May 2020
R11
Southland Branch - Vintage Car Club of NZ Inc. PO Box 1240, Invercargill 9840
The next Meeting may be in June. Hopefully, by then, we will be in Covid-19 Level 1 or a more relaxed Level 2. That’s the best we can hope for. Keep safe everyone and don’t be in too big a hurry to burst your bubble. Our age puts many of us in the ‘at risk’ group, so don’t get blasé about the return to normal.
Office Bearers 2019/2020 Patron Chairman Past Chairman Secretary Treasurer
Wayne Nicoll Ray McCulloch Gerry Pethick Janet McCulloch Sheryn Warren
Club Captain Grounds Buildings Bulletin Editor
Tony Warren Olly Olsson John Burke Rae Wilson
215 7136 217 9667 216 5496 217 9667
Executive Executive Executive Executive
southland@vcc.org.nz
217 0524
Executive
svccnztreasurer@gmail.com
217 0524
235 8567 (027 499 8769)
Executive Executive Executive Executive
wils@southnet.co.nz
Ken Officer Trevor Wilkey Casey Lyons Librarian Roy Shanks Parts Shed John Burke Alwyn Hoskins Neil Kidd ID Cards etc Ferg McDowell Welfare Officer Barry Hayman Southland Branch website VCC website
Executive Executive Executive 216 6056 217 8177 2159302 022 497 0764 235 8449 216 3639 www.sporty.co.nz/southlandvintagecar www.vcc.org.nz www.trash.co.nz/vccbb www.myvintage.co.nz Buy &
My Vintage website
Sell **********************
Bar Roster The bar is closed until further notice. If you want to see something that started my day off with a laugh take a look at this: https://www.facebook.com/gerard.feldzer/videos/10219733097511 026/?t=6
And this launch is quite novel too: https://mujergenial.net/cuando-tu-vidate-importa-muy-poco/?fbclid=IwAR2mzypIIXXudhKERs7Hob68apx5UCuUG0x52M7vBiI6k_hhzm-S1mCoq4 SVCC Rumour
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From the Chair Well, I hope you are all still coping with the levels which have been set down. The gardens have all been weeded, fresh oil in the car and air in the tyres already for its next outing. My time has been spent working on a ’39 Ford V8 sedan which belongs to Mal and Jane Skipworth. Jane is the daughter of Ralph Hannah an ex local MP. At this stage we are in the process of trying to get the black plates reissued. I hope you all received your Rumour last month ok as we have been updating our systems for sending this out via email and post. If you had any problems please let me know. We received an inquiry from an Ashburton member who is wanting to transfer to our branch, as they now live in Riverton. We met them on Saturday, filled out the paperwork and advised them of the ins and outs of our branch. He owns a ’35 Austin Lichfield, vintage tractors and vintage outboard motors. At the moment he is building a new garage to house his collection. We would like to welcome Geoff and Sherryl Allott to our branch. At this stage it’s looking like we will be up and running again in July thereby holding our AGM end of July. The voting papers will be out in the June Rumour and these will need to be back with the Executive by their meeting mid July. So if you feel like picking up a position to help in the Club please fill in the paperwork. Rumour has it that: Wayne Nicoll has been adding a new roof to one of his sheds. Luke Nicoll has got the barrel ready so that he can put the Aerial back together ready for its next adventure. Wayne Calderwood has been working on his Model A after some repairs to the motor, trying to improve the running of the car. Hamish Allen is busy working on his race Indian getting it ready for the next Burt Munro event 2021 We understand that the next Vero Rally will now be held in New Plymouth 16th – 21st January 2022, so if you previously had accommodation booked now is the time to update that.
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Another reminder to the Veteran vehicle owners; at this stage it looks like the National Veteran Rally will be taking place in October in Gore, so keep working on your vehicles. See you all soon. Ray McCulloch.
RETARDED GRANDPARENTS After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school. One child wrote the following: We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa. They used to live in a big brick house but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Batemans Bay where everyone lives in nice little houses, and so they don't have to mow the grass anymore! They ride around on their bicycles and scooters and wear name tags because they don't know who they are anymore. They go to a building called a wreck centre, but they must have got it fixed because it is all okay now. They do exercises there, but they don't do them very well. There is a swimming pool too, but they all jump up and down in it with hats on. At their gate, there is a doll house with a little old man sitting in it. He watches all day so nobody can escape. Sometimes they sneak out, and go cruising in their golf carts! Nobody there cooks, they just eat out. And, they eat the same thing every night --- early birds. Some of the people can't get out past the man in the doll house. The ones who do get out, bring food back to the wrecked centre for pot luck. My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too. When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house. Then I will let people out, so they can visit their grandchildren. PRICELESS! SVCC Rumour
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Editor’s comments This is my last Bulletin for the period I signed up for. It looks like I will be some extra penance. All joking aside, I have enjoyed putting the Rumour together but there comes a time for change. I want to give fair warning that I will be passing over to someone else in 2021. Everyone needs a change and change is good for every business/organisation. So please don’t be surprised that the pressure will be on to find a new editor come May/June next year. Both locally and nationally it has been a very quiet time and I am indebted to those who have contributed items and articles. Thank you. Barry Barnes has kindly sent me some article based on his memory of early cars in our club’s history. Thank you Barry. I am confident that this will generate a lot of reminiscing and discussion and that we will be able to help Barry to add more to it. Recently we have made some changes to how we manage the Club’s data and that includes emails. To preserve continuity when our key personel change at AGM time, our treasurer no longer uses her personal email address for club communications. The new email address for the treasurer is now svccnztreasurer@gmail.com so this will not change when we have a change of treasurer. Simply by passing the computer (club owned) to the new treasurer will give that person all the files and emails that go with the position and the only change that will be necessary will be the password. We are growing up. That is to happen with the Chairperson, Club Captain and Rumour editor in the near future. All files will then be backed up to the cloud, providing us with better security as well.
June Rumour closing date is 14 June 2020.
SVCC Rumour
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Club Cars from the Past
by Barry Barnes
Part 1 Bentley and Rolls-Royce. Over the years many cars appeared in Southland Branch Club events then eventually headed off to new owners elsewhere. In this series I hope to provide a few photos and a little information on some of the riches that have graced Southland roads during the earlier years of over 65 years of vintage motoring. It will not be as comprehensive as it could be but I hope will bring back memories to long time members and be of interest to the others. Please let Rae know if you think its rubbish and if memories are stirred I challenge others to contribute their comments. For those who don’t know me I joined Southland Branch in 1959 aged 17 and enjoyed involved membership until 1984 when I was transferred to Timaru and amazingly have been a member of South Canterbury Branch for longer than I was in Southland. I still have an affection for Southland and Southlanders and enjoy our rare visits. I also look forward to receiving the Rumour every month. When I joined the Club there were 2 Bentleys in Club ranks, both 4.5 litre cars and both exceptional cars in their own right. Willis Brown had a basically original classic Van den Plas style tourer with a great pedigree having been purchased in England by CWF (Bill) Hamilton who won 3 races in one day at Brooklands for Bentleys in racing trim with the car. I remember Willis saying he had the straight cut High ratio Crown wheel and pinion that Hamilton used in that race. The car had a history of fast touring on the gravel roads of the Mackenzie Country residing at the famous Irishman Creek Station, until being sold to Willis in the mid-1950s. He usually drove it with verve and I remember travelling in the car with my SVCC Rumour
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brother Robin from Garston pub to Parawa pub when 90mph came up on the speedo, quite a thrill for two youngsters. The other car was owned by Mr John Simpson Robbie and featured a cabriolet body by Park Ward, I believe. It was reputed to be the actual New York Motor Show car and it was certainly fitted with Hall headlamps which are of American manufacture. John used to putter around town doing about 15mph in top gear and I don’t know if he ever motored it in anger. He was a pioneer Southland motorist and a little eccentric. He would not fit anything other than Michelin tyres which were virtually unobtainable and no doubt accounted for the front ones being as bald as an egg – no tread depth for WOFs in those days. At one time the car was owned by John Newman mine host at afore mentioned and now derelict at the Parawa Pub where we were based for one of the early Autumn Rallies. After John Robbie died the car went to Willis and I don’t recall he kept it for very long. In the early 60s, a 3 litre Bentley arrived in Invercargill. Warren Jordan purchased it from Harry Williamson at Tai Tapu, who also owned Lyall Bailey’s De Dion Bouton at the time. The 3 litre motored very nicely indeed and I travelled with Warren on one Canterbury Annual Rally. Travelling around the Summit Road I watched the temperature gauge rise on the uphill stretches then drop just as rapidly on the downhill run which was quite normal, as no cooling fan was fitted. SVCC Rumour
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It did not stay in Southland long, going to Gavin Bain who replaced the not particularly well executed Van Den Plas replica body with a nice pointed tail 2 seater. Alastair McIntosh also had an early 3 litre that he bought off Alan Sutton. I think this was a Speed Model. In the very early days garage proprietor, Jack McEwan, used to motor around town in a Rolls-Royce dated at that time as 1910. It was fitted with a less than elegant saloon body from a vintage Hudson. The car was acquired in the early 60s by Dr Ken MacMillan who embarked on a full restoration but did not get it finished in time for the 1965 International which he took part in using Alex Casey’s 1929 Vauxhall 20/60 actually winning an award. Ken told me once of starting up the Rolls in the garage before the wheels were refitted with several vacuum cleaner hoses joined together to direct the exhaust outside! The new tourer body was much more elegant than the old one though rather narrow gutted. By this time the car was, more accurately I suppose, dated as 1911 Note the AA plate. This plate was in the allocation issued to the Bluff Post Office. I was working at Motor Regn at the time the plates were issued. Someone else already had our Invercargill series AC plate for 1911 booked so I got the Bluff Postmaster to send these plates to Invercargill for issue along with AA1924 for Walter McQuarrie’s Studebaker and AA1927 for Merv Coutts Hup. I know Robbie Eunson still Has the AC1909 plate on the Wolseley Siddeley. Are there still any other AC plates around? I still have AC1924 and AC1925 in my garage, and AC1927 went on Willis‘s Bentley Ken moved away to Australia and I think took the car with him, but I remember Willis telling me Ken had sold the car. In any event Ken had another vehicle he entered on the 1970 Australian International, where no doubt he and Willis joined up again when Willis took the Bentley over. SVCC Rumour
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Both Willis and Jack McEwen also owned post vintage Rolls. I think they were both 20/25s but would be open to correction on that. Willis’s car is on the left. Photo taken at Riverton Rally probably 1964 last year for the yellow and black plates Also quite early on Peter Pinckney of Glenaray Station purchased a 1922 Barker barrel side bodied Silver Ghost tourer from Jim Chapple of Auckland which caused quite a stir at the time. This lovely car was seen on a few runs. Peter was involved with the now long defunct Queenstown Motor Museum and the car was displayed there. I seem to recall that Peter was killed in a helicopter accident and I suppose the car was sold off when the Museum folded. I have no idea where it is now. Editor’s comment: I recall that Pat Fox also had a Rolls-Royce through the early 1970s. I can’t remember the year or model though. Please feel free to contribute any other details that you know.
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Editor’s comment: This month we have an article from Barry Hayman about the rebuild of his Hillman Imp. Thanks for the article Barry. I hope this serves as an inspiration to others to put pen to paper and do the same.
Vehicle Review
by Barry Hayman
It all started with a 1964 Imp from the Rutherford Collection in Nelson. It had 43,000 miles on the clock and two owners and was in need of some panel work and a repaint. When it arrived in Bluff, where we were living at the time, the first work involved pulling it to bits to see exactly what we had and what condition it was in. After much discussion, I decided to have it soda blasted. First mistake. What a mess. Even cleaning it the way I was advised didn’t help. It was impossible to get all the soda out of the nooks and crannies. You wouldn’t believe how many of those there are on such a small car. The soda just creates rust, not to mention the annihilation of half the front lawn. It took months for that to recover. So onwards and upwards. I primed and panel beated the body, and not satisfied, primed it again and then lost interest in it. A year or so later I found, on good old TradeMe, a complete body in Christchurch, primed and ready for paint. The body was from an Imp that had been raced in Auckland. After bringing it home I painted it in Lotus Green Metallic. It looked really good and I was very pleased with it. This was around the time of the Christchurch earthquakes and there were a lot of changes with my work so I didn’t have the time to put the Imp together. There were also a couple of shifts in residences and storage places etc etc. Poor old Imp. It sat untouched again for something like 5 years. During this time I found a Sunbeam Imp in Dunedin (2 owners and 38,000 miles).
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It needed panel work and painting, so I purchased it and put it in a corner for later. Then another Imp came on the market at Dacre. It had all new rubbers, gaskets, and some lights. Unfortunately it had been kept in a shed where the rats had a field day, eating the seats, headlining, and the door panels. However the new parts on it were okay. Three years ago I started putting the first Imp together, only to find that the owner of the Auckland body had cut all the brackets off it for the dash and seats. The engine was purchased from Dave Robertson’s racing car, 90% finished. All that was needed was to make up new brake pipes and fit the front screen and we would be finished. It has been a long slow process but it is now looking pretty good. However in the mean time I have been side tracked again, and purchased a very tidy 1984 Honda Accord Coupe which had a failed gearbox. I found a second hand one in Garston. This is now going, and has been paneled and painted, reassembled and is ready for WOF and rego once this lockdown is over. Back to the Imp now to finish it off, shouldn’t take too long, now that I can’t go anywhere. The other 3 Imps will be on sold. One’s enough. They are an odd ball car to work on. Nothing is easy.
Russell’s Ramblings I hope you have been working in your bubble for the last six weeks on your car or motorcycle. Those who were, are; The Eunson Restoration Crew has been working on the vintage 8 cylinder NASH 5L. It has received the ‘Full Monty’ with a ground crankshaft, new white metal bearings and J P pistons from Australia
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Ray McCulloch is restoring a 1917 Harley, and a 1911 J.M.C bike. The 1939 V8 Deluxe Ford now has the body fitted. The rare Humber Pullman of Brendan Sparks is having the brakes repaired. Otherwise the car is in excellent condition. Phillip Toomey has been doing electrical and mechanical work on his 1913 Humberette.
Transport World now have an MGTD and a Volkswagen display of Combivans, Beetles etc. The Mecca’s latest acquisitions are a Honda Dream, a late-model Norton, and a BMW (Paris to Dakar model). I was looking through the club’s book of paper clippings of the Southland Motorcycle Club. There were details of the first hill climb in October 1929 at Venal Hill near Wyndham. After some inquiries, I found that it is now called Wairakiki Hill. The climb was 0.6 of a mile long. There were 13 entries in the Novice class and nine in the Open class. The fastest was A W Parsons on an overhead valve Aerial at 1 minute 7.5 seconds. Field telephones were used to connect the top and bottom of the course and that proved very successful. About 100 spectators attended the event. Cars from the Southland Sports Car Club used this hill, Brian Stroud’s Wolseley Hornet amongst them. Here are some websites I think are worth looking at; Federation of Historic Vehicle Clubs fbhvc.co.uk Austin cars carrollstransportdepot.com.au Austin Healy and BMC components ahspares.co.uk Country Motor Issue 24 is a good read for all at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/579ae8c9725e25911c587e32/t/5e 94fd558958500b2de57e02/1586822503589/CMA+24+reduced.pdf
Ford assembly line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RB3z1er9Sw
Condolences Our thoughts in the past month are with: 1. Eric Hayes and his family.
Social Distancing I need to practice better social distancing from the fridge.
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New Members 1. Geoff and Sherryl Allott who are transferring from Ashburton and
now live in Riverton.
For Sale 1. 1964 RILEY 4.72 Tidy, excellent running vehicle. Lots of spares. $5600. Contact Dorothy 03 2159302. 2. 1929 De-Soto Sedan; Restored; no rego. Contact Mike 032358258; Email thehannas1@xtra.co.nz. 3. 1954 Vanguard. Comes with factory service instructions manual and owners instruction book. Registered and warranted ,some spare parts .Price $3,500 or near offer. Phone John Clegg, 03 2066766 or email johneve250@gmail.com. 4. Workshop Manuals, Parts books, Tune-up manuals, Auto Electrical manuals, Wiring diagrams, Old Lucas information and repairs. List of books available on request. Enquiries to Gordon Lowe 03 236 7599 5. 1964 Daimler 2.5L V8. 100% original condition. 3speed auto. British Motor Racing Green. 158,000 miles. Contact B A Chisholm, 8 Rutherford Rd, Queenstown. Phone 03 442 0332 or 03 442 0362. 6. 4 Lucas tyres 4.75 x 20, 4 ply with tubes and liners. Contact Ian on 027 435 5811
Wanted 1. 10/39 or 10/37 MOWOG diff head or complete diff (Morris Minor, MG, Austin). Phone Neil on 027 278 9800
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Parts Shed The parts shed will be open the afternoon of meeting nights between 1 & 4 p.m. The following people can be contacted at any time if requiring parts or information on parts in our Parts Shed. John Burke
217 8177
Neil Kidd
022 497 0764
Library The lending library will issue books on the afternoon of meeting nights between 1 & 4 p.m. Other times by appointment - phone 216 6056 Missing: “Humber Pullman” workshop manual. This was borrowed prior to 2000 and is currently required for a restoration project. Please check your personal collection and return this item if you have it. Assistants needed: Roy still needs some assistants to catalogue and or computerise 400 post-war motorcycling magazines and over 1000 prewar motorcycling magazines. Contact Roy if you can assist. This sounds like a rather onerous task and can only be improved if a number of you volunteer, reducing the number of magazines processed by each person. Please help Roy. *************** Copyright of the contents of the “Rumour” magazine rests with the VCC of NZ Inc. (Southland Branch) unless otherwise stated.
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Important dates Meetings and Social functions AGM Looks like August at this stage.
Rallys etc Southland
Gore
October
TBA
Waimea Motorcycle Rally.
TBA
Post War, Post 60, Post 80 Rally. National Veteran Rally.
Mid-week Rally Like everything else, these have been cancelled till further notice. *************** Views and opinions expressed in the Rumour are those of the authors of the articles and are not necessarily those of the Southland Branch of the VCC of NZ, the Branch Executive or the Editor. Mistakes will be corrected if possible. ***************
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May 2020
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Lockdown Experience At the beginning of the lockdown I planted myself on the sofa and all I’ve experienced since is an amazing rate of growth.
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