Beaded Wheels 375 April/May 2022

CLASSIC, VINTAGE AND VETERAN MOTORING FOR 76 YEARS

No. 375 April/May 2022

New Zealand’s Foremost Historical Motoring Magazine $7.95

SUMMER MOTORING

9 418979 000012

LOCHINVER RALLY 2022 • OLDSMOBILE AFFAIR

ROAD TESTING A ROVER P5 DRIVING OUR HISTORY

Two photographs supplied by Gerry Spencer of Wanaka. Gerry writes: I presume that the group photo was taken between the wars. My grandparents would have been in the shot somewhere. They lived in Oamaru and later In Dunedin, so it would be the hills around the area somewhere.

The second photo is of my grandfather Ralph Malcolm who, when living in Oamaru, was employed as outside manager by the Otago Motor Club, precursor to the AA distributing and/or putting road signs out in this 1926‑27 Studebaker. I guess the government didn’t do it back then. This would have been in the period 1926-1928.

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.

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 Christopher Leith 03 358 5378 hon.sec@vcc.org.nz 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

REGISTRAR Rod Brayshaw 07 549 4250 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 3140 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/- 73 Porangahau Road, Waipukurau 4200 centralhawkesbay@vcc.org.nz EASTERN BAY OF PLENTY PO Box 2168, Kopeopeo Whakatane 3159 easternbayofplenty@vcc.org.nz

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FAR NORTH C/– 50 Davis Strongman Place, RD3, Kerikeri 0293 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/- 53 Huia Street, Taumarunui 3920 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/- 21 Mornington Road, Balaclava, Dunedin 9011 otago@vcc.org.nz ROTORUA PO Box 2014, Rotorua 3040 rotorua@vcc.org.nz SOUTH CANTERBURY PO Box 623, 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/- PO Box 39029, Egmont Village 4361 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 5810 wairarapa@vcc.org.nz WAITEMATA C/- 9 Marlborough Ave, Glenfield, Auckland 0629 waitemata@vcc.org.nz WANGANUI PO Box 726, Whanganui 4540 wanganui@vcc.org.nz WELLINGTON PO Box 38-418, Petone, Wellington 5045 wellington@vcc.org.nz WELLSFORD/WARKWORTH PO Box 547, Warkworth 0941 wellsfordwarkworth@vcc.org.nz WEST COAST C/- 1999 Kumara Junction Highway, RD 2, Hokitika 7882 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. 375

Issue 375 April/May 2022

Editorial Committee

Kevin Clarkson (Chairman), Judith Bain, Rosalie Brown, John Coomber, Mark Dawber, 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, double space on one side of paper only. 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).

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) $45* inc GST Australian subscription (6 issues) NZ$76* Other countries (6 issues) NZ$136*. *Payment by credit card incurs additional bank fee processing charge of 3%

Production

Design: RGB Design & Print Ltd, Christchurch Print: PMP Ltd, Christchurch.

Closing Date for June/July: Editorial Copy Advertisements

26 April 2022 10 May 2022

FEATURES 9 14 18 22 24 26 30 33 34 36 38 41

A Minor Makeover My Sports Car Obsession Roger White’s reminices (and rates) the sports cars of his life.

My Passionate Oldsmobile Affair

The Model 62 – one of the rarest of all Fords Behind The Wheel Michael Wolfe’s 1970 P5 Rover 3.5 saloon LMC – Ian Bade’s 1913 Lloyd Motor Engineering Company bike A Compliance Experience

Rally Snippets 41 Auckland Veteran Run – Auckland 41 Wee Wheelie Wander – North Otago 42 Three Rivers Rally - Gisborne 43 Pre Christmas Run 2021 – Ashburton 44 Catching the tail end of the cyclone – Northland 44 A Trio of Austins 45 Manawatu Branch Veteran Rally – Manawatu

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The Way We Were Book Reviews

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VCC Events

46

Archivist News

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National Office

47

Marketplace

Postal Address: PO Box 2546,

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Mailbag

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Swap Meets & Rallies

Christchurch 8140, New Zealand.

8

Notice of AGM

53

Trade Directory

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.

Like us on facebook Beaded Wheels

38

Ashburton Pre-Christmas Run

43

COLUMNS 35

Website: www.vcc.org.nz Copyright Information

Lochinver 2022

Lochinver 2022

As We See It

New Zealand.

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Looking Back at the Vero Festival of Historic Motoring

President’s Message

Address: 12 Aberdeen St, Christchurch,

LMC

Robert Harding’s Wolseleys

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National Office Phone 03 366 4461 Fax 03 366 0273 Email admin@vcc.org.nz

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Land Rover – Blue Eagle Express

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The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.)

Oldsmobile Affair

10

Soapbox

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Idle Torque

11

Timelines

66

Passing Lane

COVER Once again Waitemata Branch organised a group of intrepid enthusiasts who enjoyed their annual run up through Lochinver Station. Gavin Welch and Sophia are seen here in the 1912 Model T pickup.

Full report on page 38. Photo Elisabeth Cato.

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 Management Committee made the decision to hold the March Executive meeting (usually held in Wellington) by Zoom. This was due to the Omicron outbreak being forecast to be at its peak at that time and having regard to the issues around flying and social distancing. The provisions of the Covid-19 Response (Requirements for Entities – Modifications and Exemptions) Act 2020 come into force when a Club such as ourselves is restricted from performing a function which is set out in its constitution or rules.

The Executive of the Club met on Saturday 12 March and overall the meeting ran relatively smoothly in terms of the audiovisual technology.

The motion to adopt the proposed re-branding logo failed by one vote. The breakdown of voting is set out in detail elsewhere in the magazine. As Chair of the meeting, I did not exercise my vote in case there was a tie. If that had been the case, convention dictates that I would vote for the status quo (ie no change). In terms of eligibility of voting, under the Constitution the Executive is made up of one delegate from each branch and each of the Management Committee Members.

The management team will put this setback aside and will continue to strive to promote and advocate for the Club.

Although the end of the year financial reports have not yet

AS WE SEE IT If you look at the top of the front cover of your Beaded Wheels you will see that we have a sales pitch there which states “Classic, vintage and veteran motoring for 76 years”. That is there because that is the part of the magazine which will be most obvious when it is stacked on a bookstand, ready for sale.

Bookstand sales do bring in extra money but another good reason for bookstand display is that it exposes the Club to non-members who may at some point wish to become members. So, a good sales tool.

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been finalised, Hon Sec/Treas Chris Leith has reported that a healthy profit for the financial year will be achieved. Our yearto-date surplus is a considerable improvement on the budgeted deficit. Part of the reason is less travel for meetings and events and savings on wages due to the restructure of National Office.

Holding meetings by Zoom for Management Committee and Executive has also contributed to the reduction.

I am very pleased to announce that the Vero Profit Share for 2021 is $44,314.00 (excl GST).

This is an increase from the previous year, due to fewer major claims for house and contents insurance.

In addition, I am delighted to advise that the Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring will also be reporting a healthy surplus.

The update of National Office Systems is ploughing ahead under Murray Trounson’s expert guidance. The on-line membership application is now up and running and a secretary’s portal has also been introduced.

This allows branch secretaries to access the member records of their branch (including vehicles) in the Club’s live membership system and is confidential to branch secretaries.

The Management Committee has also begun to look at on-line voting but in all likelihood it will, if proceeded with, be at least a two The “Classic” in that heading may well increase interest in the magazine but it does nothing to solve that old argument “What is a classic car?” Well, it seems that everybody with a car has a different opinion, none of which are very definitive. Here are three examples where three different people have tried, and failed, to define a classic car.

One: A classic car is an older car, typically 20 years or older, though definitions vary. The common theme is of an older car of sufficient historical interest to be collectible and worth preserving or restoring rather than scrapping.

year process to implement.

We thank everyone for their patience with regard to VIC applications, particularly those who needed their VIC cards for the Vero Rally. On returning to National Office after the lockdowns in August and September, there was a huge pile of VIC applications to process and we had no staff member to perform this work.

We enlisted anyone who offered to help and thanks to them, and the employment of Karen Proctor in early December, the entire backlog was cleared by early January. I would like to acknowledge Murray Trounson, Michael Pidgeon, Marlene Muller and Kurt Ebrecht for “going the extra mile” to get these processed.

National Office recently forwarded a press release from the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association (of which the VCC is a member) explaining what’s going on in relation to the Clean Car Standard and the Clean Car Discount, and to dispel some of the misinformation that’s doing the rounds on social media.

Contact your local Branch if you would like a copy of it.

We are optimistic that the National Day Daffodil Rally will be going ahead this year. The date is 21 August 2022 and Kaaren Smylie will once again be coordinating the event. She is also planning to hold her Club Captain’s Tour this coming

Two: What is the difference between classic cars and collector cars? The common theme is of an older car of historical interest to be collectible and tend to be restored rather than scrapped.

Classic cars are a subset of a broader category of “collector cars” (which includes both restored classic cars vehicles and newer exotic vehicles).

Three: An older type of car, usually one that is no longer produced, and that people like to own because it looks very stylish or has special features.

September after it was cancelled last year, entry forms will be out in May. I was approached for an interview by a reporter (who is based in New Plymouth) from the TV current affairs programme Seven Sharp during the Festival of Historic Motoring.

I decided that I wanted viewers to get an idea of what our Club is actually about. A big thank you to the Dewhurst/Winterbottom family for allowing Seven Sharp to feature them – I chose them because of their long association with the Club, they had a wide range of ages across their three generations of family entered in the event and they are also enthusiastic and passionate about historic motoring and the VCC. Thanks to the pandemic, we don’t know what’s around the corner but we should remain positive and keep planning for the future. It was heartening at the recent Executive meeting to see Branches putting up bids for future national events.

Please keep yourselves safe and continue to keep driving our history.

Diane

Diane Quarrie VCCNZ National President

To avoid these problems of individual bias the VCC, along with other like-minded clubs around the world, has settled on a defined formula to describe eligible vehicles. Thus, we all understand, hopefully, what a veteran car is, or a vintage, post vintage, post war, post 60 and post 80. Hard to fit a “classic” definition in there – probably in the minds of their owners they are all classics.

Kevin Clarkson Chairman Beaded Wheels

VINTAGE CAR CLUB BRANCH EVENTS

DRIVING OUR HISTORY

David Lane and Monty Scarborough in David’s 1912 Model T speedster leads Gavin Welch’s Model T pickup through the Toi Toi. Photo Elisabeth Cato.

APRIL

9 Central Hawke’s Bay Twilight/Night Rally 9 North Otago Gerald Lynch-Blosse Memorial Motorcycle Rally 9 Otago Garage Raid 9 Wanganui Motorcycle Trial 10 Canterbury P Group Annual Rally 10 Gore Frank Robson & Clearwater Capers 10 Horowhenua Economy Run 10 Waikato Ladies Rally 13 E. Bay of Plenty Mid Month Run 14 South Canterbury Midweek Run 16 Canterbury Scooter Run 17 Central Otago Sunday Run 17 Hawke’s Bay Club Run 17 North Shore Follow the Whale Tail Trail 17 Rotorua Night Run 17 Taupo Chairman’s Run 18 Ashburton Easter Run 20 Auckland Mid Week Tourers 20 Waikato Wednesday Wander 20 Wellington Run to Pahaoa 23 Canterbury Autumn Run 23 Central Otago Arrowtown Autumn Festival 23-25 Bay of Plenty Highland Fling Rally 24 Auckland Club Run 24 Gisborne Club Run 24 Nelson Ladies Run 24 Wanganui Sunday Run 27 Rotorua Midweek Run 27 Wellington Midweek Run 28 Otago Midweek Run 30 Auckland 50 & 60 Year Awards

MAY 1 1 1 1 2-5 4 7 7 7 8

Canterbury Hawke’s Bay Waikato Wellington Nelson Hawke’ Bay Ashburton Gore Southland Nelson

Rural Run Swap Meet cancelled Road Runners Sunday Run West Coast Wander Midweek Run Swap Meet cancelled Night Trial Waimea Motorcycle Rally Sandy Bay Tarmac Hill Climb 8 Otago Restoration/PWV Rally 8 South Canterbury P Classes Rally 8 Wairarapa Motorcycle Reliability Run 10 Far North AGM 11 Taupo AGM 12 South Canterbury Midweek Run 14 Banks Peninsula Autumn Fling, Levels 14 Southland PWV/P60V/P80V Rally 15 Banks Peninsula Hadstock Field Tests 15 Central Otago Sunday Run 15 Hawke’s Bay Club Run 15 Horowhenua Mothers’ Day Run 15 Rotorua Night Run 15 Taupo Club Run 15 Waikato Vintage Venture 15 Waitemata Hoots Taupo 15 Wanganui Sunday Run 18 Auckland Mid Week Tourers 18 Waikato Wednesday Wander 19 Waimate AGM 21 Nelson Proposed Club Run 21 Northland Motorcycle Rally 22 South Canterbury End of Season Run 22 Waikato Motorcycle Run 22 Wellington Ladies Run 25 Rotorua Midweek Run 25 Wellington Midweek Run 26 E. Bay of Plenty AGM 26 Otago Midweek Run

29 29 29 30

Auckland Marlborough Waitemata Gisborne

JUNE 1 4 4-5 5 5 5 7 8 9 11 12 12 15 15 16 19 19 19 19 24 25 25 26 26 29

Hawke’s Bay Gore Canterbury South Canterbury Wanganui Wellington Hawke’s Bay Waikato South Canterbury Waikato Northland West Coast Gisborne Waikato Ashburton Canterbury Otago Taupo West Coast Waikato Far North South Canterbury Gisborne Nelson Wellington

Club Run AGM Roycroft Trophy Club Run

Midweek Run End of Season Run Irishman Rally All British Annual Rally Sunday Run AGM AGM Midweek Run Double Fifty AGM AGM AGM Wednesdy Wander AGM AGM AGM Brass Monkey Run Rosco Sporting Trials Matariki Day NZ Molloy Trophy Rally Night Trial Club Run AGM Midweek Run

NATIONAL EVENTS

3-6 February 2023 National Motorcycle Rally www.sporty.co.nz/nationalmotorcyclerally

This list does not contain all branch events (eg midweek or small club runs) 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.

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NATIONAL OFFICE Contact National Office for all queries regarding VICs, historic race licences, logbooks, registration of vehicles, lighting endorsement, address changes, subscriptions, membership cards, speed events.

VCC VERO INSURANCE SCHEME Financial membership of the Vintage Car Club of NZ Incorporated is a requirement to be insured under the VCC/ Vero Insurance Scheme.

NOTICE OF AGM On page 8 you will find a Notice of AGM along with a request for nominations for the Management Committee positions.

original VIC, forward your expired card and the signed renewal notice to your branch for completion.

If you do not enclose the expired VIC, or if the vehicle’s appearance has changed, you must send two identical photos of the vehicle as it now looks.

Please return your renewal advice as early as possible.

JOHN L GODDARD TROPHY NOMINATIONS On page 35 you will find a notice calling for nominations for the John L Goddard Trophy.

More information is available in the Branch Manual, which your local Branch will have available.

BOUGHT A VEHICLE THAT HAS A VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF NZ VEHICLE ID CARD? Upon a change of ownership, the VIC 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).

10 YEARLY RENEWAL OF VEHICLE IDENTITY CARDS (VIC) Renewal advices are generally sent out three months prior to expiry. Upon receipt, please check the details are correct and if the vehicle’s appearance has not changed from the

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.

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

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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.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS/PHONE NUMBERS/EMAIL/VEHICLE OWNERSHIP Please advise the National Office if you have changed address, phone number, email address or vehicle ownership.

keep an eye on the expiry date and if it needs renewing, please complete the Historic Race Licence Renewal Form and forward it, along with the payment and a new one will be issued.

COMMUNICATIONS WITH NATIONAL OFFICE Please include your membership number in all communications with National Office. This can be found on your membership card in the top right-hand corner.

NATIONAL OFFICE VISITORS

VCC SPEED EVENTS It is compulsory for any member entering a VCC Speed Event to hold a current VCC Historic Racing Licence (or Motorsport NZ Licence), and VCC Logbook (or Motorsport NZ Logbook), for the vehicle concerned, which must have a current VIC.

To ensure we maintain a safe working space for our staff, the following rules have been instigated. We thank you for respecting these rules.

• Please wear your face mask • Sign in with the Covid app on your phone, or sign the visitor’s book • Sanitize hands on entry • Do not come to the National Office if you have cold/flu like symptoms • Vaccine pass required to obtain entry to National Office

If you currently hold a VCC Historic Racing Licence, please NATIONAL OFFICE HOURS

Mon-Fri 9.30am to 1.30pm.

Linda Duffell Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Inc Office Administrator

CLUB RE-BRANDING VOTE RESULTS

The Executive of the Club, which is made up of one delegate from every Branch and each of the Management Committee members, met in March to vote on the proposed rebranding. Under the Club’s Constitution proxy voting is not allowed and there were no abstentions.

FOR: Ashburton, Bay of Plenty, Central Otago, Gore, Manawatu,

North Shore, Rotorua, Taupo, Waikato, Northland, Hon Secretary/ Treasurer Christopher Leith, NI Club Captain Kaaren Smylie, SI Club Captain Alon Mayhew, Registrar Rod Brayshaw, Beaded Wheels Chairman Kevin Clarkson, Mgmt Committee George Kear, Mgmt Committee Murray Trounson 17

AGAINST: Auckland, Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, East BOP,

Gisborne, Marlborough, Nelson, North Otago, Otago, Sth Cant, South Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Wairarapa, Waitemata, Wanganui, Wellington, Wellsford/Warkworth

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ABSENT: Central Hawke’s Bay, South Waikato, Far North,

Horowhenua, King Country, Waimate, West Coast, Speed Steward Tony Haycock, Mgmt Committee Tony Bartlett

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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.

but they didn’t agree. This was a problem because everything for miles was booked out. My luck held out and they found a bedding store shed in the motor camp. Remembering my service days I set up a bed and bits and pieces for a comfortable stay. I was probably the only person with a room to himself in Nelson.

The events in Nelson were brilliant, so many other makes of machines and their owners.

1972 13TH INTERNATIONAL VCC RALLY - CORRECTION

Good grief Barry,*, was it really 50 years ago? I have to correct you, the 1931 550cc Ariel Sloper was mine not Dale Conlon’s.

He was campaigning a very original 1931 500cc Square Four and sidecar.

You are quite right, it was a wonderful event. Just the sheer number of entries from so far and wide alone was amazing.

Especially when you think of the Radcliffe family bringing a 1926 removals lorry full of other folks’ motorbikes from England?

I started the rally travelling from Christchurch to Greymouth via the Lewis Pass and the bike performed well. The second day back to Christchurch via Arthur’s Pass was much tougher as, if I remember correctly, the Otira was still shingle. I know I was so pleased that the bike chugged its way up the steepest parts of the zig zag in second and third gear.

We passed other folk struggling and boiling.

Back home in Christchurch and a quick spanner check ready for the run to Blenheim. I found a spare inner tube and added to the pannier load. That reminds me, someone borrowed those leather panniers 30 years ago and I still haven’t got them back.

All went well to Kaikoura, but a few miles north I found the only bloody nail for miles. A back

tyre puncture meant that spare tube was needed after all. I was grateful for the long tyre lever I had taped to the frame along with a couple of spare chain split links.

Thankfully a back-up car escorted me trying to catch up time on the way to Blenheim.

About 10 miles from Blenheim I was going well when I noticed a puff of blue smoke followed by sudden silence. I was shocked to find no compression and that the back up vehicle had no trailer.

It looked like a holed piston.

Out with a tow rope for what seemed like an endless uphill, at least a rest for my arm on the down bits.

I was almost the last to arrive at the Blenheim checkpoint where I was rescued by Skipper McDonald. He took me home for the night and next morning it was out with the spanners and off with the head. The problem?

It turned out to be a chunk of carbon stuck under the exhaust valve. So it was a case of clean off the rest of the head and I was back in business.

The run over the Whangamoa hills was fun and I had company in the form of a couple Hell’s Angels on Harleys.

All was good booking into Nelson, I was directed to my booked motel but on arrival I was a bit surprised to find three women there! The next week looked like being interesting

The relay race was fun but as I drew the dawn patrol in the dark with Joe Lucas’ lights it was interesting. For my three laps I was very aware of my tiny tail light and a big Renault roaring round somewhere behind me. I could hear the damn thing and had visions of being trampled on. The Radcliffes didn’t compete on the grounds that a two way trip over the Wangamoa would mean yet another job of relining their brakes. Because of this they were refused their finisher’s badge but subsequently had one donated by another competitor.

The finale was a memorable party at the airport.

The Sloper was sold just three years ago and is now back where she came from just outside Birmingham. I did enjoy her company and the many miles and adventures we shared over 50 years.

Big End knocks aka Derek Upton.

*Motoring Memories article by Barry Barnes Beaded Wheels 373 HISTORY MYSTERY

I read with interest John Stokes’ (Wellington) article on the Cadillac and its possible connection with the Tongan Royal Family in Beaded Wheels 374.

was used by the King of Tonga it was probably during the 1950s and ‘60s.

During my time working in central Auckland, I knew of a large black limousine, left hand drive with a flag on it and a number of pasifika people in it.

I couldn’t identify the car at the time, but later learned it was either a Checker Superba or possibly a Checker Marathon Town Custom. These were made by the Checker Cab Company for sale to the general public, as opposed to their main business of making taxicabs.

I’m sure this was the Tongan royal car during this period. If you want information on the Checker cars simply Google Checker Superba or Checker Marathon, the Town Custom version was an eight seater with a 129 inch wheel base.

The Checker vehicles also get a sympathetic mention in Vance Packard’s book The Waste Makers published 1960. Packard was a consumerist who predated the likes of Raechal Carson and Ralph Nader. I assume the Checker has long been disposed of, it would be interesting to know if it survived.

John Stokes (from Mauku)

Between 1972 and 1989 I worked for the then Public Service Garage, a branch of the then Post Office, which handled mail collection and VIP transport. If the Cadillac

Beaded Wheels 7

NOTICE OF MEETING The Vintage Car Club Of New Zealand (Inc.) National Office: PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140. Telephone: 03 366 4461

The Annual General Meeting of the Club will be held on Saturday, 13 August 2022 at Double Tree by Hilton Karaka, 8 Hinau Road, Karaka, Auckland commencing at 9.00am.

Rule 8: ELECTION OF OFFICERS Nominations for the Management Committee must be received in this office by 5pm 19 June 2022 accompanied by a current biography and photograph of the nominee and their association with the Club.

The biography shall contain the name, address and occupation of members nominated for each position.

Not less than 75 clear days before the Annual General Meeting the Management Committee shall cause notice to be given to all members intimating the date for closing nominations for the offices of:– President Club Captain – Northern Region Club Captain – Southern Region Secretary/Treasurer Beaded Wheels Editorial Committee Chairman Registrar Speed Steward Three Other Members of the Management Committee

and shall invite nominations for such offices to be forwarded in writing to the Secretary/Treasurer to arrive not less than fiftyfive clear days before the date appointed for the Annual General Meeting. Every such nomination to be signed by the Member nominated, their nominator and seconder. Only a Member who has served at least one year upon the Executive of the Club shall hold the Office of President. Members shall be eligible for election to the Management Committee if they shall have paid all monies due by them to the Club and have been financial Members of the Club for at least six months prior to nomination.

If the number of candidates for the Management Committee exceeds the number of respective vacancies to be filled, an election shall take place.

Job descriptions are in the Branch Manual. Contact your Branch Secretary or National Office.

MANAGEMENT C ­ OMMITTEE 2021-2022 PRESENT OFFICERS PRESIDENT HON. SECRETARY/TREASURER

D Quarrie C Leith

CLUB CAPTAINS – NORTHERN REGION SOUTHERN REGION

K Smylie A Mayhew

R Brayshaw T Haycock K Clarkson

REGISTRAR SPEED STEWARD BEADED WHEELS CHAIRMAN

THREE OTHER MEMBERS OF MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

T Bartlett, G Kear, M Trounson

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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.

8 Beaded Wheels

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: Dave Bang and Ian Bade.

A MINOR MAKEOVER Words Colin Sweetman, photo Patrick Neal Last year, Ashburton College started an Automotive Class and the Ashburton Branch received an email from Patrick Neal, Automotive and Hard Materials teacher at Ashburton College (and Canterbury Branch member). Patrick was looking for a project car for his automotive class and wondered if the local VCC could help in locating a suitable car. This year, the College will have three automotive classes running, two at Year 12 and one at Year 13, each with their own specific project. Patrick was looking for a project for his 18 strong Year 12 class.

After initial discussions and emails back and forth, it was jointly decided that a Morris Minor would perhaps be the best car for the job. Although the students had suggested that a Nissan Skyline might be the best for them, the AshColl budget wouldn’t stretch that far!

Patrick advises that the College is fortunate to have the MITO (Motor Industry Training Organisation) course on-site. Although the course is designed for schools, most do not have the facilities to undertake practical automotive work on their campus. Ashburton College is fortunate to have the facilities, (including a two-post hoist) to engage their students. The courses through MITO are Start-Up (Year 12) and Accelerate (Year 13) and are an introduction to the motor industry. Once the students have completed both levels they can do a Pre-Trade course at Polytech.

Patrick’s budget was minimal and also had to include parts, so obtaining a car at low cost with a readily available supply of inexpensive parts was essential. Again, a Morris Minor fitted the bill perfectly – there are literally hundreds of them around with both inexpensive and available parts.

Patrick indicated that he wanted his students to learn about cars and how they worked, and a classic or vintage car was better than the more common Japanese car where everything was just bolt on and off. He also wanted something that his students could improve as there is value in doing up a classic or vintage car as opposed to a modern. He said that if you buy a $900 Honda and do it up, it is still going to be a $900 Honda in the end.

The Ashburton Branch committee discussed Patrick’s request and Trevor Begg then generously offered to donate his 1958 Morris Minor 1000 as the project car. Trevor has had the car for nearly 20 years and mainly drove it to and from work. The committee, with Gavin Smith’s (Parts Shed Manager) support also offered parts from our Parts Shed for the project at no cost. The students are encouraged to come around to the shed for a fossick for what might be needed.

The Morris is drivable and started on first pull of the starter. The brakes also work so it will be a good base for the project. The car needs a headlining, seats and diff, which were supplied with the car and ultimately it is hoped that the minor rust can be cut out and the car painted, along with general servicing.

The car’s ownership is now with the College, meaning the vehicle could potentially (after it is completed) be sold, which would allow the ability to further fund more ambitious projects.

The Ashburton Branch looks forward with interest to hearing how the project progresses and we are happy that we can do our bit to foster interest in Vintage Cars in the younger generation.

Photo: (From right) Colin Sweetman (Secretary) and Trevor Begg (Donor) with the Ashburton College Year 12 automotive students and their new project car.

Beaded Wheels 9

SOAPBOX A column for those who like to stir the pot … just a little.

But there’s an elephant in the room, and the name of the elephant is Idle Torque.

IDLE TORQUE OR IDLE TALK A few years ago I served a stint on the Beaded Wheels committee which compiles the magazine you are reading.

I was going to say “edits” this magazine, but that is not a true picture. In my experience the committee used everything it was sent with the very minimum of modification. Editing implies adapting or adjusting, condensing or expanding where the original copy is not clear or reads badly. This is no criticism of the author of an article for a magazine such as Beaded Wheels. Club members generously contribute to the best of their writing skills. That is commendable and to be gratefully encouraged.

I can accept to some degree the view that if the Beaded Wheels committee substantially edits or re-writes a club member’s article about a restoration or event, that it is no longer the member’s story in his or her words. But might it not be a better story when the same content is sympathetically and properly edited? This is what happens in all journalism and feature writing and even the great writers have editors who can stand back from an early draft and point to improvements.

If our magazine was simply a bi-monthly production sent only to members I wouldn’t worry.

But it claims on the cover to be New Zealand’s Foremost Historical Motoring Magazine and it sits on newsstands and

10 Beaded Wheels

thirds of the magazine available for true content.

supermarket shelves at $7.95.

Once you cease to be simply an “in-house” publication there is, I would suggest, an obligation to lift one’s game.

OK, relatively few sell off the shelves, but why is that? It’s certainly not the look of the magazine. It’s in a nice format on high quality paper with picture and colour reproduction that can hold its own with any other.

It has variety, with coverage of anything on two wheels or four.

If it’s a machine of any sort that moves, or an attachment to such a device, Beaded Wheels will happily accept an article.

The answer can only be one of two possibilities. Either subscriptions have captured the limit of the market in New Zealand, or the content does not consistently impress enough for someone browsing to buy.

The last two issues I’ve received of the magazine have 67 pages.

The first six pages are formula with important messages for members and the events calendar. Content proper starts with Mailbag on page seven. Within the magazine a block of four pages is devoted to swapmeets, rallies and commercial advertising. Quarter and half-page advertisements account for a further four pages.

Market Place fills another six.

That brings the 67 down by 20 to 47 which seems to me pretty good, leaving more than two-

I make no apology here for being brutal. Spread across 13 pages it eats out well over a quarter of the available content space. It records where people went; the state of the weather and the cafes visited. Names unknown outside the branch are mentioned and organisers thanked. Scenery at a local level is complimented; picnic food is approved to excess and “a-good-time-was-had-by-all’ is a regular cliche. Hastily posed pictures of award recipients and picnic lunch groups can be guaranteed. The content is little different from any friendship club anywhere. That’s fine if you enjoyed the day, but of no point in a national motoring magazine.

In the early days when there were only a few branches, a short report from each didn’t seem unreasonable, but we now have 36 branches doing more or less identical things, leading to broadly similar reports. The place for such localised reports is surely the local branch magazine where the individual people and places are known and relevant. I believe this dull padding that constitutes Idle Torque is a major factor in stifling the magazine beyond the subscription audience. It would be a better magazine without Idle Torque, and its credibility enhanced. Or if that’s too radical a notion, why not replace it with a properly considered branch contribution of greater length on a rotating basis. With six issues a year and 36 branches, each branch could be obligated to contribute an article just once every six years. It could take the form of a significant retrospective and be a worthwhile contribution to branch and Club history. It just might make the thankless job of Beaded Wheels Scribe more rewarding and not the unattractive job that I suspect is mainly accepted with reluctance.

I make no secret of the fact that the continuance of Idle Torque in its existing form was a factor that led me to stand aside from the Beaded Wheels committee.

Though I argued/hinted/cajoled often at committee level for its format to be reviewed, to my knowledge it has never been seriously raised among wider membership as I am doing now. For me the credibility and quality of what we publish is arguably more important than all other long-term obligations to motoring and the Vintage Car Club.

Mine may be a lone viewpoint, but I fancy not entirely.

Bill Cockram

This article represents the opinion of the author and in no way reflects the position of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand. Contributions up to 800 words are very welcome to soapbox. Email beaded wheels@ vcc.org.nz

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN CLARKSON Chairman, Beaded Wheels Editorial Committee.

I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that Bill doesn’t like the Idle Torque section of Beaded Wheels! It seems he would like a debate on the matter to see if others are of the same mind. Debate is healthy – so why not. Let’s keep it clean and I’m not promising to publish each and every response but we will at least give you a report on the trend(s).

Meanwhile, to lend a bit of balance let me respond to Bill’s submission and I’ll deal with his comments in the order he has raised them.

Bill did serve a stint on the committee and he was a very valuable member. We would have him back anytime.

We don’t use everything that is sent to us but we try to use most of it. Contrary to what Bill

TIMELINES says nothing gets through without being edited or altered in some way. Some authors are great and give us little work to do – not many though. Two that spring to mind are Graeme Rice who does Timelines and Kevin Casey who gives us an eclectic mix of articles from time to time. However we are grateful to all those who contribute and, as all magazines do, we make changes to suit our needs all the time. Please don’t forget that none of our contributors are paid for their work.

It is not for nothing that we have included the word “classic” at the top of the cover. On the magazine rack in the bookstore this is very visible and may well attract a potential purchaser or two and this is why that statement is there. Bill states that very few sell from the book stands but when we can say that they have added $22,679 to our coffers for the year ending March 2021, and this after the distributor and retailer have taken their share, then that is no small number.

Additionally, having Beaded Wheels on bookstands gives us and the VCC some exposure that we wouldn’t otherwise get. Subscriptions from non-members also pulled in $20,599 for the year ending March 2021 which is also a valuable addition to our coffers to offset the costs of production.

It’s worth pointing out here that we don’t appear in supermarkets as Bill has suggested. We are a bit niche for that. ARE Ltd only reluctantly distribute our magazine to a selection of retailers and they keep on trying to get us to cut back on those ones. Our numbers are probably too small for them to make much, or any, profit from dealing with us. They much prefer the weeklies that sell maybe 80,000 copies each week!

Idle Torque is that part of the magazine that informs readers about the activities of branches other than their own. Over the past decade we have limited the word count, included as many relevant photographs as we can, and we have certainly deleted many references to food, pubs and also got rid of as many of the and a-good-time-washad-by-all type phrases. No, it’s not perfect, but it does add a flavour to what is after all a club magazine. Our Branch Reporters (not been referred to as scribes for some time now) are to be thanked for their efforts and I haven’t noticed that there has been any reluctance to fill the role within the branches. We are a countrywide club and as members travel New Zealand while on rallies and otherwise they meet up with others and friendships develop.

When members’ names are referenced in Idle Torque then that gives information to those outside the branch who know that person and keeps them up to date.

Bill maintains that Idle Torque reduces the credibility and quality of the magazine and he says that any obligations to motoring and the VCC come second. I most definitely say rubbish to that. Beaded Wheels is funded by the members, produced for the members, and is a VCC club magazine first and foremost.

Because of this it must include Idle Torque. If we take it out we become less of a club magazine and would be pandering more to the commercialism that other motoring magazines have, by definition, to observe. I must emphasise that the Club and our members come before retail sales and subscriptions!

Results would indicate that we can live happily with both as the mix is now.

So – here you have two opposing views. Who is right?

VW factory in 1947

1902

120 YEARS AGO

1922

100 YEARS AGO

1947

75 YEARS AGO

1972

50 YEARS AGO

1992

30 YEARS AGO

VETERAN VEHICLES

After four months of being frustrated by Henry Ford’s lack of progress on a new car for the 1901 Henry Ford Motor Company, his investors, William Murphy and Lemuel Bowen, forced Ford out and brought in Henry Leland as a consultant. Liquidation was favoured, but Leland argued for car production to continue using his proven single cylinder engine, a move which resulted in the creation of Cadillac five months later.

VINTAGE VEHICLES

“Citroën”, local papers claimed, “is the ideal Ladies car, and the exquisite appearance, and light, 30mpg, petrol consumption together with the easy accessibility to all parts make it exceedingly attractive.” Agents Farmers Co-op said the Citroën gave all the stability of a heavier car while its long cantilever springs ensured it could withstand the stress and strain of travel on our severest roads. “It does the work of a big car.” It was reduced from £650 to £550. Or one could have a Ford tourer for £252.

PW VEHICLES

After speculation about the Volkswagen, Motor road testers drove one built in the British occupied zone. To their surprise, they found a lot to like. It was a genuine four-seater with a reasonable amount of luggage space. It started instantly, had a gearbox that was delightful to handle although it lacked synchromesh and would quietly cruise all day at an unstressed 55 – 60mph. Their one regret was that the car was privately owned so they couldn’t use brutal gear changes to get the best acceleration figures.

P60 VEHICLES

VW were celebrating the Beetle beating the Ford Model T to become the world’s most numerous car, as opposed to nameplate, with March’s production taking the people’s car past the Model T’s total of 15,007,033 units. And it was all down to a bunch of British army officers who saw great virtue in getting production up and running in war-torn Germany.

P80 VEHICLES

Twelve years after being planned, then axed by B/L boss Sir Michael Edwardes, the MG V8 RV8 retro roadster was launched.

Looking very much like a warmed over MG B it was capable of 220kph courtesy of its 188bhp 3.9 litre Land Rover V8.

It was planned to make 15 cars a week with total output limited to 2000. Two other MGs were coming, a radical mid-engined, soft top roadster and a big bore front engined roadster.

Graeme Rice’s compilation of developments in the motoring world this month in history.

Beaded Wheels 11

THE WAY WE WERE

s

▲ Prescott Hill Climb 1952, Tony Eminson Type 37 Bugatti.

Lord Charnwood’s 1911 Coupe de L’Auto Delage, VSCC Prescott 15 August 1952.

FULL AHEAD TO SCUNTHORPE… This issue Andrew presents a small diversion from our club memoirs as he continues with tales from his exploits overseas.

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

12 Beaded Wheels

By the end of June 1952, my course at Harland’s engineering was completed and I had arranged to start a training course with the great international boilermakers Babcock and Wilcox. This was due to start in mid-July at their new Keadby power station, on the banks of the Trent River near the steelworks town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. I had arranged to spend intervening weeks with my aunt Gladys Ferrar and her son Nick at their home and glasshouse market garden Mynthurst Gardens near the village of Leigh by Reigate. A good long drive for the Railton, enroute I called on Tim Carson, the secretary of the Vintage Sports Car Club. Unlike many, Tim was keen to help new potential club members and knew that youngsters like me couldn’t afford full membership of the VSCC. He kindly gave me a membership list to ensure I got good contacts anywhere I landed up … and Scunthorpe produced a cracker.

Ken Green, senior manager of a substantial local firm, lived with his mother in the affluent Cliffs area, with a side-valve Aston Martin in the course of restoration suspended from the roof of their garage. He and his round-table friends introduced me to the northern vintage scene and wheeled me to their noggin nights in spite of the Railton’s non-vintage status.

Unlike Harland’s, Babcock’s site manager had no accommodation arranged, but a welder in the office at the time, said there was a spare bed at his digs and was duly told to get me these. So the Railton and I arrived at 7 Smith St, Scunthorpe for a three-month serious social education.

Our landlady did her best under very primitive conditions. There was a bath but no water except for a hand pump in that social center, ”The 10 Foot”, the brick lined alleyway between the back of two parallel streets. It housed a hand pump for water at each end and in the middle sat the community’s “four holer toilets”, men’s facing north, women facing south. Once a week, my mate and I would roll up a bundle of clean clothes and hike down to the excellent public baths some half mile down the main street and return as new men.

The power station was some eight miles out of town and the bus collected us all at 7:00am sharp on the edge of town just a block away from Smith Street and dropped us back at 5:30pm every day except Sunday. Every Saturday evening, I would get the Railton out of the garage my welder mates had discovered for me, and we would all take off in our best bib and tucker for the country dance at Brigg, a quiet country village some 10 miles east of the town. The

Railton, with usually a full house of five of us, was guaranteed to make a suitable impression on the locals. Until we decided it needed a valve grind. It sported the all-alloy Power Dome cylinder head, which came off in no less than eight fragmented pieces. It took me two whole bottles of gasket goo to cement the pieces together to hold water which fortunately in no way disconcerted a keen buyer!

Meanwhile Ken Green and our VSCC noggin mates decided that we would all go to the next VSCC Prescott Hill Climb and as a non-member I would have to become a professional mechanic to Tony Eminson, a local farmer who had entered his type 37 Bugatti. All duly arranged and five of us crammed into Ken’s mother’s Morris Eight and had a hilarious drive down there. I met up with Tony and family and entered the grounds as a mechanic!

▼ Ken Green

HALF PAGE FOR COKER

18 Parkwood Place, East Tamaki, Auckland

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–         Beaded Wheels 13 

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The Oakland at the 1972 International Rally. Photo Bob Mansbridge Collection NZVCC Archive

MY SPORTS CAR OBSESSION Part II

Words and Photos Roger White

Roger White continues his recollections of a passion that was rapidly gathering speed.

In 1970 Roger, now accompanied by wife Diane, prepared to introduce their young family to the joy of sports car motoring.

1915 OAKLAND SPEEDSTER

s Oaky entering the gates at Richmond Nelson during the 1972 International Rally. Roger Driving, Diane navigating to the second. ▼ Oaky now lives in Rhode Island USA where it is appreciated for its style and performance

14 Beaded Wheels

By 1970, we finally had our house, complete with single car garage, so it was time for another sports car.

I had a lovely coloured print on my wall of a Mercer 35J Raceabout, my ideal pre-WWI sports car. How I would like to own something similar.

Club member Bob Mansbridge had acquired the remains of a 1915 Oakland and he harboured the same ambition. Bob decided that the task was too difficult for him and, as he was contemplating a shift to Christchurch, he decided to pass the project to me.

I had seen several veterans that had been converted to ‘speedsters’ but I had not seen one with proportions of the Mercer. All the converted ones that I had seen were too high and dumpy and usually had the steering in the wrong place.

I made a couple of simple modifications to the chassis (no certification required in those days) which made the difference.

One was the ¾ elliptic rear spring which I mounted on top of the frame instead of below. This had the effect of lowering the rear.

The second was to rotate the rear front spring hanger which incorporated the steering box mount. This moved the box back about six inches and enabled a suitable rake to the column.

I made Mercer-style mudguards and fuel tank at the Poly Tech classes that were run for VCC members, and made up bucket seats and a monocle windscreen.

The Oakland had a central gearshift and handbrake, of course to look correct these had to be shifted to the outside. This was

done with sliding tubes running in self aligning bearings and worked superbly well.

A boat builder friend built the rear body while I completed the cowl and bonnet.

Dad attended to the mechanics, and we were ready for the 1972 International Rally in Nelson. That is until I ran the big ends on a test drive up to the Southward Museum with just two weeks to go.

I never really did understand the drip feed to the big end troughs.

Sir Len was a tower of strength and would not let me to get despondent. “Take the engine out and bring it back to me on Monday and we will sort it – go go.”

So, we towed it back and did just that. On Friday we had it back along with a lesson in oiling systems.

Diane and I had a wonderful rally in Oaky especially the 24-hour relay race at Renwick, where I was able to pass several Ford Model As on the long straight.

Light weight and minimal frontal area produced a very lively veteran indeed.

We had many enjoyable rallies in Oaky including one memorable June event in Wanganui where we found a new meaning of cold.

By 1974 we had our family on the way and the Oakland was definitely not suitable, although I do remember strapping the carry cot onto the floor in front of Diane for a short trip – Holy hell Roger, today you would be jailed for that action!

So the car was sold and it passed through a couple of hands until it was purchased by a US serviceman returning from a spell in Antarctica and was flown to the USA in style inside a US Air Force Hercules.

We of course lost contact with Oaky until we spotted an advert in Beaded Wheels in 2013 from the owner asking for information which we happily supplied.

FIT FOR PURPOSE RATING

FUN

10 – 10

RESTORED COST $5,000

PRACTICALITY

–2 10

VALUE 2021 US$30,000

SUMMARY: A rewarding project. Great fun on a warm day.

1932 MG MAGNA F3 While our kids were small, we needed something practical to continue our active vintage car life. So, we purchased a Chrysler 66 sedan (Walter) which turned out to be a fantastic car (for a sedan) and soon became part of our lives. We used this car to win the large Vintage Class of the 1980 International Rally.

But the urge for a sports car continued to burn. Once again Dale Conlon came to the rescue; he knew Bernie Byers in Nelson who had the remains of an early ‘30s MG for sale.

A quick trip to Nelson and I had purchased a pile of bits that with the optimism of youth I thought I could restore. With Dale’s help we crated up the parts and strapped the chassis on top and took the assemblage down to Nelson Airport where Strait Air operated Bristol Freighters, and were happy to fly my stuff (and me) across the strait. What a fun trip.

The F type was a 6-cylinder version of the previously mentioned M type. There were some important differences such as twin carburettors, 4 speed gearbox, knock off wire wheels and a low underslung chassis. All the things that I had been looking for 20 years earlier.

Roger and Diane White and family in their 1932 MG Magna on the Summit Road Christchurch during the 1986 Pan Pacific Rally.

All aboard the 1932 MG Magna F3.

Although the engine was a 6 cylinder, (derived from the Wolseley Hornet) it was just 1271 cc with 37bhp, not a great leap forward, but it was silky smooth. The body was rough, so I made many new panels, except for the rear, and renewed the woodwork.

Mechanically it was pretty straight forward as it was similar to the M Type. The legendary oil leak from the OHC which dripped down to the generator quickly rendering it useless, was cured with an oil seal kit from UK. Unfortunately, the engine reconditioner failed to cut the oil groove into the centre main bearing resulting in failure of number three and four big end bearings; shades of the Oakland. I remember my father telling me off “never put an engine together until you understand the oil system.” Good advice.

Fortunately, the four speed ENV constant mesh gearbox was in superb condition.

I painted the car myself, in the now double garage, in Dulon lacquer and was happy with the result. The restoration took about three years and was completed in 1980.

The F type (we christened it Kimber) was a delight to drive, (once the ENV was mastered) it was surprisingly nippy and handled well despite the very narrow track of 3'6".

We drove Kimber in many rallies with three small kids squashed into the back. The most memorable was the 1986 International in Christchurch. We won’t forget the trip over the hills and down the steepest descent into Akaroa with brakes smoking. The whole event was great fun.

FIT FOR PURPOSE RATING

–7 10

RESTORATION COST approx $12,000

VALUE

2021 UK£40,000

SUMMARY: A neat little car but fragile. The next model (L type) had a

much-improved crossflow engine.

Beaded Wheels 15

s 1960 Alpine ex Dougal Stevenson ready to go in road trim.

s The TF didn’t live up to expectations.

1960 SUNBEAM ALPINE

1954 MG TF 1250

Eventually we grew out of the F type, and I had the urge for another project so I advertised it in Beaded Wheels for sale or swap.

While enjoying the Magna I managed to convince Diane that we had the need for a more modern sports car that could also double for the school run.

I had long admired the Sunbeam Alpine having spotted a lovely red one. It had a black hard top and snazzy three-ear knock-off wire wheels around town. The hard nose British sports car set spluttered into their warm beer when the Alpine was introduced, “you have to be kidding, no proper british sportscar has wind up windows, a decent hood and is comfortable and practical, just look at those tail fins.”

But a decent sports car it was as is proven by numerous race and rally wins. Alpines were a great success with over 70,000 units produced and set the standard that MG, Triumph and AustinHealey struggled to meet. The Alpine was cleverly designed by Kenneth Howes who had recently returned to UK from a stint with the Raymond Loewy Studios using the unlikely base of the current Hillman Husky. Daimler should have used this man when designing the SP250.

Where to find a suitable car? It had to be pre 1961 as the VCC did not yet have P60V class. Luckily, at this time, Dougal Stevenson was employed by Todd Motors as a consultant in order to upgrade our video skills for the monthly news bulletin to our dealers. He had a 1960 Series One Alpine that he had converted to race car specification and used successfully in two Wellington street races.

It was fast and he comfortably outpaced the MGs and Triumphs.

Dougal was contemplating selling as he was part of a group building replicas of the HWM Jaguar race car.

I purchased the car and set about returning it to a road friendly specification. This involved refitting all the trim and replacing the race cam and twin 45 DCOE Weber carburettors with standard units. This Alpine had Laycock overdrive, wire wheels with the all-important three-ear knock-off nuts and provided many happy years of motoring.

Diane did indeed use it to take the kids to school and we participated in many Club events. Daughter Tania and friend competed in the 1996 International Rally with this car while Diane and I were tour leaders for the Westport Start, using our 1928 DeSoto roadster.

The MG F type advertisement in Beaded Wheels produced two responses, one from Ron Roycroft and the other from Rod Brayshaw.

As I had always admired the MG TF series, Rod and I concluded a deal which involved another pile of bits and some new parts which I could make into a TF 1250.

Diane could not understand why I would sell a complete going MG (that she really enjoyed driving) for yet another three-year project, I struggled to give a sensible answer, so a shrug of my shoulders had to suffice.

Rod had provided a reconditioned engine, new wire wheels and hubs, new radiator shell and other useful parts such as a useable wiring loom, so the restoration proceeded smoothly until the electroplater, who was polishing the radiator shell prior to chrome plating, caught it in the polishing wheel and sent it flying into the wall. It took months to get it sorted to satisfaction.

You can buy just about anything required for the MG T series.

Many new parts including a trim kit, hood, and wood rim steering wheel came from the UK. In a sense this was my first restoration in the new way, buy instead of making or adapting in the manner of the old days. I even had the TF professionally painted.

The TF was a very pretty car that impressed with its rigidity and road handling and rack and pinion steering, but performance was below par for the mid-fifties. In particular, I found 4000 rpm at 100kph very wearying and it struggled to keep up with the traffic.

Rod always maintained that if I had allowed him to fit a five speed overdrive gearbox it would have transformed the car and I would still have it.

We used the TF for several seasons and then moved it on. I was still looking for that perfect sports car.

–8

FIT FOR PURPOSE RATING

10

COST

FIT FOR PURPOSE RATING

(1990) $6,000

VALUE

2021 $25,000

SUMMARY: Stylish, practical sportscar. Best cockpit aerodynamic in

the business.

16 Beaded Wheels

RESTORED VALUE $30,000

7.5 – 10 VALUE

2021 $45,000

SUMMARY: Good looks, great handling, below par performance.

My first Tiger outside Pointon Garage Masterton.

1965 SUNBEAM TIGER (1) Contemplating the next move after the TF, I spotted an advertisement in NZ Classic car for a 1965 Sunbeam Tiger, $30,000 ono.

The advertisement had been running for several issues with no takers. When I was next in Auckland on business, I shot over to the North Shore at lunch time to check it out.

If the pundits had trouble accepting the Alpine when it was introduced, they positively choked when the Tiger hit the market.

“What is this? A convertible Husky with a great big lump of an engine, 4.2 litres and only 164 bhp. The Jaguar E Type has 265 bhp from 4.2 litres. Just another Anglo-American hybrid” Yes, it was another of those hybrids. But remember the 1930s’ Railton, Brough Superior, Allard and Jensen? Great cars in their own right. What about the post war Jensen, Bristol and of course the AC Cobra?

The American market wanted more power for the Alpine, where the AC Cobra was creating a sensation, could a similar transplant work for the Alpine?

Ford had just introduced a small block V8 using highly advanced thin wall casting techniques. This created a compact relatively light unit. Importantly it had the distributor in the front of the engine rather than at the back which aided installation. This engine complete with a superb four speed gearbox was used in the then recently introduced Mustang.

The Rootes US Manager Ian Garrad thought this unit would fit, so he contracted Carroll Shelby (the originator of the Cobra idea) to check the feasibility and build a prototype. Ken Miles who worked for Shelby, built a rough and ready prototype to check feasibility and then the Shelby team built a proper one.

They bashed in the firewall so that the engine could be moved back and lower, fitted rack and pinion steering and a bigger radiator.

What a result. Fantastic. Although the power was just 164 the torque was a whopping 256 lb/ft. Everybody was delighted, so they shipped the prototype to UK to seek approval for production. Lord Rootes himself drove the prototype (with the handbrake on) and thought it was incredible! He contacted Henry Ford II and hurried to secure supplies. Jensen Motors were contracted to develop the concept and assemble the production quantities. In total about 7,000 Tigers were produced with only 1,000 in right hand drive.

The Tiger that we purchased was the second of only four imported new by Todd Motors. It was pretty rough bodywise but had a reconditioned engine.

After a few weeks we were on the road enjoying the unique driving experience that only a Tiger can bring. The performance

FIT FOR PURPOSE RATING:

9.5 – 10

PURCHASE COST: $22,000

VALUE WHEN SOLD: $45,000

SUMMARY: More smiles per mile than any other car I know.

is fantastic, not so much for the outright speed, but the way in which it delivers it. Absolutely effortless acceleration in any gear, you hardly ever need to change out of top, unless you are really pushing on.

We drove this car at every opportunity, rallies, hill climbs, tours and just for fun.

My son, Brad, and I had success at Te Onepu Hill Climb where we had huge fun powering out of the sharp corners in second using that immense torque. Second was good for 70 mph so we only needed third at the top. Brad pipped me to FTD for P60 vehicles.

The next day at Pukeora hill was not so good, as we had an argument with the bank. The bank won.

We kept the Tiger for ten years, something of a record for me.

Unfortunately, the body was starting to require major work. While contemplating this I suffered a heart attack and required major surgery, which dulled my enthusiasm for a restoration of the required magnitude.

While recuperating, a fellow Sunbeam Club member made me a good offer so we reluctantly sold it, after all I still had the JensenHealey, but more on that next issue.

We conclude with Part 3 of Roger’s Sport’s Car Obsession in our next issue.

Hooked on cars from age 12 VCCNZ Life Member Roger White loved helping his father who was an A Grade mechanic and spent his weekends working on cars. He attended the first Wellington Branch Rally in 1958 as an enthralled spectator, obtained a 1930 MG Midget at age 15 which opened the way to join the VCC (Wellington) and has been constantly involved in branch activities since then including stints on the committee as chairman, club captain and delegate. Roger married Diane in 1970 who also became an integral member of Wellington Branch.

Roger has been an active organiser of many Wellington events, two national rallies. He has participated in all 11 VCCNZ International Rallies was was a management committee member for 14 years.

Roger White

Beaded Wheels 17

Words and photos Dave Bang

Like many a schoolboy of the 1960s I was mad keen on cars. As a farmer my Dad had fixed and repaired all manner of machinery in the post war years when it was all about ‘make-do and mend’. Dad had done his time as a mechanic in a small rural garage, before marriage, children, and better paying jobs came along. Consequently my own mechanical tinkering was encouraged and frequently coached. So it was no surprise that on a summer day in 1971 Chris, my girlfriend’s little brother, and I were on push bikes making our way to an abandoned, and soon to be bulldozed, berry farm on the outskirts of our home town in search of something special.

Always with an ear for opportunities and good deals, Chris had heard of a bunch of old cars there that were destined for scrap, and he was keen for us to have a project to do up together. We found several old 1930s cars lying about in various states of disrepair.

After a couple of hours of clambering, fiddling and dreaming, we had discarded the Fords, Austins, a Chev or two and even the Graham-Paige. A large green American sedan had taken our eye, the big chrome grill had the letters O L D S M O B I L E cast into the top. Neither of us had heard of this brand before, but it was complete, almost tidy, with just the head and manifold removed.

But they, along with numerous other parts were sitting in the boot.

Chris knew the scrap man and negotiated a purchase price of $20, so we quickly paid our half shares before he changed his mind.

Chris’ Dad agreed to give us a tow back to their house with his old Bedford truck and put the Oldsmobile in the shed for us to work on over the next few months. Not a spanner was ever lifted as we both had other teenage social priorities, but the Oldsmobile still moved house with the family, twice, managing to take up valuable garage space. My, by now, father-in-law was something of a collector so covered space was always at a premium. My motherin-law ‘suggested’ that it might be a good idea if that old car went elsewhere. Ten dollars bought out my brother-in-law, who had by now lost all interest, and Lynda and I towed the never started project to my parent’s home. After the car served as an obstacle in their driveway for some 18 months it was again expelled and I accepted an offer to have it tucked away in a shed on a family friend’s old chook farm where it was promptly forgotten.

Meanwhile Lynda and I had moved to Wellington and I was still mad keen on cars. An abandoned 1936 Pontiac was spotted down the end of our road on the coast at Owhiro Bay. Enquiries about purchase revealed the owner to be lodging elsewhere at Her Majesty’s expense, but I managed to buy it through his ‘friend’ – $50 from memory. I have always wondered if he actually got the money.

18 Beaded Wheels

MY PASSIONATE

OLDSMOBILE It started and ran, so I drove it back to our flat, complete with wasp nest and brake on only one wheel (both of these qualities being found at the same moment) with the absent exhaust attracting some attention. It sat on the side of the road opposite our flat gathering unpaid parking tickets, with our downstairs Traffic Officer neighbour pleading ignorance of said paperwork. I had great intentions, but as I had no garage, no tools and no money the project was doomed. I sold it three times before my pending transfer to Auckland, nobody seemed bothered enough to come and pick it up. I spotted it in an Evening Post article sometime later, all restored and mentioned by new owner as being purchased from the city abandoned cars pound.

A lot of our leisure time in Wellington was spent exploring and looking out for a parked up vintage car treasure. On one such adventure we stumbled upon a familiar model, an Oldsmobile, same year as my 1938 sedan (hopefully still stored in the chook

AFFAIR shed), in similar condition, but a two door coupe version. Little did I know that I would be investing some 10 years of persistence and patience before I could own it.

Our move to Auckland was financed by my employer, so the Oldsmobile sedan would be extracted from its rural chook shed and make the all-expenses paid trip north by rail, but my new recently discovered treasure never left my thoughts.

Time flew by and we bought another 1938 Oldsmobile sedan, in such good condition that it was used as our daily drive car. My job often sent me to Wellington, so I was able to develop a friendly relationship with the Oldsmobile coupe owner. I was devastated on one visit to find he had moved house, taking all with him, so sadly both contact and coupe were lost.

Fortunately luck was with me. A visit to my brother-in-law in his Upper Hutt home led to an introduction to the neighbours, who were renting while their new house was being built. It was my lost

Beaded Wheels 19

friend. Handshakes and invitations to come and visit the site up in import details (ex General Motors NZ) which revealed three of the hills, and yes, the coupe was there too. “When I am ready to sell these were imported in 1938, arriving on different ships, and it you will have first refusal” he said, just to keep me on the string. heading to different dealers around the country. Ownership checks Meanwhile back in Auckland, several of my hot-rod friends and (in the days when you still could) gave some insight to their local I had signed up for panel beating night classes at Manukau Tech. history. Later on-line computer searches were extremely helpful We learned so many skills over the three or four years we attended, with build details, production numbers etc. but a simple inspection and so much was accomplished on our own cars, which we were of the body ID plates left me speechless when I noted my two cars encouraged to bring along to work on. had consecutive body numbers, so probably followed one another On one such night a class member mentioned an advertisement through the General Motors assembly plant in Lansing Michigan. for a 1938 Oldsmobile coupe for sale. I visited his home after class General Motors NZ lists the third coupe as going to New Plymouth and checked the advert. It was a car I knew about, as I had seen and more than likely ending its days in a 1960s crash in that area. photos of it in NZ Hotrod when displayed in a South Island car Worldwide searches could not locate any other factory export right show, but thought it unlikely to ever be available. hand drive F38 coupes until recently, when I located an ex-South Next morning I was on the phone, and very quickly bought it, African car now in Australia. These are the last three survivors of posted a deposit, then visited the GM dealer over the road to sell the twenty export models built in 1938. our six-month-old Vauxhall Viva station wagon. My lovely wife The consequent rarity had me rethinking my hot rod idea. I had needed no convincing and was as keen as I, so we booked our flight learned that these US assembled coupes shared many, if not most, to Christchurch with the intention of driving back to Auckland, of their parts with New Zealand four door sedans, both being US hoping the fuel bill would not exceed the $50 we had left in the Fisher bodied cars, unlike the unique Australian Holden bodied world. The trip home was an adventure in itself, but suffice to say vehicles which are very different in so many small ways. So I began we arrived home after only a few minor my search for a suitable sedan to use as a Wellington coupe as discovered circa 1972 mechanical gremlins, both of us elated donor, finding a complete non-running and exhausted. car in Cambridge, which I bought fairly We used the coupe as our daily reasonably. transport for a couple of years, driving With another house move in the in and out of the city, shopping, club offing I began in earnest to get the events, all weather round trips of the Wellington coupe into a complete rolling North Island to visit our parents. We even car. The sharing of body parts meant, circumnavigated the South Island with a chassis, mudguards, bonnet, floor, caravan in tow. cowl and windscreen were all interAnother business trip to Wellington changeable, so a lot of cutting, welding and an opportunity to pop in to say hi to and assembly had the bulk of the car my old friend with the now much deteriotogether. This job was only possible rated coupe, I settled in for a coffee and because I had the Christchurch coupe to chat about all things except the coupe. use as a pattern. Being identical, I could This was normal practise by now, so I was measure, make and repair as needed surprised when asked if I had bought my and by moving day the rolling body chequebook. He also decided his coupe stage had been achieved was worth the same as I paid for mine.

Once the house move was complete I mentally ran 10 reasons against this, the work was continued. Fortunately I and could only come up with a couple to had changed occupations, now being support this illogical valuation. But after employed as the Automotive parts man chasing the car for ten years or more I at an engine reconditioning shop which resolved to not argue the point and risk specialised in vintage vehicles. Not only losing the opportunity, so wrote out the could I source rare and obsolete parts, cheque. We agreed on a date for me to but had access to some very talented pick it up. specialists. This meant my seized Other projects came along, most were original engine could be fully recondicompleted, and after several years I had tioned, and I was able to source many decided to leave Auckland to return difficult parts and services to complete to our old stamping ground. A change my mechanical restoration. of career and a more rural lifestyle I replaced door skins, boot lid bottom, beckoned. So with the aid of a mate with floor patches and various panel repairs a big truck and trailer carrying my collecmyself, those night classes paid off well, tion of cars and parts, we moved south then on to body finishing, priming, again. As always seems to happen, many sanding, paint etc. The rotten interior interesting projects came along to divert required my rebuilding the driver’s side me from my Oldsmobile coupes, but ‘one of the split bench seat. I was lucky to day I will’ I promised myself. find minimal damage to the passenger Over the years I had done a fair bit side so had an adequate pattern. Once of research about the two coupes from completed I turned the car over to a local

20 Beaded Wheels

upholstery shop that did a top job in a quality vinyl to the original design and colour. Hood lining, missing trim panels and carpets were all re-created.

This coupe still had its New Zealand black plates fitted, and although these were dead I was able to furnish proof of New Zealand registration. Paperwork identified the vehicle by engine number (the chassis number having disappeared from both cars as these were a loosely attached plate near the front suspension), so it was fortunate I had used the original engine. With this paper trail the compliancing process was quite smooth and the car has now been on the road for several trouble-free years.

My own odometer had clicked over 65 years but I could still not find time to invest in the Christchurch coupe restoration. Earlier, I had decided to follow a dream earning my living as a full-time artist. I absolutely loved it and another five years quickly passed by, so taking stock one day I decided to complete my current commitments then take a year off to restore the coupe. The weekend of 7 March 2020 was my last work commitment, so I had hardly started when Covid 19 arrived.

The ensuing lockdown was an opportunity to get serious with my restoration. A disciplined approach had me in the workshop early every morning, working away until 5pm, although numerous coffee breaks were taken.

All the earlier partially started/finished panel jobs were attacked with enthusiasm and by Christmas 2020 I was preparing to spray the glossy black paint, the colour I have always associated with this car, although the original blue found when repairing was very nice also.

With various lockdowns both here in New Zealand and overseas, delivery of parts was very random. I had ordered and paid for a wiring loom ex a Melbourne supplier - the three-week manufacture and delivery time stretched out to eight months - Melbourne was hit hard by lockdowns. Glass supplied by a New Zealand supplier, then local cutting went out to six months. The consequence of these delays let me invest a lot more time in details that I might have otherwise missed in my enthusiasm.

The arrival of the wiring loom, followed closely by the glass allowed my assembly to progress rapidly. The joy of being able to turn on the lights and see the glow from the refreshed dashboard and wind windows up and down was very satisfying.

Christchurch coupe begins its Covid restoration

Finally there were test drives up and down our rural road, identifying then fixing minor issues. The car is now finished and sits awaiting the compliance inspection, which has a lead-time of some three to four months because of the Covid backlog.

We had aimed to be on the road in January 2022 however an unfortunate incident involving a truck that occured at VTNZ while undergoing compliancing has delayed things slightly.

Beaded Wheels 21

LAND ROVER BLUE EAGLE EXPRESS Words Doug Smith, Photo Bruce Hutton QSM, FPSNZ

Blue Eagle to the fore, the M.V. Anatoki seen departing Port Whanganui after delivering a load of grain. The Anatoki has been operating on the New Zealand coast since 2008 and is approaching her 500,000T of cargo carried (the equivalent of 16,600 x 30 ton truck and trailers).

She is a regular caller at Whanganui and New Plymouth.

22 Beaded Wheels

This Land Rover Series 2a long wheel base wellside was first registered to the Marlborough Catchment Board in June 1969.

Although its history with the catchment board is unknown, it can be presumed that it would have been a well used piece of everyday machinery.

What can also be presumed is that it would have been well maintained. This can be partly confirmed by the notice attached to the dashboard. “This Vehicle to be serviced on Wednesday.”

The Land Rover served the catchment board until 1988 when it was sold to Sid Mead, a farmer from Long Valley, Havelock.

Sid used it both as a farm and hunting vehicle, in his possession it made several goose shooting trips to the Molesworth Station in the Awatere Valley as well as numerous ventures into rural New Zealand. Under his ownership it was well used and was becoming a bit tired. By 2002 Sid’s ventures into back country New Zealand were becoming few and far between and it was sold to his nephew Hugh Webb in Takaka.

Because Hugh knew the history of the vehicle, and the fact that his first four wheeled vehicle (after his Honda SS50) was a long wheel base wellside Land Rover, it wasn’t a hard decision to take over ownership. The engine was replaced with a second hand unit which although better, was still well used. It was under Hugh’s ownership that the Land Rover was given the name Blue Eagle Express, a name which has stuck.

After Hugh died in 2007, and as a long time friend, it was sold to me by his partner. Like Hugh I too had an association with Land Rovers having gained my driver licence in my brother’s Series 2 LWB wellside back in 1966.

When I received the Land Rover it was showing the signs of a life well lived. After having sat for some time it needed TLC. This started with brake rebuilds and getting it up to WoF standard. Once roadworthy a short drive highlighted that the engine was indeed tired and also in need of a rebuild.

As is often the case with vehicles, once the engine and gearbox was removed the dismantling continued until only the chassis and four wheels remained. It was during the dismantling process that some of the vehicle’s history was revealed when one of Sid’s .303 rifle magazines was unearthed from under the years of old oily rags and empty oil containers behind the seats. The magazine was still full of CAC Hollow Point bullets. The bullets were probably nearly as old as the owner and certainly older than the Land Rover!

Initially the work was given to a painter who was starting out on his own, the idea being that when he didn’t have other work it would give him something to carry on with. As sometimes happens with new ventures, things didn’t work out for him and I received a call on a Friday afternoon saying that he was going to Australia on Monday and if I wanted the Land Rover I had better pick it up now!

A few phone calls and hurried trailer hire resulted in the rolling chassis and all assorted parts being delivered to Terry Cartwright at Upper Classics in Christchurch. Terry and his team completed the painting and rebuild to their usual high standard resulting in a vehicle that is as good as when it left the Nelson assembly plant. I have been told on numerous occasions that the colour isn’t a Land Rover colour. It is the only colour we found on the vehicle when we stripped it down. I like the colour, it is part of its history, so that is what it was repainted as.

Since its restoration my wife Colleen and I have travelled around the North and South Island including the Vero International Rally in Dunedin in the Land Rover. It’s fun to drive and while it will maintain 50-55mph on the open road to get from A to B it is best exploring the country’s back roads where its low gearing and good visibility makes for relaxed adventures.

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Beaded Wheels 23

ONE OF THE RAREST OF ALL FORDS

THE MODEL 62 Words and photos Garth Hogan In the early 1900s several European countries, including Britain, introduced a Horsepower Tax on cars that was driven by a desire to combat the cheap price of imported American vehicles, most specifically the Ford Model T, and intended to make locally produced cars more competitive. Horsepower Tax is a bit of a misnomer as the so called horsepower figure was determined by the formula Horsepower= D x D x n divided by 2.5 where D was the bore size, and n was the number of cylinders.

This lead in the early 1930s to the development of those iconic small British cars (and hence engines) like the Austin 7, Ford 8, Morris 8, the numbers being the calculated horsepower. This in turn saw diminishing numbers of American cars, like the V8s, in the British marketplace .

In the mid 1930s Ford in the UK felt it needed a luxury and bigger model and as a consequence they approached 24 Beaded Wheels

Ford in the USA to design something for them. Ford USA at the time was well into the production of the flathead Ford V8 however this was deemed to be too big when the Horsepower Tax was taken into consideration. So Ford decided to produce a smaller version of the V8 for this English requirement. This smaller V8 was only 136ci (2.6 inches bore) compared to its bigger American cousins which were 221ci (3 1/16 inch bore ) and the new car for the English market was designated as the Model 62. The 136ci V8 was referred to as the 22hp unit (a figure derived from the horsepower formula). This engine was, in 1937, introduced to the American Ford line up as an “economy” alternative and picked up the designation of the Ford V860, the 60 being the actual horsepower Ford claimed it produced. Ford USA continued this through to 1940 however it was not a popular option in the land

of “no substitute for cubic inches” and it was discontinued. As an aside it just so happened that this size engine perfectly fitted the class requirements on a rapidly growing form of motorsport in the USA; Speedway, and thousands of the little Fords, in much modified form, were to do battle with the aristocratic Offenhausers in speedway midgets over the next 30 or so years.

I grew up in a household that was totally American car orientated and more specifically was a dedicated home for Ford V8s. My father produced a range of speed equipment for a variety of the these Ford V8s, including high compression cylinder heads and multiple carb manifolds. Needless to say, as my 15th birthday approached in July 1962, when, at the time, it was legal to get a driver licence, I was hanging out to get my hands on a V8 of my own. My father, aware of this,

presented me, on my birthday, with a 1937 Model 62 Ford V8 in all its underpowered glory. Ford of New Zealand had imported 13 of this model so it was not a commonly recognised car. The basic body was used for the post WWII Ford Pilot however this model, which was fitted with the 21 stud 221ci flathead V8, had a totally different front on the car from the windscreen forward.

I was presented with a car that was a rather tired unit in need of a complete rebuild, we didn’t call it restoration in those days.

Full of enthusiasm, I tore it all apart. The body was basically in pretty good shape with very little rust but all the mechanicals were rather tired and in need of some TLC. Money at the time was always an issue and enthusiasm went up and down in sync with a bank balance that bounced up and down in small increments from a zero bottom line. However after a bit more than three years, just as I was finishing high school, it was completed and on the road resplendent in a coat of cream paint, red and grey nylon upholstery and a large set of non-standard chrome hub caps. It was to serve as my regular form of transport for the next several years, and being a young man with too much testosterone and not enough brains, over that time I systematically unrestored it until finally the motor gave one last wheeze and ceased to be compliant to what it was being asked to do.

The car was then parked up, initially for a few years at my parent’s place (which was also where I lived for several of those years) and when I bought my first house it migrated there to sit forlornly on the lawn for many more years. In the meantime I had got married and its presence on the lawn became an increasing source of irritation to my wife to the extant that, with the registration being FB 74, she attached a couple of commonly used Anglo Saxon words to the “FB”. Sitting out in the open in Auckland’s humid and wet weather for the better part of 25 years didn’t do the body any favours and the brown stuff arrived en masse. Finally it got to the stage that, with more than a little prodding from my ever tolerant wife, I felt something needed to be done with it. Logic said it should be scrapped but I’m a bit of a sentimentalist and the thought of scrapping what was my first car and in which I had so many marvellous memories didn’t sit well. At that stage my heart overran my brain and I decided to get it back and running again. That was about 25 years ago or a bit more. Partly driving this also was the fact that, by then, I had become aware of how rare the car was. Through the Ford V8 club in England I was able to contact another Model 62 owner, Stuart Wade, who turned out to be an absolute fount of knowledge. Stuart advised that as far as they were aware, there were only about a dozen of the cars still existing in the UK, of which only two were roadworthy, and there were perhaps another 12 or so still surviving in Scandinavia (why there was anybody’s guess). At the time I was aware of only one other still existing in New Zealand and that was only because I had seen a photo in a New Zealand magazine. It was of a backyard where there was a collection of cars and one of those cars was the stripped remains of a Model 62. Subsequently a barn find Model 62 has been imported from the UK but it is currently in storage.

The restoration is ongoing but we are getting there. It has been a lengthy process and started with sending the body and all the other sheet metal to Dave Green at Specialty Cars in Cambridge.

While Dave was working his way through the clouds of brown dust and holes where metal used to be we started on the chassis and running gear in Auckland. At the time New Zealand motor racing icon Graham McRae was working for me while recovering from a lengthy illness. He took on the project of chassis and running gear, save for the engine which was sent to the reconditioners to

be returned to life. Gradually things started to come together and the body was reunited with the chassis and running gear, new tyres were fitted and most of the componentry needed for reassembly was acquired or made. The project stalled when we moved to Wanaka and several other projects took over the time available.

But now, with some other projects out of the way we are back into it. All the chroming has been done and the car is about to leave for Balclutha where Drew Galog and his crew are going to get on with the reassembly. After that it is just paint and upholstery.

When I was given the car it was painted black. I had it painted cream and in the stripping process under the back seat we found the original paint, Gunmetal Grey, so that is what it will be. While cloth upholstery was standard when new, according to Stuart Wade nearly all the cars were delivered with optional tan leather, which is what it will be getting.

When completed its home will be alongside a wooden runabout my Grandfather built in 1951, a V860 powered midget that my father built in 1954 and a 1938 Lincoln Zephyr coupe that my father bought in 1962. I think I did say I’m a little bit sentimental.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE MODEL 62 EVOLUTION 1936

New car designed in Detroit to take the 22hp engine, designated the Model 62 and launched in the UK and France, each country with their own versions

1937

Plain horn grilles replaced with V8 style on Model 62. 22hp engine launched in USA full size Ford V8s (called the V860) not a success as underpowered. Dropped in 1940.

1938-39

Model 62 revised as follows: (a) Exterior boot added (b) Bucket seats in the front instead of bench (c) Bumper overriders deleted (d) Headlight glasses have frosted top halves (e) Running boards rubber covered instead of strips (f) Wood grained dash (g) Handbrake lever moved to under dash (h) Mechanical fuel pump as per USA Fords replaced the SU electric

Sept 1939 WWII stops production after approx. 12,000 Model 62s built.

1942-46

British Army contracts Ford to build 1200 Model 62 based staff cars, 600 with 900 x 13 sand tyres and 600 with 600 x 16 road tyres. Approx 700 utility versions also built.

1947

Pilot introduced, new front end, dash, trim, replaced with 21 stud 221ci V8. Approx 22,000 built.

Beaded Wheels 25

HIN BE

D THE WHE

EL

MICHAEL WOLFE’S

1970 P5 ROVER 3.5 SALOON Words and photos Kevin Clarkson

Unfortunately I was unable to take my own Rover 3500 (1972 P6B) to the Vero Festival of Motoring based in New Plymouth during January. The situation was rescued when Michael Wolfe very generously offered me the use of his Rover for the duration of the rally. I accepted with some alacrity as I had seen a photograph of this car and it just sparkled! At this stage I had not met up with Michael so I was mightily impressed that he would loan his precious car to a stranger without knowing much about them. Furthermore, he also loaned another of his cars, a 1971 Rover 3.5 Coupé, to another Canterbury Branch member in need. The Coupé was also in sparkling condition and the borrower tells me that it performed very well also. Being the beneficiary of such generosity is a definite benefit of being a member of the VCC.

26 Beaded Wheels

While Michael is not currently a member this is something he will look at in the future. Incidentally, Michael has some interesting hobbies including model trains and he has three separate railway dioramas about his house, all fully functional.

He has other collections such as model cars, an as-new Number 10 Meccano Set (unused) and a fantastic bar room complete with appropriate decorations and loaded ready for the next party!

A BIT OF HISTORY

In 1886 the Rover Cycle Co Ltd was formed and cycle manufacture commenced with some success being achieved. Incidentally the Rover name came about in 1884 when their first machine, a tricycle, was made. The name was meant to indicate that the machine could wander, or rove, around the countryside. Their first motorcycle, a 2 ¾ hp, appeared late in 1902 followed by the first Rover car in 1904. Production of cars continued albeit not in great numbers compared with the large factories such as Ford. However, by 1929 the future of the company was in doubt, and finances were less than sound.

In 1929 Spencer Wilkes was appointed General Manager of the company and it is recognised that he saved the Rover company – indeed he transformed it. He was later joined by his brother Maurice and the brothers provided much needed stability and forward planning. By 1933 the P1 models were available, and these set the scene for the future. They were comfortable

well-built saloons which found their spot in the marketplace.

The P2 followed in 1937 and enjoyed some success although the Rover company held around 3% of the British market during these years. The P3 came along in 1948 and 1949 and was regarded as an executive saloon.

The Rover 75 was introduced in 1949, the first of the P4 series which was to continue until 1964. Now called the “auntie” Rovers due to their somewhat stuffy image. The Rover 75 became a Rover 90 then 100, 105 and finally 110 as the models progressed. There was also a Rover 60, a four-cylinder model, in 1953. The first Rover 75 had an additional headlight in the middle of the grille, known by some as the Cyclops model, but this was soon dispensed with by Rover. These cars were comfortable saloon cars for executives and progress could be described as quiet and stately!

The Rover P5 series of models were made from 1958 to 1973.

Much larger cars with greater presence than its forebears these were the executive saloon, or maybe Coupé, to have. They had a monocoque body so were the first Rover without a chassis. The series started with the six-cylinder 3 litre model and later the well-known Rover 3.5 litre V8 was fitted into the engine bay to become the Rover 3.5, a very popular option. The 3 litre went well but there is no doubt that the 3.5 was popular because of the extra performance the V8 gave the car. The Rover V8 engine was based on a Buick design and as Buick had no further use for it Rover purchased the rights to the design and the rest is history and this

Beaded Wheels 27

Early morning image of 1972 Rover 3500 P5B at the 2022 Vero Festival of Historic Motoring.

motor was in use in for over 40 years. In 1962 Rover presented the smart and rakish Coupé, a P5 but with lowered roof line, more sloping rear window and other distinctive touches. A coupe in name only really as it was still a full sized four-seater - but if Rover wanted to call it a Coupé, who are we to argue!

In 1963 the P4 was replaced by the all new P6, initially as the Rover 2000 with a four-cylinder engine, and in 1968 received the light alloy V8 engine as an option. The P5 remained in production alongside its smaller brother – or maybe “stablemate”. Greg Price did a road test story of my P6 and that can be found in the February 2021 issue of Beaded Wheels. That was the end of the P series of Rovers as the next model was code named the SD1 and that is another story for another time.

Michael’s grandfather bought this Arden Green P6B new from Moller’s in New Plymouth for $6,665. It is very original and has only done 45,000 miles. His granddad only drove the car a short time before unfortunately suffering a stroke so Michael’s nana did most of the driving. Eventually the car was bequeathed to Michaels’ mother and she has now passed it on to Michael to look after. This car has not been restored, just maintained well so is very original with the body and interior in great condition. The Coupé I mentioned earlier is one that Michael bought. He has done some restorative work on this car and has painted it Arden Green to match the car I drove.

THE DRIVING EXPERIENCE The Rover has that indefinable quality that we call “presence”, a dignified look that onlookers commented on many times during the week I drove the car during the Vero rally in Taranaki. It was dignified also in its stately progression along the rally routes.

Smooth and silent with almost imperceptible gear changes from the Borg Warner 35 automatic transmission. The brakes worked well in pulling up this heavy car. Drum brakes all round but vacuum boosted so the pedal effort required was as light as one

28 Beaded Wheels

would expect. I never needed to do an emergency stop but I did give them a bit of a workout to see how they went and, unsurprisingly, they pulled us up quickly, smoothly, and in a straight line.

Steering this heavy car was made easier with the factory fitting of power assistance and the result is light steering effort and on the road the steering felt just great with no wander or other strange tendencies. The steering feel is a little dead compared with the P6 Rovers so they have improved this facet over time. The steering lock was a little compromised and a smaller turning circle would be advantageous for those times when you have got lost and needed to turn the car around on a narrow road! Probably a result of having power steering. The steering wheel was large and, as was the style back then, thin rimmed and complete with a horn ring circling the center space.

Care was always needed when filling the petrol tank – too fast and the thing burped fuel all down the mudguard. Perhaps a Rover thing as my P6 tends to do the same, just not as bad as the P5. The P6 has a locking petrol cap whereas this car had a much better idea. The cap was plain with just a push button to open it but it first needed to be unlocked by pulling the locking control button from inside the boot.

A smooth riding car with good handling (for that time!) and able to provide serene comfort while cruising the highways, albeit without any “derring-do” such as trying to corner too fast or other such antics. It is suspended on leaf springs at the rear and coil springs up front so is pretty conventional for the era.

The interior layout works well. There is a large well equipped instrument binnacle in front of the driver which leaves plenty of room for a large dash tray area for rally instructions and other detritus that accumulates during a road trip. There is also a pull-out table under the dash that can hold food or drinks while picnicking and I believe there is a toolbox beneath this although I didn’t explore this on Michael’s car as I ran out of time. There are various control switches to either side of the binnacle such as lights, wipers and ignition switch. Each is marked as to its purpose but the legends can be a little hard to read when motoring but one

SPECIFICATIONS: Engine Bore/stroke Comp ratio Max power Carburation Wheel base length Width Height Kerb weight

3.5 litre 90 degree V8 2 valves per cylinder 88.9 x 71.12mm 10:1 161 bhp @ 5,000 rpm TWo SU carburetors 2807mm 4737mm 1778mm 1550mm 1587kg

Also seen on the Vero FOHM was Michael’s other Rover, a P5B Coupé.

Michael Wolfe with road tested P5B>

soon learns which is which. There are two lockable glove compartments provided and there are additional compartments in the doors. The heater controls are vertical sliders each side of the central glovebox and are easy to use. Unusual for this era of car the headlight dip switch is a button on the floor. The headlights are good but if night driving is your thing I would be fitting H4 lights with uprated bulbs to bring the lights up to modern standards.

Both front and rear seats are comfortable and commodious with plenty of leg room and are ideal for long distance journeys.

There are middle armrests which are individually adjustable. The handbrake is the umbrella handle type, easy to use, effective and you are never going to miss that big warning light telling you it is applied! The boot is huge and has a flat floor so easy to lift those

heavy suitcases into. The battery is in here too, but it only takes up one corner. The road wheels are Rostyles and, something to gladden resident writer Greg Price’s heart, they have whitewalls!

Thank you, Michael, for letting me look after the car for the week of the Vero FoHM, I really enjoyed the experience. This is a smooth powerful comfortable cruiser and I’m not surprised that that the Rover P5 was frequently the ride of choice for the Queen back in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

I was a member of the Otago Branch in the ‘70s and ‘80s and transferred to Canterbury Branch when I moved to Christchurch in the early ‘90s. My interest was primarily in motorcycling but now includes cars.

Hard to believe, I know, but my wife does not see it as fun or enjoyable to ride on the back of a motorcycle any more. Who would have thought that! I have been on the Beaded Wheels committee since 1999.

Kevin Clarkson

e

Beaded Wheels 29

LMC

Underway at start 26th National rally 2019.

A potted history and anecdotes of some 60 years ownership of my 1913 Lloyd Motor Engineering Company (LMC) 3.5hp motorcycle – registration 74552 In December 1960, while on a touring holiday with his family in the South Island, Ian Bade’s father went off to get the family Ford Customline‘s muffler repaired while in Dunedin. He returned to the campsite with news that he’d bought a 1913 LMC motorcycle – which is still owned by son Ian! How’s that for provenance?

Words and photos Ian Bade The muffler of our Ford Customline had been damaged on a rutted track leading to Lake Paringa before the advent of the Haast highway, hence the trip to get it repaired.

To this day I do not know how he found out this bike was for sale. The story he told us at the time was that an apprentice builder had been knocking down the wall in a basement of a house they were renovating and the LMC was one of two motorcycles stored behind the wall, and was in running order. On our arrival back home Dad said ‘If I ever wanted to understand how an internal combustion engine works then a very early motorcycle engine is the best to learn from’, and duly said I could have the bike. I would have been aged 19 at the time.

As I did not know of any vintage motorcycle clubs in New Zealand I wrote to the Vintage Motor Cycle Club (VMCC) of the UK for information and they gave me specifications on tank colours (which was not quite correct) and also told me that mine was the first LMC they had on their register. In 1962 I set out on my big OE and on arrival in the UK in early 1963 made a point of going to the headquarters of the VMCC and meeting the officials of the club and talked about the bike.

30 Beaded Wheels

THE RESTORATION On my return to New Zealand in 1965 I commenced removing the rust from the wheel rims and mudguards which were quite severely rusted. Not having any skills or knowledge about restoration I just sanded away by hand with coarse sandpaper and in the process thinned the tinware so much it became as thin as tissue paper and see-through in places. So much so that when the pieces were taken to the spray-painters they had to put on such a thick coat of filler putty before the undercoat thus it was the putty that could be regarded as the mudguard! I knew nothing of rust converters and I am not even sure whether they were available back then. The result was that about 30 years later the rust had returned and I had to repeat the process. But this time I treated the metal before painting.

GETTING INFORMATION ON THE LMC Catalogues and parts lists at the time were non-existent on the LMC. Thus I had nothing but the scrap of information from the UK Register. At some point I was told that one Andy Thomson of Kairanga, near Palmerston North had an LMC, so one day I took off up to his place on my Triumph 3TA motorcycle and

went and knocked on the door of his farmhouse to be greeted by Mrs Thomson. She said that Andy was out on the farm and was very busy with lambing. Being a townie I had never given it any thought, but just as I was about to leave Andy arrived so I introduced myself and he then asked if I was related to the Northcote Bades to which I replied yes and then I explained that I had come to look at his LMC. Andy very graciously led me out to a huge barn type building jammed full of rows of motorcycles under dust cloths. He lifted of the cover of a bike which I could tell from the frame was an LMC but as it was jammed between other bikes that was about all I could see but was enough to encourage me to get on with my own bike.

s Pre restoration.

REPAINTING AND OBTAINING PARTS FOR THE LMC When I embarked on the repaint of the rest of the bike things started to go awry.

The first problem arose when I sent a wheel to the local panel shop to be repainted and I got a phone call to come down. They’d left the wheel in the stripping bath and had forgotten it. The hub was shrunk to about ¾ its size. I almost burst into tears not knowing what to do. But fortunately I had heard of McEwans Machinery of Kaiwharawara who were engineers and they machined me a new hub.

Next, I was given the name of a tank painter and I took the tank to him along with a 1910 tank that I had acquired, with the instruction to copy the colour. Little did I know the 1910 tank’s colour that looked gold was caused by petrol stains and discoloured clear varnish top coat! Apparently this was a common problem with LMC tanks. So gold it has remained to this day rather than the correct colour of aluminium. I then took the tank, which has a dropped end, together with the 1910 flat tank to a sign-writer to paint the green panels, red lines and gold lettering. The end result is the green panels follow the lines of the 1910 tank and are square and do not taper down like the drop down shape. Being in my early twenties I did not have the courage to tell the sign-writer he misunderstood me nor did I have the finance to pay for a repaint. The green panel was eventually corrected in February 2022.

Then the chain cover was sent to another painter. After three months of waiting I went down to his premises and found them emptied out. More tears. The painter’s wife told me they had had a marriage break-up and the painter had gone to Australia. I put in an insurance claim and one of their investigators found my parts at a motorcycle shop in a nearby town. That bike shop told me the painter had told them to help themselves to all their parts and others he had there for painting. Fortunately the bike shop had not sold my two tanks because they did not know the makes of bike they were from.

The tyres on the bike were perished and beaded edge tyres were not available in New Zealand. Because of the import restrictions a lot of owners at that time were forced to replace the beaded edge rims with modern rims and tyres. I was lucky in that I came from an importing family and was both a shipping clerk and qualified customs agent. I applied for and obtained an import licence for two beaded s Believed preparing for 2nd National Motorcycle rally 1971. edge tyres. Through my father’s shipping agents I then ordered two Dunlop BE tyres from the VMCC of UK and duly fitted them to the bike.

The LMC had a kid’s tricycle horn when found so I imported a motorcycle horn direct from Klaxon. But I always wanted a brass bulb horn. The neighbours to our family holiday bach in the Marlborough Sounds always honked a horn to their family members when it was time to come in from fishing for dinner. One day I was at the neighbours’ for lunch and noticed the horn was in fact a Lucas King of the Road bulb horn for motorcycles. I asked if I could have it. I could, I was told, if I replaced it with another horn, so I swapped it for one of those cheap tourist TukTuk horns from Thailand.

JOINING THE VINTAGE CAR CLUB About 1967 I heard that the VCCNZ had a motorcycle section, so I went out to the Wellington branch monthly meeting only to hear a report on the first national vintage motorcycle rally where I learned that I had missed it by a month.

I did however take the LMC to the 1968 Wellington branch rally, and the 1970 North Island rally. Both were held at Masterton. As I did not own a car at that time, to get to those rallies, I would load the LMC into the pram compartment of the electric unit train at Tawa station on friday morning and bring the bike to Wellington where I would leave the bike in the Left Luggage office at Wellington railway station while I went off to work. After work I would collect the bike and load it in to the guard’s van of the Friday night Wairarapa express and unload it at Solway showgrounds station. On the first occasion the rally organiser, the late Glen

the chain cover was sent to another painter…

After three months of waiting I went down to his premises and found them emptied out.

Beaded Wheels 31

1913 LMC (Regn. No. 74552) LMC (Lloyd Motor Engineering Company Ltd, Birmingham, UK) Model: 3.5hp touring model Capacity: 499cc Bore: 85mm x stroke: 88mm Engine: Side valve single cylinder Engine #: #1323g, chassis #1454g Carburettor: Brown & Barlow Bottom Feed (Jet No. 32).

Starter: Kick with half decompressor lever lifting on exhaust valve.

Lights: Front Acetylene Powell & Hanmer # 130fs Rear Powell & Hanmer #135 Generator: Powell & Hanmer #123 Brakes: Back wheel only. Left foot pedal operated by rod to block on belt drive rim.

Right handlebar lever operated by cable to block on belt drive rim.

Electrics: Bosch Magneto Lubrication: Dry Sump – Hand Pump Total Loss System.

Suspension: Front- leading link front axle; rear – rigid sprung seat and foot boards.

Tyres: Beaded Edge, 26x2.5 Petrol Capacity: 1.5 Gallons Oil Capacity: 1.5 Quarts Instruments: Nil Gears: Two (Countershaft clutches operated).

Drive: 1st Gear – Chain (1:9); 2nd Gear – Belt (1.4 adjustable to 1:5).

Piston Material: Cast iron with two compression rings.

Brightware: Bright nickel Saddle: Brooks B170 Oil Pump: RS (Rotherham & Son) Wheel Rims: Westwood Pattern, 26 inch, both 40 spokes Horn: Lucas King Of The Road No. 64. Nickel Plated Tank Colour: gold, green panels, gold lettering, green pin-striping.

Handlebars: 1 inch Diam.

Handgrips: Hills horn. Design 519112 (Jan 1908) animal horn style Belt: Whittle 1 inch width Chain: Reynolds ¼ X 5 ⁄ 8 inch (width X pitch) Notes: LMC motorcycles were manufactured from 1907 – 1923.

This was a heavy bike designed and made for sale in the former British colonies. The range initially consisted of singles 422cc (1907), 499cc (19071914), 572cc (1912-1916), 597cc (19191923) and after WWI V twins of 842cc & 960cc. All designed by WJ Lloyd.

N.B. Gear change has been modified to hand change, foot rests have been replaced by pair from New Hudson. Toolbox has been replaced. Chain covers added and tank colour currently gold should be offwhite (aka. aluminium).

32 Beaded Wheels

Bull, nearly did a back flip when I told him I had brought the bike to the rally on the train.

In 1971 the second National Motorcycle Rally was held, this time at Wanganui. There being no train service from Wellington and knowing my brother Keith had an old American car with a towbar I asked him if would he take me and the LMC to Wanganui on a trailer. As a bribe I said we could take my Bradbury that I had recently purchased and that he had helped me assemble and he could ride it at the rally. (That Bradbury now resides in Motorcycle Mecca museum, Invercargill). The Beaded Wheels magazine report of that rally says the LMC “suffered a wet sump and a crank case full of oil but somehow I managed to drain the oil and finish the rally”.

I do not remember how I drained the oil but I do recall the cause of the oil loss was because I set the pump tap to continuous flow and not to pump feed.

EARLY ASSISTANCE The first person to come up to me at my first rally in 1968 was the late Richard Caldwell. He told me that his family had owned an LMC and he still had the front fork springs from it. That was great news as my LMC had mis-matched springs as obviously one of the originals had broken at some time previous. Another person to introduce himself to me at that rally was the late Sir Len Southward. His first words were ‘Ah! An LMC bike - Loud Mechanical Clonks’. Len was very good; he would later give me a LMC side-car chassis. One day he was driving down our street and stopped to talk about my bike which I was test riding at the time.

LATER WORK At the 1997 National Motorcycle Rally in Masterton, while riding out near the Wairarapa coast, the LMC blew the priming cup out of the cylinder head. The late Dave Adams of Levin offered to machine a new thread and at the

same time go over the engine. He determined that the valve guides and valve stems were worn so he replaced them. Dave also told me the engine of the LMC was in its original condition and had never been worked on and that the valves he replaced (I still have them) had the LMC brand stamped on them.

2019 RALLY BLENHEIM I had not ridden the bike for a while and now with replaced hips, I arranged for my son, Leith, to push start me. Once going I set about remembering the settings of the gas, air and ignition levers. I then noticed the countershaft gear would not engage the lower chain drive gear. It was extremely hot and the engine started to get very heated. At about 7kms into the rally I came across a couple of short steep jump-ups. So I set up the engine for full power and attacked the rise. Just as I was getting to the crest the engine revs died and I stalled. So I sat on the bike waiting for Leith to catch me up and push-start me. On arrival he announced that the leather belt driving top gear had broken. It was in several pieces. Believing that I had no spare links I decided the rally was over for me.

On returning home I ordered from the Waikato Branch a length of Whittle leather belt that they had in stock. After replacing the broken links I put the remaining links in the LMC’s toolbox.

On opening the tool box what did I find? I already had spare links in there. Probably put them in there for one of my previous rallies and had forgotten. I could have continued on the rally!

EPILOGUE The LMC now has a sister bike in my garage only four frame numbers apart and restored with more professionalism, experience and knowledge but I still like my old faithful.

Green panel on tank finally corrected after 55 years, Feb 2022.

The start at Bucklands Beach.

Off to try our luck.

THE

COMPLIANCE EXPERIENCE

Words and photos Jim McCutcheon My truckload of T parts bought in 1960 for £10 finally became a 1923 Model T roadster and first ran on Christmas Eve Day 2009. I was keen to leave it as assembled, in all of its many hues.

In discussion with a cousin, he told me of the requirements to get the car back on the road. You must prove that the car had been registered for the road in New Zealand. Gloom. I had no paperwork to say so. Lightbulb moment!

The original top windscreen frame was rusty, but it still had an old registration sticker on it, and that proved satisfactory.

I booked it into a compliance company and duly rolled in, on a trailer, for the check. I paid the fee and was soon summoned by an inspector. We have found rust he said. Yep, the valances where the running boards sit in a groove did have rust. I said that it was aesthetic and not structural, to which he agreed, but said it would need to be fixed.

Hmmm!

Next, a paperwork glitch. They said that I hadn’t filled in a chassis number. Model Ts don’t have a chassis number as they go by the engine number. I explained this, but was told that they would have to check into it. My patience had dissolved, and I went off to tell my son of the situation. He is up with the play and said, “get your money back and cancel the test” because if you continue you will have to do the repairs”. I did so.

I figured that because of the car’s scruffy appearance it was doomed to fail the test.

Reluctantly I spent hours buffing body rust (mainly mudguards), primed and painted the car. I cut the rusty parts off the valance and welded replacement panels.

No way was I going back to that orange building for compliance. My son told me of a “seasoned, old school” guy doing compliancing whom I contacted and had a successful visit.

Maybe the old adage is true “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know!”

Looking sharp.

Beaded Wheels 33

ROBERT HARDING’S

WOLSELEYS Words and photos compiled by Digby Young

Hawke’s Bay is lucky to have the Knowledge Bank where people can leave historical documents, photos and books with local content.

These are then digitised, checked and posted on the website for people to use in their research. All material is returned to the owner after this is done. Interviews with local people are carried out and are available to listen to online. All this is done and housed at Stoneycroft, a Victorian style home built in 1875 and last occupied by Dr and Mrs Ballantine.

There are two employed people, everything else is done by a dedicated band of volunteers. While researching another vehicle these three accident photos caught my eye.

The caption read - “overturned car belonging to Bob Harding on Te Aute Hill.” On closer inspection I noticed what looks like a rail bridge in one of the photos. There is no rail bridge on Te Aute Hill. So, to Papers Past (another great research tool) and the following newspaper report from the Hastings Standard 2 June 1919.

“An accident occured at the Waitangi bridge on Saturday night, to a Hastings party returning from Williamson’s performance. It appears the car in attempting to pass another car went too near to the edge of the embankment, and, as a result capsized. No one was seriously injured, beyond a shock and a few bruises. The car is reported to belong to Mr R Harding, of Raukawa, and, it is said, that some of the party were underneath the car for twenty minutes before they were released.”

In the same newspaper but on 29 July 1919 Mr Harding is requesting the return of a Frankonia tail light to him or to Davis & Boyd Garage in Hastings who were agents for Wolseley cars.

The newspaper article mentions Waitangi Bridge, this is the third bridge after leaving Clive township and heading toward Napier. It was the fourth wooden bridge built, this one in 1906 and was replaced in 1936, then again in 1968. It is also interesting that the car “capsized” not rolled as we would say today. The overturned car photo shows a truck behind the car, which appears to be the rescue vehicle.

The car (general consensus of opinion) is a Wolseley, 24/30 hp, about 1914. Mr Robert Harding owned Raukawa Station which is about 14 miles south west of Hastings, so he had a lengthy trip into town and the larger vehicle would have been ideal.

A call to Michael and Vickey Harding in Waipukurau for information about Michael’s great uncle Robert and this magnificent circa 1908 photo appeared (see lower right). Colin Winter, Wolseley owner in Dunedin, and helpers, identified the vehicles. From left vehicle, a circa 1907 Beeston Humber; 1904/5 Wolseley twin, 7 or 10hp; circa 1906/7 Wolseley Siddeley single. Photo taken in front of Mt Vernon homestead in Waipukurau. Robert Harding was born there and is at the wheel of the centre Wolseley.

34 Beaded Wheels

With thanks to: The Knowledge Bank, Papers Past, Early Stations of Hawke’s Bay by Miriam Macgregor. All Aboard the Train by Thomas Wheeler. Clive by Gary Baines and Craig MacErlich.

BOOK REVIEWS

JOHN L GODDARD TROPHY

FOR ACHIEVEMENT CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Members of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand are invited to nominate a fellow member for this annual award.

The nomination should be for any member who they regard as having been involved in a significant achievement. It may be a particularly significant restoration, a memorable motoring journey or an important historical article or series of articles published in Beaded Wheels or some special service to the Club.

Nominations for the Award should be forwarded to: John L Goddard Award, Vintage Car Club of NZ (Inc) PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140.

NOMINATIONS CLOSE 8 JULY 2022

DRIVING OUR HISTORY

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

CLASSIC JAGUARS IN NEW ZEALAND

Richard Waugh Hard cover, 245 x 290mm.

316 pages, 485 photographs RRP $79.99 Published by The Kynaston Charitable Trust, Auckland To purchase email kctbooksales@gmail.com Reviewed by Kevin Clarkson Celebrating 100 years of Jaguar in 2022 this book is very timely. It details profiles of 40 classic jaguars in New Zealand. All interesting stories with descriptive text and complete with specifications. The photography is stunning and aficionados will find themselves returning to the book for further elucidation.

The profiles are in year order and start with the 1932 Austin-Swallow Sports that was based on an Austin Seven chassis, but with the Lyon’s designed body.

There are other features in the book as well, including a Foreword by Ian Callum CBE, an extensive Jaguar history, a section on racing Jags in New Zealand and more.

A “must have” book for Jaguar fans and is highly recommended for car lovers everywhere.

ON THE ROAD: VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS OF PEOPLE AND THEIR CARS

The Anonymous Project.

Published 2021 by Hoxton Mini Press.

ISBN 978-1-914314-08-7 Reviewed by Mark Holman Until I bought this book, I’d never heard of The Anonymous Project. I understand that it’s dedicated to preserving colour slides from the past 70 years, and currently has access to some 800,000 images! This book uses about 120 full-page photographs from the collection to illustrate the theme of On the Road.

Now, I don’t know about you but photographic books with inadequate captions tend to annoy me. But here’s a surprising exception: On The Road has no captions at all and, for me anyway, it works!

Somehow you find yourself looking at the photos and starting to think about their background: why were they taken, what happened to those people in the years since, is that a ’53 Chevrolet or a ‘54, and so forth. Most of the photos were taken in North America but there are a few in the UK and Europe. The British ones are great, showing well-equipped roadside picnics alongside the family’s treasured Mini or Mk III Zephyr 4. The US-based photos tend towards the large scale and dramatic scenery to be found on a road trip through a much larger country; a couple of the photos don’t even have a person or a car in them, just the road stretching out in front of the photographer.

And where there is a car in the shot, you have the pleasure of identifying it – from a Ford Country Squire wagon with an upside-down kayak on its roof, to a ’55 Chevrolet towing a caravan, a bear sitting on its haunches and looking at a mid-’50s Buick, a car almost completely covered in snow – maybe an Opel - and a Mk III Cortina GXL with its front stoved in (how did that happen, I wonder…).

The other thing that makes the book work is the quality of the paper and production: there’s none of the ‘fading’ you often see in older colour photos. This is quite a small hardback, but it leaves a lasting impression.

Beaded Wheels 35

We are relative VCC newbies.

This was the first Vero Carol and I have been on. We were keen to give 63JAG its first decent run in our ownership and it didn’t disappoint.

LOOKING BACK

at the Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring Words Trevor Kempton Equally, we hadn’t spent any time in Taranaki and this was an opportunity to have a good look around. Taranaki didn’t disappoint either. In fact, nothing disappointed us. A big thankyou to the organising committee!

A great week with only one downside. 63JAG doesn’t have power steering so the twists and turns of the Taranaki rural road network did more for my biceps in a week than Les Mills could do in a year. A chat with another Mk II owner about options resulted in a quick visit to Auto Restorations in Christchurch on the way home to order a Dutch electrical power steer conversion. Carol says she will drive more once this is installed.

The variety of vehicles made for a technically interesting and colourful week. There were those owners who “always wanted one” so they found, bought and became custodians (like us) and there were those for whom their cars held great sentimental value, were restored through application of personal skill and resourcefulness

How we tailor and balance our events, present ourselves and communicate will determine whether we can have a permanent place in the heritage landscape.

36 Beaded Wheels

and were a labour of love. It struck me that this eclectic collection of automotive history and membership is a great strength of VCC. I mused about the possibility of further enriching the organisation by bringing the single make clubs under the same umbrella as special interest groups. Perhaps a tidy response to heritage motoring’s future challenges. (I am also thinking of raising the Titanic!)

At the opening, Life and Founding Member Andy Anderson reminded us that we were “old codgers” and to be mindful of the need to replace ourselves with enthusiastic younger members as we leave the scene.

One of the most demanding roles on the Festival Committee was the route plotting. This was the responsibility of Nick and Amber Carter; a local couple in their early thirties I am guessing.

We loved their routes and were aware of the difficulties of changing road maintenance priorities they had to deal with. I hope Nick and Amber remain committed heritage motoring enthusiasts and leaders and are joined by more like-minded people of their generation. I am not pessimistic about the future of heritage motoring. We know that our children are more ambivalent about motor vehicles than us while our grandchildren are likely the first generation since the invention of automotive mobility to be less inclined to gain a license to drive it and less interest in owning it than the previous generation. This means that those younger folk who do join our branches will be exceptional in their choice of recreation. But there will be less of them. This is not a threat to the health of our club and only if we ignore the likelihood that our membership base will be smaller will it be a threat to our viability.

Some folk went to great lengths to make the start line. My friend John was very keen to make the trip from Dunedin with family in his ‘flying squad’ Wolseley 6/90. An engine overhaul proceeded steadily in the months before the festival with pace quickening as

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the rally dates came into focus. With a couple of weeks to go the motor fired up, but a peek in the radiator revealed a frothy latte.

New gaskets and another head were obtained through John’s Wolseley connections and one of his club colleagues came down from Christchurch to help troubleshoot and meet the deadline.

Just one example of what is special about VCC. 63JAG made a new friend, a white S-Type from the Hawke’s Bay. They swapped lies most evenings parked together at our motel while we did the same with owners, Brian and Leslie. Like us, they grew up coveting “grace with pace” and because we now could, we bought some. The S-Type was a grand lady in the eyes of her owner. We haven’t decided on the gender of ours yet.

The car of the event for me was Terry Roycroft’s Bugatti Jaguar.

My Dad used to talk about Terry’s father Ron’s exploits in this car and seeing it crack 150mph on the Ryal Bush road circuit preTeretonga in Southland. Terry told me that cooling was always a challenge which explained why I have a photo of the car at a Dunedin race with a makeshift radiator mounted on the front. He explained what he had done to hide two radiators separated by a 50 mm vented space behind the Bugatti nose and a very tidy job it was too.

Will we be back for another Vero? On the basis of our experience in 2022, sign us up! New Plymouth made us all very welcome but in a very rapidly changing world, it is important that we don’t outstay our welcome. Four years is a long time in a world measuring carbon footprints and the use of fossil fuel and we know how quickly use of social media can turn public perceptions and opinion. It might be time to get a little ahead of the curve and not find ourselves defending something which public opinion has already decided is indefensible. How we tailor and balance our events, present ourselves and communicate will determine whether we can have a permanent place in the heritage landscape.

Trevor has been an Otago Branch member for five years. He has a modest collection of 1970s 2 stroke Suzuki motorcycles and has been active in classic racing. Trevor and Carol are now on their second MkII Jaguar and are now enjoying four wheeled VCC activities together.

Trevor Kempton

Celebrate 100 years of Jaguar origins with this superb hard cover publication.

316 pages, 485 photos.

Order by email: kctbooksales@gmail.com.

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Payment to KCT Book Sales 12 3089 0270739 01 Retail Price $79.99 RRP + P&P* VCC Member Launch Price $65 plus P&P* * P&P $10 or $14 for rural delivery

Mechanical Restorations Vintage & Classic Spares (1980) Stockists of new AUTOMOTIVE PARTS CAR, TRUCK & TRACTOR 1912–1997 (85 year span)

ENGLISH AMERICAN CONTINENTAL AUSTRALIAN JAPANESE

Kingpin sets Rear axles Engine gaskets Water pumps & kits Gearbox gears Clutch plates Suspension parts Clutch covers Steering joints Carburettors Crownwheel & pinions Fuel pumps & kits Spark plugs Brake & clutch cables Electrical fittings Pistons Wiper motors (vac) Steering box parts Engine bearings Valves, springs, guides Shock absorbers Speedo cables Wheel cylinders & kits Ignition parts Master cylinders & kits Timing gears & chains Shackles Lenses (pins & bushes) Engine mounts Ring gears & pinions MECHANICAL RESTORATIONS VINTAGE & CLASSIC SPARES (1980) RD 7 • Fordell • Wanganui • Phone/Fax 06 342 7713 Beaded Wheels 37

LOCHINVER 2022 Words David Lane, photos Ian and Jacqui Goldingham, Liz Cato, Nancy Ramsbotham, Terry Costello

For a number of years I have been aware of this annual two-day off-road event, held about 25 miles east of Lake Taupo, but have not been in a position to attend. After we had withdrawn from this year’s truncated Art Deco Rally, Terry and Joss Costello (this year’s Tour Leaders), convinced me to enter and give it a go in my 1912 Ford T speedster. With Gavin and Sophie Welch in their 1912 Model T roadster, plus seven Ford Model As and Ian and Jacqui Goldingham in their Sunbeam, we made up this year’s full complement.

Gavin and Helen Leckner’s 1930 Model A Fordor followed by Ross Bolton’s matching coupe thread their way through Kaimanawa wilderness.

Photo Jacqui Goldingham

38 Beaded Wheels

Our hosts, Tom Loughlin and Elizabeth Catp, greeted us on our arrival at Lochinver Station, where a Powhiri plus the usual OSH rules were delivered. We soon became aware that this was not going to be just an ordinary off-road rally. We were invited to participate in a journey of discovery, of reconnecting with the land and the environs. Tom also assured us all that by the time we reached our overnight stay, everything would be just one colour – white – due to the impending dust.

Finally underway, with Gavin and Sophie in their 1912 T right behind us, we had the benefit of a recently graded road, but this didn’t last. White sandstone dust and rough roads were going to be our constant companions, and this was just a warm up for what was to come. Here the ruts were deep following rain a few days earlier.

About five miles in, we stopped beside Lake Pouarua for a photo op and Tom gave us an overview of this section of the farm, which covers some 35,000 acres and includes nearly 90 miles of farm roads.

Once we left the southern boundary of Lochinver we entered into the leasehold blocks owned and managed by local Maori as traditional hunting grounds. Our roads were basic tracks, and some of the potholes were big enough to hide in. For me, it was a sharp reminder that once upon a time, all roads were like this – just tracks. After all, this is what Henry Ford built the T for. Plus there was the upside: with the tall wheels, negotiating several flooded ford crossings was done with ease.

We made our second stop at Zena’s Rock to inspect a huge warehouse-sized boulder standing approximately 20 ft tall and about 45 ft in length. It was during the Oruanui Eruption (Lake Taupo) about 25,000 years ago, that this and many like it, were biffed out and landed some 35 plus miles away. We climbed it to gain a true impression of its sheer size. It’s hard to imagine its journey there!

The looming hills started to become ominous, especially in regard to their gradients.

Going up the hills with only two drive bands at my disposal was daunting. It didn’t take long before the gradient up one hill was just too steep with our high-ratio diff, and the car finally said “enough”! Tom’s trusty tow rope was used, and also appreciated by several other entrants before the weekend was over. Going down with just two-wheel brakes was something else again and trying to miss the worst washouts and potholes was challenging. To control the speed, I had the Rocky Mountain hand brake hard on, foot on the reverse pedal, and the other foot hard on the transmission brake.

My navigator, Monty Scarborough, is usually a very chatty fellow, but soon there were gaps where he said nothing and had a fixed look on his face. He reminded me of that fellow Scotty with Barry Crump in those early Toyota TV ads and personally, I can’t blame him.

Finally, we arrived at the airstrip and the sense that we had all had achieved something special was very rewarding.

At this point Tom and Elizabeth welcomed us all onto Tamau Pa. A short distance later we arrived at our overnight destination where their two nieces had prepared our lunch at the whare, and what a peaceful setting that was. After all the

banging and shaking that the Model T had gone through, the silence was deafening, but welcome.

Here there were several glamping tents available plus a bunk house, where the majority of us were to sleep. We witnessed the tradition of putting down a hangi and its eventual arrival at the table. And what a feast we had.

Then there is nothing like a fire to sit around after dinner, telling lies and laughing deep into the night, with good likeminded people.

Next morning after a big breakfast everyone was asked to share their personal experiences and reflections on what the trip had meant to them. We were all unanimous, that driving an old car with good friends in this environment was something that should not be missed.

The trip back to the main road had all the reminders of yesterday, dust and more dust, but somehow the potholes had shrunk overnight, and the hills seemed not so steep.

Except one (thanks Tom). But it was over all too soon. Every vehicle made it out without incident, or any major breakages.

A highly recommended experience and I will never complain about a rough road again.

Tom and Elizabeth, thank you for creating a very unique experience for us all to share.

Beaded Wheels 39

dust and more dust, but somehow overnight the potholes had shrunk, and the hills seemed not so steep.

Lochinver 2022: Jacqui Goldingham drives Elisabeth Cato to the crest of the saddle in her 1924 Sunbeam 14/40 sports roadster.

Photo Ian Goldingham

40 Beaded Wheels

RALLY SNIPPETS

A round up of notable rallies and events from around our branches

AUCKLAND VETERAN RUN Auckland Branch Words and photos John Stokes, Mauku

This year’s Auckland veteran run was again based in Waiuku away from the main traffic routes. As usual Model T Fords were the main entry along with De Dion Bouton, Perry, Talbot, Cadillac, Briscoe, Dodge, Renault charabanc and a Triumph motorcycle.

The run was divided into two routes; long approximately 45 miles, and short approximately 30 miles. The long route travelled through Taurangaruru, part of Whiriwhiri, Otau, Aka Aka, a bit of Puni, then Patumahoe and Glenbrook to return to Waiuku. The short route followed the long one until Aka Aka to skirt Pukeowhare and then back to the finish at the Waiuku Cosmopolitan Club.

The competitive side of the event was a disaster due to incompetence on the part of the plotter (yours truly) who left all the nominated average speeds at home thus making an accurate sort-out of a winner impossible and negating all David Adams’ work as time recording marshall. Nonetheless three suitable victims were found. Don Green won the big cup on his 1916 Triumph Model H for a meritorious ride on a motorbike taking the long route on a belt drive bike. Phil and Caroline Henley got the little car trophy for the short route, because they went okay. The oldest vehicle was Barry Birchall’s 1905 De Dion Bouton and the youngest Terry Jenkins’ 1917 Dodge 4.

s Barry Birchall, 1905 De Dion Bouton. ▼ Don Green’s 1916 Triumph Model H.

WEE WHEELIE WANDER North Otago Branch Words and photos Graeme Simpson

… we encountered a challenging section of road that had unexpectedly turned to mud

Testing my own machine (a 1951 Mini motor) the week before had shown the mighty Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub had finally given up on the host bicycle. The organisers of the run kindly loaned me a suitable scooter.

A dozen or so scooter riders assembled at the Old School in Enfield. There would have been another from Dunedin but his rubber band had snapped. The ride also attracted riders from as far afield as Christchurch.

While awaiting the start we enjoyed viewing the old school that is now a very nice B&B. The attached swimming pool has been restored and was enjoyed by local residents later in the day. In the garage was a selection of motorcycles including one the owner had bought in Scotland and ridden through Iran to New Zealand.

The selection of scooters, small motorcycles and mopeds powered up the hill out of Enfield in a haze of blue smoke. First casualty was a motorcycle that required the exhaust unblocking with a screwdriver to achieve the necessary power to get up the hill. We had a loop round back towards Oamaru but encountered a challenging section of road that had unexpectedly turned to mud due to the rain the previous day.

We visited the Model Aircraft club situated near Enfield where the fliers put on an impressive display with a large Red Bull aerobatic aircraft and a twin engine sport model.

After lunch at the Old Enfield School we headed off for another loop of the local area. The little machines perform remarkably well in the rolling countryside of North Otago.

Beaded Wheels 41

THREE RIVERS RALLY Gisborne Branch 11 –13 February 2022 Words Brian Williams, photos Graeme Revell

This year’s Three Rivers Rally was titled Coastal Caravan. Participants took the Pacific Coastal Highway meandering their way over scenic coastal roads, with a bit of gravel thrown in, up to Tolaga Bay and on to the picturesque Anaura Bay - one of the most stunning of the East Coast beaches with pristine golden sand and a backdrop of extensive native bush.

On Friday night entrants enjoyed a chance to catch up with friends and meet entrants attending from other branches.

Saturday was a stunning day and 17 entrants gathered at the Gisborne Branch clubrooms for a 9am start. It was wonderful to see a good turnout of vehicles from other branches. They included a 1952 Daimler Consort from Masterton, and a 1931 Ford A Victoria from Tauranga in the north, and our usual patronage from the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

The rally took cars through the city starting at the beginning of the Pacific Coast Highway and up the coast past Wainui, Makorori and Pouawa beaches. They were then diverted inland and onto Tolaga Bay. A leisurely morning tea break was held at Tolaga Bay with several crews enjoying the historic Tolaga Bay Inn. The vehicles then continued on to Anaura Bay. The view as we crested the hill before descending into the bay was magnificent with picturesque Motuoroi Island just off-shore. Our lunch venue was the Anaura Bay Camp Ground. Here entrants spent a relaxing hour and enjoyed strolling along the beach. A few adventurous souls climbed the hill for pictures while others took a paddle in the ocean to cool down on what was a hot day.

The afternoon was a short run back to Tolaga Bay culminating at the historic Bay Wharf. Many wandered the length of the wharf (600m), before returning to Gisborne in their own time. Graeme Revell announced and presented the prizes at the rally dinner.

Interestingly there were three generations of Bartletts on the run and three generations of O’Neills. (Grandad, Dad and son; which is good to see for the club) We farewelled our visitors on Sunday morning after what was a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

42 Beaded Wheels

1931 Ford A Victoria leaving the lunch stop.

s Lunch stop at picturesque Anaura Bay Campground.

s Line up of cars at rally start.

s Three generations of Bartletts, with the three cars they entered enjoying lunch.

Results Vintage P60 Commercial First Gisborne Car Overall Winner

Joe & Jill Scott (Tauranga) Phil & Elizabeth Brown (Masterton) Bruce & Lorraine Seddon (EBOP) Daniel O’Neill, (on his first outing in the club) Phil & Elizabeth Brown

1931 Ford A Victoria 1952 Daimler Consort 1987 Chevrolet C10 1962 Morris 1000 1952 Daimler Consort.

PRE CHRISTMAS RUN 2021 Ashburton Branch Words and photos David and Marion Oakley

Although a large number of expressions of interest in the run were expressed some months before the event, numbers were whittled down immediately before departure date owing to a number of breakdowns, (human, not automotive ) with one entrant experiencing running in difficulties with his freshly reconditioned undercarriage (hip joint replacement), and another finding they could not delay some overdue maintenance work! However 13 vehicles eventually sallied forth from Ashburton on 9 December to be joined later that day by our North Island Club Captain and husband in Waimate, with their Model A, and the following day by an Otago Branch member with their vintage Dodge.

All was well until we reached Black Forest Station when we were forced to revise our plans for ongoing travel the following day through the Black Forest track, by a serious slip on the track, rendering it impassable to anything short of a dune buggy.

However, a very pleasant evening and night was spent with million dollar views at the luxurious accommodation provided by the Station.

Bright and early by the organisers’ standards (about 9 am) the more adventurous element proceeded to attempt to reach Omarama via a series of tracks which have been established to access various parts of the hydro canals. After a few miles of bumping over boulders and fording numerous water hazards a gullible but enthusiastic driver was despatched to investigate a suspiciously discoloured and fast flowing water course on foot, but ran out of courage when the water began to penetrate to his neither regions owing to its depth! It was decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and all about-faced and proceeded back to the station, and then followed the more sensible contingent who had taken the rather boring but safer main road to Clyde.

Further breakdowns were experienced during our two day stay in Clyde with one team member falling down a bank and losing a considerable amount of bark in the process, another allegedly tripping over a rug and cracking three ribs whilst making his way to performing his ablutions in the middle of the night. Yet another occurred when an (unnamed) branch committee member pulled the muscles in his lower posterior allegedly whilst showering ?

Perhaps some of us need to remember we are not as young as we once were?

As some team members had not previously experienced traveling through Thomsons Gorge or Bendigo township, a very pleasant visit to this rugged and fascinating part of Central Otago was made, including a short walk to the site of an old gold mining venture. After marvelling at the strength and fortitude of the miners who established the venture, and the families who lived in what must have been a hostile and lonely part of 1800s New Zealand we moved on through the Gorge and on to the Hayes factory in the Ida valley. An excursion was also mounted to visit the Poolburn reservoir, which after traversing a very wet and slippery track made it to the reservoir, but the planned further negotiation of the old Dunstan Trail was flagged when the driver of a 4WD vehicle approaching from the other direction informed us of their white knuckle experiences in managing some of the wetter parts of the track. A tactical retreat was decided upon and a planned visit to a religious retreat at Waipiata was made, which was a very interesting and thought-provoking experience .

After three nights in Clyde we moved on to Ranfurly and were introduced to some nearby attractions by locals Nevin Gough and Kelly Findlay, including the old 40 stand woolshed at Teviot and a surprisingly interesting wool carding business near Raes Junction.

A local whisky distillery was also visited located at the end of a no exit road in the Lammermoor ranges, far from civilization and its associated pollution. All grain used in the production of their very successful single malt whisky is organically grown right there on the property! The owners proudly boast of illegally operating a distillery since the 1800s, but have now jumped through most of the bureaucratic hoops that are required of them.

All vehicles, predominantly Model A Fords, performed well, with only one Dodge returning home other than under its own power and that under investigation was found to be only a minor problem.

Despite Covid restrictions and frequently inclement weather, the tour was deemed a success, and a visit to the Marlborough region decided on for next year.

Beaded Wheels 43

A TRIO OF AUSTINS Words and photo Ewen Duthie Back on 4 December I was in Oamaru to go on the North Otago branch’s Windsor Rally. Looking around the cars, and having been brought up around Austin cars and trucks, I spotted what I thought initially was an A40 Somerset but as I got closer I discovered it was an A70 Hampshire.

While there I spotted the 110 Westminster up the other end of the row of cars.

Then the penny dropped, the A70 was the predecessor to my A90 Westminster and the A110 Westminster was the design that followed on after the A90 and A95 I approached Tony McGillan of Temuka (A70 owner) and Mary-Jane Sime of Mosgiel (A110 owner) that this was too good an opportunity to miss and to get a photo of the three cars together. As we all had a bit of time before our leaving time on the rally we moved the cars and took this photo.

model) and Vanden plas variant a total of 60,367 of these where made in total.

This A110 is a Mark II built in 1964 and is powered by an updated 2912cc Series C engine. Its designer was Pininfarina who was brought in to modernize Austin designs in the late 1950s. A total of 18,454 of these were made.

The A99 was the first of this shape to replace the A95 in 1959 then in 1961 the A110 replaced it and was carried on to 1965 although the Wolseley 6/110 variant were built through to 1968 including Wolseley, Vanden Plas 3 litre and the Princess R with the 4 litre Rolls-Royce FB60 engine, a total of 84,980 were made.

The Austin-Healey engines were based on all three of these motors over this period as Austin progressed through models so did the Healeys.

SOME FACTS AND FIGURES This A70 Hampshire was made in 1952 in the Longbridge factory in Birmingham (all three cars were made there) it is powered by 2199cc 4 cylinder engine.

It was designed by Dick Burzi and a total of 48,640 of these cars where made from 1950 to 1954. Its predecessor was the A70 Hereford of these 34,360 were made My A90 Westminster was first purchased 9 August 1955 in Auckland from Seabrook Fowlds Ltd by the late Peter Kilgour of Kumeu, I was lucky enough to purchase the car from him in 2007 and had it trucked to Cromwell where I live.

The A90 is powered by 2639cc 6 cylinder C series engine. It too was designed by Dick Burzi and 25,532 where produced from 1954 to 1956 then the A95 (with a longer boot and more chrome) was produced to 1959. Along with the A105 (the upmarket

CATCHING THE TAIL END OF THE CYCLONE Northland Branch, 13 February 2022 Words and photos Ray Sanders

44 Beaded Wheels

that couldn’t be handled, and by the time Hikurangi was reached some elusive blue sky was appearing between the clouds.

The travellers visited the beach and probed around under car bonnets before heading home again.

Northland: Paddling on the beach after a long drive.

s

Despite being caught in the wake of the high winds caused by a cyclone skimming past New Zealand it was decided to proceed with our organised Sunday run to Matapouri as the weather seemed to be on the mend. Only four intrepid travellers showed up, but all were determined to complete the run.

The cars included a 1920s Jewett, a 1930s Morris Cowley, a 1950s Citroën Light 15 and a 1960s Humber Sceptre.

The road was littered with tree debris from the high overnight winds, but nothing

s Northland: Jewett, Morris Cowley and Humber Sceptre span the ages.

MANAWATU BRANCH VETERAN RALLY AKA VETERAN REGATTA

Words Rod Mckenzie, Photos Bryan Adams Pippa, my 13 year old grand-daughter, had been suggesting for a while that she could ride with me on some kind of rally in our Model T (as her brother previously had). We made arrangements for her to come down from Napier on the bus and join us as we headed to Manawatu together the following morning for Waitangi Weekend.

On her arrival the first job she landed was to learn how to polish the brass which had deteriorated badly from the salt spray the weekend before along the coast near Ngawi while attending the Model T Rally. While she was occupied doing that, I changed the oil. She made a pretty fair job of the brass, and we thought we should take the T for a test run prior to loading it onto the trailer.

However, just as we were about to roll out of the shed, the rain started to come down and we didn’t want to ruin the polish on the brass, so we adjourned to the house.

The forecast was lousy, so it was decided we would still go to the Manawatu but in our 1987 Holden Commodore and Pippa could get the hang of navigating for me. We got away about 8am and found that there were a number of small slips on the road over the “Saddle”, as the rain by then was steady and heavy. We got to the clubrooms in time for morning tea and a short briefing on the event from Derek Haycock, the organiser. Meanwhile, to

Pippa’s delight, she cobbered up with the four Haycock youngsters who were travelling and navigating for their parents and their grandfather, Len, in his Peugeot 504 estate wagon. Only one actual veteran car braved the elements, Neil Farrer from Whanganui turned up in his 1918 Rover van, having driven over in the, by now, very heavy rain from Whanganui.

The route took us to Bunnythorpe, and then all the way down the KairangaBunnythorpe road to the Main Drain road near Glen Oroua, We passed through Glen Oroua, a small village with a school and little else, to go through a gate onto a farm track, metalled but pretty rough and pot-holes nearly big enough the swallow the Mini Cooper we were following. There was an entry of about a dozen cars, just one veteran, two vintages, and the rest of us, sensibly, in relatively moderns. The farm track across land owned by the McEllvy family led us to a woolshed, and then to an old farm cottage where we lunched out of the persistent rain. Pippa was fascinated by the toilet which had young birds in the roof, leaked like a sieve with a very low supply of toilet paper. She rapidly learnt to appreciate the facilities of home.

After our early lunch, early because we travelled faster than what had been planned for the veteran cars, we travelled to a place near Rongote. The huge building housed around 15 military

Rod’s 1987 Holden VL Commodore.

tanks, a Jeep, a Bren-gun carrier, and equipment the chap was restoring for himself and clients. Imagine trying to restore a seven and a half ton tank with its flat twelve diesel engine. The armour plating alone was about an inch thick! I think that most of us were quite content to think that restoring a car was a much more family friendly pursuit. Some of us were taken to another shed near Rongotea where there were all manner of Holdens housed, from the FJ models of the early 1950s to the much more recent ones. Lots of utes, cars and a few wagons, about 40 in all.

We made our way back to the clubrooms in the still persistent rain for a barbeque meal before heading home. That was another adventure as the Saddle Road was closed due to slips and a tree across the road, so we had to make our way south to take the Pahiatua Track to Woodville before hitting SH2 for home. My young navigator had a wee sleep, but was happy to have made some new friends during the day. Now, she wants to have another go on a fine day coming with me in the Model T as she really enjoyed the day as did I.

Neil Farrer’s 1918 Rover van.

Beaded Wheels 45

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.

HARD TO FIND REGO INFORMATION Trying to research your vehicle registration history prior to the issue in 1964 of the permanent silver aluminium black number plates, can be very difficult, as the previous registration records were destroyed.

Sometimes members are wanting to know a bit more of their vehicle’s history, or trying to obtain past registration information for a Vehicle Identity Card (VIC), because they do not have any registration papers. I receive many enquiries about this.

A number of dedicated VCC members around New Zealand have spent many years searching to find any old vehicle registration records. They have tried every avenue, NZ Motor Registration, NZTA, Regional and District Councils, but often with little success. Michael Curry, who I consider an expert in this field, is one who has succeeded.

At the VCC Archive there are limited records to help members in their Vehicle Registration, VIC quest. There are some 1916-1920 Wellington and Hutt Valley council records that list the years, the early number plate and the make of the car. However there is no reference of the engine and chassis number so it could be any car of the same make.

That is good for statistics but is not helpful if you a requiring old registration information.

I believe the Veteran Car Club have some files of early pre1925 District Council records, but I am not sure if they contain engine and chassis numbers.

We are lucky to have two old handwritten copies of the New Car Register ledger books,

46 Beaded Wheels

donated to the club archive by the late Alan Storer.

Nearly all of the records in the two ledger books contain information that may be helpful in obtaining a VIC. Included is the arrival date, the ship that transported the vehicle, body and wheel style, engine and chassis numbers, (in some cases only the chassis number), date sold, the person to whom it was sold, their district area address, the price of the vehicle and some of the records also have the model name and number as well as the body colour.

Book one of the New Car Register information is a photo copy folder with the first eight pages referring to the sale of Reo trucks 1925-1938 sold by TR Taylor of Dunedin. The next 150 pages consist of Dodge car records 1925-1930 from around the Southland area, I think these are from P H Vickery, who were the Dodge agents in Invercargill.

Book two, is titled New car Register No 3. We have a copy and recently Alan’s cousin Don Bennetts donated an original to the Archive. This book was the property of Farmers Garage Christchurch, who held various car agencies over many years.

Vauxhall 1930-1937, Bedford trucks 1931-1937, Oldsmobile 1934-1935. With some miscellaneous makes of one entry in 1927, Scripps Booth, Westcott and Garford truck.

If anyone owns any of the above makes that they think may have come from the areas listed and require information, please email me with the make, year, engine and chassis numbers.

I am sure that there are some early registration records of car franchise dealers around New Zealand similar to the above with engine and chassis numbers records, that are either held at VCC branch libraries or in private ownership. It would be helpful to members if there was a central database that could point you in the right direction to find this information.

If you have any of this information you wish to share, I will compile a central register which could help in obtaining your car’s early history.

The VCC International Rally Souvenir Poster, 1965-2022 that was advertised for sale in the BW 374 has created a lot of interest, for more information please refer to page 45 of that issue.

It was from this book, that I found the information for Clive Blunden’s 1936 Bedford pickup, featured in Beaded Wheels 374.

The contents include the following makes of car and the year sold, Hupmobile 19251929, Maxwell 1923, Overland 1923-1928, Fiat 501 and 509 1925-1926, Standard 1927, Austin 1935, Pontiac 1928-1937, Chevrolet truck 1929-1931, Chevrolet cars 1930-1931,

Don Muller Archivist archivist@vcc.org.nz

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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.).

FOR SALE 1929 DODGE DA CAR. Rare 1929 Dodge Brothers 1½ ton truck. Both restored 1970s, shed stored for 45 years. Car motor restored. 1925 Canadian Dodge tourer, trucked. Extra body parts, reconditioned short block. Plenty of good spare parts. Phone 07 304 9379. Located in Whakatane.

Email fredasteer@icloud.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 1939 PONTIAC PROJECT P arts and motor, diff, gearbox included. Phone 03 216 5298, blacktowhite@kinect.co.nz MEM SOUTHLAND

Advise national office of any changes of address or sales/purchases of vehicles

DRIVESHAFTS DRIVESHAFTS DRIVESHAFTS We can alter or make driveshafts with fabric components to take modern universal joints and yokes, as well as performing dynamic balancing. We also carry a large range of driveshaft components for car, trucks, industrial and marine. M S Coombes Ltd, 344 St Asaph Street, Christchurch 8011, Ph 03 366 7463, email: info@mscoombes.co.nz HUBCAPS – a ny problems contact me. I now produce either hubcap skins or complete hubcaps. These are top quality replicas.

Pressed not spun to the closest possible original specifications. I can manufacture any model that uses the skin system plus many others provided they do not exceed 10½ inch in diameter. For more information phone Dave Patten Replica Manufacturing (2003) Ltd, Phone 027 247 7956, 160 New York Street, Martinborough. dave.patten@wise.net.nz

HOLDEN EH/EJ PARTS. Two Hydramatic 1986 TOYOTA COROLLA 1.6 GL. V ery torquey gearboxes, one in excellent condition. 202 and motor. Been very carefully maintained. Cambelt 173 red motors, both need work. EJ wagon just done. Odd scrape. $2,300 firm. ph. 021 033 tailgate in good condition. Some straight doors 6082. 33,1095km. Motor sounds brand new. need re-skinning. Many other bits and bobs.

MEM NORTHLAND All must go as we are moving. Ph 021 187 9238.

MEM CENTRAL OTAGO BALANCING BALANCING BALANCING, e can balance most vintage and single W 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

650-20 USED TYRES with tubes 6mm tread, no cracking, 4 x Denman whitewall $150 each ono.

Please contact Graham Somervaille 027 472 071 or somervaille@gmail.com MEM AUCKLAND

HUMBER EARLY ‘20S rebuilt chassis & new body, two seater, four new tyres about 85% complete, photos available. Chrysler 66 1930 99% complete & solid, runner & driveable $15000. Licence plate collection, includes full set from Canada plus many other countries. Ph 021 728381, Ewan Beck, forkpart@xtra.co.nz

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

AUSTIN HEAVY 12/4 AND 16/6 Parts for sale inc. cylinder head, crankshaft, camshaft, clutch, flywheel. Brake parts, hubs, new kingpins, steering box, prop shaft, oil-pump, wheel nuts, leaf springs and hangers, oil filler, engine dip stick, 6v coil, H/L parts interior door handles and window winders. Machine shop made hub puller and spanners, gearboxes. Too much JAGUAR MK8 PARTS automatic transmission, to list email for photos. Ph John 09 445 6483, grille, picnic table and numerous interior walnut trim. Ph Richard 03 383 2077. MEM CANTERBURY jbryvelo@gmail.com MEM AUCKLAND CHEVROLET PARTS FOR SALE. 1934-35 Chevrolet Standard 5 stud 17” spoked wheels 5 stud x 2 good condition are complete with tyres but they are perished. $85 each. A pair of 1934-35 Chevrolet headlamp brackets good condition. $50 for the pair. 1934 -35 Standard gearbox needs rebuild $50.

Email alburt@xtra.co.nz or 027 435 4383.

FOUR CARS FOR SALE. D eceased estate of ex-VCC Canterbury member and master mechanic. 1929 Hupmobile 4 door sedan straight 6. Project car chassis and most bodywork done. Morris 1000.

Wolseley 15/50 parts car, Riley 4/72 parts car.

All will spin over Ph Frank 027 683 1689, wmrr@xtra.co.nz

NUMBER PLATE FOR SALE ‘ 54 CHV. $800.

Ph Patrick 027 313 9102. MEM NELSON 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 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

Beaded Wheels 47

MARKET PLACE

MG YA 1950 O wned for over 40 years. Has enjoyed many MG Pre ’56 Rallies and provided MG ‘50s driving experience for the whole family. Still motors regularly, and does the occasional Club run. Cared for as needed. WoF & Reg, 176k. $16,500 ono.

Ph 03 942 0251. MEM BANKS PENINSULA

2003 JAGUAR S TYPE R, t hose of you who are aficionados will be aware of the specs of this machine. 137,000 km and very tidy. Contact for more details, photos or to view in Morrinsville. $10,000, Howard Tiddy 027 236 8386 MEM WAIKATO

24” WHEEL RIMS with lock rings, 66 spoke holes.

One lock ring stretched and needs attention. Phone Robert 027 367 7676, rob@reunsonplumbing.co.nz for details. MEM SOUTHLAND

1952 AUSTIN A40 SPORTS J ensen body Restored 2001, has not travelled a lot of miles since. A reasonably rare model and very collectible.

Reluctant sale. Please phone 027 434 5636 for further information MEM ASHBURTON

CHERISHED ROVER 1965 P5 MK 2. Not getting driven enough so want an enthusiast to own and enjoy. Well serviced and in good order. Some flecks of rust and window seals aging. Guy Blaikie ph 027 459 5219, guy.blaikie@gmail.com.

ROOF RACK, lightweight German Engelmann brand, max load 75kg, gutter mounting range 950mm to 1320mm. Excellent condition, dismantles for shipping (original spanner included), $75. Phone 07 347 8490 or email randgmayes@gmail.com

MEM ROTORUA

AUSTIN HEALEY 100/6 1958 A fter 22 years we are 1925 FORD MODEL T, Registration Project. Also selling our super reliable Healey. Close to 50,000 1940 Austin 8 good running condition with Rego on miles of fun, mechanically in top condition, well hold. Also 1930 Graham-Paige sedan, restoration presented, all brake cylinders and components just project plus truck for parts, All offers considered .

Email Lynette redgate110@gmail.com or phone John replaced. $60,000 Alan Wills 021 087 00692.

06 751 5554 New Plymouth. MEM TARANAKI

MEM CANTERBURY

MERCEDES BENZ 280 CONVERTIBLE w ith hard top, 1996. 87,000 kms silver with black leather seats very original. $12,500. Ph Gordon Blackwood 04 902 1081.

MEM WELLINGTON

1928 MODEL A FORD LEATHERBACK SEDAN PROJECT. Rolling chassis with virtually all other parts and a reconditioned motor. More pics available on request. Offers over $10k considered.Phone 022 1614165 or email kelvin_smyth@hotmail.com

WOODEN WHEELS m ade for your metal­ work. Steam-bent felloes, any shape spokes.

New beaded rims available in some sizes. Phone Vern Jensen 06 323 3868, 16 Osborne Terrace, Feilding, sandvo@callsouth.net.nz MEM

48 Beaded Wheels

VETERAN SUNBEAM PARTS Bosch dual mags oil side and tail lights lucas side and head lights bulb lucas and klaxon horns. Ph 07 3484227.

MARKET PLACE

1941 CRASH FIRE TENDER First to do service in New Zealand for Civil Defence at Mangere. 1956, Sold to Amberley County Council as fire tender.

Purchased 1978, full restoration started in 2008.

Offers over $40,000.

For further information: Email: graeme.hyd@xtra.co.nz.

Phone: 027 459 4742 VINTAGE ENGINE SHORT BLOCKS WAIRARAPA VCC PARTS SHED. Recent arrival. full running gear for Morris 1000 plus most body We can in most cases rebuild your short panels. Large stock of sealed beam headlights in block using modern shell bearings, various sizes. Please enquire if you are looking for new pistons and rebuilt oil pump. any parts. Ph Frank, 06 3797167 or email Jeff ( j.

Please contact us for more information. percy@xtra.co.nz ) or Barry ( ljandbjwells@gmail.

M S Coombes Ltd, 344 St Asaph Street, co.nz ).

Christchurch 8011, Ph 03 366 7463, email: info@mscoombes.co.nz VINTAGE AND VETERAN CAR MARKETING. PAIR CYL. HEADS 21 STUDS, p air cyl. heads 24 studs. R-R, Bentley switch cluster. 120 old style bulbs. Continental F227 cyl. head, 1930 Chrysler 4 door sedan, open to offers on all. Photos available. forkpart@xtra.co.nz RUSHMORE MOTORS can market your Veteran, Vintage or Classic car immediately. We have great success with most makes, and listing a vehicle 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. vintagecars@xtra.co.nz

I maintain a database of buyers and sellers of veteran, vintage and post vintage vehicles, placing buyers and sellers together. Free to list. No hidden costs. No computer, no problem. Just call me.

Whether buying or selling a veteran, vintage or post vintage vehicle, contact Les at Rushmore Motors Ltd. Phone 027 224 5045. Inc. Sat. vintagecars@xtra.co.nz Free catalogue available.

Finance may be available on most vehicles.

VINTAGE CAR REPAIRS

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 PENRITE ENGINE COOLANT WAIRARAPA VCC PARTS SHED. Keen to reduce A colourless hybrid-organic non glycol based our large stock of engines, g/boxes, body panels corrosion inhibitor designed specifically for use and other parts. Please enquire. Engines include in Veteran, Edwardian, Vintage and Classic Car Jag XJ6, Chev 4, Vauxhall 10, 12, Singer 9, Austin cooling systems. M S Coombes Ltd, 344 St Asaph 10, A50, Standard 8, 10, Mercedes(250?). G/boxes Street, Christchurch 8011, Ph 03 366 7463, email: include Fiat 132, Morris, Singer, Ford 10, A10, info@mscoombes.co.nz Zephyr auto, Trimatic. Panels include range of English doors guards, bonnets etc, 1952 Chev and SET OF FOUR HOOD WOODS (NEW). S uitable for 1938 Nash bonnets. Ph Frank, 06 3797167 or tourer or roadster, $400. Set of tyres, suitable email Barry (ljandbjwells@gmail.com) or for rolling chassis, 19” $200 for set or $50 each. Jeff (j.percy@xtra.co.nz).

Ph Terry 03 434 3199, 027 6156 299. North Otago.

TYRES – STOP PRESS – All future orders for new classic and vintage tyres from USA will be increased DRIVING OUR HISTORY by 10%. Existing stock at old prices. Most sizes available, cross ply, black and whitewalls, some Please advise National Office of any second-hand. Ph Jack 03 352 6672, 0274 322 041. changes of address or sales/purchases of vehicles.

MEM CANTERBURY Email admin@vcc.org.nz or post details to VCCNZ, PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140

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 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 VALVES exhaust quality stainless for vintage engines. Available in blank form or machined to size required. George Calder, 307 Hoon Hay Rd, Christchurch. Phone 03 338 5372 or email gandkcalder@gmail.com

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

Beaded Wheels 49

MARKET PLACE

1937 NASH LAFAYETTE V ery nice condition with many factory extras inc o/drive, radio, heater and wheel spats. Fully refurbished interior, w/wall tyres.

Good usable classic. Reg & WoF. Asking $24,500. Ph Ray 027 696 2965. MEM WEST COAST

SCINTILLA 8 LEAD MAGNETO, $300. Bosch 4 cyl 1948 BONUS PICKUP I n original condition. Painted magneto, good spark, $250. Lucas s/engine magneto approx 40 years ago. Mechanical is good condition, 1 cyl, overhauled, $300. Phone Neil 021 0233 3948. ‘39 Mercury motor 65k. Phone Noel 06 756 6635.

MEM CENTRAL HAWKE’S BAY

MEM TARANAKI

1962 SINGER VOGUE MK1. B een restored over the last years. Candy Apple Red with cream roof.

No rust. Full engine rebuild on a 1725cc Sunbeam motor. 4 Speed with overdrive. All new suspension components, brakes, wiring. Drives superbly.

Ph Regan 027 328 6405. $20,000 ono

1929 ESSEX SUPER SIX RESTORATION PROJECT. MODEL A FORD REBUILT SHOCK ABSORBERS, Most parts are available to complete this car. Open as original. With exchange $210 each, or $240 to offers. Contact, Murray Phone, 027 649 1377. outright. Arms and all connecting parts available.

MEM GORE Postal delivery extra. Will be at Canterbury Branch Swap Meet, site no. 153. Phone Jack 03 352 6672, 0274 322 041 Christchurch. MEM CANTERBURY

1927 ERSKINE STUDEBAKER 2 door, 6 cylinder, PERSONALISED PLATES These plates are listed on RHD 1930 FORD MODEL A ROADSTER Reg & WoF. less than 10k on reconditioned motor, repaint, Trademe at $300, starting bid, no reserve. Please go: First registered New Zealand. Body off restoration, unholstery. Been a VCC life vehicle. $20k trademe browse, put in ‘Personalised Plates’, then repainted on zinc coated base. Rumble seat. Good Contact Harold 03 332 1418, pa.garlick2@gmail.com put the plate-number in the internal category search mechanical condition. Some upholstery restoration.

MEM CANTERBURY engine. All plates are pairs and in ‘as new’ condition.

Ph 09 818 9085, 021 276 1705, mgpickard@xtra.co.nz Phone or text 021 950 745 Gerhard. MEM CANTERBURY

MEM AUCKLAND

AUCKLAND BRANCH SPARES h as several glass tubes which could make sight glasses in veteran dash mounted oiler boxes. Dimensions 178mm long by 20mm wide. could be shortened by experience glazier. $5.00 per tube plus freight, contact 027 277 2108

50 Beaded Wheels

1974 PEUGOT 504 Very original rare classic car. TQ SPEEDWAY RACER. This TQ runs a Norton 500cc Really tidy condition. As new tyres. Runs really well. engine, an Austin 7 gearbox and Austin diff. Available Bluetooth stereo. Current Rego and WoF. Jump in are invoices for engine work, chroming, exhaust and drive it. $8,000. ono Phone Dave 027 516 4942. manufacture. Spares include, diff, diff head, gear

MEM SOUTH CANTERBURY boxes, shocks, original exhaust header pipes, rims, tyres and tubes. Priced at $6995. Contact Rushmore Motors 027 2245 045 inc a/h.

MARKET PLACE

WANTED 1934 CHEVROLET MASTER ENGINE p referably FLATHEAD FORD V8 COLUMN CHANGE GEARBOX including head, bellhousing, flywheel, distributor out of a 1940-48 right or left hand drive car. and manifolds. Cracked block, seized or rusty Must have good gears. Phone 03 208 7932, no problem. Phone or text 021 1811 833 Philip. stewyq@farmside.co.nz. MEM GORE

MEM NORTH SHORE

1939 FORD DELUXE COUPE, I ’m looking for bumpers, front bumper irons and the left rear quarter panel stainless trim strip. Ph Nick 027 492 4929, 04 526 6102, nicholas.more@xtra.co.nz

EARLY ‘80S TOYOTA CRESSIDA BODY PARTS. D o you know anyone who may be wrecking one of these? (someone clobbered my car). Ring 06 343 2422 or email geofferylawson@gmail.com

MEM WANGANUI

1939 PONTIAC all parts wanted for 1939 Pontiac.

VOLKSWAGEN KOMBI VAN w anted to buy. Phone Ph 03 216 5298, blacktowhite@kinect.co.nz 027 824 7715 MEM ASHBURTON

MEM SOUTHLAND

MESSERSCHMITT, B MW Isetta, or Citroen 2CV, in any condition. Something to keep me busy for years.

Phone 021 102 8717 MEM HAWKE’S BAY

ACE FOUR CYLINDER MOTOR CYCLE PARTS. Cylinder barrels, camshaft, Schebler carburettor DLX 16 or similar, oil pump, connecting rods.

Graeme Williams 027 208 8651 or 03 215 9565 gwen.graeme@xtra.co.nz MEM SOUTHLAND ARIEL 600 OHC SQUARE FOUR 1933-35 parts wanted. Main items are wheels, primary chaincase, fork parts and steering head bearing dished cups. Any other parts considered. Phone Steve 0276165211 or email mrcrimpy11@hotmail.com

MEM WEST COAST BSA B33. Plunger frame model in good condition and excellent runner. Txt John 027 217 7978.

Email jwwd@xtra.co.nz MEM SOUTHLAND

8 INCH MILLER MOTORCYCLE HEADLIGHT wanted as fitted to Velocette, Rudge and others. Any condition. Even just parts. 021 672 559. MEM NELSON

BUICK 1925 STD 6 COUPE BONNET, windscreen frame, rear mudguard step plates to access rumble seat. Ph Les 03 488 3776. MEM OTAGO

TYRES TWO MATCHING 5 .25 x 5.50 x 20 must be WoF standard and tail light complete or bucket only. Chrysler 1925 as per photo. Phone Magoo 021 754 656. MEM BAY OF PLENTY

CITROEN 2CV, restored original or a project phone Wayne Richards on 027 240 4521 FORD V8 1935 OR 1936 - luggage rack or part of wanted. Also looking for clock which goes in glove box door 60mm, 65mm rods. Phone Grahame 03 542 3847. MEM NELSON HONDA S800 COUPE, a nything considered.

Contact Mike 021 086 99495, rocketfly88@mail. COMPLETE FLOAT w ith bracket and needle wanted. com.

MEM NORTHLAND Phone 021 0233 3948. MEM CENTRAL HAWKE’S BAY HUMBERETTE 1914 WATER-COOLED CYLINDER, Passenger side (or pair). Any repairable condition considered. brooks@goanna.tv Ph. 61 412 720 035

INFO WANTED D oes anyone know where this can be repaired/renewed. Contact Bill Ridder at njwjridder@kinect.co.nz or 027 335 0688.

MEM ASHBURTON

MGB ROADSTER, hood frame and a hood or bits, any condition. Ph Bill 06 758 4244. MEM TARANAKI RADIOMOBILE RADIO o r similar wanted for 1960s or 1970s English car (MG). Please call or text 027 332 6874 or email amisfieldbay@gmail.com

MEM OTAGO SOCKET WANTED, 4 1mm X 3/4 drive. From ETC INDUSTRIAL 3/4 DRIVE SOCKETS SET, branded TONE. And a 16” extension bar. Jim Madgwick, ph 027 339 8672 Matamata. MEM WAIKATO TILLITSON CARBURETTOR MODEL R6AF. Ph 06 878 9736. MEM HAWKE’S BAY

BING CARBURETTOR FOR 1950/60S BMW. I have WANTED: COLEMAN KEROSENE p ressure lanterns. the right hand one and am after the left hand one Any condition/model or size. Keen to connect with (float bowl on other side to one in picture). It is a any other collectors. Contact Stephen 027 270 5980 24mm carb, but I would be happy with any size near farmall@xtra.co.nz MEM NELSON. to get me going as long as it is a vertical flange fit.

022 186 2559, 07 322 8885, acollins@farmside.co.nz.

MEM EBOP

TRIUMPH TR3-4 ENGINE BLOCK o r complete engine wanted in restorable condition. Must be the later block with external cam bearing locating screws. Gregor Tel 021 2559533; wgkmg@aol.com

MEM BANKS PENINSULA

Beaded Wheels 51

SWAPMEETS AND RALLIES

All vehicles entered in National And International Rallies must have a current VehicIe Identity Card (VIC).

Cancelled events:, Horowhenua Swap Meet, Northland Swap Meet

SAVE THE DATE

PRELIMINARY NOTICE Pre

Daffodil Rally for Cancer

• Blenheim • 11 – 15 March 2023

SUNDAY 21 AUGUST 2022

To find out more about your local Daffodil Rally for Cancer, visit

www.vcc.org.nz

Com e join t and he fu All a n ge

vehic s and les t are welc ypes ome !

‘56

National Rally for all MGs from Old No.1 to TF 1500 (MGAs also invited) Contact: bovett.croft@gmail.com

• phone 03 384 9534

THE ULTIMATE TIME TRIALS 2022

Three event options on closed tarmac roads Central North Island from Taranaki to Hawke’s Bay 5 Day Time Trial: Wednesday 25 to Sunday 29 May 2022 2 Day Time Trial: Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May 2022 Upper South Island: Nelson, Marlborough, Golden Bay 2 Day Time Trial Labour Weekend: Saturday 22 Sunday 23 October 2022 Refer: www.targa.nz for details.

Contact: Rod Corbett rod.corbett88@gmail.com 027 433 8772

Photo : Proshotz Photograph

Looking for a new challenge?

Get race ready for the next VCC speed event Any member entering a VCC Speed Event must hold a current VCC Historic Racing Licence (or Motorsport NZ Licence), and VCC Logbook (or Motorsport NZ Logbook), for the vehicle concerned. Vehicles entering these events must also have a current VIC. If you currently hold a VCC Historic Racing Licence, please keep an eye on the expiry date and if it needs renewing, please complete the Historic Race Licence Renewal Form and forward it, along with the payment and a new one will be issued.

Photo : Neville Bailey

52 Beaded Wheels

DRIVING OUR HISTORY

TRADE DIRECTORY BEADED W HEELS

CLASSIC, VIN TAGE AND VETERAN MOTOR

ING FOR OV

ER 70 YEA

RS

CLASSIC, VINTAGE AND VETERAN MOTORING FOR 70 YEARS No. 361 Decem ber 2019/January

2020 NEW ZEALAN D’S FOREMOST

No. 352 June/July 2018

HISTORICAL MOTORING MAGAZINE $7.95

NEW ZEALAND’S FOREMOST HISTORICAL MOTORING MAGAZINE $7.95

Repairers and Restorers of Vintage and Classic Instruments Speedo Cables repaired or made new to order 13 Fleming Street, Onehunga, Auckland

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CLASSIC RACING AND TIME TRIAL ACTION FROM RUAPUNA AND CHELSEA 9 418979 000012

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HOW TO EN JOY YOUR CL

ASSIC CAR BMW ISETT A | HUMBER SCOTT MO TORCYCLE MAGAZIN E OF THE VINT AGE CAR CLUB

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Beaded Wheels 53

CARBURETTOR SPECIALISTS

Hamco

INSTRUMENT REPAIRS

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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

UPPER CLASSICS NEW ZEALAND

Experienced expert technician Bruce Chaytor ph 021 631 700 Nicolette Prangley 021 166 8374 nap.chaytor@gmail.com 5 Gibbs Place, Kinloch, RD1, Taupo 3377

We Specialise In • Custom Made Spokes • Speedway Wheels Rim and Frame Lining • Wheel Building & Truing • Complete Wheel Restoration

Vintage – Classic – Modern Craig & Debbie Hambling

Phone 06 324 8345 Mobile 027 231 7864

410 Green Road, RD 6, Palmerston North Day or Night

MARLBOROUGH MAGNETOS

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FOR THE REPAIR & RESTORATION OF ALL CLASSIC OR VINTAGE CARS & MOTORCYCLES

Exchange armatures available

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

Feature your business here Advertising in Beaded Wheels puts your company in front of every member of the Vintage Car Club (and a whole lot of other readers as well).

Our trade directory section advertising starts from just $65 per issue.

Phone 03 332 3531 or email us at beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz NEW ZEALAND’S FOREMOST HISTORICAL MOTORING MAGAZINE

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN

JOHN L GODDARD TROPHY FOR ACHIEVEMENT

See page 35 for full details on nominating a recipient for this year’s premier club award

NOMINATIONS CLOSE 8 JULY 2022

54 Beaded Wheels

OLD AUTO RUBBER products for the car restorer

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LUBRICANTS full range in stock

Listings for over 800 models

VINTAGE AUTO PARTS phone or fax 03 359 8592

Gary and Ruth Arps • PO Box 5369 Papanui, Christchurch 3482

IDLE TORQUE A round up of events, personalities and branch gossip from VCCNZ branches around the country

ASHBURTON

ISLA JONES

We welcome new members; Michael Hanley and Deborah Keenan – 1948 Buick, John Ward and Jill Blacklock 1964 Hillman Minx and 1978 Honda Gold Wings, Cliff Trainer – 1953 Vauxhall Velox, Patrick, Grace and Nickola Forde – 1968 Ford Mustang.

On 7 December David Oakley’s preChristmas run of 12 cars met in Waimate.

Full report in Rally Snippets.

Our combined Spring Rally and New Year’s Day run saw a good turnout of cars from old to modern. A run over the plains and afternoon tea at Peter and Louis Etheridge’s lovely garden. Peter gave us an informal talk on the history of their magnificent home and grounds.

A barbecue back at the clubrooms was followed by the presentation of trophies.

Ted Allen’s magnificent collection of around 1200 model vehicles in eight cabinets are now installed in our museum, looking great, and proving to be an interesting attraction.

Because of Covid our Chairman’s run and PV/PVW run have been cancelled, as has our fundraising Swap Meet in May.

▲ Ashburton: Some of the cars on our branch New Year’s Day run.

▲ Ashburton: Rod McKimmie receiving his prize from Diane Ross.

Ashburton: Ted Allen’s collection in branch museum.

▲ Auckland: Douglas Ormrod, 1961 Manurhin scooter.

Auckland: Graeme Crawley’s 1954 Ariel 500. ▼ Auckland: Lucas, 1934 Chevrolet.

▲

Auckland: Horseshoe mascots at the veteran section meeting.

AUCKLAND

JOHN STOKES

It is with deep regret that I record the death of George Mihaljevich, George was nationally known as a radiator expert who could repair or rebuild any form of vintage or veteran radiator. His most challenging, perhaps, was the radiator for the Southward Museum’s Mercedes Benz 540K. He was also known for his high standards of restoration on the 1919 Hudson, 1924 Renault 45 and 1912 Hudson and the preservation of his very original 1938 Hudson. George was awarded the John L Goddard Trophy in 2011 and achieved his 60 year award in 2020. The branch’s condolences go to Laurine, Tony, Ivan and families.

Beaded Wheels 55

Motorcycles: Graham Viall, organiser of the Auckland motorcycle show, spoke at the January meeting. Peter Alderdice won the Montague Trophy at the Vero Festival.

Graeme Crawley has completed his Ariel 500 restoration. Douglas Ormrod has finished his 1961 Manurhin scooter.

Veteran: the December meeting was well attended and a wide variety of issues were discussed. Gavin Welch persistently drives his 1912 Model T pickup to the meeting and takes on Auckland’s motorway network and the harbour bridge both ways.

Vintage: At the January section meeting Neil Lucas made an interesting point about modern spark plugs.

Apparently they are not glazed between the centre electrode and the ceramic insulator and this can lead to early failure.

Jim Boag has bought an Essex Four roadster.

PV PWV: Neil Lucas has completed his 1934 Chevrolet Junior coach; it still features original upholstery.

BANKS PENINSULA DON GERRARD We welcome new member Tim Stace with a 1960 Austin Healey 3000 Mk1. We congratulate Russell and Brenda Yates for taking out the P60 Award at the National Festival Competitive Day Time Trial in their ‘62 Volkswagen Karman Ghia. Well done to our other members that made the journey to New Plymouth; the Gills in their Austin 7 Chummy, the Keenans in their 1936 Talbot, Kate and Meg Pidgeon in the family TR2 and Louise Russell and Michael Pidgeon in the Mercedes 280.

An update on Brad Govan’s refurb of his 1922 Sunbeam 16/40 is that all is going well and it should be ready for Irishman.

The 1913 Panhard Levassor is now ready for compliance - Andrew Anderson owned the car 70 years ago and has given it a test drive and registered his approval.

At Levels Raceway in February the racing was close with the Brabham BT2(FJ) of Wellingtonian John Rapley the quickest, chased by the Lotus 23B Rep of Mark Barrett and Jim Bennett’s Furi Impulse.

The Daimler Special of Phil Thompson had a great tussle with the Cowie Spangenelli Holden and the extra grunt of Paul Coory’s Chevy 327 V8 just kept him ahead of Ashworth’s SP250 all weekend.

Levels was followed by the Classic Speedfest at Teretonga. Great performances in every race saw the top six places hotly contested by Neil Longman

56 Beaded Wheels

in the Mallock, Royce Bayer in his Bello, the Haines Frangapelli Holden and the Barrett’s Lotus 23 with Paul Coghill’s Jaguar Special eventually winning two and the Furi Impulse, one.

BAY OF PLENTY

DONN WHITE

Regretfully our branch has had to cancel our popular monthly club nights as numbers usually exceed 100. However, we’ve been thinking outside the square in order to retain some sort of cohesiveness within the branch. Our 2021 Restoration Award was deferred last year but recently our judges, Alistair Jones and Ron Elton, have been making house calls in order to find a winner. This resulted in a pristine 1974 Wolseley Six auto belonging to Stephen and Janice Belcher being declared the winner. Stephen has literally rebuilt the car and his fantastic result is the result of thousands of hours of work.

Our branch then scheduled a series of afternoon Shed Raids earlier in February and after taking aspects of Covid into account we were then stymied by Cyclone Dovi’s 60 knot winds which made travel nearly impossible. Consequently, the Shed Raids to the writer’s venue and that of Bert Dove’s were moved forward by a fortnight.

This proved to be an excellent choice as Sunday 27 February was a brilliant day in the Bay of Plenty and the turnout by members was excellent. People took in a BMC and exotic Japanese Supercar collection at Donn and Chris White’s residence, followed by a comprehensive Americana collection at Bert Dove’s shed, then a barbecue at Branch Captain Ken and Diane Frew’s residence. Covid protocol was adhered to, and this was made easier by much of the activity being staged outdoors thanks to the cooperative weather.

CANTERBURY

TONY BECKER

Our summer programme concluded with our Branch Annual Rally on 26-27 February. Club Captain Katryna Shaw and her sub-committee of helpers laid on a two-day weekend of motoring for all vehicle categories. Sunday’s socialising ended in great spirit at Cutler Park.

After morning Field Tests, Parts Shed Boys enticed 65 members to enjoy their substantial menu. Congratulations for Overall and Field Test honours went to Tony and Annette Meikle in their Triumph 2500TC. Taranaki’s Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring attracted 56 Canterbury

Branch entries. Members reported a well enjoyed experience, particularly social bonding with kindred folk. Everyone expressed pleasure at the memorable main street display of VCC vehicles. In February Neil Shaskey made good use of Cutler Park for the Commercial Annual Rally start and prizegiving finish that ended with afternoon tea at The Barn. Moped and Clip-on Runs took place in February as well as the Annual Boot Fair which had to move indoors due to a particularly wet Saturday morning. An impressive line-up of beautiful bikes greeted the reduced gathering of members for the first Noggin´n´natter evening of 2022.

The following week, 84 members of 9-90s blew-the-cobwebs for its first motoring event of the new year. A North Canterbury excursion finished at our McLeans Island near neighbour home base, the Wolseley Club, hosted by President Colin Hey and members.

CENTRAL HAWKE’S BAY JOHN FOOT On 3 December nine members travelled to Kimbolton for lunch at members Glynn and Cathy Clements’ property. After lunch we set out on the very picturesque route that Glynn and Cathy had plotted to get us to Taihape to take part in the annual Gumboot Rally. On 15 January 13 cars and crews travelled to Feilding to meet with a few Manawatu Branch members to travel to New Plymouth for the Festival of Motoring. Along the way we had a stop for lunch to view a privately owned Tiger Moth and replica Spitfire aircraft.

Our members were impressed with the festival and would like to have another one sometime in the future. Some of our members took part in the Model T Club rally at Masterton following the Festival.

A group calling themselves “The Torque Heads” has formed within the branch and meet weekly for morning coffee and a chat. On Saturday 8 February vehicles were on display with some members in period dress at the inaugural Art Deco Farmers Market held in Waipukurau. Our monthly run which had been organised by Iain and Eva Gollan was cancelled due to poor weather at Porangahau and Whangeahu beaches. However, four cars travelled further up the coast to Blackhead beach and had lunch on the beach just before the Southerly weather with rain arrived.

▲ Bay of Plenty: Stephen and Janice Belcher won the deferred 2021 Restoration Award with their pristine 1974 Wolseley Six Auto. Photo Donn White. ▼ Bay of Plenty: There was plenty to see at our recent Shed Raids what with a BMC and Japanese Supercar collection at Donn and Chris White’s residence which was followed by an extensive collection of early Americana at Bert Dove’s shed.

Photo Brian Pratt.

Banks Peninsula: The sight and sound of the ACE III has been missed during the car’s lengthy rebuild.

Canterbury: 9-90s group picnic at Wolseley Club, McLeans Island

▲ Bay of Plenty: Don and Chris White’s Japanese supercars display. ▼ Central Hawke’s Bay: Gavin Harris, Ross Mitchell and Michael Harding at the Market Day.

Central Hawke’s Bay: Bernard and Chris Murphy’s Triumph Spitfire with a Spitfire that really flies, Tiger Moth in background.

Beaded Wheels 57

CENTRAL OTAGO

DON YEAMAN

Our January Swap Meet, our Moped Rally in March and the Arrowtown Autumn Festival Rally in April have all been cancelled. At branch level we are trying to carry on as close to normal as we can and thus an impromptu Sunday Run to Ophir on 16 January was organized.

About ten cars attended with 22 people all looking for a shady spot for afternoon tea. We had a good variety of vehicles including a Mini, TR2, two Citroen Light 15s, Triumph 2.5PI, Jag XK150, Daimler 2.5, and an enormous 1959 Cadillac.

Our next outing was a fish and chip run to Jackson Bay on 13 February. Jackson Bay is on the West Coast about 162 km from Wanaka. Approximately 15 vehicles gathered at the Lake Hawea Service station where we had a staggered start to prevent the cars from bunching up on the road along Lakes Hawea and Wanaka. A quick stop for coffee at Makarora and then up over the Haast Pass and down to the Haast Junction on the West Coast where we turned south and carried on until the end of the road, about 35 km. We were greeted at The Craypot by sisters Dayna and Nicole. The scenery was fantastic. The trip home was at your own leisure.

EASTERN BAY OF PLENTY

BRUCE SEDDON

We had our Chairman’s Run in midJanuary for those who were unable to make it to New Plymouth for the International Rally. Chairman Les Costar arranged an enjoyable outing to Opotiki with a visit to the Opotiki Museum which includes Shalfoon’s General Store. Shalfoon and Francis’ grocery and hardware store, opened in the late 1800s, contains 100 year old shelves still loaded with the fittings and merchandise left in place when the business was abruptly closed as a going concern years ago.

On Waitangi Day we ran our annual East Coast Rally, followed by Gisborne’s Three Rivers Rally the following weekend.

As usual both events were held in sunny weather and covered the country roads easily accessed in both regions.

Eastern Bay’s rally provided a circuit of Whakatane’s urban area, followed by real country roads south of Taneatua in the Ruatoki farmland before reaching out east to around the Ohiwa harbor and then returning to Ohope and Whakatane.

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Margaret and Phil Leaming from the host club took the overall honours.

A dozen EBOP members drove to Gisborne the next weekend to enjoy their hospitality and dusty country roads.

Highlights were Anaura Bay and Tolaga Bay. We took a walk out to the end of the 600m long Tolaga Bay wharf to watch the locals diving and bombing into the sparkling water of the bay.

FAR NORTH

DAVE DUIRS

Although two of our entrants to the Vero rally had to leave their cars behind they still participated, and we all had a memorable experience. Some of our vehicles played up but in great VCC spirit, they were soon fixed.

January’s evening meeting was rescheduled to after lunch followed by a barbecue picnic and swim at a neighbour’s beach, a popular move.

The branch has commissioned some NZVCC/Far North car pennants which look smart and should help identify who we are as a group.

After a bit of a lull the monthly Caffeine and Classics at the local beach resort has been rekindled with good turnouts of a variety of vehicles.

The Deverral’s planned a great summer run starting at Awanui, heading south in the sandhills where the large dairy operations looked very green for summer. Then inland through old Herkino and ultimately along rough gravel to the Pawarenga harbour. It is a large valley with several marae and magnificent churches on prominent hills. We had to negotiate cattle, potholes and dust to the beach of crystal clear water and wild horses in the tide. A local retreat provided a true country lunch feast followed by a visit to a couple growing chillies commercially and another couple making exotic chairs for a niche market, it’s amazing just where our old vehicles take us.

GORE

▲ Central Otago: Fish and chips at The Craypot, Jackson Bay.

BILL SHEDDAN

At the February meeting we welcomed new member Jean Smale.

Eleven cars attended our Picnic Run on 9 January. Organized by Rob Bell, the destination was Lumsden via a circuitous route on sealed roads. Lunch stop and prize-giving was on the lawn outside the historic Lumsden Railway Station. The winners of the multiple answer questions were Bruce and Pauline Price.

▲ Central Otago: Gathering at Lake Hawea Motors for the Jackson Bay run.

▲ EBOP: Shalfoon & Francis Ltd Ford barrel nose at Opotiki Museum. ▼ Gore: Ken Youngson high fives his new buddy.

▲ Central Otago: Lunch stop at Pitches Store, Ophir.

▲ Far North: Summer run briefing.

▲ EBOP: Branch cars outside Opotiki museum.

▲ EBOP:Branch cars outside Deluxe Theatre in Opotiki main street.

▲ Far North: Vero FOHM, Duirs’ Bugger!

Far North: Pawarenga entrants.

▼ EBOP: Great mix of cars lining up for EBOP rally.

▼ Gore: Mary Tremaine tempting fate.

▼ EBOP: Mk1 Zephyr, Holden Vacationer, MG BGT and Land Rover Series I at EBOP rally.

Beaded Wheels 59

The pleasurable task of recording the history New Zealand’s city traffic departments is in the very capable hands of Glenn Cockroft. In 1973 he was a traffic cadet with the Invercargill City Council Traffic Department and was employed as a traffic officer until the Department was disbanded around 1998. His collection was the destination of the Tuesday Ramble where 13 of our cars and contents met up for lunch on the lawn at his Otatara home.

We then had a look through his large new shed where there were Traffic Department motor bikes and cars plus uniforms and other memorabilia from that bygone era.

With the cancellation of organized runs thanks to Covid-19 Keith Nunn took it on himself to keep interest in the club foremost and organized a run followed by a potluck tea at the clubrooms on Saturday 26 February.

HAWKE’S BAY

ESTHER SMITH

Even though the Art Deco was cancelled local events are keeping us busy. We had an Art Deco Rally for the local members, a much smaller event but still an opportunity to get dressed up and head out for a picnic in the park. The route enabled us to show off the cars as it wound through the centre of Napier, and then a drive through the Princess Alexander rest home where residents turned out in force to admire the vehicles.

The branch committee are forging ahead and planning the usual club events, such as our club runs, club night and the ever-popular Kitchen nights. We have had some really interesting speakers at our recent Club nights which reflect the interests or should I say passions and depth of knowledge of our members.

Paul Anderson, our Club Captain, has the job of arranging these speakers and he is doing a great job of persuading them to share their stories with us. Last month we had our Assistant Parts Manager, John Durry, tell us about the restoration of his steam locomotive which he keeps at the Silverstream Railway.

MANAWATU

BRYAN ABRAHAM

On a dismal Waitangi Weekend which saw swollen rivers, flooding, road closures and trees and powerlines down across much of the country, the Manawatu Branch Annual Veteran Rally went ahead with all but one participant swapping their

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veteran car for a more modern vintage car or even their family or business modern.

The rally route started at the clubrooms and passed through Bunnythorpe then headed west to a farm near Glen Oroua.

After a bit of cross-country on a wellformed but very wet farm track picnic lunches were enjoyed in the shelter of a cottage. The route then went to Rongotea where participants spent some time viewing a couple of ‘sheds’, after which it was back to the Clubrooms for a barbecue tea.

At the prize-giving and final dinner night of The Vero Festival of Historic Motoring the Manawatu Branch was presented with the award for the highest percentage of members attending the rally at 22%.

In early March Covid took its toll on the branch’s planned diamond jubilee celebrations. A postponement was decided on with a date later in the year proposed when the event can hopefully be run without disruption.

MARLBOROUGH

CARROLL WIBLIN

▲ Hawke’s Bay: Richard and Hilary Anderson’s 1922 Essex.

▲ Hawke’s Bay: Enjoying the shade, while the cricketers

enjoy the outfield .

We welcome new members Graeme and Linda Cowley - 1928 Model A and 1952 Landrover, and Giles Draper and Wendy Simonson - Triumph and BSA motorcycles.

Although our annual Heritage Day was cancelled the societies within Brayshaw Park decided to go ahead with a watereddown version which saw a steady stream of people through the Park.

Our trip to Anakiwa for our annual New Year’s barbecue was well supported.

Around 20 cars took advantage of a beautiful day, and over 50 people enjoyed the barbecue lunch. We truly appreciate wonderful hosts Ian and Pat Barnes ▲ Manawatu: Parked up before the Veteran Rally, the allowing us to visit for this event.

1932 Chevrolet BB Confederate pickup of the rally There was a visit to view Shirley organiser (Derek Haycock).

Hawtin’s Christmas decorations earlier in the year. Shirley has been an avid collector ▼ Marlborough: Some of the vehicles on the run to of these decorations for many years, so Anakiwa. they are a sight to behold.

The motorcycle group enjoyed a trip around the Queen Charlotte Drive, even though the road was down to one way in places where the road has subsided and left great gaping holes. There was a great turnout of motorcycles with Honda being the preferred bike of the day. Having said that, there was a Harley Knucklehead and a couple of Vincents among the various other vehicles. A great day’s outing. The intrepid bikers also enjoyed a ride out to Ward which once again was well attended.

Hawke’s Bay: Art Deco picnic - getting the picnic out.

▲ Manawatu: Veteran Rally over and tea at the clubrooms. ▼ Marlborough: Lunch at Dobsons.

▼ Manawatu: Neil Farrer in his 1914 Rover delivery van passing through Bunnythorpe on the Veteran Rally.

▲ Marlborough: Members enjoing lunch at Dobsons. ▼ Marlborough: Perfect weather at Ian and Pats for a BBQ in Anakiwa.

▼ Marlborough: Run to Anakiwa.

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NORTHLAND

TREVOR REILLY

A fond farewell from the current Northland Branch reporter. A change of residence and garage space has meant that the specialist vintage cars that have been part of our lives in the club for over 30 years are now in the past. The club will still form part of our social outings with their monthly morning teas, midweek and monthly runs but it will be in a modern vehicle. The Wednesday Parts shed socialising is most important for views and information from others.

Reporting for Beaded Wheels has been a privilege that someone in the group will pick up. In the time we have been in Whangarei we have seen many members rise to the positions of responsibility as the need arises and ensure the branch continues to be in good heart. Serving on the committee and nominated positions gives a sense of achievement far above that of a regular member. I would encourage all members to be available to serve in some role. We all have something to offer, and encouragement of the younger members is most important.

I may have sold the vehicles, parts, tools and equipment but the knowledge gained over the years by doing the work myself with assistance from others, stays with me and is available to be shared.

The monthly morning teas and runs have been well attended even during these difficult times. Keep up the great work and interest that makes our groups want to be out and about in our special vehicles.

NORTH SHORE RICHARD BAMPTON We welcome new members David Street, John and Sharyn Pearson and Charles Armstrong.

We don’t do much in January, but Max Pople, in his lovely and rare 1986 Jaguar XJC coupe came to see a Vintage Austin Register run off from Kahikitea Flat Road to the Kauri Museum in Matakohe. The following month the NSVCC followed the same instructions and enjoyed a scenic route along the Kaipara Coast Highway, spotting the towering sculptures at Gibbs Farm in the distance, the wonderful view of the Kaipara Harbour from the lookout north of Tauhoa, breakfast in Wellsford, the not-too-challenging gravel Mountain Road and a fascinating visit to the museum.

Several NSVCC members attended the VCC International Rally in New Plymouth

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and have reported back that it was both enjoyable and well run.

Around 30 vehicles and 40 members of the Hibiscus Rodders enjoyed a visit to our premises in February, bringing with them some interesting cars.

The members’ bay has yielded up its first project – John Higham’s Ford Model A being started up and driven home 28 years after water was found in the sump. It was given a good going-over by four Model A enthusiasts, John Castle, Bill Duffy, Robert Brown and Garry Learmonth. The next vehicle – Tony Sparkes Riley RMA – is already ensconced and, having been purchased as an unfinished project, is undergoing the finishing touches applied by a small team of assistants. What a fantastic facility and how generous of members to assist others to get their cars roadworthy.

ROTORUA

RONALD MAYES

We were fortunate in being able to to have our regular branch meeting in February at which Terry Fitzpatrick presented his rare 1973 BMW 2002 Tii saloon. Only 2,446 right hand drive examples were built, ten of which came to New Zealand. It is thought that only three now survive here.

We missed being able to hold our 10th Lakefront Car Show in January – hopefully this will be held in the not-too-distant future, and also the Central North Island Swap Meeting in July.

Our annual Barbecue Run was held on 20 January, this time with a morning run of 80km around the scenic Ngakuru area south of Rotorua. With little traffic on the country roads apart from club cars the driving was very enjoyable. Our chairman’s 1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25 limousine made its first appearance after some serious cylinder head work and proved surprisingly nimble on the winding roads. As usual Bill and Adelai Skelton’s 1929 Austin 7 was first away and was not far behind the rest on the return to the clubrooms for lunch. We are indeed fortunate in having so many vintagefriendly roads close to Rotorua.

The mid-weekers’ January run was around Lake Rotorua and to a cafe for lunch, and in February a visit to a Siberian racing husky training establishment at Broadlands. The dogs were very friendly but apparently need to be contained when not in action – they have no homing instincts and can easily become lost.

SOUTH CANTERBURY

SHANNON STEVENSON

The Ladies Rally took place on 30 January. Organised by Gavin and Michelle Munro, the run took members out west of Timaru via Claremont and Taiko to reach Pleasant Point. The lunch venue was the olive farm of Alan and Anita Blakemore, on the hills west of Pleasant Point.

The Weekend Away, organised by Barry and Carla Barnes took place on Waitangi Weekend, attracting over 15 vehicles.

Held at Alexandra, events of the weekend included visiting the Como Villa Museum and Vineyard, Lionel Day’s restoration workshop and train, and the car collections of Nevin Gough and Colin Robb at Roxburgh.

At our February Noggin and Natter night, the guest speaker was Ron Lindsay, chairman of the New Zealand Raptor Trust.

We were saddened to hear about the passing of two of our members, Tony Roddick and Alan Hawke. Both were keen supporters of branch activities over several decades.

The Chairman’s Rally took place on 20 February, the end venue Knottingley Park, Waimate.

Cancelled events now include the Swap Meet, Branch Open Day and Mid Island Rally.

TARANAKI

COLIN JOHNSTON

Twenty-seven entrants took part in the Waitara Mini-Vin Tour Rally that is held each year in February. It was a great turnout to this popular rally which saw entrants take part in a timed trial around the country area of Lepperton over roads which took us to some steep hills and valleys with sweeping views of our Mountain. The tour starts in Waitara and finishes in Waitara. This year it was won by Bill and Mike Goble driving a 1972 Rover P6. Second place went to Willie Woods and third place to Patrick Stieller.

George and Sharron Jupp were able to enter in their 1928 Studebaker President 8 that had been off the road for a number of years. John and Meg Muter entered their newly restored 1920 Dodge.

On a sad note, the branch acknowledges the passing of Launceston (Launce) Gudgeon who was our treasurer for eight years and had been a member for just on 50 years. His contribution over those

▲ North Shore: Tony Sparkes’ Riley RMA settles into the members’ bay.

▲ Rotorua: Bill Skelton and Geoff Nitz discuss the BMW’s engine.

▲ North Shore: Max Pople’s 1986 Jaguar XJC coupe.

▲ North Shore: Maurice Whitham loading his daughter Vanessa’s 1976 Austin Mini.

North Shore: Bruce Skinner’s 1933 Pierce Arrow.

▲ Taranaki- At the finish and social gathering of the Waitara Mini - Vin Tour at 63 Broadway Waitara is Ron and Margaret Ingram’s 1929 Dodge Victory Six. ▼ South Canterbury: Nevin Gough’s 1914 Buick at Roxburgh, Weekend Away.

▲ Rotorua: Rolls-Royce and lesser mortals.

▲ South Canterbury: Historic Bakery, Millers Flat, Weekend Away.

▲ South Canterbury: Impromptu celebration of two birthdays. 80th birthday for Barry Barnes (member since 1959), 40th birthday for Shannon Stevenson on our weekend away.

South Canterbury: Jim Geddes’ 1972 Holden HQ Belmont and Don Cameron’s 1977 MGB GT, above Alexandra, Weekend Away

▲ Rotorua: Terry Fitzpatrick telling us about his BMW.

▲ North Shore: John Higham’s 1929 Ford Model A goes home.

Beaded Wheels 63

years has been appreciated. Our deepest sympathy is sent to Joan and family.

TAUPO

NEIL CHAVE

In February the Taupo Branch held the annual Open Day at Roberts Reserve in downtown Taupo. Although we had a bit of rain it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of members to bring their cars for the public to enjoy. This event was followed by our usual first of the month club breakfast.

Also, in February we held the annual summer barbecue at our clubrooms. This was a well-supported function with an excellent turnout of members to enjoy good food and good company. Regretfully with Covid impacting our daily lives the Taupo Branch as decided to cancel the annual Country Roads Rally scheduled for mid-March as the number of entries was not up to our expectations – we look forward however to seeing you all in Taupo for the March 2023 rally. We also farewelled two of our club members who have now relocated to Melbourne for family reasons. Marty and Lynn Sutherland both served the club over several years with Lynn as treasurer and Marty as committee member then club captain and more recently as chairman. We wish them well for the future.

WAIKATO

HUGH MCINALLY

The Waikato Branch is celebrating the official opening of the branch’s new workshop. Finally, the ribbon has been cut and the doors swung open.

A club member, Mr Hugh Webley, has donated a 1918 Studebaker roadster to the club the assembly of which will be

Waitemata: Lochinver Rally was once again booked to capacity. See full report in rally snippets.

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conducted in the new workshop by many of the club members. A big thanks go to the Webley family The branch is starting to compile events for the up-and-coming year.

WAIRARAPA

KEVIN BALL

AGM Visits by two national clubs added interest for Wairarapa members early in 2022. First came the Model T Club; these remarkable cars, many of them more than 100 years old, attracted a lot of attention.

Second to arrive was the Sunbeam Club, the host of brightly-coloured and sleek V8 Tigers, Rapiers and Imps and other models were a welcome sight.

A midweek run to the popular Gladston Inn was a welcome break for members.

The Gladdie is a popular watering hole for people on wheels and this run was well supported, as was our Remembrance Rally to commemorate passed members.

This consisted of a gentle run in and around Carterton, ending with a picnic at Holdsworth Lodge, at the foot of the Tararuas.

Members also enjoyed a club night run, a visit to a museum followed by dinner.

The current focus is on the upcoming Rex Porter Memorial Rally, the major branch event of the year.

WAITEMATA

ROB CHAPMAN

Members have used covid cancellations to work on their cars. Vaughan Beesley has made sterling progress on his second Ansaldo body build, while his brother Kevin has rebuilt his own Riley Kestrel motor. Brenden Lamain was able to recondition his fuel injection system on the Triumph TR6 while Max Jamieson has finished the rear section of his Riley chassis. Ian Goldingham continues work on his Lea-Francis as does Barry Howe on his Sunbeam.

Keith Humphreys has made a start on his Austin 7 and Ryan McDonald completes his front Suspension rebuild on his 1936 Riley. Jackie Goldingham is assembling information on her Triumph Spitfire anticipating a start on restoration soon. A very nice project.

Stan Smith organised a Sunday run through the Western rural boundaries of

Auckland and along Scenic Drive to a café at Huia. A fabulous two-hour drive along roads less travelled. For our first event in almost six months it was well attended.

There were a mixture of cars and good company. The lunch took longer than the run, always a good indication of a successful outing.

Lochinver, a magic weekend. A run set in the back blocks behind Lochinver Station on the Taupo-Napier Road. Hosted

by Tom and Elizabeth on their tribal land. It is a spiritual feeling as well as a motoring experience. This year it was the turn of the Fords. Seven Model As and two Ts which Terry Costello organised.

A last-minute cancellation allowed the organisers, Jacqui and Ian Goldingham, to come in their Sunbeam. The road in was very rutted from heavy rain from the week before. Passable, but only just if you did not wander into the ruts. The Fords were more than capable as was the Sunbeam, with very attentive driving. Several fords were crossed with no difficulty. Everyone was touched by the magic of the place and happy on their return to the Taupo -Napier Road that they had conquered the access road, and were also enriched with the knowledge (Matauranga) Tom had imparted to them.

WANGANUI

IAN HIGGINS

We celebrated the commencement of 2022 with a branch barbecue 12 January which attracted a great crowd of young and old.

Club Captain Frank James organised an enjoyable Sunday run to replace the cancelled annual Burma Rally. Among the 45 vehicles entered were a few entrants from other branches returning home from the Vero FOHM in New Plymouth.

Winning entrants were Alister and Nola Day all the way from Timaru. We then proceeded to honour our 97-year-old patron Alan Bates on attaining his 50-year VCC membership. Alan is still as sharp as a tack and a regular attendee at monthly meetings and branch activities, rallies, runs and working bees. National VCC President, Diane Quarrie, presented Alan with his awards. Well done, Alan. Keep on keeping on.

Speaking of the Vero, I just wanted to add my congratulations to the organisers and the New Plymouth Branch for putting together such a brilliant event. Our Branch had a sprinkling of members participating and we all loved the occasion. Awesome to

▲ Taranaki: At the afternoon tea break, Willie Woods 1957 Morris Minor and Danny Pattinson’s 1967 Ford Anglia at the Waitara Mini - Vin Tour.

▲ Wairarapa: Tauranga man Earl Otway’ beautiful 1964 Sunbeam Alpine Special coupe is the only car of this model in New Zealand it gets the Special tag because of its extra power, 97.5hp from its 2267cc 4-cylinder engine. It weighs in at 1¼ tons.

▲ Wairarapa: A cheerful sight ... Sunbeam Tigers on show in Masterton.

▲ Taranaki: John Muter’s newly restored 1920 Dodge 4 and George Jupp’s 1928 Studebaker 8 both entered in the Waitara Mini -Vin Tour rally.

▲

▲ Wairarapa: “Doris” on duty at the entrance to Cobblestones Museum.

Waikato: Opening of the new workshop.

Beaded Wheels 65

▲ Wanganui: Another of Alan Bates impressive restorations. A much-rallied 1951 Austin A40 Sports.

▲ Wanganui: Alan Bates receiving his 50-year VCC membership certificate from National VCC President Diane Quarrie. Alan is 97 years young and still going strong.

▲ Wanganui: Frank James on the right presents Alister and Nola Day from Timaru their goodies for winning the Anniversary Weekend Run.

▲

▲ Wanganui: Boys on the barbie at Wanganui Branch picnic. Club Captain Frank James (left) and his deputy Andrew Johnson presenting a sausage.

Wellsford Warkworth: Are We There Yet entrants.

▼ Wellsford Warkworth: Merv and Vicki File’s 1971 Holden HQ.

DRIVING OUR HISTORY Wellsford Warkworth: New member Peter Sinton’s Lancia Thema.

PASSING LANE In this column we acknowledge the recent passing of club members.

Information is supplied to Beaded Wheels by VCCNZ Branch Secretaries.

Crooks, David Wellington Fahey, Martin Ex-Wellington Hadler, Austin Banks Peninsula Hawke, Alan South Canterbury MacLean, Ian Wellington Mihaljevich, George Auckland Roddick, Tony South Canterbury Rummery, John Northland Williams, Ernie Auckland

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view the vast array of vehicles and just to be part of it by soaking up the atmosphere.

May we keep on having these events!

At our February Branch meeting, Tony Haycock, a member of the VCC Management Committee, presented to us the revised VCC Logo proposal.

We are planning to visit Branch Chairman Bruce Ardell’s museum on the outskirts of Wanganui.

WELLSFORD WARKWORTH

CHRIS HARVEY

We welcome new members Pete Sinton with a fine 1991 Lancia Thema Series 2, and Merv and Vicki File with their pristine 1972 Holden HQ Premier.

We are managing to get back to our usual program of activities as we learn to live with the current Covid-19 constraints.

We have had beach picnics and Club Nights and even held the Are We There

Yet Rally for the Mike Brown Memorial Trophy on Sunday 27 February. It was contested by ten vehicles including Dave Oliver on his BSA motorcycle. The route went from the wharf in Warkworth over the Kaipara Hills to Glorrit and then on up to Tauhoa and out to Tapora, finishing at Bird’s Beach where we had a picnic. Winners were Steve and Felicity Paddison in their dark blue MkII Zephyr ute. Ray and Raewyn Spick in their powder blue MkII Zephyr were second equal with Doug and Anne Hamilton in their Morris Six. The next Sunday run will be from Wellsford to Whangarei on 27 March to visit the recently opened Hundertwasser Art Centre. Anyone who has been through Kawakawa will know that the town is famous for two things: the railway line along the main street and the Hundertwasser public toilets which were built in 1999.

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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 for more details.

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.