SIDE CURTAINS
SIDE CURTAINS The magazine of the
ROTORUA VINTAGE AND VETERAN CAR CLUB
FEBRUARY 2020
WE’RE NOW ON FACEBOOK ! www.rvvcc.org.nz
December High Tea Run
SIDE CURTAINS - February 2020 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 Secretary - Dennis Whimp Ph 021 731 678 Treasurer - Terry Fitzpatrick Club Captain - vacant Asst. Club Captain - vacant Committee Bob Mackay Terry Wadsworth Ronald Mayes Kevin Scott Lois Thompson Neville Harper
CONTENTS Chairman’s Report From The Secretary Bedford SB Buses Tauranga Port Visit For Sale Upcoming Midweek Runs Events Calendar
2 5 6 9 10 11 12
Mid Weekers - Bob Mackay Side Curtains Editor - David Tomlinson rvvcc.editor@gmail.com Beaded Wheels - Ronald Mayes Librarian - Dennis Kenny Asst Librarian - Roger Couchman Asst Librarian - John Kirkland Cards/Flowers - Doreen Green
Cover Photos Front - SS One, Lakefront Car Show Back - December High Tea Run
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 February 2020
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Chairman’s Report
- January 2020 by David Tomlinson
WOW! Just WOW! Over 450 cars at the Lakefront Car Show. More on this a bit later. Our December club night featured a talk from new members Dennis Brown and Jennifer Cole about their recent travels through Europe, Asia and the USA in a Land Rover. The talk certainly made listeners jealous of the places they visited, and their upcoming continuation into South America and later to Africa. Despite the odd “hairy moment” along the way, and the odd break down, they are having the adventures of a life time. Our December club run was a High Tea Run ending up at Pat Burr’s (thanks Pat), with an excellent spread enjoyed sitting amongst Denis’ collection of cars, tractors, automobilia and what seemed to be thousands of pens. It was a good day out, and as it transpired the last club run for the Harper’s Studebaker President. Not long after the Lakefront
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Car Show the car was sold and will start the next chapter in its life in the South Island. Neville and Carol owned the car for over 37 years. I noted “for sale” signs of a few other member’s cars at the Car Show too. During the Christmas break, Sean and I flew to the UK for 3 weeks (Fleur chose to stay home, honest!). We visited a number of museums and castles, including Brooklands, IWM Duxford, the Bovington Tank Museum and the Science Museum in London. We drove around for the first two weeks then spent the last week based in London. Despite not owning one at present, I have owned a good number of Alfa Romeo cars over the years, from a 1965 Giulia to several 105 series cars including a GTV 2000, Berlina 2000 and Spider 2000. While I regret selling the Spider the most of those three, seeing what the GTV coupés sell for nowadays, I should have kept that one. One of my supreme bucket list places to visit has always been the Alfa museum in Milan, and taking advantage of extremely cheap air fares (but expensive taxi fares!) we went to Milan for a day and visited the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo. As an aside, if travelling with people not interested in cars, the largest shopping mall in Europe (allegedly), Il Centro, is right across the road! The Alfa museum was everything I had hoped and dreamed about, no ropes around the cars, just your promise you wont touch. Many unique and rare older cars, and some of their old aero engines, military vehicles and more. After the museum visit we even managed to have genuine Italian pizza and gelato before returning back to London. Other highlights from the trip were sitting in the cockpit of a de Havilland Comet jet, hitching a ride on a very long canal boat over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in north Wales, and visiting Side Curtains February 2020
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the Crewe and Derby factories of Rolls-Royce and Bentley. The Derby factory’s admin buildings survive, and now house local professional businesses, still adorned with the Rolls-Royce name. Back to the Lakefront Car Show. On a zero marketing budget, only being able to promote the event from October due to Council holding back on signing a contract (which they tried to cancel on us two weeks before the show!), and getting limited or no feedback from various clubs and groups, to get over 450 vehicles on site, and have significant glowing feedback from all present, it is an outcome we should be truly proud of. We also raised $2000 for St Johns. Next year will see some change due to a date clash with the Vero Festival of Motoring. Please note that due to availability of the people needed to run the events, our BBQ Run is now pushed back to March, and our Chairman’s Run swapping to February. As I will be away at Brits At The Beach for the 4 days after our club night, the Chairman’s Run will be a week later, details on page 11. Our first club night of the year will feature a talk from Evan Dorrington on “travel before the combustion engine”. We will also try and gauge interest for events and runs members would like to see during the year, and set the platform for an enjoyable year for all members. See you there!
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FROM THE SECRETARY by Dennis Whimp What a fantastic turnout for the January car show with over 450 vehicles on display. Thanks to our regular and the many members that we don’t normally see who came and displayed their vehicles. There were also a number of ex-members, many of whom had shifted out of town. Plus of course all the non-members who had a wide range of vehicles. All in all a great day to catch up and relax. Does anyone want the two old 44 gallon drums at the rear of the clubhouse. We need to get rid of them. They were I think used as part of a rally entrance many years ago. See me if you want them. We have been notified that entries for the Central North Island pre-1931 vehicle backroad Highland Fling rally have been oversubscribed and have now closed. A reminder that if you haven’t paid your fees to be a member, and wish to remain as part of the club, you only have this month to pay your renewal. Welcome to new member Michael Holmes who is Roy Holmes’ son. Michael has a 1975 MGB, a 1981 Mini 1000 and a 1988 Skoda. The Holmes’ garage must be very full as Roy has 6 or 7 vehicles. We look forward to seeing you Michael at our events and functions. Side Curtains February 2020
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BEDFORD SB BUSES AND COACHES by Ronald Mayes Photographs of these coaches in recent issues brought back memories of travel in various models in earlier decades. In about 1960 I travelled from Wellington to Wanganui in one and, sitting up front, could see everything that was happening. The driver had a comfortable position with the steering wheel at just the right angle, but with the engine alongside and the gearbox behind he had to grope for the lever. With a heavy load he had to build up the revs in every gear of the wide-range 4-speed box before, at about 50 mph, pulling the little knob on the side of the gear lever. He would then dip the clutch, the speedometer would swing wildly and engine revs drop from a scream to a steady, relaxed sound as the Eaton twospeed differential’s higher ratio engaged (I was fascinated by that and perhaps that is why I so much enjoy using the switch on the gear lever for my Triumph 2500’s overdrive box...). NZR Railways Road Services had, believe it or not, the largest fleet of Bedford SB buses and coaches in the world, totalling 1229, introduced in 1952 and production continuing until the 1970s! Almost all wore the classic bodywork design by NZ Motor Bodies and there were many minor differences as they evolved. About half of the fleet were omnibuses for town and around work, the rest (with Eaton diffs and better engine soundproofing) were coaches and some composite passenger/freight vehicles. The chassis was Bedford’s standard model for light-weight coach operation, far different from how they were expected to work here. But work they did and gave excellent service for so long. The engine was a petrol-powered overhead valve straight six of 4,928cc and 98 x 108mm bore and stroke. Power is given variously as 110bhp at 6
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3200rpm or 133 at 3400, maximum torque 267lb/ft at 1400rpm. They were somewhat slow on the hills, with a 30mph grind in third gear up the Mamaku hill and the aforesaid 50mph really being their cruising speed on the flat. That was the open road speed limit anyway in the 1950s, but I recall being in one at that speed and being overtaken by a Newmans US/Australian Ansair-Flxible (that’s how you spell the name) rear engined coach on the WellingtonPalmerston North-Napier service, which glided past us at a much higher speed. A bad driver could make a journey in an SB very tedious, a good driver could make it sing! Why not diesel engines? Bedford didn’t have a suitable one at the time, and the occasional diesel engine tried was heavy and slow, so petrol-powered they remained. NZR Road Services had a maintenance depot at many locations. In Rotorua it was near the station (Travel Centre from the 1960s) in Amohau St where now are the Farmers store and extended Amohia St. Everything from basic servicing to overhauls and body repairs seemed to be done there. I visited the site on one of our regular blood donor drives. We set up our camp stretchers in the main service area and the staff members gave their blood with great enthusiasm and much banter. I noticed a trophy hanging on the wall, won by them at some sporting event, it was made from a wooden toilet seat with a chromed-plated hubcap in the centre, likely a left-over part from pre-Bedford days when they had Mack buses.
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BEADED WHEELS SURPRISE
by Ronald Mayes
I was surprised to receive a parcel from the VCC headquarters in Christchurch just before Christmas. The totally unexpected gift proved to be a Beaded Wheels cap, one of two presented to authors or photographers at the time of publication of each issue of the magazine.
Recipients are encouraged to wear their caps with pride at club events. While not a baseball cap fan (a Panama in the summer and cheesecutter or homburg in the winter I find more suitable) this one is much better quality than your average baseball cap. I can testify to its heat retaining properties on a balding head as the accompanying photo was taken in 30 degrees heat and fair had my head boiling. It will be great in the winter. 8
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January Ports of Tauranga visit
by Bob Mackay
A small group visited the Port for a very informative and enjoyable escorted tour of the facilities. With a Cruise Ship in port, and the surrounding area under traffic management the day started with a treasure hunt to find parking. Only one club car, a Morris Minor from Eastern Bay arrived with everyone else electing to travel by modern, a wise choose in such hot weather. Following our security checks we boarded the bus for a conducted tour by our tour leader/driver who was a retired Port worker with a great knowledge of the port having worked there until quite recently since the early 1970s. We drove though the Mt Maunganui wharf stopping at points of interest and the continued over to Sulphur Point Container Facility. Rounding off an enjoyable and informative day, Evan and Win arranged for us to have a very good and enjoyable lunch at the Yacht Club.
BEADED WHEELS FOR THE LIBRARY by Ronald Mayes
For the library we still want Beaded Wheels (and its predecessor) Nos. 1 to 36, and 43 to 60, from the 1950s and 60s. I am still looking for the NZ Classic Driver magazine from early 2000s with an article about Triumph 2000s and 2500s. Side Curtains February 2020
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FOR SALE Four Radial Tyres - For Sale “As Brand New” - Size 185 x 15” Also one as a spare - $350 the lot Phone Ralph on 07 362 8075 1974 Triumph Toledo 1500, in good order. White with blue upholstery, new dark blue carpets and sheep skin covers on front seats. Three owners, rear wheel drive. WoF expires April, rego due September. No rust. Brought up from Geraldine last year, selling due to an old injury making it hard to drive a manual. $3500 - Phone Carole 07 578 9579 (Tauranga - BOP member) In the November 2019 issue of Classic and Sports Car magazine you will find that you will soon be able to buy a brand new supercharged 1930 Bentley 4 1/2 Litre! Bentley Motors are to produce 12 examples, built using 3D scans of their own car, HB3403. The car will be dismantled, scanned and reassembled as the prototype for the “new” cars to be built by Mulliners over two years, faithfully copying the four blower Bentleys of Sir Henry ‘Tim” Birkin for the 1929-30 races, with just a few minor safety modifications. The price? You will probably need very deep, well-filled pockets, as it will be “on application...”. 10
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CLUB NIGHT - February 12th Neil Hunt Park - 7.30pm Speaker: Evan Dorrington (Travel before the combustion engine) Followed by tea, coffee and Xmas treats.
Upcoming Midweek Runs
by Bob Mackay
February - Wednesday 26th Meet at the clubrooms for morning tea at 10.00am. We will then drive on a mystery tour to a mystery Café for lunch.
Chairman’s Run - Sunday, February 23rd As noted in the Chairman’s Report, availability of personnel has seen the BBQ Run and Chairman’s Run swap months, and as the Chairman will be at Brits At The Beach on the weekend after club night, this run will be a week later than usual. The run will start at 10am from Creative Stone, at 14 Hall Rd in Ngongotaha. There is plenty off on and off street parking to gather. The run itself will be around 100km in total, with a shed visit at Lichfield where we will have a picnic lunch. Please BYO everything for your lunch, including chairs etc. As there is a cup for the Chairman’s Run at prizegiving in June there will be a “compressed” competitive part of the run as much of the run will be on a main road over the Mamakus. After the shed visit people can return to Rotorua via the Mamakus or through Atiamuri depending on what suits best. Side Curtains February 2020
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www.rotoruavintagecarclub.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
Side Curtains February 2020
Lakefront Car Show 2020
High Tea Run, December 2019