The Radiator Cap
January 2022 Newsletter 1
COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2021-2022 Chairman
Anne Richardson
09 425 6298 / 021 277 9010
ricanne@gmail.com
Secretary
Jim Flewitt
09 601 6165
flewitts@ttra.co.n
Treasurer
Dave Oliver
027 443 8046
ollie.d10@gmail.com
Club Captain
Leon Salt
09 423 8122 / 027 423 8122
brendda@ttra.co.n
CC’s Team
Neil Cremer
09 425 4955
neilmtf@ttra.co.n
CC’s Team
Frances Ross
09 425 8737
Rep to EtCo
Anne Richardson
09 425 6298 / 021 277 9010
ricanne@gmail.com
Hospitality Convenors
Anne & Dennis McDonald
Anne: 021 214 2267 Dennis: 021 265 2466
annedenmac@gmail.com
Social Convenor Neil & Lucy Cremer
09 425 4955
neilmtf@ttra.co.n
Property Supervisors
09 425 7622 09 425 6139
yorksandlancs@gmail.com doug.hamil@ttra.co.n
Health & Safety Brian Payne
09 425 9262
banddpayne@ttra.co.n
Vehicle ID
09 425 9928 09 425 7622
George Lloyd Doug Hamilton
James Lawrie George Lloyd
gloria-james-lawrie@ttra.co.n yorksandlancs@gmail.com
Motorcycle Rep Dave Oliver
027 443 8046
ollie.d10@gmail.com
Librarian
09 425 8737 09 425 7622
yorksandlancs@gmail.com
Frances Ross Jeanette Lloyd
Editor/Reporter Chris Harvey
09 422 2662 / 022 365 0171
Badges
Dave Oliver
027 443 8046
ollie.d10@gmail.com
Add. Members
Brendda Salt Steve Paddison Len Miller
09 423 8122 09 422 6250 021 140 3463
brendda@ttra.co.n steve.felicity@ttra.co.n jacktar1399@hotmail.com
Branch address PO Bot 547, Warkworth 0941 Bank a/c
chris.harvey@westnet.com.au
wellsfordwarkworth@vcc.org.n
BNZ 02-0480-0047413-000
Visit our website at
VERO agency No. 0300159
www.vcc-wellswark.org.n
VERO free phone 0800 658 411 The deadline for contributions to the Newsletter is the 23rd of the month.
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Be sure to check that Covid levels permit the event to take place Wed 5 Jan
12:00 Midweek picnic at Scandrett’s Bay
Sun 23 Jan
10:30 Meet at Wellsford C.C. for Run to Lang’s Beach. BYO picnic
Wed 2 Feb
12:00 Midweek picnic at Brick Bay
Thu 10 Feb
17:30 Club Night. BYO BBQ & salad to share
11-13 Feb
New dates for Canterbury Swap Meet-TBC
Thu 17 Feb
15:00 Club Committee meeting
Sat 26 Feb
Annual Swap Meet is CANCELLED
Sat26 Feb
Opera in the Park, Ward Rd, Matakana
Sun 6 Mar
Are We There Yet? Rally for Mike Brown Memorial Trophy
12-13 Mar
New dates: Auckland Branch’s Hunua 100 -TBC
8-9 April
New dates: Auckland Branch’s Motorcycle Rally -TBC Waikato Veteran Rally is now CANCELLED
Branch activities at various Covid-19 Alert levels While at Protection Framework “Traffic Lights” Red: the branch will operate as a Double Vaccinated group. Only those who are double vaccinated and can prove it with a Vaccine Passport will be able to participate in Branch events. The Clubroom will be kept clean and saniti er will be available. Feel free to contact the Chairman or Club Captain if you have any queries.
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CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
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e don’t usually have a January Newsletter, but these are strange times. Your committee met on Thursday (again we usually have the month off) to consider what we could do over the nett 3 months now that we know how the Traffic Light system is likely to affect our activities. BY the time you read this, we will have had our first lunch at the clubrooms. This had a Christmas theme, but not as festive as usual; just our smiles and felicitations. We should have more time to plan for nett year! Any ideas?
Leon has a program for us through to March, so check the events page. The main thing for me to report is that we have sadly decided to cancel the Swapmeet for 2022. We did this very reluctantly; we use the money raised to buy ettra items for the clubrooms so we will need to be parsimonious this year. But more importantly, we see and chat to more members than usual. It would be terrific to see some of you who may only come to the Swapmeet attend some of our other activities. The Management committee is keen to promote their proposals for Rebranding the Club. We have discussed this in the past, but I will be contacting the other 3 Auckland branches to see if there is a suitable time/date for someone to come and talk to us. The plan would be for separate branch meetings, but the same date. It is likely to be George Kerr. This will not fit with our usual meetings, but hopefully members will be prepared to come and listen, and make their own views known. Watch this space, Finally, you will notice that the committee are meeting at 3.00pm on the third Thursday at the moment. It is more convenient for the current members. This is only until the AGM at the moment. If there are working members prepared to join the committee then we would revert to 7.00pm. Just to remind you: any member is welcome to come to our meetings. So, as the festive season is well on the way, Season’s Greetings, a Healthy and Safe New Year, and an active branch in 2022. Very Best Wishes Anne. __________________________________________________________________________
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elcome to our new members: Peter & Jenny Sinton
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CLUB CAPTAIN’S REPORT
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here was a good turn-out on Sunday 28 November for our Sunday run to Tawharanui. Lovely weather and twenty-two members in twelve, mainly club eligible vehicles took part. Viewing Rick van Barneveld’s 1931 Auburn Phaeton was a treat. The general public passing by our picnic spot with all our cars lined up also appeared to appreciate the display. Our mid-week picnic at Algies Bay was also well supported with 20 members in attendance and seven club-eligible vehicles. While we were there a newly restored 1942 Jeep in the livery of the American battalion which was based in Warkworth during WWII, dropped in. Our Pot-luck Christmas lunch at the clubrooms on Sunday 19 December was well attended and 32 of us enjoyed a related luncheon outdoors. The weather could not have been better and the range of delicious desserts on offer was fantastic. January’s mid-week picnic on 5 January, will be at Scandrett’s Bay on the Mahurangi Peninsula then then on 23 January, we’ll have a Sunday run for a picnic lunch at Lang’s Beach. We’ll meet at the Wellsford Community Centre at 10.30 a.m. and depart from there to travel via Mangawhai to Lang’s Beach and aim to park close to the bridge at the northern end of the beach. Bring everything you need for a picnic lunch. The route we take will depend to a large degree on traffic congestion around Mangawhai but we’ll have this decided before we depart.
The Committee agreed that running the annual Swapmeet, even at the Orange Covid level, would be fraught with challenges, particularly around policing vaccination certificates. Under the rules, attendance by sellers & buyers would most likely be compromised and revenue from the event much less than normal. The event takes considerable organisational input from many people and the funds raised need to make it worthwhile. An event that has become an annual occasion for the area is the Opera in the Park on Ward Road, Matakana. This is being held on Saturday 26 February. There is an entry fee. Further information will be given out in the nett newsletter. The idea will be for folk to arrange their own tickets but we could gather as a group at the event. 2021 has certainly been a very different year for all of us and the future seems no more certain than it was this time last year. However, apart from those with loved ones overseas, families can now gather again for Christmas. For those heading to the Taranaki for the International Rally, we hope you have a great time. The rest of us will hopefully take what opportunities we can to etercise our older vehicles. Best wishes for the festive season!
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SUNDAY RUN TO TAWHARANUI ON 28TH NOVEMBER
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t was a lovely sunny warm morning when we met at Morris and James’ carpark for our first Post-lockdown Sunday Run.
After some discussion we opted for parking near the Lagoon inside the predator entrance to the park. It proved to be a good decision; the Salt family went down to the beach later to find it heaving with traffic. The road to Tawharunui is now tar sealed all the way and widened so that there is only one narrow bend left. Clearly it has reduced the antiety of driving a precious vehicle when there might be a hoon around the corner! There were 25 of us- perfect. Rick and Jeanette Van Barneveld came in their 1931 Auburn, there was a range of MGs and our usual mit of cars. A very pleasant picnic was had and we look forward to a summer of picnics to come. [Photos by Anne Richardson & Anne Hamilton]
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CLUB CAR OF THE MONTH JACK’S 1929 FORD MODEL A TOURER
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didn’t develop an interest in old cars; I inherited it. My Dad and his brother always had a Rugby or a Chev 4 on the farm from the mid-thirties onwards and I could drive them from the age of 13. Dad was very fond of Model As; how reliable and robust they were, and he had got his license when his father bought a brand new one in 1928. I was a bit of an at-risk kid at school (I know you will find that hard to believe) and I got an apprenticeship with Roke & Smith in Matakana at the end of 1955. Sharp’s Road had just been metalled about a year previously and Dad decided that a Model A would be the best car for me to have. We found a 1930 Roadster in Whangarei and I drove it home myself. My mates and I (or ‘cobbers’ as we were called in those days) made full use of it. Two of my cobbers and I took it on a camping trip up North at the beginning of 1957 and had a marvelous week away. I had two interests – my yacht racing and my car – and church on Sundays. We moan about the cost of petrol now. Well, in November 1956 Arnold Nordmeyer put the price of petrol up from 2 s 6d to 3s 5d per gallon and I was earning 2s 2d per hour. A gallon of petrol nowadays is about $10.40. How many people work 1 hour 20 mins for a gallon of petrol? I first joined the Auckland VCC in May of 1970 when I was trying to restore a 1927 Baby Austin Chummy (tourer). Not long after that they started the North Shore Branch and I was transferred there. My uncle, who was like a second father to me as he and Dad were always together, died in 1971 and I just lost interest in the car, however eventually I resumed work on it with the help of El Jackson, a local panel beater who had a Pontiac. I got it virtually finished - apart from the wiring - and could drive it around our bay. Then in 1978 or 1979 we held a meeting of interested people which led to the formation of our Club, and we became the sub-branch of the Northland VCC. Those were great days, I might say. 8
I had several cars of the 1920s but when we were living in Rawene we joined the Far North Club and my little Rugby was a bit slow to go up to Kaitia or Doubtless Bay for a Run, have dinner in the Clubrooms at Winstone Matthews premises, then leave at about 9 pm for the 2-hour trip the long way home as the Rawene ferry stopped operating at 7.30 pm. We also had the Chev up there too. We sold the Rugby and got a 1930 Model A Tourer which was better for the job and have had several others since then: this one is my 8th Model A. I got the 1930 Tudor so we could get Kathy into it with the wide front doors. Now she isn’t able to get in any car so I thought I would get another Tourer.
I let Errol McAlpine know what I was after and 3 -4 weeks later I got a call from Monty Scarborough to say he had a 1929 Tourer. He lives in Kaiaua and my son-in-law and I drove down and looked at it. We did the deal with Monty and came home and put the money in his bank. When it was warranted and ready Leon offered to go down to Kaiaua with me and drive it home. We drove back through Clevedon and Howick and Botany Downs. Man, was I pleased Leon was driving it! If I had lost sight of Leon up ahead, I would have been totally lost because I could not see anything I recogni ed. However, we got through and made really good time coming home, thanks to Leon. The evening before I went to pick up the Model A, I went around to the Gull service station in my modern and filled up with petrol. Den il served me and asked why I was filling it up and I told him I was going down to Kaiaua to pick up a Model A. He asked whereabouts in Kaiaua and who was I getting it from. I told him and he said, “I went to my wedding in that car over 40 years ago.” Then he said he was a relation of mine as he is my wife’s uncle. 9
It turns out he’s my third cousin whom I had never heard of. I could see looking at him that there was some good blood in him, but I got the looks, eh! The car is going beautifully. I’ve put turn indicators on and hopefully I will get the speedo going. We brought it home either the day the lockout came on or the nett day, so it ain’t had much use yet but I guess that saves the tires wearing out etc. I reckon I still have about 50 miles to go before I’ve driven it as far as Leon has.
Jack The Ford Model A was produced from October 1927 to March 1931 and replaced the hugely successful Model T. It had a 201 ci (3.3 L) in-line 4-cylinder motor which provided 40 hp and a top speed of around 65 mph. It came in 9 body styles and 4,858,644 units were made in 9 countries around the world. Unlike the Model T, there were 4 colour choices.
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MYSTERY MOTORS
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hat car is this?
Last month’s car was a 1963 Wartburg 311, produced in East Germany from 1956 to 1965. It was named after Wartburg Castle which overlooks the valley where the factory was built in 1898. Wartburg built cars of increasing sophistication until BMW was formed and acquired the plant in 1928. After WWII, BMW pulled up stakes and moved to Munich, leaving behind an intact plant for the Soviet occupiers. The car was FWD with a 900cc 3cylinder two-stoke motor from DKW producing 37 hp. The car was the only alternative to the Trabant in the GDR and 258,928 were produced, which was not nearly enough to satisfy demand.
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CITROËN TRACTION AVANT REGISTER
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he NZ Citroën Car Club's website is now being used to help record potentially all of the Super modern 12s and Light 15 vehicles that remain in New Zealand today. Whether they are restored, driveable, under restoration, donor cars only suitable for spares or just a pile of parts, there's a place for them on the register.
All models and body styles are included in the register and members and non-members alike are urged to record the details of their car/s by visiting the website of The Citroën Car Club of New Zealand Inc at https://cccnz.club/ and then clicking "Traction Register Launched" on the right hand side of the home page, then just follow the prompts. There is no need to log in to the website and all owners have a choice as to whether they will allow their details to be shared with other owners, or want their personal details to remain private and their vehicle details to be used for statistical information only. The advantages of registering are numerous but being able to tap into the pool of knowledge of people with a model similar model to yours, or being able to find or supply a part that keeps another car running, are two good reasons for a start. If you know of someone with a Traction who isn't a member, you're most welcome to email me their details and I'll contact them personally. So far there are sitty something Tractions recorded on the register and I think there could be as many as 400 more. If you need help or wish to contact me regarding the register, my email address is; mistert.nz@xtra.co.nz Graham Tulett Traction Avant Register Administrator VCC member Canterbury Branch 12
DISCOUNT REMINDERS
Vero offers VCC members substantially cheaper rates than other companies for your car/s, vintage, classic or modern, as well as other types of insurance. A case in point is cover obtained for two moderns at almost the same cost as one modern with the AA, and household contents cover at 2/3 of the AA price. To top it all, Vero pays our Club a very handy commission each month. Don’t forget the discounted rates which Bluebridge Ferries offer to VCC members: they are 10-15% lower than the competition’s rates
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Low
Pressure Exterior Cleaning
• Moss & Lichen Control Exterior Insect Control
Contact us today for a free quote! Phone:
027 275 0080 09 425 8747 or 09 426 2314 Email: chemwash@rosscoltd.co.nz
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ADDRESS
If undelivered return to PO Bot 547 Warkworth 0941
Sales.warkworth@guthriebowron,co.n
Tel 09 425 8187 Fat 09 425 8585
STAMP
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