July 2021
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Index
JULY 2021
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July 2021
July 2021
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Index In this issue… Kaiaua Fish ‘n Chip Run Northland Motorcycle Rally Waikato Double 50 2021 June Motorcycle Run Trophy Awards at AGM 2021 Irishman Creek Rally 2021
Page 18 19-20 21 22 23-25 26-28
Regular Features Chairman Report Secretary’s Notes Club Captain’s Report Motorcycle Notes Mid Week Tourers Library Notes Veteran Notes Vintage Notes Commercial Notes Coming Events Spares Your Committee
4 5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12 13 14 15 16-17 29 30
August Bulletin closing date Cover Designed by Melanie Ball
Strictly 25 July 2021
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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July 2021
Chairman’s Report Well you hear people saying doesn't time fly and here were are half way through the year already. We start off with the Northland Motorcycle Rally that I and a large number of Auckland Branch members attended. Over three quarters of the placings went to our members, with John Shennan being the overall winner. This was a great out of town rally. Next was the Waikato’s Double Fifty Rally, which the Auckland Branch won the teams trophy. Well done to those members who made up the team. May club run was the Annual Experts Rally, plotted by Russel & Jocelyn McAlpine. I took part on the Honda XL 250, but unfortunately the rain arrived at the start and I persevered for 40 minutes but the rain got heavier with me getting wetter, so I gave up and went to the finish at the Clubrooms to wait for the others to come in. Well done to Rodger & Val Ball, the winners. John Campbell's Commercial section, although small, always have interesting and lively discussions, so if you own or want to know more about Commercials do go along and join in their meetings. The Motorcycle run had an hour and a quarters country ride and finished at the home of Malcolm Anderson to view his and Dad Bruce’s motorcycle collection, the machine shop and man cave. What a great place for a visit. The Motorcycle Meeting had another large turnout of members to hear the CEO of the Neurological Foundation, Rich Easton, talk about his work and his 40 years of riding motorcycles. Club night was a noggin and natter evening with nibbles. The last event for the month of June was the Branch AGM, held again on a Saturday afternoon and there was around 100 members in attendance. The elected Committee were as follows, Chairman Martin Spicer, Vice Chairman Don Green, Secretary Tracey Winterbottom, Treasurer Alastair Moffat, Club Captain Lynda Spicer. Shaaran Price, John Morrison and Warwick Darrow make up the rest of the Committee. Graeme Crawley was co-opted on at the July Committee meeting. The Club run that Lynda had plotted was going to Kerepehi near Ngatea to visit a restored steam powered Flax Mill, but the owners cancelled it due to the heavy rain which had made the grass parking area a swamp, but this run will go ahead later in the year.
Keep those 2, 3, 4 or more wheels turning safely. Martin Spicer
July 2021
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Secretary’s Notes Half way through the year already! Remember entries for the Vero Festival of Motoring close at the end of August. Registrations and payment are all set up to be done on line. If you are having any difficulty with this and need a helping hand please give me a call, I’m more than happy to help you through it, either over the phone or we can complete it in person at the Clubrooms. It promises to be an event not to be missed! Remember you will need a VIC for the vehicle you intend to take as well. A reminder that both the Branch and the Club have Facebook pages. If you haven’t already, get yourself familiar with these, the Club group in particular is a great place to see what’s happening around the country and find recommended experts. It’s also a great place for interesting stories, history and vehicles. You will also find many other Branches have pages as well. You will see voting papers coming through your letterbox for voting on a Notice of Motion before the National AGM in August. Please cast your vote and again, if you have any questions please give me a call. The motion is a simple change to the way our membership application works to facilitate on line applications. From the Committee table: We have had a number of issues at various times with the AV system not working 100% and Don Green has spent a lot of time checking, rerouting wiring, relabelling and rewriting “How to” instructions. The next step is we will move the tower of equipment slightly and enclose in a way that power leads and cables cannot be knocked, moved or altered by anyone not versed in the correct set up. The Wi-Fi in the Clubrooms has been updated and improved for overall coverage and we are installing an external hard drive to hold all Branch records and back ups for the Library data. Painting of the exterior of the Clubrooms is still to start. Unfortunately the weather may mean this job is not completed now until Spring. The Charabanc is likely to go to New Plymouth for Vero, but not with a full crew. Its appearances will be on particular days/events, such as the evening street party with Alan Price or Rob Webster driving, both who are entering their own vehicles. Quotes and investigation into the toilet renovations continue to ensure we get a suitable renovation for reasonable cost. Tracey Winterbottom
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Club Captain’s Report Winter is just starting to show its claws. Pokeno has had a couple of very heavy frosts where our farm is completely white first thing in the morning. But afterwards we have had beautiful days. Alas the month has also given us some very heavy rains and Papatoetoe experiencing a tornado. If you were affected by this awful event, please reach out if you need any help or assistance. No doubt a good number of you will have visited the Covid 19 stations for your vaccination – Martin and I have our first one’s next week. None of us realised a little over 15 months ago, what an impact on the world this pandemic would have. But, in comparison with most other nations, we have been very fortunate and the envy of so many countries with us being able to attend and enjoy concerts, motoring events, rugby, soccer and so much more. John Stokes’ Veteran section continues to have good attendances and from John’s notes they have some robust discussions, ideas etc. with maintaining their Veteran vehicles. Even if you don’t currently own a Veteran vehicle, you are still most welcome to join their Saturday afternoon group. Murray’s Vintage section continues to grow, even a motorcyclist or two have been attending. This group covers those who own vehicles from 1919 to 1931 – a great era of the motor industry, covering those trusty Model A and Model T’s just to name two vehicles. There is a lot of very useful information that gets exchanged at these meetings and a great place to start if you are seeking a part or repair advise. Again, if you are thinking about buying a vehicle of this era, go along to the meeting. The Motorcycle section had another great meeting, with a guest speaker from the Neurological Foundation who was also a fellow motorcyclist. An extremely interesting speaker where we learned so much about “mental health” and modern technology now being used in NZ for stroke victims. The Mid-Week tourers (open for everyone to enjoy) had another excellent finish venue where eyes popped viewing a wonderful array of different racing cars. The Motorcycle monthly run went to Malcolm Anderson‘s man cave and engineering workshop. He has a wonderful motorcycle related museum on site and also has a good showing of his engineering expertise. Thanks to Malcolm and his partner, Vicky for feeding the hoards with sausage rolls and a sausage sizzle plus the cuppa. June was a quieter month for motoring, although there has been a couple of really good out of town events that some of our members enjoyed. A number of members attended the Irishman Creek Rally in the South Island. Although the area had had tremendous snow a few days prior, the entrants did not have to cope with snow, but a bit of drizzle and of course it was pretty cold. Apparently, they all had a wonderful time. Another event a number of our members attended was the Waikato Double 50. And, we came away as the winning team. Well done to everyone. The Whanganui Branch had their annual rally and our old members Ken and Annette Foot won this event. Ken and Annette moved from Pakuranga to Feilding in May and are now planning to move into the new home they have just purchased, at the end of July. We wish them well in their new home and look forward to meeting up with them on a rally or two in the future.
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Club Captain’s Report Contd.. June Club Night was just a noggin ‘n natter, as we had our AGM two days later. There were only 12 people in attendance, but some interesting discussions were being had around the large table downstairs by the fire. Shaaran Price put on a light supper of snack foods and cake. The Club run for Sunday 27th June was cancelled due to the land around the Flax Mill being totally waterlogged. We will go to this venue in the spring. Our new website is about to go live – our web builders have had some issues with the previous webhost, passing over very necessary information in order that we can retain our email addresses for enquiries. Hopefully we will be live in mid-July. Emails from the website will work (which was an ongoing issue with the previous website) and there is a lot more information available on the site and can be viewed using either your cell phone, tablet/iPad or computer, so it is a much friendlier website to use. If there is something you would like to see added, please contact me. Saturday 26th June was the Branch AGM and although I didn’t count numbers, I believe we had about 90 people in attendance. We farewelled Ian Hubbard, our Treasurer, who has done a sterling job for the past 4 years and we also farewelled Alan Price and Robin Elliott. Robin will work “off committee”, still finding and organising wonderful speakers for Club Nights for us . We welcome aboard Alastair Moffatt, as our new Treasurer and Graeme Crawley as a Committee member. All other members retained their positions. My personal thanks go to those retiring Committee members for their invaluable input and service to the Branch over the past number of years. Stay safe, remember to keep signing in wherever you go, including the Club rooms. I look forward to seeing you out and about, attending meetings, club nights and events and please enjoy the photos of the trophy winners which were awarded at the AGM. Keep those 2,3 and 4 wheels turning safely Lynda Spicer
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Motorcycle Notes The weather forecast for the June meeting was wind and rain. There were 6 motorcycles in the car park, including our guest speakers Kawasaki. 50 plus members attended, including two visitors, Clive Teare and Graham Harrison being BSA riders. Reports: Martin spoke about his and other Auckland members who ventured to Whangarei for the Northland Motorcycle Rally. He said it was one of the best Northland rallies with great traffic free roads and scenery. The overall winner being Auckland member, John Shennan. 75% of the placegetters were Auckland members. Martin advised he was the only motorcycle rider in the Experts Rally, but gave up after riding for 40 minutes in rain. Kaiaua Fish ‘n Chip run: The weather forecast was for heavy rain, so when Martin arrived at the Jolly Farmer on the Honda XL, on a sunny morning, he was greeted by only 3 motorcycles and 4 cars for the run to Kaiaua, where they met up with some Thames riders who had ridden over for fish and chips. Martin spoke about the June motorcycle run to Malcolm Anderson’s home workshop and man cave, where there were 26 motorcycles and 6 cars with around 40 plus people who had a great time looking over Malcolm's and his dad Bruce's motorcycle collection and memorabilia etc. Peter Alderdice told about his trip to the South Island for the Irishman Greek Rally which has a great following and attracts a very large number of competitors, with the weather being chilly, but the scenery was brilliant. Peter and his crew had a great time. Coming Up: Saturday 17 July—Motorcycle meeting Sunday 18 July—Motorcycle run, leaving the Jolly Farmer, Drury at 12 noon, to visit AVSPECS at Ardmore aerodrome and look over what they are working on at the moment. Guest Speaker—Rich Easton: Rich moved here 30 years ago from the UK and has been riding motorcycles for 40 years. The bikes he’s owned are Norton Dominator, BMW, Triumph but his favourites are his Kawasaki’s and a Suzuki GSX 900. Rich’s wife rides a Can Am 3 wheeled spider and they have ridden all over the North and South Islands. Rich is the CEO of the Neurological Foundation which was started in 1971. Rich told us that 1 in 5 Kiwis suffer from a neurological condition, even a migraine comes under one of the 700 conditions. He said it’s important to eat wisely, exercise regularly, and to have an active hobby. He showed a slide show to explain about how strokes occur and what symptoms to look out for. The foundation gets no government funding and rely on public appeals. We were told about the NZ brain bank and how important it is to get a donated brain from a deceased person to the bank in a matter of hours so that laboratory work can be carried out before it deteriorates. Rich answered a number of questions from those present and carried on talking to members after the meeting had finished. A very interesting speaker. Martin thanked Rich for coming and telling us about the Neurological Foundation and also his 40 years of riding motorcycles.
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Motorcycle Notes Contd.. Keep those 2, 3 and 4 wheels turning safely Martin Spicer & Jack Clark
Martin Spicer & Rich Easton
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO MEMBERS CHEQUES As most of you are aware Banks are phasing out cheques. The ASB Bank, whom we have our accounts with, have advised us cheques will not be processed after 27 August this year. We will be removing cheques as a form of payment across all our entry forms and any other event where payment is required. Our preferred method of payment is Direct Payment into our account with your name and reference relevant to the payment. Please make sure you are preparing for this change. If you have any queries or would like assistance, feel free to give me a call. Tracey Winterbottom
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Mid Week Tourers The weather forecast said rubbish for Mid Week Tourers on 16 June, but every now and again the sun would pop out which had Martin Spicers’ Motorcycle brigade who had turned up, somewhat confused, so they decided against joining us and opted for an alternate plan to keep dry. They left behind Don Green and Rory King who had 4 wheels and a roof to carry their flag. We had 22 vehicles with 50 people, mostly regulars, ready to check and see if what I had promised was real or not. Dave, AKA Shady, Lane with Terry Costello riding shotgun was giving his Studebaker roadster an outing as were John and Roger Morrison with their recently acquired 1928 Cadillac. Mike Greig, Editor of Waitemata’s Phoenix, was there to sample “Mid-Weeking”, said something about being short of copy! Our drive of 98 kilometers took us via Massey, Taupaki and Old North Road on our way through Kaukapakapa and Highway 16 for some distance, before turning off onto West Coast Rd towards Warkworth and finally Matakana. I had a number of Mid-Weekers who came and told me that the route was sufficiently picturesque to qualify being officially classified as a Tourist Route, with that beautifully wooded dell with a ford over the stream in Falls Rd being the highlight. What a pity the council have now put a concrete bottom in it! Warwick Mortimer, who was our most passionate host welcomed us to set up our picnic lunch in the centre of his recently constructed wonderful man cave. Also with him was Dennis Marwood now aged 88, racer form the 1950’s in his Humber 80, 1970’s in the Rorrison Camaro, & Rothmans “Formula 1” Cooper Climax etc. The race car collection included a number of BMW’s, three of which were models equipped with the American built Dinan 5 litre endurance V8 engine, and the “3 series” M3 factory racer with chassis number one with a great racing history. Other cars include a formula 500 Surtees TS5, McLaren Can Am M8 of the last specification E/F, and the March 84G “Group C” endurance sports racer that Mazda fitted their twin turbo 13B rotary motor for the star driver Yashimi Katayama to pilot in endurance events. Other special exhibits included the prototype “Buckley” Moto GP bike, also its radial 3 cylinder engine displayed separately. Alongside the “Buckley” was one of four time FIM world speedway champion American Gregg Hancock’s track bike together with a set of his leathers. There was much more and Rory King, will be able to tell the bike boys what they missed. Jack Nazer
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Mid Week Tourers Contd.. Coming Events: Wednesday 21 July—Starts from BP Drury Service Centre, Southern Motorway 10:00 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. departure. Jo Bieleski , Neil & Jan’s granddaughter has organised a run which I believe is different to many. Finishing at a fabulous garden near the start. BYO everything or support the café. Wednesday 18 August—All being well, a northern run starting from Warehouse Carpark, Westgate 10:00 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. departure. Details to follow. Remember that Daffodil Day is this month. Wednesday 15 September—Starts from DP Drury Service Centre, Southern Motorway 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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Library Notes Activity in the Library has been relatively quiet in recent months. The volume of books on loan has been relatively quiet and the quantity of books received into the Library is also noticeably down on recent times. On that note, we should remind members that we are always ready to receive donations of surplus books from members libraries, should anyone be wanting to have a clean out at home. As our collection continues to grow, (despite the physical space for more shelving being restricted), evermore ingenious shelving solutions are more difficult to find. It is therefore surprising that the team have come up with yet another fix and a relatively significant amount of shelf space is currently being ‘shoehorned’ into place. Barry Birchall is about to have printed the most worthwhile book he has been working so diligently on. His book is about the early history of the motor trade in the Auckland area. Barry notes that a significant amount of the information he has compiled has been unearthed from the shelves of our Library. A ‘food for thought’ item came across our desk in recent weeks in the form of a ‘Brooklands Books’ publication on the Mini-Cooper 1961-71. This is one of a series published over the years and they covered a wide range of (mostly) British cars. The contents of these books are collections of contemporary road-tests and articles extracted from magazines such as Autocar, Motor, Motor Sport, Wheels, etc. In that regard, each book is a ‘time-capsule’ of how the cars were seen at the time. If our readers were lucky enough (as one of our group was) to have owned one of these cars from new (now 60 years ago), we can thoroughly recommend the walk down memory lane which awaits you at the Library. We are pleased to record that Richard Green is a very welcome new member of our team.
Chris Wood and the Library Team—Barry Birchall, Richard Green, Owen Hayward, Barry Robert and John Stokes,
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Veteran Notes As it was Queens Birthday, there were quite a number away. Russel Vincent reported on making new valves for the 1905 single cylinder Cadillac, out of valves supplied by the Branch Spares. Dennis Lowe produced a write up of his 1903 Oldsmobile at an event near Katikati. Dennis also showed us a 1960/'70's Gunson Colortune apparently still operational. David Lane mentioned that condensers were getting harder to find at places like Repco and Supercheap. This is probably because it’s getting on for thirty five years since cars had points and condensers. Once again the Branch Spares helped out. David also mentioned the barn find 1913 Overland, ex David Porter, possibly now in the Pointon collection in the Wairarapa. That's it for the month of June. John Stokes
For those who missed my presentation at the AGM, below is our PROPOSED new logo for the Club nationally. More detail will be emailed as space and timing prevented more in this Bulletin. Please contact me with any feedback you would like taken back to the Executive meeting in August. Tracey Winterbottom
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Vintage Notes A good turnout was boosted slightly for the June meeting by Brian King who thought he was coming to a Motorcycle meeting. He elected to stay and we thoroughly enjoyed his company and I think he enjoyed ours, as after the meeting he was heard to remark that he might get his dates mixed up again sometime. The meeting started out in the carpark with everyone admiring Arthur Atkin’s immaculate ’29 De Soto. Chris Wood has done minor repairs to his 1924 Austin 20 radiator that George Mihaljevich built around 50 years ago. Richard Green is making progress on the head of his 1930 20/25 Rolls Royce that he spoke about last time. He then initiated some light hearted discussion around the way old cars are appreciated according to their originality and the views around the table were varied and entertaining. I noticed John Stokes quietly disappearing, and he shortly reappeared with a very old book from the Library, from which he read an excerpt in quaint English, proving that this discussion has been going on for a long time. The Dewhurst/Winterbottom families attended the Irishman Creek Rally with three generations sharing the driving in two cars. Norm and Pat’s Essex “failed to proceed” quite early on, so a “modern” was pressed into service. This finished okay, but in rather battered condition and I think Norm was a little relieved that the Essex had not been subjected to some rather rough terrain. It had a nice ride home on a transporter. The Winterbottom Talbot is now well and truly run in and performing very well. Parts of the rally were quite hair-raising and Pat says that while she wouldn’t have missed it, she is glad she won’t have to do it again. Murray & Penny Firth
For
PV, PWV, P60V & P80V Rally
Sunday 12 September 2021 Please phone: Gavin Welch 021 044 5188
July 2021
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Commercial Notes A small group of Commercial enthusiasts attended the June meeting, where we chewed the fat and once again berated the “greenies” who would deny us the use of our fossil fuelled vehicles and see us all riding E bikes. Michael Dorbeck tells us the Hillman Husky, which was written off by the Insurance company after Hans’ mishap, is almost ready for the road again. A front bumper only, needs to be sourced, says Michael. I then dropped a bombshell and told the guys of our imminent departure from Auckland, and that unless someone was upstanding and prepared to become the Commercial Rep., the section may fall into recess. We are only moving to Helensville, but I have no desire to hike all the way into Penrose, through the abominable North Western traffic. Our ulterior motive is to be closer to our eldest daughter and son, who will be just ten minutes away. We would be in the middle, between both of them, and, we would also be 30 minutes closer to our second daughter in Dargaville. The most important reason however is to be shot of the stairs we must negotiate each time we move from our living quarters. One could say “what about a retirement village”. Rightly or wrongly, we believe this is not us. I have enjoyed my tenure as Commercial Rep., having been in that role since Selwyn Carseldine’s demise some 21 years ago. It is my feeling that perhaps the Commercial buffs could join the Vintage section meetings on the 4th Saturdays, but sadly the July 28 meeting must be my last as host. If anyone feels inclined to step up and do a stint as Commercial Rep., that would be even better. I have been fortunate over the years in sourcing material for this page, much of it coming from the likes of “My Heritage”, “Old Auckland” (Facebook page) and “Mad on New Zealand”, when I have struggled a bit with content. I am somewhat saddened by the gradual demise in numbers of Commercial buffs from the time I joined the Branch nearly 30 years ago, but I guess this is reflected in the rather static overall membership. Those born in the 21 st century just aren’t joining like the “Baby Boomers” did. All we can do is ?????? Keep M Rolling
John Campbell
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Coming Events July 11 17 18 21
Sun Sat Sun Wed
22 24 25 28
Thurs Sat Sun Wed
August 3 7 12 18
Tues Sat Thurs Wed
21 21 22 25 26 28 28 31
Sat Sat Sun Wed Thurs Sat Sat Tues
4 9 11 12 15
Sat Thurs Sat Sun Wed
18-19 18 22 23 25 26
Sat Wed Thurs Sat Sun
Central North Island Swapmeet (Rotorua Branch) Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm Motorcycle Run—Starts Jolly Farmer, Drury 12noon Mid Week Tourers 10:00am Starts BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway Club Night & New Members (Watch for Tree email) 8:00pm Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm Club Run—starts Jolly Farmer, Drury 11:30am Commercial Meeting & Charabanc Maintenance Night Clubrooms 8:00pm Committee Meeting—Clubrooms Veteran Section Meeting—Clubrooms Bulletin Mailing Mid Week Tourers Starts The Warehouse , Westgate Carpark Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms Golden Anniversary Dinner—Clubrooms Club Run—Daffodil Rally—starts Clubrooms Charabanc Maintenance Night—Clubrooms Club Night & New Members Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms Sulphur City Rally (Rotorua Branch) Committee Meeting (September)—Clubrooms
September
Veteran Section Meeting—Clubrooms Bulletin Mailing via email Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms PV, PWV, P60V & P80V—Annual Rally Mid Week Tourers Starts BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway Rubber Duckie Motorcycle Rally (Taranaki Branch) PWV-P80 Rally (Waikato Branch) Charabanc Maintenance Night—Clubrooms Club Night Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms Club Run—Starts BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway
7:30pm 2:30pm 7:30pm 10:00am 2:30pm 7:00pm 9:00am 8:00pm 8:00pm 2:30pm 7:30pm
2:30pm 7:30pm 2:30pm 10:00am
8:00pm 8:00pm 2:30pm 11:30am
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 22 July 8:00 p.m. Tree email
Watch for Tree email notice for Entertainment
Club Run Sunday 25 July Starts:
Jolly Farmer, Drury
Time:
11:30 a.m.
Cheese & wine Tour
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Kaiaua Fish ‘n Chip Run The weather forecast for the weekend of 30 May was for rain, so I sent out an email saying if its raining on Sunday morning, do not come. Sunday morning in Pokeno dawned with blue skies and sunshine, so I set off on the Honda 250 XL for the start at the Jolly Farmer, Drury. Oh boy, what a disappointment to find only Jack Clark on his Triumph Bonneville, Brian Gathercole on his 500 Matchless and Graham Waters on his Honda CBX 1000 6 cylinder. Bob and Debbie Ballantyne arrived in their 1950's Chevrolet and John Gardner in his mid 60's Ford Corsair and by 11:00 a.m. it was obvious nobody else was coming, so we set of for Kaiaua. We had a good traffic free and sunny trip to Kaiaua. As always, the view of the Firth of Thames and the Coromandel Peninsula were just great on the descent to Kaiaua township. Already at the fish and chip shop were Malcolm and Merit Brown and Graeme and Marilyn Crawley, having arrived in cars. There were also a number of riders from the Thames area, including Graham Brooks on his 500 BSA Gold Star, Chris Goode on his Ducati and Kelvin Mitchell from Ngatea on his near new Triumph Bonneville. I counted 20 motorcycles parked up. The fish and chip shop is under new management and the food was good. We did the normal chatting for an hour or so before heading home. I got half way back to Pokeno when the rain started, so I got a bit damp. Martin 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
July 2021
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Northland Motorcycle Rally Friday 12 noon and Rotorua's Dave Mayhew arrived at my Pokeno farm. We reloaded his Douglas onto my trailer next to the 250 Honda XL, then onto Howick and picked up John Poole and his Norton. An easy journey north to Portland just south of Whangarei, where the traffic came to a slow crawl into Whangarei. We arrived at Simon & Sylvia Clearwaters, who were our weekend billets. Overnight there was heavy rain, but by breakfast time it was blue skies and sunshine. Northland Branch Clubrooms was the start venue where Christine Garden, one of their Committee members, issued Rally packs and instructions to a great line up of nearly 70 bikes. Local Branch Secretary and stand in Chairman Ray Saunders welcomed everyone before Peter Lovat gave the rally briefing before departing at 10:00 a.m. The roads were traffic free and great for bend swinging, arriving for lunch at the Hikurangi Golf Course, which was a great place for lunch with very scenic views. The afternoon ride was even better than the morning, with the highlight being Mount Tiger Hill Road, which was like a mini IOM TT ride. We finished the rally at Bob Mulder's private collection of engines, which is on a large section in the hills above the waterfront, where he put the top half of an ex naval survey ship that used to go to the Antarctic. The boat builders didn't need the top as they were going to build the hull into a super yacht. Bob lived in the boat's top half for two years, (he told us he didn't need any planning permission as it's still classed as a boat), while he built a massive barn building to live in and to house his collection. On display were a lot of restored stationary engines, a V8 Porsche car engine, a couple of small aeroplane engine's, a giant V16 pumping engine which Bob started up for us, plus there was another 12 cylinder engine that was a bit smaller, a pipe organ that Bob played for us, a traction engine, a WW2 Chevrolet Army truck, a vintage Chevrolet car, assorted tractors, motoring memorabilia and so much more to look at. We spent over an hour looking over the collection. Results as follows: Vintage Class: 1st Peter Alderdice 1924 Harley Davidson FE 2nd Don Green 1930 Rudge 3rd Paul Tomlin & Michael O’Kane 1925 Harley Davidson J Sidecar Post Vintage: 1st Rory King 1942 Harley Davidson WLA 2nd Gavin Welch 1942 Harley Davidson WLA 3rd Cam Francis 1935 Harley Davidson VLKD
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Northland Motorcycle Rally Contd.. Post War: 1st Dave Mayhew 1956 Douglas 2nd Brian Taylor 1953 Royal Enfield 700 3rd Graham Fairbrother 1956 Norton Nominator P60: 1st John Shennan 1960 BSA Golden Flash 2nd John Poole 1973 Norton Commando 3rd Robert Young 1961 BSA Golden Flash Sidecar P80: 1st Trevor Poyntz 1987 BMW R65 2nd Allan Cole 1990 BMW GS 1000 3rd Noel Howe 1970 Harley Davidson XLH The furthest ridden was Alice Leney on his 1965 Harley Davidson Electra Glide, who rode from the top of the Coromandel to Whangarei. So ended another great Northland Motorcycle Rally with a sunny journey home on Sunday and Don Green had an extra bonus, as the Northland member who he was staying with offered him a flight in his light aeroplane. Don said it was great flying at 1000 feet above the Whangarei landscape. Martin Spicer
July 2021
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Waikato Double 50 2021 Seventeen Auckland members motored south to enter the Waikato Double 50 on Queens Birthday weekend. The men were quick to disappear into the Spares Department while the ladies chatted over a welcome cuppa on our arrival on Saturday afternoon. At 3:00 pm we drove into Hamilton Gardens and followed a planned route around their themed garden area. These gardens are a ‘must see’ if you haven’t been there before. A bumper crowd filled the Clubrooms on Saturday evening where a very tasty pea, pie and pud followed by apple crumble and custard meal was supplied. It was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new members. It is always a trip down memory lane for Alan and I, as we were Waikato members and present at the opening of the Waikato Clubrooms in the late ‘60’s. Sunday morning saw fifty-seven entrants leave the Clubrooms to enjoy a very pleasant drive around the wonderful vehicle free countryside that Waikato has to offer. Thanks must go to the plotters and helpers of this event. St Pauls Collegiate was the venue for the prizegiving dinner. Congratulations to the Auckland place getters: Slow Vintage 2nd Wayne & Carrie Roberts Fast Vintage 1st Glenn & Marion Morris 3rd Rodger & Val Ball Slow Post Vintage 1st Gavin Welch & Sophie Zhao P60 V 2nd Alan & Eileen Roberts with Shirley and Charlotte Bovis 3rd Bob & Debbie Ballantyne The Teams Trophy was won by the Auckland Team of Glenn & Marion Morris, Gavin Welch & Sophie Zhao and John & Janice Gardner. The Waikato/Auckland Cup was, this year, won by Waikato. Thank you Waikato for a lovely weekend. Shaaran Price.
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June Motorcycle Run When Lynda and I, plus our grand kids Riley and Isabella arrived at the BP Service Centre on the Southern Motorway for the June Motorcycle run there were 26 assorted bike’s and riders waiting. The route took us through Drury onto Sutton Road, then that great bike riding road, Ponga Road. Right towards Hunua, left onto White Road, carrying on to Sky High and Monument Roads, passing through Clevedon, left onto Twilight and then right onto Brookby Road and left onto Whitford Park Road, which carried onto Whitford Road. We then hit Chapel Road and that was the end of the country ride, finishing at Malcolm Anderson's home, workshop and Man Cave. We arrived around 12.30 p.m., with the bike's filling the parking spaces, plus a further 7 cars turned up, with a total of over 40 people. Malcolm and partner Vicky put on a good light lunch. Malcolm's Dad Bruce, was also there, a very sprightly 92 year old, who many, many years ago held the Motorcycle section monthly meetings at his garage in Remuera until they transferred to the Auckland Clubrooms. Bruce was one of the first Motorcycle members of the Branch with Pat Wood back in the mid 1950's. We looked over Malcolm's immaculate and impressive workshop. On display in the man cave were 5 of Bruce's race and road bikes, 3 Velocettes and 2 Harley singles, and then Malcolm's bikes, Ducati, Honda, Moto Morini, a Ducati moped plus Malcolm's Yamaha motor cross that he raced as a teenager. There was so much to look at, lots of photos, engine parts, broken engine parts, all had a story, models of bikes, air planes and boats, motoring memorabilia and so much more. Bruce, over the years has collected a very large spark plug collection from the very first one's and some were on display in a glass illuminated case. I now think that there isn't any more available space left for anything else. Everyone agreed that this would be their dream man cave ''if only''. Thank you Malcolm and Vicky for hosting us on our run and for letting us see your great place. Martin & Lynda Spicer
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Trophy Awards at AGM 2021
Winners Congratulations to those who were presented awards at the recent AGM on Saturday 26 June 2021
Sel Bonney Memorial Partnership Trophy Alan & Shaaran Price Flying Lady—Winner Annual Ladies Rally Alan & Christine Allbon
Jim Lewis Memorial Trophy for Rear Wheel Brake Points Norm & Pat Dewhurst Bill Shears Memorial Trophy Dave & Barbara Allbon Pride of Ownership Barry Birchall Hurlingham Cup (Triers) Wayne & Karen Welch Seabrook Fowlds Trophy (Experts Trophy) Rodger & Val Ball Hicks Memorial Trophy (Gymnic) Russel & Jocelyn McAlpine Points Trophy—Presented by Norman & Pat Dewhurst Rodger & Val Ball King Gasland Trophy (Motorcycle Points) Graeme Crawley 25 Year Continuous Membership Award: Not any Awarded
35 Year Continuous Membership Award: Peter Cooper, Roy Wigg, Ken Brownlie, Don Gordon
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Trophy Awards at AGM 2021 Contd..
Left—Alan & Shaaran Price, Winners of the Sel Bonney Memorial Partnership Trophy
Right—Pat & Norm Dewhurst, winners of the Jim Lewis Memorial Trophy for Rear Wheel Brake Points
Left—Barbara & Dave Allbon, winners of the Bill Shears Memorial Trophy
Right—Barry Birchall, winner of the Pride of Ownership Trophy
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Trophy Awards at AGM 2021 Contd.. Left—Val & Rodger Ball, winners of the Seabrook Fowlds Trophy (Experts) and winners of the Points Trophy
Right—Russel & Jocelyn McAlpine, winners of the Hicks Memorial Trophy (Gymnic)
Left—Graeme Crawley, winner of the King Gasland Trophy (Motorcycle Points)
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Irishman Creek Rally 2021 Irishman Creek, a rally that is 60+ years old, open only to Veteran and Vintage vehicles, steeped in tradition and history, a rally that in it’s early days I’m told did not allow women, (they know better these days) and a rally known for it’s challenging back country driving. Stephen and I attended in 2019, booked for 2020, so this year we were definitely going and younger generation Ryan and Kate were adamant we weren’t to leave them behind! It is probably 40 years plus since Dad (Norm Dewhurst, had attended as crew for someone else) and with us going and the comfort of a back up driver with Kate, it wasn’t hard to convince him it was time he went back in his own car. Chains were purchased and modified to fit, anti freeze added, spares squirreled away in every available space, maintenance tasks completed, including 4 new tyres we had been putting off purchasing for the Talbot which were fitted days before leaving. The Essex set off the day before us, with the plan that if we set off earlier enough the following day we would catch them for lunch and continue to Wellington for a 2a.m. ferry crossing. Unfortunately the phone call came through as we hit Te Rapa – “I don’t like the noise coming from the engine, there’s time for you to go home and bring a modern for us please. So the Essex went home on a transporter and from Owhango, Mum, Dad and Ryan were in a modern. Picton to Ashburton, with a stop to see good friend Gay Goodman, an Auckland member from way, way back who has been a Cantabrian since way back. The last few miles into Ashburton in the fast disappearing light were a little stressful as the Talbot hiccupped and faltered down SH1 and into the Motel. Fortunately this was the only issue of the trip, dirty fuel which meant a few stops to clear the carburettor and lines. In the morning, a quick stop at Rob and Diane Ross to use the compressed air to be sure and that was the end of our problem. Ashburton to Alexandra was day 2, over the Ashburton bridge which was like something out of a wacky cartoon with it’s wavy railings and lumpy road. It must have been so close to being wiped out. The debris in the all the rivers through here had to be seen to be believed, along with the gravel and rocks that the water had carried and dumped into paddocks and not taken back when water receded. Alexandra was the start of the rally and we found Steve Driver and Terry Costello to be in attendance, knew that Peter Alderdice and crew were here in the Oakland, and on Saturday discovered Steve Keys crewing for another vehicle. The field of 162 cars was predominately Model A with a smattering of everything else, including not one but 2 Rolls Royce’s. While waiting to cross a ford on the Saturday, the driver of a car ahead was wandering down the queue and we got talking to find it was new Auckland members Chris and Lynne Pollock who were in their Model A along with 3 of their daughters. Saturday saw us travel in a very zig zag fashion from Alexandra to Fairlie, via several places that I would have liked to stop for a little longer but it had been impressed upon us the length of the day’s driving did not give us time to “muck around”. All route plotting for reasons known only to the plotters was referenced to in terms of travel times and petrol consumption in a Model A, (I’ll leave all
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Irishman Creek Rally 2021 Contd.. Model A jokes aside) St Bathans, Ranfurly, Naseby, Dansey’s Pass, Duntroon, Kurow, Hakataramea River Valley and Meyers Pass. Plenty of gravel, rocks, tight corners, big climbs and equally big descents to test your driving skills. We take a quick reconnoitre of a map to determine that there are many more miles of instructions and very little daylight left. While many head for the main road, just as many would not be beaten and continued to follow the route, and I have to mention that more than one Model A appeared to be very grateful of the light the Talbot was providing as we followed Back Line Road (or Black Line Road) for an eternity. One last rocky and reasonable fast flowing ford was navigated in the dark and we arrived back in Fairlie just in time for a whiskey at the pub and a takeaway Chinese dinner 2 minutes before they closed! At this point I need to mention that our fellow Essex crew, who were now Nissan mounted, had completed the rally route as well. Unfortunately given what turned out to be poor advice from one of Friday night’s officials, Dad had successfully completed the day without any assistance until the last ford where a little “tow” was required. Sunday was another early start and long run to the field test location. Today we were headed to Omarama, down to Burkes Pass, Dog Kennel corner and then through Mt Haldon Station and the Black Forest Road. This road circles Lake Benmore and is used to service the power lines. Magnificent views although at the highest point we were surrounded in fog. Back down to Lake Benmore Dam, but not before negotiating a washed out river bed and then a more “normal drive” to lunch and a field test for those who were keen which comprised of a time trial on a circular track in the paddock. The Talbot completed both days without a problem or need of a tow and certainly a test of character for Kate, whose concerns on Sunday’s drive were reinforced when Stephen told her “if I say kill the ignition, turn it off immediately”. Sunday night prizegiving and supper is very informal, there are no formalities. The North Islanders were acknowledged tongue in cheek by having to stand up and give their name and vehicle for which they were rewarded with left over Subway from Saturday and a Beanie. It was pleasing to see that 3 Northern families were there with more than 1 generation of family, the future custodianship of our vehicles is OK. Homeward bound on Monday, with an afternoon stop in Christchurch at fellow Talbot and Sunbeam owners Craig and Elizabeth Keenan, overnight in Cheviot and then once you hit Wellington, it seems the trip is over and it’s “Home James and don’t spare the horses”. 7 days, 2400 miles, gallons of petrol, no water, half a pint of oil, one broken engine mount and a loose shock absorber. The second time we have broken an engine mount bolt and the replacement this time has included a modification to improve the original design and eliminate the weakness. While this year’s event was a little heavy on the miles and light on the socialising time, each year is different and it’s a must on the bucket list if you enjoy a more challenging drive and aren’t concerned about the paint. Like anything the more prepared you are the easier the task as well.
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Irishman Creek Rally 2021 Contd.. It rewards with some magnificent NZ scenery and driving on roads that these cars would have taken in their stride when new. I know we’ll be back. Tracey Winterbottom
Kate Winterbottom driving the Talbot
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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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: a-moffat@xtra.co.nz
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: vintagesunbeam@hotmail.co.nz
Treasurer: Alastair Moffat (Karin)
Committee Members: Graeme Crawley (Marilyn)
Ph: (09) 233 6382 or 0221 025 954
Ph: (09) 813 1313 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: morrisonfamily@hotmail.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 (09) 236 4582 or 0272 772 108 Email: jcstokes96@xtra.co.nz
Bulletin Editor Val Ball (Rodger) Ph: 298 6476 Email: rvball@xtra.co.nz Commercial Rep John Campbell (Pat) Ph: 828 7850 or 0272 446 928 Vintage Section Rep Murray & Penny Firth Ph: 818 6434 VIC Officer John Stokes (09) 236 4582 or 0272 772 108 Email: jcstokes96@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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