April 2021
The North Otago Branch of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Inc.
Chairperson report Thank you to everyone who organised, help on the day for our All British Day and All comers rally and 60 Anniversary Dinner. They were very successful events enjoyed by everyone who attended them. I attended the executive meeting in Wellington on Saturday. Wellington was very busy with lots of different events on so it made it a challenge for many branch delegates to get accommodation and flights in and out of the city. The formal notice of motion for new members to be able join online was discussed by the executive, Overall branches are in favour of this going ahead and will be voted on at National AGM in August 2021. The National Management committee shared with us the proposed design for the new Vintage Car Club logo/brand. I look forward to being able to share this with you all at next months club night once we are able to use our clubrooms again. Speaking of club rooms I believe they are currently being painted, the team are making great progress on the renovations. I will see you all at the next club night, in the meantime I will go and enjoy the rest of my holiday in Palmerston North with my sister and her family. Happy Motoring Rebecca
Club Night Wednesday 7th April 7:30pm Assemble at Winders Rod and Restorations France St Opposite NZ Post depot Following visit, group may go to Café for coffee if enough interest.
Club Captain’s Report Well our busy month has past and the All British/All Comers day was a great success with near on seventy cars parked up at the start venue including a passing group of Morgan’s out on their own rally. This group did not take part in our rally along with a few others but we still had fifty six vehicles compete including a number of motor bikes. Totara Park proved to be a great finishing venue with plenty of space and it was fairly well sheltered from the prevailing breeze. Once we cleaned up at Totara Park there was just enough time for a little rest before getting ready for our Sixtieth celebration dinner where long serving members received their badges. It was a great night with Diane Quarrie our National President there to present awards and the MC, Geoff Douch CEO of Network Waitaki doing a brilliant job keeping the program on track. Of our two 60 year celebrities, John Adamson cut the cake ably assisted by our Chairperson Rebecca. Ivan Main had cut the cake on the 60th Rally including Windsor in December last year so it was the case of age before beauty. Thanks to all those that helped organise the event, those that attended and particularly those long time members of the club recognised on the night. There were six 25 and 35 year recipients present to receive their badges with several others offering apologies. The 50 year member badges were presented to Neil Rooney and Charlie Walsh and as previously mentioned Ivan and John having contributed to the club funds for 60 years. Last week end we completed the Austin Healey security detail over three nights, We had thirteen members fill the roster taking three hour stints to keep an eye over a collection of over thirty Austin Healey’s and a few ring ins. Our club also arranged for some road cones (courtesy of Network Waitaki) for the rally events on the Saturday morning and supplied two concours judges in the form of Ernest George and Gordon Hay. The Austin Healey club were very appreciative of our efforts with two car fire extinguishers being given to us for the judging and $1500 earned from the security detail. We will be setting up a raffle for the Fire Extinguishers in the next couple of months. The committee decided at our last meeting, to participate in the VCC Daffodil day scheduled for this August, so if anyone has any ideas on what form that should take, Show & Shine, Car run etc, Please drop me a note as I was the one to say we should. Lindsay McLeod has kindly taken over control of the club room upgrade while Lee and I spend the next few weeks meandering around Southland/Westcoast, so he may be in touch with some of you to help with painting. Check out the venue for our next club night, Winders Rod and Restoration 7th April Finally the Gerald Lynch-Blosse motorcycle rally is scheduled for April 17th starting with a morning tea at the club rooms. For all those attending and helping out, have a great day. Derek
A Viewpoint and a Request Since October, we have had a successful Swap Meet, Windsor Rally, All British Rally and 60th Anniversary Dinner, several midmonth runs and carried out three nights of security for the Austin Healey Club. The clubrooms upgrade is well under way and by the time of the AGM in June should be near the end of completion if not completely finished. Running the club is a team effort. It is certainly helpful when people put their hand up to participate. For example: Verna Chambers who regularly organises a mid-month run, Wendy Pringle with the annual Wee Wheelie Wander, Robert Hutton and Ralph Weir organising the Gerald Lynch Blosse Motorbike Rally, Ernest George the 60th Anniversary dinner, Jim Boaden and Murray Frew, various club night programmes. We had 13 club members assist with overnight security for the Austin Healey Whitestone Rally. As part of the renovations so far, Clive Blunden assisted Derek Brehaut with the carpentry, Charlie Walsh with installation of the jib board, John Gale the gib stopping, John Adamson with storage, and there are others waiting in the wings to paint the clubrooms. Jim Boaden and Ralph Weir keep things going in the Spare Parts Shed and with hosting morning tea on a Monday morning, and others have assisted with parking and with running of events. From my point of view, the club has support from its members and provides an excellent base from which we can enjoy our cars and be with likeminded people who also have a passion for older vehicles. Our involvement has certainly given us many opportunities to meet new people as we have settled into retirement (whatever that means!!) back in Oamaru. The Annual General Meeting will be held in June. At this stage we are looking for a new Secretary and a new Treasurer as both Kathleen and Clive have advised they will not be standing again. So have a think about where you may fit in, particularly if like us, you are newer members. We both enjoy the club activities and rallies and look forward to many more enjoyable events. Remember, the bigger the team, the less each individual has to do to keep the club running and the more time we can spend with our vehicles and on other activities. (Me in the garden, and doing craft work, Derek working on all sorts of vehicle type tasks in his workshop and with other members, and around the section.) If you would like to know more about either the Secretary or the Treasurer role, please don’t hesitate to ask Chairperson Rebecca or one of the committee (contact details in the Distributor). There is a bit more detail about each role in the March Distributor. If maybe you are interested in being on the committee, please let someone know, rather than waiting to be asked. Lee Brehaut
Committee Member
Old Restorer/Rebuilder. I have been concentrating on the engine this month, the engine is now in one piece and ready to go in, I have a skyline double garage so there is not much room to move, I have secured a 4x4 ins wooden beam to a roof truss and two scaffolding poles either side for extra support, and a one ton endless chain hoist, the truck is pushed back out of the way, the engine is put into position under the hoist and lifted up, the truck is then pushed back under the engine, and the engine lowered into place, could not be easier yes!! I put the engine in without the gearbox on, as it was easier, but had to remove the brake bar across the chassis to get the gearbox in, I had lined up the clutch before hand, its all in now and the clutch works OK. I found that the tie-rod on the steering had been welded at some time, a real no no as far as I am concerned, but panic over, I found one that fitted just right in our parts department, it's surprising what you can find in there, also a couple of brand new track rod ends. All the best, Clive.
Members receiving long service awards at the 60th Dinner celebrations. The 60th dinner was a great success with approx 80 members attending, the meal was very enjoyable and well laid out, Special thanks to Diane Quarrie the VCC national president for being there to give out the awards to our members, The Awards were as follows... 25 years service .. Margaret McLeod, Gordon Hay and Norman Fisher. 35 years service .. Lindsay McLeod, John Bringans, Brian Perkins and Len Withers. 50 years service .. Neil Rooney and Charlie Walsh. 60 years service .. Ivan Main and John Adamson. As soon as we can go through the pictures taken at the event we will put them up on the notice board at the Club rooms. The writer especially liked the content of Neil Rooney's acceptance speech. There will be a detailed report with pictures in Beaded wheels June/July issue. Thank you all and take care, Clive. Club Scribe.
L Delta 600 Grease TEL Delta 600 Grease is a high performance and high temperature grease with superior tackiness intended for a large variety of slow moving high loading heavy-duty applications. Ideal for older cars suspension points, driveshafts & wheel bearings Available from Roses General Store, 5 Tyne street
Secretary’s Report. I trust that those of you who attended the 60th Anniversary Celebrations enjoyed the events that you attended. I hope too, that those of you who attended the Dinner enjoyed the Branch photos that were displayed on the T V Screens. These photos were put together by Lee Brehaut & Ernest George. Thank you, to you both. Thank you too, to Sarah Miller for being the ‘official’ photographer at both the All British & All Comers Rallies and at the 60th Anniversary Dinner. I wish to thank everyone who assisted me with the preparation and paperwork for the Badge Presentations and the 50 & 60 Year awards. Going forward from here it is planned to have all the necessary information on a spread sheet on the laptop so that these presentations will be easier to arrange. We welcome Yvonne & Greg Thomas as new members to our Branch. While on this subject I need to apologize to Gerry Ross for spelling his name incorrectly last month. Best Wishes for the Easter Break and safe motoring for those of you who are attending the National Vintage Rally in Timaru. Regards Kathleen. Printer. The Branch Printer has been replaced as it is no longer compatible with the new laptop. It is a MFC-9340CDW model. It is in need of black toner and we are offering it free to anyone who wishes to uplift it. No guarantees, No responsibility. However, it is in working order as a printer. If you are interested contact Kathleen Perry phone 03 434 7226.
Mid month Run
All British and All Comers Rally
Gerald Lynch-Blosse Memorial Motorcycle Rally Members are asked to provide a plate of food for morning & afternoon tea please. Mandy Hutton would also appreciate some help in the kitchen please. For further information please phone the Rally Organiser, Robert Hutton on 437 0774. For Sale 1967 Triumph Tiger 90 350cc Motorcycle Very original Reg & WOF Just had rebore & shaft grind Contact Rob Hutton Ph 4370774
Hello Best of British Enthusiasts, Many thanks to those of you who took part in this year’s event.(Dunedin) We were very lucky once again to avoid COVID restrictions and enjoy perfect weather on the day. There was an excellent array of British vehicles on the field and a small but perfectly formed group of Commercial/Utility vehicles to make up our experimental ’Marque of the Day’. Apart from the long trek to the toilets, (sorry), everything seemed to go well from our point of view. We hope you enjoyed yourselves and it looks like we have raised a healthy amount for our charity, Dunedin Fire Brigade Restoration Society. I have attached a copy of the list of prizes awarded on the day, and congratulations to those winners. The judges had quite a task and there were many deserving cars that didn’t make it onto the list. This year the trophy winners were also given another prize. Mark Paterson from Southair Ltd made awards from pistons originally from a Cessna aircraft motor. These are for the winners to keep. Details about these and lots of photos & videos from the day can be seen on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BOBcarrun In October we will begin to plan the next Best of British Charity Motoring Day and we hope to see you again in early March 2022. Thank-you for supporting us and our charity, Happy motoring, Barbara.
Austin Healey Cars Galore!! It was almost enough to make your eyes water! Hundreds of thousands of dollars of beautiful, well-loved and well cared for cars parked up in the Brydone Hotel car park in the overnight care of the North Otago Vintage Car Club. The Austin Healey Car club had approached the club last year to see if we would be interested in looking after their cars overnight for three nights while on their Whitestone Rally. It has proved to be a good fundraiser for our club and an opportunity for members to
participate without too much effort. (Depending on your view of getting up in the middle of the night to head out to watch over cars!) With a caravan parked on site to give easy access to warmth, seating, lighting and the kettle, a three hour stint in pairs between 6 pm and 7 am was an interesting experience. A look at the Charlie Walsh and Murray Frew roster showed that 13 club members took a turn. Several more than once. Do the sea gulls ever sleep?? It would seem not. With cars being washed and polished after a day on the road, hopefully the birds missed the thirty plus vehicles overnight, with their soft tops up or tonneau covers over seating. Ernest George and Gordon Hay took on the role of judging the four cars entered under Healey concourse protocol. Though both men have a good resource of knowledge to draw on about cars, the experience was enjoyed and gave them even more knowledge as they checked the required standards. A job well done.
For Sale/ Wanted ads Keep those ads coming. Remember these ads are read by members of other branches and car clubs.
Parts Department Normal Monday morning opening for parts has resumed Open Mondays 10 – 12noon Starts with a Cuppa. For Sale Wolseley 15/50 parts including two 1500cc BMC motors, gearboxes and diffs, suspension and steering parts. Some body panels for these in reasonable condition. Selection of Hillman Avenger-Hunter lights Ford Falcon EA exhaust manifolds Morris 1000, Chevy, Vauxhall parts as well as an assortment of oil filters Good selection of body panels, mud guards and bonnets for various models. Contact Jim or Ralph if you are looking for something in particular. Selling on behalf Ford Model A diff and front axle assembly Enquiries call Jim Boaden
(03) 4372525
Ralph Weir
(03) 4345103
SMALL BYTES COMPUTING For All Your Computing Needs New systems, repairs
3 Otepopo St Herbert Ph 4395197 0274358983
Printer & Fax servicing
Items for the Newsletter can be posted or dropped off to 6 Waiareka lane, off Saleyards road Or emailed to gsimpsonyyy@gmail.com
Newsletter submissions. Preferred formats are Open-office, Libre-office or MS Word as an attached document. Plain emails create extra work. Please, no “enter” key at the end of every line. Contact me for advice if not sure. Thanks, Graeme
NORTH OTAGO BRANCH OFFICE BEARERS
NORTH OTAGO BRANCH OFFICE BEARERS
2020-21
Patron Chairman
Rebecca George
021 293 7714
Immediate Past Chairman
Peter Fulton
0279320624
Club Captain
Derek Brehaut (lee)
021 390518
Secretary
Kathleen Perry
03 4347226
Treasurer
Clive Blunden (Jen)
03 4395207
Committee
Murray Frew
027 432 6756
Lee Brehaut (Derek)
021 695 6644
Quentin Barrow (Ange)
027 434 5570
Gordon Hay (Joy)
03 4345754
Jim Boaden (Lynette)
03 4372525
Beaded Wheels Scribe
Clive Blunden (Jen)
03 4395207
Custodian
Clive Blunden (Jen)
03 4395207
Librarian
Robert Hutton (Mandy)
03 437 0774
Archivist
Kathleen Perry
03 4347226
Newsletter Editor
Graeme Simpson (Wendy) gsimpsonyyy@gmail.com
03 4348285 0272931059
Vehicle Verifiers
Quentin Barrow
027 434 5570
Bruce Watt
03 4345306
Jim Boaden
03 4372525
Ralph Weir
03 4345103
Vice Chairman
Spare Parts
Club email address northotago@vcc.org.nz rd Committee Meetings 3 Wednesday of the month., Club Nights 1st Wednesday of the month (details in The Distributor)