Issuu

February - March 2021

Taranaki Branch Committee Chair COLIN JOHNSTON E: cajohnstoncollections@xtra.co.nz Ph: 06 754 6216 Past Chair

Secretary

VERONICA OLIVER E: fordt@xtra.co.nz Ph: 06 752 2149

Club Captain

Treasurer

Vacant

ROB THOMSON E: rail modelsl@xtra.co.nz Ph: 06 758 4881

Librarian

Topical Torque Editor

BILL DURLING E: elinorandbill@hotmail.com Ph: 06 758 4244

JIM LOGAN E: logandj49@gmail.com Ph: 06 751 0316 | M: 027 604 4821 Committee

LES BOGNUDA JOHN MUTER MARK MASTERS MIKE HODGKINSON

Email: bognuda63@xtra.co.nz Email: megandjohnny@xtra.co.nz Email: rmmasters@xtra.co.nz Email: mike.hodgkinson@xtra.co.nz

Ph: 06 755 2810 Ph: 06 751 5554 Ph: 06 765 7544 Ph: 06 753 2721

Historian/Custodian

Name Tags Badges

ROSE COX E: roselcox7@gmail.com Ph: 06 752 2525 | M: 027 353 9968

GEOFF BLACKBOURN E: dblackbourn@orcon.net.nz Ph: 06 752 7671

Groundsman

Beaded Wheels

LES BOGNUDA

Ph: 06 755 2810

Vehicle VIN’s / VIC’s MIKE WILLIAMS

Ph: 06 754 6216

Parts Committee Ph: 06 765 4419

Mid-Week Coordinator BRYAN MORRIS

COLIN JOHNSTON

Ph: 06 272 8027

NEIL ROOK JOHN MUTER PAT STIELLER CES BUDD

Ph: 06 758 6737 Ph: 06 751 5554 Ph: 06 754 6096 Ph: 06 758 7685

From the Chairperson Chairman’s Chatter Hello Folks.

What a great lot of club support was shown at the Inglewood Motor show. Our members really supported this event and it was great to see a very good line up of our cars with the Vintage Car Club banner flying. Thanks to all members for attending this charity motor show organised by Rotary with all the funds going to the Taranaki Helicopter trust. February is Mini Vin Month and I hope to see a good turnout for this annual event. Please assemble at the Waitara Town and Country Clubs car park by 1.30pm for a beaut little run around and about with you ending up at 63 Broadway Waitara for a cuppa and friendly social time . I am pleased to report that I have been appointed to the Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring committee and will be responsible as the National Rally Day Coordinator that will oversee the 8 class timed sections to be held on the Tuesday and also the committees Inglewood Street Party Coordinator and will be working with the Inglewood First organisers. I look forward to this rally in January 2021 and having our branch involved as host branch. Let’s get out and about as there is a lot of other branch rallies that members are going to in the next few months and of course our very own Maunga Moana Rally ably organised by John Muter and Rob Thomson. Get your entry in now. As said Keep the Passion..........stay safe....... Support our rallies.

Cheers!

Happy New Year.

Chairman Colin

EDITORS REPORT Hello Folks, don’t forget Colin’s Mini Vin, 28th February, see you there and don’t forget the sunblock. The month of March brings us to our Maunga Moana Rally, which John and Rob have been busy organizing. Let’s hope that the latest Covid outbreak doesn’t upset our Rally again!! Those who are booked in for the Art Deco event in Hawkes Bay this coming weekend will be packing their bags already, I hope you have an enjoyable and safe trip away. On a sad note, we farewelled Ron Hyatt on Thursday the 11th after a short period of ill health. Ron and Dianne have been with the branch a number of years and our condolences go out to Dianne and Aarron on the loss of their loved husband and father, we will miss Ron’s cherry face at club nights and club runs.

Take care out there on our road’s . Jim Logan

On the Cover: REMEMBER AMERICARNA NEXT WEEK and 1964

MGB roadster owned by Colin Johnston in the line-up of MGB cars at the Whanganui Vintage Weekend. 3

Coming Events 48th WAITARA MINI-VIN TOUR SUNDAY 28th FEBRUARY 2021

Assemble at the Waitara Town and Country Club car park West Quay Waitara. First car away at 1:30pm. Rally in true Mini-Vin tradition and enjoy the get-together. Rally finishes at Colin and Alexander Johnston’s residence at 63 Broadway, Waitara for afternoon tea (please help out with a plate). Prizes and trophy will be presented, and the winners name will be added to the Honours Board at the club rooms. You are invited to come on your motorbike or motor in your Veteran, Vintage PVV, Post 60, Modern or anything you like.

JUST BE THERE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME For any further information contact Colin Johnston on 06 754 6216 or 021 131 6699.

MAUNGA MOANA RALLY 2021

Rally update: The organisation of this year’s rally is going well and will be covering the scenic East Taranaki area which I hope will be enjoyed by all. The Rally start point will be the Inglewood Club in Moa St, just opposite the Railway Station. Colin Johnston has generously donated a Panasonic Mini Stereo system as a prize in the Raffle so please buy a ticket as the winning number is still out there. I will require Marshalls for this event to help at the start and also at the check points. If you can help with this essential task, please phone me on 7515554.

Thanks,

John Muter.

TARANAKI VINTAGE TRACTOR AND MACHINERY CLUB VINTAGE HAY DAY This will be held on the 6th and 7th of March at the Lintern Farm, 172 Turuturu Rd, Hawera. They would like to have some of our Club vehicles on display so if you think you might be interested please phone Bryan Morris on 272 8027 for further details also if displaying your vehicle getting there before 10am would be a big help.

Jayne Logan Recently the branch was saddened by the loss of Jayne Logan who had been a very important part of her husband’s Jim life and his involvement in our branch. Wives and partners are often the backbone and unsung heroes of our branch helping out in various roles that are needed to help keep the branch moving and are many times taken for granted. Jayne was always there to help and was a willing and very capable helper in many of our club events and was always there to support her husband Jim in his various roles. Jayne used to hand deliver some of the Topical Torque newsletters and helped Jim every month with the assembly and postage and folding of the newsletter. Jayne was a familiar sight along with son Cam in the Model A with Jim on many outings especially the Mid-week and monthly runs and was navigator on some local club rallies and on Major rallies around the country. It was a fitting tribute to Jayne to see the picture of their Model A on her casket at her funeral that many members attended. We all have our memories to keep but Jayne will be missed by us all and the perspective and the help she always offered. Rest in Peace Jayne Colin Johnston - Chairman Taranaki Vintage Car Club. 5

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Closing date for March Topical Torque, 7 March. Please forward articles to the Editor, Jim Logan 76C South Road NP 4310 - or email to logandj49@gmail.com This magazine is also available by e-mail as a PDF file. If you would prefer to receive a copy this way, please contact the Editor. Pictures are usually in colour. Views and opinions expressed in Topical Torque are those of contributors and not necessarily those of the Taranaki Branch of the V C C of N Z, the Branch Executive, or the Editor. Clubrooms: 1040 Mountain Road - SH 3A Inglewood.

Coming Events FEBRUARY

Local Events: 4 Committee meets at 7.30pm 18 Club night 28 Colins Mini Vin Tour, Waitara Town and Country Club 1.30pm Other Branch Events: 7 East B O P East Coast Rally 7 Manawatu Veteran Rally 12-14 Gisborne Three Rivers Rally 13 Auckland Annual Veteran Rally 17-21 Hawkes Bay Art Deco Festival 27 Wellsford/Warkworth Swap Meet

MARCH

Local Events: 4 Committee meets at 7.30 pm 14 Klassics at Kaponga - Lions Club Charity Car Show 18 Club night 26-27 MAUNGA MOANA RALLY 2021 Other Branch Events: 6 Manawatu Ruahine Ramble 12-14 Taupo Annual Rally 14 Auckland Annual Vintage Muster 15-18 Wairarapa After National M’cycle Rally Tour 21 Waikato Ladies Rally

If more people would educate themselves and really learn all the uses of petroleum they might not want to eliminate it so quickly!

One crisp winter morning in Sweden, a cute little girl named Greta woke up to a perfect world, one where there were no petroleum products ruining the earth, She tossed aside her cotton sheet and wool blanket and stepped out onto a dirt floor covered with willow bark that had been pulverized with rocks. “What’s this?” she asked. “Pulverized willow bark,” replied her fairy godmother. “What happened to the carpet?” she asked. “The carpet was nylon, which is made from butadiene and hydrogen cyanide, both made from petroleum,” came the response. Greta smiled, acknowledging that adjustments are necessary to save the planet, and moved to the sink to brush her teeth where instead of a toothbrush, she found a willow, mangled on one end to expose wood fiber bristles. “Your old toothbrush?” noted her godmother, “Also nylon.” “Where’s the water?” Asked Greta. “Down the road in the canal,” replied her godmother, ‘Just make sure you avoid water with cholera in it”. “Why’s there no running water? ” Greta asked, becoming a little peevish. “Well,” said her godmother, who happened to teach engineering at MIT, “Where do we begin?” There followed a long monologue about how sink valves need elastomer seats and how copper pipes contain copper, which has to be mined and how it’s impossible to make all-electric earth-moving equipment with no gear lubrication or tires and how ore has to be smelted to a make metal, and that’s tough to do with only electricity as a source of heat, and even if you use only electricity, the wires need insulation, which is petroleum-based, and though most of Sweden’s energy is produced in an environmentally friendly way because of hydro and nuclear, if you do a mass and energy balance around the whole system, you still need lots of petroleum products like lubricants and nylon and rubber for tires and asphalt for filling potholes and wax and iPhone plastic and elastic to hold your underwear up while operating a copper smelting furnace and . . . “What’s for breakfast?” interjected Greta, whose head was hurting. “Fresh, range-fed chicken eggs,” replied her godmother. “Raw.” “How so, raw?” inquired Greta. “Well, . . .” And once again, Greta was told about the need for petroleum products like transformer oil and scores of petroleum products essential for producing metals for frying pans and in the end was educated about how you can’t have a petroleum-free

world and then cook eggs. Unless you rip your front fence up and start a fire and carefully cook your egg in an orange peel like you do in Boy Scouts. Not that you can find oranges in Sweden anymore. “But I want poached eggs like my Aunt Tilda makes,” lamented Greta. “Tilda died this morning,” the godmother explained. “Bacterial pneumonia.” “What?!” interjected Greta. “No one dies of bacterial pneumonia! We have penicillin.” “Not anymore,” explained godmother: “The production of penicillin requires chemical extraction using isobutyl acetate, which, if you know your organic chemistry, is petroleum-based. Lots of people are dying, which is problematic because there’s not any easy way of disposing of the bodies since backhoes need hydraulic oil and crematoriums can’t really burn many bodies using as fuel Swedish fences and furniture, which are rapidly disappearing - being used on the black market for roasting eggs and staying warm.” This represents only a fraction of Greta’s day, a day without microphones to exclaim into and a day without much food, and a day without carbon-fiber boats to sail in, but a day that will save the planet. Tune in tomorrow when Greta needs a root canal and learns how Novocain is synthesized. Thanks Grant!!

FORD REVEALS PLANS TO DOUBLE FUNDING FOR ELECTRIC AND SELF-DRIVING CARS

Despite being one of the world’s biggest automotive manufacturers, Ford’s move towards electric and self-driving tech has been a slow one, with the brand’s first allelectric vehicle yet to release. It seems that the American giant is attempting to change this perception, as it was recently confirmed that a US$29 billion investment was made towards self-driving tech development. Based on the brand’s recent moves, it seems serious about investing in the tech sector after a partnership with Google was announced just last week. It’s also getting ready to release the all-electric Transit, F-150, and Mustang Mach-E. This move hasn’t happened overnight — back in 2018, Ford decided to allocate US$11.5 billion towards development, ending in 2022. The recent announcement saw an extra US$18 billion thrown on for good measure. A majority of this funding is reportedly going towards battery cell development, for use across all-electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid vehicles. It could also see Ford become a battery supplier for smaller brands.

“AIN’T LIFE STRANGE” So, let me get this straight - there is NO CURE for a virus that can be KILLED by sanitizer and hand soap.

Day 27 of Level 4 Lockdown, and the dog is looking at me like, “See, this is why I chew the furniture”.

A man called his wife and said “Honey, I have been asked to go with my boss and some of his friends to work on his ’36 coupe for next months Dearborn tour. We’ll be gone for a long weekend. This is a good time for me to get that promotion I’ve been wanting, so could you please pack enough clothes for a 3-day weekend. Also, would you get my toolbox from the garage. We are leaving at 4.30 from the office and I will swing by the house to pick up my things….. Oh! and please pack my new silk pyjamas”. The wife thought this sounded a bit odd, but, being a good wife, she did exactly what her husband asked. Following the long weekend, he came home a little tired, but otherwise looking good. The wife welcomed him home and asked if they got the car fixed? He said, “Yes! Got the overdrive installed and tuneup done, but why didn’t you pack my new silk pyjamas like I asked you to?”. The wife replied, “I did, they are in your toolbox” ... (Woops!}

In 2022, the Vero Festival of Historic Motoring will be based in Taranaki. Mt Taranaki is the central icon for the region, dominating the view from every angle. The district deliversa wide range of visitor experiences, there'll be plenty for you to see and do before, during and after the Festival. 16 – 21 January

E reservations@autolodge.co.nz

Accommodation • Restaurant • Celebrations • Anniversaries • Birthdays • Reunions