SIDE CURTAINS
SIDE CURTAINS The magazine of the
ROTORUA VINTAGE AND VETERAN CAR CLUB
AUGUST 2021
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CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND SWAP MEET
SIDE CURTAINS - August 2021 The magazine of the ROTORUA VINTAGE AND VETERAN CAR CLUB
Clubrooms: Neil Hunt Park, Tarawera Rd, Rotorua Postal: PO Box 2014, Rotorua Email: rotorua@vcc.org.nz Website: www.rotoruavintagecarclub.org.nz Vero Insurance: Phone 0800 658 411 and quote your VCC membership number Club Meetings: 2nd Wednesday of month (except January), 7.15pm for 7.30pm start OFFICERS
Chairperson - David Tomlinson
CONTENTS
Secretary - Dennis Whimp 021 731 678
Chairman’s Report
2
From The Secretary
4
Treasurer - Terry Fitzpatrick
July Car In The Room
5
Club Captain Terry Wadsworth
Winter Woollies Wander
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Asst. Club Captain Fleur Tomlinson
July Midweek Run
7
Committee Ronald Mayes Neville Harper Lois Thompson Jenny Cole Dennis Brown Geoff Nitz
Spring Tour 2021
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Coming Events
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Mid Weekers - Jenny Cole Side Curtains Editor - David Tomlinson rvvcc.editor@gmail.com Beaded Wheels - Ronald Mayes Librarian - Dennis Kenny Librarian - Ronald Mayes Librarian - Roger Couchman Cards/Flowers - Doreen Green
Cover Photos Front - Our two new nonagenarians Back - Bill’s 90th birthday luncheon
CLUB CAR PHOTOS
If you want your club car photo on the clubroom wall then get in touch with Doug Green, and he will organise a time and place for a photo shoot. It would be good if we could have all member’s car photos on display. Side Curtains August 2021
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Chairman’s Report
- July 2021
by David Tomlinson
What a big month July was. We started off with an earlier than usual club night due to the Swap Meet, and celebrated our cover photo gentlemen’s 90th birthdays which fell in July. Well done to Bill and Ralph on not only reaching this milestone, but still taking part in our branch events in your well loved older cars. We also had a 1957 Chev Belair as our “car in the room”, and spoke about the upcoming Swap Meet, Sulphur City Rally and Spring Tour. The weekend before the Swap Meet had probably been the absolute best weather one could hope for, which made me nervous, but when the big day arrived, it was not as cold as it could have been. Other than a brief late morning shower it was dry and overcast. We had a very good turnout of vendors, and a full carpark with overflow parking needed with thousands of visitors. After a long day we had to sort out the rubbish and return the property to the condition it was the day before, and thankfully the good weather held. The show car prize of $100 was very gratefully accepted by the owner on a 1951 Mercury. I wish to thank all those involved in the planning and operating of this event, without you the branch would not continue to operate. Our surplus from the event will be very close to $10,000, which is much needed after no Swap Meet last year. We briefly discussed the proposed new VCC logo, and I will be heading down to Christchurch to the VCC AGM in the middle of August. The logo change has certainly created some polarising views on social media from long time members. 2
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For August, our main branch activity is the Sulphur City Rally at the end of the month. This is another event unable to be held in 2020. We have a good number of entries to date, including cars from Northland and Hawkes Bay. If you wish to enter this event and have not done so by our August club night you really need to download an entry form from the branch website and get it in so we can sort out the catering numbers for the day. It is important all entries are in by 20th August. Please also read the itinerary for the October Spring Tour in this edition of Side Curtains, it is important to sort out your accommodation very soon and let the organisers know you intend to be on part or all of the tour. Also note that the Vero Festival of Motoring in January 2022 will cost you an extra $150 to enter if you have not done so by the end of this month. Some of you may recall Michael Thorne displayed a lovely Alfa GTV6 as our car in the room two months ago. Michael has since replaced this with a Rover P5 V8 which he debuted on the July midweekers run. Michael will be displaying his 1988 Panther Kallista as our August car in the room. The “silly season” will be upon us soon for car shows and other car activities. Fleur and I belong to a number of single marque clubs as well as the VCC, and from 17 October to 31 October we could take part in 3 different tours, back to back with no breaks in between with 3 of those clubs. Work and family time prevents this, but we will be taking part in a 4 day tour based in Tauranga over Labour weekend. It is good that despite the pandemic activities are still being planned and held, a luxury not available everywhere these days. Many other events that did not take place last year or this year are back on the annual calendar, there is plenty to keep us all occupied over the coming months through to the end of summer. Side Curtains August 2021
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FROM THE SECRETARY by Dennis Whimp A big welcome to new member Marty Green. Marty lives at Lake Okareka and is restoring a 1964 MGB roadster. The midweekers visited Marty’s garage to view the project. Thanks Marty for the invitation and your help at the Swap Meet. We look forward to your involvement with the branch. VCC National has a full time secretary who deals with all the day to day admin of the national organisation including membership applications. The previous admin person had been there 26 years and was extremely efficient. Her replacement did not work out so there may be delays in some items from National. Regardless, please advise National if you change your address, your email, your phone number, or vehicles you have sold/purchased. I will have the latest membership list at the next few meetings so you can peruse your listings and make corrections. I can then make a list to forward to national. The Athletic Club next door to our clubrooms have an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) at the entranceway to their rooms. It is available for anyone to use but must have a code to access it. To get the code, you need to ring 111 (St John’s) who will despatch an ambulance and supply the current access code. With the new ambulance station being just around the corner now, the response time should be pretty good, but good to know that the AED is there if needed. AEDs are portable life saving devices designed to treat people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. A note for all you British car fans. The Jaguar Car Club is holding a Jaguar car show at Tauranga Racecourse, Greerton on October 16th starting at 10am. They expect a 100 cars from the 1935 SS1 to the latest examples. 4
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July Car In The Room by Dennis Whimp 1957 Chevrolet Belair 4 door hardtop
The 1957 Chev Bel Air is probably the most iconic and recognisable muscle car from that era. This example was brought along by Eldad Ronan who owns Rotorua Motor Works at the Old Taupo Road, Otonga Road roundabout. Eldad was the one that purchased Cliff and Shona Wickham’s garage when Cliff retired. Eldad explained that he purchased the left hand drive car some years ago when he was working in Australia. The paintwork, upholstery and chrome have not been changed as it was all in excellent condition. But all the mechanicals have had a complete overhaul or replacement. He hasn’t tallied the final cost of the rebuild, but he estimated it was two times the original purchase price, and that was with him doing most of the work. But it showed with an immaculate engine bay, a big V8 and a huge set of multibarrel carburettors. He says it is lovely to drive with light steering and good brakes. These 1957 Chevs with their chrome topped rear fins were the final refinement of the 1955 to 1957 Series two Belairs. Each year the model was refined, and the mechanicals upgraded. The final version had 283 cu inch fuel injected engines. These big block V8’s went on to be one of the most successful US race cars. The 1957 Chev Belairs won the most races of any car in Nascar history. Many thanks to Eldad for sharing the car journey and the Bel Air history. Side Curtains August 2021
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Winter Woollies Wander 2021
by Doug Green
On the 2nd July Doreen and I headed to Warkworth for the Winter Woollies Wander 2021. Stopping off at Puhoi Pub for lunch as we have never been there before, something different and a great lunch, catching up with Graeme and Raewyn Fenn and Irwin and Audrey from Waihi Beach. Then off to Warkworth to our motel. Saturday, at the clubrooms in the old Satellite Station Information Centre, now the clubrooms for Warkworth & Wellsford VVCC for briefing etc. Starting the rally, we took the photographer from their club, Chris Harvey with us on the run to do photos of all the cars etc. 58 turned out and away we went, ninety miles in the morning to all the little beaches and bays on mostly metal roads until lunch at a little school called Tomarata School. Goodness knows where we were, but I think we could see Sydney, but who cares, we had a good run and Chris was taking photos of all the cars coming in for lunch. After lunch, off again, getting low on gas but Chris assured us the gas station was only a few miles away at Matakana. So, after filling up we continued on with the afternoon run of 60 miles and then back to town to hand in sheets. Chris gave us a rundown on the area, then we dropped him off at his house. Dinner was a great meal with prize giving etc. We got 2nd Vintage. Thanks to Warkworth and Wellsford VVCC. Doreen and I had a great run and on Sunday back to Rotorua. Thanks to all who put on a good weekend and Chris Harvey for his Tiki Tour. 6
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Midweekers, 28 July
by Dennis Brown
It’s a special day today. Special for a number of reasons, apart from every day being special. By 10am at the clubrooms, cars were arriving in numbers and by 10.30am we had 33 club members and a visitor from the VCC in Nelson. Dale had read about our impending visit online and dropped in to join us. Well done Dale. The sun was shining and today we are off to visit Ralph Bennett’s latest ‘project’, at his lovely property at Lake Okareka. A 1953 Humber Super Snipe that he had recently(ish) purchased from the South Island. How lucky he was to find this car with a fresh WOF, but he counted 13 major issues, any one of which should have precluded having a sticker on the windscreen. “Never mind”, somebody jokingly quipped “we should take the details of the issuing garage for our own benefit”… :) Ralph was quick to point out that this is not going to be the full strip down restoration he carried out on his Buick. More like a recovery. However, he has already undertaken some pretty serious work. I’m sure we will all follow Ralph’s progress with keen interest. After taking in the stunning view of the lake, glistening in the morning sun and being entertained by many Tui’s, Bellbirds and Waxeyes drinking from a trough, we headed on to Marty’s garage close by. Marty has just taken the serious step of doing a full restoration on his 1963 MGB. He has his work cut out but you can see that he is relishing the challenge. By 12.15pm everyone headed out to The Landing Café at the edge of Lake Tarawera, for lunch. Geoff, the proprietor of the Landing had very kindly offered to open the café specially for us. We had Side Curtains August 2021
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given him an estimate of 24 people but was most anxious when being told we were now 34! Would he be able to cater? While the service was understandably a challenge, the meals were excellent.
Another special thing about the day was that we got to celebrate Ralph’s 90th birthday (yesterday) with a very tasty carrot cake. We all enjoyed a slice then sang a hearty rendition of Happy Birthday. A BIG Thank You to Ralph & Marty for sharing their projects and to everyone who participated and made it such a great day. For those who couldn’t, make it, we missed you. Please forgive me for not naming everyone who attended but it was excellent to see many who have not been on the recent runs. All up, I counted 14 club cars and 7 moderns. Oh! and we have a new baby in our midst, yet to be named. A glorious Rover 3.5, to Michael. Both doing well… :)
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Spring Tour - October 2021
by Jen Cole
Here is the proposed programme for our forthcoming Spring Tour. You can join/leave as you wish if 6 nights is too long for you. If you do want to come along, I would suggest you book your accommodation, as it may be difficult to secure as we get closer to the dates. We look forward to as many of you coming as possible, for what we are sure will be a fun trip. We have tried to include a mixture of cars/history and natural attractions, so there is something for everybody!
SPRING TOUR PROPOSED ITINERARY - 29 Oct - 4 Nov Friday, 29th October - WARKWORTH (2 nights) Meet for dinner at Bridgehouse Lodge Overnight - Bridgehouse Lodge
Saturday, 30th October - WARKWORTH Breakfast - own arrangements Matakana Farmers Market Tour of and lunch at Morris and James Pottery/Cafeteria Afternoon visit to Warwick Mortimer’s Sports Racing Car Collection Dinner in Warkworth Overnight - Bridgehouse Lodge
Sunday, 31st October - WHANAGAREI (1 night) Breakfast - own arrangements Morning Tea with the Wellsford and Warkworth VCC Lunch at Eutopia Cafe, Kaiwaka Afternoon visit to Waipu Cove Museum - history of Scottish settlement in NZ. Dinner in Whangarei Overnight - Continental Motel
Monday, 1st November - PAIHIA (2 nights) Breakfast - own arrangements Morning Tea with Northland Vintage Car Club. We will also view their mini museum. Side Curtains August 2021
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Lunch at Miners Rest Cafe, Hikurangi Visits to Ruapekapeka (NZ wars) and Hundertwasser Toilets, Kawakaka en route to Paihia. Dinner in Paihia Overnight - Swiss Chalet Motel
Tuesday, 2nd November - PAIHIA Breakfast - own arrangements Visit Haruru Falls Stone House and adjacent Pa site, Kerikeri Lunch at Honey House Cafe Afternoon visit to Waimate Mission - Church Missionary Society. Dinner in Paihia Overnight - Swiss Chalet Motel
Wednesday, 3rd November - WELLSFORD (1 night) Breakfast - own arrangements Morning Tea at Boatshed Cafe, Rawene Visit to Tane Mahuta - Waipoua Kauri Forest Lunch at Gum Digger Cafe at the Kauri Museum, Matakohe Afternoon visit to Kauri Museum Dinner in Wellsford Overnight - Castle Court Motel
Thursday, 4th November Breakfast - own arrangements Return to Rotorua at your own pace. If you would like further information, or would like to join the tour, please contact me for full accommodation details. If you have already booked and not advised me, could you let me know, so I have a record of numbers. Many thanks, Jenny Cole Ph: 021 029 75988 or email: jennycole60@gmail.com 10
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CLUB NIGHT - July 7th Neil Hunt Park - 7.30pm Car In The Room: 1988 Panther Kallista Followed by tea, coffee and biscuits.
August Club Event Our branch event for August is the Sulphur City Rally, 28 August.
Midweek Run, Tuesday 24th August by Jen Cole Daffodil Day Deliveries There will be no Midweek Run as such this month, as we will once again be delivering daffodil bunches to businesses and residents in the Rotorua area, on behalf of the Cancer Society. This is to assist them in their annual fund raiser. This will be on the morning of Tuesday, 24th August. We will need around 12 cars, with a driver and at least one passenger, so they can run in and deliver the daffodils if parking is difficult. We have had a mixture of vintage, classic and modern cars in the past, so it would great to have the same again. The Cancer Society’s office is located at 1235 Ranolf Street. The daffodils will be collected from the rear of the building (access from Hinemoa St). As access is restricted and parking limited we will stagger the collection times, starting from 9am. The Cancer Society will kindly provide packs for morning tea to take with us and keep us going. If you are able to help, please can you let me know either at our next club night or call or text me on 021 0297 5988 or email me at jennycole60@gmail.com Side Curtains August 2021
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www.rvvcc.org.nz The branch website aims to meet the needs of our members, to promote our branch nationally, and to potential new members. If you have any suggestions please contact David Tomlinson. Please also make sure you “Like” our Facebook page to keep up to date.
Contributions to Side Curtains This is your magazine! Please feel free to share anything you think might be of interest to the membership by sending it to the editor, preferably by email, and a picture says a thousand words, so include photos where possible. Members taking part in club runs or events hosted by other branches are encouraged to pen a short piece about their experience to include in the next issue going to print. All items to the editor by the end of the month. 12
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JULY CLUB NIGHT
JULY MIDWEEKERS
At Bill Skelton’s 90th Birthday Luncheon