“Dripfeed” NEWSLETTER OF THE BANKS PENINSULA BRANCH OF THE VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF New Zealand (INC) VOLUME 44, No 7 august 2021. Editor: Michael Williams 10 Selwyn Parade Lyttelton Ph 328 8043, email mimiandmichael@yahoo.co.nz
Chairman: Secretary:
Club Officers: Craig Keenan 322 1006 Ron Hasell 942 1105
Branch Address: 27 Showgate Ave, ChCh 8042 E-mail: bankspeninsula@vcc.org.nz Noggin & Natter: 2nd Thursday of the Month • Noggin 7.30 pm at the Papanui RSA. Upham Room – enter either from 55 Bellvue Ave or the first entrance on the left on Harewood Road (Papanui / Main North Road) • Thursday 12th of August • We look forward to seeing you there. Supper is provided.
From the Editor: A new logo for the VCC has been proposed by the National Executive, and the Management Committee were delegated the task of informing members about the rationale behind the decision. Seven of the twenty eight VCC branches took up the offer of a presentation from a Membership Committee member, and I attended our branch presentation from George Kear. The VCC paid a consultant $4000 to come up with some alternatives, and these were presented to the meeting. Lively discussion followed. You all received the proposal with the alternative designs. The decision making process is based around each branch surveying its members to find out if they supported a change or not. Each branch delegate then takes that result to the AGM this week, and a majority vote decides the outcome. The reason for a possible change in the logo is motivated by the nature of VCC membership. At the moment VCC membership is about 9,000, and 6,000 are aged between 73 and 85. In ten years time the membership might well have slipped to 3,000, so a new logo is supposedly going to halt that decline. Our branch voting was interesting. Out of a membership of 210, 10 said they didn’t mind either way, 10 voted to change the logo, and 59 voted for no change. The approx two thirds who didn’t vote clearly don’t see the logo as a major issue. However, many members do and a letter from Thomas Palmer below summarises the feelings of many members. Interesting to see that Phil “Digger” Mauger is intending to be a mayoral candidate next year. He clearly has Garry Moore as a role model, an act of desperation in itself, and we can only hope that he doesn’t borrow Garry’s Austin 7 as a promotional vehicle, a tactic that Garry used throughout his
mayoralty. Arriving at Candidates debates in that giant Auto Union thingy he built would be much more effective and vote catching, and certainly more reliable. Membership of the BP branch is clearly a fertile ground for mayoral aspirants. Committee member Pat O’Conell is recovering steadily after a spell in hospital. In Pat’s words, “My Lucas wiring become a bit dodgy, so it’s been replaces with something electronic and more reliable.” Our best wishes for a speedy recovery. Welcome to new member Allan Horner with a 1963 Austin- Healey Sprite Mk11A. It’s got a Toyota motor these days, and is entered in the Targa. Long time member Robert Crawford from Hanmer died recently. He owned and drove a 1920’s Sunbeam. When he was still a medical student in the UK, he found it in a field near the upper reaches of the Thames, with a tree growing through it. He fully restored it, and had it painted bright yellow, for obvious reasons. He was a keen participant in our early Monte Carlos, and caused a sensation when he arrived at the dinner in full Scottish dress regalia, or “my native costume”, as he put it. He drove a Morgan as his daily driver. The branch extends its condolences to his family. Amongst the considerable amount of material that Gavin Bain received when he bought the 1913 Panhard featured in the previous issue of Dripfeed is a delightful letter from the Panhard factory. Written in 1948, it’s a reply to Andrew Anderson, the then owner, who wrote to them asking for any information about the car. It’s written by “Le President, Directeur General”, who is gratified that a 35 year old Panhard is still going in far off Nouvelle Zeland. Alas, they have no specific information about the car, but draw Andrew’s attention to their splendid new model, the Dyna, and wonder if he might be interested. They go on to suggest that perhaps Andrew would like to become the Nouvelle Zeland agent for Panhard, as they are wishing to expand their operations. Given that Andrew was a university student at the time, he presumably declined, as I’m not aware of any Panhard dealerships that subsequently sprang up. But a lovely piece of history to go with a wonderful car. Talking of wonderful French cars, Andrew Bain has just bought one. As a classic car dealer, Andrew knows a bit about great cars, so following on a family tradition started by his grandfather, and carried on by his father and uncle, he’s bought a Citroen. It’s a very rare 1959 lhd 2CV, one of the earliest in NZ, and a mixture of originality and, as the ads say, “sensible modifications”. What that means is that the original 425cc motor has been replaced with the gut wrenching 602cc big block, so Andrew can now attack sped bumps with impunity, rather than waiting for a favourable wind. As a rural dweller, he is admirably placed to find a ploughed field, place a basket of eggs on the front seat, don his bowler hat, and set off across said ploughed field without breaking any of the eggs. Why? Because that was the design brief set out for the 2CV when it was designed in the 1930s. I expect photographic evidence from Andrew when this important initiation tradition is completed At the other end of the scale, Mike Crehan, who lurks in Mapua, has bought a Reo. Te Reo, as his friends have called it, is of 1920 something vintage, it’s pink, (really), has a highly polished plywood boat tail body, and a hideous wooden steering wheel that the previous owner no doubt bought at a swapmeet in Las Vegas. It probably goes alright, but no one will know because most sensitive onlookers will avert their gaze when it approaches, or swoon. Mike insists this was the reason for purchase. Could be a contender for the Concours de Confort at the Monte.
Future Events: VCC 75th AGM, 13th, 14th, 15th of August. Rydges Hotel Christchurch. There is a full programme of events planned and a special function to mark this milestone in our club history. If you’re interested, register online at www.vcc.org.nz or katryna.shaw@pacificrediology.com
Sunday 22nd of August. Gebbies Pass Hillclimb, if you’re interested Ron has the entry forms, so give him a call.
Awards Lunch, Sunday, 29th of August Once again this popular event will held be at the Tai Tapu Hotel. Meet at 12.30, with the meal at 1.00pm. A fifty year badge will be presented to George Henry. A great chance to catch up with people in very pleasant surroundings. The cost is $35 person, and if you are going please let Ron know by the 21st of August. You can pay cash on the day, but preferably use the club bank a/c; 03 1355 0611198 00. Don’t forget to enter your name. You can pay cash on the day. Hopefully Peter Croft won’t bring a sockful of threepences and sixpences.
September 26th, Opening Run. Details next month.
National Veteran Rally, 29th – 31st October, Cromwell. Contact rally director John Martin at martin_jw@xtra.co.nz 021 1091309 for details.
Rallye Monte Carlo MMXXI, 12th – 14th of November. The organisers toolted across to Duvauchelle and Akaroa recently to check out the venues and other important details, and planning is well advanced. Entries continue to arrive, with 26 so far, from places as far flung as Ashburton, Mapua and Dunedin. At this stage, with three months to go, this is our highest number of entries so far; we are most encouraged. I’m not entering this year, after four glorious victories to Equipe Escargot, it’s only fair that another team takes up the challenge, and I’m pleased to record that some of the entrants will be driving French cars. Magnifique.
Past Events The Balcairn Trial. A fairly dry course greeted the organisers, so some regular stages weren’t used, and the dreaded Stop Start was introduced to a couple. There was a good entry of twenty seven drivers, with a few new cars too, and the organisers had set out six events, rather than the usual five. It was great to see
Bill and Ben the Hot Rod men (aka the Molyneux brothers) in their matching Model A raceabouts, and Griffin Tucker was in the ex Graham Sword Bond/ Morris Minor lowlight creation, a disastrous combination if ever there was one. When Graham was competing, this tragic hybrid normally scored on or two, as it seldom got off the line, but this year it got a few fives and sixes, so some top level tuning had clearly taken place. There was a new Morris 8 Special driven by Kevin Mercer, and a Ford Prefect based thing courtesy of Warwick Marshall. Peter and Josh Thwaites had brought the E Type Cockroach down from Blenheim, and Alan Giles from Greymouth was in the ex Avon Hyde Austin. Thomas Mauger, in the A7 that grandfather Warner put together many years ago was looking competitive, and told me he’s been coming to Balcairn as spectator since he was about 6, when he was a Mauger minor. When Josh Thwaites effortlessly scored the maximum on event one, Flemings Flanders, the old hands looked thoughtful, and when father Peter did the same on Jelfs Shelf, it looked as though this was to be the year of the E Type Cockroach. But Thomas Mauger was already looking good, and of course the ever green Avon Hyde was taking no prisoners. The Stop Start on the final hill at Jelfs Shelf, did its job, and only a few got a maximum score.To watch the Dawber Pontiac plunge down the first hill on Jelfs Shelf, wheels locked and gaining speed was quite inspiring and the crowd loved it. Stage three, The Swamp, was great if you were an early runner, and a few lucky drivers got twenty, but as the ruts deepened, progress slowed, and the Land Rover club were kept busy on towing duties. One of the wonderfully unfair things about Balcairn is starting order, as often so much depends on it, and this stage proved that, with even the lighter cars getting stuck. There was quite a steep inverted V entry to the pond, and many cars bottomed out, leaving wheels waving in mid air, as exhaust pipes bore the brunt. George Kear wasn’t having a good day. The MG/Ford Special he whipped up in his shed over lockdown was running on 3, he slipped over in the mud, and his car kept getting stuck. And to add insult to injury, son Fraser beat him on a few sections. After lunch we went up yet another hill to a section we’ve only used once before. Section one was in a nicely muddy clay bottomed dam, with navigation a key component. Andrew Roxburgh in the Marshall Prefect achieved some alarming angles and required some very technical skills from two Land Rovers to extract him from the primeaval ooze, and yet again, as the course cut up, the scores went down and the Land Rovers worked harder. The same could be said for the next stage, which involved zigzagging across a sloped paddock with a bog down the middle. There was a way through, but there is a bit of lemming in many competitors, as they cheerfully plunged into the deepening ruts, and yet again, the Land Rover lads continued to show their skills. Avon Hyde, Thomas Mauger and Brad Govan showed that you could get to 14 or so if you thought about it. The final stage, Newells Nemesis was far too easy last year so the dreaded Stop Start was used to keep egos in check. It proved most successful with no one, not even the big guns getting twenty. Some didn’t even manage the first turn, so the field was well spread out as the cars were trailered, excuses made, and organisers blamed as everyone arrived at the Anglers Arms in Sefton to hear the results. And they were convincing. A major victory for Thomas Mauger with 127 points, well clear of the rest of the field. Avon Hyde was 2nd, with 103, and Allan Giles and Josh Thwaites shared 3rd, with 99 points each. It’s the first time Thomas has won the coveted Old Boot Trophy, following in the footsteps of Uncle Phil and grandfather Warner. Three generations competing in the same event is rather special; Thomas was thrilled with his victory, as were his parents, who were there to cheer him on. “I don’t usually bother to read Dripfeed”, Thomas confessed, “but I think I might this month”.
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.........Victory in both Mauger hands
Jacinda’s over there, on the left
Photography by John MacDonald and James Palmer
The Covid Special.. Pigs might fly....
E Type Cockroach ascending
Bond: Morris Bond.....
A lone Hawke deepens the dam
Rare 3 cylinder MG
Plunging Pontiac