VETERAN REPORT

It’s that time of year again with no real outdoor veteran activity to report on this last month, BUT time now though to look at getting them out and warranted again for the new season ahead.

Things are now in the planning process for the Annual Veteran Rally on Sunday 24th September, all the information you need to know is on the entry form on Page 41. You will see we are starting ‘south of the border’ this year to allow us to visit a destination few will have been to, and hopefully also allow some members from the Ashburton Branch to join us. I can promise you it will be a very good day out, and good easy veteran motoring as well. Any club-eligible vehicles are able to enter this rally, however only veteran entrants will be eligible for the rally prizes. I would especially encourage rear-wheel braked vintages to attend. A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to call in and see the good work Kelvin Finlay and John Lynn are doing in Kelvin’s big shed in Ohoka, and they have made some great progress on a number of their cars since I last visited about 12 months ago. Amongst them are Kelvin’s early veteran Maxwell that was still in as-found condition last time I saw it, and is now only waiting for a couple of fittings to arrive to be fully completed. He’s currently working on his very large late veteran Buick tourer which is now mechanically done with the bodywork and interior proceeding well.

John has recently had to fix an issue with the engine in his 1920 Davis which involved a removal and strip-down job, but the engine is back in the car again and it’s nearly all finished and ready for the coming vintage motoring season. John has also recently gathered together a collection of parts for a very rare 1913 Mors, so he and Kelvin are busy tracking down leads to find what original parts they still need to complete as much of the car as possible. It’s amazing what they have found already and although there are some complicated logistics involved in bringing it all together, I have no doubt they will soon have the majority of it there and will be re-manufacturing what they need for the rest.

Their optimism is evident as they have already decided on the colour and even have some of the chassis parts painted already! In my own shed, the last month has been spent getting WoFs for some of the later model Wolseleys, and also spending some extra time on each one as I go attending to some of the more cosmetic work and general servicing that I’ve been meaning to do for some time. I still haven’t got the magneto on the 1912 Wolseley sorted properly, although I have made progress and got the coil side of the dual ignition system working properly – it’s just a case of now setting everything up so I can start the car on the coil ignition and then flick it over to run on the magneto without leaving the driver’s seat.

Bevars Binnie has some ideas that I can try, so we’ll see what happens. I was very tempted to take the 1909 Wolseley-Siddeley to the last OCBC on 16th July given we had some respite from the rain and even a nor-west wind to warm things up a bit, but as I needed to be there to unlock the clubrooms early I thought I might be tempting fate to leave home early and try and get there on time. I took the Wolseley Hornet (Mini) instead! And before finishing, how about planning on bringing your veteran or vintage vehicle to the Daffodil Rally? My recommendation would be to start at Rolleston and come straight to Cutler Park, or even just go straight to Cutler Park from your closest start point or your home. It would be good to have some veteran and early vehicle representation at this important and very public event. Have a good month everyone,

Colin Hey

VETERAN RALLY ENTRY FORM PAGE 41