May 2022
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MAY 2022
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May 2022
May 2022
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Index In this issue… Bill Shears Memorial Trophy Notice of Annual General Meeting Nomination Form National Veteran Rally Waikato Mooloo Meander Delayed 2021 Auckland Motorcycle Rally ANZAC Day Obituary—Ivan George Mihaljevich
Page 15 18 19 20-21 22-23 24-25 25 26-28
Regular Features Chairman’s Report Club Captain’s Report Secretary’s Notes Motorcycle Notes Veteran Notes Vintage Notes Mid Week Tourers Library Notes Coming Events Spares Your Committee
4 5-6 7 8-9 10 11 12-13 14 16-17 29 30
June Bulletin closing date
Strictly 25 May 2022
Cover Designed by Melanie Ball
The views expressed by the correspondents in this Bulletin are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Auckland Veteran & Vintage Car Club Inc. Any articles of interest, comments, letters to the Editor etc are welcome. All contributions are presented to and approved by the club committee prior to printing. Please forward any submissions to the Bulletin Editor.
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May 2022
Chairman’s Report In April, most of the Covid & Omicron restrictions were lifted. Lynda and I hope you have stayed free of these viruses. The flooding of the lower part of the Clubrooms is in hand, the Insurance Company has been notified and work on repairs should start soon. We are also awaiting quote's for the Barn repairs. April started off with John Stokes’ Veteran Section meeting. Do go along and join John and the other members if your interests are Veteran vehicles. April 8-9 was the postponed 2021 Annual Auckland Motorcycle Rally. This event was well attended and went off very well, with the overall winner being Cam Francis from Northland and the first Auckland member was Paul Muir. The following weekend was the Motorcycle meeting, but with it being Easter, numbers were slightly down. Midweek Tourers had another very good turnout and run. A number of the Motorcycle section members and I went along in our cars on this very interesting run visiting a great collection of about 20 Maserati cars, plus 18 Italian under 250 cc motorcycles. Amongst these bikes were two ex GP water cooled single cylinder 50cc racers from the early 1980’s. These very small bikes could reach 135mph. Thank you Jack and Mike for organising this great event. Vintage section, Murray’s meetings are going very well and have interesting topics. Again, do go and join them if your interests are Vintage vehicles. Club night, guest speaker was Jack Nazer who told us about his saloon car racing days in the 1970’s. The final Branch event for April was the 50 and 60 year membership awards held at the Clubrooms on Saturday 30th. Well that's it for this month, so keep those wheels turning safely. Martin Spicer
May 2022
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Club Captain’s Report Welcome to lovely days and chilly evenings. I hope this finds you all well and enjoying being able to get out and about in, or on your vehicles. All sections are reporting good numbers in attendance. Club Night saw Jack Nazer give a wonderful talk about his motorcar racing days. It caused a lot of people reminiscing. Thank you Jack for your generosity of time. It was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone and people enjoyed looking at the photos he had brought along and also chatting to him afterwards. The Annual Auckland Motorcycle Rally was finally held in April, another casualty of Covid, having been cancelled from November. We were finally able to have the Ladies Run, which was plotted by Alan and Christine Allbon. Unfortunately there were only 7 entries for this event. Where were you all? This was plotted on the North Shore and we were treated to some lovely traffic free roads and spectacular views out the back of Albany and Orewa. I finally found where the Pukeko bridge goes to, (this is the bridge that had bright pink red legs) as Alan took us over this. Although it went nowhere apart from some houses perched on the top of the hill, the views across and towards Orewa were fantastic. We finished at Orewa beach where Martin and I took our two grandchildren paddling and I was very surprised how warm the water was. A great afternoon out. Thanks to Alan and Christine and also to Rodger and Val Ball who were our starters and tail end Charlie. Please remember, this is your Branch and we organise events for you to enjoy and participate in. There is a lot of work that goes into plotting a run – sometimes checking a route several times. And, with a Trophy Rally event this takes even more work as more than one route is usually plotted. Please support your plotters, the Sunday runs are not hard and we try to make them enjoyable on little used country roads and ending at a place of interest. Enter the Trophy Events – these maybe harder but still very enjoyable and if you are unsure of how they work, please come along to a Club Night and talk to one of the Committee members who will go through Rally rules with you and provide you with a booklet explaining everything. Unfortunately, as reported last month, our lower ground floor was flooded. During the next several weeks we will be undergoing carpet and vinyl replacement, walls also being replaced and door jams etc. Hopefully this will not interrupt our enjoyment of the Clubrooms. However, please keep an eye on the email tree in case we do need to close the Clubrooms for a few days. Finally, the month of April concluded on the 30 th with 50 and 60 Year Membership Awards being presented. This year Norm Dewhurst, who is a Branch and Club Life Member, also ex National President, was our host, on behalf of National President Diane Quarrie, for these awards. Congratulations to all the recipients: Colin Bell, Michael Hilliar, Malcolm Pearce and John Wilkinson receiving their 50 Year Membership Awards and Neil Bieleski, Fred Clifford and Clive Geary their 60 Year Membership Awards, what an achievement. Photos will hopefully be available in next months Bulletin. Do you have an email address and have not advised us of it? If so, please send this to Tracey in order that she can include you on the email tree. This tree is useful for keeping you updated, outside of The Bulletin, when required.
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Club Captain’s Report Contd.. We use it to remind you of Branch events. You will not receive anything other than Branch notices through the ‘tree’. I look forward to seeing you all out and about. Kia Kaha. Keep those 2,3 and 4 wheels turning safely.
Lynda Spicer
WARNING TO ALL MEMBERS Due to flood damage, the Clubrooms are now closed until further notice. Keep a lookout on the email tree. Your Committee
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Secretary’s Notes The Branch Annual General Meeting is coming up in June. Please take some time to reflect on your Branch and are we providing what you would like to see. There are Committee members standing down and we need a range of skills and diversity on the Committee in order to keep the Branch running effectively. All positions are available for nominations. Your thoughts and views are important in order for the Committee to manage the Branch. Also you don’t need to be on Committee to contribute – ring the Club Captain and offer to organise a club run, have you had an outing with another club that was a bit different and enjoyable? Don’t say “Why doesn’t our Branch do that?”, but have a go at organising or let us know about the idea. Know someone interesting who could talk at a Club Night? Let the entertainment officer know. From the Committee table: we have had to go out and get further quotes on the barn maintenance, the driveway repairs are going ahead, and we have made a claim to replace the Library carpet and flooring downstairs after the flood. Know a member who deserves recognition for something really special? Nominate them for the Bill Shears Memorial Trophy – see page 13 in this Bulletin for further details. Rental rates for the Clubrooms have been reviewed, and we are reviewing the Branch levy (only a small part of your annual subscription comes back to the Branch). We have had a good number of new members over the last few months and these have yet not been published in The Bulletin. We will be catching up on this in the next couple of Bulletins. I look forward to seeing you out and about in your vehicle. Tracey Winterbottom
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Motorcycle Notes The April Motorcycle meeting was held during Easter weekend and our numbers were slightly down. Never the less, there were 15 bikes in the carpark and around 45 members in attendance. Reports: The Annual Auckland Motorcycle Rally held the previous weekend was in perfect weather, expertly plotted by Alan Macy and gave riders a chance to enjoy excellent scenic traffic free roads. Perfect for the vast array of Vintage and Post Classic motorcycles. The overall winner was Cam Francis from Northland on his faithful 1941 Indian. Coming Up: The speaker for May’s meeting will be Classic Racing Register member Peter Lodge, who will be bringing along his very successful and famous Norton ES2 race bike. Guest speaker for the June meeting will be Rob Creemers with his Britten motorcycle. General Business—Waitemata member Michael Greg brought along an interesting front acetylene gas lamp, British made, with a name plate “Hinemoa for NZ”. A bit of a mystery! He then gave the lamp to Don Green. Guest Speakers—Guest speaker Paul Downie spoke on the two Panthers displayed. His a 1935 model and the other a 1950 model belonging to our other guest speaker David Broadhead. David recently bought his Panther from Paul. Paul gave a potted history of both bikes which were made in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire by Phelon & Moore. Both bikes are sporting the famous 600cc single engine with the ‘35 model having open valve gear and the ‘50 model closed in valve gear. Synonymous to the Panthers are their attractive large chrome petrol tanks which like many motorcycles seem to draw one’s eye to. Paul has done thousands of miles on his Panther without as much as a spanner being laid on it, which says a lot for their robust design, coupled with excellent engineering. David detailed three book reviews suggesting all were riveting reading. “The Rugged Road” by Theresa Wallach is an account of Theresa and her accomplice Florence Blenkiron, who rode across Africa from north to south in 1934-35 without the aid of a compass, as they forgot to pack one. The other books by Kiwi author Des Malloy “The Last Hurrah” and “No One Said It Would Be Easy” are excellent accounts of these intrepid riders experiences. David was asked about his involvement with the “MENZSHED”. Apparently there are six situated around Auckland, all doing very well repairing all sorts of things from building rat traps and mending bicycles to name a couple. Funding is becoming a problem due to their popularity. Keep those 2, 3 and 4 wheels turning safely. Martin Spicer & John Shennan
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Motorcycle Notes Contd.. Below—Paul Downie, Martin Spicer and David Broadhead
Experts Rally Sunday 29 May 2022
Marshals required Please phone: Rodger or Val Ball (09) 298 6476 or 0274 873 561 Email: rvball@xtra.co.nz
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Veteran Notes The April meeting started with a minutes silence for the late Wilma Madgwick who contributed much to Veteran affairs in both the Auckland Branch of the VCC and The Auckland Regional Group of the HCCA, subsequently HCCNZ. Both David Lane and Gavin Welch drove their veteran Model T Fords to the meeting. David Adams from Waiuku spoke of the centennial of the opening of the Waiuku branch railway line which is to be commemorated in November. David produced a photo of a c1912/13 Daimler with then Prime Minister William Massey seated in it and a Calthorpe of similar year behind it. David hopes that Bruce Hutchesons similar Daimler would attend the centennial and asked other Veteran owners if they would also attend. The response was positive and if you have a spare ninety two or so thousand, you can buy a Calthorpe currently listed on Trade Me. Barry Birchall spoke of the forthcoming National Veteran Rally which Auckland Branch successfully bid on during the recent Executive Meeting. It will also be Auckland’s fiftieth Veteran Rally and organisation will soon be proceeding. Jim Boag spoke about documentation he has for his recently acquired Essex Four. Roy Sharman has his 1910 Hupmobile running, but is finding gear changing a bit of a learning curve. Roy also produced a 1930’s automatic cigarette lighter made in Melbourne. David Lane noted that Peter Le Gros had brought the white metal equipment owned by the late Harry Canam of Helensville. Dennis Lowe showed us the new aluminium piston for his 1903 Curved Dash Oldsmobile and also a welded up conrod, which Roy Sharman had given him. This came from the engine of Roy’s Curved Dash, restored by the Benton family. David Oliver has the hood bows he brought from Snyders in the US fettled by Monty Scarborough and these now fit properly. Snyders gave David something of a refund, considering the issues he had fitting them. David is now considering a new hood. Tim Edney spoke of a Model T Rally he saw on a trip to the USA. Tim commented on a lack of sympathy for the cars by their owners, kangaroo starts seemed to be the order of the day. He has had his Veteran Fiat on the road. Gavin Welch is still deciding what type of starter to fit to his Model T. John Morrison may be looking for a new crown wheel for the 1916 Briscoe. That’s it for now. John Stokes
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Vintage Notes Despite it being a long weekend, for our April meeting, we still had a good turnout with several beautifully turned out vintage cars in the carpark. Cars of this age are seldom seen on the roads nowadays and certainly turn heads. The Hunua 100 was a little Covid constricted as the Garden Party and book sale had to be cancelled, but the rally itself was very successful, being run over some gravel sections which suited the well represented Vintage entrants. Thank you to the organisers for a well thought out and enjoyable event Bill Hulse has had the handbrake ratchet teeth on his Model A recut. Not a simple job, but Bill is very pleased with the workmanship. Brent Bellamy has found some good used gears for his gearbox and with some new bearings and the correct oil, it should give good service when reassembled. Ross Bellamy put new brake linings in his Model A, but they contained copper instead of the correct brass wire inclusions and they squealed terribly, so they were returned personally to the supplier. The old linings are doing in the meantime. John Stokes has finally stopped the oil leaking from his Whippet’s oil pump. The 6 volt battery has been replaced by a new one that is a little undersize and rather expensive but seems to be doing the job. He then went on to have us laughing as he told us about his ‘impediment’! It takes the form of nostalgia, which was triggered when he spotted an ad on Trade Me for a motorcycle, the same model as one which he had owned as a younger man. He succumbed. Neil Bieleski has the Renault running and it is registered and warranted. The temperature gauge still needs a little tweaking to get it fitting properly. Arthur Atkins brought along several examples of LED bulbs to replace the old incandescent type. These new bulbs have overcome the focussing problems that caused them to be frowned upon by the authorities. His De Soto, parked outside, was fitted with different examples for comparison and several members went out after the meeting for a look. John Morrison is plotting and organising the Vintage Muster this year for the 19 th of June. This is our Section’s showcase and will start in Henderson and finish with lunch at the Swanson R.S.A. At around 60 miles and with fairly simple and straightforward directions, it will be a very enjoyable and sociable event, so polish the old girl up and come along. Penny & Murray Firth
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Mid Week Tourers The sky was quite dark and threatening but luckily enough at 10:00am there was no precipitation, the rain waited until we were underway on our run to Eric Wilson’s Maserati collection. Of the two wheel section Trevor Hackett was the only rider on his Vincent Comet, with the Chairman and the other bike boys arriving in their daily drivers. A total of 31 vehicles lined up for this special event, with Dave & Fran Chowen up from the Waikato and Peter Lovett down from Whangerei in the north, who drove directly to Albany. When Brian King came to register he advised me he had his AJS. It took me while to see where it was as he didn’t tell me it had four wheels. What a great creation this special roadster is! We had a newcomer by the name of Antonius Heus who was driving his immaculate Citroen Big 15 Traction Avante that he had brought with him when he arrived in NZ in the 1970’s. Another immaculate vehicle that took my eye was the pre-war Riley Kestrel of Kevin & Mariette (I hope I got the spelling right?). At 10:30am sharp we all set off via Massey and left suburbia behind. We then entered the peaceful, picturesque countryside of lifestyle properties in the Taupaki area on our way toward Muriwai. Shortly after passing through a winding road of native bush, we made an eastward U turn to pass through Waimauku on our way to Old North Rd and through a section of the Woodhill Forest to Riverhead. Shortly after crossing the Rangitopuni Stream we made a right turn into Ridge Rd for a short climb to get a great view looking back over Whenuapai Aerodrome and then the view of the upper Waitemata Harbour with the city and gulf islands in the distance. From the ridge we turned down to the cute little village of Coatesville, before climbing up the hill to the Albany turnoff and the end of peacefulness and scenic countryside. It was then down the hill to Albany township and back into the rat race where we continued on to our destination in the Albany Rosedale industrial area. Eric is a quiet and reserved man with his building showing no indication of what was inside other than the Trident Insignia on the front. When all had arrived Eric with his great passion for this famous Italian marque introduced us to each of his 18 Maserati cars and 18 Italian motorcycles (Some bikes were Maserati with quite a few brands not known to me). He had some very interesting stories of how he had come by them and the difficulty of finding the parts required for restoration. For decoration, Eric also had a couple of Maserati racing pushbikes mounted on a wall. The centrepiece was the Rod Tempero reproduction of a 1957 Maserati 250 F race car of which just 26 examples were built by the Maserati brothers in Modeno between 1954 & 1960. The first 250F to race was in Argentina in 1954 driven by the late great Jaun Manuel Fangio (nickname El Chueco). Other noted drivers in that era were Onofre Marimon, Stirling Moss, Prince Bira, Ken Wharton, Roy Salvadori & Luiji Villoresi. To see just one example of this great Italian Marque in concours condition is special but to see 18 Maserati cars in one place is difficult to comprehend. I am sure that those who were in attendance will treasure this event for a lifetime. Jack Nazer
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Mid Week Tourers Coming Events: Wednesday 18 May—Starts from the BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway, Drury, 10:00 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. departure. Wednesday 15 June—Starts from The Warehouse Carpark, Westgate 10:00 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. departure. Wednesday 20 July—Starts from the BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway Drury, 10:00a.m. for a 10:30a.m. departure. All these are in the process of being finalised. Full details will be forwarded by email (are you on the Mid-week group list?) or in future Bulletins. The Mid-Week Team Jack Nazer (09) 378 4580 Mike Loosemore 021 027 08848 And the rest (new blood always welcome)
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Library Notes Transferring the contents of the Library database over to ‘Tiny Cat’ has continued due to the excellent work of Richard Green. The majority of motoring books which are of general interest to our members are now on the system and soon we will be taking on the job of transferring the likes of workshop manuals, parts lists and owners’ manuals. Already it is apparent that our members are searching on-line and are using the portal available via the AVVCC website. We would encourage all members to do this and having found books which interest them not to hesitate to visit the Library whenever the Library is open and takeout their chosen book home for an interesting read. During April the Clubrooms suffered from the heavy rain we have had. The drains in the rear carpark were overcome and water entered the Clubrooms via the back door. At the height of the storm, the Library had water across the floor to a depth of up to about 30mm. This soaked the carpet throughout, but fortunately the raised shelves ensured no books got wet. Other excess water managed to find its way downstairs into the basement. We are extremely grateful to Alan and Shaaran Price who were notified and promptly went and inspected the Clubrooms and lucky for us, they baled-out the worst of the water using water vacuums, mops, their bare hands and other devices. From thereon over time, the onsite de-humidifier did a great job in bringing things back to normal. The carpet was soon bone dry and no damage is now apparent. In April we were pleased to record the fact that we have received a substantial collection of books from the estate of our well-loved and most respected member, the late Jim Francis. Many of us are aware of the considerable collection of automobilia which Jim compiled in his lifetime and we are very grateful to his daughter Irene, for donating Jim’s automotive book collection to our Library. These books will be a lasting memorial to Jim and of his love for old cars. Also, books have been received from Jim McCutcheon and these also have been gratefully added to the collection. Chris Wood and the Library team—Barry Birchall, Robert, Richard Green, Owen Hayward, John Stokes, Bott.
B a r r y C ol in
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Bill Shears Memorial Trophy
NOMINATION FORM For the Bill Shears Memorial Trophy Members of the Auckland Veteran & Vintage Car Club (Inc) are invited to nominate a fellow Branch member for this Annual Award. The nomination should be for any member that they regard as having been involved in a significant event. It may be a particularly memorable motoring journey, an important historical article or series of articles published or some special service to the Branch. This trophy will be awarded at the Branch AGM in June. I wish to nominate: ___________________________________(Print) for the Bill Shears Memorial Trophy Proposer: ___________________________________________(Print) Signature: ________________________________________________ Seconder: ___________________________________________(Print) Signature: ________________________________________________ Details of the accomplishment and supporting information: _________ _________________________________________________________ Please submit to the Secretary, Tracey Winterbottom by 31 May 2022 via email auckland@vcc.org.nz or post P O Box 12 138 Penrose Auckland 1642
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Coming Events
May 15 18
Sun Wed
21 21 25 26 28 29 31
Sat Sat Wed Thurs Sat Sun Tues
4 9 11 15
Sat Thurs Sat Wed
18 18 19 22 23 25 26
Sat Sat Sun Wed Thurs Sat Sun
June
July 2 2-3 5 10 14 16 20
Sat
23 27 28 31
Sat Wed Thurs Sun
Tues Sun Thurs Sat Wed
Vintage Venture (Waikato Branch) Mid Week Tourers Starts BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms Motorcycle Rally (Northland Branch) Charabanc Maintenance Night—Clubrooms Club Night & New Members—Ric Easton Guest Speaker Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms Club Run—Experts Rally Committee Meeting (June)—Clubrooms Veteran Section Meeting—Clubrooms Bulletin Mailing—help required Double Fifty (Waikato Branch) Mid Week Tourers Starts The Warehouse Carpark, Westgate Barn Equipment Safety Training—Clubrooms Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms Vintage Muster Charabanc Maintenance Night—Clubrooms Club Night & New Members Branch AGM—Clubrooms Club Run—to Meguiar’s Coffee and Cars, Mt Smart Further details in June’s Bulletin Veteran Section Meeting—Clubrooms Winter Woollies Wander (Wellsford/Warkworth Branch) Committee Meeting—Clubrooms Central North Island Swapmeet (Rotorua Branch) Bulletin Mailing via Email Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms Mid Week Tourers Starts BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms Charabanc Maintenance Night—Clubrooms Club Night & New Members Club Run
10:00am 2:30pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 2:30pm 1:00pm 7:30pm 2:30pm 7:30pm 10:00am 1:00pm 2:30pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 2:00pm 8:30am
2:30pm 7:30pm 7:30pm 2:30pm 10:00am 2:30pm 8:00pm 8:00pm
Note: The clubrooms are open on the second and fourth Thursday evenings each month from 7:30pm till 10:00pm and every Saturday afternoon from 4:30pm till 6:30pm.
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Coming Events
Thursday 26 May 8:00 p.m.
Guest Speaker Ric Easton—speaker on Neurological Foundation He has classic Motorcycles and 3 Mini’s
Club Run EXPERTS RALLY Sunday 29 May Starts:
Time:
Ray Small Park Elliot St Carpark Papakura 1:00 p.m.
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Notice of Annual General Meeting Auckland Veteran & Vintage Car Club Inc.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Saturday 25th June 2022 To be held in the Auckland Branch Clubrooms, 39 Fairfax Avenue, Penrose.
Meeting commences 2:00 p.m. Agenda:
Apologies Minutes 2021 AGM Annual Reports Financial Statement Election of Officers Prize Giving 25 & 35 Year Presentation Awards General Business
Afternoon tea will be provided. Members are requested to show their membership cards to receive voting papers. All nominations for office should be duly proposed, seconded and accepted by Financial Members and delivered to the Secretary, or maybe made from the floor at the AGM, if required.
T Winterbottom (Mrs) Secretary AVVCC
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Nomination Form NOMINATION FORM for the 2022-23 COMMITTEE Positions available are: Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Club Captain and six Committee Members. Non Committee Positions are: Librarian, Beaded Wheels Scribe & Bulletin Editor
All positions are available for nomination so here is your opportunity to put your name or someone else’s forward for a position. I wish to nominate: ___________________________________(Print) to the position of:__________________________________________ Proposer: ___________________________________________(Print) Signature: ________________________________________________ Seconder: ___________________________________________(Print)
Signature: ________________________________________________ Nominee: ____________________________________________(Pint) Signature: ________________________________________________
Robinson Instrument Ltd 13 Fleming Street, Onehunga, Auckland 1061 P O Box 13426 Onehunga, Auckland 1643 Mob 0278 173 885 Ph (09) 636 5836
Email: sales@robinsoninstruments.co.nz www.robinsoninstruments.co.nz
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National Veteran Rally After the last Veteran Rally, I said to John Stokes, we should do something special next year as it will be 50 years since the first Veteran run in Auckland. As I was involved in the first run, I offered to give him a hand to organise the Rally next year, which will be over three days and based around Tuakau, where we can still be away from the traffic. It was the intention to base the event at Waiuku but all the motels there at present are used for social housing. The AVVCC Committee decided to talk to Christchurch and see if we could call it a National Event. At the last Executive Meeting, they agreed we could call it a National Event. The event did not have a great start as I was meant to have a meeting with the Branch Committee and could not attend as I made an unplanned trip to the North Shore Hospital. John Stokes does not give up easy, as he decided I could be at the meeting from my hospital bed via zoom. I put my foot down and said it was not going to happen. I had grown up in Dunedin where there had been a run just for Veterans for some time and wanted to see something similar in the North Island. I was also at the time restoring a Veteran car and felt if we had a rally just for Veterans, it might encourage others with similar vehicles to come out. At the time we seldom saw a Veteran out on a Club run. Most of the Veterans were in the South Island where the climate had been better and there had been a lot more older vehicles on the roads. Rod Welch would have the 1914 Model T Ford on the Hunua 100, but his was often the only Veteran vehicle. We would sometimes see a new restoration at the Gymnic. The Easter Rallies would bring the older vehicles out, but we were not having an Easter Rally every year. MOTAT by then had been established and there were several Veterans stored there that never appeared on a Branch event. To make the event a success we had to attract vehicles from out of Auckland. The Rally would be short as I wanted to encourage people like Roy Cope, who was looking after the 1909 International Buggy owned by the War Memorial Museum, to bring the vehicle out. There would be a timed section, a cooked meal, a few gymkhana events after lunch and a trophy for the winner. The event finished in the evening with a meal at the Clubrooms. Ron Jacob had a customer in Henderson who owned an orchard on Lincoln Road and suggested we use that venue for the lunch break. He said he would talk Graeme Courtney into organising the lunch. The Charabanc would not be present as it had just been through a fire and Jack Inch was still half-way through the rebuild. The Rally would start from MOTAT and go via Swanson to Pyramid Orchard in Henderson for lunch. On the day we had eighteen entrants but only sixteen vehicles would start. Both Roy Cope in the International Buggy and Don Cameron in the Sizaire et Naudin would pull out with mechanical issues within a few miles of the start. John Stewart’s 1905 Cadillac was the only single cylinder car to finish. Jack Inch started in Ron Jacob’s Duo twin cylinder air cooled cycle car. Charles Edwards and Doug Wood both started in 1912 Austins. Alan Collins, David Porter, and Joan Bowman all started in Model T Fords. The Bowmans were living in Putaruru at the time. Bryan Jackson was there in the very attractive 1913 Star that he had purchased in Dunedin. Len Elliot drove the First World War Rover Sunbeam Ambulance that
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National Veteran Rally Contd.. was also in Bryan Jackson’s stable. Bill Shears was present with the 1917 Moon and Nigel Browning was there from Hamilton in the 1917 Buick. Pat Wood, Barry Williams and Jack Fox were all there on Veteran motorcycles. Ross Crook filmed the event and the film is in the Branch Library. For the third event in 1975, we moved the start of the Rally to Princes Street in the city and finished at a winery in Swanson and the numbers on the event started to increase. Also, for a while we gave them a choice of routes so the faster vehicles could do a longer run. After one rally in the evening, we went out on a boat on the Waitemata Harbour for a meal. Bryan Belcher had also organised, for the Horseless Carriage Club, a Brass Era tour for Veterans to Hamilton and I am sure the two events were lifting restoration numbers and interest in the Veteran vehicle movement. By 1977 we had 35 entrants on the event. In the next issues we might look at the people who become regulars, the people who organised events, some of more unusual vehicles over the years we saw on the rallies and where they have gone today. We will be putting together a small group of workers to make this event a success. The last event I organised was to mark the Centenary of the 1917 Parliamentary Tour which was over five days and you could not have organised that event alone. As the meals were part of the package $73,000.00 changed hands over the five days. There were 43 Veterans on the run, with one entrant coming from Cromwell. I do not think we will see anything like those numbers at Tuakau, but we can but try and do things a little different to attract entrants from out of town. There are almost two hundred Veterans in Auckland today, but most are in private collections and its normally the vehicle in the collection that doesn’t come out. If someone knows of a car collection, a historic home or garden we could visit in South Auckland, make contact to me on phone number (09) 818 8755.
Barry Birchall
Below—Left, First Veteran Rally Entry Form. Right Barry Birchall’s 1903 Cadillac, with Russel McAlpine on board
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Waikato Mooloo Meander We start at the Countdown car park in Pokeno. I arrived on the 1982 Honda XL 250, waiting there was John Poole with his 1973 Norton Commando and also Rory King with his van that had the ex Keith Trillo 1957 350 AJS that Rory had recently bought. We then set off for Cambridge to take part in the Mooloo Meander Motorcycle Rally. The weather was warm and sunny, stopping at Gordonton for a coffee and while sitting there we heard and saw Michael O’Kane on his 1952 BSA Golden Flash and sidecar, Peter Alderdice on his 1954 Ariel SQ4 and Paul & Jodi Tomlin who were trailering their 1925 Harley Davidson and sidecar. We had three other members sharing our three rooms, Don Green who had brought his 1930 500 Rudge, Michael Watts with his 1987 500 V twin Yamaha and Wayne Johnson with his 1976 750 Honda CB. Saturday morning dawned with sunshine, arriving at the Waikato Clubrooms and soon the carpark filled up with motorcycles and catching up with old friends and making new ones. Once we had collected our rally packs and put the pages of instructions onto our bike’s rollers, Peter Spiller asked for a minutes silence to remember recently passed rallyists Lorraine Young, Ernie Williams and Kelvin Davis. Peter then gave the briefing and first rider away was Katikati’s Paul Whitehead, on his 1924 250 BSA Round tank. We all thought Paul deserved a medal, riding the little BSA a 100 miles at 35 mph. Of the 42 entries, 15 were from Auckland Branch. Auckland member Alice Leney lives at the very top end of the Coromandel set off on his 1930 Velocette, but had mechanical problems within 10 miles. He managed to get it back home and then jumped on his 1938 ex Army Norton and rode this to Cambridge. Also on the run were 3 Ariel SQ4’s, Peter Alderdice’s, Kelvin Mitchell’s and Mike Hardman’s 1938. Once we left Cambridge on the rally route, it was onto traffic free roads, that travelled through the Waikato scenic countryside and again we went on a number of roads we hadn't ridden before. Lunch was at the Classic Car Museum and Cafe in Dinsdale after having ridden 60 miles. A further 40 miles of great riding back to the Waikato Branch Clubrooms and the finish. A good evening meal was followed by prize giving. Results: Veteran & Vintage: 1st Alice Leney 2nd Don Green 3rd Paul Whitehead Post Vintage: 1st Mark & Sharon Lane Post War: 1st David Mayhew 2nd Trevor Appleby 3rd Kelvin Mitchell Post 60 1st John Poole 2nd Bob Hayton 3rd Maggie Bryce Post 80: 1st Michael Watts 2nd Martin Spicer 3rd Peter Smit Combination: 1st Paul & Marguerite Storey 2nd Paul & Jodi Tomlin 3rd Michael O’Kane Invitation: 1st Jo-Ann Termaat 2nd Wayne Johnson 3rd Graeme Cartwright
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Waikato Mooloo Meander Contd.. 1st Lady Rider Maggie Bryce 1st Waikato Kelvin Mitchell Over all Winner David Mayhew Sunday morning dawned misty. Wayne left for Mangawhai, Rory for North Shore, while Don, John, Michael and I left for Auckland. As soon as we reached the outskirts of Cambridge we encountered thick fog travelling to Ngaruawahia and then rode on the old Great South Road to Rangiriri to cross over the Waikato river and onto SH1. Martin Spicer
Library Catalogue https://www.librarycat.org/lib/vintagemotor The web based Library Catalogue is now ready for use. If you paste the above link into your web browser you will go to the catalogue. Use the search bar to locate books of a specific marque or topic or clicking on any cover will display the details held by the Library on this book (and whether it’s out on loan or not).
Established in 1993 we specialise in Classic & Vintage Car Restorations and Repair work Classic Car Insurance Claims Insurance and Private Work on all vehicles WOF and Rust Repairs Full Panel and Paint Service New! - The Metal Room—Metal Shaping Classes Contact Mark McAlpine—Ph: (09) 820 2299
Email: alpinepb@outlook.com www.alpinepanelbeaters.co.nz Or call in and see us at 8/2 Lansford Crescent, Avondale
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Delayed 2021 Auckland Motorcycle Rally Back in November 2021, the Annual Auckland Motorcycle Rally was cancelled due to Covid restrictions and rescheduled for the 9 th April 2022. Jeremy Lambert, Rally Secretary and plotter Alan Macy gave the briefing. Peter Alderdice had managed to get an abundance of rally prizes from these sponsors: Castrol Oil, Selleys and Aegis Oil. The first rider away left at 9:15a.m. travelling on traffic free country roads from Ramarama to Bombay and then a circular route to finish the timed section at Mercer, where we assembled alongside Mainline Steam’s three enormous trains. Unfortunately the man from Mainline Steam, who was going to tell us about the trains, didn't arrive. Instead, Jeremy and I, along with Martyn Seay, who happens to be a Glenbrook Steam man as well, gave a short talk on what we knew about them. Two of the engines are South African Class 25NC’s and the other is a Garratt, which has 16 driving wheels, while the 25NC’s have 8 driving wheels and they weigh about 150 ton’s. From here we crossed over the Motorway to visit the Mercer Museum which was very interesting, learning about some of the history of the area. While there, we were lucky enough to see the flyover of the celebratory flight with four WW2 aircraft, comprising a Spitfire, an Avenger and two Texans, commemorating the New Zealand Air Force that was formed 85 years ago. We then crossed over the Waikato River and travelled on very good motorcycle roads following parts of the Waikato River. Lunch was at the Onewhero Area School. The afternoon section saw us travelling on the long route to the Tuakau Bridge, then skirting Pokeno and heading to Bombay, before another circular route back to Ramarama Hall to the finish, having travelled just over a 100 miles. The evening meal and prizegiving were held at the Ramarama Hall. Rally Results: Vintage: Post Vintage
1st: Don Green 1930 Rudge 500 1st: Cam Francis 1941 Indian 741 2nd: Gavin Welch 1942 Harley Davidson WLA 3rd: Rory King 1942 Harley Davidson WLA Post War 1st: Paul Muir 1956 Velocette 500 2nd: Trevor Appleby 1950 Triumph Thunderbird 3rd: Alice Leney 1952 Vincent 1000 Post 60 1st: Jillian Hayton 1972 Honda 175 2nd: John Poole 1973 Norton 750 3rd: Ron Dunn BSA 750 Post 80 1st: Michael Watts 1987 Yamaha 500 Sidecar 1st: Paul & Jodi Tomlin 1925 Harley Davison J 2nd: Martyn Seay 1927 Indian Scout 3rd: Chris Clark 1951 BSA Golden Flash First American Motorcycle: Cam Francis First Velocette Paul Muir First Lady Jillian Hayton Furthest Ridden Alice Leney
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Delayed 2021 Auckland Motorcycle Rally First Pillion Overall Winner First Auckland Member
Heather Hartles Cam Francis Paul Muir
Martin Spicer Below—Rallyist Line Up Right—Overall Winner—Cam Francis
ANZAC Day Was really great to get Dads 1961 AMC Mighty Mite running again after sitting for over 12 months, and to be able to participate in our local ANZAC Memorial Parade, at Helensville on Monday 25 April, after Covid interfering with the last couple of years events. Dad served his National Service with the Navy, and was pleased to be able to wear his service medal once again, and to participate in the parade. I thank all the fallen, and the living military personnel for their service. John Campbell Jnr
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Obituary—Ivan George Mihaljevich Ivan George Mihaljevich passed away on12th February 2022 George was born in the gum fields of Lake Ohia, Northland on 7 th September 1930 and was the first child of Barbara and Peter Mihaljevich. His sisters Mary and Violet, and brother Walter were each born just one year apart. When George was nine years old, Peter moved his family to Awanui to take up share milking. George started his working life driving a bulldozer before getting a job in the local garage where he leant a lot of his skills. The family moved to Vermont St in Ponsonby Auckland in 1951. George and his brother Wally got jobs at the freezing works in Otahuhu for the next two years, before George got a contract job scrub cutting in Wairarapa. On returning to Auckland he took up employment repairing automotive radiators, met a young lady Josephine Vitasovich, got married, and bought the Vermont St house from his father, all in a short time. I first met George in 1957. At the age of 17 I had started in the business of pulling old cars to bits and selling the parts. George at the age of 26 had not long before started repairing radiators under his house in Vermont St and was looking to buy some radiators to rebuild for his exchange stock. At this time I had in my wrecking yard a 1927 Metallurgique. I had no idea of how valuable and sought after this vehicle would become. George spotted it and immediately bought the radiator and headlamps for little more than the scrap value. This must have been the time when George’s lifelong interest in old cars began. In 1960 the same year that George joined the Vintage Car Club I started car racing and it was George’s skill with soldering cast iron that enabled me keep my engine serviceable. A few years later when I was delivering some parts to a garage in Grey Lynn I noticed a huge 9 litre 1925 Renault in the yard and told George about it. It was only a short time later that it was parked on the Vermont St front lawn. Following a good amount of planning and accumulation of spare parts. George and his good friend Peter Muller stripped it down and undertook a major restoration. With George’s work ethic he would have his gas torch lit and be working on radiators well before dawn. Following his evening meal, he and Peter would be working on the Renault restoration until late at night. The restoration was completed in time to be shipped to Australia to take part in the 1970 Cook Bi-Centennial Rally. For a number of years with either his wife Joyce, or Peter riding as shot gun, the Renault took part in runs up and down the country. In the early days of the Auckland Vintage Car Club they ran the Hunua 100 as the feature event of the Year. George, his late brother Wally, and other helpers ran a very large BBQ that fed the drivers and passengers of the 200 or so participating vehicles. Over time George added to his collection with a 1919 Hudson which he also restored. The next addition was a very low mileage 1938 Hudson 8 with the odometer today showing just under 37,000 miles. On Ponsonby Rd he got to become friends with a chap by the name of Merv Hardy who was in the business of wrecking cars. When a vehicle came into his yard that Merv considered was too good to get the chop he would have it towed to his house in Avondale for safe keeping. It just happened that when George was visiting he spied this 1913 Talbot and told Merv that he wanted to give it a good home. Merv told George that it was not for sale, but for a number
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Obituary—Ivan George Mihaljevich of years George persevered until finally he was the proud owner. At this time George had so much on his plate that he agreed to sell it to his good friend Earl Gill on condition that he had the first option to buy it back. Earl restored the Talbot which was christened “The Weta” simply because it was a boat-tail without a hood, so that if it rained the driver and passenger got wetter and wetter. It was during this time that Len Southward came into George’s life and between them devised a system of how to make vintage and veteran radiator cores. George’s radiator business was flourishing, but somehow he managed to manufacture these cores as well. Further to this he was approached by a Caterpillar dealership to overhaul oil coolers for Cat equipment. He found a way to dismantle and restore coolers that previously had become scrap. He also started manufacture of a number of these coolers. The demand for his expertise with the coolers resulted with him not having the time for radiator repairs and the sign was changed to Vermont Oil Coolers. As most of you know George’s son and daughter Tony and Laurine have taken the Coolers to the next level and beyond with their business in Perth. Earl Gill decided to sell the Weta and also honour his purchase agreement and so the Talbot returned to George’s ownership. While his business was at full speed, George learnt that he had bowel cancer and when told of the various options, he made the decision to have all of his large bowel removed, knowing he would have to deal with a colostomy bag for the rest of his life. Financially this was a very tough time without any form of income, but following his recovery he bounced back to full production. His doctor told him that for the sake of his health he had to control his work time and take breaks for morning tea and lunch if he was to carry on. From then on 10am was morning tea with a break of no less than 15 minutes and midday for lunch with the break being no less than half an hour. At this time George had another restoration project to fill in the time on the weekends without a Vintage Car event. The vehicle was a 1912 Hudson Gentleman’s Roadster. Being quite a rare vehicle some parts were sourced from Australia and Canada. It took many years and a lot of anxiety before the job was finally completed. This 1912 was the first model Hudson and it was George’s desire to own the last model of this great manufacturer. Finally he imported a 1954 which was the same as the cars that won the NASCAR championship in 1954 and 1955. In the late 1980’s I shifted to a property in Herne Bay, just five minutes from Vermont St. George invited me to join his regular Friday night get together where the regulars numbered about six and every now and again the total often more than doubled. Over those beers and the odd bottle of wine the world was sorted out, and we all learnt very clearly that George was a staunch labour man and nobody was to make an adverse comment regarding his political leaning. Every Xmas Joyce would bake numerous Xmas cakes and George would prepare the food, lamb on the spit being his specialty, with veggies in his camp oven. His shed had a good clean up for the Xmas midday meal with family and friends. I sold my business in 1994 and joined George at 10am each weekday morning.
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Obituary—Ivan George Mihaljevich One day I noticed that instead of his gumboots he had slippers on with one cut out for his big toe. He told me that if he ate the wrong type of food he would get a gout attack, which was very painful, but this did not stop him from his work. From this time on I helped him with the maintenance of his fleet and went with him on all of the runs, doing the driving most of the time. The Far North tour was an annual event with Mat Mathew and Mark Maloney joining us for 4 days from the time we left Vermont St on Friday until we returned from our final night in Waipu late on Monday morning. This event would start with dinner at the Whangarei VCC on Friday night and the tour to Taipa on Saturday where the Far North VCC put on great BBQ for us. The next day we would have lunch in Kaitaia with George’s sister Mary and her husband Tony. For this event we first took the 1938 Hudson, then the 1954, and in later years one of my cars. George and I did a lot of our Horseless Carriage and Vintage CC events in the 1913 Talbot. The bigger events we took part in were Barry Birchall’s two re-enactments of the Parliamentary Tour of the North, a tour of Marlborough & also Waikato. For more than two decades we became regulars for the monthly Midweek Runs organised by Norm Dewhurst. We also had an annual visit across the ditch where we hired an SUV in Melbourne and drove to Bendigo for the weekend of their swap meet. Each year the late Rex Healy, Dennis Scanlan, Tony Gairdner, Murray Greig, John Reeve and Neal Cremer, were regulars in our party. One year Barry Birchall organised a week long bus tour of Tasmania to follow which was most informative and enjoyable. The last time George and I went to Bendigo we flew west to Perth. Tony gave us the loan of his Landcruiser for a drive down to Margaret River with Laurine and her husband for a few days to do a spot of wine tasting. The following year I was off to England with Peter LeGros and stayed a few days with Peter’s sister whose husband had worked for Burroughs Wellcome, the drug company that discovered allopurinol. This medication is one of the few that has no side effects and it is used to control the balance of uric acid in the body. He told me that when the required dose has been found it is taken for life. George and his doctor Geta found that dose and the gout ended. In the last decade George often told me that everything was becoming more and more difficult. Apart from his intestine blocking with acute pain with me having to take him several times to the emergency department, his dear wife Joyce was unknowingly developing Alzheimer’s and was no longer able tend her garden and housework as previously. George engaged a carer who also did the housework but he prepared their breakfast and evening meals. After a couple of years it was clear that the pressure on George was starting to affect his health and it was quite a relief for him when Joyce was admitted to Selwyn Village. Later other health issues popped up resulting in more hospital visits and additional medication, which in turn caused his gout to return worse than before. Unfortunately his mobility became more limited at quite a rate and he found it quite hard having to rely on other people so much so that he told me that he had had enough and simply wanted to go to sleep without waking. Jack Nazer
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Spares
SPARES
With decades of accumulation all of our warehouse space, shelves, and parts boxes are overloaded and in need of a major sort out.
The Solution:
We are in the process of restructuring the warehousing, identifying and cataloguing the parts so that they can be easily found. Already listed in the catalogue are the gaskets, new old stock armatures for generators, starters and wiper motors.
New to the Barn are two display cabinets 1 A glass fronted unit to keep safe the treasures that have been hidden away for too long and also with others that we are discovering. 2 Our open GOODIES cabinet for new and used items that are either not required, or are surplus. These items are FREE to take home. Open only the second and fourth Thursday evening from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon from 4:30 p.m. till 6:30 p.m.
NZ Welder Repair Services Ltd. Unit 4/5 Portage Road, New Lynn, Auckland
For personal service call Rod Rugg (Member) Stick, MIG, TIG and Plasma cutters. All welding machine types and consumables for sale. “Over 30 years experience” Repairs to machines, new sales and used. Hire options available. For home or work. Large or small. We deal with only good machines not rubbish. Phone: 09 8261425, e-mail: rod.rugg@nzwrs.com Postal address: P.O. Box 19272, Avondale, Auckland 1746
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Your Committee Chairman/Motorcycle Rep/Delegate Martin Spicer (Lynda) Email: spicerclan2017@gmail.com
Vice Chairman/Clubrooms Booking/Name Badges Don Green (Brenda) Email: greend@slingshot.co.nz Secretary/Privacy Officer: Tracey Winterbottom (Stephen)
Ph: (09) 232 0246 or 021 732 209
Email: treasureravvcc@outlook.com
Club Captain: Lynda Spicer (Martin)
Email: spicerclan2017@gmail.com
Warwick Darrow (Trisha) John Morrison Shaaran Price (Alan) John Stokes
Ph: 266 8836 or 021 073 2642
Email: runnymede@hotmail.co.nz
Treasurer: Alastair Moffat (Karin)
Committee Members: Graeme Crawley (Marilyn)
Ph: (09) 233 6382 or 0221 025 954
Ph: (09) 813 1313 or 0274 933 229 Ph: (09) 233 6382 or 021 189 3120
Building Maintenance/Health & Safety Email: gandm.crawley@xtra.co.nz Ph: (09) 524 9255 or 0275 249 255 Building Maintenance/Health & Safety Email: waktrish@gmail.com Ph: 520 2882 or 021 203 4562 Entertainment/Inter-Club Liaison Officer Email: morrison03@gmail.com Ph: 521 6307 or 022 655 1479 Social Convenor/New Membership Liaison Officer Email: birdwoodprices@gmail.com Ph: 833 8575 Veteran Rep/Spares/Trophy Steward Email: jcstokes96a@xtra.co.nz Ph: (09) 236 4582 or 0272 772 108
Non-Committee Positions: Librarian Chris Wood (Diana) Ph: 524 9478 Beaded Wheels Reporters John Stokes/Jocelyn McAlpine/Peter Wood Continuous Membership Awards Steward John Stokes Ph: (09) 236 4582 or 0272 772 108 Email: jcstokes96a@xtra.co.nz
Bulletin Editor Val Ball (Rodger) Ph: 298 6476 Email: rvball@xtra.co.nz Vintage Section Rep Murray & Penny Firth Ph: 818 6434 VIC Officer John Stokes Ph: (09) 236 4582 or 0272 772 108 Email: jcstokes96a@xtra.co.nz
Insurance: Vero Consumer Insurance Specialist 0800 505 905 or 356 4501 Agency Number: 0300126 Clubrooms Ph: 579 5625 Street Address: 39 Fairfax Ave, Penrose Postal Address: P O Box 12 138, Penrose, Auckland 1642 Open: 2nd & 4th Thursday 7:30-10:00pm, Every Saturday 4:30-6:30 pm Club Night: 4th Thursday of the month Branch Email Address Library Email Address Branch Website Branch Honorary Life Members:
auckland@vcc.org.nz libraryavvcc@gmail.com www.avvcc.org.nz Barry Robert Norm Dewhurst QSM Alan Roberts
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