ANAWATU RANCH EWSLETTER
- AUGUST 2021
RANCH NFORMATION
BRANCH DETAILS CLUBROOMS ‘The Grove’ - 684 Kelvin Grove Road, Palmerston North POSTAL ADDRESS P.O. Box 385, Palmerston North 4440 EMAIL manawatu@vcc.org.nz COMMITTEE MEETING Second Wednesday of each month at ‘The Grove’. CLUB NIGHT Third Wednesday of each month (except January) - meet from 7.15pm at ‘The Grove’. Meetings start at 7.30pm. LIBRARY Open by arrangement - contact Gary Millar - ph (06) 354 8298. NOGGIN & NATTER 1st Tuesday of each month at 7.30pm at Murray’s Irish Bar - Feilding. PARTS SHED Open from 2 pm on the first Sunday of each month or by arrangement. - contact Gary Millar - (06) 354 8298 or email gw.millar@hotmail.com SUNDAY TEA 1st Sunday of each month - from 5.00pm at the clubrooms. BOOKINGS FOR ‘THE GROVE’ VENUE Can be made through Creative Catering, Awapuni Racecourse. Phone (06) 354 2780 or Email : info@creativecatering.co.nz MANAWATU BRANCH LIFE MEMBERS:
- Murray Martin - Gary Millar
COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Collage of club members’ cars. THE TOURER : New Zealand Registered Magazine. The Official Newsletter of the Manawatu Branch of the Vintage Car Club of NZ Inc.
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N
HIS SSUE
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– VOLUME 1826
Coming Events
6
Chairman’s Chat
6
Founders of the Motor Industry - Walter Flanders
7
Alternative Power Sources
10
Bits and Pieces from Bygone Days
11
Word Search
12
Letter to the Editor
13
Event Notices - other VCC Branches and other Clubs etc.
19
Branch Committee and Appointed Positions - 2021/2022
CLOSING DATE FOR THE NEXT TOURER - 20TH AUGUST 2021 Please send your contributions on rally reports, your motoring stories, restorations, technical reports, articles, photos etc., to : The Editor - 81 Apollo Parade, Palmerston North 4414 Email : bryana@xtra.co.nz - or phone : (06) 358 4014 Page 3
ANAWATU
RANCH
OMING
VENTS
REGULAR MONTHLY CLUB ACTIVITIES
1ST Sunday
Tea at Clubrooms - from 5.00pm - bring your own drinks, nibbles & tea
1ST Sunday
Parts Shed - open between 2.00pm and 5.00pm
1ST Tuesday
Noggin & Natter - 7.30pm at Murray’s Irish Pub Bar, Feilding
3RD Wednesday Club Night (except January) - meet after 7.15pm - meeting starts 7.30pm AUGUST 2021 18
TH
(Wed)
Club Night
28
TH
(Sat)
Daffodil Day - at the Coachhouse Museum Feilding. Starting at 11am finish at 2pm. Vintage tractors, engines and cars on display - a short run to an afternoon tea stop afterwards - see page 5 of this Tourer.
SEPTEMBER 2021 15TH (Wed) Club Night 18
TH
(Sat)
Vintage Rally - a run for those with Vintage Era vehicles. Will be a 9.30 start - further details will be included in the Sept Tourer.
OCTOBER 2021 2ND 24
-
TH
(Sat)
Manawatu Branch Swap Meet - see page 3 of this Tourer.
(Sun)
Sunday Run - an 11am start from Valhalla, Karere Road, Longburn. This run follows the old railway line partway Palmy to Foxton, lunch in the Café, Foxton Museum, visit Der Molen and the Foxton Flax Museum.
Except for formal events, bring vehicles that you are comfortable driving, though an historic vehicle is preferred.
OMING
VENTS
: OTHER VCC BRANCHES, OTHER CLUBS ETC.
AUGUST 2021 22ND (Sun)
Wanganui Branch VCC Daffodil Rally for Cancer - starting and finishing at the Racecourse car-park in Purnell Street - see page 13 of this Tourer
28TH (Sat)
Sulphur City Rally - see page 16 of this Tourer
SEPTEMBER 2021 9TH
>14th North Island Club Captain’s Tour - see page 14 of this Tourer
OCTOBER 2021 29TH >31ST National Veteran Rally - Central Otago - see page 15 of this Tourer 25
TH
> 30
TH
Targa NZ & the VCC - Ultimate Time Trial - see page 14 of this Tourer
FOR EVENT NOTICES FOR OTHER CLUBS, VCC BRANCHES ETC. SEE PAGES 13 - 16
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HAIRMAN S
HAT
DEREK HAYCOCK
For those who don’t know me I’m Derek Haycock married to Becky and have two children Roan and Emilie. I have been involved with the Manawatu branch of The VCC most of my 48 years my current vehicles are a 1929 Chevrolet Tourer, 1932 Chevrolet pickup both restored by myself and I’m currently (supposed to be) working on a 1914 Fiat Zero. At the time of writing this I’ve been in the position of Chairman less than 24 hours and would like to thank the previous committee for all the hard work they have done. There is still one position vacant and that is secretary and as I have put my hand up to fill chairman’s position it would be fantastic if we could get these important roles filled as soon as possible!!! As we are going to probably be in August when you are reading this it means only a couple of months till the swapmeet this is a very important day for the Manawatu branch so if you can help in any way please contact John Ireland who had put his hand up to run this event. Plus there are several runs already in the pipeline so please get your car out and support these events. We need to move forward not look back or we will crash and burn! Regards Derek Haycock
FOUNDERS OF THE MOTOR INDUSTRY ALTER
LANDERS
Walter Flanders was one of the US car industry’s first mass production experts. He was hired by Ford as production manager in 1906 but left to found the ‘million-dollar’ Everitt-Metzger-Flanders Company which was launched in June 1908. The EMF30 car, designed by William Kelley had a unit engine/gearbox and was planned for an initial production of 12,000 per year at a price of $1250 for tourer, demi-tonneau, and roadster. The EMF Company was acquired by Studebaker in 1910. Walter later founded the United States Motor Company Group. Page 6
LTERNATIVE
OWER
OURCES
Although the four-stoke internal combustion engine has been around for well over a century, it has had remarkably few challengers to its supremacy. In the early days of motoring, steam and electricity both had their advocates, but their shortcomings led to their general demise.
Charging an electric car in 1905
A 1910 Mercury Arc Rectifier Charging Set powering up a 1909/1910 Cuyahoga Car made by the Cleveland Electric Vehicle Company.
Steam needed a boiler and water tank and was complex to operate and maintain, while the electric car needed heavy accumulators to give even the most modest of ranges. The electric car did however enjoy something of a vogue in America as a town car up to the 1920’s. Once the electric starter was a common-place item of equipment, the supremacy of the petrol engine was assured, until that is, fuel shortages inspired manufacturers to search for viable alternatives. During World War One cars were often run on coal gas carried in bags like embryo Zeppelins, either on the roof or in trailers. During World Two, private cars were fitted with gas producers generating combustible gas from carbon, usually in the form of charcoal. Serious development of alternative power sources did not begin however until the 1950’s. Rover in Britain led the way with production of gas turbine prototypes, and both General Motors and Ford began experiments along these lines. The major American manufacturers also began looking at steam and electric vehicles. Turbines failed to meet the requirements of the car industry, although they did have some attraction to truck builders. Their main fault was a ‘time-lag’ when accelerating. Also, their application to mass produced cars was dependant on Page 7
Alternative Power Sources - Continued
the development of low cost, high temperature components designed for satisfactory engine efficiency and performance. Another candidate which was tried and found wanting was the Stirling ‘hot-air’ engine, designed by a preacher in the early 1800’s. Powered by a closed-circuit system utilizing heat expansion of an inert gas, the external combustion Stirling was at one time seriously considered by Ford as a possibility for the production cars of the late 1980’s but the programme got no further than building mobile test beds. Rotary piston engines, long a fruitful field for hopeful inventors, came to the fore with the Wankel engine pioneered by NSU in 1963, but failed to stay on course. Even though rotaries are more compact than conventional reciprocating engines, they are costlier to produce and maintain, and are not so fuel efficient. Even the ‘pollution-free’ and noiseless electric car has not totally solved the problems which bedevilled it at the turn of the 20th century. Even today, although improving, it still relies on heavy storage batteries with limited range - and it needs to be recharged at frequent intervals. When someone decides to make the leap from a petrol or diesel powered car to an electric one they know that they are giving up some of the conveniences of their previous vehicle. With EV charging stations still not available everywhere, trips have to be planned carefully and the EV owner has to calculate exactly how much power they will need to get there and back. The EP Tender is an interesting solution to this problem, albeit not a permanent one. It’s essentially a little trailer that you tow behind your EV. If your battery starts running low, the EP Tender kicks into action, turning on the generator inside the trailer. It feeds electricity into the car to keep it going further than would be possible with just the car’s battery. The device isn’t meant to be used as an everyday back-up. It was designed to be available for rent, used only periodically for the occasional long(ish) road trip to see a friend or visit a town that’s just a little out of your EV’s range. It can extend the range of some electric cars by as much as 360 miles. Some might say that towing an internal Page 8
Alternative Power Sources - Continued
combustion powered generator behind an electric vehicle is ludicrous, but if the solution is used irregularly and only when truly needed, it probably still impacts the environment much less than driving a gas-powered car every day. The technology around electric powered cars is advancing fast. Anyone who looked at a copy of the July issue of New Zealand Autocar magazine would have noticed the word ‘Ballistic‘ in a large font on the front cover. This reference was to a three page article on the Croation electric hyper-car manufacturer Rimac and their Rimac Nevera. As well as a 550 Km range, the Nevera has some extraordinary performance statistics : Power : (one motor per wheel - combined developing) 1427 kW with 2371 Nm of torque. Acceleration :
0 - 100 Kph in 1.85 seconds 0 - 160 Kph in 4.3 seconds ¼ standing mile in 8.3 seconds 0 - 300 Kph in 9.3 seconds
Not too bad for something which weighs 2150kg - and it is faster than modern F1 cars which take over 2 seconds to reach 100 Kph. While we’re all coming to grips with plug-in Battery Electric Vehicles (EV’s), big carmakers like Hyundai, Honda and Toyota are working on hydrogen power as another potential zero-emissions motoring possibility. Hydrogen vehicles are still EVs, but you don’t plug them in. They carry tanks of high-pressure hydrogen, which is mixed with air inside a fuel cell to create a chemical reaction that produces electricity to power the car. Hence the name FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle). The key things about hydrogen from a consumer point of view are that you fill up quickly in a similar way to a petrol or diesel car, rather than ‘grazing’ like you do in a plug in vehicle. The Hyundai Nexo (the first example of a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle on the road in New Zealand) can be filled from empty in less than six minutes and the distance to empty is in excess of 650 Kms. Performance is good too, with the Nexo motor producing 129 kW/205 Nm which takes the vehicle from 0 - 100 Kph in 9.2 seconds. The only emission is water and hydrogen is arguably safer than petrol because even if a tank was punctured, the fuel is more likely to dissipate because it is lighter than air. And into the future? - Hyundai have recently made claims that flying cars will be in cities by 2030. Believing that is really is part of the future Hyundai is making some significant investments in the technology believing that urban air mobility Page 9
Alternative Power Sources - Continued
can free up congestion and help with emissions, whether that be in a city or between cities. Last year Hyundai unveiled a prototype of an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft in Las Vegas. They have partnered up with Uber to build a fleet of selfdriving flying taxis that will one day cruise above skyscrapers. The two companies plan to have the autonomous vehicles up and running by 2023. The helicopter-like taxis are designed to hit speeds of up to 180 miles per hour and will be able to take trips of up to 60 miles. The aircraft will be capable of vertical take offs and landings. The world’s first fully operational airport for flying cars and delivery drones will open later this year in Coventry. Uber has already announced Melbourne, Dallas and Los Angeles as being the first cities to offer Uber Air Flights, with commercial operations starting in 2023.
ITS
IECES FROM
YGONE
AYS
Source: Popular Science Magazine - July 1955
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ORD
EARCH
THEME : KNOW YOUR COMMITTEE
Find the following hidden words in the grid below. They are some of the christian names and surnames of some of your Branch Committee and Appointed Positions. ABRAHAM
BENNETT
BRIAN
BRYAN
CLIFF
DEREK
EASON
ESTHER
GARY
HAYCOCK
HARDY
IRELAND
JENSEN
JOHN
MIKE
MILLAR
TREVOR
VERN
WILLIAMS
WORBOYS
Plus there is an extra hidden word to find which is not listed above - it is the christian name of the spouse/partner of one of the Committee Members.
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ETTER TO THE
DITOR
ALISTAIR HOWARD
As a number of you know, my work takes me out of town most weeks for 3-4 days for the past few years and I have been unable to attend club nights and other events like I used to. I was pleased to be able to work my schedule around so I could attend the special club night last evening (Wednesday 21st). I congratulate Derek Haycock and the others who have put themselves forward for club office. We must now all support those members who make up the committee in order for the club to move forward in a healthy manner. I did find this meeting no only very sad but also disappointing - the reason being this Over the past months and even years there have been some very vocal and passionate people on both sides of the fence regarding the retaining of our club rooms. I was gobsmacked at the meeting that those members who have been very vocal about retaining the club rooms were very conspicuous by either their absence or of them sitting on their hands during the meeting and not offering to fill vacant committee positions. If these people are so passionate about their view then they have to sit up, put their money where their mouth is and take up office to be proactive rather than sit back and criticise - they cannot expect others to do the work and run the club in the way they want it to be run. If they don’t step up, then step aside and let others get on with the business of running a healthy and functional club. Look at the demographic of our membership - what is it going to look like in five years let alone ten! Many will not be around and that may also include me, who knows! It is little wonder that younger car enthusiasts are not rushing to join our club! The heart / essence of a club is not about a building, it is the camaraderie and activities in which to share and enjoy our hobby of driving, maintaining and restoring our historic cars in a friendly and mature manner as we have had in years gone by. My tuppence worth - Alistair Howard
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VENT
OTICES
: OTHER VCC BRANCHES, OTHER CLUBS ETC.
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Event Notices - Other VCC Branches / Clubs etc. Continued
NORTH ISLAND CLUB CAPTAIN’S TOUR Information now available for this event : - Programme - Tour Regulations - Meal Locations - Accommodation Options - Entry Form (entries close 09Aug21)
TARGA 2021 VCC TIME TRIAL - July Newsletter
Contact the Tourer editor if you would like additional information for either of the events promoted on this page emailed to you.
TOO SMALL TO READ ? - CONTACT THE TOURER EDITOR IF YOU WOULD LIKE ANY OF THE EVENT NOTICE POSTERS EMAILED TO YOU
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Event Notices - Other VCC Branches / Clubs etc. Continued
NATIONAL VETERAN RALLY Information is now also available for this event : - Programme - Motel Options - Rally Regulations - Entry Form (entries close 24Sep21)
Contact the Tourer editor if you would like the information for this rally emailed to you.
NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE RALLY 3 FEBRUARY 2023 > 6 FEBRUARY 2023
The National Motorcycle Rally have a dedicated website for their rally: https://www.sporty.co.nz/nationalmotorcyclerally
- there are links there to accommodation options, plus to the Burt Munro Challenge & our clubs’ website, (plus an activity guide and contact list).
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Event Notices - Other VCC Branches / Clubs etc. Continued
SULPHUR CITY RALLY Information now available for this event : - Programme - Waivers - Rally Regulations - Entry Form (entries close 20Aug21)
Contact the Tourer editor if you would like the above information emailed to you.
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ANAWATU
RANCH
IRECTORY
BRANCH COMMITTEE Chair
Derek Haycock (Becky) derek.and.beck@inspire.net.nz 06 356 1056
APPOINTED POSITIONS Custodian & Librarian
Gary Millar (Marion) gw.millar@hotmail.com 06 354 8298
Immediate Brian Halcox (Patricia) Past dazaway5@gmail.com Vice Chair 06 326 9654
Delegate
Vice Chair
Editor (Tourer)
Bryan Abraham (Catherine) bryana@xtra.co.nz 06 358 4014
ID Card Advisor
John Ireland (Anne) ireland.clan@inspire.net.nz 06 323 4170
Vern Jensen sandvo@callsouth.net.nz 06 323 3868
Secretary TO BE APPOINTED
TO BE APPOINTED
Treasurer
Ian Boag ian.boag@gmail.com 06 357 2677 : 021 442 624
ID Card Advisor
Derek Haycock (Becky) derek.and.beck@inspire.net.nz 06 356 1056
Club Captain
Esther Williams e_williams@xtra.co.nz 06 358 5155 : 027 243 7275
Idle Torque
Bryan Abraham (Catherine) bryana@xtra.co.nz 06 358 4014
Vice Club Captain
Cliff Bennett (Jenny) cliffbennett@xtra.co.nz 06 356 3383 : 021 2837 088
Parts Shed
Committee Member
Mike Clifford (Wendy) clifford51@slingshot.co.nz 06 353 5494
Privacy Officer
Committee Member
Rob Eason r.eason@xtra.co.nz 06 355 4204
Swapmeet John Ireland (Anne) Coordinator ireland.clan@inspire.net.nz 06 323 4170
Committee Member
John Ireland (Anne) ireland.clan@inspire.net.nz 06 323 4170
Assistant Trevor Hardy (Sandra) Swapmeet ts.hardy@xtra.co.nz Coordinator 06 323 4040
Committee Member
Brian Worboys (Merrel) bworvoys@slingshot.co.nz 06 328 7849
Welfare
(Beaded Wheels)
Scribe
Gary Millar (Marion) gw.millar@hotmail.com 06 354 8298 TO BE APPOINTED
Committee Members
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