October 2020
R16
Southland Branch - Vintage Car Club of NZ Inc. PO Box 1240, Invercargill 9840.
The next Meeting is at 7:30pm On Thursday, 29 October 2020. At Ariki Lodge, 46 Ariki Ave, Otatara.
National Veteran Rally lunchtime venue.
Office Bearers 2020/2021 Patron Chairman Secretary
Wayne Nicoll Ray McCulloch Janet McCulloch Sheryn Warren
Treasurer
215 7136 217 9667 217 9667
Executive Executive Executive
southland@vcc.org.nz
021 712 198
Executive
svccnztreasurer@gmail.com
Club Captain Grounds Buildings Bulletin Editor
We still need a Club Captain!! Olly Olsson John Burke Rae Wilson 235 8567 (027 499 8769)
Executive Executive Executive Executive
wils@southnet.co.nz
Gerry Pethick Ken Officer Trevor Wilkey Casey Lyons Librarian Roy Shanks Parts Shed John Burke Neil Kidd ID Cards etc Ferg McDowell Welfare Officer Barry Hayman Southland Branch website VCC of NZ Inc. Web site facebook
216 5496
Executive Executive Executive Executive
216 6056 217 8177 022 497 0764 235 8449 216 3639 www.sporty.co.nz/southlandvintagecar www.vcc.org.nz www.trash.co.nz/vccbb
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Bar Roster The bar is open Saturdays from 4:30pm until 9:00pm. October
24 Wayne Calderwood 31 Peter Pryde
November
7
Tony Warren
14 21 28
Trevor Wilkey Dave Birss Brian Dunick
********** My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. "If I’ve told you once, I've told you a million times, don't exaggerate!" ********** SVCC Rumour
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From the Chair Hi Folks On Saturday 3rd I helped out with the Vintage/PV run. We only had 10 entries this year which was very disappointing. There are many more vehicles in this class in our club. There is a lot of organising in running these events and it would be good if you could be more supportive of our club members who volunteer their time to organise these events. Our next rally is the Commercial Rally on the 7 November, then Arrowtown on 14 &15. Let’s see more members out on these runs please. On 28 November we will be holding an afternoon tea for 3 of our members who are to receive their 50yr service awards. They are Brian Stroud, Ian Ridd and myself. We will also have the honour of having the National President Diane Quarrie coming down to present these awards. The club projector has decided to stop working after 1000hrs of operation over 10yrs. As no replacement parts are available, we replaced it in time for Bathhurst Weekend. A big thank you to fellow member Dave McKenzie of Newfield Autos, who has removed all the tyres from the rims in the parts shed and from what I understand it was a better workout than going to the gym!! Good news: Tony Warren took our club Darracq to Gore for the National Veteran Rally. Prior to it going, it had the oil changed. The oil was donated to us by Appco and Ray’s Rebuilds. Thanks for that. I have just returned from participating in the National Veteran Rally in Gore in which there were 12 of our members entered and, come prize giving, 6 of those were awarded placings. Well done guys. Ray McCulloch SVCC Rumour
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Condolences. This month our condolences and thoughts are with the McDonald family with Colin’s passing.
New Members. This month we welcome Mathew Furness to our club ranks. We look forward to seeing you at the monthly meetings and our rallies.
Welfare Barry Hayman is our Welfare Officer. Please contact Barry (216 3639) if you (or any club members) need support. Barry is very much St John associated and a good person to offer help, advice, or assistance when people are in need. If you put your hand up, you will be surprised to learn about the services available to you through both the Government Services and St John Ambulance. Don’t try to do everything on your own. There are many Social Services you may not be away of and St John also offers a number of support services.
This month’s contributors to the Rumour. Ray McCulloch, Rae Wilson, John Burke, Stevie Randle, Barry Barnes, Russell McIvor, Brian Dunick, Louisa Black, Janet McCulloch, Ferg McDowell. SVCC Rumour
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Editor’s comments. This has been a disappointing month for me. I started preparing the Singer for the National Veteran Rally. I had it all polished and looking the proverbial million dollars, entry completed and registered. All I needed was a warrant. Alas, the day before the check it pulled its usual trick and refused to start. The magneto had finally given up. That was the start of the week of the rally so not enough time to get it rewound. I did find another one in Invercargill, but it too had the same symptoms and so I had to withdraw from the rally. That was disappointing as it was probably my last opportunity to enter a National Veteran Rally. I’ll see what 2023 brings with the National Motorcycle Rally here. With a bit of luck, I will still be riding it. However, it gave me the chance to watch the rally and take plenty of photos of the events. There has been quite a bit happening this month on the Club front and it is good to get back to real activity. Get those vehicles out and be confident that the south won’t see any level of COVID other than 1 or 0. Be confident but be careful. My sincere thanks to the contributors this month. Without your contributions the Rumour would be quite brief. Please keep the articles coming. I am happy to help you with your article if you need. Rae Wilson. Closing date for the November Rumour is November 15, 2020.
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Russell’s Ramblings. Russell is taking a break this month but has contributed this pictorial article on Ken Godfrey. It is not meant to be an obituary, just recollections of a past member who passed away a few months ago. Thanks Russell. Ken Godfrey. Ken, leading bikes around Teretonga on their pace lap. He is riding the Harley factory racer.
Ken and the 49 Ford Bonus truck he restored.
Ken’s 1942 Indian army model 741 which he owned for 70 years.
The 1926 J model Harley Ken rebuilt. It is still in the family There were only 3 of these factory racers made in 1920 and two (ca13 and ca14) went to Brooklands in England to break the speed record. Ken ended up with ca12. The bike is now one of the feature bikes in the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. SVCC Rumour
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For Sale 1. Job Mate 7’ x 5’ Tipping Trailer complete with cage. 3 years old and in very good condition. Registered and WOF $1500-00 Contact Trevor Wilkey 212 8971 or 027 608 6400 2. Dale Simmons has a contact with a Ford Escort motor (unknown capacity) for sale. It turns over but has a missing distributor cap. Contact Dale on 215 6615.
Wanted 1. Exercycle. Phone Keith 0210704886 anytime.
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
From the Parts Guys The End Shed On a couple of Tuesdays last month, myself, Fraser, Trevor, Gerry, Bruce and Ken cleaned out the end shed which was so full it was very hard to even get in there. It is now the area for tyres, rims, steering boxes, front axles, springs and the like. It is well set out and now easy to find these items. If you have been to the club recently, or as you can see from the photos, there is a considerable number of parts that are no good and will go to the scrap people. There are also tyres that are no longer warrantable but may be of use to members as spares or to move a vehicle you are restoring around. Please feel free to help yourself to these. Also, thanks to Fraser and his nicely restored Zetor tractor, we were able to move the rear axles, which have been stacked against the end of the shed for more years than I have been a member. These are set out at the bottom of the driveway. Again, if you are looking for a rear axles, and the one you want is there, please feel free to help yourself. SVCC Rumour
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John Burke. We also need to acknowledge the tremendous help we have had from Dave McKenzie. With much loss of body fluid, Dave has removed all the tyres from more than 60 wheels over a two-day period. Thanks Dave.
You probably read the word ME in brown, but.......when you look through ME you will see YOU! Do you need to look again?
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Important dates. Meetings and Social functions. October November
29 12 26 28
Club Monthly meeting 7:30pm. Executive meeting 7:30 pm. Club Monthly meeting 7:30pm. 50 Years’ Service Awards Evening.
4 7
Mid-week rally. Contact by 1/11. Commercial Rally. Entries close 25/10.
14,15
Arrowtown Rally. Entries close 29/10.
7
48th Annual Taieri Tour. Entries close October 30.
Rallys. Southland November
Otago
November
Mid-week Rally. Wednesday 4th November, starting at the Racecourse Gates 10:30am. $16 per head payable at the start please. Numbers by Sunday 1st November to Brian Dunick (03 218 2434) or John Wallace (03 217 7309) please.
October mid-week rally report. It was an excellent run through Southland’s verdant pastures. The results of the previous excessive rainfall were evident with creeks running high and lots of lakes in the paddocks. In general, it was a great run, culminating at the Gore racecourse for an excellent roast ham meal. Well done to the Craigs on your second attempt to get to this venue. Brian and John.
Changing of the Guard. After 19 years of organising the organisers of our mid-week rallies, I am stepping aside as from December. As from January 2021 there will be no Louisa Black and her little red book. It will be Barry Hayman and his little red book. I want to say thank you very much to all of you who have so willingly organised these runs. We have enjoyed them so much. Please continue to do the same for Barry. So, once again thank you and happy motoring to you all. Regards Louisa. SVCC Rumour
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Vintage Post Vintage Rally report On Saturday 3rd October 2020 10 Entrants gathered at the Southland Branch NZ Vintage Car Clubrooms in Otatara. After a cup of tea and rally briefing the entrants left the clubrooms and motored around Otatara before turning onto Dunns Road then Currans Road and Bay Road. We then turned Left onto the Riverton/Invercargill Highway and made our way through Wallacetown and Isla Bank. The Rally then made a right turn off the Riverton/Invercargill Highway to follow the road through to Thornbury and continue on to reconnect with the Riverton/Invercargill Highway. We then travelled through Riverton to our lunch stop at the Colac Bay Camping Ground. Along the way we had to be very observant to answer the questions that were accompanied with the rally instructions. After lunch we had a series of field tests that tested the drivers knowledge of their vehicle’s length, accuracy at throwing at a target plus their skill at guessing the circumference of the wheel of their vehicle and estimating the weight of a container of oil. After the field tests everyone then departed Colac Bay and either used the optional return journey provided or made their own way back to the club rooms for the results and presentation of trophies. Thanks must go to Trevor & Norma Wilkey for organising & running a very enjoyable rally that was also challenging to the observation skills of the competitors on a day that the weather smiled on us. Stevie Randle. Left: Bruce Marshall won the Post Vintage section. Right: Wayne Nicoll and grandson Alex won the Vintage section.
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This month’s meeting. This month is our annual Auction Night at last. After many postponements it is going to happen. Bring your goods on the night please.
National Veteran Rally 2020. SVCC Members attending the National Veteran Rally – October 16-18, 2020. A pictorial record.
Meet and greet on Friday night.
Your Ad Here Contact the Editor for details wils@southnet.co.nz SVCC Rumour
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Notably absent from the rally was the timed section but there were a number of questions to be answered along the way. SVCC members achievements were: 1st
Ashley Bell.
2nd
Wayne Nicoll.
4 cylinder under 20 hp. class
1st
Russell Jenkins.
4 cylinder over 20 hp. class
1st
Brent McKenzie.
Fixed drive motorcycle class
1st
Ray McCulloch.
Clutched motorcycle class
1st
Stu Russell.
1 and 2 cylinder class
Well done everyone.
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Defibrillator Fund Raising Project. The account stands at $340. We have a long way to go make the $3000 required. None of us knows when we will need it but let’s have it available when we need it (hopefully never). Make your donation now. Let’s get it done. If you have some suggestions about how we advance this quickly, please speak to an Executive member. Proceeds from the auction are to go to the Defibrillator fund.
50 Years’ Service Badge Presentation This year, service badges are to be presented at a function beginning at 2:30 pm on November 28 and will be followed by afternoon tea. We have 3 recipients this year: • Ray McCulloch. • Brian Stroud. • Ian Ridd. All members are invited to attend. Attendance is free. Come and celebrate with them. Please notify the Secretary if you are going to attend. The President of VCC NZ, Diane Quarrie, will be making the presentations.
Annual Hill Climb. The road normally used for this event was damaged in the floods so it is hoped that we will be able to run the event in February or March, depending on reinstatement progress.
100 plus Rally. This is normally held the first weekend in November but has been cancelled this year. We need more members on the Rally Committee. If we are to continue with the full schedule of events, we need members to help.
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Club Cars from the Past
by Barry Barnes
Part 4 Ford As could be expected Henry’s wonder played a major part in early life with numerous Ts from 1910 to 1927 restored in Southland. I am including Gore in this, for the 1910 model was restored by Frank Robson while Gore was still part of Southland Branch. Frank has also restored a tourer of about 1922 vintage, and a 1924 coupe. I know the coupe came from Eason’s place in Ruru Ave Otatara but where it and the 1922 tourer are now, I cannot say. The 1910, now owned by Paul Herron, is still in Gore and is always most beautifully turned out. Also, in Gore, Dick Collis had several Ts including a 1915 tourer which I believe is now owned by Bob Herron, Paul’s Dad. Also, in the fleet were a 1916 centre door sedan, and a 1921 tourer (pictured) usually driven by Fred Collett who actually did most of Dick’s restoration work . Another T Dick ended up with, was the 1923 roadster he bought from Russell McIvor which had been fitted with an OHV head conversion. More on this later. Another Gore T was the 1926 Tudor motored by GB (Gordon Boult) who I feel sure also had, a little later on, a ’26 roadster pickup. So, Gore was a hot bed of Fords in the day and that is not even counting the Model As
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Based around Invercargill early T’s were Ray Lindsay’s well known white 1916 model, Ray Carters 1915, and the Lyons family motored a 1911 model now in the Talleys Museum in Nelson. Both cars are to be seen in the adjacent photo. At the 1960 Riverton Rally there was a blindfold garaging test which led to the unfortunate coming together of Ray Carter and Tiger Lyons cars. The 1915 T suffered a broken front wheel and did not return to the road for many years. Alec and Ivan McKenzie and frequently a whole car load of McKenzies took part in many events including the 1965 and 1972 Internationals where they would enliven events by making use of a device to insert a small amount of diesel into the manifold and create clouds of smoke. Harry Latham had a 1915 roadster on which he did a lot of work, but I don’t think he ever got it on the road. Roger Dickson had, and I believe still has, a 1926 Tudor. Douglas and Alistair McLeod had a matching pair of ’26 Ts and I was stoked when Doug brought out his one for the 2015 Salute to ’65 Tour I organised to celebrate the 1965 International. Doug left school to take part in 1965 and never went back! Bill McAnelly had a pale blue 26 roadster. Alan Sutton dragged a derelict early vintage T out of a farm at Mataura Island previously owned by a gentleman known as Parakeet Campbell. Alan commenced restoration of this vehicle which was subsequently purchased by Brian McConnachie of Dunedin and is of course the well-known Thompson’s Fish Supply van. The sign writing on the van when recovered was sufficiently distinct for Brian to have it sign written exactly as it was. Bill Anderson restored a 1925 tourer of which he made an excellent job but reluctantly decided to sell when he got married. Messrs Casey (Alex) and Kenyon (John) purchased it for an unbelievable 70 pounds and motored it for many years. Who knows where it is now?
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Lindsay Dawson had a 1918 model with a colonial roadster body by, I think, Neilson and Neilson of Dannevirke, which he was working on for a number of years, but to the best of my knowledge it was never finished. Back to Russell McIvor’s car. It was quite extensively modified having been worked over by David who we all know as a clever and competent machinist. In 1961 I went with Russell to the Easter Rally in Blenheim which was an amazing trip.
Photo taken on Kaikoura Coast. I am a bit hazy on all the mods but there was a big pipe along the side of the motor which supplied copious quantities of oil to the big end troughs while the big ends had been modified with big dippers to ensure each bearing was well lubricated. The ignition was by coil and distributor and I think the magnets had been removed from the flywheel. It had an electric fuel pump that fed the SVCC Rumour
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standard T carburettor bolted on to the cylinder head which featured exposed rocker gear. Gravity would NOT have worked even backing uphill. The axles had been replaced with 1927 units fitted with wire wheels. Performance was amazing. 60 mph was easily achievable and it had a bark you would not believe could be generated by a Model T. Coming back from Blenheim we chased a guy in a near new Mercedes 219 through the hills south of Kaikoura with Russell powering the T through the corners with a big handful of throttle. After some distance the Merc driver had enough of a Model T filling his rear-view mirror and pulled over to let us pass! There are bound to be a many more Ts I have missed, but you get my point. Lizzie Ford was a major contributor to the Branch! ********** 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. **********
You can see this article at https://hiconsumption.com/art-deco-1930kj-henderson-custom-motorcycle/ SVCC Rumour
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Targa Rally 2021 1. Dates for 2021 - 25th to 30th October: Dates for the 2021 Targa VCC time trials, (in conjunction with the main Targa NZ event), start with Documentation Labour Day Monday 25th October and finish Saturday 30th October 2021. Our full time trial event will be over 5 days (Tuesday to Saturday), and we'll also offer a 2 day time trial for the last 2 days, (Friday/Saturday), to enable those who can't join us for the full event to enter for the last 2 days, (as we tried to do this year, but all cancelled due to Covid-19). The route is yet to be finalised, but heads up it will be central North Island, with a good chance it may start in Taranaki and finish in the Hawkes Bay. Hopefully this will enable easier travel plans for most of us, especially those coming up from the South Island. As we've done previously, our VCC time trial group will most likely get together on the afternoon of Sunday 24th October for our own meet & greet, afternoon tea, Scrutineering, RallySafe installation etc. (Subject to Covid-19 etc Targa may also run a small event in April/May 2021, but it's not practical to include a VCC time trial component in that event). 2. Next: As soon as I have more route details etc for October 2021 I'll email another update. In the meantime, stay safe and best wishes for what's left of 2020. Contact:
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Rod Corbett, VCC Steward, Targa VCC Time Trials. rod.corbett88@gmail.com +64 27 433 8772
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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 Good progress has been made converting all the currently catalogued library books to a computerised searchable format. We have also catalogued a large selection of Motorcycle magazines. I have donated a second hand, reconditioned computer to the library so that members can access this catalogue and search for books/articles on your favourite makes. It is a good search facility and will save you time searching through the whole library. Most makes/models are to be found in different sections, not side by side. Books are stored alphabetically by category, not alphabetical by make or model. I hope to get the chance to demo the search facilities at this month’s meeting. Rae Wilson.
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********** Here is an interesting article https://www.vintag.es/2017/08/allen-swiftsrolls-royce-story-of-man.html SVCC Rumour
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A WIN-WIN!
Sometimes the simplest approach is the best. A COVID19 vaccine should be tested on politicians FIRST. If they survive, the vaccine is safe. If they don’t, then the country is safe. **********
What’s the difference between weather and climate? You can’t weather a tree, but you can climate! **********
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