March 2022
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MARCH 2022
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March 2022
March 2022
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Index In this issue… Library Catalogue Editor Wanted 1924 BSA Model L 350 Wellington Bi-Annual Motorcycle Rally 50 and 60 Year Membership Awards Spares Health and Safety 2022 Veteran Rally Obituary—George Mihaljevich
Page 9 16 17 18-19 19 20-21 21 22 23-24
Regular Features Chairman’s Report Club Captain’s Report Secretary’s Notes Motorcycle Notes Veteran Notes Vintage Notes Library Mid Week Tourers Coming Events Commercial Notes Spares Your Committee
4 5-6 7 8-9 10 11 12 13 14-15 16 25 26
April Bulletin closing date Cover Designed by Melanie Ball
Strictly 25 March 2022
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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Chairman’s Report Well here we are with the Omicron variant spreading like wildfire in New Zealand. At the moment we are able to carry on our Branch activities, remember to scan in at the Clubrooms and to show your vaccine pass and wear your face mask. Sadly we had two of our long time members pass away recently: Ernie Williams and George Mihaljevich. Ernie would have been 83 a couple of days after his funeral and George was 91 and had been a club member for 62 years. We will miss these two great gentlemen. The month started with the Veteran Section meeting, is going well and have interesting topics, so if you’re into veterans do go along and join them. This was followed by the Annual Veteran Rally the following weekend. The Midweek Tourers are carrying on with interesting places to go and visit. The Motorcycle meeting had another good turnout for its ‘Great debate’ on Harley Davidson verses Indian. Club night and New Members saw Gavin Welch and Wayne Roberts explaining Rally Rules and interpretation. Thanks guys for explaining things. Also Tracey Winterbottom went over the Clubs proposed new logo. This was put to a vote by those members present and on a show of hands, there were two not in favour of the proposed change, whilst the rest appeared to be in favour. The Vintage Section held their monthly meeting, as usual, on the last Saturday of the month and again if you’re interested in Vintage vehicles, do go along and join them. The last event for February was the Club run, which started from the BP Service Centre on the Southern Motorway and finished at Wrights Water Gardens, Mauku. Coming up—the Auckland Annual Motorcycle Rally that was postponed from November 2021, is now on the 8-9th April. Please support this event and should you require an entry form, let me know. That's it for now, so keep all those wheels turning safely. Martin Spicer
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Club Captain’s Report Well, for a long awaited time, we have finally been able to enjoy all the Branches events for February. February opened with the Veteran meeting, shortly followed by the Veteran Rally which John Stokes had again plotted this year. Although it looked, initially, as if numbers would be low, in the end there were 15 entries plus the Charabanc. Martin and I booked a ride in the Charabanc and it reminds you of what you miss seeing in a car, as you are so much higher up. Everyone enjoyed a two-course lunch at the Waiuku Cossie Club afterwards. We were so lucky with the weather as parts of Auckland that day had heavy rain which was the prelude to the nasty weather that hit on the Sunday. John spoke of 2023 being the 50th Anniversary of the first time this event was run. Special celebrations are being discussed and hopefully a much larger event will be planned for next year. Thanks to the marshals and to John for putting on another great event. The Mid week tourers had another good run. The Motorcycle Section had another good meeting and for a change they did not have a guest speaker. It was decided that they would have the “Great Debate”. On what, I hear you ask? Well, this time it was the turn of the American machine owners to debate – Hayley Davidson (led by Peter Alderdice) versus Indian (led by Marshall Corazza). Who won?, well, it depends on your point of view. Everyone by all accounts, as I was unable to attend, enjoyed the debate and added their 2cents worth. Club Night was hosted by Gavin Welch and Wayne Roberts, going over Rally Rules for the Hunua 100. As you will have seen, the Committee had to make the decision, due to the Traffic Light System we were in at the time, to keep this event down to simply a Rally only on the Sunday. Wayne Roberts and Gavin have plotted a lovely Rally and although this Hunua 100 will be down to just a Rally, I have no doubt that participants will not be disappointed. Fingers crossed we will be able to return to a normal Hunua 100 weekend event in October. The Vintage Section meeting continues strong. Finally, Sunday 27th February, we had a Branch run which started at the BP in Drury and wended it’s way out onto the Awhitu Peninsula, around Waiuku, Otaua and finishing at Wrights Water Gardens. Again I was unable to attend (sorry guys, I damaged my back earlier in the month and have been using a walking stick to aid me. I cannot, as yet, get into a car but hopefully after being able to secure an osteopaths appointment, I will be more mobile again). Martin went to the start for me and got a list of everyone who attended. I did cheat with the route, for obvious reasons and plotted the start out to Waiuku, used most of the “slow class route” for the Veteran Rally and plotted from Waiuku back to Wrights Water Garden. Thank you John for me being able to use this route as the foundation of the run. It was encouraging to see some new names out and about and I understand that we also had a participant from Whangarei, who joined us as he was on his way further down the island. Some new vehicles out also, two commercials (pickups), a few sports cars and a good mix of others. Nineteen cars came out, including our modern with
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Club Captain’s Report Contd.. Martin and our two grandchildren on board. Did you look at the proposed new Logo for the VCC sent out by the National President? At Club Night, after viewing the proposed logo presentation, there was a 90% vote of the people in attendance to accept the new Logo. Martin and Tracey will be off to the VCC Executive meeting on the 12 th March. The entry form for the Annual Motorcycle Rally, postponed from November, is now on the website. If you require one, although I believe all previous entrants had an entry form sent to them from Graeme Crawley. Subject to what is happening with Omicron, the organising Committee will make a call on the format of the event if it is deemed that it needs to change. Martin/Jeremy Lambert (Graeme’s stand in as he is away in Europe visiting his new grandchild in Paris) will keep you all in the loop. I would like to acknowledge Rodger Ball who did a service for “Race for Life”. This is an organisation which puts together events for people who are terminally ill. Rodger took a gentleman who has Motor Neurone Disease for a ride along the coast around Clevedon area in his Model A and back to Beachlands. In these troubled times we live in, it is lovely that we can put our own worries aside and give someone who is terminally ill a special gift that is on their bucket list. Thanks for your generosity of time Rodger. Please remember to sign yourself electronically with your phone app, or sign the Covid19 tracer form whenever you attend the Clubrooms. Please keep your eyes peeled for any additional news which will need to come out on the email tree, should things change due to Omicron now being out in the community and numbers growing massively on a daily basis. I look forward to seeing you all out and about. Stay safe, kia Kaha. Keep those 2,3 and 4 wheels turning safely Lynda Spicer
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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Secretary’s Notes With all payments being made on line these days, please check that you are using the right bank account. You may have set up the Christchurch account in your payees when paying your National subscription, but this is quite separate to the Branch accounts. Our account number is always on the entry form and if you use your name and the rally concerned, it makes Alastair’s job a lot easier (and for the Christchurch office). As you know, Richard Green and the wider Library team have been busy digitally cataloguing our wonderful Library and this is now ready for you to use. The link will be on the website and elsewhere in this Bulletin. From the comfort of your home computer you can search the Library by marque, component or anything else to see what resources are available. It was a quiet Club Night in February, which surprised me a little. Rally Rules and the proposed change of logo for the Club were on the agenda and I expected to see more of you. Perhaps the current Omicron climate is taking it’s toll. Are you indifferent to a logo change? By the time you read this we will have voted at the Executive meeting. At the time of writing, 2 thirds of the Hunua entries are touring so I guess I should expect that there aren’t many interested in the finer art of navigation and interpretation of the Rally Rules. In February we said farewell to George Mihaljevich, George was a member of the Auckland Branch for 62 years, a man who put a lot into Branch activities, restored many vehicles over the years and was a skilled craftsman. The Branch AGM is not that far away and we are still looking for a Bulletin Editor, as well there will be plenty of room on Committee for new blood. Time to pause for reflection and I’ll just leave some questions here for you to ponder or not at your leisure! Are we doing enough to hold onto valuable knowledge and skills that are within our membership? What can you do to give back to the Branch? (doesn’t have to be a seat at the Committee table). Are we providing events at a branch level and across the country that suit what you want to do with your club vehicle. Thanks to those who do take the time to email or call with their thoughts. On that note, please see this Bulletin for a change of email address, some of you have seen that emails to vintagesunbeam@hotmail.co.nz are bouncing back and we are still trying to resolve this. Tracey Winterbottom
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Motorcycle Notes I set off from Pokeno for the motorcycle meeting, picking up Malcolm Brown on the way. Lynda couldn't make the meeting as her back was giving her a lot of pain, so Karen Moffat kindly said she would serve the afternoon tea that Lynda had prepared, she was helped by Jodie Tomlin. Peter Alderdice arrived and set up his 1921 Harley Davidson model WF flat twin in readiness for the meeting. Marshall Corazza arrived with his 1939 Indian 4 model 401 and also set the bike up in the Clubrooms ready for the great debate (who made the better motorcycle Harley or Indian). On this sunny afternoon there only 6 motorcycles in the car park, with just under 50 in attendance. We had a visitor Richard Rushton, a friend of Marshall’s and also had our newest member Callum Bullard, son of Merv., riding their 1970 Triumphs, a Trophy and a Bonneville. Reports: Martin told us about the Wellington Bi-Annual Motorcycle Rally, that he and a number of our members took part in and was won by Graeme Crawley on his Ariel Hunt-Master. Martin and Lynda were passengers in the Branch’s Charabanc at the recent Annual Veteran Rally, with Don Green also taking part, riding his 1916 belt drive Triumph model H and winning the fast class. Coming Up: Moo Loo Meander (Waikato Branch) Annual Auckland Motorcycle Rally—get your entries in for these. General Business: Don spoke about his story on his 1916 Triumph in the Beaded Wheels. Rory King told us about an up coming wooden boat event at Stillwater. Peter Alderdice spoke on next years National Motorcycle Rally in Invercargill, where we hope to have around 20 plus members going to it. The Great Debate: Who made the best bikes, Harley Davidson or Indian? Members Marshall Corazza for Indian and Peter Alderdice for Harley Davidson. Marshall had brought along his very nice 1939 Indian 4 model 401 and also did a photo/slide show on the big screen. He spoke about Indian co-founder’s Carl Oscar Hedstrom and George Hendee. Hendee was a bicycle racer and built his own bikes. They produced their first motorcycle in 1901. We were told about Indians that won on the giant wooden board tracks and an Indian was the first bike to cross from the East coast to the West coast. In 1911 Indian finished 1, 2 and 3 in the IOM TT. Erwin ‘Cannonball’ Baker rode an Indian to record the fastest coast to coast run. Indian produced the first electric start bike in 1914. Kiwi, Percy Coleman won many races on Indian bikes in New Zealand. Marshall told us a great deal more about Indian, but we don't have the space to get the whole story, so Google Indian motorcycles to learn the whole story. Peter had brought along his rare 1921 600cc Harley Davidson WF flat twin. Peter told us that the first Harley Davidson was built in 1903, by William Harley and Walter and Arthur Davidson. They produced single cylinder bikes up to 1906, and then in 1907 the first V twins.
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Motorcycle Notes Contd.. In WW1 they produced over 20,000 for the Army. By 1920 Harley was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world with nearly 30,000 bikes made and dealers in 67 countries. Harley had a very large race team that won hundreds of races. They produced side valve, overhead valve and 8 valve engines and they even built a factory in Japan, building V twins. In WW2 they again made bikes for the Army, with over 90,000 WLA’s and WLC’s. After the war they produced a small commuter bike called the Hummer, which was derived from a DKW, the same as the BSA Bantam. In 1961 Harley bought Aermacchi so they could have 250 & 350 models to sell. This Company was on sold in 1978. Peter told us a great deal more about Harley, but again, we don't have the space, so if you want the full Harley story Google Harley Davidson. The two debaters, Marshall and Peter shook hands at the end of the meeting and it was decided we all agreed it was a draw. Martin thanked Marshall and Peter for entertaining and enlightening us on these two great makes. Keep those 2,3 and 4 wheels turning safely. Martin Spicer & Jack Clark
Right Peter Alderdice and Marshall Corazza with their Motorcycles.
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).
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Veteran Notes The February meeting was quite well attended considering the Annual Veteran Rally was the following Saturday. You can read Tracey Winterbottom’s report on the rally elsewhere in this Bulletin. David Oliver raised the issue of using electronic devices to compute average speeds on timed veteran runs and instructions were issued to discourage their use. Barry Birchall raised the issue of the forty ninth Annual Veteran run and were we going to do something special for the fiftieth one. It could be that we will, so watch this space. Peter Alderdice was working on the rear brake on his 1917 Harley Davidson. He also brought information on bulb horn suppliers, the possibility of someone getting an agency for these articles was also mentioned. Roy Sharman has the Perry up and running again after some work on the brakes and clutch. Roy also brought along two horseshoe radiator mascots, the first was one made for and sold by Cooke Howlison, who were the Dunedin Buick agents. It looks like a conventional horse shoe and the other one was a weirdly shaped thing. However, a consultation with Alex Wilson had determined that it was a trotting shoe, so the mascot must have been made so this one could have been a one off for a prosperous standard bred owner. John Morrison was getting his 1916 Briscoe ready for the veteran run and completed the run successfully. John Stokes
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Vintage Notes A couple of new faces this month – Brian Hosking (Model A) and David Lane (North Shore Branch). Welcome. Trevor Farr has had a little trouble finding a decent condenser for his distributor. Of course modern cars don’t have such things so young mechanics just look puzzled when you ask about them but they are still available. Brian Hosking’s Model A is off the road at the moment with a broken windscreen. The glass is not a problem, but repairing the rusty frame is. Options are to import a new frame or fabricate a new one in NZ. John Stokes is getting on top of his 1930 Whippet’s oil and water problems and hopefully it will soon be back on the road. Only two Bellamy brothers this month. Ross had found metal filings inside a front hub cap on his Model A. It was suggested that Chinese replacement bearings are a little narrower, allowing the hub cap to sit in a little further and rub on the axle nut. Brent swears that his Model A handles like a sports car with the shock absorbers tightened up! David Lane has had a little water seeping into the oil on his Studebaker due to old engine castings becoming thinner and more porous with the passage of time. He has done some research on the subject and is happy to share what he has learnt. Phone him on 021 979 667. This raised some discussion about the addition to the coolant of a little soluble oil, a practice strongly recommended by George Mihaljevich who was the most respected radiator specialist in the Branch. Sadly, we lost George very recently. Neville Holland’s water temperature gauge in his ‘29 Chev was telling porkies so he rewound the moving coil in the instrument and it is now performing as it should. I am impressed! Neil Bieleski’s son is helping his dad with the 1926 Renault. Like so many of our old cars, the cooling system is a worry. Hopefully it will soon be resolved. Norm and Pat Dewhurst took the Essex down to the Vero Rally in Taranaki and had a great time, being impressed with the way the event was organised. Unfortunately, on the way home, climbing up Mt. Damper, the radiator ruptured, (like Vesuvius Pat said). A local farmer towed them to the top of the hill where some temporary repairs were made that got it a little further but in the end it took a ride home on a transporter. The Vintage Muster is being planned, for June. To clarify some confusion, to be eligible for this event, vehicles must be manufactured between 1919 and 1931. Penny & Murray Firth
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Library Notes This month’s notes mark a significant milestone in the history and progression of the Library of our Branch. As all Branch members will be aware, our Branch is the proud custodian of what is arguably the most extensive and certainly the most significant collection of books, manuals, magazines, photos and all manner of motoring history to be held in any one location anywhere in our country. It is unique and all members can be proud of what we have. The collection has been carefully compiled over many years, especially under the leadership of Barry Robert and the cataloguing system has also grown and developed over that time, moving on from the early days of basic paper-based listing of books and on to more recent times with computer-based spreadsheet systems. These systems have done well to bring us to where we are today. Through all those years, if members wanted to search for any book in the Library, they would have to visit in person and search through the shelves. Over the years many have of course, but understandably there will be many more who have not and providing members easier access to our books has always been something we would liked to have improved. So, we are very pleased to introduce a new system of cataloguing the contents of the Library, which has come about through the extraordinary work and determined commitment of Richard Green. Richard has made a huge contribution in setting up the system and has spent hours and hours bringing the thousands of books we have had on the old system into the new ‘Tiny-Cat’ system. Transferring the information from the old system into Tiny-Cat has of necessity been a staged process and we still have a significant volume of books to be dealt with. For example Workshop manuals, parts books, hand- books etc. Despite the fact that there are still books to add to the new system, we are very pleased that we can now open up the thousands of books that are there for members to search. So, here is how members can search the books in the Library: Go onto your web browser and search the Branch website: www.AVVCC.org.nz, then click on ‘Library’. Go down the page and click on to ‘Library catalogue’ then you can search for the books. You will find the searching capabilities of Tiny-Cat make it very easy. Please note—All of the books listed are available for members only to borrow $2.00 at a time. The Library is open every Thursday from 9:00am-ish through to 2:00pm-ish. Then on Saturday afternoons. We look forward to seeing you. Chris Wood and The Library team—Barry Birchall, Barry Robert, Richard Green, Owen Hayward, John Stokes, Colin Bott.
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Mid Week Tourers Our run to MOTAT proved popular with 25 starting at Westgate and others meeting us at MOTAT. There we were welcomed by Kathleen Ashley, their Events organiser, and while some had lunch in the café there, others enjoyed a picnic on the lawn, sheltered (from the sun) by large tents. Public attendance was sparse, so we had the chance to explore the exhibits unhindered and the place has certainly changed a bit since I was there. Jack’s route took us through the Waitakere ranges followed by some interesting roads around Titirangi (very interesting if one’s car had a poor steering lock, ask Murray Firth.) We finished with a bit of unavoidable motoring through city roads to get to Western Springs. A number of new faces, not all new to the Branch and new vehicles were welcomed along. Just some of these were; Barry & Nicola Birchall ‘66 Humber Snipe, (Barry is actually getting to like it), John Morrison ‘29 Auburn (a rare one), newly retired Greg D’Anvers had his Jowett Jupiter, Steve Driver forsook Leticia and brought his Model A special, Graeme Banks had a delightful Vauxhall HA Viva, Terry Costello also left his Model A in favour of a ‘59 Dodge, plus the usual representation from neighbouring branches. We look forward to another visit to North Shore Clubrooms and sheds in the near future. There’s lots to see there and with the shelter available could be a good winter run. We also paid due respect to the memory of George Mihaljevich who had passed away only days before. George was a stalwart who throughout his 60 year membership has supported the Branch in so many ways, in latter years was a regular on the mid-week runs. Our sympathy is extended to his family. We will also miss him. Norm Dewhurst Coming Events—Subject to Covid Wednesday 16 March—Starts from the BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway, Drury, 10:00 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. departure. Destination is members Stephen and Sue Keys home and collection in Flatbush. BYO lunch. Wednesday 20 April—Starts from The Warehouse Carpark, Westgate, 10:00 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. departure. More details later. Wednesday 18 May—Starts from the BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway, Drury, 10:00 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. departure.
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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Coming Events
March 13 16
Sun Wed
19 23 24 26 27
Sat Wed Thurs Sat Sun
2 5 8-9 14 16 20
Sat Tues
23 24 27 28 30
Sat Sun Wed Thurs Sat
3 7 12 15 18
Tues Sat Thurs Sun Wed
21 25 26 28 29 31
Sat Wed Thurs Sat Sun Tues
April
Thurs Sat Wed
May
2021 Hunua 100 Rally Mid Week Tourers Starts BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms Charabanc Maintenance Night—Clubrooms Club Night & New Members Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms Club Run—Ladies Rally—see Advert Veteran Section Meeting—Clubrooms Committee Meeting—Clubrooms Annual Motorcycle Rally Bulleting Mailing Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms Mid Week Tourers Starts The Warehouse Carpark, Westgate Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms Club Run Charabanc Maintenance Night—Clubrooms Club Night & New Members 50 and 60 Year Membership Awards—Clubrooms Committee Meeting—Clubrooms Veteran Section Meeting—Clubrooms Bulletin Mailing via Email Vintage Venture (Waikato Branch) Mid Week Tourers Starts BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms Charabanc Maintenance Night—Clubrooms Club Night & New Members Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms Club Run—Experts Rally Committee Meeting (June)—Clubrooms
10:00am 2:30pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 2:30pm 11: 00am 2:30pm 7:30pm
7:30pm 2:30pm 10:00am 2:30pm
8:00pm 8:00pm 2:00pm 7:30pm 2:30pm 7:30pm 10:00am 2:30pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 2:30pm 7:30pm
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 24 March 8:00 p.m. Guest Speaker To be advised via Email Tree
Club Run
Ladies Rally
Sunday 27 March Starts:
Albany Pub 276 Dairy Flat Highway, Albany
Time:
11:00 a.m.
To finish at Orewa or Wenderholm for a Posh Picnic
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Commercial Notes On the night that would have been our January meeting, I was languishing in the Auckland Hospital, having been sent there at 4pm by my Doctor, suffering from a badly infected toe. Had I ignored it he said, I may well have lost my foot. Pat and I had left our new home at Parakai at 3pm, planning to visit the Doctor then grab a meal in New Lynn, before heading to the Clubrooms to host the Commercial meeting. To anyone who may have fronted on January the 25 th, I offer my apologies. This episode has given us both a wake-up call, and we now realise how impractical it is travelling all that way in to Penrose, possibly two nights in a row (if we wish to attend Club Nights as well) I have therefore decided to stand down as Commercial Rep., and start to live life according to my age, and not my ego. The opportunity is there, for someone to put their hand up, or perhaps members might like to fraternise with the Vintage section which meets on the 4 th Saturday at 2 30pm. Kind regards, John Campbell
BULLETIN EDITOR WANTED THREE MONTHS TO GO! As from July 2022, I will no longer be the Editor of ‘The Bulletin’, as I’m retiring from this position, which I have held for almost 20 years. Therefore the Committee is looking for a new Editor. Please, if you are interested in being the Editor, contact me either by phone or email now for further information. Val Ball Ph: (09) 298 6476 Email: rvball@xtra.co.nz
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1924 BSA Model L 350 It has been generally recognised in the Club that my bike was the only overhead valve L model in New Zealand, but recently two more have popped up out of the woodwork. On talking to the owners I was surprised to hear from three different people that the word is around that my bike was purchased from Lynda Maddock. That is not true, Lynda has never owned my bike. Here is the history: I understand that Pat Wood, Dave Rogers and Neil Barnard have previously owned it but I bought it off Barry Williams in 1983. In 1990 I sold it to Roy White and bought it back off him in 1996. Since then I have done thousands of miles on it and have ridden Lewis, Arthurs and Haast Passes, through the Homer tunnel to Milford Sound, up Mt Cook, Coronet Peak, Bluff Hill and Denniston Incline. I have ridden over the Crown Range three times. I have also ridden over the Rimutakas, Paraparas and several times the Taupo to Napier road. Now here is the interesting thing. Roy put a new piston and rings in it in 1990 and the head has never been off it since. It has only once broken down when a rocker box lug broke on a Rubber Duckie Rally about 20 years ago. Here is another interesting story. The bike has a tap on the oil line to stop oil draining into the crankcase. I am fussy about this, but in 2003 Michael O'Kane and I rode to Milford Sound and we left the bikes in the car park while we went out on the boat trip. For some reason, I have no idea why, but I turned the oil off and told myself not to forget to turn it back on. Well we rode all the way up the steep winding road and were sitting at the traffic lights at the Homer Tunnel entrance when I remembered the oil tap. I just about had a heart attack and worried all the way back to Te Anau, the engine still working okay. To this day, I have never put a spanner on this motor and it is still running like clockwork. I wish the owners of the "new" bikes that have surfaced all the very best and hope their bikes are as reliable as mine has been. Neville Olsen
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Wellington Bi-Annual Motorcycle Rally My journey started on the Thursday evening (27 January), when I loaded the Honda XL onto my three bike trailer. Lynda and I then took the trailer up to John Poole’s home in Howick, where we loaded John’s Norton Commando. Lynda and I left John with the trailer and went over to the Auckland Clubrooms for Club night. Friday morning 7:45am in Pokeno, Lynda dropped me at the Countdown carpark, where John Poole was already there along with Jeremy Lambert, who had ridden his Velocette down from Auckland. Also there waiting were Don Green and Ian Hubbard with their Norton Dominator and Triumph Bonneville on Don’s trailer. We set off for Wellington at 8am with everything going well, until just before Tokoroa when Don’s trailer wheel exploded. Don fitted the spare and we made it to Taupo for lunch. When we returned to the vehicles, Don’s trailer’s spare wheel was going down so he used a tyre panda to reinflate it. Don then bought two new tyres before we left Taupo. Next stop was Bulls for fuel and a drink. After putting more air in the trailer tyres, everyone decided to check their motorcycle tyres. I was the last one to do this and found the XL’s rear tyre was flat. We carried on to Wellington and I phoned Wellington’s Peter Simpson for some help when we arrived. We drove into the Petone Top 10 campsite at 8pm, after a 12 hour journey. Peter had dropped off 4 tyre levers and a puncture repair kit and left them with Warkworth member Dave Oliver, who had ridden down on his 1940’s BSA single. We unloaded the bikes, but I left the rear end of the XL hanging off the rear of the trailer so I could remove the wheel. Out it came, then Auckland member John Comer came over and removed the tyre and tube, where we found the hole which was on the spokes side. We reckoned it was grit that got in through the hole where a security bolt had been. We took out a patch from the puncture outfit, but there wasn't any glue, so I phoned Peter again and he came out to save the day with a new tube of glue. All patched up, tyre back on and inflated and back on the bike. In our unit there we 5 plus Graeme Crawley who had his Ariel Hunt-master and the Ariel Club Chairman, Steve Barker, with his Hunt-master. On Saturday morning we rode to the Petone Clubrooms to get our rally packs and have the briefing. The instructions were in large letters, which accounted for 7 pages. The 40 plus bikes set off at 10am. It was an easy ride down the motorway to Wellington. We then rode around 26 bays, took the tunnel under the airport and we came to the end of the timed section just past Owhiro Bay at the Te Kopahou Visitors Centre. Peter Simpson gave us a talk about the marine reserve there. We set off again, working our way west through Wellington to our lunch stop at the Makara Hall and enjoyed a very good boxed lunch. After lunch we climbed the hills to the West Wind farm, a great place to visit with 62 turbines spending around 30 minutes there. We then headed back to the Clubrooms for afternoon tea, then it was back to Top10 for a shower and drink. We arrived back at the Clubrooms for dinner and prizegiving. These are our members and others who we know that received awards: Post Vintage Cam Francis Indian 3rd. Post War 1st Graeme Crawley Ariel, 2nd Willy James BSA, 3rd Simon & Sylvia Clearwater Matchless. P80 1 st John Comer BMW, 3rd Martin Spicer Honda. The overall joint winner’s were Graeme Crawley & Bob Cumming (BMW).
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Wellington Bi-Annual Motorcycle Rally Sunday morning we left the Top10 and took our cars and trailers with us to the Petone Clubrooms. There were 30 riders ready to go and we rode down to the Wellington wharf and parked outside the Te Papa Museum. We were to have a one and half hour guided tour of Wellington floating Steam crane Hikitia. Here’s a bit of information about it. Built in Glasgow in 1926, she sailed to NZ via the Panama Canal, she travelled at 7 knots and it took 88 days, in 1963 she was converted to oil boilers. To learn more history, Google Hikitia Wellington’s floating crane. From the Hikitia we went back to the Clubrooms for a BBQ lunch and finally set off for home at 3pm. climbing over the Rimutakas. After Woodville, we climbed the Saddle Road to pass the impressive Te Apiti wind farm, on to Taihape for fish ‘n chips, then made our way north to Taupo for the night. We left after breakfast, Don and Ian made their way home and we arrived at my Pokeno farm around 3pm. We unloaded the Honda and Jeremy's Velo. Jeremy set off for his home in Mangere Bridge on his bike and Lynda and I followed John back to his Howick home to unload his Norton. And so ended another great motorcycling weekend away. Martin Spicer
50 and 60 Year Membership Awards As we were not able to present these awards at the Garden Party last year, we will be holding a special afternoon presentation on Saturday April 30, 2:00 p.m. at the Clubrooms. Members are welcome to attend, following all covid protection protocols at the time. These members will be receiving membership awards: 50 Years John Wilkinson Michael Hilliar Malcolm Pearce Colin Bell
60 Years Neil Bieleski Clive Geary Fred Clifford
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Spares Letting the Branch members know what we are up to from the boys sorting out the spare parts display and storage: The parts section was set up more than half a century ago, and from what we have learnt has grown steadily over time, with members involved in controlling the inflow of items very well by extending the shelving and labelling containers etc. The problem was that those members became no longer “spring chickens” and moved on or fell off the perch. To follow on, other members replaced them and more and more items arrived which resulted in the shelves and any corner available being used to simply make room for more items arriving. A bit more than two years ago when Dudley Kitson was unable to continue his input with the inflow, I responded to a request in The Bulletin to take on the job. Having had half a century in the parts industry, I learnt that if you haven’t got a stock control system then you have a chaotic mess. There is no point in having stock that can’t be found. John Stokes with the help of Bill Hulse was running the parts. My first task was to make space and we started by separating serviceable, restorable and saleable items from junk. In a short time we had a load ready to go to a local scrap dealer. John then brought his Ute. in and we loaded it up and off we went to set up a deal with the scrap merchant. A short time before this scrap yard visit, John Stokes had a Branch member wanting to purchase some badges from three gasoline boxes, one Thursday morning and requested that I value each of the items wanted. This occasion was an important turning point when I learnt that any item that was thought to be valuable was locked away in a secure place out of sight, in case someone with sticky fingers would spirit something away. I had seen an obsolete triple door refrigerated display cabinet at the scrap yard and offered to buy it. I was told that in no way was it for sale, but if I asked the foreman at McAlpine Refrigeration nicely he would probably get one for me. I waited about a month before getting the call. Jim Boag who had joined our team brought his Ute. and trailer to collect the cabinet in exchange for a carton of brown liquid refreshment which I happily donated to the cause. The cabinet was made lockable and a space was cleared for it in the Barn. With the 2020 Hunua 100 Garden Party not far away, we decided to have a sale and were fortunate enough to get Roy Sharman along who set up and dressed the tables, and helped with the display and pricing of our surplus stock items. We raised nearly $1,000 toward Branch funds at this sale. Before the sale there was no record of sales and the bar cash box was used for any spares revenue. We now have a sales record book, cash box and catalogue (with item description, quantity, price and location) both for the Barn and Dungeon. To identify the location we have started marking each set of racks in the Barn starting from the left as you walk in the door as B- (for Barn) and A for the first set of shelves, then going clockwise B for the second and so on. Each shelf is marked from the top A, with next shelf down B and so on. The shelves are labelled with the first one being B-AA and the first box or space as 01 or 1. At the present we are half way in the Barn with the shelf marking. Getting started we found a number of new old stock armatures (18 x starter motor, 4 x generator, and 3 x wiper motor, both 6 & 12 volt). I took them to Ron Wood Auto Electrician
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Spares Contd.. and had them identified. They have been catalogued and shelved in our new bins created from 20 litre plastic containers cut in half. There was a large pile of gaskets overflowing on a set of shelves just inside the Barn Warehouse. We found that a good number of sets had the head gasket missing, others were badly damaged, others were for trucks and industrial machinery etc. The shelving was modified with vertical roping to separate the spacing with each space being given its own unique lettering and number. We now have all gaskets (except those for carburettors) shelved and catalogued, using a lot less than a quarter of the space previously occupied. In the last year we had John Towers join us. He has brought with him a number of new skills and a lot of enthusiasm. However progress has been quite slow, thanks to the lockdowns enforced upon us by dear Jacinda. We found that that there was a significant number of items that were in no way related to club eligible vehicles or automobilia that was in good condition and could be quite useful for other purposes. We now have a “FREE GOODIES” Cabinet with these and other surplus items in, for Branch members to freely help themselves. Next time you are at the Clubrooms, please visit the Goodies cabinet. I am not going to write a monthly report but will from time to time update our members with what we are up to. Jack Nazer
Health and Safety Using the Workshop Equipment in the Barn A reminder to all members that we have a range of equipment available in the barn for your use on your restoration projects. Our Health and Safety Policy requires once you have undergone the Safety Training your name will be added to the register and at that stage you will be allowed to utilise the equipment any time a Committee member is present and has given the go-ahead. We also expect you to wear covered in shoes and appropriate ppe. Unfortunately we have had to turn away someone in the last month as they had not had the training. For those who have not attended a training session (only an hour or so) who would like to, please contact Don Green. Once we have sufficient people wanting to train we will hold another session, so if you are keen grab your mates and call Don.
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2022 Veteran Rally This years Annual Veteran Rally was held in February. I think this is the only calendar Branch event that has not been disrupted by Covid. We had 17 entries, with only one non starter on the day - Ron Richards, in a 1915 Model T. Probably half the field arrived by trailer and it didn’t take long for the Waiuku Cossie Club carpark to be filled with that unmistakeable sound of 1 and 2 cylinder engines chuffing away. The age range spread from 1905 with Barry and Nicola Birchall in the De Dion Bouton to the 1917 Dodge of Terry Jenkins, with Neil Lucas riding shotgun. Don Green flew the flag for motorcycles, riding his 1916 Triumph. Regular’s, Roy Sharman and John and Janice Gardiner were driving the ‘15 Perry and ‘15 Talbot. Phil and Caroline Henley were in the 1906 Cadillac Model K. I’m impressed with how this little car gets along. We happened to be following behind them one day on the Vero as well. I understand Phil is very happy with how it is performing at present, due in part to sorting the carburation. John Morrison gave the 1916 Briscoe a run, and of course the Charabanc was driven by Rob Webster with a “socially distanced” crew of 5. John Stokes had plotted a great route around the rural roads of Waiuku, Mauku, and Patumahoe to finish back at the Cossie Club for lunch. Very few moderns were seen. The trophies were awarded to Don Green (long route) and Phil and Caroline Henley (short route). Thank you to John Stokes for organising and David Adams for marshalling duties. Next year will be the 50th Annual Veteran Rally for the Branch, so mark Saturday February 11, 2023 in your diary now, as we are planning an extra special event. Tracey Winterbottom
Veteran Rally awards
Caroline & Phil Henley, John Stokes, Don Green
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Obituary - George Mihaljevich George Mihaljevich recently passed away at 91 years of age. He had been in the Vintage Car Club for sixty-one years and he was one of three in Auckland to get the Goddard Trophy. George was of Dalmatian descent and had grown up on the kauri fields north of Kaitaia. After only a few months at high school he left and went to work in a garage at Awanui. In 1951 his parents shifted to Auckland and bought a house in Vermont Street in Ponsonby. In Auckland, George started work at the Freezing Works but he clearly wanted to work with cars. When he was told Auto Parts were looking for staff, he went there looking for work but went to the wrong door and found himself at the Auto Radiator shop next door. They offered him work and he stayed there for a few years. He moved from there to Philip Lewis Radiator shop, then in 1956 went out on his own working from the basement of his parent’s house in Vermont Street Ponsonby. Soon after he meet his wife Joyce and they went on to have three children. George would acquire the property from his parents. Times were tough and the family car for many years was a 1929 Plymouth that had been made into a small truck. Quite quickly his reputation as radiator repairer grew and he was working for organisations like Auckland City Council, Winstones, bus companies and the Harbour Board. Air coolers would become a big part of his work. In 1960 he acquired the 1919 Hudson tourer and carried out a full restoration on the vehicle in a shed behind the house in Vermont Street. Not long after the Hudson arrived, we saw the arrival of the 9 litre 1925 Renault that Jack Nazer a car wrecker had uncovered, a 1938 one owner Hudson Sedan, a second nine litre Renault car that had arrived from Hawkes Bay and a 1913 Talbot with a bread van body that he had acquired from Merv Hardie, the Auto Wrecker in New Lynn. The Talbot would later go to Earl Gill who built the boat tail body and had it on the Haast Pass run with the Vintage Car Club in 1965. Many years later George would reacquire the Talbot and carry out a second restoration on the car. The shed behind the house was rapidly becoming Auckland’s first man cave and it was extended on several occasions as the collection grew. The first Renault was restored, and its first outing would be a run from Sydney to Melbourne in 1970. George also acquired a Norton motor bike, lots of stationery engines, petrol pumps, oil cans, signs, machinery, a Hart Parr tractor, a massive water press from an old water lift that the council had outlawed and the sad remains of a 1913 Hudson that came north from Hawkes Bay. The veteran Hudson was passed on to Peter Muller who had helped George with the body on the Renault. The Hudson would come back to George after Peter passed away and George would carry out the restoration. Then from the States in more recent times arrived the Hudson Hornet. About twenty years ago George wound down the business but would continue to work on vintage radiators and this happened until quite recently. He had made a great friend in Len Southwood and you would often see a radiator there from that collection. We all knew he had earlier had major problems with cancer, but it didn’t stop him. He loved a good swap meet or old car run to a shed he had not been in. For years he went to the swap meet at Bendigo.
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Obituary—George Mihaljevich Contd.. Almost every day he would have a group of friends in the shed for morning tea where they would put the country to right. He would speak up and tell you about someone he did not like. We all knew George was a Labour supporter and stayed away from that subject. He had a great photo of Michael Savage in his shed you couldn’t miss. When Covid arrived and his health was getting worse, his children who had always been so supportive got stuck in Perth and were not able to assist but George had a great network of friends, many in the car club who stepped in to assist. I saw him about six weeks before he died and when I asked him what was wrong, he said his water pump was leaking, his radiator was blocked up and his engine was running only on three cylinders, and he wasn’t worth fixing. Barry Birchall
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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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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March 2022
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 Commercial Rep John Campbell (Pat) Ph: (09) 420 6045 or 0272 446 928 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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