#0114 2021
February 2022
PO Box 458, LEVIN 14 Tiro Tiro Road, LEVIN
Patron Chair Deputy Chair Secretary Treasurer Club Captains Branch Delegate Committee
Welfare Officer Custodian & Maintenance Grounds People Spares Team
Library Archives Spark Editor Spark Distribution VIC Team
Tom Hayes John White j.mwhite@xtra.co.nz Glenn Peach gpeach@xtra.co.nz Bill Laney and Denise Liddle horowhenua@vcc.org.nz Jackie Job jackiejob73@gmail.com Bruce Lawrie Verdon Heath Winton Cleal Des St Clare Bob Barton Warren MacMillan Colin Brooks Winton Cleal Andrew Judd Nigel Wheeler nigelgwheeler@gmail.com Bill Cottle Wayne Thrower
06 367 9445 06 368 3299 027 4863517 027 4512408 027 4427306 06 368 2565 04 293 6803 (W) 04 293 4943 (H) 06 368 3824 04 293 3369 027 4191412 06 367 8216 06 362 6156 04 298 5458 04 293 3369 06 368 6891 06 367 2046 027 5674431 027 4509636 06 368 5611 020 4440098 06 362 6156 06 364 7238
Julia MacMillan Callum Farmer callumfarmer77@hotmail.com Rex Williams 06 367 0613 Mike Khull 06 363 5633 Bob Barton 06 367 8216 Jeff Fox 027 4486888 Colin Brooks 04 298 5458 Robert Cammish 04 905 0772 Don McLaren 021 1172418 Heather Carter 021 504087 Bruce Jamieson 027 6357336 brucejamieson48@hotmail.com 06 825 9102 Bob Barton 06 367 8216 Verdon Heath, Ivan Horn and Mike Khull
Meeting Branch Night - 1st Wednesday of the month at 7 30 pm Committee Meeting - Last Wednesday of the month at 7 30 pm Working Bee - Saturday following Branch Night at 9 00 am Spare Parts - Open Saturday following Branch Night Club Bank Account No - 03 0667 0269227 00
Well, the first chairman’s chat for the year 2022! I hope you all had a great Christmas and a restful holiday break and you are all enjoying this hotter than usual summer. Thanks to all who assisted in our working bee spring clean on January 29th. Our clubrooms are looking quite smart with the freshly painted verandah. These working bees are more social & coffee events than hard work, so new members - don’t be shy to attend. For all those who worked with Bruce Batten on his tribute day on Jan 8th,--a good effort and a successful day all round. Our club finances did OK out of spares & the kitchen. Well worth while. For our first club night of 2022, we held a barbeque, and I think everybody enjoyed themselves. This was Des’s idea and I think it should be an annual event! For next club night (March 02) Winton will be giving a brief on the proposed logo change. This one has been on the go for the last couple of years, and after Winton’s show, we will be voting on this, so that when Winton attends the big pow wow in Wellington in March he will know our club’s opinion for his vote. We sadly lost a long time member this month: Richard Caldwell. Richard had an Indian motorcycle. I spoke to Audrey, his wife, and she reckons Richard had a great life, without a day’s illness, except for when he broke a leg on the Indian! They were married for 60 + years. Our thoughts are with Richard’s family. Well, recently the car shows and events have been vanishing at a great rate: Dannevirke, Trentham, our Ted Green & Shannon. The Vero Rally at Taranaki was held, luckily in the nick of time. This is usually a busy month for us, and our own swap meet in March is looking decidedly shaky. Committee will make the final call on this shortly. Our normal club nights and outings can be held pretty much as normal, so watch the Events page in Spark and come along to what we are able to put on. Other clubs are trying to run smaller events (under 100) so watch for these too. Speakers: We need speakers for our club nights! I am fresh out of stock on these, so if you can help, call me! See you all next club night, folks! PS—Did you hear about the cement truck that collided with a prison bus? They became hardened criminals!
Brucie’s Burblings Over the last couple of months several members have been able to take part in VCC organized events. We had our own very successful Christmas luncheon. On New Year's Day the Manawatu branch hosted a short run from Bulls to Tangimoana, where everyone enjoyed a picnic lunch. Surprisingly, there were 27 vehicles of varying ages that took part. This was followed up by the Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring starting on Sunday 16th Jan with registration and ending on Friday 21st with a final meal and entertainment based around a Rock ‘n’ Roll theme. We had 12 cars representing our branch and those attending enjoyed it greatly. A well-presented and run event. Congratulations to the organisers. It was mentioned at the opening by our oldest founding member that we desperately need new younger members in the VCC, and that we must move with the times and make changes that will attract that younger demographic. His observation was that in 10 years time 70% of our members would have “shuffled off” or would be incapable of being active members. A sobering thought. Along a similar theme, maybe we should be expanding our spares department to incorporate some “Jappa” stuff. These are the vehicles our newer younger members are likely to be restoring. I mean the vehicles from the 70s and 80s and most likely Japanese origin. Let's not chuck out those Cressida or Crown tail lights. Most of the cars of that ilk were crushed a few years ago when the Chinese were paying ridiculous money for scrap. I am sure the vintage machinery collectors would say the same. Give some thought to the logo change. A logo does not make a club, but a common interest and shared goals do. Events have been cancelled all over the place, so compiling an accurate list is difficult. March 5th Wairarapa gymkhana th March 6 Ruahine Ramble: 60 year anniversary limited numbers March 12th Rex Porter Rally: Wairarapa limit 40 vehicles March 19th our Swap Meet. maybe ... numbers! March 20th Wanganui gymkhana March25/26th Maunga Moana: Taranaki branch April 10th Economy run (morning) gymkhana (afternoon) for our branch. limited numbers. Based at our clubrooms. May 15th Mothers’ Day run. Possibly a shed visit (to be confirmed)
Roster for March 2022
Ian & Junelle Daniel, Jon & Carol Dayton, Murray Doreen, Warwick Doreen, Mark Dunn. Rostered kitchen crew please come early on Club Night to be briefed by Linda B on Covid and food handling rules. If you are unable to make it for either kitchen duties on Club Night, 2nd March, or for the Working Bee on Saturday 5th March, 9 am till 12 noon, PLEASE let me know on 06 368-3299 or j.mwhite@xtra.co.nz.
Speaker for March
Winton Cleal will give us the latest on the proposal for changing the logo of the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand.
New Club Members
Cover Photo
A typical summer day at Waitarere Beach. Sun, sea, sand in the wheel bearings and rust on the chassis.
Richard Pringle Caldwell
2nd August 1930 - 29th January 2022
Richard was one of our most devoted and long-serving members, who will be sadly missed by the Club. He joined the Wellington Branch of the VCC in 1967, and received his 50 Year Service Badge in 2017 from President Diane Quarrie. Apart from his wife Audrey and his children, the loves of his life were aviation and motorbikes. Richard was a qualified Flight Engineer, and rumour has it that he could also fly an aeroplane! He and Audrey spent quite some time in England in their early days, with Audrey riding in the sidecar of the motorbike when they went on their travels. They also did a tour around Europe on a scooter! Richard owned a 1936 Chevrolet sedan. But his real loves were his 1928 Indian Prince motorbike, and his 1929 Excelsior Super X, blue in colour. He took this bike to Perth in Australia with a group of other enthusiasts, and embarked on a road trip for several months. While in the Wellington Branch he won several trophies on both his Indian Prince and the Excelsior Super X motorbikes. Richard won the Vintage section of our “Ted Green” Rally on several occasions, as well as competing in National motorcycle events. In 2009 he presented a trophy he had made of a clock based on a horn mounted on a wooden base to the National organisation as a trophy for the winner of Combination motorcycles. His love for motorcycles extended to E-bikes in his later years. Richard was an avid gardener and conservationist. He was very involved with cutting and maintaining walking tracks at Whareroa Farm in Paekakariki,
and made many seats for the walkers to rest on. He was a man who used to like keeping himself busy and active. Richard attended most of the “Working Bees” we would have at our Club Rooms, and always took over the vacuum cleaner! He would clean the whole place single-handed, or take on anything else he was asked to do. He was a very valuable, popular and loyal member of our Club, and will be greatly missed. R.I.P. Richard. Our sympathy goes out to Audrey and the family. Cheryl Brooks
Remember the Ford Escort that was advertised for sale in the November issue of Spark? George McLean’s son John bought it and work has progressed well.
Once again I searched out subject matter to include in my library report. Guess what? It came out to be about books; no, not how to strip a gearbox or what colour were the door trims, but which books in the library had references to NZ Motor Racing. I knew that we had a very good collection of Levin Motor Racing programs and photos, but once I scanned the shelves seven beautiful volumes threw themselves into my trolley. Multi words and pictures to feed any fan’s hunger for facts and figures. I have another story about our collection, but am going to save that until next month.
Don and Heather
A note from Des. I am taking this opportunity to thank all the club members who have contacted me and wished me well regarding my last two trips to Wellington Hospital and also to the club and the members who signed and delivered the fabulous Get Well card to me. I truly appreciate and honour your thoughts and kind words. I am having a bad time at the present but I hope to be around for a while yet and see you all at the next meeting. Best Regards, Des. StClare.
Kapiti Mid-Week Run 23 February 2022 Sadly, due to the shift to the "red " level, the organising team have decided to cancel the opening event of the New Year, the always-popular barbecue at the home of Brian and Gill Ward. It is disappointing, but we hope most people will agree that it is sensible to play safe in the current circumstances. However, this is a good opportunity to update everyone on some changes to the organising team for the Kapiti runs. First of all, a very big thank you to Ann and Hal O'Rorke and to Trevor Barnes from everyone who has enjoyed Kapiti runs in recent years. They have stepped down from the organising team at the end of 2021, and Philip & Pat Pearce have joined it. A big thank you also goes to Kevin Buck and Roderick Kinghorn who are continuing on the team. The intention is that Kapiti runs will continue as before, except that the point of contact for emails/phone calls will now be Philip Pearce. Email: nzpearce87@gmail.com mobile: 0272744084. Finally, if anyone has any ideas for new venues or private collections which could make an interesting Kapiti run, then please don't hesitate to get in touch. Here's looking forward to the lowering of the Covid alert level and a return to our midweek runs.
Picture from Mark Gibson
Ted Green Memorial Rally
Given the situation, I have decided to cancel the Ted Green Memorial Rally for 2022. I have, as many of you know, grappled with this, given the condition, and availability of the roads in our area, the clash of the Shannon Car Show ( which will likely have to be cancelled anyway) and finally the Covid situation, which at best, will mean a likely reduction in entrants. Given that we would only have one meeting and therefore one "Spark" I thought it might prudent to make the decision sooner rather than later. Graeme McKenzie
Answer later in this issue of Spark
Advert from George McLean
January 2022 Normally, December and January are the two months of the year when the Spares Department is at it’s most quiet, however it doesn’t always work out that way. Spares, since early December, has been operating the Covid Passport System. This entails showing proof of vaccination on entry, and also signing in as usual. Carrying on from the first paragraph, in Mid-December a member of the public made contact with Spares asking if we would be interested in a “barn find” 1954 MG Magnette Mark 1, which had been stored for 30 years.
After a visit to view the vehicle’s condition, the decision was made to pick up the MG on December 29th, along with the spares ( 4 doors, 1 boot lid, 1 front mudguard, several windows and a spare engine, as well as a Mini 1100 engine.)
Earlier in December, Mike and Rex made a trip to Woodville, to Bruce Hutton’s place, to pick up a trailer-load of parts which had come from a property somewhere in Dannevirke.
On a final note, the morning we picked up the MG, we also stopped at a club member’s house in Otaki, and picked up the spares from the late Pete Collins’ Austin. This vehicle is now kept in Auckland, but the new owner didn’t wish to keep the spare parts. Stay Safe Everyone
Callum
Club members’ cars lined up near club rooms on Levin Motor Racing Tribute Day
For Sale on behalf of Cornwall family in Stratford, Taranaki: 1939 Austin 8, 4-door, blue, complete. 1930 Graham Paige sedans, 2 cars One suitable for restoration, one suitable for parts. 1931 Desoto, 4-door sedan. 1926 Ford Model T tourer. All cars have been in storage and assumed not running. Prices by negotiation. Contact John Campbell on 0272881105.
Library Merchandise
HVCC Dashboard Stickers Iron on fabric badges HVCC blue and white caps Name Badges (fill out form)
-$ 4 -$ 3 - $10 - $12
The 2020 National North Island Easter Rally, that never was! Entrants that paid for their rally plaque received an unusually collectable plaque for a rally that was cancelled and would never be run again. There are a small number of these collectable quality made plaques with 11 coloured enamels still available for purchase. $30.00 each. Please contact Jackie (Horowhenua Treasurer) at jackiejob73@gmail.com or on 06 3682565 and 027 2011806
Answer to “What Am I?”
Just another Jaguar XJ6? This one was the first off the assembly line in 1968, and became the personal car of Sir William Lyons, the founder of the Jaguar company.
Brockbank cartoon from the 1960s
Levin Motor Racing Tribute Day The weather gods were smiling on Levin on 8th January when our club hosted an event to commemorate the history of motor racing at Levin. It all started in 1956 when a track, instigated by Ron Frost, a local racer and garage owner, was opened. It was quite short, only 1.2 miles, being laid out within the existing horse racing track on Mako Mako Road. This was the first purpose-built sealed track in the country. Previously, all races were held on closed-off street circuits. The track was closed in 1975. While being used by local drivers of both cars and motorcycles over this period, the track was included throughout the 1960s in the Tasman Series, which brought top international grand prix drivers and their cars. This would have attracted spectators by the thousands, and helped put Levin on the racing fan’s map. Due to the nature of the track, being comprised mainly of curves, it must have been rather difficult for drivers to overtake each other. No doubt that a good qualifying time and a fast start were important. Bruce Batten, of Levin Heritage Society, and his group of enthusiastic and capable helpers, set up a display inside our club rooms. Included were large placards recording stories about the track itself, local drivers and their cars, international race events and many items of race-track paraphernalia. The trophies in our display cabinet were polished up, the engraving updated and new placards detailing some of their history were printed. Our librarians searched the shelves and contributed a number of books about motor racing in New Zealand. Movies of racing at Levin were projected on the screen throughout the day. Outside, in front of the club rooms, was a display of several racing cars from the 1950s and 1960s. Many drivers from around the district brought cars of various types, which were parked in a large area on the grass near the club rooms, and our club members showed their cars in a long line from the entrance gate.
At the evening meal in the club rooms, attended by eighty people, there must have been a lot of enjoyable reminiscing about an era of racing that can’t be replicated. Congratulations to Bruce Batten and his group for organising such an interesting event. We hope that your expectations were realized. Thanks go to members of our club who helped set up before the event, worked in the kitchen or as marshals and gate-keepers on show day, and returned to clean up the day after.
Cleaning up on Sunday was such hard work Bruce Jamieson
CALENDAR of COMING EVENTS February Ted Green Memorial Rally - CANCELLED February 27 Shannon Car show March 5 Gymkhana - Wairarapa March 5,6 Ruahine Ramble - Manawatu March 12 Rex Porter Rally, Wairarapa March 12 Country Roads Rally - Taupo - CANCELLED March 12,13 Kickback Classic Motorcycle show, Upper Hutt March 19 Swap Meet - Horowhenua March 20 Gymkhana - Wanganui March 25-26 Maunga Moana Rally - Taranaki April 9,10 Autumn Motorcycle Trial - Wanganui April 10 Economy Run & Gymkhana - Horowhenua April 22-24 Highland Fling - CANCELLED May 15 Lunch at Murrayfields Cafe - Horowhenua Any enquiries to: Bruce Lawrie Phone 027 4762489
TAIL LIGHTS
ISSN
the print bureau 06 367 9330