DrivingourHistory
“For all Vehicles over 30 years old”
AORANGI - TRICAR
NEWSLETTER OF THE SOUTH CANTERBURY BRANCH OF THE VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF NEW ZEALAND INC.
CLUB ROOMS
19-25 REDRUTH ST. TIMARU SOUTH
Replica Timaru’s First Car Built by C. W. Wood
December 2024
NOGGIN AND NATTER
First Thursday of the Month
Hi everyone - November/December is a busy time of the year for us all, with not only our own events occurring but numerous other 'end of year' functions abound, culminating of course with Christmas, New Year 2025, and holidays!! An early reminder - New Years' Day at Fairlie with the annual street parade and a great day out... put in your diary now I suggest?
2024 seems to have flown by and now begins the flurry of commitments to fulfil ahead of 2025! Welcome New Members: Mark AUTRIDGE - Geraldine & Bruce LYON - Temuka.
A warm SCVCC welcome to you both and we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events.
The final 'Noggin & Natter' for 2024 will be at our club-rooms on Thursday 5 December at 7.30pm. No speaker is planned for the night, so likely a social evening will be the order of the evening, raffles, and any notices for your information. Remember - our Christmas Dinner is being held on Saturday 14 December at our rooms: 6pm arrival & dinner at 7pm. Tickets are $40pp - please liaise with Nola DAY to obtain tickets, if you haven't already done so....
Your committee is pleased to report that we have approved the budget for the supply and installation costs of 2 x wall-mounted heat pumps for our club-rooms, to replace the out-dated fan wall heaters. Thanks to Alistair DAY for his efforts in obtaining 4 quotes and liaising with the prospective suppliers to view our premises and make their submissions. We imagine that the installation will proceed very shortly.
The Veteran, Vintage & Commercial Rally was held on Sunday 17 November. A good turnout of vehicles with the lunch-stop at Orari Racecourse. Thanks to Gavin & Michelle Munro for organising this event. The Te rito Collaboration 'White Ribbon Day' on Saturday 23 November at CBay, supporting curbing Violence against Women was well supported by our members & vehicles. We then moved onto Margaret Wilson Rest Home to display our vehicles and interact with the residents.
1st December is the Timaru annual Santa Parade, with our members supporting this event again. After the parade, we will visit the Mountainview Village retirement complex, adjacent to Elloughton Gardens - again to entertain the residents with our vehicles and enhance our community involvement and inputs. In closing, from my viewpoint as Chair, I wish to thank our/your committee for their work ethic, willing assistance at all times and helpful involvement over my 6 months of tenure so far. I can report that all of these people do excellent work on the club's behalf and that I would really struggle without this Team's efforts! Of course, many committee members lead other smaller teams within our club, and our collective 'thanks' to all other members involved at all levels in our local organisation.
Best regards and let's continue to enjoy 'turning petrol into pleasure'!!
Colin HAWKE Chair
PARTS DEPT. REPORT .November 2024.
This month our Team have been busy with sorting scrap into various categories, ie. Cast, alloy, brass. Into drums and then taken to the scrap man. This helps us with creating a little more space to store more parts, while bringing in a little revenue.
Thanks to Andy, and Clive for the transporting of these items.
We also cleared all of the car batteries that had accumulated over time.
Another of our Wednesday team to meet is Ron Cooper. Ron is one of our 'older' members, and was responsible for running one of our earliest Parts for Sale event in the form of a 'Car Boot Sale' on the present site of the parts shed before it was built.! Ron went on to become Parts manager for many years. These days Ron likes to come for a 'cuppa' and a chat.
We are open each Wednesday from 9am till 12noon.
Barry Smith, Parts Manager.
NOGGIN & NATTER,
Thursday December 5th 7.30 pm -
Clubrooms, Redruth St Timaru.
SPEAKER :- Social End of Year gathering
KITCHEN DUTY :- Club Committee Members
BAR :- Sandy McMillan
MarkAutridge
Bruce Lyon
SCVCC Website Updates www.southcanterburyvintagecarclub.co.nz
To access other club newsletters go to www.vcc.org.nz scroll to News from our Branches as hard copy newsletters are not mailed out now.
SCVCC website - November 2024
- November newsletter placed up - Banners reordered on homepage - Events page updated
- Behind the scenes wordpress updates
Upcoming - More stories of various runs, online version of newsletter, information about upcoming events, members vehicles in gallery, Stories and photos from members are ENCOURAGED and can be sent through to website.scvcc@gmail.com
Calendar of Events 2024 /2025 for the South Canterbury Branch of the VCC
December 14th
Club Christmas Party 2025
January 1st
New Years Day - Fairlie
January 19th Ladies Run
February 9th Chairmans Run
February 22nd Open Day
March 9th Mid Island Rally
March 23rd Motorcycle Run
April 4th, 5th Swap Meet
April 10th Midweek Run
May 8th Midweek Run
May 10th P Class Rally
May 25th
End of Season Run
June 1st All British Day
June 5th AGM
XMAS PARTY / DINNER
SC VCC CLUBROOMS
DECEMBER 14th
$40 PER TICKET
MEET 6PM ====EAT 7PM
DEPOSITSTO BE MADE TO NEW BANK ACCOUNT
ANZ 01-0885-0009685-00
PLEASE use your name as reference, or phone Nola 027 2035007 for ticket requirements if you are unable to pay online. You can pay cash at the December Noggin or Parts Shed if you prefer. All members, partners and friends welcome. The committee hope you make the effort to join us Tickets available at the December Noggin or the parts shed on Wednesday
Snow on the Mt Cook Rally 1982 at the Ohau turn off
Graham Pauley
(Rear) Lindsay Prentice
1929 DA Dodge 1928 Dodge Standard 6 (Front) Dave Mason 1928 Dodge Standard 6
4 Temuka Entrants all in Dodges 1982 Mt Cook Rally( photo Ohau Lodge) cars
Left to Right, Russell Dale 1927 Fast 4, Lyndsay Prentice 28 Std 6, Dave Mason 28 Std 6 & Graham Pauley 1929 D.A.
Heavy Snow at Mt Cook (1982) Dave Mason at rear 28 Dodge Std 6, Graham Pauley (front) 1929 DA Dodge, & partially obscured Lyndsay Prentice 1928 Std 6 Dodge.
Photo’s and details - Graham Pauley
Arrowtown Motorcycle Rally.
Pictures by Barry Barnes. Article elsewhere in magazine
Nicely restored Yamaha XS650
Some of the bikes at Kingston Golf Club.
Veteran Royal Enfield
Datsun Nationals 2024– Labour Weekend
Every 2nd year the Nationals are combined, North and South Island, and what a great line-up. 71 cars from Auckland to Invercargill toured to Nelson.
Friday night was a catch up at a local watering hole. Saturday we all met at the Nelson Classic Car Museum, then out to Rabbit Island for “Show & Shine” with Bar-B-Q lunch. It absolutely hosed down with all huddled under gazebo’s catching up and trying to stay dry.
After lunch a scavenger hunt got underway. At 5.30pm back to the Classic Car Museum for drinks and meal with lots of time to explore the fantastic facility, a must see.
Sunday meet up for a cruise of 220km’s including Riwaka and Motueka. 4.30pm back to the Honest Lawyer Hotel for prize giving, drinks and meal.
Monday was a drive to the Nelson Lakes with a park up at Lake Rotoiti then time to say goodbyes and head towards home.
Dave Brien, 1200 SSS with Gay and Bruce Brown 120Y SSS were the only Timaru cars to be part of a great mix of cars and be in good company.
Old Timer.
2024 Grasskhana
The day dawned fine and looked promising all day, the number of entries were lower than expected (13 drivers) but considering the involvement of our members at Pleasant Point and High School exams being in full swing, not too bad. We achieved the result of having a young driver present with Rhodes Inglis from Dunedin, he was practicing for his licence very soon, his younger sister Stella being the youngest navigator and very keen to drive next year. Mum, Leanne Inglis came along to watch but found herself unable to resist the offer to drive Bruce Washington's newly acquired Triumph Herald special. Along with the Inglis Family travelling from Dunedin was Robert Trompetter and David Bright from Kaiapoi, another entrant from Christchurch was a late withdrawal due to a fall with a suspected broken wrist. My thanks to Bruce Washington for providing a great venue to hold these events and Andre Kraenzlin for helping on the day.
Results:-
Clan Campbell took out the majority of the prize pool for the day; Grandad John -the only entrant to achieve the same time all day.
Daughter Leanne Inglis - best lady driver and closest time over 5 events, 15 seconds off Grandson Rhodes Inglis - best young driver
Granddaughter Stella Inglis - youngest navigator, she hopes to compete next year. Not related to the Clan -
Chris Chambers 2nd over 5 events
Kevin Mercer 3rd over 5 events with only 4 seconds 1st to 3rd.
Kevin Mercer fastest time over 5 events
David Bright and Robert Trompetter distance travelled to the event awards A great day was had by all and everyone I spoke to said they would return next year, so it’s another win for the VCC by encouraging young people to get involved.
If you know any young people (15 to 45) who might be interested please ask them to contact me khmercer@xtra.co.nz , we will possibly have an informal day early next year specifically to teach these potential members what Grasskhanas and Trials are all about.
Kevin Mercer
( Pics on next page)
Sunday Night Dinner Chat
John Campbell showed good results with his daughter as navigator.
Andre Kraenzlin in our Morris 8 special.
Robert Trompetter and Chris Chambers out for a Sunday drive
Host Bruce Washington in a Triumph Herald Special
Summer Safari 2024. By Hillholder.
Met up with Wayne and Ollie Irving at the top of Morgans Rd. on the Thursday morning, and from there travelled out through Pleasant Point and on to O'Neill's Reserve at Cave. Two tents set up and that was it for the day, except for collecting some firewood. Sitting around the fire that night was a star- gazer's dream. Satellites going every which way, (almost need traffic lights up there .
Friday was a mixture of weather but stayed mainly fine with wind first from west then south.
Had a visit from Donald White from Albury and Rod Wills. Terrance with Caitlyn and new baby( now 3months old) arrived late afternoon with Pizza for everyone for tea. Darren and Jo Ladbrook came out also and stayed well into the evening.
Saturday was not very nice weather with more wind then some rain. Late afternoon Paul and Robert Chapman arrived and put up their tent. Soon after Neill Manchester arrived for tea, but after only having a couple of bevy's took another look at the weather and decided to forget tea and head for home! By this time the sky was becoming darker and the wind from the south was biting cold. Paul said to me ,you wouldn't be mad at me if I packed up and went home! I replied, 'not at all.' Then he said. 'Well I'm here now so we will tough it out'. A few minutes later looking at the sky he said, 'I'm out of here'. And with that he and Robert pulled down their tent, packed it in the car and left! That left Ollie and myself as Wayne had left camp early that morning to go to work and would be back Sunday morning to help take down their tent. Soon after, the sky cleared the wind stopped and the evening turned out fine with the stars shining once again.
Just the two of us around the fire, with the satellites moving overhead!
Sunday and with Wayne back and their tent down and packed away they were gone.
I took a more leisurely pace and was packed up by 2pm, then set off for home, with another Safari behind us.
Maybe next year, who Knows!!!
Arrowtown Motorcycle Rally.
Carla and I were heading for a week’s holiday in Wanaka when we realized the Arrowtown Motorcycle Rally would take place the following weekend. We had not been for a couple of years and had not intended to do so this year but decided seeing we would be down that way, why not.
Accordingly, the 1979 Suzuki GS850 and side car was loaded on the trailer and joined us for the trip south. This allowed us to enjoy touring around Wanaka and included a trip over the Crown Range to get the obligatory Arrowtown pie and take advantage of the Night and Day Tuesday special of a $2 ice cream.
The old rig galloped up and down the Crown range no trouble, apart from having to fill the tank at the top, very gratifying.
We had to move out of our timeshare on the Friday to alternative accommodation around the road so as prearranged we took the car trailer and bike over the Crown Range again, offloaded the bike at Arrowtown and roared off to the Kingston lunch stop to meet up with the rest of the bikes.
The Friday had been so wet and the overnight weather so wild and woolly we wondered if we had made the right decision and had toyed with taking the car and trailer further down the road.
Happily, the day dawned fine and sunny and a great ride around the lake ensued followed by a generous packed lunch.
Lex Westoby had ridden his XS1100 Yamaha down from Timaru on the Friday and around Dunedin debated putting on his waterproofs.
“Nah, I’ll be right” and of course the heavens opened up and Lex arrived at his sister’s place in Lumsden in sodden condition though happily able to get everything nearly dry for Saturday’s run.
The entry of around 30 bikes was heavily weighted towards moderns and the later model p60 and p80 bikes, many beautifully restored but with a sprinkling of postwar, a rare vintage Rex Acme and 2 veterans a 1914ish Royal Enfield v twin and a 1918 Triumph. All the Japanese makes were represented with Yamaha’s being the bike of choice. The day stayed one out of the box and ended with a great social time, evening meal, and prizegiving at the Arrowtown Bowling Club, where, by some machinations we ended up getting a certificate in the sidecar combinations class which comprised just 2 entries! Barry B
3 6 13
Notes from the Library by Barry Barnes
Work in the Library has centred around clearing material that had arrived during my absence overseas and this is now complete. There were a couple of boxes of magazines etc left by Brian Grace and gratifyingly there were a surprising number that filled gaps in various collections while the remainder have gone out on to the duplicates table.
Members, don’t forget the stock is constantly being added to so check it out on Club nights and take what you want, mostly free, though there are some clearly labelled books including handbooks for various vehicles, yours for a modest fee. We also have a large stock of surplus manuals in the Library, again going cheap. Barry Smith had acquired a number of motoring books ex the Crowsnest and there were a few we did not have that have now become part of the Library stock. There have been various other individual donations too and I would like to thank all who have passed on material for the Library shelves or display in our display cabinets.
I recently visited Geraldine and at the request of Dean Rae went through the collection of motoring books owned by his late father and Branch member, Graeme Rae, coming away with a large number of books for the Library. Many thanks to Dean for his generosity in donating these items.
Among the interesting items are two booklets produced by the Model T Ford Club of America that cover the intricacies of the Ford transmission and the common and desirable accessory Ruxtell axle which gives the humble 2 speed Ford the benefit of extra gear ratios to chose from.
Another Ford related book is “Any Colour as long as its Black”, a New Zealand publication by one John Duncan of whom I was previously unaware. The maxim in its title, while well known, only applied for Fords from 1914 through to 1925, and as such can be misleading.
A couple of others are “The Austin 7 Book” and “Triumph Cars” covering from the 10/20 of 1923 to the TR7, plus brief coverage of the origin of the firm in cycle and then motorcycle manufacturing.
The New Zealand book, “Cotton to Cars”, tells the story of the Nelson vehicle assembly plant which assembled 37 different models over 33 years of production which totalled 160406 vehicles.
“Cars” is an expensive looking book by Getty Images in English, French and German, covering vehicles through to the 1960s.
There are still quite a few to process, and as you can see we have been lucky to obtain these items.
I have previously reported on requests for information that I get from time to time and I am always happy to do what I can to help. So if you think I may be able to help please do not be afraid to ask!
Recently I visited Bob Austin and was given a copy of the article about Austin 7’s being used on the South Canterbury rural mail delivery runs. Even back then the snow was no problem for the dependable Austin 7.
Les R.
Other Coming Events Elsewhere
(Check our Web Page for further details on Events listed below)
Oamaru Windsor Rally December 7th
Fairlie New Year’s Day Parade 1st January 2025
Ashburton Annual Rally 25th January 2025
Manawatu 29th VCC National Motorcycle Rally 25th - 27th January 2025
Southland 70th Anniversary Rally 1st February 2025
Blenheim National Veteran Rally 5th - 8th February 2025
Waimate Wallaby Rally 8th February 2025
Manawatu MANAWATU AG EXPO 2025 Manfield Park Feilding 22nd -23rd February 2025
South Waikato Irishwoman’s Rally 8th & 9th March 2025
Wanaka Wheels at Wanaka
Another Year is quickly coming to an end. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you who have contributed articles, photos or jokes for this year’s edition’s of Tricar magazine.
Helen and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a New Year of happy motoring in 2025.
If you are out Temuka way during December, up to Christmas Eve, feel free to visit our miniature Christmas village display which is open each evening from around 7.30pm. It doesn’t have to be dark to view. We are at 60 Hayhurst Street North Temuka off Princes Street.( pic to tempt you)
Les Rzepecky Tricar Editor
Office Bearers 2024-2025
Chairperson: Colin Hawke (Glenys) 6889955/ 027 4896663
Vice Chairperson: Vacant
Immediate past Chairman Alistair Day 027 2025007
Secretary: Pauline Young (Wayne) 6861833/ 027 5399225
Treasurer: Nola Day (Alistair) 027 2035007
Club Captains: Gavin and Michelle Munro
Kevin Manchester (Ngadia) Michelle 021 1726168
Gavin 021 0528264
Kevin 027 5178769
News Letter Editor: Les Rzepecky (Helen) 021 1220011
Clubroom Convener: Sandy McMillan 027 6155150
Parts Shed Manager: Barry Smith (Lynette) 6847405
Librarian: Barry Barnes (Carla) 6885105
IT Officer: Shannon Stevenson 6863263/ 027 2453519
Committee: All of the above
Ross Hamilton (Wendy) 021 2407137
Identification and Certificate:
Swap Meet:
Chairman:
Alistair Day, Colin Hawke. 027 2025007 6889955/ 027 4896663
Site Convenor/ Secretary Michelle Munro (Gavin) 6864824/ 021 1726168
Treasurer: Nola Day (Alistair) 027 2035007
Ground Convenor: Barry Smith ( Lynette) 6847405
Committee: Gavin Munro (Michelle) 6864824/ 021 0528264
(Plus all above)
Krystal Munro 027 8567940
Glen Hawkins 027 2076625