May 2020
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MAY 2020
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May 2020
May 2020
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Index In this issue… Letter to the Editor Notice of Annual General Meeting Nomination Form Bill Shears Memorial Trophy Can you Identify The Mad Irishwomen’s Rally The Morgan World Guttered Oil Market Vero International Festival of Motoring
Page 15 18 19 20 21 22-23 24-25 27 28
Regular Features Chairman’s Report Secretary’s Notes Club Captain’s Report Veteran Notes Commercial Notes Library Notes Vintage Notes Motorcycle Notes Mid Week Tourers Coming Events For Sale Your Committee
4 4 5 6 7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14 16-17 29 30
June Bulletin closing date
Strictly 25 May 2020
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 2020
Chairman’s Report Well what strange times we live in. First of all Lynda and I hope all of you are staying well and coping ok. If any of you are having problems of any sort and need any type of help please make contact with one of the Committee members and I'm sure we will make every effort to help you. Lynda and I haven't left our home in 5 weeks. We are lucky in that daughter Bea and husband Dan and our grandkids Riley and Isabella are in our bubble and they do our food shopping and we see them regularly. We have been doing work on the farm, repairing electric fences, burning scrub and loads of tree cutting. We also have spent a lot of time in the garage, where we had very little room to move about. We have been sorting boxes and boxes of our ‘stuff’ that were from when we moved to Pokeno 10 years ago and also Lynda's mums ‘stuff’ we inherited when she passed away. We have burnt quite a lot, sorted into sections for keeping, selling and for charities. We now have much more moving space. Regarding the Clubroom repairs, that is in limbo at the moment. Maybe the builder can start again in Level 3! Well that's all from me for now, so stay safe and well. Martin Spicer
Secretary’s Notes Another Bulletin while we are in these strange times. You will see May events have been cancelled and while we may see Level 2 in June and have some events returning, the Committee have made the decision to postpone our Annual General Meeting. We feel it is important to have a good turnout and by postponing it will allow many members more time to feel more confident about venturing back to the Clubrooms. This month we will be discussing procedures we will put in place to ensure we are minimising risk for visitors to the Clubrooms. We will confirm later this month the new date for the AGM and again I ask you to look back on one of my earlier reports and consider the future of the Branch and how you could contribute. Tracey Winterbottom
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Club Captain’s Report Well this has been a month to beat all previous months, unpresented times, with us all experiencing some form of lockdown. Zero meetings, zero runs and rallies. Martin and I haven't left the property for 5 weeks but I can't say it has been difficult. My occupation of being a Mortgage Adviser has seen me, especially during the first couple of weeks kept busy, re-negotiating people’s loans and mortgages so that they could weather the worst of the storm, at least for three months. In between times I have been helping sorting out the garage. My, I didn't realise we had that much “stuff”. It was also a bit of a trip down memory lane as well. Martin is looking forward to him having a proper garage to work in, rather than a storage unit, as it has been. I've also been busy with catching up with some studying, as Mortgage Advisers move into a new era of Financial Services and have to have more qualifications to carry on trading from next year. Lockdown an ideal time to start. Martin has been busy with emailing the Motorcycle Section members and quite a few of the car section members, with interesting articles which I know have also been forwarded on to others. If you would like to join our mailing list, then give Martin a call on 022 102 5954 or (09)233 6382. He would only send out information that he thought you would enjoy. It has also been mentioned that perhaps we look at ZOOM if the lockdown continues. I already use it for business and can easily set it up for our general use. This is an open video link which runs through your computer, ipad, or smart phone and you can opt to be seen or not. It is a good way of having a “meeting of a kind” with as many people as want to join in the conversation at a set time. Let us have your thoughts on this. If you are experiencing any difficulties during this time, please do reach out to any of the Committee. We did try to put in place a system where certain people stayed in touch with others, i.e. John Campbell with the Commercial and Murray Firth with Vintage members, etc. If you need food, don't go hungry, there are plenty of agencies out there helping but more especially reach out to any of your Committee who will happily sort something out for you as a matter of urgency. As we move into Level 3 it looks as if we are being very fortunate in comparison with other countries, but please, stay within your bubble and keep safe and well. Never be afraid to pick up the phone and give someone a call, the Committee or a neighbour, if you need to hear a friendly voice. As Jacinda says, there are 5 million of us, working together. At this stage we have no idea when we will return to “normal” or at least a form of normality, when we will be able to enjoy our club events again, but we will keep you informed through the Bulletin or the email tree. Kia Kaha
Lynda Spicer
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Veteran Notes Roy Sharman’s 1905 Unic—Made in Paris, France. This twin cylinder 12HP car was the 379th car built in the first year of 7000 cars manufactured. This Unic brand car was famous for being the first taxicabs trading on the London and Paris streets from 1906 to 1920. The swing seat (allows rear seat entry) model was exhibited at the London Olympia 1905 exhibition and priced at UK 250 pounds. The bodywork was built by “Carrosrie—F Merville and G Garnier” Lenoir, Paris. The builder’s name plates are still attached to the car. The wind protection panels and a side door were added in NZ using local Kauri timber. This car was first owned by Mr W D Lysnar an MP in Gisborne and who owned freezing works, farms and a refrigerated ship for trading directly with UK. Motor vehicle registrations in Gisborne commenced in 1912 when this car was already 5 years old. It was marked with registration number G5. This car was traded for a new Rudge motorcycle in January 1913 and when re-sold in 1913 no further detail is known until it was found in a collapsed farm barn in Matawai (between Gisborne and Opotiki) in 1958. The car was found in partially dismantled condition by a then medical student Graeme Macdonald. The car was then reassembled in Auckland using some donor parts from another Unic twin cylinder car from a Wanganui farm. The car was then registered and used on the road in 1959-1960 only and the 1959 plates and registration sticker and WOF are still attached to the car. From 1960 the car was then stored for 52 years in a Remuera garage until 2012. The car still has most of the original 1905 upholstery, bodywork and hood bows and still retains the original brass brake linings and mechanical components. In 1905 the makers claimed a 35mph speed in high gear. As Roy says, you could write a book about the car and its recovery and restoration. The farm’s owner J J Langer, who was of German descent, was very bitter about his treatment in this country during World War II. Langer and his family were reclusive and eccentric, unwelcome visitors were strongly advised to leave. The car was used as a taxi at Rakaroa Railway Station and was driven by Mrs Bryant. The Unic was sold to Graeme Macdonald in 1958 for ten pounds and the deal included two 1914 Overland cars as well. John Stokes
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Commercial Notes Due to the lockdown, I have resorted to on line requests for news and am pleased to report that Hans Dorbeck’s Hillman Husky, now in the care of son Michael, is finally in the panel shop after Hans was run off the road last year. They have managed to locate a complete front end and grille. Still being sought is a right front guard, which could come from any early 50’s Hillman car, and a July completion date is in the offing. Murray Firth has removed the heavy Australian hardwood framing from the chassis of his ’31 Bedford to give it a complete makeover. The timber is in excellent condition, so Murray wants to prepare and paint the underside, which wasn’t achieved during the initial restoration. He used two chain blocks to remove the frame from the chassis. If there is something good to have come from this enforced lockdown, then for me it has been the opportunity to transfer many thousands of feet of Standard 8 and Super 8 film to digital format and then burn it to DVD’s. Of course these days video imaging is mostly stored on USB flash drives, but I have spent enough over the 55 years Pat and I have been involved with amateur movie making, upgrading our gear etc., that this DVD format will see me out. Most of the footage I have transferred has been family stuff and in the weeks ahead, I plan to do a lot more, including our early forays into video tape cameras. Some of the film had become coated with a mould which can be washed away with a warm weak solution of dishwashing liquid. The film was then draped over a line in our basement to dry overnight. Keep M Rolling John Campbell
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Library Notes We certainly are missing our Thursday mornings at the Library and the signs are that it will be a while yet before we will be back to our weekly sessions. It is especially frustrating that in this time when our members have more reading time than ever, that the Library and its contents are not available. Never mind, its all in a greater cause and while we are tucked away in our bubbles there has been some good work being done remotely and ‘on-line’. A case in point was the recent request we received from Ian Goldingham regarding information about some not seen before photos of the famous Stutz racer. Yes, this was the car that was shipped in 1924 from San Francisco to its new owner Selwyn Craig here in Auckland. As is well recorded, that car went on to be raced so successfully and especially at Muriwai in the 1920’s. Ian’s plea was this: could we help in identifying where in Auckland the photos were taken and was it perhaps Craig himself who was pushing the car? He drew our attention to the cobbled streets and tram tracks and suggested maybe the location could be Albert St, or maybe Customs or Quay St. Maybe it was due to the welcome break in the boredom of being in lockdown, but whatever, several (usually) well-informed historic enthusiasts became engrossed in solving this puzzle and much detective work was done. All manner of good ideas came forward, like the fact that it couldn’t be Albert St as the trams never ran down there. Maybe it was in Lower Customs St, or maybe it was in Dominion Rd where KFC is now? Barry Robert so wisely pointed out that the car was wider than the tracks. Auckland Tram tracks were 4ft. 8 1/2in, so they must be train tracks, (3ft. 6 in) which in Auckland only ran down Quay St. Chris Wood pointed out that poor Selwyn Craig died of cancer in 1924. He never got to drive the car and it would have been most unlikely that he would feel up to pushing the car as energetically as shown in the photo.
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Library Notes Contd... As time passed the team were no closer to solving the case, the stress was getting to them and some were reportedly even losing sleep. Even a few more days passed with still no answer for Ian and the feeling in the team was one of utter frustration. What a surprise then, when most unexpectedly, a message came through from Ian to say that he had found some other photos taken at the same time and on the back of one was written, “Day of shipping from San Francisco”. Problem solved, but there is this nagging doubt—might Ian have been just testing us? On another subject, Barry Birchall continues his researching on the history of the motor industry in NZ. In his work he has identified that we have some gaps in our collection of books on the histories of Distributors and Dealers. In that regard we are looking for a copy of “The University on the Hill”, which is the history of Todd Motors and in addition we would like to get anything there might be on Shorters, Schofields, Dominion Motors or Tappenden Motors. They were all established in the 1920’s and have long histories. Still on the subject of historic material, we are always looking for good quality photos depicting some interesting aspect of motoring preferably from the era 1920-1940. Please send to: cdwood@xtra.co.nz. Chris Wood and the Library Team:—Owen Hayward, Colin Bott, Barry Birchall, John Stokes & Barry Robert.
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Vintage Notes Our April meeting of the Vintage Section has once again had to be cancelled. As I write, "Level 3" will be implemented this coming week, but this will not be much use to us. Even under "Level 2", I doubt the Committee will open the Clubrooms as the requirements are still very strict, but at least we won't be locked down. My own lockdown project - repainting the truck, is coming on well, but I am running low on paint and sandpaper etc. so am looking forward to replenishing supplies. We have done the hardest part, so keep your spirits up and your hands busy and be patient. This month's feature is Owen Hayward and his Paige. Enjoy. Murray Firth Our 1922 Paige Daytona—Paige Motors Detroit started in 1908 and their first car was powered by a 3 cylinder 2 stroke engine. They continued until being purchased by Graham Bros in 1927. In 1986 after a few years without a vintage car I decided to look for a vintage car for club activities and came across John Williams 1922 Paige. While the body was in great condition mechanically it need attention. I took the body off and started from the chassis. I had the 1992 Palmerston North Rally as my goal. The engine being 6 litre Continental 10A series motor and over a metre long needed complete rebuilding. That went to the engine re-conditioners and I had a set of aluminium pistons manufactured 40 thou. oversize by David Giles at Icon Engineering. With the engine completed and the rolling chassis mobile we tested up and down our driveway and taking off in top gear was no trouble until the engine warmed up then it was appeared something was too tight. With Geoff Thorpe’s help we removed the 6 pistons and removed the rings. It was Geoff who noticed 3 of the compression rings were deeper than the rest resulting in these 3 sitting slightly outside the piston resulting in being pushed by the expansion of the piston and tightening against the bore. We replaced these 3 rings and end of that problem. We completed the restoration and off to Palmerston North. All was great and we continued with no real problems, but it was obvious the engine was losing the power we started with and the car was far too low geared. Once home compressions showed things were not good so I took the head off expecting to find burnt valves but no the valves all looked good and seating well. A measure of the bore showed .0008 thou. wear not on the thrust side but round nearer the front. I sent the engine to Harold Cannum in Rotorua. His findings were the line boring while straight was 27 thou. higher at the rear making the big end and gudgeon pin not parallel. That accounted for the wear being where it was, so a set of new pistons from America and a second rebuild. The engine was perfect when Harold had worked his magic and off we went on a club run. We hadn’t got to the start when the engine started to become very sluggish and when I turned it off it showed signs of piston seizing. We waited until the engine cooled down and it started and all seamed well. A little heat and away it went again so we came
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Vintage Notes Contd... home, took off the head and the bore was badly marked. Out came the engine and the process started for the third time. Harold Cannum told me he allowed .001 thou. clearance for the pistons (3.75 inch diameter solid skirt aluminium) and .003.3 of a thou. for the big end and main bearings (2.25 inch diameter). So we started all over again. I had the block bored out and sleeved to .0020 oversize, took the block and the original pistons to David Giles for it to be machined to fit the re-sleeved bore at .004 clearance, took the con rods to Ivan Monkawits to have the bearings released and with 2 rods requiring the big ends re-metaling with .003 or 3 thou. clearance and reassembled the engine myself. We have enjoyed 27 years of great motoring. The transmission will be the next instalment. Owen Hayward
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Motorcycle Report Lynda and I hope you all are safe and well and coping well with the lockdown. Well it's now time for the April Motorcycle Meeting report. Lynda and I didn't arrive at the Clubrooms on a sunny Saturday afternoon and we didn't set up the room ready for the meeting. There were no bikes in the car park, there were no visitors and the membership attendance was zero. There wasn't any reports on runs or rallies, the coming events are a bit vague. So now we go onto our guest speaker. It's been reported that he's world famous in his own circle? So let's have a big hand for Martin Spicer, following is one of his stories. Once Upon A Time In England: It's 1971 and I had just been to Brixton, South London, to the famous or infamous motorcycle dealers Pride and Clarks, or as locals called them Pride and Sharks. I bought from them a new rear Dunlop TT 100 tyre for my Golden Flash. The tyre name came about because in the production class of the IOM TT of 1969 Malcolm Uphill won the race on a Triumph Thruxton Bonneville. This was the first time a production bike using road tyres had lapped the IOM TT at100 mph. Any way, off I went home to West Dulwich in South London and fitted the new tyre to the bike - this was on a Friday evening. Now we jump to the Sunday morning, Lynda and I set of from home on a sunny morning and headed north on the Flash. We had a good 110 mile ride up to the Mallory Park race track in Leicestershire. We were there for the legendary Race of the Year. This race was one of the best and biggest of the year and we were part of the massive 75,000 crowd. The entry list of riders was absolutely brilliant. Some of the riders world champions Mike Hailwood riding a 350 Yamaha, Giacomo Agostini 500 MV Augusta, Phil Read 350 Yamaha and future world champions Barry Sheen 500 Suzuki, Rod Gould, Jarno Saarinen and American Garry Nixon, Swede Kent Anderson, all on 350 Yamaha's. Other top names were Peter Williams 750 works Norton, John Cooper, Percy Tait, Ray Pickrell, Paul Smart, all on works Triumph and BSA triples and loads of the top UK's privateers. Nowadays at big race meetings you get 1 to 3 races, but at this 1971 meeting there were 17 races that went from 10am till 6pm. There were 127 competitors on solo's and 45 of the top sidecar racers. All the riders rode in at least 3 or 4 races. My hero was sidecar racer Chris Vincent who worked for BSA as a test rider and raced a BSA outfit, he won many British championships. Over the day’s racing all the top riders won their races in qualifying. Now to the big race, that had a first place prize of the Trophy and 1000 guineas which seems very small by today's standards, 2nd got 500 pounds and 3rd 250. At other race meetings in the year, 1st would normally get around 25 pounds, so you can see why there was a big entry. The race was full of excitement with many of the fancied riders crashing or breaking down. Barry Sheen was in 3rd place at the beginning on his 500 Suzuki twin but crashed and Hailwood's Yamaha broke down. The race soon settled down to just 2 riders fighting it out, Ago on his MV Grand Prix 500 and the previous years race winner John Cooper BSA Rocket 3. They swapped places on every corner for the 30 laps. The big crowd went wild with cheering everytime Cooper went into the lead and then booed Ago when he went into the lead. We had sore throats by the end of the race. Cooper won the race by 3/5ths of a second from Ago, 3rd was Ray Pickrell BSA Rocket 3, 4th Paul Smart Triumph Trident, 5th
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Motorcycle Report Contd... Percy Tait Triumph Trident, 6th Jarno Saarinen Yamaha, 7th Phil Read Yamaha, The crowd went mad for Cooper, as this was his 3rd win in this race since 1965. So it was all over till next year. Mallory Park circuit is way out in the countryside and the roads were not much more than single lane roads, I'm sure it must be better nowadays. I'm guessing there were around 20,000 bikes and 45,000 cars all wanting to get out and go home. It took Lynda and I on the Flash around one and half hour's to get out of the track and onto the A1 road to go back to London. We were on a high after such a great day's racing. It now was dark and there we were relying on the Prince of Darkness (Lucas) to show us the way home, no the lights didn't let us down, but we were half way back to London when we entered a small village, when the brand new rear tyre went flat, “Bugger” we stopped outside a small cottage, needing help, we knocked on the door a few times, when we heard some shout out “there's no one home”, so went across the road to the phone box (no mobile phones then) to phone Lynda's Mum and Dad to say we will be late getting home. Just then a man knocked on the phone box door, we came out to see what he wanted. He said he lived across the road in the small cottage and his wife and her mother were in, but wouldn't open up to two helmeted “Hell's Angels”, while he was walking his dog. We told him our problem and he said come over to the house and we will have a go at fixing the puncture. So we got the wheel off and took it into their kitchen, his wife gave us cups of tea and scones. We found the reason why the tyre went down. The tyre had 2 big splits in it, so we fixed the holes in the tube and put some cardboard inside the tyre to cover the splits. We thanked them for their help and set off again, it was now 11pm. All went well, but I was praying that the tyre would stay up. We made it to London, crossed the Thames via Waterloo Bridge, passed through The Elephant and Castle when the tyre went flat again. “Bugger” again. It was now 1:30am, we were 7 miles from home. We stopped at the Shell petrol station, phoned Lynda's Mum and Dad again and they came to rescue us. We left the bike at the station. I removed the rear wheel and took it with us. Monday morning I went back to Pride and Sharks, showed them the tyre, but they wouldn't give me a replacement until they had sent the knackered one back to Dunlop for investigation. This took 2 weeks. I was told it was a manufacturing flaw, so they then gave me a new one. So another Spicer motorcycle story ends. Hope you enjoyed my trip to the past. Let's all hope we will meet at the May Motorcycle Meeting! Martin Spicer
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Mid Week Tourers No run last month (April), so no report. Future reports, well, we need someone to co-ordinate these runs and report to the Bulletin Editor. What about it? There is a good team willing to plot runs and there is even one who is thinking about looking after the southern end. With the AGM coming up soon, that would be a good time to offer your services. Meantime, the Dewdrops are signing off, God Bless.
Future Events:
NOW ALL POSTPONED UNTIL???
Kelvin has arranged a run to Kaukapakapa (a boutique chocolate factory and shop) The Silverdale collection will still be on another day. John has a run in mind, to be confirmed. It is expected to be a Southern (Drury start) for a run that will include an optional lap or two on the Pukekohe Raceway. Jack has a couple of ideas for runs, wait and see when the lockdown is over. The same goes for the Dewdrops. But someone is needed to tie it all together.
Go well, keep safe.
The Mid-Week Team
PAUL’S MAGNETOS Testing, repairs, re-magnetizing, rewinding and remedial-engineering of all types of magnetos. Magnetos re-engineered to competition standards of accuracy, with improved spark power. Dynamo repairs, 6 to 12-volt conversion, 3 to 2 brush conversion, electronic regulators, adjustment of mechanical regulators.
Recommended by Ken McIntosh, Hugh Anderson, Ken Campbell, Steve Raffills and David Warren. Contact Paul Greet on 021 771 090
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Letter to the Editor I am having a job to find something to write on. Half an hour ago, I was sitting in the sun and the phone was ringing and I couldn’t get up from the low chair, but in the end I made it. A nice lady on the end of the phone, it was Shaaran from the Vintage Car Club—I have often had a cup of tea that she has made. Her husband Alan has handed me the sugar just half a spoon. Anyway, it is a great day to get the pen going. Friday 3 April and the Fish & Chip shop is closed. A friend rang me a few minutes ago and said it is lovely driving on the motorway and no traffic, wouldn’t it be lovely for our old cars! Getting back to our Club, really it is the best one in NZ and what a perfect Library. All the books on Veteran cars—our cars are getting a good rest! I have always said, one day someone is going to push the wrong button and the world is going to finish. We are only getting a taste of what is to come. Away from old cars at the moment, I was talking to my sweet daughter Irene who is living at Waiheke for a short time and now ladies I am going to tell you something I don’t think you have ever done before. She had done all the washing in the washing machine and put it in the dryer. Left it for an hour or so and when she pulled it out it was all a bright orange colour. When she pulled all her nice silk underwear out, she found about 20 eggs. What had happened, she had left the door a bit open and the chickens had laid their eggs. Oh, what a job she said, half a day cleaning up and scrambled eggs for a month. She was not happy and I guess the chickens weren’t happy either! She has 45 of them running around, as well as some wild pigs and three cats. A lady gave me a balloon on my 98th birthday, it goes flat at night and in the day it goes big again, what do you make of that? I must put the oven on and heat up my dinner of Steak & Kidney with savoury mince, they are my favourite and choc bomb later goes down well too. I’m lucky, a good bed and three meals a day from ‘Meals on Wheels’. My nurse gives me a dust over every couple of days. “Cabbage and water is the secret petrol in the car”. Another good day for writing, Saturday 4 April. I have just got up from sitting in a chair in the hot sun and believe it or not, I had a job getting out of the chair. I have everything here, but no lady. A very good day for hopping in an old car and going for a run, no traffic and we are not allowed out, only around the house. I am okay, NZ is a lovely country. My car at the moment is a four wheel push cart, it has solid tyres so no punctures! I have just filled up my glass with cold water and an inch of brandy and potato chips and roasted peanuts. Well all, I have said enough, I must give my teeth a sharpen up ready for my steak. Ice cream after to wash it down. Love to you all from Jimmie Francis
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Coming Events May 14 16 20
Thurs Sat Wed
23 24 27
Sat Sun Wed
28 Thurs 30 Sat 30-1 June
June 2 11 13 17
Tues Thurs Sat Wed
20 24
Sat Wed
25 28
Thurs Sun
30
Tues
July 4-5 9 11 12 11-12 15
Thus Sat Sun Wed
18 22
Sat Wed
23 26
Thurs Sun
Bulletin via Website or email Motorcycle Rally (Northland Branch) CANCELLED Mid Week Tourers Starts Drury Service Centre, Southern Motorway 10:00am Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm Club Run—Experts Rally POSTPONED Commercial Meeting & Charabanc Maintenance Night Clubrooms 8:00pm Club Night & New Members 8:00pm Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm Double Fifty (Waikato Branch) CANCELLED Committee Meeting 7:30pm Bulletin Mailing 7:30pm Veteran Section Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm Mid Week Tourers Starts The Warehouse Carpark, Westgate 10:00am Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm Commercial Meeting & Charabanc Maintenance Night Clubrooms 8:00pm Branch AGM—POSTPONED—Date to be confirmed 8:00pm Club Run—Combined with North Shore Branch, this year hosted by North Shore Branch Committee Meeting (July) 7:30pm Winter Woollies Wander (Wellsford/Warkworth Branch) Bulletin via Website or email Veteran Section Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm Central North Island Swapmeet (Rotorua Branch) R’Oil Can Rally (Waitemata Branch) Mid Week Tourers Starts Drury Service Centre, Southern Motorway 10:00am Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm Commercial Meeting & Charabanc Maintenance Night Clubrooms 8:00pm Club Night & New Members 8:00pm Club Run
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 28 May 8:00 p.m. Guest Speaker from St John talking on First Aid
May Club Run EXPERTS RALLY Sunday 24 May Starts:
Cnr Coronation Rd & Kiwi Esplanade, Mangere Bridge
Time:
1:30 p.m.
Finishing at the Clubrooms
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May 2020
Notice of Annual General Meeting
Auckland Veteran & Vintage Car Club Inc.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Thursday 25th June 2020 To be held in the Auckland Branch Clubrooms, 39 Fairfax Avenue, Penrose.
Meeting commences 8:00 p.m. Agenda:
Apologies Minutes 2019 AGM Annual Reports Financial Statement Election of Officers Prize Giving 25 & 35 Year Presentation Awards General Business
A light supper will be provided and the Bar will NOT be open. 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 Secretary AVVCC
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Nomination Form NOMINATION FORM for the 2020-21 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 Unit 3 31 Princes St, Onehunga, Auckland.
Ph: 09 636 5836 Fax:09 636 5838 Email: sales@robinsoninstruments.co.nz Web: www.robinsoninstruments.co.nz
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May 2020
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 30 June 2020 via email auckland@vcc.org.nz or post P O Box 12 138 Penrose Auckland 1642
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Can you Identify I have had an enquiry from a member regarding the date of a Gymnic at the Clevedon Polo Grounds. Below are two photos—can you help with the year of the Gymnic—was it December 1977 or 1978 and maybe something about the Model T also in the photo. If you could let me know, it would be much appreciated. The Editor
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The Mad Irishwoman’s Rally Trevor Appleby made such a great job last year of running the inaugural event, we had to be back to give support and to enjoy a weekend of Vintage Motoring “Irishman Style” during the weekend of 14-15 March. A few entrants started the event by attending a BBQ at Trevor’s place on Friday night and by the number of stories told and camaraderie amongst those gathered we knew we were in for another great event. The weather played its part and we headed for breakfast at the Wharepapa South School who had arranged all catering for the weekend. A fantastic opportunity to put some money back into the local community and what a great job they did of catering breakfasts, lunches and Saturday dinner. The rally attracted 15 entrants from South Waikato, Waikato and Auckland. A mixture of cars, De Soto 8 cylinder, Dodge Six, Austin 12/4, 1924 Standard, Oakland, Riley, Chev, Ford Model A’s and two Ford model T’s.
First instruction was left from the school towards Otorohanga, then we wound through great rolling and steep country to enter Rangitoto Station and the Abandoned Farm. Marvelous lunch provided in the woolshed. The return trip was mostly narrow and winding to eventually return to Wharepapa South School. Saturday clocked up around 120 miles. The evening meal was a real feast served at Trevor’s daughter and son in law’s farm, the whole weekend a real family affair.
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The Mad Irishwoman’s Rally Contd.. Sunday involved visits to five farms, tracks, fords and native bush. Finish was early afternoon enabling most to return home before dark. Another well-organized event and likely to become more popular for vintage vehicles in the years to come. Peter Alderdice
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The Morgan World This is copied from Vol 1 issue 6 of “The Morgan World” a magazine devoted to Morgan Enthusiasts. The article was written by Barry Davison to whom we are indebted. It relates to the Irish rally held in 1974. I was so taken with the description of veteran motorcycle riding, I thought you may all also get some enjoyment from the article. Don Stringer and the Quadrant Don, Morgan Three-Wheeler Club member and also a Drop Head Coupe owner, was in those days’ accident prone. A keen motorcyclist without the luxury of a running Morgan at that time, Don went to the extraordinary lengths in his attempts to kill himself in Ireland. For a couple of years, he was a legend on the rally with his 1904 Quadrant motorised cycle. I will have to describe this wretched devise for you. Picture if you will, a very large turn of the century gentleman’s safety Bicycle. Now imagine it with industrial-strength tubing. Fill the void between the frame tubes and the saddle with a vertical slab tank which leaks petrol profusely from each and every seam. Couple this with the most ineffective and the heaviest single cylinder engine which you have ever seen, add a wick carburettor which would regularly backfire and set fire to the whole plot in spectacular style. An enormous set of pedals and Edwardian cow horn handlebars with more levers than a railway signal box completes the picture.
Now Don was not a large or well-built man and this was probably why I chose him as my racing passenger for many years. But he was completely fearless (which may have been why he stayed my racing passenger for many years). He was wiry and he was also determined, very determined. Due to its weight the Quadrant could cope quite well with the downhill bits, although the lack of any worthwhile brakes frequently led to bloody scenes at the bottom of inclines.
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The Morgan World Contd... A former racing cyclist, Don was obsessed with the idea that although the motor was not up to much, he could pedal the damnable thing around the place and up all the hills and thus complete an Irish Rally on it. But the Quadrant was a truly Satanic device which would bite him and set him on fire with monotonous regularity. He could be seen, arriving at check points long after darkness had descended, knackered, bleeding and often still smoking from the countless petrol fires which had destroyed much of his hair and clothing. He never gave up-ever! After five days of torture, bloodied, bruised, swathed in bandages and badly scorched around the crutch region. Don finally made it all the way to within 2 miles of the finish of the 1973 rally. Here the evil contraption spat him off one final time, caught fire again and buckled its wheels beyond recognition. Did he give up? Did he wait for the Banana Wagon? Oh no, not super Don. He carried the remains all the way to the finish and got his finishers plate and also just about every other award they could think of. I took pity on Don the next year and lent him my 2 speeder Morgan, so he toured around in comparative luxury and all of the emergency services went on short-time. Article sent by Peter Alderdice
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May 2020
Volunteers Required
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED Volunteers are required to assist Dudley Kitson and Bill Hulse in the Spares Department on Thursday morning from 10:00 a.m. on. Duties include assisting with sorting Spares as they arrive. Contact Robin Elliott or any Committee member or just turn up on Thursday morning.
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@vodafone.co.nz www.alpinepanelbeaters.co.nz Or call in and see us at 8/2 Lansford Crescent, Avondale
May 2020
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Guttered Oil Market The coronavirus pandemic is turning oil markets upside down. While U.S. crude futures have shed half of their value this year, prices for actual barrels of oil in some places have fallen even further. Storage around the globe is rapidly filling and, in areas where crude is hard to transport, producers could soon be forced to pay consumers to take it off their hands—effectively pushing prices below zero. Part of the problem, traders say, is the industry’s limited capacity to store excess oil. Efforts to curb the spread of the virus have driven demand to record lows. Factories have shut. Cars and airplanes are sitting immobile. So, refineries are slashing activity while stores of crude rapidly accumulate. U.S. crude inventories surged by a record 15.2 million barrels during the week ended April 3, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Gasoline stockpiles also jumped, climbing by 10.5 million barrels, while refining activity hit its lowest level since September 2008. Crude comes in many varieties, used for a range of purposes, and different grades are priced based on several factors, including their density, sulfur content and ease of transportation to trading hubs and refineries. Heavier, highersulfur crudes generally trade at a discount to lighter, sweet crudes such as West Texas Intermediate because they tend to require more processing. Crudes that depend on pipeline transportation are trading at a discount right now because there is nowhere to put them and the pipelines that would normally take them away are getting jammed up, analysts and traders say. The price of some regional crudes recently dipped into single digits. The spot price of Western Canadian Select at Hardisty—a heavy grade of Canadian crude typically transported by pipeline or rail to the U.S. Gulf and Midwest for refining—fell to just over $8 a barrel on April 1, according to an assessment from S&P Global Platts. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate at Midland fell to just above $10 a barrel on March 30, while West Texas Sour at Midland—its, harder-to-refine counterpart—fell to around $7 a barrel. One commodities trading house recently bid less than zero dollars for Wyoming Asphalt Sour crude. Saudi Arabia and Russia ended a production feud and joined the U.S. to lead a coalition of 23 oil-producing countries to cut output by a collective 9.7 million barrels a day. The feud began in March after Russia refused to participate in a Saudi-backed plan to carry out coordinated cuts. Saudi Arabia then lowered prices and raised production of its barrels, sending global prices into a downward spiral. Some analysts see a glimmer of hope coming from China, where there are some signals of life returning to normal. Chinese consumers have cautiously begun to travel again after hunkering down at home for two months. Others aren’t as optimistic, noting that global oil demand is still falling by tens-ofmillions of barrels a day. This article was sent in by Don Howarth, which has been summarised, from the Wall Street Journal
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May 2020
Vero International Festival of Motoring
Postponed till 2022 MOTOR TRIMMING CLASSIC & VINTAGE CARS LEATHER, HOODS, SIDECURTAINS 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE Trained by Ken Keay FABRIC BODIES A SPECIALITY TOP QUALITY WORK REASONABLE RATES
John McKechnie 66a Ladies Mile Remuera Phone: (09) 522 4418
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For Sale 1929 Ariel and Dusting side car—old restoration, looking for market value 1960 Velocette Venom Clubman—totally original Side car wheel, stub axle and mudguard. 19 inch, wheel & axle both fully rebuilt $100 Split rims, (5) 24 inch. Good condition. $100 Austin 7 parts, 1931 rolling chassis plus other bits, offers around $500 “Fun” Go kart, Kawasaki 2 stroke 125 cc engine and G/box, paid $400. Offers Oxy-acetylene welding gauges, hoses and torches—what are they worth? Ph: Norman Dewhurst (Member) (09) 232 0245 or email dewdrops@xtra.co.nz ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
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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May 2020
Your Committee Chairman/Motorcycle Rep/Delegate Martin Spicer (Lynda) Email: spicerclan2017@gmail.com Ph: (09) 233 6382 or 0221 025 954 Vice Chairman/Clubrooms Booking/Name Badges Don Green (Brenda) Email: greend@slingshot.co.nz Ph: 266 8836 or 021 073 2642 Secretary/Privacy Officer: Tracey Winterbottom Email: vintagesunbeam@hotmail.co.nz (Stephen) Ph: (09) 232 0246 or 021 732 209 Treasurer: Ian Hubbard (Lesley) Email: ian@fhp.co.nz Ph: 575 8236 or 0274 426 748 Club Captain: Lynda Spicer (Martin) Email: spicerclan2017@gmail.com Ph: (09) 233 6382 or 021 189 3120 Committee Members: Warwick Darrow (Trisha) Building Maintenance Email: waktrish@gmail.com Ph: 520 2882 or 021 203 4562 Robin Elliott Entertainment Officer/Spares Email: robaleen@actrix.co.nz Ph: 0274 922 188 Alan Price (Shaaran) Building Maintenance Email: birdwoodprices@gmail.com Ph: 833 8575 Shaaran Price (Alan) Social Convenor/New Membership Liaison Officer Email: birdwoodprices@gmail.com Ph: 833 8575 John Stokes Veteran Rep/Spares/Trophy Steward Email: jcstokes96a@xtra.co.nz Ph: (09) 236 4582 or 0272 772 108 Non-Committee Officers: Librarian Bulletin Editor Chris Wood (Diana) Val Ball (Rodger) Ph: 524 9478 Ph: 298 6476 Email: rvball@xtra.co.nz Beaded Wheels Reporter Commercial Rep John Stokes John Campbell (Pat) Continuous Membership Awards Steward Ph: 828 7850 or 0272 446 928 Glenn Morris (Marion) VIC Officer Ph: 273 4975 or 021 136 5926 Michael O’Kane Insurance: Ph: 813 4944 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
auckland@vcc.org.nz libraryavvcc@gmail.com www.avvcc.org.nz
Branch Honorary Life Members:
Barry Robert Norm Dewhurst QSM Alan Roberts
May 2020
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