VCC WELLSFORD/WARKSWORTH RADIATOR CAP MARCH 2024

The RadiatorCap March2024Newsletter

The

are not necessarily the views of the

5-7 March Citroen Rally based in Warkworth using our clubroom on 7 March at 09:30

Wed 6 Mar 12:00 Beach picnic at Brick Bay

8-10 Mar Ford Model 40 Conven on at Masterton

Sat 9 Mar 09:00 Meet at Clubrooms for Are We There Yet ? Rally Both compe ve and non-compe ve routes. Bring your lunch.

Thu 14 Mar 17:30 Club Night: BYO BBQ and salad to share

Sat 16 Mar Warkworth A&P Show.

Wed 20 Mar 10:00 Coffee & cleaning

Thu 21 Mar 15:00 Club Commi ee mee ng

28Mar-2Apr Na onal South Island Easter Rally Nelson

30-31 Mar Paeroa Steam Up at the Puke Wharves

Wed 3 Apr 12:00 Beach picnic at Sullivan’s Bay

5-6 Apr 30th Waikato Moloo Meander

Thu 11 Apr 17.30 Club Night: BYO BBQ and salad to share

Wed 17 Apr 19:00 Coffee & Cleaning

Thu 18 Apr 15:00 Club Commi ee mee ng

BRANCH TREASURER

Dave Oliver has given the Commi ee early warning that he will be standing down from the role at the AGM in May a er six years in the job. This is a vital role right at the heart of the Club but with the accoun ng package we have it is not an arduous one. Please give some thought to pu ng your name forward for this important role so we don’t have an embarrassing silence at the AGM and, more importantly, a club without a treasurer.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Our mid-week picnic at Algies Bay was well a ended. A pleasant on-shore breeze helped keep us cooler on what was a hot day. The monthly club-night was supported by a smaller group. It’s always great to see the range of salads people offer. We don’t o en double up.

The run arranged by Steve to the Whangarei Heritage Park open-day was most enjoyable and very well supported. I don’t think that any of us realised the extent and range of clubs that use the area beyond the VCC clubrooms. Displays of all manner of machinery and equipment – sta onary engines, agricultural machinery, vehicles, a life-boat from the Niagara, a medical equipment museum full or all sorts of horrifying instruments, the Amateur Radio Club and an Astronomy Club plus more, were open to the public. We were impressed also with the pedal-powered merry-go-round giving rides to children and the operator a great work-out. Fine weather made the day very pleasant.

Our Working Bee ahead of the Swap Meet gave the clubrooms a fresh look. Thanks to all those who supported the clean-up.

Our Swap Meet was well supported par cularly by stall-holders. Buyers were slower to arrive but they did turn up, helped I think, by fantas c weather. The Port-a-com on the carpark for the new development in the paddock behind, made displaying vehicles more difficult. The paddock we used for the display did not work so well as the cars were not in easy view. This is something we will need to consider ahead of our next Swap Meet. I heard some great comments from sellers and buyers. One lot saying that they love se ng up at our event because of the rural atmosphere. One of the sellers told me that they come for the bacon bu es! An early count up of funds and expenses indicates a clear profit of about $2,000. Thanks to everyone for taking on the various tasks. Everything ran smoothly due to your efforts and the day felt like a great success.

Coming up, we have the Citroen Rally based in Warkworth from 5 – 7 March. The event is expected to a ract more than 50 vehicles and they will be displayed at the wharf on the evenings of 5 and 6 of March. On 7 March, we will be hos ng them from 9.30 a.m. at the clubrooms where they will hold their AGM before heading off on a run. More details about the event can be found in last week’s Mahurangi Ma ers.

Our “Are We There Yet?” Rally will start from the club-rooms at 9.00 a.m. on Saturday 9 March and end at Shelly Beach on the Kaipara Harbour with a picnic lunch. There are two routes – a compe ve route with a mix of sealed and gravel roads and a non-compe ve route of all sealed roads. There is no entry fee. Just turn up at 9.00 a.m. for the briefing, with a picnic lunch, some sunscreen and deck-chairs. Please note, the cafe at Shelly Beach appears now to be closed so you will need your own liquid refreshment.

The Warkworth A&P Show is an event we have tradi onally supported with a display of our cars. The driver and club-eligible vehicle are given free entry to the event. Our area for display may be different to recent years as the show commi ee is revamping the set-up. Unfortunately the show coincides with the Na onal Execu ve mee ng in Christchurch, so I

won’t be there. It’s always a relaxing day with plenty of entertainment so bring your car along.

August this year marks 15 years since we established our clubrooms at the Satellite Staon. Last week, Treasurer Dave Oliver and I met with Mike McGrath of Spark to discuss renewing the lease, hopefully for a further 15 years. The mee ng was very posi ve and Mike plans on coming back to us with a new lease agreement to carry us into the future.

Our AGM in May is fast approaching. Our Treasurer, Dave Oliver, has indicated that he will be relinquishing his role at the AGM. The job does not require extensive accoun ng knowledge as we’re a small organisa on with a tax exemp on and we’re not GST registered. If there is anyone out there who would be willing to take the role on, please let me know.

Happy motoring

SCLUB CAPTAIN’S REPORT

aturday 27th January was the day of "Brave the Shave". We had a run star ng at the Warkworth Wharf, then headed North through the Dome Valley to Whanga Eats. Here we met those cars from the Wellsford side, had refreshments and then con nued over Matakana Hill to the Leigh School field. We parked our cars on display here while we a ended the fund raising event for the Leigh Volunteer Fire Brigade, our very own club member Frick Atkins along with another Leigh local, Gabe Ransom, having their hair well trimmed back and beards shaved off, the first me in many years for the both of them. It was a great day and they raised a very respectable grand total of over $37,000.

The next run was on Sunday 18th February. Star ng at the Wellsford Community Centre, we headed north to the Whangarei Heritage Park and met with the Northland VCC at their Club Rooms, where our vehicles were on display alongside their cars, for their open day. We had a great turnout of 9 club cars and 1 motor bike. The open day was brilliant: we all had a good look around the sheds and displays and shared a very welcome cuppa with the Northland Branch members in their clubrooms.

It has been a busy few weeks with the working bee and Swap Meet also in February, with a good turnout of members at both events. The Run in March will be the Are We There Yet? rally star ng at the club rooms at 9 a.m. on Saturday 9th March.

Steve

AUCKLAND VETERAN RALLY FEBRUARY 2024

John Stokes plotted a long, and a short route for the run starting in Waiuku and theinstructionswereprintedinlargeprintsoIdidn’thavetostrugglewithreading glasses, sunglasses and sheltering from the rain. The weather forecast was pretty horrid but luckily apart from one unpleasant shower, we all got through dry. Although numbers were low, enthusiasm was high and the Charabanc was full.

LeonandBrenddadrovetheScrippsBoothandwebroughtupthetailintheCadillac. DougandIhadourusualdisagreementoverwhichroadtotakeandbythetimeIgot him back on track we had blown any chance of a successful Timed Section.

There issome lovely driving around this area of theWaikato, with a few verysteep hills here and there but it seemed that everyone bowled along without any breakdowns,holdupsorhassles.OncompletionoftherunweadjournedtotheCosmopolitan Club for a very welcome lunch. The prize giving was brief, with the Gardeners winning the timed section, followed by Leon and Brendda. All great fun.

Anne Hamilton

WHANGAREI HERITAGE PARK OPEN DAY

WeassembledattheWellsfordCommunityCentreand adozenorsoheaded off on the run to Whangarei. Raewyn & Ray Spick ran into trouble when their car threw a hissy it and sprayed water everywhere but they took it homeandcameupinthemodern.Oncewewerealllineduptherewasaveryimpressivearrayofsometwentycars,plusDaveOliver’strustymotorbike.Thegroundswere a hive of activitywith all the sheds open, along with historic buildings and themuseum. TheMerry-go-Round(forlittlepeople)caughteveryone’sattention, irstlyforthe lovelymusic,thenwerealiseditwasbeingoperatedbypedalpower. Thedriverworkingthemachinecouldpedalbothbackwardsandforwardstoaddabitofvarietytothe rides and to my knowledge, he worked almost non-stop from about 10am to 2pm.

When the Food Truck didn’t turn up organisers whipped down the road for a load of pies, which, along with the sausage sizzle and water melon, kept the crowd happy. Thereweretrains,tramsandtractordrawntrailerstakingchildren,andsomeparents, for rides around the extensive tracks and rail network. The children were also entertainedwith quoits,egg and spoonracesand sackraces.Itwasaverygood familyday out. Thecars attracted lotsof attention,with photos, ilming and questions. With the goodweather,IamsureNorthlandClubwillbedelightedwiththesuccessoftheday.

Anne Hamilton

MYSTERY MOTORS

What car is this?

Last month’s car was a Peugeot 402 which was produced from 1935 un l 1940 when Germany invaded France. Avia on had introduced the concept of streamlining to car design and the DeSoto Airflow of 1934 was the first car to feature it, followed by the Chrysler Airflow. Most Americans found the styling too confron ng and the Airflow cars did not sell well. DeSoto abandoned the style in 1936, followed by Chrysler in 1937. Peugeot, however, embraced the style as they needed a car to compete with the Citroen Trac on Avant which was introduced in 1934. Unlike the Citroen, the Peugeot was RWD with a 55 hp 2-litre four-cylinder engine, a three-speed synchronized gearbox with overdrive, independent front suspension and leaf springs that were self-lubrica ng. At 16 feet long it was not a small car. Top speed was around 70 mph and it could be had with the world’s first fully automa c gearbox, although that was an expensive op on. Eight variants of the 402 were produced (conver ble, vans, taxis etc). It was one of the best selling prewar cars in France and they were s ll common on the road in the 1950s. Between 1935 and 1938 produc on of the first genera on of the 402 amounted to 33,815 cars so it was a successful car. By 1939 the 402 made up nearly 25% of taxis in Paris, and the stream -lined style was maintained for the smaller 302 and 202 models.

CLUB SWAPMEET 24 FEB 2024

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