engines. Supplied semi finished with a range of stem and head sizes for machining to dimensions required. Contact George Calder, phone 03 338 5372 or email gandkcalder@gmail.com
WAIRARAPA VCC SPARES: Riley 4/72 diff, front suspension/brakes, rear springs; grilles Singer (Gazelle?), Mk II Zephyr, Vauxhall Viva, Morris Oxford and Minor, Holden (H series); G/boxes Holden Trimatic, Zephyr auto, XJ Jag Auto, Fiat 132. Please enquire for more details. Ph Frank, 06 3797167 or email Jeff (j.percy@xtra.co.nz) or Barry (ljandbjwells@gmail.com. VINTAGE ENGINE SHORT BLOCKS 1911 CALTHORPE 12/15 ROADSTER. Fully restored We can in most cases rebuild your short rare round radiator car, mechanically fully block using modern shell bearings, overhauled, runs very well. Seen at a number of new pistons and rebuilt oil pump. NZ events. Same owners since 1970s. Comes with Please contact us for more information. some spares, there is a purpose built enclosed trailer for housing and transporting this vehicle M S Coombes Ltd, 344 St Asaph Street, WoF & Rego. POA. Contact Theo de Leeuw, 027 490 Christchurch 8011, Ph 03 366 7463, email: 3248, tdeleeuw@xtra.co.nz MEM WAIKATO info@mscoombes.co.nz
MARKET PLACE
1979 YAMAHA XT500 US model, low mileage, pristine condition. $11,000. Email Nicolas for more info: nicolas.beaufays@gmail.com MEM WELLINGTON
1981 BMW-R65LS 6 9,000 miles. MPH speedometer. 2 correct Panniers. Unfitted - 2 fairings & carrier. Twin disc front brake with new hoses. Has VIC. Rego on hold. Toured by overseas guest and went very well. Price $4,900 Ph Graeme 09 5249 255, gandm.crawley@Gmail.com MEM AUCKLAND
1982 CITROËN VISA II SPECIAL. LHD imported from Switzerland in 1984. 2 cyl 652cc air-cooled engine. Tidy condition with reg and WoF. Just like driving a 2CV but more comfortable and for eeds restoration, with many a fraction of the cost. $5,500. Ph 022 194 6678 SINGER 10 1938 N spares for a second car. Ph paul 027 603 9730 or, MEM CANTERBURY paulwanty15@gmail.com for info and many more VETERAN CAR AND MOTORYCLE LAMPS, car photos. MEM CANTERBURY horns and gas generators. Various lamp rims and glass. Bring your measurements. Man cave, various bits and pieces. Site 180 Canterbury Swap Meet.
FORD IN NEW ZEALAND BOOK. C overs period from start of motoring. Complete industry history and period photos, tables, etc. “Excellent example of what a marque history should be—thoroughlyresearched, well written…” (Beaded Wheels review). Contact John Stokes 027 537 9491 or email tourist. times@xtra.co.nz.-$59 includes postage.
CONVERT YOUR CLASSIC CAR TO EV C hinese fully electric five seater vehicle, drives beautifully, fully equipped, simple electronics, built in generator for when you run out of power as you will. Ideal vehicle to use the insides to convert a vintage car phone Ivan 021 077 278. MEM ASHBURTON
WANTED 1934 – ‘36 VAUXHALL/BEDFORD ASX manual, or information on the engine and running gear please. Ph 03 439 5207, l blunden@slingshot.co.nz MEM NORTH OTAGO
PLYMOUTH/DODGE 1939 Front Brake Drum. 10 inch 2 inch deep five stud (4 Fins on casting). Ph Keith 04 589 5495 or shaab@xtra.co.nz
SIX-SPLINE AXLE for ‘27-’28 Dodge Fast 4. Would like to convert to four-wheel brakes using the system fitted to the last of the Dodge 4s. The car is on disc wheels. Does anyone have experience in this or a similar conversion? Kevin Casey caseyleadlights@xtra.co.nz, ph 03 453 0818. MEM OTAGO
A DRIVER’S SIDE DOOR i n good condition wanted to buy. To suit a 1933–34 Austin 7 saloon. Reply Ken 0061 4 0701 7187, Australia kenburton45@hotmail.com BRITISH MOTORCYCLE for restoration project wanted (or already restored), age and condition unimportant. Anything considered. Contact Matt, ph 021 960 194, matt@techlight.co.nz DODGE 1928 STD6 (TWO CARS) need split rims and hubs for wooden spoke wheels 19 inch and 21 inch to rebuild or upgrade existing wheels on two lovely cars. Bruce Seddon bruce.seddon@xtra. co.nz 027 279 7923 Whakatane MEM EBOP
1963 MORRIS OXFORD I am restoring this to ENGINE WANTED, older, its former glory, and would be very happy if STATIONARY anyone out there has access to parts. I would exposed workings, pref complete. 0274 496 737 like a right rear tail-light assembly in very good or brucebenge@yahoo.co.nz. MEM WGTN condition. May need more parts later. Ph Darren, STELLAR - META WATER FILTERS wanted for 1943 021 0811 2534, lexieandrews@outlook.co.nz Bedford MWC military water truck restoration. MEM GISBORNE Complete or parts. Phone Peter 03 3295 333
MEM CANTERBURY
DYNAMO M/C - MILLER DM 3GI 6V, L ucas E3 or E3L 6v, Miller M/C 7 inch headlight, Burman M/C hand change gear leaver. Ph Wayne 07 863 7232 or pam.wayne.c@gmail.com MEM BOP
TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLE 1926 a nd 1927 model QA and N parts literature and contacts. Ph 03 437 0774, roberthuttonnz1@gmail.com MEM NORTH OTAGO
HONDA S 800 ( car) carburettors set of four. Prefer Mk 1, but would be interested in Mk 2 set also. Bill. 027 201 0565, w.veitch@xtra.co.nz MEM OTAGO LIVERY. E uropa Oil service truck Christchurch. 1963 Commer 2 tonne flat deck owned since 1977. Any photos or memories please. Ken 03 3529217. ken. grimwood@xtra.co.nz MEM CANTERBURY
WANTED SIMMS C4 MAGNETO Working or to rebuild Ph 027 432 1966, alastair.toby@gmail.com
MEM CANTERBURY
Beaded Wheels 47
SWAP MEETS & RALLIES
All vehicles entered in National And International Rallies must hold a current VehicIe Identity Card (VIC).
WAIKATO VINTAGE
SWAPMEET KARAPIRO DOMAIN, CAMBRIDGE
Sunday 20 November 2022
Gates open 7am • Public Entry $5 • Children under 12 Free Sites $10 • Commercial sites and large trailers $25 Organised by Waikato Branch of VCC and Waikato Vintage Tractor & Machinery Club
Enquiries Ph Jeremy Brook 07 824 1641, George Gardner 07 839 1822 For more information visit www.wvvcc.co.nz
The Southland Branch invites you all to the
2023 National Motorcycle Rally 3 – 6 February 2023 ENTER NOW!
Registrations close 30 November 2022 No late entries accepted
h
ty Branc
T E E M SWAPvember 2022 of Plen VCC Bay
CARS
SIC & CLAS INTAGE
Sunday 6 N29oCliff Rd Tauranga
V
Stay on to attend the Burt Munro Challenge 8 – 12 February 2023 Visit our website for updates and to enter: www.sporty.co.nz/nationalmotorcyclerally
9am – 1pm
•
nect.co.nz
ron.elton@ki For Information: EFTPOS AT THE GATES
ADMISSION $5 per person $15 family
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 $69 or 12 issues $135 New Zealand 6 Issues AUD$117 or 12 issues AUD$231 Overseas 6 Issues AUD$150 or 12 issues AUD$297 VISA – MASTERCARD AVAILABLE EDDIE FORD PUBLICATIONS P/L 29 LYONS ST, NEWSTEAD VIC 3462, AUSTRALIA.
PH 61 3 5476 2212 RESTOREDCARSMAGAZINE.COM 48 Beaded Wheels
Saturday 25 February 2023 Swap Meet starts at 7.00 a.m. Entry: Sellers $10.00 Buyers/Browsers $5.00 Children (under 12) Free Vintage Car Display - Car Parts Old & New - Motoring Books & Manuals Collectibles – Bric-a-Brac Refreshments – Sausage Sizzle – Bacon Butties
Venue: Wellsford/Warkworth Vintage Car Clubrooms Satellite Station Rd –off SH 1 – 3km south of Warkworth All enquiries to 027 423 8122 or wellsfordwarkworth@vcc.org.nz
To go in Beaded Wheels October/November
13–20 MARCH
December January and again if needed February March
2023
Proof and request for who invoice should go to TOUR MILEAGE emailed 19/09 750 MILES
IF IT’S GOT WHEELS OR TRACKS YOU CAN PUT IT ON SHOW!
WELLINGTON • WAIRARAPA • WANGANUI Come and join like-minded people to savour the stunning scenery of the south of the North Island in your pre 1931 club eligible vehicle.
EARTHMOVING PRACTICE DAY: Friday 7 April MAIN SHOW: Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 April
Make a date for a holiday with a difference combining motoring mostly on secondary roads over interesting country with the opportunity to do the famous rail trip on the Forgotten Highway. The Tour will be preceded by a BBQ for the entrants hosted by the Wellington Branch on Sunday 12 March. Start is from Lower Hutt and will finish at Whanganui on Sunday 20 March with a final dinner. Further information /accommodation details will be sent to those who express interest.
Email Phil and Coral Kidd: prcmk@xtra.co.nz Phone Phil Kidd 027 239 4828 or home ph 04 5289 897
www.wheelsatwanaka.co.nz
SOUTH CANTERBURY BRANCH OAMARU • NEW ZEALAND
DRIVING OUR HISTORY
Coinciding with the Victorian Heritage Weekend
SATURDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2022 A & P Showgrounds Ettrick St • Oamaru
Hot Food and Coffee available Enter your Vintage, Classic Car or Hot Rod in the Show & Shine Public Entry from 8am $5 per adult Children under 15 free
Site Holders entry from 7am $15 including 1 free entry
Fellow members are invited to join a 3 day tour in December 2022. Leaving from Timaru • 1st night, Oamaru Friday 9 Dec • 2nd night, Omarama Sat 10 Dec • 3rd night, Timaru, 11 Dec.
DECEMBER
Your choice of all sealed roads or a combination of sealed and unsealed roads. Accommodation and meals are entrants responsibility. Get in early to book your accommodation.
All enquiries to The Secretary, northotago@vcc.org.nz or Derek Brehaut 021 390 518 DRIVING OUR HISTORY
Join us for our NORTH OTAGO BRANCH
SATURDAY 3 DECEMBER 2022
ANNUAL
WINDSOR RALLY ENTRIES CLOSE 25 NOVEMBER
Late entries will be accepted but participants cannot be competitive. Departing from Friendly Bay Reserve, Wansbeck Street, Oamaru
Contact Windsor Rally organisers for entry forms. email: windsorrally@gmail.com
or phone Wendy on 027 224 2018 • PO Box 360 Oamaru 944
3 DAY TOUR 9, 10, 11
Entry forms from nola.day@xtra.co.nz Enquiries to Grant Stewart 027 378 6149 or Alistair Day 027 202 5007
Swap Meet Gore Swap Meet And Boot Sale Run by the Gore Vintage Car Club
SUNDAY 19 MARCH 2023 WAIMEA STREET, GORE – 8AM START Hot Food Available Admittance Adults $5 Accompanied Children Free
Sellers’ Stalls $10 (includes one free entry) (If you have items you wish to sell please come along and set up a stall) Enquiries to Gerry 03 208 5806, 027 233 4634 or Katherine 021 261 6986 Beaded Wheels 49
TRADE DIRECTORY
Repairers and Restorers of Vintage and Classic Instruments Speedo Cables repaired or made new to order 13 Fleming Street, Onehunga, Auckland
Hamco
INSTRUMENT REPAIRS
UPPER CLASSICS
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Motorcycle & Car a Wire Wheel Repairs & Restorations
Experienced expert technician Bruce Chaytor ph 021 631 700 Nicolette Prangley 021 166 8374
We Specialise In • Custom Made Spokes • Speedway Wheels Rim and Frame Lining • Wheel Building & Truing • Complete Wheel Restoration
nap.chaytor@gmail.com 5 Gibbs Place, Kinloch, RD1, Taupo 3377
Vintage – Classic – Modern Craig & Debbie Hambling
Phone 06 324 8345 Mobile 027 231 7864
FOR THE REPAIR & RESTORATION OF ALL CLASSIC OR VINTAGE CARS & MOTORCYCLES
410 Green Road, RD 6, Palmerston North Day or Night
MARLBOROUGH MAGNETOS
CARBURETTOR SPECIALISTS
Hard-to-get parts manufactured
Coil Only service for DIY assembly
Magdyno and Maglita units restored
Curiosities investigated
☎ 027 577 8328
Contact Paul Radmall at paul@magnetos.co.nz
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Exchange armatures available
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Magneto repair and restoration undertaken
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Magnetos Rewound in New Zealand using the best available materials
Full reconditioning service Carburettor body, re-bushing and shafts supplied. Specialising in Weber, Holley, SU, Stormberg, etc
40 YEARS TRADE EXPERIENCE Contact: GRAEME TULLOCH Ph: 027 612 2312 or 06 368 2202 Email: tullochfamily@xtra.co.nz ı tulmac.co.nz
FREE ADVICE
Done the old way – the right way COPPER – NICKEL – CHROME
Specialist in restoration of Vintage and Classic cars and motorcycles FREEPHONE
0800 862 476
www.classicchrome.co.nz 50 Beaded Wheels
EMAIL stephen_winteringham@hotmail.com
DRIVING OUR HISTORY
50 & 60 YEAR AWARDS Congratulations to the following members who have recently been awarded their 50 and 60 Year Awards.
Bainbridge, Andrew
Nelson, Roger
Rotorua
Bennett, John Leslie
Ashburton
Buchanan, Terence William Cox, Neil Robert
North Otago
Ritchie, Jim
Canterbury
Ross, Diane
Ashburton
Ross, Rob
Central Hawke’s Bay
Croft, John Hamilton
Rotorua
Ashburton
Canterbury
Sigley, John
Duckworth, Ron (60 Year Award)
Canterbury
Skelton, William (Bill)
Evans, Graham
Canterbury
Townsend, Robert
Fraser, Joe
Whimp, Dennis
Rotorua
Moore, Garth Lewis
North Shore
Way, Barry
Central Otago
Maud, James
Canterbury
Urbahn, Raymond Karl
Ashburton
Katon, Angus Vincent
Waikato Canterbury
Vesey, Ross
Canterbury
Hurst, Ollie
Rotorua
Turley, John Mcdonald
Taranaki
Genet, Owen
Marlborough
Webley, Joyce
Canterbury
Wairarapa Rotorua
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IDLE TORQUE A round up of events, personalities and branch gossip from VCCNZ branches around the country
ASHBURTON
ISLA JONES
We welcome new members: Bayne Hickmott, 1952 Austin A40; John McDonough, 1997 Ford Fairmont and Ethan Lange, 1955 Austin Cambridge. Thirty-two cars joined in our Solstice Run on inland country roads to view our spectacular snow-capped mountains before returning to the clubrooms for refreshments and a catch up with fellow members. Our Quiz night against Timaru at their clubrooms was a most enjoyable and fun night, but unfortunately we came a good second again. At our Annual Dinner, National President Diane Quarrie presented 50-Year Awards to Diane and Rob Ross, and to Les Bennett. Diane then presented a 25-Year Award to Lindsay Williamson. The following Saturday Diane Ross and Peter Jacobs presented Ollie Hurst with his 50-year Award at our Parts Shed. Nine cars left the clubrooms at 1.30pm for our August Boredom Buster Run to Albury, the start of the Mackenzie Country. The route took us through Geraldine then Cave before arriving at our accommodation in Albury. Saturday was fine as we traversed more back country roads looking at the obvious challenges the farmers are facing with the very wet winter. On the way we visited Peter Cook’s sheds to look at his collection of tractors and cars, then went down the main road to Pleasant Point to view John Pelvin’s military collection and his new challenge of restoring a WWI ambulance. Back to Albury for the evening meal and comradery. On Sunday it was straight back to Ashburton to enter our cars in the Show and Shine at our clubrooms, raising money for the Cancer Society.
OBITUARY
Dave Allbon It is with sadness that I report that Auckland Branch lost one of its most dedicated and talented members, David George Allbon on 3 July. Dave joined the Auckland Branch in November 1977 with a 1929 Sunbeam saloon, an eminently suitable vehicle for transporting a young family. Dave soon took an interest in branch affairs and served variously as club captain, branch treasurer and 1983 Easter Rally committee member. Dave was Auckland Branch chairman from 1988-1992 and branch bulletin editor 1993-97. Dave became part of the VCC National Executive during 1988-1992 and subsequently served on the VCCNZ Management Committee from 1993-2001, where he participated in re writing the National Constitution. He then served on the vehicle technical committee becoming chairman in 2007. He relinquished his involvement with this committee only a year or so ago. In 2008 Dave received a Presidential Award for his years of service to the Club. Dave’s earlier years were spent serving in the RNZAF, where he trained in electrical maintenance, seeing service in Singapore and sometimes Vietnam. He subsequently became an electrical tutor at Manukau Technical institute. Dave gave freely of his knowlege and skill to other members, particularly in the electrical field. As well as the Sunbeam, a 1952 MG TD and a 1973 Triumph Stag were extensively motored and maintained in his immaculate workshop. To Barbara, his four children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren we extend our condolences John Stokes
▼ Ashburton: Diane Quarrie with Diane & Rob Ross and Les Bennett with their 50 year awards.
▲ A shburton: 1910 Reo owned by Peter Cook of Fairlie.
▲ Ashburton: Ollie Hurst receiving his 50 Year Award from Diane Ross and Peter Jacob.
At our AGM we gained a new chairman in Mrs Shaaran Price. Shaaran and her husband Alan were presented with the Bill Shears Trophy for meritorious service to
uckland: John Morrisons 1949 Talbot-Lago A at Daffodil Day run.
52 Beaded Wheels
▲
JOHN STOKES
AUCKLAND
▲ Auckland: Shaaran and Alan Price receiving Bill Shears Trophy.
▲ Bay of Plenty: Our new signage is finally up! Seen here with Ron Elton’s 1934 Triumph Gloria doing a photo bomb.
▲ Auckland: Creemer’s Britten on display at clubrooms.
the Auckland Branch. The Triers Trophy went to Roy Sharman, the Ladies Rally to Stephen and Ryan Winterbottom, the Points trophy to Stephen and Tracey Winterbottom, and the Partnership trophy to Gavin Welch and Sophie Zhao. Our ongoing work in the clubrooms fixing damage from the March flood is almost complete, with new carpet in the library and hall, and most other damage rectified. The big job is the reinstatement of the library. The Branch has hosted a successful National AGM, with delegates viewing the Dickie and Sharman collections in Waiuku, the Awhitu light house, and Steve and Sue Keys collection. Vehicle acquisitions: John Morrison has bought the 1949 Talbot-Lago that featured in a recent Webb’s auction. Jim Boag has bought a 1926 Buick roadster formerly restored by the late Murray Henderson. The August motorcycle section meeting featured Robert and Ben Creemer’s Britten motorcycle, one of only two still racing. About 50 attended the meeting. The motorcycle points trophy was won by Rory King. Twenty vehicles came out for the Daffodil Day run which visited several rest homes, a successful club night, held in our barn. A club run to the Meguiars Car Show
▲ B ay of Plenty: Getting the Team DSR drift cars into our clubrooms was a challenge - they both fitted in - just!
also raised funds. A total of around $2,000 was raised by the branch
BANKS PENINSULA
DON GERRARD
We welcome new members John Stringer with Post 60 vehicles, Michael Pentecost with a 1972 Morris Mini Works Rally Replica, and Neil Kay with a 1966 Mallock U2. At our AGM Russell Yates was awarded the Use But Not Abuse Trophy and we welcome a very youthful Thomas Palmer onto the Committee representing the third generation of the Palmer family in the branch. Gavin Bain has acquired a 1934 3.5 litre Derby Bentley, bodied by Gurney Nutting. It is a one-off model built for the Countess of Warwick, and still boasts its original interior. Another acquisition is a third Citroen for Andrew Bain - an excellent example of the Light 15 model. Our July Night Rally finished at Leeston, traveling via McLeans Island, Rolleston and Lincoln. Tying in 1st place were Morris Wright and family in an extremely original Series 3 SWB Landrover, from the Yates’s Toyota MR2. Second equal was James Robinson in his impressive Mini Monte Carlo replica and Simon and Vanessa
Hall in their Mercedes 250. Digby Gemmell took out the vintage award in his Graham Paige. This year’s Balcairn Sporting Trials (see the full report in this issue) attracted another excellent 26 entries of predominately Austin and Morris variants doing battle over six courses It was good to see so many of our members turn out with their trusty steeds for the Daffodil Run in August to help swell the numbers for what was a most enjoyable day in ideal conditions and all for a great cause.
BAY OF PLENTY
DON WHITE
Our branch has been busy, and numbers are starting to increase at events and club night meetings. A parade to mark Matariki was held in downtown Tauranga in late June, and about 45 vehicles were in evidence. Event coordinator Doug Brown got his wish of good weather to assist with a great turn out of members. At our August club night we had a full house, with all of our 110 chairs taken, as well as a fair few more people in evidence as well. Guests were Team DSR, with two of their race cars, with the drivers all Beaded Wheels 53
▲ Canterbury: Branch event organiser, Colin Hey, 2022 Daffodil Day Rally for Cancer finish at Cutler Park.
▲C anterbury: 2022 Daffodil Day Rally.
crammed into the stage area of our club rooms. Donn White interviewed drivers Adam Davies and Dave Steedman. Our full house proved to be very receptive, and the audience left after supper knowing much more about the drift car scene. For the Daffodil Run for Cancer on 21 August, coordinator Linda Downey had a close-knit group at her disposal organising a Car Show and then a run to Matamata and back to our clubrooms for afternoon tea. The money collected on the day by our branch totalled just over $3,000. The following Tuesday about 20 or so members delivered daffodils around various business houses in the Tauranga region. Despite the recent hiatus created by Covid over the past two years, our members and the public have been quick to rally behind the Cancer Society and give generously once again. Our next big fixture is our Car Show and Swap Meet on 6 November this year.
CANTERBURY
TONY BECKER
Breaking out of a particularly wet winter, Canterbury Branch offered the novelty of a hub-rally for the annual National Daffodil fundraiser. Routes departed around 10am from four starting points at Rolleston, Rangiora, New Brighton and Cashmere. More than 450 beautifully prepared vehicles followed various defined short and long routes through town and country, to eventually converge at Cutler Park by midday. A further 50 or so vehicles were already there for the OCBC (Old Cars Bikes and Coffee) morning, so hundreds of beautifully prepared vintage and classic vehicles graced our McLeans Island venue. Following two years of Covid cancelled Daffodil Days and disruptions to other events, this was our largest get-together in a long while. A special delight for hundreds of enthusiasts. Funds raised for the Cancer Society came to $7,000 by bucket
54 Beaded Wheels
collection alone, all from the Canterbury Branch. Several folk donated very generously. Additional fundraising activity at Cutler Park came by way of Avon Rotary´s Barbecue lunch tent and food tables, a VCC raffle ($420), festive entertainment by live band music, all supported by a coffee cart, open parts shed, and a busy membership enquiry stall. All contributed to a happy atmosphere in the relief of spring sunshine. A variety of “Best Of” prizes were presented at the conclusion of a really great day. Next significant big crowd event we are all hanging out for is October 7-9 when Canterbury Branch Swap Meet and Display will actually happen after several false lockdown starts. By then though, we will have navigated our other spring events, including the Women and Young Drivers Rally, the Awards Dinner, motorcycle and car events, and 9-90s outings.
CENTRAL HAWKE’S BAY JOHN FOOT Our July club run was set by branch Club Captain Laurie and Gloria Malcolmson. The start was in Waipukurau, and used country roads away from the main SH2 where possible, to get us to the finish at a private collection in Dannevirke for lunch. Unfortunately the day was a bit miserable, but there were still 12 cars and 25 members taking part in an event with a difference. The instructions said that along the route there will be listed various places of interest where you will need to stop to take notes of what is there, with the hope you have written down the right information to get the right answers. Rod and Scarlett McKenzie were the outright winners. The August run was the annual Daffodil Rally, this year organised by Kaye Carswell and a great team of helpers. The weather played its part with a bright sunny day and a turnout of 80 cars, which included members from Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay Branches, along with many Jaguar
Club members and members of the public. The day started at 9.30am with a car show and competition for best daffodil theme dressed car (won by Jim and Irene Spicer with 1948 Vauxhall) before setting off for a tour of the countryside to our afternoon tea destination at Junction Wines. The afternoon finished with branch member Wayne McDonagh very ably auctioning donated items to add to the funds raised.
CENTRAL OTAGO
DON YEAMAN
We held our Daffodil Day event on 21 August with our usual Monte Targo run. This year, to stimulate a bit more community interest, we added a Show and Shine at the clubrooms, and invited the Alpine Street Machines to join us for the day. Those that took part in the Monte Targo run were given the rules several weeks in advance so they could work out their desired routes and finish at the clubrooms at between 12 and 12:30 with proof of their accumulated 250 points. Only six cars took part in this, with John and Mel Wilson as the overall winners. Most people took the option of just entering the Show and Shine, which took place from 11am to 2pm and we ended up with about 60 cars in total with about half each from Central Otago Branch and Alpine Street Machines, as well as a few extras, including a Mazda Rotary owned by Nicole Rushbrook and partner. Nicole represented the cancer society. We had the clubrooms open for anyone who wished to have a hot drink, and Mr Whippy was parked outside. The parts sheds were open, and a good number of people found that vital piece that they needed. As well as our usual raffles, we had three major ones. - Wanaka Helicopters ride, winner Judith and Ken Brown. - Highlands Motorsport Park (Go Kart rides), winner - Mr Anderson from Bannockburn.
▲ Central Otago: John and Wendy Martin quickly putting tonneau cover on their Alvis before the rain.
▲ Central Hawke’s Bay: Daffodil Run. Jim and Irene Spicer’s Vauxhall.
▲ Central Otago: Daffodil Day Show and Shine.
▲ Central Hawke’s Bay: interesting Chevrolet rebuild at Dannevirke.
▲ Central Hawke’s Bay: July run lunch at Dannevirke. ▲ Central Otago: Early arrivals for COVCC Show and Shine.
▲ EBOP: Leaming’s Ford Zephyr & Costar’s Ford Model A ready to lead the parade.
▲ EBOP: 1946 Ford coupe and 1937 Pontiac with their owners.
- Cromwell BP Workshop prize of $250 Cleaning products, winner - the Van der Merwes.
EBOP
BRUCE SEDDON
Our annual Night Owl Run was well supported again. The attraction is the novelty of navigating around Whakatane in the dark, and the shared meal afterwards. Enroute questions were set, and at the end of the evening Karen and Mark
Spackman were awarded this year’s Owl Trophy. Our July mid-month run went to Opotiki to view the new harbour development, a huge undertaking. It is creating an all-weather entrance to the river port and marina to support major commercial aquaculture developments off-shore. This is a significant economic revitalisation for Opotiki and the project manager gave us a guided tour and explained the port development works. There was of course the side
benefit of running our cars on the open country roads around Opotiki. At the end of July Noel and Lois Davies led us from Matata to Mt Maunganui. First destination was the American Retro Shop with its display of three drag cars. We then went to Clint’s Panel and Paint Shop. There, Clint had a line-up of cars that were being worked on, including an HQ Holden, a Fiat Bambina and a Nash Metropolitan. Out the back he had a display of clients’ exotic cars. Beaded Wheels 55
In August we promoted Daffodil Day. As in previous years we were successful in attracting a wide variety of car clubs and vehicles to join us in supporting the Cancer Society. The display of cars for the public was followed by a procession through central Whakatane. Of special interest was the presence of the 1928 Dodge Standard 6 of Ian and Keith Rawlinson, newly back on the road after a lengthy restoration.
FAR NORTH
MURRAY CORMACK
Our recent Annual Lunch and PrizeGiving held at the Mangonui Cruising Club was well supported by our members. The trophies were well spread amongst our membership. Robyn Mackay was a worthy winner of the Person of the Year award for her tremendous efforts for the branch as treasurer. The branch took the opportunity at this event to present long-service awards to Dave and Dorothy Duirs for their great efforts over the years. Our recent Daffodil Day Run started in Okaihau and went, via a scenic run, to the Pioneer Village in Kaikohe for a vehicle display. Members enjoyed supporting this day, which was well-organised for this worthy cause by Keith and Trevor. The Pioneer Village complex was started in the 1970s with considerable input from the local Rotary Club. It has many relocated historic buildings, restored with appropriate time-period artifacts and some
incredible working machinery. A guided tour and train ride gave our members a great day, and we all appreciated the efforts by the locals over the years to establish such a great asset. Thanks to Keith on the day for the organisation. The branch was recently saddened by the news that our long-standing and active member Mary MacGregor had passed away. Mary was a cheerful and enthusiastic supporter of our branch over a long period of time and will be sorely missed.
GISBORNE
The morning sunshine for our July Jaunt, organised by Ray and Prim Stevenson, saw a good turnout of vehicles, with eight assembling at the starting point for a jaunt around the Matawhero, Makauri and Waerenga-a-Hika areas, then back through town to their home where a magnificent spread of eats was presented. Our Daffodil Rally for Cancer on 21 August went off very well, with 130 entries taking part in the run to Tolaga Bay, including a visit to the historic Tolaga Bay wharf, described as the longest in the country. This year we tried a different starting point for the run, leaving from The Warehouse carpark, and this proved to be very successful, with at most times a continuous queue waiting to make a donation for the Cancer Society. We raised
▲ Far North: Branch vehicles assembling for Daffodil Run. ▼ Gisborne: Daffodil Day Team: Graeme Revell, Rodney Clague and John Griffen at the collection point for the rally.
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RODNEY CLAGUE
over $2000, the best result we have had over the past six years. Our Navigator’s Run, organised by Tony Bartlett, was held the following weekend, with eight vehicles managing to find their way back to the clubrooms after following Tony’s cunning instructions. Father’s Day saw four vehicles attend a display at the Leighton House rest home. where residents were invited to look at the vehicles and have a chat to the owners. For some of us it was a chance to catch up with old workmates who we hadn’t had contact with for a while. We look forward to hosting the Eastern Bay of Plenty Branch on 5 November for a convivial weekend together.
GORE
BILL SHEDDAN
Two couples from the Auckland area joined our June Tuesday Ramble. Warren and Christine Saunders from the Hillman/ Humber Car Club as well as Paddy and Sandra Keane from the North Shore VCC. They met us at the clubrooms for the hour-long drive to Wallacetown Tavern for lunch. We then visited a collection of all things from yesteryear assembled over many years by Alan Waghorn. Another enjoyable day put together by Gerry Kennedy. The Branch diesel heating tank has gained the attention of local riff-raff but on the night of the annual dinner, 9 July
▲ Gore: Run to Pukerau.
▲ Gore: Branch Annual Dinner. ▲ Horowhenua: Entrants gather for the Night Owl 25 year badge presentations Rally. to Chris Scoles, Lynda and Keith Nunn, Annette Ainge.
▲ Hawke’s Bay: The Patterson’s Model A, an earthquake survivor, at the Winter Art Deco.
▲ Hawke’s Bay: Cadillac- Tony Roberts with his recently purchased 1927 Cadillac LaSalle roadster.
▲ Gisborne: Tony Browne's 1955 Buick Century, Ray Squires' 1969 Chrysler Valiant and John Griffen's 1930 Ford A sedan lined up for the display at Leighton.
our health and safety officer climbed the ladder and poured 20 litres into the empty tank. This was sufficient to see out an enjoyable evening with the year’s trophies being presented between the meal courses. Four of the five 25-year badges were also presented. Recipients were Chris Scoles, Annette Ainge, Keith and Lynda Nunn. Absent was Alistair Lee. July’s Ramble had us all meet at the Gore Town and Country Club for lunch, then out to Pukerau just out of Gore to visit Jeff Henderson’s collection of farm tractors and machinery. These were mostly as found, but did include a few restored machines including a traction engine. The weather could have been better, and those that took gumboots were sensible indeed. An enjoyable day none the less. Close to 40 cars joined in for this year’s Daffodil Rally for Cancer, half being non-members cars. The destination was Roxburgh and raised over $800 for this worthy cause.
HAWKE’S BAY
ESTHER SMITH
During winter we seem to have turned our attention to indoor events, In June we jazzed up our monthly Kitchen Night with a 1920s style radio play written by our talented member John Cocking. Playing
▲ Gore: Daffodil Day - Lynn Herron and Katy Parish receiving
to a full house, he led a band of actors through a great whodunit murder mystery, complete with appropriate sound effects. Winter Art Deco was a smaller event this year, but we still took our cars up to display on the forecourt in front of the Masonic Hotel. With Covid circulating in the community we decided not to offer car rides to the public. Our Rally for Cancer was again another indoor event. Hastings District Council has recently completed the strengthening and refurbishment of one of Hastings’ most iconic buildings, the Municipal Building. This is a category one historic building, built about 1915. The adjoining Opera House went through the same strengthening and refurbishment process in 2020. We arranged for a guided tour through the two buildings, and it was a real treat to be able to have a close up look at the work that has been carried out. They have done an amazing job of bringing the buildings back to life and making them available for the community to use. All that made for thirsty work, so it was a quick run back to the Clubrooms to attend to that. The online membership applications keep coming in, so the new system certainly seems to be working well for us.
HOROWHENUA
BRUCE JAMIESON
Our biggest recent event was the Night Owl Rally in July. The organisers set what turned out to be a most interesting course, ranging from right down at the beach at Otaki to well up into the foothills of the Tararua Ranges. One of the instructions at the crews’ briefing was “Read the rally pack”. Included were suggestions of interesting and historical places to visit during the trip, and since there were no timed sections we able to do this if we wished. But being mostly petrolheads, we set about enjoying the rally and not concerning ourselves with a bit of local history. At the lunch break at the Manakau Bowling Club, we were presented with a quiz. Of course, we later found out that most of the answers to the questions were in the rally pack that we had been given at the start or could be found at the historic sites.
Results: 1 John White & Callum Farmer 2 Glyn and Mark (Palm Nth.) 3 Andrew and Linda Judd
MGB Rover 90 Austin Westminster Our Daffodil Day Rally for Cancer in Levin was rained off. Most likely some other branches had the same problem, considering the wet winter that we have enjoyed. Beaded Wheels 57
KING COUNTRY NORMA DOUGHERTY
MANAWATU
BRYAN ABRAHAM
MARLBOROUGH CARROLL WIBLIN
Our Annual General Meeting was held in May with many of the positions staying the same, Campbell Wright as chairman and Julie Gilbert as Treasurer, while Jacki Sinclair has taken on the Secretary duties. In August we rallied to Kakahi Mill Rally. Participants were Steve and Fiona Maunder (Nissan), Wayne and Julie Gilbert (Ford Ranger), Rob Wheeler and Brian Goodwin (Mini) Neville Hill. The Rally was based on a book written by William Williams on the timber sawmill / railway industry in Kakahi from 1910-1914 and contains photos of the mills, surrounding bush,tramways and railways. The object of the rally was to locate the areas in Kakahi where the mills were situated and where the photo was taken from. We followed the railway cutting down to the river and had an investigation of the bridge foundations and returned to the playground and information boards in Kakahi for our lunch stop. Neville Hill is an ex-Kakahi resident and was able to supply additional information and photographs with first–hand experience of the old mills. Our thanks go to Neville for that and it all made for a relaxed enjoyable run.
The July Sunday Run took a couple of dozen cars not too far out of Palmerston North to Tokomaru, where new owners are now opening up the Steam Museum to clubs and groups. It is a huge undertaking, and they fully intend to get the boilers and machinery running again. An enthusiastic group of members enjoyed looking around the museum, which has been closed for quite a few years. Also included at the site is the Flaxville Model Village, which was originally set up in Shannon. The Manawatu Branch for Daffodil Day this year joined up with the Wanganui Branch, and several members travelled to Whanganui to participate in their car display and Scatter Run Rally. The August Club Night was a little different than usual — no speaker, but members were invited to bring along the most interesting thing in their shed (provided it was legal!) and give a quick talk about it. Along with an impressive collection of weird and wonderful items and tools one member brought along some of his old surgical tools with the skin-graft knife bringing a chill to most people’s spines!
Lunch at the Bamboo Garden was well attended. Our monthly mid-week lunches have proved very popular and allow the members to talk cars without actually being in their sheds. Club Captain Cath Millar organised a bus trip which included a visit to Ron Hebberd’s collection of motorcycles, sewing machines and irons. This private museum at Seddon is well worth a visit, and Ron is ever the gracious host. He is never short of a word or two and can tell you all about the collection and the history of Seddon. The motorcycle section had a successful run to Picton and the Waitohi Bar. Last month they went on an alternative run to the Waihopai Dam and back, their original plans being foiled by inclement weather. Our August mid-week lunch at Dodson’s was well attended as usual. August also saw the Annual Mud Plug. It is always well attended, even if only to watch the silly beggars trying to get their vehicle through the mud and slush. Unfortunately, Daffodil Day had to be cancelled yet again. The ground in Brayshaw Park was absolutely sodden
▲ Manawatu: John Garrett (left) and Tony Haycock in discussion surrounded by exhibits at the Tokomaru Steam Museum.
▲ Marlborough: Many members attended our mid winter lunch and prize giving.
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▲ Manawatu: Steve Bright’s Austin 7 Sport parked up during a branch visit to the Tokomaru Steam Museum.
▲ Marlborough: our newsletter editor doing her stuff at the Mud Plug.
▲ North Otago: Line up of some of the 43 entrants for our Daffodil Rally for Cancer.
▲ North Otago: An Indian-built 1989 Hero Gizmo wheels attracting plenty of interest at our Daffodil Rally for Cancer.
▲N orth Shore: Guy and Karen Williams, Ford Zephyr Mk1.
and would have been damaged beyond repair, so the decision to cancel was made and supported by those societies who were helping support our efforts. Even so, the branch has managed another hefty donation to the cancer society. This has been helped by the generous donation by David and Judith Bruce of a 1997 Rover Cabriolet to be sold with the proceeds going to the Cancer Society.
NORTH OTAGO
CLIVE BLUNDEN
The weather gods were on our side for our Daffodil Day Rally, which was a great success with more than 43 cars taking part. Assembly was in the car park behind the Farmers Market, and the first cars were away not long after 1pm. The route was over 60kms through Kakanui, Maheno, Five Forks, Windsor and back to the club rooms via Parsons Road. The team had the free sausage sizzle under way in time for the first cars home. Coffee and tea were also being served. In other news — at a recent meeting 35-year badges were awarded to the following members, Margaret McLeod and Ernest George. Larr Moolennaar received his 25-year badge. Terry Buchanan’s 50-year badge was awarded posthumously to his family by the Southern Region Club Captain Alon Mayhew at the clubrooms.
▲N orth Shore : Noel Shaw’s early V8s.
NORTH SHORE RICHARD BAMPTON In June we joined the Auckland Branch display cars at the Meguiar’s Coffee and Classics at Mount Smart Stadium. The organisers estimated that more than 1,100 vehicles attended. Jim Masson’s “Electric” Fiat 850 Sport again aroused a lot of interest. After the show members were invited to Terry Costello’s shed to view his collection of Ford Model As, as well as his Dodge and Chevrolet. In July a large turnout undertook a short run (and even though it was short, and the instructions correct, a number of members approached from the wrong direction) to the eclectic collection of vehicles owned by the Shaw Brothers, Noel and Trevor. The rows of Chevrolets in one shed whetted our appetites for the Ford shed – many Model As and a row of V8s from 1932 to 1938 then the Buick Straight 8 shed and a small selection of Austins and others including Essex, Dodge and Vauxhall. The Daffodil Run, held jointly with Waitemata and Wellsford/Warkworth Branches, started from Dairy Flat Airfield and terminated at Matakana, where more than 140 cars were on display. It was good to see new member James Liu and his family out on their first run in their newly acquired Rover 3500, as well as Guy and
▲N orth Shore: Terry Costello with one his Ford Model As.
Karen Williams in their Ford Zephyr Mk1, which has been in the family since new. A new initiative, a monthly evening event, masterminded by new committee member Andrew Lunt, started with a wellattended and amusing quiz night.
NORTHLAND
RAY SANDERS
Northland, like other parts of New Zealand, has had some shocking weather this winter, and this has slowed down patronage on some of the outings of the branch, although the ever-resilient Dargaville group have done well with the west coast runs. We had a very successful Daffodil Day run with more than 40 cars, and around $600 collected. Our Club Captain, Roger Billing, along with his wife Christine, organised the run as well as the participation of members from another local classic car club. The run took us through parts of Whangarei and culminated in a car display at a public car park to help raise awareness of the Cancer Society, the VCC and classic motoring in general. We are very conscious of promoting the club particularly to younger members with later cars, so we are doing a lot of brainstorming on the best ways to do that, and to raise awareness of the 30 year age for cars. The new flyers will help with this.
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▲ Otago: Setting the scene for Daffodil events.
▲▼ O tago: Getting ready for Daffodil deliveries.
▲ Rotorua: 50 year membership: Roger Nelson, Andrew Bainbridge, Bill Skelton, Jim Maud and Dennis Whimp with Diane Quarrie.
▲ Rotorua: Sulphur City Rally: Just some of the cars at the Mihi School lunch stop.
▲ Rotorua: 35 year badge recipients John Peters, Neville Harper, Lois Thompson.
We are looking forward to celebrating our Branch’s 50th anniversary in November and will have a special dinner on our 50th annual Far North Tour. This year the tour is longer, and will take us as far north as Cape Reinga for those who wish to make the pilgrimage. Along the way we will visit a rarely seen car collection to keep our passion for old cars well oiled. We welcome everyone to attend and we look forward to their entry.
OTAGO
MARION MCCONACHIE
In July we held our Annual Dinner in the clubrooms, which was followed by the usual quiz, run by our own quiz master – David Ross. A lot of laughs and a great night for everyone who attended. Recent Thursday runs have been adjusted to fit in a run somewhere for lunch. The group have visited various
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▲ Rotorua: Ralph Bennett cuts the branch 50th birthday cake.
venues within the confines of Dunedin over the last few months. In August we had a good turnout of 70-80 vehicles for the Rally for Cancer. The rally took entrants from the Forbury Park Raceway through the green belt of the city, past Ross Creek and up to Wakari, before travelling over Three Mile Hill to Mosgiel and into Wingatui Raceway for the public display. The coffee cart was a welcome sight for many as the day had been threatening rain. The following day a good number of our members brought out their vehicles to assist the Otago Division of the Cancer Society to deliver pre-ordered bunches of fresh daffodils to businesses around the city. University students came along and helped as runners which was especially helpful around the University area, as they are familiar with the layout. I understand we delivered close to 1000 bunches. Graeme Duthie, David Mills,
▲ South Canterbury: Gavin Ladbrook’s 1958 Ford Mainline ute – Daffodil Rally for Cancer, Tripp Settlement.
and Gill and Ruth Edmunds had their VCC vehicles and the rest of us had our moderns. The Autospectacular was held on 10 September after a two-year absence due to Covid. The branch displayed the motorcycles and vehicles which had been presented for the annual Restoration of the Year awards.
ROTORUA
RONALD MAYES
Major events for the branch have been the very successful Central North Island Swap Meet in July, and in August the first Sulphur City Rally in three years, which attracted 48 entries, including a pleasing majority from members of other branches. A tried and trusted back-road scenic route via the Ngakuru and Reporoa areas meant main highways were largely avoided before the participants arrived at a country school
for lunch. Locals had been told of a car show being held there and several were waiting with cameras in hand for the cars to arrive. The only recorded mishaps were the puncture of a tyre on Bill and Adelai Skelton’s 1929 Austin 7 and, pride before a fall, the writer’s Vanden Plas Princess 1100 which had appeared prominently in the last issue of Beaded Wheels: its cooling system developed a leak which was traced to the failure of the tiny hose between cylinder head and block. That evening the branch’s 50th anniversary dinner was held at a local hotel. A magnificent celebratory cake had been baked by nonagenarian member Ralph Bennett. Thirty five-year membership badges were presented to Lois Thompson, Neville Harper and John Peters by National President Diane Quarrie, who went on to present 50 year badges to Andrew Bainbridge, Ralph Bennett, Jim Maud, Roger Nelson, Bill Skelton and Dennis Whimp.
SOUTH CANTERBURY
SHANNON STEVENSON
The Annual Quiz evening with Ashburton took place on 4 August. The victors were a South Canterbury team of vintage Buick owners, consisting of Ashley and Evelyn Milliken, and Clive and Penny Merry. The garage raid was hosted this year by our branch on 6 August. The properties visited were west of Timaru, and were Don Pelvin’s military vehicle collection, Donald White’s vintage collection at Albury, Dave Diamond’s machinery collection at Sutherlands, and Peter Cooke’s Ford collection near Fairlie. Mid-week runs have continued to prove popular. The July run, organised by Rodger and Barbara Baird, attracted 17 vehicles, taking them along rural back roads to Clandeboye and Temuka. The August run, organised by Rodney and Pat Don, attracted 14 vehicles, the run traversing the Rosewill Valley, Hadlow and Beaconsfield areas. We were saddened to hear about the passing of Barry Goodman, who was a branch member over several decades from the early 1960s onwards. Barry owned a number of vintage vehicles, keenly supported branch activities and was branch chairperson 1999-2001. The Daffodil Rally for Cancer took place on August 28, attracting 130 vehicles. Starting at Caroline Bay, the rally took us
through Fairview, Taiko and Totara Valley regions, before reaching Pleasant Point and Geraldine. The end venue was the Tripp Settlement homestead, an historic property farmed since the 1860s, northwest of Geraldine.
SOUTH OTAGO
NOELINE MILNE
The branch records the passing of members Don Jenks, Stuart Milne, Malcolm McIver and Peter Ryan who all contributed to the branch for many years. The combined auction night with the Vintage Machinery Club raised some welcome funds. A grant from the Masonic Charitable Trust enabled the replacement of the branch computer. Member John Souness, who can often be seen motoring his Citroen on rallies and outings, was presented with his 25-year Badge. Recordings of earlier branch events have been enjoyed following normal business on several meeting nights, thanks to Neville King. Long serving treasurer, Paul McNabb, has passed the reigns over to Sue Beaumont, and was thanked for his sterling work over the years. Despite the limited events being held it has been cheering to see the Wednesday Runs have continued with members support for these and other meetings for comradeship and motoring enjoyment. Our July run took participants to Beaumont to look at the progress on the new bridge
▲ South Canterbury: Exploring Dave Diamond’s collection – Garage Raid.
▲
▲ South Canterbury: Tripp Settlement homestead, Daffodil Rally for Cancer. Taranaki: Joylene and Nyall Simkins’ Rolls-Royce motor cars at the Posh Picnic for the Bertrand Road Suspension Bridge celebrations adding to the atmosphere.
Beaded Wheels 61
over the mighty Clutha. Social time and fish and chips tea preceded the meeting in July. The August run, the ninth to the day since the instigation of this monthly event by the late Bill Falconer, took participants through Clydevale, then to Clinton for refreshments at Crossroads, the former Oak Tree Inn. Members look forward to celebrating our 50th Rally in November.
TARANAKI
COLIN JOHNSTON
We welcome new member Andrew (Andy) Wilkie from Waitara who owns a 1926 Whippet two door sedan. Colin Dray, a former member of our branch who now resides in Cambridge, has donated two pewter beer mugs back to the branch. He won them at our first and second Maunga Moana Rallies in 1964 and 1965. Colin was the overall winner in his 1925 Oakland on those two occasions. The mugs are now on display in the clubroom’s glass cabinet and are added to our historic displays.
A most successful posh picnic was held in conjunction with the Bertrand Road Suspension Bridge Trust to help them celebrate 125 years of the bridge being built in 1897. We had more than 26 vehicles attend, and they certainly added to the atmosphere when reminiscing about bygone days. Our branch has used this bridge for rallies over many years. In 2006 we donated money towards the restoration of the bridge, this being marked by having our name permanently inscribed on a plank on the bridge, so it was very fitting that we should be there for the celebration. The Taranaki Highland Pipe Band led the procession on to the bridge, and after all cars had driven over, the New Plymouth Brass Band entertained us. Our vehicles were on display, with members all dressed for the occasion, and it was a great opportunity to promote the VCC and for us to show the public our cars.
TAUPO
NEIL CHAVE
The Taupo branch is now running a weekday morning coffee run to various places around the district thanks to organiser and club member Barry Hoffman. So far these runs have proved very popular, with recent runs to Acacia Bay and Kinloch. In July the annual Pot Luck Winter Dinner was held, with a great turnout of members to enjoy a wide variety of home cooked food. At our August club night we enjoyed a presentation from local member Peter Lockie, where St John Ambulance operations was the subject. He covered the history of St John, and how it provides services both here in Taupo as well as nationally. Peter has served 40 years with St John Ambulance, and gave an informative background into the demands and resources required. He also briefed us on the considerable costs involved for ambulances and medical equipment, and some of the challenges the service faces with funding and maintaining this vital public service.
▲ Waikato: Vehicles at our branch open day.
▲ Waikato: Ford Model A roadster pickup, David Barnes, a long time member of the Waikato branch. ▼ Wairarapa: Ready to race, a barely street-legal Mini on the Daffodil Run.
▲ Wairarapa: Shirley and Pete Pope enjoyed a blast of fresh air in their Lexus V8 convertible. ▼ Wairarapa: Colin Shore with his just-finished Land-Rover.
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▲ Taranaki: Members Sue and Danny Pattinson and Christine and Kevin Fabish enjoying themselves at the Posh Picnic for the celebration of the Bertrand Road suspension bridge with Danny’s 1930 Essex sedan.
▲ Taupo: Members Trish and Bruce Jefferies delivering fresh daffodils.
On Sunday 21 August we held a Show & Shine at the clubrooms with a good number of public vehicles joining club members’ cars for a display. Afterwards everyone was provided with a range of optional destinations for a coffee or lunch stop. The branch is pleased with raising close to $900 for this year’s fundraiser. We also supported Daffodil Day this year, with the delivery of fresh daffodil flowers to a variety of business and private supporters around the district. On the following
▲ Waimate: Branch Chairman Owen Duthie presenting Liz Wigley from the local Cancer Society with $1668 proceeds from sausage sizzle, car display, carboot sale, movie night and swapmeet. Liz then spoke to our members about how important it was to get checked.
▲ Taupo cars heading off for the Daffodil Day run.
▲ Taranaki: Members getting ready to cross the Historic Bertrand Road Suspension swing bridge for a Posh Picnic during the 125 year celebration.
Monday a small, dedicated team arrived to head off with bunches of flowers that both financially support the regional fundraising program and spread the message for continued public support.
WAIKATO
GRAHAM PATE
We had a marvellous day supporting the Cancer Society. The concept of hub rallies starting at Matamata, Morrinsville, Te Awamutu, Cambridge and Hamilton worked a treat. All the local one-make clubs were invited, so we had an excellent variety of vehicles. Everybody ended up at our clubrooms in Cambridge, there were people and vehicles everywhere. The devonshire teas, sausage sizzle and coffee cart all did a roaring trade. The library and parts shed were busy, and our new workshop was carefully inspected as well. This day really promoted the VCC and our Branch, five new members signed up and a lot more application forms were taken away. For the Cancer Society we banked over $4,000, a win-win for everyone concerned. Our new workshop is up and running with two branch projects now underway. A Mini is being assembled for a member and
a 1918 Studebaker is about to be started. This car has been donated by Hugh Webley for the branch to complete and make roadworthy. Our Wednesday Wander in August was a visit to J. Swaps new premises in Matamata. More than 40 members came along to have a guided tour of the premises, including a visit to their largest quarry. Swaps never get rid of anything they no longer have a use for. They restore them for display. The Ventures Group had a run to Rotorua to visit Doug Green’s car dipping plant to see how car bodies are prepared for restoration, then on to Tony Payne’s eclectic or eccentric collection of stuff, mainly motoring bric-a-brac and lots of fascinating things that Tony makes from his bits and pieces.
WAIRARAPA
KEVIN BALL
A visit to a privately-owned car museum and the annual Daffodil Rally were highlights for the branch. An evening garage raid took members to the Dudson collection in Carterton. What began as one man’s obsession has turned into a highly-developed display of cars restored on-site and Beaded Wheels 63
put on show. In the beginning the focus was largely on 1930s Hudsons and Terraplanes, but over the years this has grown to a collection of Morris Minor commercials, an Aston Martin and a variety of other vehicles, including mid-1950s Chevrolets and a few English models. When Kerry Dudson died, his son and daughter continued his work and advanced the museum dramatically, with the result being a very professional production. Well worth a visit (by prior appointment) by groups travelling through Wairarapa. We jumped the gun with our Daffodil Rally on 21 August. Organiser Val Ball reported that 65 cars turned up and raised more than $1200 for the Cancer Society. Entries included Wellington branch members whose rally was postponed due to bad weather. The run from Martinborough to Masterton included drive-throughs at two retirement villages. The branch is looking to expand its activities by starting its club nights early with the focus on a feature car in the garage area. First up will be the two-day Targawinning MG rallied by Malcolm Fleming and Gina Jones.
WAITEMATA
ROBERT CHAPMAN
Our main event for August was the Daffodil run, which was passionately organised for our branch by Dee Humphries. Dee worked in conjunction with the Wellsford/Warkworth and North Shore Branches of the VCC. A collaborative effort by the three branches and supported by the MX 5 and Mustang car clubs among others. Stan Smith organised the start venue at the North Shore Aero Club, with plenty of parking between the hangars, and was assisted by club members with parking and registration. We left with route sheets that took us on a westward route through Dairy Flat, Kaukapakaapa, Makarau, Warkworth and to Matakana, where we were joined by vehicles from the north for the public display and lunch. It was pleasing to see Vaughan and Kevin Beesley in their Hotchkiss and Talbot respectively. Ray and Megan Ferner supported the event in their Tesla while Keith Elliot came, in true Alfa style, in his Giulietta Berlina. My co-driver navigator Jayden Willems, aged 11, was able to direct me to Matakuna and is looking to buy a Mazda rotary in the future. The event was very successful with cars as diverse as Studebaker, Auburn, and
▲ Wairarapa: Neil Ryder gave his Vauxhall an airing.
▲ Wanganui: Cancer run entry number 65, 1965 Cortina. ▼ Wanganui: Neil Farrer's 1961 Vanguard estate.
▲ Waitemata: Daffodil Rally entrants. ▼ Waitemata: Dave Lane’s Studebaker towers over its more modern neighbuors at the outset of our Daffodil Rally.
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Rover. Total money raised for the Cancer Society was more than $1400, which is a very good effort.
WANGANUI
IAN HIGGINS
For our local Rivet branch magazine, I have been singling out members to publish an article about their cars, and recently I interviewed Craig and Wendy Ryland and their passion for ’39 Chevs. They own a trio of these beauties; a coupe, sedan, and a ute. All lovingly restored. The next member to open his garage doors was our esteemed treasurer and delegate for many years, Neil Farrer. Neil has in his collection a mint 1914 Rover delivery van, a very tidy 1939 Hillman 14, a lovely 1952 Triumph Renown and two tough Vanguards: a 1958 ute and a 1961 estate. We have had two interesting speakers at our monthly meetings recently. John Jonesse, formerly based in the Islands, gave a most interesting talk on the maintenance of motor vehicles of our Pacific neighbours, and the ingenious ways that they manage to keep their vehicles mobile with limited parts available. Richard Coxon, who owns a large Marton based
▲
▲ Wellington: The gear lever is on the driver’s right. (In left-hand drive versions, the gear lever is columnmounted!) Photo: Angelica Edgley
▲ Wellsford/Warkworth: Pondering the price of a tank of fuel for this 1981 Lincoln Continental. ▼ Wellsford/Warkworth: Our combined Daffodil Rally event with North Shore and Waitemata culminated in a very popular public display in Matakana.
company, PEC, presented us with an enthralling insight into hydrogen fuel cell systems as a way of powering tomorrow’s vehicles. For a detailed description, log onto www.pec.co.nz On 21 August we held our annual Daffodil Rally for Cancer to raise money for the Cancer Society. This was in the form of a scatter run around the city and outskirts. Special thanks to Rally organisers and branch stalwarts, Peter Hardy and his family, and Keith Turner. A massive thank you to the main sponsors, Wanganui Motors. The overall winner was Richard Hopper driving a 1967 Ford Cortina 1600E. At the time that this article was completed,
Wellington: Paul Hooper and the 1949 Mk VI Bentley. Photo: Angelica Edgley.
▲ Wellsford/Warkworth: Excellent advertising for the branch.
▼ Wellsford/Warkworth: Always an eye catcher!
$2,500 was raised for the Cancer Society (subject to a final count). On the following Thursday, members gathered at the Wanganui Cancer Society rooms to collect baskets of daffodils and other goodies for delivery to local businesses,to raise funds for the Society.
WELLINGTON
▲ Wellington: The rear window blind is controlled from the driver’s seat. Photo: Angelica Edgley
JOHN STOKES
Following the presentation of his magnificent 1949 Mk VI Bentley at our June club night, Wellington member Paul Hooper received a well-deserved Meritorious Restoration award. This car
spent the first 25 years of its life in Britain before arriving in New Zealand. Following a few years usage here, it was put on blocks in a carport and covered by a tarpaulin. When the owner died 25 years later the family offered the car to Paul. He had no intention of buying it – until he saw it. Aside from a poor re-spray at some time, the car seemed original and all there. The motor was seized, but Paul managed to get it running, which revealed a cracked block. The gearbox and rear axle needed no attention other than a new clutch. The brakes, mechanical (rods) on the rear and hydraulic on the front, needed a re-build. In spite of the body’s good Beaded Wheels 65
▲ Wellsford/Warkworth: Daffodil Rally for Cancer.
condition, it was stripped, and all panels taken back to the metal. The two-tone paint scheme to finish the car is not an original one, champagne guards and doors (a Toyota colour) and black upper body, but it certainly complements the design, making the car look lower and longer than if it were painted in the standard monotone. Now that it is back on the road, Paul says the car drives beautifully, steering is effortless and positive, and it is dead quiet. Unusually, the brakes are servo-assisted, the chassis has a central lubrication system, and ride control is adjustable, working from a gear on the driveshaft. $2000 was raised by the branch for the Cancer Society.
WELLSFORD/WARKWORTH
CHRIS HARVEY
Winter is a busy time for us with midweek café lunches, Club Night dinners, our AGM and the annual prizegiving, and several shed raids on weekends. The big event, of course, was the Daffodil Rally on 21 August which we ran in conjunction with North Shore and Waitemata Branches. Smale’s Farm at Takapuna is no longer available as a starting point, so the registration and start were held at Northshore Airfield, and the finish was at Matakana where there is a spacious carpark a few minutes’ walk from the coffee shops and restaurants. The rally was open to all ages and classes of vehicle, and was a noncompetitive fun run. We had 94 vehicles register at the Airfield for the rally, and another 45 or so skipped the rally and went directly to Matakana for display in the carpark. Those who did the rally took SH16 up the west coast through Kaukapakapa and crossed over to Warkworth on West Coast Road for the final leg to Matakana. The weather was kind and a lot of folk came to admire the large range of cars which spanned a century, from a Model T to a Tesla. Between the rally fees and
66 Beaded Wheels
▲ West Coast: An atmospheric start to our June Mud Plug.
donations, we raised a handy $2,415 for the Cancer Society. Looking ahead, we have a shed raid on three members who live on adjacent properties and have a good collection of cars between them, then on 15 October we intend to have a group attend and display at the 60th Anniversary of the Kauri Museum at Matakohe, where a new Research Centre will be opened to investigate how we can help kauri trees to survive.
WEST COAST
ELSPIE MITCHELL
In mid-June the day dawned cold yet fine for the first round of the Mud Plug Challenge. We had 21 entries covering a wide variety of vehicles. Word quickly spread that the first course could be too tough with some very low scoring, most only managing five points or less on round one. The second course proved
more friendly with three drivers scoring top points of 20. The courses seemed to be getting easier with 12 drivers managing a clear round and maximum points. Course four, the infamous bush section, had its traditional starting point (often deemed too difficult) changed to a supposed easier entry which turned out not to be the case, requiring a unanimous decision to restart the course and left only three competitors unable to make double digits. It turned out to be a very enjoyable day with lots of smiles and many more stories to be told. The West Coast Branch would like to again thank Rosco farming for their wonderful, if not sometimes challenging, venue. The after-match barbeque in the massive engineering workshop rounded off a fabulous West Coast day.
DRIVING OUR HISTORY
PASSING LANE In this column we acknowledge the recent passing of club members. Information is supplied to Beaded Wheels by VCCNZ Branch Secretaries.
Adams, David Greenfield, Kevin Hollister-Jones, Truby MacGregor, Mary Payne, John
Waikato Nelson Bay of Plenty Far North Bay of Plenty
Saunders, Myra Weir, Ralph Narbey, Chris
Canterbury North Otago Nelson
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COME AND JOIN US WHATEVER YOUR WHEELS
DRIVING OUR HISTORY
Vehicles, motorcycles or trucks from 1890 to 1990 are club eligible. Or just join us and grab a ride with another member. visit www.vcc.org.nz and get motoring with us today.
Photo Graham Bailey
Are you looking for an excuse to get your car out of the garage – we have 36 active branches around New Zealand. Our events range from weekly runs and coffee get togethers, to hill climbs, speed events and touring. For the more intrepid, our infamous off-road adventures are the stuff of legends.
Beaded Wheels 67
DRIVING OUR HISTORY
Vero and VCC. Together we go way back. At Vero we’ve been supporting the Vintage Car Club for over 30 years. For a quote on house, contents, vehicle (every-day and vintage) and boat insurance, please contact us and provide your VCC membership number.
Call for a quote on 0800 658 411 and select option 2, or email veropersonallines@vero.co.nz Excesses, terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply to these policies. The provision of cover is subject to the underwriting criteria that apply at the time.