Far North Focus
October 2017
Not quite the dying art we thought it was…...
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The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand
Far North Focus Who’s Who for 2017/18 Chairman
Warwick Woollams
w.woollams@gmail.com
09 407 7494
Vice Chairman
Murray Cormack
m.g.cormack@xtra.co.nz
09 409 3823
Secretary
Peter Slawson
netherfields@kinect.co.nz
09 407 3066
Treasurer
Robyn Mackay
wmackay@vodafone.co.nz
09 406 1955
Club Captain
Naomi Mason
vinomi88@gmail.com
09 408 1376
Editor
Peg Hills
comstockdowns@gmail.com
09 406 1077
Communications Officer
Ruth Reid
r.t.reid@xtra.co.nz
09 4060 392
Welfare Officer
Margaret Wallace
johnandmarga@actrix.gen.nz
09 407 8251
New Member Liaison
Murray Cormack
m.g.cormack@xtra.co.nz
09 409 3823
Beaded Wheels Scribe
Dave Duirs
dave.duirs@xtra.co.nz
09 406 1288
Area Rep North
Ruth Reid
r.t.reid@xtra.co.nz
09 406 0392
Area Rep South
Warwick Woollams
w.woollams@gmail.com
Committee
Warwick Woollams, Murray Cormack, Dave Hills, Cecelia O’Dell, Robyn Mackay, Peter Slawson, Winston Matthews, Graeme Moore, Paul Sullivan, Vince Mason, Mike Pooley, Margaret Wallace
Building Officer
Peter Mason
09 406 1409
Club meetings on the second Tuesday of the month at the Aurere Clubrooms at 7.30pm.
CLUB CLEANING ROSTER 2017/2018 During the month, and preferably before the main calendar event, please give the clubrooms a thorough check over, as in: Clean the toilets and hand basins, check kitchen, window ledges etc, and sweep the floors. Window cleaning, washing walls etc will be done at working bees. Note any required maintenance and pass on to the Building Officer- Peter Mason, ph 406 1409. If your date doesn’t suit you, please swap with someone else. For any other enquiries please contact the Club Captain.
October– Everyone-Working Bee July
N & V Mason
January
M & L Pooley
August
C& M Ilton
February
M & M Baker
September
R & W Mackay
March
M & M Cormack
October
Everyone– working bee
April
B & D Francis
November
G Moore & M. Cornwall
May
P & K White
December
R & R Pennell
June
I & D Kemp
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Calendar of Events 14 October
North Hokianga Circle
Keith Lyndsell
28 October
Working Bee / Club Day
Everyone
4 November
Far North Tour
Everyone
25 November
Dunny Run
Northland Branch
9 December
Christmas run
To be Arranged
6 January
Autospectacular
Everyone
21 January
Summer Picnic
Margaret & Claude
10 or 11 February March
Murray & Gloria To be Arranged
14 April
Brian Parker Memorial Rally
Peter & Cecelia
8 May
AGM
Everyone
13 May
Mothers Day
Winston
June
Molloy Trophy Rally
Warwick
July
Annual Luncheon & Prizegiving
NORTH HOKIANGA CIRCLE RUN Saturday 14th October Meet at Mangamuka at 10.0am Bring your morning tea and your lunch
AND A FULL TANK OF FUEL Any enquiries to Keith and Lyn Lyndsell Ph 405 5500 3
The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand
From the Chair……. Well the kiwifruit has suddenly turned green with the new Recently Penny and I took part in the Horsegrowth bursting out and signalling the start of the new less Carriage Club Spring Tour. It started season and the work that goes with it! just south of Auckland – actually I'm not sure where “South of Auckland” is anymore, so lets say DruThings are running well with the club at present with our ry. We travelled through Paeroa, Waihi, Katikati, to Taumonthly runs going well. Looking ahead we have our an- ranga with stops along the way . Our first visit was at a nual catering event for Northland's Far North Tour in No- small collection of massive American La France vehicles, vember, and in the new year our Autospectacular. Both including a fire engine, next a Restoration Workshop of these events require major inputs from the clubs' mem- where amongst other cars an aforementioned La France bership. was being converted from a fire truck to a speedster. From there we moved on to a private collection of It is gratifying to have several new memberships coming cars and machinery and memorabilia including Model A through and another in the pipeline. Fords and a 1966 Mustang – yeh!!! - lots of other stuff. We welcome new members Steve and Stephanie Edwards, and Richard Avery along with rejoining member We stayed in Tauranga for Saturday and Sunday nights Don Muir. We look forward to seeing you all out enjoying adjacent to the RSA and enjoyed a very convivial time Club activities. with other members. On Sunday we visited a rather spectacular workshop and home with a collection of magnifiThe Club’s 1928 Plymouth Car, which has been notified in cent models on show, mainly naval ships built by well recent issues of the Focus, has not yet drawn any com- known VCC member, restorer and model maker, Bill ment or interest from our members, and will be adver- Janes. The owner of the property is an avid motorcycle tised as “For Sale” in the Beaded Wheels in the near fu- builder and racer specialising in Drag Bikes – see photure. It would be nice to have the car remain in Northland tos. We then moved on to the ultimate (American) Blokes so if you would like to have a look at it contact Winston Shed – '59 Cadillacs, Chevy, Ford Thunderbird, signs and Matthews and have a chat to him about it. the most amazing American Diner/Milkbar – see photos. Then it was on to the Classic Flyers Museum. After An item that has been discussed at recent Branch Meet- lunch we viewed another collection of Bill Janes’ models ings is the possibility of having a Club Tour or Trip partial- this time scale models of early aircraft engines, I think the ly subsidised from Club Funds. Suggestions that have scale was 100 : 1. Amongst them was a radial encome forward to date include a Coach Trip to Auckland to gine. There were approximately 12 engines, each one maybe see a show and visit the Glenbrook Railway, an taking at least 9 months of full time work to make. They excursion on the Kaipara Harbour and surrounds , and an all have run at some stage, some performing better than excursion on the Whangaroa Harbour. Of course there others. This man has an amazing talent. Happy hour and are many other possible places to visit. It could involve a dinner again! And a great weekend away even if we were weekend trip with Club subsidy which could be extended only in a modern car. for a few days by those who would like to tour further at their own costs. There are lots of other options and we Warwick would like to get some feedback from members who are interested in something like this and may have other ideas More photos further on in your Focus. to put forward.
SAVE THE DATE! Saturday October 28th is our annual working bee, when we polish up our Clubrooms ready for the Far North Tour on the first weekend in November. There will also be an Autospec meeting and a catering committee meeting on that afternoon, after the working bee. 4
Club Captain Reporting….. Kia ora– Hello everyone
in Kawakawa Domain and this is being organised by members of the Northland Branch. A good time to catch up with our friends from Dargaville and Whangarei and to compete for the Dunny Seat trophy. Come along and have fun and a good day out.
First of all, many thanks to everyone who came and supported our rally on the 16th. We really appreciate your support and hope that you all enjoyed your day. We were very thankful to the Lord for allowing us to have a lovely sunny afternoon, which made the rally much more enjoyable than if we had the rain that we had in the morning. Looking forward to summer, and more events to enjoy. Like most of you, we will be glad to see a lot more lovely Regards, sunny days, with a rainy day just now and again. Naomi Next month there will be a rally on the 14th of October, meeting in Mangamuka town at 10am. Keith Lyndsell will be organising this event and would appreciate your support also. At the end of the month, on the 28th of October, we will be having a working bee at the Clubrooms to get it ready for the Far North Tour the following weekend– the 4th of November. We hope that as many as possible will turn up to help on this day as many hands make light work. How the year is moving fast. On the 18th of November the Classic Car Club will be meeting at the Kaitaia A&P showgrounds, so it would be good if some of our members could support them in this event. Then on the 25th of November is the Dunny Run starting
THE FAR NORTH TOUR SATURDAY 4TH NOVEMBER …….
MATTHEWS MUSEUM
When we pull out all the stops to cater for our friends from the Northland Club We need lots of help over the afternoon and evening, to prep, cook, serve and clean up after a meal, this year at the Museum. If you can help for any or all of this time please come along from about 3 o’clock. It’s a big job, but also a great way to get to know people in the Club.
The editor’s email address has changed to: comstockdowns@gmail.com 5
SPRING SASHAY
to Kaitaia ever mindful of checks, one of which pertaining to School Zone speeds, created some debate amongst crews.
Naomi and Vince's "Spring Sashay" should have conjured up enough questions before we even started......how many of us knew what a SASHAY was and do we yet?!! If we do, have we established its relevance to what we got up to that day?
Our look in at Joe and Jan Olivers' large town property of multiple big sheds probably dropped a few ladies' bottom lips, but from all the laughing coming from the house it seems they were well entertained whilst the, mostly men, group were kept mesmerised by Joe's mechanical attributes.......Mr needs it, Mr designs it, Mr makes it, Mr uses it. Yes, there were restored cars and tractors, modified 4WDs and 5th wheeler camper and various home designed tools mostly made from recycled steel, to complete transmission units chopped about to fulfill the design dream. This was one clever man with very little spare time on his hands. After a shared afternoon cuppa in their home some of us continued with our guided tour through some more projects. When it was suggested Joe could do with a hand he reckoned the assistants wouldn’t be able to keep up!
Over a dozen old vehicles met outside Te Ahu on a windy afternoon for a bit of tyre kicking as there were a few "new" cars on the road, before heading off on a silent check/ local clues drive around the edges of Kaitaia.
Bonnets Road took us West on to gravel which was damp and reasonably well maintained so cars kept clean. We had been warned that some clues were parallel to the road and this did need stopping and created some delays. The large flat area, mainly Land Corp dairy farms, which also incorporates the Kaitaia sewerage ponds, was very wet and lacking growth which is country wide this spring Thanks for an enjoyable afternoon of looking, laughing, with plenty of mud in the wrong places. It’s obviously a talking, viewing and sharing the energy of another intervery windy place as the beautiful big puriris had a distinc- esting couple on our door step. tive western shave to their tops. Even the winners were shared.....Ruth & Win and Dorothy Sandhills Road completely changed the landscape as we & Dave didn’t exactly fight over who should accept the followed a long ridge which is probably an ancient sand winners’ trophy. dune. Out East stretched the huge drained flats and out West we had dry rolling hills out to 90 mile beach.....the flats too wet for growth and the "early" hills too cold to Dave Duirs sustain the early calving out there. Silent checks came thick and fast. These guys must have decided to give all the checks a day out! The other clues, mainly roadside signs, certainly gave an indication of some of the H&S issues should one wish to enter the properties....NO.., NO...,DO this, DO that. However, some good things happen on these properties in spite of what we may see and hear through the media. The worst image was probably as we passed the region’s rubbish dump which is better contained than it used to be but is coming to the end of its life which may mean our rubbish being transported way south to a central Northland processing facility. A change from rural had us run through a small subdivision near Ahipara where we received a few waves from surprised residents. Back on the highway we toured back
A sashay, or chassé, is a sideways movement in a dance– not strictly appropriate for our cause, but at least it’s purposeful motion Dave.
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Welfare Report, from Margaret Wallace About a month ago Zena Mason gave us a bit of a scare by ending up in hospital, but has seemed to quickly recover, and was bright and breezy when I spoke to her on the phone after she had returned home.
ing many donations for the upkeep of the Club Car. He was also a regular on the Far North Tour with his friends, the Wracks. The Club has sent its sympathies to his wife Carol.
It was a shock to hear that Peter Slawson's brother-inlaw, who along with Peter's sister lived with him, had died suddenly. Unfortunately this happened while Peter's sister was away, and he had to deal with the aftermath. Our thoughts were with Peter at this stressful time.
Stepping outside the realm of the Club, two people who hosted us on the Dargaville trip earlier this year, have since passed away. Noel Hilliam, a well known historian, made the Dargaville Museum come alive for our members, and a fascinating tour was also had at Peter Mackenzie's machinery "shed". Our condolences have been sent on behalf of the FNVCC to the families of both of these interesting characters.
Cards were sent on behalf of the Club to both Zena and Peter. We were also sad to hear of the passing of Kelvin Spence, from Thames. Kelvin had a long association with our Club, trading parts with Brian Parker, and later mak-
Remember my phone nos. are 09 4078251 or 027 298 7322, or email me at johnandmarga@actrix.gen.nz
CLUB SHIRTS AVAILABLE: THE CATERING COMMITTEE Mike & Lynn Pooley
Winston Matthews
Dorothy & Dave Duirs
Colleen Brownlie
Margaret Cornwall
Raewyn Pennell
Dave & Peg Hills
Margaret Ilton
Contact Ruth- see her at a meeting, call her on 09 406 0392, email her at r.t.reid@xtra.co.nz There will be samples at the Clubrooms to try on for size. Cost is $30-$35 dollars, depending on size.
THE CLUB CAR
1977 Vauxhall Cavalier Complete– Asking for offers Call Barry Adams 09 408 5944 1928 Plymouth The Club is considering selling this car, which belonged to the late Brian Parker and was donated to the Club after his death. His family has been contacted and have no objections, but we would appreciate comments from members before we go ahead.
1962 Rover P5 (Last model) 3ltr, 34,000 original miles
If it is to be sold, we feel it should be available to members first.
Car original except for repaint. Asking $6,000
Phone Winston, 09 406 0203, if you have any thoughts on the matter.
Phone Graeme, 09 406 0620
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AUSTRALIA, ASBESTOS, AND CLASSIC CARS As appeared in: Online Exclusive, July 15, 2017 issue Sheehan Online, by Michael Sheehan
Our story begins in 2003 when the Australian government issued a zero-tolerance ban on any and all asbestos products, aimed mainly at imported Chinese drywall, a problem America also faced at the time. Fast forward to March 6, 2017 when, without prior warning to Shipping and Customs agents, let alone to owners, The Australian Border Force (ABF) began randomly testing all imported collector cars for asbestos, without any industry consultation, procedures or practices in place. One of our clients had two cars already in transit to Australia and so had no choice but to comply. One was a 1966 Shelby Mustang 350 GT and the second a stock 1966 Mustang donor car, found together as “barn finds” and imported into Australia for restoration. Making rules on the run Inspectors were picked from an ABF approved list of asbestos assessors, none of whom had collector car experience since this was an all-new process. An ABF officer and a representative of the customs brokers also had to be in attendance while the owner/ importer was required to provide two mechanics, tools, a floor jack, jack stands, safety clothing and masks. All five charged by the hour, with the work being done at the customs wharf. The inspection of the Mustangs took a full 8 hour day times five people. The front brake pads, rear brake shoes, exhaust manifold and exhaust pipe gaskets from both cars plus the add-on A/C compressor from the stock Mustang were all taken for inspection. Some of the sealer from inside the wheel wells, around the firewall and the caulking around the windshield were also removed for testing. Additionally, samples were cut from the headlining material, the door frame inner padding, the hood scoop, the brake air ducts and the windshield washer bag, and sam-
ples were cut from the wiring loom. As the 350 GT was pushed onto a hoist the ribbed aluminium oil pan fins were damaged. The pleas of both mechanics to cease the destructive sample taking were ignored by the inspector, the customs agent and the ABF officer. As the day wound down the inspector recommended the removal of the engine and transmission for disassembly and removal of the front fenders and doors for further examination. Because of that day’s interpretation of the regulations, the owner was not allowed to be at the inspection. Moving to plan “B” During and after the destructive first inspection, endless emails and calls between the customs broker and the ABF, the owner was able to get both Mustangs taken to a well respected exotic car sales and service centre in Sydney. ABF required both a removal expert and an assessor to supervise the work, a hygienist to test the air for asbestos (how could I make this up) and two mechanics in space suits, all to remove a clutch. The caulking around the windshield, firewall and inner wheel wells was also removed, but reason prevailed and so the engines wee not disassembled. Both cars were then released to the owner. Total time was two months. Costs including the two removal experts, two mechanics (twice), the hygienist, plus the asbestos lab analyses and bulk sample report was approximately $15,000, not including the damage and cost to replace the seized parts on both cars plus the possibility of fines for non-compliance. Meanwhile, across the continent Meanwhile, in Perth, on the other side of Australia, an enthusiast with a DKW obsession imported a rare 1953 DKW F89, a two cylinder, 23hp 684cc post-war German econo-car built from 1950-54 and based on
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a pre-war design. Although 60,000 DKW F89s were built, most were scrapped as the German economy recovered and much better cars came to market. DKW was acquired by Mercedes in 1957, sold to Volkswagen-Audi in 1964 and DKW ceased to exist. The DKW in question was sold new into Portugal, was complete, relatively rust free, and at $7,000 Aus ($5,000 USD) was a very affordable and unique collector car. As the third collector car to be inspected and the first in the Perth area, the owner was lucky. The asbestos inspector was both reasonable and horrified by the tale of the two Mustangs imported into Sydney, which had quickly gone through the collector car community. The initial inspection found asbestos in the rear brakes, the head and manifold gaskets and the undercoating in the wheel wells. The car was immediately impounded and the real problems began. ABF again changes the rules The owner requested that he and a mechanic remove the offending material, but this was rejected by the ABF as they were not “authorised’ to enter the ‘secure’ dockside area. ABF insisted on a professional asbestos remover, but none had vintage car experience. The owner next asked to attend with the chosen asbestos remover but was again denied access to his car. A week later ABF agreed to the owner’s request to have his mechanic remove the asbestos, but after completing the paperwork, permits and inspection time, ABF decided that removing the parts in the storage depot might be unsafe and the permit was cancelled. ABF first declined then approved transport to Classic Gasoline, a collector car service centre in Perth. ABF then again changed their mind and advised the car could only be moved to a certified asbestos removal centre. After realising that there was no certified asbestos removal centre that could do the work, ABF relented and permitted the car to be moved to Classic Gasoline. Paperwork recommenced, but at the last minute Quarantine intervened, advising that the DKW could only be moved after it had been spray cleaned, but that it could only be spray cleaned after the asbestos had been removed. As the owner wrote, ‘”Catch 22 meets Franz Kafka”. Back to plan “A”
to be done and the owner and mechanics would then be allowed to complete the work at dockside. Thanks to the DKW’s small engine, it was lifted out without a hoist for disassembly. After even more paperwork, ABF certified the removed parts and arranged their seizure and destruction. The additional storage fees were $3,000, the mechanics charged $1,500 and the shipping agents were another $1,500 plus the cost of finding and replacing the seized parts, so almost equal to the original $7,000 purchase price. The local ABF did not issue any fines for the non-compliant parts. The good news is that most new cars, world-wide, were asbestos free by 1999, but the bad news is that virtually all cars built before 1999 have asbestos based components. All imported cars must obtain an asbestos test BEFORE they are shipped to Australia, but few countries have certified collector car asbestos inspectors. If asbestos is identified, it must be removed before the vehicle is shipped and owners must confirm the vehicle is asbestos free. The ABF doesn’t have the time, space and manpower to inspect every car, but no-one should take the risk of being caught up in the costs and damage of a random inspection, the possible seizure and destruction of the car plus the reality of fines because the seized parts were not zero asbestos compliant. If the asbestos–related import/export restrictions were not enough, the Australian government is ramping its efforts to keep what are described as “culturally significant automobiles” in Australia and is considering the seizure of any vehicle deemed to have been “illegally” exported since 1987. Based on the UNESCO convention in trafficking of illicit cultural property, the proposed legislation would include any vehicle designed by an Australian, built in Australia, altered in Australia or strongly associated with an Australian. If you have a car with a significant Australia history, be nervous. All of this should be a warning of future potential problems for the collector car community. If there’s a way to go overboard on regulations, the government, any government, seems to find a way to make life overly complicated. While Australia is currently the epicentre of Monty-Pythonesque import (and export) restrictions, others will follow. China, for instance, simply forbids the import of classic cars, Norway wants to eliminate ALL new or used gas and diesel powered cars by 2025, while India and Germany want to eliminate all new gas and diesel cars by 2030 and France by 2040. Our children will live in a very different world.
Everyone agreed to go back to plan “A”, a removal time was again booked only to have someone at ABF again decide that the work be done by an asbestos specialist. After yet more calls, emails and negotiations it was finally agreed that ABF, the original inspector, two mechanics from Classic Gasoline and Thanks Keith for passing this on. the owner would inspect the car, agree to the work
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The Diner ********************************************************** Some pictures from the “Holden” visit to the Museum last week. The only Holden in sight was Mike Baker’s well presented one, but the Rolls turned a few heads.
Photos in this issue are thanks to Mike Pooley, Dave Duirs, Penny Woollams and Dave Hills.
G T MULLER State Highway 10, Coopers Beach
WOF CENTRE VEHICLE IMPORTS PHONE 09 406 0406
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