SIDE CURTAINS
SIDE CURTAINS The magazine of the
ROTORUA VINTAGE AND VETERAN CAR CLUB
MARCH 2019
WE’RE NOW ON FACEBOOK ! www.rvvcc.org.nz
February Club Night - ‘Al Fresco’
SIDE CURTAINS - March 2019 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 Ph 021 731 678
Chairman’s Report
2
From The Secretary
4
Treasurer - Terry Fitzpatrick
February Midweekers
6
Club Captain - vacant
VCC National Motorcycle Rally 8
Asst. Club Captain - Kevin Scott
Letter To The Editor
10
Upcoming Midweek Runs
11
Events Calendar
12
Committee Bob Mackay John Peters Terry Wadsworth Ronald Mayes Phil Monk Mid Weekers - Bob Mackay Side Curtains Editor - David Tomlinson rvvcc.editor@gmail.com Beaded Wheels - Ronald Mayes randgmayes@gmail.com Librarian - Roger Couchman Asst Librarian - John Kirkland Cards/Flowers - Doreen Green
Cover Photos Front - North Island Club Captain’s Tour Back - February Midweekers
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 March 2019
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Chairman’s Report
- February 2019 by David Tomlinson
Our “car in the room” for February was my 1959 Bedford J1 truck which did not fit, so as it was very warm and mild, we had the whole club night ‘al fresco’ at the entrance to the club rooms. We also had our annual BBQ Run in February, thank you to Doug and Doreen Green for filling in and putting it all on for us. Each year this event is plotted and run by the previous year’s winners, but our 2018 winners have since moved overseas! In February and early March there was Brits At The Beach which attracted around 300 cars this year and was a very good event (Fleur and I took a Roller and my Bedford truck this year), the Tractor Show which members assisted in the parking, and the large Brit-Euro show in Auckland. Brit-Euro had over 1000 cars on display this year, it was very hard to look at them all. My personal favourite was an immaculate 1960s Fiat 2300 coupe which apparently was sold brand new to a doctor in Tokoroa. The VCC NI Club Captain’s tour passed through Rotorua and had lunch at our clubrooms on March 8th, quite an array of cars were there, and several members helped set up the club rooms and keep them all watered before they headed off to their next stop at the Ariatiatia Rapids. Just as this went to print we had 13 cars take part in March’s Chairman’s Run. 3 Austins, 3 MGs, 3 Triumphs and 4 other cars took part, with the event concluding at my workshop in Ngongotaha for afternoon tea. An unexpected by-product of 2
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having all the old cars parked in the street was a few members of the public wandering in for a look-see. Once was an Aussie tourist, but another couple who called in had a 1960s Pontiac Laurentian parked at their home, and were very interested to learn about the branch and our activities. In April we will have our Night Run, and the NZ Rolls-Royce & Bentley Club’s AGM rally with pass through Rotorua having lunch at our clubrooms on Saturday, April 27th. More about these two events in the next issue of Side Curtains. We will have our AGM in May, and we may also do something a bit special at our June Prize Giving rally, to celebrate the Rotorua sub-committee of the Tauranga VCC forming 50 years ago, which led to our branch being formed a few years later. If you have a trophy (or two!) from last year can you please get them back to the clubrooms ASAP so they can be engraved for this year’s prize giving in June. At our March club night it will be my birthday and Fleur is going to bring along a birthday cake to have with tea and coffee, and we will have Reg Munro’s Sprite as the car in the room. Many of you know Fleur and I will be getting married a couple of days after club night at a small ceremony near our home, and then we are off to the South Island for a few days. I might finally get around to organising a branch name tag for Fleur. The car shows are slowing down as weather cools and daylight savings ends, but there are still a number of classic car auctions happening, including the second instalment of the Roy Savage collection which is happening at Southwards Car Museum on 16th March. Turners Auctions in Christchurch also seem to be having more regular classic car auctions, which can only mean our hobby is as popular as ever. Side Curtains March 2019
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FROM THE SECRETARY by Dennis Whimp
Congratulations to chairman Dave and partner Fleur who are getting married on Friday 15th March. If Dave seems a bit flustered this week you will understand why. I have the new membership list for the Rotorua Branch as at 28 February 2019. If you want a copy please let me know. I have also been sent an electronic copy of all of the members of the Vintage Car Club of NZ who are happy to have their details made available to the wider club membership. There are approx. 8,500 members with 20,000 vehicles. These are provided in three lists. A list of all the branches in alphabetical order that includes the members names plus contacts and vehicles. Another list of all the NZVCC members in alphabetical order. A further list of makes of vehicles with each of the makes being listed by year and the owners of the vehicles for that year. This last list is very helpful if you are looking for owners of similar vehicles to your own. A hard copy of the Branch list with each branches members will be put in the library. It runs to 450 pages. I am happy to send you an electronic copy of these lists. The committee approved the purchase of a replacement electric stove as the old one was 40 years old and the element under- apron had badly corroded and had become dangerous. John Peters (an electrician) wired in the new stove. Angie can’t wait for the next social to try it out. 4
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Creative Fibre Rotorua have been hiring our clubrooms now for 6 months for their twice weekly meetings and the committee determined that the trial period had produced no concerns. We were therefore happy to allow them to continue to hire our rooms. They are storing some of their fibres, looms, library books and mannequins in the chair storeroom so don’t get overexcited when you stumble over non vehicle related items in that area. One of our members pointed out that if your vehicle insurance is with Vero, you no longer get free windscreen cover. A broken or cracked windscreen is now the same as any other claim and subject to the excess. None of the other companies have changed their policies on free windscreen cover yet. The North Island Club Captain’s tour started in Tauranga on Friday 8th and called in at our branch clubrooms for a cuppa and toilet stop to go with their lunch. A great bunch of cars and people that Angie, Des, Lois and Pat (Burr) will be joining in with at Taupo on the Saturday. As luck would have, the first shower arrived during lunch so hoods were hurriedly raised. A Wolsey 6/110 nearly made it from the clubrooms to Tarawera Road before it lost the spark. There were quick trips across the road to Repco to try to get things sorted. Such is the joy of motoring old vehicles. Welcome to our new members who signed up at the January car show. Kevin and Dorne Goss from Horahora who have a 1947 Ford Graham and Helen Meredith from Te Puke who have a range of Chrysler Valiants. We look forward to seeing you at our club activities. Side Curtains March 2019
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February Midweekers
by Terry Fitzpatrick
On Wednesday 27th February 10 cars and 21 members met at Ngongotaha and after receiving tour instructions proceeded on Highway 5 over the Mamakus. We enjoyed a very pleasant drive in fabulous weather and after passing through Fitzgerald Glade we took the turn right towards Te Poi and then took the short cut road that heads towards the Kaimais and when we met the Tauranga road we took a left as per Bob’s instructions and headed west. After about a mile I was advised by my eagle eyed navigator (Sandra) that I had sped past the others who had all followed the instructions and turned right onto the “Old Te Aroha Road” and I hadn’t, so after a quick U turn we joined them and we all headed north along a well sealed road and enjoyed a drive through a very scenic area of the ranges with farms with green grass and nicely trimmed barberry hedges. After about 15 miles (vintage description) we came to the Fantail Café where we all enjoyed a home cooked lunch, very much like a high tea, under the shade of the trees. From there we proceeded north a couple of miles and stopped at the memorial in memory of the N.A.C. DC-3 plane that crashed into the mountain in 1963, with no survivors. I was born in Te Aroha and spent my first 23 years there, and while I had been from Te Aroha as far south as Thompson’s Track, I had never been any further along that road. As the tour made their way back to Rotorua and we were so close to Te Aroha , Sandra & I carried on and paid a visit to my sister and made a day of it. Thanks Bob & Pat, it was a very enjoyable day enjoyed by: Bob & Pat - Triumph Vitesse; Maurie & Shirley - Holden; Bill & Adelai - Modern; Ralph - Buick; Roger & Diana - Triumph Stag; Pat, Shelly & Shona - Mercedes; Angie, Des & Lois - Morris Minor Woody; Evan & Wynn - Modern, Les & Thelma - MGB; Terry & Sandra - BMW 2002tii 6
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Book Review: The Life of the Automobile - a New History of the Motor Car, by Steven Parissien (Atlantis Books, London, 2013) reviewed by Ronald Mayes (abridged due to space available)
I spotted this book in our public library, thought it might be worth reading, and was prepared for the odd mistake by a non-motoringenthusiast writer. Well, there were the odd mistakes (a drive shaft referred to as a crankshaft springs to mind) but I couldn’t put it down! It is in-depth study of the rise of the motor car and a no-holds-barred account of the motor vehicle industry and the men behind it. If you thought your treasured car was the product of careful planning, co-operation between company owners and dedicated engineers, stylists etc, and skilled assembly by loyal workers, think again! After you read the book you may be embarrassed to again show your car in public! In many cases, from the dawn of car production to the present day, megalomaniac company owners were ready to stab anyone in the back who didn’t agree with them, and many cars were (and still are) built with significant faults (but I was pleased to see the good words the author had written about the Triumph 2000 and its designers, and the BMC 1100/1300 cars!). In Britain Bill Morris took one look at a prototype Morris Minor, said it looked like a poached egg and would have nothing to do with it, saying that the Morris Eight was good enough for post-war Britain. He didn’t speak to designer Alec Issigonis for another decade. Happy reading, everyone!
FOR SALE
Rover P6B, all original, very used, brake calipers seized, matching numbers car, a good restoration project. Vauxhall HC Viva 1800L, factory sleeper, all Magnum mechanicals, missing RH rear door glass, has new radiator. Both cars dry stored in Cambridge 15 years or more Enquiries to James Godwin phone 021301127 or email james@grsnz.co.nz Side Curtains March 2019
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VCC National Motor Cycle Rally 2019 by Dave Mayhew
2019 being 4 years since the Cromwell rally it was time to hold the VCC National Motor Cycle Rally in the South Island again and this time it was to be centred on Blenheim. I decided that I would share a trailer ride for my Douglas Dragonfly to the Wellington/Picton ferry with Martin and his BSA Gold Star and in preparation for the 100 kilometres of unsealed Molesworth Track I had fitted a new rear tyre and invested in a new pair of Teflon padded pants in case I happened to take a slide. The infamous Molesworth Track is a semi-private road that goes from Blenheim to Hamner Springs via the Molesworth Station (sheep, not trains). This was to be a challenge that I was looking forward to but unfortunately the track became closed as the fire risk was far too high. On the way to Wellington we overnighted at Ohakune and were able to view Peter Thomsons’ motorcycle museum at Rongotea, mostly Harley Davidsons and BMWs and four Douglas’. Whilst there we all had fun galloping around Peters paddock on an old motor cycle with oval wheels. 190 motor cycles had been registered from two 1911 Abingdon King Dicks up to a 1988 BMW. Only two Douglas’ were registered but I was quite unable to locate the other one, Percy Ralston’s 1915 2 3/4 hp. Old acquaintances were met and many new ones were made. Saturday dawned with brilliant sunshine again for the rally; I was wearing bib number 37 and my start time was to be at 10:01am. The competition part was just 111 miles on super smooth roads wending their way amongst the yellow hills of dry grass and up and down the gentle slopes. Such an enjoyable ride, but unfortunately I wasn’t competitive enough to win a class prize. In the evening we were given a very interesting talk by an ex-motorcycle racer, Graeme Crosby. The next day we all displayed our bikes at Omaka, close by Sir Peter Jacksons’ museum of fighter aircraft from the First World War, and we performed competitive field events on our motorcycles. Monday was the first day of a four day “hub type” tour and we rode to Nelson to view two private motorcycle collections. Many bikes in 8
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immaculate condition, lots of BMWs and so many makes that I had never heard of before; and I was quite surprised at just how many limited edition models there were including a Vincent Black Knight of which only 106 were made. I lunched in the Anchor Pub with a couple of other bikers then after lunch I chose the easy way back to Blenheim by myself, just 75 miles in beautiful sunshine knowing that a tail end Charlie with his trailer was only two or three hours behind me. Most of the gang chose the longer challenging route which proved to be too much of a challenge for some of them with miles and miles of fiercely corrugated road and one of them broke the axle of his side car, which was promptly discarded and his wife came home on the pillion. On Tuesday the tour was to visit some local vineyards and wineries, but wine tasting not being one of my favourite pastimes I decided to have a rest day and just popped into town for a bit of shopping ; cleaned my bike and polished my boots. Wednesday proved to be much more of an interesting day as we were to be transported along Queen Charlotte sound by water taxi barge. Divided into groups of about 10 each I found myself with the first group to board at 7:30am as dawn was breaking, only 20 miles away. This was to be a new experience for the bargee as he had never carted motor bikes before, and if he had to transport about 100 bikes on a 20 minute ride each time he would need to travel very fast, unfortunately we were all getting soaking wet by the spray until we dragged all of the bikes further back and crowded to the back was he able to travel at a necessary speed. Arriving at Torea Bay the short loading ramp was dropped into the water close to the beach like a wartime landing craft and we rode off amongst the pebbles and up a scruffy walking track to the road and soon after found a posh hotel, The Portage, and enjoyed a most welcome brunch. After the Portage we rode towards the end of the peninsula to view the incredible view over the Marlborough Sounds. By the time we got back and returned to Ohingaroa Bay for a barbecue lunch thanks to Marlborough branch. We had covered 32 miles of continuous winding road at about 20 mph; left then right; left then right; second gear all the way; such fun. We returned to Blenheim via Havelock covering just 95 miles for the day. (to be continued) Side Curtains March 2019
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Sir, the term “classic” seems to crop up regularly in car club circles , particularly in relation to vehicles of a certain age, and to its possible use in a club’s name. My Oxford Compact Dictionary of 2000 (“compact” in that it has only 1348 pages..) defines classic as follows: Adjective 1: Judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality. 2: Typical. Noun 1: A work of art of established value. 2: (Classics): The study of ancient Greek and Latin literature, philosophy and history. 3: (The Classics): the works of ancient Greek and Latin writers. Classical is defined as follows: Adjective 1: Relating to ancient Greek or Latin literature, art or culture. 2: Representing an exemplary standard within a long established form of art or a language. 3: A long-established form or style of music (more specifically written in the European tradition between approximately 1750 and 1830.) 4: Relating to the first significant period of an area of study, eg classical Marxism. My grandfather’s Webster’s Dictionary of 1929 has most of the above, plus: 1: Pure, 2: Refined, 3: Clear-cut. Make all of that what you will! Oxford adjective 1 could apply only to very few cars, 2 to me seems rather vague but could be applied to a car of any period. Adjective 2 of classical and all of the Webster definitions could apply to my Triumph and Vanden Plas cars! If I really had to use my interpretation of the term as it applies to cars I would say that the Morris Minor is definitely a classic, the spartan Standard Eight of 1954 (they even used an obsolete pre-war RAC horsepower rating in its name!) not so. To sum up: the term “classic” needs to be used very, very carefully! Ronald Mayes 10
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CLUB NIGHT - March 13th Neil Hunt Park - 7.30pm Car In The Room: 1959 Austin Healey Sprite AN5 Followed by tea, coffee, biscuits and birthday cake!
Upcoming Midweek Runs
by Maurie Crowe
March Midweekers - 27th March 2019 The next midweek run will be on Wednesday 27th March. Meet at the clubrooms at the later time at 10.30 am. We will be travelling to a country café for lunch, and then on to the venue where we can inspect an older car under going a full restoration, this will be of interest to our members. 10.30am at the club rooms, 27th March, SEE YOU THERE!
March Run - Sunday March 10th The Chairman’s Run has been and gone as this goes to print! The information for April’s Night Run will appear in the next issue of Side Curtains.
Citroens On Display - Sunday, April 7th The Citroen Club of NZ will be having a 100th anniversary event in the Waikato in April, and will have members cars at Victoria Park in Cambridge in a “Pride of Ownership” display open to the public from 12noon - 3pm.
WANTED Exhaust gas analyser in working condition, suitable for use on an older car. Phone Maurie - 07 345 6540 Side Curtains March 2019
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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.
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 March 2019
February 2019 BBQ Run
March 2019 Chairman’s Run
February 2019 Midweekers