SIDE CURTAINS
SIDE CURTAINS The magazine of the
ROTORUA VINTAGE AND VETERAN CAR CLUB
SEPTEMBER 2020
WE’RE NOW ON FACEBOOK ! www.rvvcc.org.nz
AUGUST CLUB RUN
SIDE CURTAINS - September 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
CONTENTS
Secretary - Dennis Whimp Ph 021 731 678
Chairman’s Report
2
From The Secretary
4
Treasurer - Terry Fitzpatrick
Daffodil Deliveries
5
Club Captain - vacant
Not A Spring Tour 2021
6
Asst. Club Captain - vacant
Xmas Social
10
Committee Bob Mackay Terry Wadsworth Ronald Mayes Kevin Scott Lois Thompson Neville Harper
Coming Events
12
Mid Weekers - Bob Mackay Side Curtains Editor - David Tomlinson rvvcc.editor@gmail.com Beaded Wheels - Ronald Mayes Librarian - Dennis Kenny Asst Librarian - Ronald Mayes Asst Librarian - Roger Couchman Cards/Flowers - Doreen Green
Cover Photos Front - August Club Run Back - EBOP Daffodil Day Rally
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 September 2020
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Chairman’s Report
- August 2020 by David Tomlinson
Well Covid-19 reared it’s ugly head again, causing us to cancel August club night at short notice, and now permanently cancel the Swap Meet for 2020. We made the decision to cancel the August club night at very short notice due to the news that an infectious family had spent considerable time in Rotorua the weekend before, visiting many places including several popular eateries. We made the decision to cancel the Swap Meet when the government extended Covid-19 restrictions until at least 9 days before the event. There was no way we could commit to the costs of carrying on, not just our own but of those exhibiting and travelling to Rotorua, only to have the restrictions still in place at the end of September. Having no Swap Meet will hit our balance sheet hard this financial year, but it would have been worse to have spent most of the money hosting the event and not have it take place. Let’s hope that as we get closer to 2021 things around the world and here can slowly return to a 2019 normality. Other events including the Rotorua Home Show were cancelled, and most Daffodil Day VCC events were cancelled this year. EBOP branch did put on their rally and show at the end of August, and Michael Thorne was there in his red Panther, and I took my older Silver Shadow along. They had 70 cars take part, including many American muscle cars, some which travelled from Rotorua. The organisers of Brits At The Beach have already cancelled their 2021 event in February due to the difficulty in securing sponsorship in these difficult times. I suspect many other events that require a lot of infrastructure to be planned in advance will continue to be 2
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cancelled as time progresses. We need to take advantage of the here and now when we can. This pandemic could potentially impact our daily lives for a long time to come. On a more positive note, our August club run was well attended, 37 members took part, and although the weather was inclement, a lot of positive feedback was received. It did show half the members present did not know the difference between a unicorn and a rabbit though... Because of the cancellation of the Swap Meet some effort will be put towards a club run later in September. It is still planned that we will have our club night on the 9th. The rest of the year’s calendar should be relatively easy to maintain, including an early Xmas Party/Social in mid-November. Sadly there will be no free meal for Swap Meet volunteers this year. The Lakefront Car Show will continue to be planned for, and hopefully things are sufficiently normal by January we get another bumper turn out. Last year’s 450 cars will be hard to beat, but the lack of activity this year may even see that number exceeded in January. It is possible there will be the “new” lake front markets up and running by then too. I wish to thank Angie for co-ordinating the daffodil deliveries last month, and my wife Fleur for putting on the luncheon at the conclusion of our August club run. On a personal note, progress is advancing on getting my 1933 Rolls-Royce back on the road, with the new cylinder head and ancillary parts flying to New Zealand while this magazine goes to print. Lastly, the midweekers run at the end of September includes a visit to a small but very interesting collection in Ngongotaha. I have viewed this private collection in recent times, it is very eclectic and has broader interest beyond just cars. It should be a good day out for those that take part. Side Curtains September 2020
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FROM THE SECRETARY by Dennis Whimp When working on my old Buick, I had been sharpening my old dill bits to the traditional shaped point with flats on. The new ones from Mitre 10 Mega are pointed so that no centre punch is needed and they do not wander. Brilliant when using the hand power drill. So I have stopped sharpening and just buying new ones. I also found that Anzor Fastenings at Mount Maunganui have a vast range of imperial stainless steel bolts as well as metric. Great for replacing the old chromed ones. Evan Dorrington has got a warrant for the Morris Minor so after a bit more body work, we should see it out and about. Dave Philps has disposed of the Triumph and the Mustang and acquired a very nice Ford Falcon XC saloon. I did a lot of miles in these models and found them much more comfortable than the latest models. Michael Thorne has shifted to Riverholm Drive and added a late model Porsche Cayman to keep the Panther company. Tauranga Branch has changed the date of their Swap Meet to Sunday, November 8th. This is a week later than the advertised date. I am back into normal mode as the cancer treatment using the latest immunotherapy has proved far more successful than I had anticipated. 4
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Daffodil Delivery Day / August Midweekers Angie advises that there were 11 cars able to help on the day, 3 of them club cars. There were staggered start times due to Covid Level 2 restrictions and delivery persons wore a face mask when entering premises. Each car delivered around 50 bunches of daffodils to various residences & businesses throughout the city. There were a few showers at times but they got the job done by around 1pm. The branch received the following thank you email: Thank you for your support this Daffodil Day. From all of us here at the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Cancer Society, thank you so much for volunteering your time to help deliver our beautiful daffodils for Daffodil Day in Rotorua. When our team started planning for Daffodil Day many months ago, we looked forward to celebrating the 30th anniversary of this iconic day of hope with New Zealanders. Nobody could have predicted Covid-19 or the impact it would have on our fundraising. We are hugely appreciative of all the work done by our volunteers to ensure Daffodil Day could continue. Daffodil Day may have looked different this year, but your contribution is no less significant. Every dollar raised on Daffodil Day helps the Cancer Society provide practical and meaningful assistance to people when they need it most. Your support helps provide information and support from experienced cancer nurses and services like transport to medical appointments and therapeutic massage to ease the side-effects of treatment. It also helps fund vital cancer research and enables health promotion initiatives that reduce the risk of cancer for future generations. None of this would be possible without your help. Once again, thank you. We hope to see you again for Daffodil Day 2021. Kind regards Tracey Crompton, Office Administrator Waikato/Bay of Plenty Division Cancer Society of New Zealand Side Curtains September 2020
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“Not a Spring Tour” - April 2021 Following the uncertainly around Covid-19 and other events there had been little time to sorting out or fitting in a Spring Tour. It has been suggested that should there be a tour it should happen over a weekend so enabling working members to take part in at least part of the tour. The date selected hopefully avoids the heavy summer traffic flows and should also be a little cooler for travel in older cars without modern air conditioning. It also avoids Easter weekend (April 2 - 5). The suggested itinerary below is at this stage, just a suggestion and subject to some changes. Before proceeding further we require expressions of interest along with any suggestions that you may wish to make. Thursday 15th April Drive to and stay in Dannevirke) (338km) Friday 16th April Drive from Dannevirke to visit Police Museum (Porirua) stay at Paraparaumu (228km) Saturday 17th April Super gold card holders free stuff day; free train to Wellington, free visit Te Papa, free cable car, free return by train to motel. (Sorry no free meals or accommodation! ) Alternative catch the Ferry (no free ferry) to Kapiti Island. Sunday 18th April Morning visit to Southwards Car Museum ($20 pp $15 SGC holder) Afternoon start return journey to Rotorua maybe stay some where on the way home and find some a place of interest to visit on the Monday? (399km via State H’way 1) Other Options Depending on the interest there are some other options: 6
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2) Take an extra day to travel via Hawkes Bay leaving Rotorua on Wednesday 14th April and stopping at Napier/Hastings and Masterton. 3) Follow State Highway 1 - Stay some where on the way, possibly Palmerston North (323km) Drive from Palmerston North, visit and stay as above (120km) The usual format to be followed which means everyone is free to join/leave or deviate from the planned itinerary. Nothing is arranged at this stage, we need serious expressions of interest so that further planning can proceed. If you are interested in joining this group or have any questions regarding this tour please contact me. An early decision will help secure accomodation especially in Paraparaumu where it is preferable to be near the Rail Station. Bob Mackay - ph 021 595185 or e-mail bobmackaynz@gmail.com
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“JUST WHEN I WAS GETTING USED TO YESTERDAY, ALONG CAME TODAY.” by Ronald Mayes Those were the words of Ashley Brilliant, cartoonist and commentator, but they could apply to me. I thought our 1999 Honda Accord, bought 11 years ago, was as up to date in its specification as we would ever need - no choke (the engine management system controls mixture and timing), cruise control (which is great for keeping a constant speed on good, quiet open roads), a simple 4-speed automatic transmission which can be manually controlled if necessary (which is hardly ever), and the ability to use Neutral for starting instead of having to engage Park for that or to remove the key. There are switches or controls for all of the car’s other functions, and a proper handbrake lever. Then I took time to read the Rotorua Daily Post Driven article by David Linklater (4 September) , describing the latest Mazda CX-30GSX 2- litre SUV, and it worries me. For $41490 I could buy a vehicle with keyless entry, automatic headlights and windscreen wipers, Head Up Active Driving Display, and the latest Mazda Connect Infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (don’t ask me what that is), and the i-Active-sensActive Safety Package. This includes adaptive cruise control, automatic lights, blindspot monitor, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assistance, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, and Smart Brake Support with pedestrian and cyclist recognition. 8
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Handling is pretty sharp and it has Mazda’s GVC Plus technology which gently reduces torque and/or dabs the brakes as you turn into a corner to help the car go exactly where you steer it. And that was just the “entry level” model! But it still requires the nut which holds the steering wheel and all that gimmickry won’t prevent the aggression, lack of common sense, lack of knowledge of basic driving skills or road rules which cause many of the situations we see or read about. I suppose it won’t be too many years before we see cars with no throttle, brake pedal or steering wheel and the owners (I couldn’t call them drivers) would have no idea of how to drive a real car. Even now, the vast majority of cars are automatics and few new drivers may know how to use a manual transmission. I recently had to explain to my young WoF mechanic, who had never before driven a BMC 1100, that there was no synchromesh on low gear and to doubledeclutch if he wanted to change down. (To his credit he drove the Princess 1100 very carefully along the lane beside the garage!) Which brings me to my worries about the future for our 30 year+ cars. While I would need to read the instruction book before I tried to drive a Ford Model T I am sure I could get back into a 1937 Morris Eight (my first car, 1963-64!) and drive it without any problems. And there is always the pleasure of using what skills I have to be at one with any car which I drive. So how many future drivers will be interested in “old” cars, let alone be able to enjoy, drive and maintain them? Food for thought! Side Curtains September 2020
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XMAS SOCIAL DINNER NIGHT Saturday, November 14th Clubrooms, 5.30pm for 6pm dinner 3 course dinner - BYO drinks Only $25 per person for a night of great food and great company!
Please bring a $5 gift along to exchange and your sense of humour. Wear an item of Christmas clothing or jewellery Please advise Angie on 348 4546 or Dave on 027 412 8227 if you will attend so that catering numbers can be organised. 10
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CLUB NIGHT - September 9th Neil Hunt Park - 7.30pm Car In The Room: 1929 Graham-Paige Followed by tea, coffee and biscuits.
September Club Run - Sunday, September 20th - 10am Starting and finishing at the clubrooms, with the first car away just after 10am. This will be a run with a difference, and will require getting out of your vehicle a number of times during the run. Lets hope the weather plays its part. There will be tea and coffee available at the club rooms at the conclusion of the run.
Midweekers, Wednesday 30 September Bring a picnic lunch (including chairs) and meet at the club rooms for morning tea at 10am. The day will be a GOLD COIN DONATION DAY. Following morning tea we will drive to Ngongotaha visiting a very interesting but little known collection which contains a number of cars and an extensive collection of memorabilia in a period setting. Although not as extensive, the setting and buildings remind me of ‘Three Rivers at Burkes Pass’. Following our visit we will drive, subject to the weather, to a lake side location for our picnic lunch. If it is not picnic weather we will find an alternative sheltered area. Side Curtains September 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
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EBOP Daffodil Day Rally
EBOP Daffodil Day Rally