October-November 2020
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
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. With Daylight Savings here now it is a great opportunity to get your vehicles out and about and enjoy the warmer weather. No one has approached us to help out in the Club captains’ position yet so the committee will organise the events in the meantime. We do need this important position filled as soon as we can. If you would like to know about this, please contact any committee member. The success of the newsletter being available on line one week before the monthly Noggin and Natter has had an effect with the largest attendance for a long time at our club night in September. Members were able to be informed who the guest speaker was and forthcoming events. We are continuing to monitor the newsletter and its printing costs and will keep you all informed on the future of how we will communicate to you. We would welcome any ideas from members. Harry Duynhoven was our guest speaker at the September club night and spoke to us about the NZFOMC Federation of Motoring Clubs. Harry is the President of this group who liaise with our Club and the NZ Automobile Association and other industry groups. By working together, we can make worthwhile recommendations to the rule makers. The FOMC has garnered great respect in government circles over the years of its operation and has become a significant lobbying voice in Government. It was an interesting topic and there were some very good questions asked by members and answered by Harry. November is going to be a very busy month with our two major rallies taking place. The Maunga Moana will be held on 20/21st November and one week later will be the Rubber Duckie Motorcycle. Both events could not be held on their traditional dates because of the Covid situation. If you are going to enter these rallies please get your entry form sent into the rally Secretaries. I attended the VCC swap meet at Feilding recently with Pat Stieller. We drove down in Pats 1938 Dodge and took some parts to sell or swap. The car was driven into the covered arena where the swap meet was held and caused a lot of attention in its original state and lots of questions and photos were taken of the car. Everyone admired the original condition of the car. Although the attendance was down on previous ones, I have been to there was still parts changing hands. There were several of our members there. This was the first VCC swap meet held since Lockdown. Let’s get out and about in our Vehicles and enjoy the camaraderie of the club. I would like to see those impromptu runs on any Sunday that is nice and fine be held again. Just needs a phone tree call to let you know where we will drive to and meet, have a coffee and a chat. So, Keep the Passion........Take Care on the Roads ....... Keep to the Left.......Stay Safe.
Cheers Colin Chairman
On the Cover: Dodge club visit November 2014 2
Club Events 18 October
Potters Paddock Gymkhana at Stratford Show Grounds. We will kick off the tests at 1.00pm but the hall will be available for lunch before the event. A plate to share for afternoon tea would be appreciated.
22 October
The Mid-Week Run postponed from September is happening today, meet at the children’s playground carpark, Orlando St, Stratford at 1.30pm. Visiting a Microcar collection and the gardens at Te Popo, a $5.00 entry fee applies to both venues.
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2020 Fringe Garden Festival Run. We will meet at the SH3 and 3A intersection at 10.00am before visiting a couple of gardens in the Lepperton area and lunch at Tawa Glen Café. After lunch we will visit three gardens around Bell Block, ending on Egmont Rd where you will also be able to visit and enjoy the facilities at Hillsborough Hideaway Heaven if you wish to have an enjoyable cup of coffee or a round of mini golf.
20-21 November 55th MAUNGA MOANA RALLY – (Entries close 6th November 2020) 28 November
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43rd RUBBER DUCKIE MOTOR-CYCLE RALLY – (Entries close 20th November 2020)
From the Editor Hello fellow Branch members, by the time you read this I will hopefully have received replies to my request for numbers that wish to share in lunch at the Tawa Glen Café on the 1st of November. Those that wish to bring a picnic lunch are welcome to enjoy their lunch on the grassed area in front of the Café. We have a couple of events happening in October and details of these can be found above. In addition, on our October club night, we have Phil Macey coming to tell us of plans to develop a motorsport/museum complex centred around the AMP showgrounds on the corner of SH3A and Flint Rd, Stratford. We also have our two main Rally events, delayed from early in the year, happening in November. Don’t forget if you wish to take part in either of these events to get your entry forms in before the close off dates. The October/November issue of Beaded Wheels has just arrived and from a look at the calendar of events on page 5, a lot Branches are playing catchup with 40 events listed in October and 50+ listed in November. It looks like being a busy couple of months members leading up to Christmas, this year!! Worth noting also that the King Country Branch’s “Journey through Time” event has been cancelled. That’s all for now, get those bodies polished and hubcaps shined, and will see you out and about real soon. Jim Logan
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Closing date for DECEMBER Topical Torque, 8 November. Please forward articles to the Editor, Jim Logan 76C South Road N P 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 VCC of NZ, the Branch Executive, or the Editor. Clubrooms: 1040 Mountain Road - SH 3A Inglewood.
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Coming Events OCTOBER
Local Events: 1 Committee meets at 7.30pm 15 Club night, Phil Macey, steering committee member of Taranaki Motorsport group will be speaking on the proposal to develop the Stratford AMP showgrounds and surroundings into a motorsport and museum complex 18 Potters Paddock Gymkhana, from 1.00pm, Stratford Show Grounds 22 Mid-week Run from last month, meet at children’s playground carpark Orlando St Stratford at 1.30pm. Other Branch Events: 3 Manawatu Swap meet 4 Waikato Kairangi Hill Climb 17 King Country Journey through Time 23-26 Hawkes Bay Safari 2020 25 Auckland Hunua 100 Rally.
NOVEMBER
Local Events: 1 Garden Festival Run, meet at 10.00am SH3/3A (Mountain Rd) intersection 5 Committee meets at 7.30pm 19 Club night 20-21 55th MAUNGA MOANA RALLY 27-28 43rd RUBBER DUCKIE MOTOR-CYCLE RALLY. Other Branch Events: 1 Waikato Veteran Rally 1 Bay of Plenty Car Show and Swap meet 6-7 Northland Far North Tour 15 Waikato Vintage Swap meet. A reminder that if you would like to receive your Branch magazine by email only please contact your Editor and your name will be put on the short list of members that no longer receive our mag by post.
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AUTO JOKE Two Aussie’s were out gold fossicking in the outback when they came upon a huge hole in the ground. They approached it and were amazed at size and depth. The first Aussie said, “wow, that is some whole. I can’t even see the bottom. I wonder how deep it is?” The second Aussie said, “there is an old gearbox over there. Let’s throw it in and see how long it takes to hit the bottom.” Despite it being very heavy, they picked up gearbox, carried it over to the hole counted 123 and heaved it in. As they were standing there looking over the edge of the hole, a goat came crashing through the underbrush, ran up to the hole and without hesitation, jumped in headfirst. They were so mystified by this that they stood staring at each other in amazement, peering down into the hole, trying to figure out what that was all about. Just then an old farmer sauntered up.” Say, you fellas didn’t happen to see my goat?” The first Aussie said, “Funny you should ask, we were just standing here a minute ago and a goat came running out of the bushes doing 100 miles an hour and jumped headfirst into the hole!” The old farmer said,” that’s impossible! I had him chained to an old gearbox.”
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TIME IS LIKE A RIVER Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice because the flow that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of life. As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at the graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper’s cemetery in the Nova Scotia backcountry. As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and being a typical man, I didn’t’ stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologised to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I did not know what else to do, so I started to play. The workers put down their lunches and begin to gather around. I played my heart and soul out for this man with no family and friends. I played like I have never played before for this homeless man. And as I played “Amazing Grace” the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I picked up my pipes and started for my car. Though my head was hung low, my heart was full. As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say. “I never seen anything like that before, and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for 20 years.” Apparently, I’m still lost ........ it’s a man thing.
Life’s Journey should not mean that you arrive at the graveside with a well-preserved body, but you should skid in sideways in a body used up, saying Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee – what a ride!
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The day that… Roland Garros sold a car to an Olympic medallist. Winter 1909, Paris. A dapper gentleman, wearing a bowler hat, proudly poses at the wheel of his new car. In the shadow of the shop’s doorway, with a smile playing on his lips, a moustachioed salesman observes the scene.
Roland Garros opened his own car dealership This young, shy-looking man is Roland Garros. Freshly graduated from the Paris School of Management, he opened his own car dealership, “Roland Garros automobiles-voiturettes de sport” on 6 avenue de la Grande Armée, a stone’s throw away from the Arc de Triomphe. Inspired by the spirit of the time, he invested
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everything he had in this budding industry, which was about to boom, by selling cars from the manufacturer Grégoire. In 1909, 800 cars from this new “bargain” manufacturer left the factories in Poissy and were immediately snapped up. Journalists, artists, industrialists, the bigwigs of the time all drove racing cars or tourers. And that includes athletes…
A snapshot taken over a century ago Among them was 27-year-old Max Decugis. This great tennis champion from the early 20th century had just bought a car from Roland Garros and struck a pose to record the moment for posterity. In 1909, the French and Olympic tennis champion (at the Athens Intercalated Games) was at the peak of his career. The first internationally ranked French player, he won more than 28 titles between 1903 and 1920. This snapshot was taken over a century ago. It perfectly illustrates the link – which, until now, seemed rather tenuous – between future flying ace Roland Garros, after whom the stadium was named, and French tennis, embodied by Max Decugis.
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Britain’s first sports car was ready by 1910
It is hard to claim the title of the world’s first dedicated sports car, because while Wilhelm Maybach and Paul Daimler came up with the 60-hp Mercedes Simplex as early as in 1903, other startup car companies got really busy afterwards. The year 1910 saw the introduction of both the Austro-Daimler 27/80 designed by Ferdinand Porsche, and the 25-hp Vauxhall penned by Laurence
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Pomeroy for the Prince Henry Tour motor race. The 1230-mile German challenge turned out to be the Daimler’s race, and Vauxhall’s sports car soon got more competition in the likes of Bugatti’s Type 13 and Hispano-Suiza’s 1912 Alfonso XIII. However, what’s certain is that Vauxhall refers to the 1910 C-10 3.0-liter Prince Henry cars as the first British sports cars, of which only nine survive today. First with 20, and then 25 horsepower on tap, these models could reach 100 mph in single-seat configuration, helping Vauxhall to sell up to 300 standard cars a year by 1912. Numbers grew even higher once the Vauxhall D-Type became the standard staff car of the British Army. The brand’s second sports car, the 1913 E-Type, was also bound to become a success, although only after the dust of the first World War had settled. Regardless of its ambitions, Vauxhall was bought by General Motors in 1925, and the last British-designed Vauxhall became 1972’s FE Series Victor. Following that, the Luton factory switched to making rebadged Opels only, continuing to this day under PSA. However, that move wouldn’t put an end to Vauxhall’s motorsport efforts, as detailed in this promotional video produced some twenty years ago. Hot rally Chevettes, anybody?
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For Sale / Swap Wolf valve refacing machine
1968 Merc
Offers welcome. Contact Anthony 021 227 8177 or willerby@xtra.co.nz
4 door 280S petrol, no WOF, not registered, serious body rust, second donor car also but diesel, offers around $200, ph Basil 06 754 7547
Seagull outboard, overhauled, checked and tested, $280 ph Neil 06 758 6737 (mem) From Parts Shed 2 Ton jack, needs new rear seal $50 Small electric compressor $50 Steel Shelving Thirty panels, 200 to 300mm deep, 2.5 metre in height, offers Dave ph 06 752 3533 (mem)
1987 VL Commodore 3L Calais v tidy, road legal and 1955 Hillman Californian, restored in 80’s, Rego on hold ph 027 418 8045 (mem) Young 3 phase Welder 220 Amp on a trolley with hand piece and earth lead, $100 ph 752 2149 or 027 444 1421 (mem)
1970 Toyota L’Cruiser motor, complete fan to bell housing $200. Seagull outboard motor $200. Homelite (petrol) hedge trimmer $50. 3 Phase electric motor and switch $50 approx. 60 Vintage Austin magazines (newsletters) circa 1990, all in good condition $20, Ford 10 parts (from Club windup), ph Neil 06 758 6737
Wanting to Buy Mag Wheels
1970’s surfboard
Four Mag wheels to fit 1996 Toyota (5 Stud) must be in good order ph 027 418 045 (mem)
Old 1970’s surfboard as a prop for VW ph 027 520 5477
Tillotson updraft carburettor Model JR2A
1975 Hillman Hunter SW,
Any condition considered but I wish to recondition it for use on the Dodges. Phone Colin Johnston on 06 7546216 or mobile 021 131 6699 (mem) 13
needed for repairs, bonnet, RF and RR door, Tailgate. Ph John 751 5554
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