October 2018
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Index
OCTOBER 2018
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October 2018
October 2018
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Index In this issue… Are you on the Tree? 2018 PV, PWV, P60V & P80V Rally 60th Hunua 100 Rally 2018 Gymnic VIC Cards and Health & Safety Book Sale Mug Run 2018 Rubber Duckie Motorcycle Rally Pre 1950 Motorcycle Run Early History of the Renault Charabanc
Page 6 16-17 20-21 22 23 24 25 26-27 28 29-32
Regular Features Chairman’s Report Club Captain’s Report Library Notes Motorcycle Notes Entertainment Notes Commercial Notes Veteran Notes Secretary’s Notes Mid Week Tourers New Members Coming Events Spares Your Committee
4 5 7 8-9 10 11 12 13 14 15 18-19 33 34
November Bulletin closing date
Strictly 25 October 2018
Cover Designed by Melanie Ball
The views expressed by the correspondents in this Bulletin are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Auckland Veteran & Vintage Car Club Inc. Any articles of interest, comments, letters to the Editor etc are welcome. All contributions are presented to and approved by the club committee prior to printing. Please forward any submissions to the Bulletin Editor.
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October 2018
Chairman’s Report Hi everyone—Well just when we all thought that spring had arrived and we could look forward to some nice warm runs and rallies, the winter returned with cold, wet and windy days, plus more snow down south. Fingers crossed, it will soon warm up. Around eleven Auckland members went to New Plymouth for the Annual Rubber Duckie Motorcycle Rally. It was a great relief that the weather was not as it was for the last 2 years, very wet. They had blue skies and sunshine and the mountain was visible with snow on top all day. John Stokes Veteran section had a slightly smaller turnout as a few were away, but they still had a good meeting. The Mid Week Tourers had another good turnout, finishing at an interesting venue. The Motorcycle section had another very good turn out of 60 plus members come to hear ex Motorcycle Speedway rider Colin Tucker, who had ridden for 5 UK teams in the 1960's and also built speedway tracks. The day after the Motorcycle meeting we had the Motorcycle Mug Run, so called because the plotter is deemed to be the mug as it's their very first go at plotting a rally. Member Alan Greenslade did a great job of this run. The Commercial boys are still on the look out for new members who own commercials. On club night we had a number of trade people who advertise in our Bulletin come along to show their wares and business, this went down very well. Coming up—We have our 60th Hunua 100 Rally during Labour Weekend. This is a great milestone in the Branches history. I will be riding my BSA 650 in the Hunua. All you Motorcycle members, please don't forget to get your entries in for the Motorcycle sections showcase Rally in November, entry forms in this Bulletin. Plotter Dave Warren and helper John Shennan have done a great job for this year's event with some great traffic free roads going north and some really interesting stops on the way. Well that’s all for this month so keep those 2, 3, and 4 wheels turning safely. Martin Spicer
October 2018
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Club Captain’s Report Hello to everyone this fine spring day. There have been a lot of choices for rallies and runs to attend both at Branch level and out of town and many of our members have taken advantage of the better weather by doing so. The Motorcycle section had another great monthly meeting with guest speaker and ex speedway rider, Colin Tucker. The Motorcycle section also had a successful run last month with the Mug Run. For those of you who don’t know the background of this run, it is plotted by someone who has never plotted a run or rally before, hence the name ‘mug’. Alan Greenslade took them on a very scenic tour throughout Franklin and finished at the Red Shed in Drury for lunch. The Mid Week tourers had another successful monthly outing, although numbers were slightly down. We had a successful PV, PWV, P60V & P80V Rally with a great selection of vehicles out enjoying the rally that Merv Stowers had plotted. The rally concluded with a lovely evening meal and prizegiving at the clubrooms. Eleven members of the Motorcycle section went down to New Plymouth to the Rubber Duckie, the Taranaki Branch Annual Motorcycle rally. Everyone always goes down prepared for rain as it invariably rains during the rally. However this year they enjoyed wonderful blue skies and sunshine weekend with the mountain being visible the whole time with a white hat of snow on it. The boys brought home a number of placings and prizes. Peter Alderdice was the overall winner. Club night was a little bit different as we had invited along all of our advertisers to show their wares. There was a great deal of talk between members and demonstrators and all the advertisers were extremely pleased with the evening. Thank you to all those who participated. September ended with the Branch monthly run, plotted by the ladies, Marion Morris and Jocelyn McAlpine. It tiki toured around the new sub-divisions of Botany which was interesting to see what was happening out the back of the blocks. We rallied past farmland that our daughter used to ride over with her first horse and the riding school where she learned how to ride, now all houses. We also went to the very end of Aro-Kotinga Road, what views! We ended back just around the corner from the Botanical gardens. Congratulations to all September winners and place getters of the rallies and runs and a huge thank you to all the plotters and their helpers. Motorcycle section, please remember to get your entries in for the Annual Auckland Motorcycle Rally, entry form in this months Bulletin. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Hunua 100 Garden Party on the Saturday and also out enjoying a wonderful rally on the Sunday, finally finishing with a grand prize giving dinner in the evening. See you out and about. Lynda Spicer
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October 2018
Are you on the Tree?
ARE YOU ON THE TREE? We have an email tree to remind you what is coming up, and any other relevant information that comes to hand between Bulletins. You won’t get bombarded with rubbish and your email address is not visible to anyone else on the distribution list. If you are reading this and would like to be included please send me an email at vintagesunbeam@hotmail.co.nz and you’ll be in the loop.
PAUL’S MAGNETOS Testing, repairs, re-magnetizing, rewinding and remedial-engineering of all types of magnetos. Magnetos re-engineered to competition standards of accuracy, with improved spark power. Dynamo repairs, 6 to 12-volt conversion, 3 to 2 brush conversion, electronic regulators, adjustment of mechanical regulators. Recommended by Ken McIntosh, Hugh Anderson, Ken Campbell, Steve Raffills and David Warren.
Contact Paul Greet on 021 771 090
October 2018
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Library Notes Two of the book donors we acknowledged last month have come back with further items. John Stewart found some Rolls Royce Silver Dawn instrument and Service Manuals, which we have placed in the RR & Bentley Club collection and some copies of 1899 De Dion engine and Tricycle drawings and information which we have added to our Manuals and Handbooks section. Mrs Johnstone has now donated the remainder of Brian’s book collection to us and of approximately120 books, 30 were new to us and will go onto our shelves and the remainder will go into our Book Sale on Saturday afternoon of Hunua Weekend 20th October. Most of the titles we added to our collection were Rolls Royce, Alvis, MG and Jaguar and there were no Sunbeam books as rumoured. A full list of the Titles and Authors will be reported next month. Murray Firth donated five Jaguar manuals, parts lists and a Scintilla magneto manual and Neill Bieleski gave us a large folder of Bosch Magneto information including dual Coil/mag ignition as fitted to George Mihaljevich’s Talbot. We purchased: NZ Manufactured Cars by Harlow The British Car Industry Our part in its Downfall by Ruppert Bentley 1919 to 1931 an Autocar special compiled by Peter Garnier We look forward to seeing you at the Book Sale on the 20th Barry Robert and the Library Team—Barry Birchall, Colin Bott, Owen Hayward, John Stokes & Chris Wood
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October 2018
Motorcycle Notes We arrived at the club rooms on a sunny afternoon for the September meeting. There were 10 gleaming bikes parked out the back and we had 60 plus members in attendance. Reports: Martin told those present about Graeme Crawley's Eddie Sim Run which started in Cornwall Park and travelled to Alberton House in Mt Albert, a great historical place to visit. He then advised of the Branches fundraising efforts for the Cancer Society Daffodil Day. We had donations from the Motorcycle meeting, the MidWeek Tourers, Bingo night and the run to the Edmund Hillary Village. We raised $1600.00 and the Committee added $400.00 to round it off to $2000.00. Peter Alderdice reported on the recent Taranaki Rubber Duckie Rally, out of an entry of 40, there were 15 Auckland members taking part. Our members claimed a number of places. Peter also told us about a USA vintage bike rally for pre 1930 bikes, there are around a 100 and they are going from the East coast to the West coast. There is one Kiwi rider, John Turney who is riding his Indian Chief and is currently in 35th place. Coming Up: October 20th & 21st - Hunua 100 Rally – This is the 60th. Our Auckland Motorcycle Rally on 16th & 17th November. Entry form in this issue of The Bulletin. Dave Warren has plotted a great run, starting from Orewa and heading North, with some very interesting places to visit. This is the Motorcycle section's showpiece rally so please support it either by entering or helping out in someway. Guest Speaker - Colin Tucker Colin started of by reminiscing about the early Speedway greats Geoff Marden, Ronnie Moore, Barry Briggs and Ivan Mauger. He told us about recently going to the funerals of Ivan and Ronnie with Barry. Colin had a large banner on display showing speedway riders and all the locations of the Speedway tracks around Auckland from the 1920's to now. Colin started the Auckland ex-speedway riders club. He has researched every rider who has raced at Western Springs. He told us stories about his good friend Ivan Mauger. One was about Ivan's 24 carat gold-plated bike. Mauger's 'Triple Crown Special' motorbike, which he rode to win his third consecutive World Championship Speedway title in 1970. It was gold-plated as the result of a bet. American speedway fans George Wenn and Ray Bokelman said if Mauger did win the world title for a third time at Wroclaw in Poland, they would have the bike made golden. The work took 18 months and cost nearly $700,000. The Canterbury Museum purchased the gold-plated motorbike, among other Mauger memorabilia. At $1.7 million, the purchase is the museum's largest ever and includes three of Ivan's motorbikes, plus trophies, vests, leathers and other speedway related items. Colin raced for 5 UK teams. He also built a number of UK speedway tracks. At the end of his talk Colin answered a number of questions from the floor. Martin thanked Colin for coming and made him a presentation. Keep those 2, 3 and 4 wheels turning safely Martin Spicer and Jack Clark
October 2018
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Motorcycle Notes Contd...
Above:-Ivan Mauger
Right:-Colin Tucker (seated)
Robinson Instrument Ltd Unit 3 31 Princes St, Onehunga, Auckland.
Ph: 09 636 5836 Fax:09 636 5838 Email: sales@robinsoninstruments.co.nz Web: www.robinsoninstruments.co.nz
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October 2018
Entertainment Notes September Club Night was Trade Night. It was great to see some different faces attend club night.. Thanks to the following for their display information and advice. Alpine Panelbeaters McKechnie Motor Trimmers NZ Welder Repair Services Ltd Robinson Instruments Peter Alderdice Reflectors & Tank Sealer Veteran & Vintage Spares & Repairs The end of year is looming fast and calendars are filling up. Below are some dates we urge you to add as our end of year calendar is a bit different from the usual. October Club night fell after the Hunua weekend so our plotters were available on Bulletin Mailing night Thursday 11th October (as earlier advertised), to go over our club rally rule interpretations. I trust those of you who wanted to sharpen up their skills took advantage of this opportunity provided by Rodger Ball. He and Val have plotted a straight forward run over some lovely rural roads for this year’s special 60th event – I am sure you have all entered to help celebrate this milestone event, if not don’t miss out. We will enjoy a social gathering on the 25th, our ‘normal’ Club night to reflect and bask in the glory of what our Branch has achieved over the years. November will see the Thursday ‘Club night’ on a Saturday, to be held on the afternoon of the 10th. We will have experts on hand to again help members complete those VIC forms and answer any questions in this area. Also on this afternoon, as promised, we are having another Barn Machinery Safety demonstration. Remember you need to attend a Health and Safety demonstration before you can use any of the machinery in the barn. Our ‘normal’ Club night on the 22nd will be a film night. And then it is December with the Gymnic on the 2nd at Oratia and our Christmas Pot Luck Dinner on Thursday 20th. Lots to look forward to – make the most of the opportunities your Branch offers.
Russel McAlpine Ph: 0274 735 451
October 2018
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Commercial Notes Ever since I sold my 1942 GMC CCW 353 in 2008, I have pined for it. Perhaps it’s a good thing it is now domiciled amongst a Military Vehicle collection in Christchurch, so I can’t see anyone else driving around in it. My interest though in the Marque is as strong as ever and when the information on this CCKW 353 came into my inbox, I just had to share it. It is yet another one saved. The designation CCKW indicates it is a 6x6 model. The CCW, the 6x4 version was by far the most prolific in this country; we had more here than did Britain. Most of the 6x6’s arrived here towards the latter stages of WW2 for refurbishment at the General Motors plant in Wellington. When the war in the Pacific ended in August of 1945, they became the property of the New Zealand Government, as the “Yanks” didn’t want them back “Stateside”. It’s fair to say this 6x6, restored for the Putaruru Timber Museum is one of the 1225 GMC’s that was eventually bought by George Gillies from Oamaru and helped the country back onto its feet. The trailer has been made up from the bogie of another GMC, with extra springs added. By comparison, just look at the two photos below, taken in 1972 of a Peterbuilt hauling three Redwood trunks on a private forestry road in California, a combined load of 168 tons. Enough sawn timber to build three homes.
Keep M Rolling John Campbell
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October 2018
Veteran Notes Numbers were down a little at the September meeting as several regulars are overseas and one or two others had commitments. We welcomed Philip Eilenberg who is busy making a fuel gauge for his Rolls Royce. Roslyn Lowe brought an early contact breaker point surfacing machine to display, while Dennis brought a large book, specifically dedicated to the Curved Dash Oldsmobile. Phil Henley's 1913 Mitchell should be landed here by the time you read this and we look forward to seeing it in the not to distant future. Phil also obtained a little more information about these cars from our Library. Murray Atkinson and Gary Bax have sold the 1913 Saxon to the Gore area. David Lane displayed what was eventually decided to be a Kelsey rim tool, subsequent investigation by Barry Robert showed that it appeared to be a truck type rim tool although it looks too fragile for that. David has also made an "oil catch nappy" for his Model T. Gavin Welch had damaged the horn on his Model T and musical instrument repairers made an excellent job of fixing it. Roy Sharman mentioned the sale of a veteran De Dion Bouton for a significant price. Mike Loosemore said his Hupmobile is getting new top panels made for the bonnet. Barry Robert mentioned the large donations of books that had come into the Library, including "Great Auto Races As Told And Painted By Peter Helck". Tim Edney is involved with organising next years Ellerslie Concours event, this will be the forty seventh concours and Tim is trying to get more space for veteran vehicles. Philip Eilenberg also spoke of the HCCNZ's London to Brighton run on the 2nd of December. That's all for this month. John Stokes
October 2018
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Secretary’s Notes Entry forms are available for: Journey through Time Far North Tour If you haven’t already done so, remember your subs are due. Not much time left to get the 10 % discount.
Tracey Winterbottom
Established in 1993 we specialise in classic & Vintage Car Restorations and Repair work Classic Car Insurance Claims Insurance and Private Work on all vehicles WOF and Rust Repairs Full Panel and Paint Service New! - The Metal Room—Metal Shaping Classes Contact Mark McAlpine—Ph: (09) 820 2299
Email: alpinepb@vodafone.co.nz www.alpinepanelbeaters.co.nz Or call in and see us at 8/2 Lansford Crescent, Avondale
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October 2018
Mid Week Tourers Last month Kelvin Hawke had the pleasure of plotting a short run which took us around Herald Island, before ending up at members John and Joan Wolf’s property. They are keen Bradford enthusiasts, John having been initiated into the wonders of these 1000cc flat twin engines since his parents bought their first one brand new. That was in the late 1940’s, even though the basic design dates back to the early 1910’s with only minor changes over the years. That’s longevity for you and he has about six of these which pretty well cover the range of body styles produced by Jowett, the parent company. His other love, after Joan, is old omnibuses. He has two “half cab” Leyland’s, one being restored back to bus configuration, the other is spares. The good one started life with W.J. Wheeler & Sons, who operated the Auckland to Pukekohe route before NZR Road Services took over. Having used Wheelers buses myself as a youngster, I may well have ridden in this. Many thanks John and Joan for hosting us and Kelvin for doing the “Donkey “ work. Putting in an appearance were newish members Lynn and Brian Hood, David Adams came all the way from Whirwhiri (that’s near Waiuku), David Lane was seen navigating for Terry Costello and Mark Tomlin brought his 93 year old mother out for a drive, well done Mark and come again Mother. Some of you will know Robin and Ayleen Elliott, they usually motor a Porsche, but have not been out recently as Ayleen’s health deteriorated. Ayleen had Motor Neurone disease and will be known for her “I-pad” which she used to communicate with after she could no longer speak. Sadly, she succumbed to her disease a few days before the run and Robin would like it known how much she enjoyed our runs and in particular the friendship which mid-weekers extended to her. She really was an inspiration to us and we extend our sympathy to Robin and the family Coming Events: Wednesday 17 October: Starts from the Drury Service Centre, Southern Motorway 10:00 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. departure. Jo (one of our ‘Junior’ members) and Neil Bieleski are planning to take us to Mercer for a Fish n Chip lunch there, plus if the weather is kind to us, a short trek over a paddock to view the remains of two of Roose Shipping Company steam powered paddle vessels which once plied their trade on the Waikato river.. Wednesday 21 November: Starts from the Warehouse Carpark, Westgate 10:00 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. departure. Jack Nazer has a run which will finish at the Devonport Museum. Wednesday 19 December: Starts from the Drury Service Centre, Southern Motorway 10:00 a.m. for a 10:30 a.m. departure. Destination—the Winterbottom property for our usual Christmas BBQ. BYO meat, the rest will be provided—(a donation box will also be provided).
The Dewdrops & the Mid-Week Team
Ph: (09) 232 0245 or email dewdrops@xtra.co.nz Mobile (as a last resort) 021 051 3770
October 2018
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New Members A most sincere welcome is extended to the following new member. We hope to see you taking an active part in Club activities whenever possible. Should you or any member require any assistance or advice, please feel free to ask any Committee member. (Refer back page of this Bulletin). Tony Kay Papakura 1926 Harley Davidson 1941 Indian This new member joined in September
WANTED A loan of Hunua 100 Photographs and Memorabilia for a display to celebrate our 60th Hunua 100. Please contact Shaaran Price ASAP Ph 833 8575 Email: birdwoodprices@gmail.com
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October 2018
2018 PV, PWV, P60V & P80V Rally After being asked to plot this years’ PV Rally because the actual winner already had two other rallies to plot, we decided Karaka area was handy to home. The car park by the Papakura R.S.A. is a close start point and being a life member of the local Theatre Club made it a good lunch stop. Our son travels to various new subdivisions to check levels on sections for a local building firm and I get to go along to help. Some of these subdivisions have great views so this plus other areas where we have built houses seemed a good choice. Did you know that during the Second World War the Americans built an airfield at the end of Seagrove Road. They also built Middlemore Hospital. The afternoon section was more straight forward, but we did have some trouble near the airport with road works, when they removed a roundabout and changed a road name. Even the day before the rally a road name sign was missing so I made a new one, only to find on the Sunday (rally day), the original had been replaced. We did have a panic at the end when cars started arriving earlier than expected and we had to rush around setting up the final checks. Thanks to all the marshals and anyone else who helped on the day. We hope you all enjoyed the run and if we upset anyone at the end, we do apologise. Results: Fast Class 1st Stephen & Tracey Winterbottom 2nd Alan & Shaaran Price 3rd Russel & Jocelyn McAlpine Slow Class 1st John & Janice Gardner 2nd Ken & Annette Foot 3rd John & Dianne Poole Overall Winner—Stephen & Tracey Winterbottom
Congratulations to Stephen & Tracey and we look forward to 2019 PV Rally. Merv & Judy Stowers
October 2018
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2018 PV, PWV, P60V & P80V Rally Contd
Overall Winners:
Left to Right—Merv Stowers, Ryan Winterbottom, Stephen & Tracey Winterbottom and Martin Spicer
Slow Class Winners: Left to Right—Merv Stowers, John & Janice Gardner and Martin Spicer
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October 2018
Coming Events October 13 17
Sat Wed
20-21 24 Wed 25 30
Thurs Tues
Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm Mid Week Tourers Starts Drury Service Centre, Southern Motorway 10:00am 60th Hunua 100 Rally Commercial Meeting & Charabanc Maintenance Night Clubrooms 8:00pm Club Night 8:00pm Committee Meeting (November Meeting) 7:30pm
November 8 10 10 11 16-17 18 21
Thurs Sat Sat Sun
22 24 28
Thurs Sat Wed
Sun Wed
Bulletin via Branch website or email Veteran Section Meeting 2:30pm VIC Cards and Health & Safety—Clubrooms 4:00pm Veteran Rally (Waikato Branch) Annual Motorcycle Rally Swapmeet (Waikato Branch) Mid Week Tourers Starts The Warehouse Car Park, Westgate 10:00am Club Night & New Members 8:00pm Motorcycle Meeting 2:30pm Commercial Meeting & Charabanc Maintenance Night Clubrooms 8:00pm
December 2 4 8 9 13 15 16 19
Sun Tues Sat Sun Thurs Sat Sun Wed
20
Thurs
Annual Gymnic—to be held at Oratia Committee Meeting Veteran Section Meeting Pre 1950 Motorcycle Run—starts 35 Titi Rd, Mauku Bulletin Mailing Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms Motorcycle Xmas Run Mid Week Tourers Starts Drury Service Centre, Southern Motorway Club Night—Xmas Pot Luck Dinner & New Members
10:00am 7:30pm 2:30pm 12:30pm 7:30pm 2:30pm 10:00am 7:00pm
Note: The clubrooms are open on the second and fourth Thursday evenings each month from 7:30pm till 10:00pm and every Saturday afternoon from 4:30pm till 6:30pm.
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Coming Events
Thursday 25 October 8:00 p.m. Social Gathering To reflect and bask in the glory of what our Branch has achieved over the years.
60th Hunua 100 Rally Sunday 21 October 2018 (By entry only)
Starts:
Carpark adjacent Papakura R.S.A. Elliot St, Papakura
Time:
First vehicle away 9:30 a.m. approximately
Entries close 12 October
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60th Hunua 100 Rally
October 2018
October 2018
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60th Hunua 100 Rally
2018
100
Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 October
Saturday at the Clubrooms 50 Year Continuous Membership Presentations Garden Party—Ladies please bring a plate Vehicles on display Spare Parts Department open Dinner (pre booked tickets)
Sunday The rally will travel over South Auckland roads Dine & Dance prize-giving at the Remuera Club, Remuera (pre booked tickets) We look forward to your participation
Rodger & Val Ball
Ph: (09) 298 6476 Email: rvball@xtra.co.nz
CHECK MARSHALS REQUIRED (For the Sunday)
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October 2018
2018 Gymnic
Come Along, Bring All the Family Sunday 2 December
Murray & Penny Firth’s Residence 48 Carter Rd Oratia
Dogs NOT Permitted! Children a free ice-cream Everyone receives a free sausage ticket
What’s going to happen: 10:00am 11:00am 12:00noon 1:30pm
Gates open Restoration Awards Judging Sausage Sizzle SANTA arrives
Note: Take your own thermos
Mr Whippy Ice-creams available between 1-2:00 p.m. NOTE: If EXTREMELY wet, the Gymnic will be CANCELLED Cancellation will be on the e-tree and Facebook
October 2018
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VIC Cards and Health & Safety
VIC Cards and Health & Safety Saturday November 10 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. For those who missed the last one, we will be running a second Health and Safety Briefing for the Barn Workshop Equipment. You must have attended a H & S Briefing to be able to use any of the engineering equipment we have in the barn.
Need help filling out your VIC form? Come along with any documentation you have on your vehicle and we will assist in getting the VIC form filled out. Dave Allbon and Michael O’Kane will be on hand with their expert advice to make this exercise as pain free as possible.
2019 VETERAN & VINTAGE TOUR START ASHBURTON MONDAY 6th MAY FINISH HANMER SPRINGS MONDAY 13th MAY Details yet to be finalized but we will be travelling through the Haast Pass Expressions of interest to Diane Ross Email: randross@kinect.co.nz Address: 38 Keenans Road RD 2, Ashburton Phone: (03) 308 2356
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October 2018
Book Sale
Saturday 20 October 2:30 p.m. (Hunua 100 Weekend)
Sale of surplus books, manuals and magazines that our Library does not now require. Mezzanine Floor of the Barn At our Clubrooms 39 Fairfax Ave Penrose
October 2018
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Mug Run I woke up to find a warm sunny day. I got my BSA Golden Flash out of the garage and gave her a quick polish. I then rode up to the Jolly Farmer Drury for the 11:00am start. Assembled there were 12 bikes and 3 cars. Buster Westhill rode down from Orewa on his Matchless G80. Motorcycles on the run were: BSA's, Triumph's, Velo's, Norton's, Rudge, Moto Guzzi, AJS. The Mug Run plotter was Alan Greenslade who drove as tail-end charlie with father-in-law Geoff Stoner in Geoff''s cute 1973 Fiat Bambina. After the briefing I told the customary joke. We then set off for the Great South Road, then up Runciman Road and made our way over to Paerata, from there we went through Patumahoe, then Kingseat Road, worked our way over to Black Bridge Road then it was left onto Karaka Road and finally left into Jesmond Road. The run took around one hour. It was refreshing to be riding through the sunny country-side with all the different blossoms out and spring lambs in abundance. We finished at the Red Shed Palazzo, this is a very popular place especially at weekends. We spent a pleasant hour chatting and eating a good lunch in the sunshine. The Mug Run is called Mug Run because the plotter is a first time plotter. Thank you Alan for great Mug Run. Martin Spicer
MOTOR TRIMMING CLASSIC & VINTAGE CARS LEATHER, HOODS, SIDECURTAINS 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE Trained by Ken Keay FABRIC BODIES A SPECIALITY TOP QUALITY WORK REASONABLE RATES John McKechnie 66a Ladies Mile Remuera Phone: (09) 522 4418
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October 2018
2018 Rubber Duckie Motorcycle Rally The Auckland Motorcycle section have enjoyed supporting this Taranaki Branch event for more than four decades. In past years when we were all a bit younger, over twenty Auckland members would ride to the event and in keeping with this tradition, of the 11 Auckland entries, 4 decided to ride. These were: Michael O’Kane 1952 BSA with sidecar Graeme Crawley 1955 Ariel Huntmaster Mark Tomlin modern Honda Peter Alderdice 1954 Ariel Square Four The group were backed by Leo Fowler/Paul Tomlin and Chris Clark with bikes on trailers. The riders departed BP Drury at 9:00 a.m. Friday 14 September, turned off SH1 at Rangiriri and enjoyed little traffic on the western side of the Waikato river. First stop was at Ngaruawahia to catch up with a collector of over 30 Indian Motorcycles, all recently sold to be part of an Indian Museum in Brisbane. Then to Pirongia for fuel into both bikes and bodies and to Waitomo Village where we headed to the coast at Marokopa. Lovely winding roads through rugged and beautifully untouched country. We followed the coast south on a good metal road to Awakino, where we felt it was necessary to stop and allow the bikes to cool as we enjoyed an effervescent libation. Having gotten the taste for it we couldn’t ride past Mike’s Craft Brewery on SH3 at Urenui. We all arrived New Plymouth incident free around 4:30 p.m. and enjoyed catching up with some of the other 36 competitors, most of who enjoyed a $15.00 three course meal at Rally headquarters. Saturday started with a little mist which soon cleared to a memorable fine day with marvellous views of Mt Taranaki. The rally route was cleverly plotted with just two timed sections and two sections with no unmanned checks. This meant riders could enjoy the views of the Pukieti Forest Park and the stunning views of the south Taranaki coast. Lunch was well catered at the Boating Club. The afternoon section had us viewing the mountain from the western side before returning to New Plymouth mid-afternoon. The prize giving dinner was in a hall within an easy walk of accommodation and was in the opinion of most, a better choice than the golf club which up until this year was the venue. One downside however was that to return to our accommodation we had to walk right past Shorties bar and our mob were just not strong enough to avoid the temptation of having a nightcap in there. Next morning, we visited local Errol Gill who rode his 1963 Vespa on the rally and had invited us to view his collection of over 30 scooters. All beautifully restored and in perfect condition. We decided the return ride should include the Forgotten Highway via Whangamomona and Taumarunui. Unbeknown to us, the road had been recently metalled and was extremely challenging on short wheel based British machines. The metal was up to 3 inches deep in parts and very loose with no tyre tracks and most had near off experiences. Only Pete and his laundry lady know how close he came to having an off! It was after 3:00 p.m. by the time we left the afternoon tea stop at Otorohanga, so we dismounted at home in the dark after a great, if not long but trouble-free ride. It was just over 1000 km round trip.
October 2018
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2018 Rubber Duckie Motorcycle Rally Contd. Auckland entries did well at the prizegiving: Don Green Leo Fowler Peter Alderdice Martin Spicer John & Jill Williams Paul & Mark Tomlin
1930 Rudge 1942 Indian 741B 1954 Ariel SQ Four 1960 BSA 1937 Morgan SS 1925 Harley 7/9
1st Vintage 1st Post Vintage 1st Post War 2nd Post 60 2nd Combination/Morgan class 3rd Combination/Morgan class
Overall winner—Peter Alderdice Having spent recent year’s rallies in very wet conditions, this year’s event was a notable improvement and was one of the very best in living memory. We’ll be back for sure! Peter Alderdice
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October 2018
Pre 1950 Motorcycle Run Pre 1950 Motorcycle Run Starts 12:30 p.m. 9 December 2018 From 35 Titi Rd, Mauku Finishes at the same place 45 Mile Long Route, 30 Mile Short Route Prizes: Three Nuns Tobacco, Nun Today, Nun Tomorrow, Nun the Day After.
Results: See Prizes Above Twenty Sheets of Instructions will be printed, if more than five pre 1950 bikes arrive, the run will start. If less than five, the run won’t start. Do’s: do bring your registered and warranted Pre 1950 Motorcycle.
Don’ts: Don’t bring your Post 1950 Motorcycle for any reason whatsover. You won’t get instructions, and don’t follow your mate to ‘PARTICIPATE’. Information: Contact John Stokes Ph (09) 263 4582 or 0272 772 108 or email: jcstokes96a@xtra.co.nz
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Early History of the Renault Charabanc There were many attempts made to date the vehicle in the early years evident in correspondence in the Branch Archives between Campbell Motors in Auckland, Renault in Melbourne and Renault in France. The correspondence from France had all come back in French. Many felt the vehicle could’ve been earlier than 1917 and for a few years many believed it was manufactured in 1911. As I said in the article written on the restoration, the first major job after the restoration was to fit new tyres. Bill Shears had established Motorway Retreads in Newmarket and would do the work for free, providing we left their name on the side of the tyres. After they did the work they told us never to come back. Ron Richardson, who was running MOTAT at the time, often requested use of the Renault to move guests around the city. Ron was always chasing publicity and often the Charabanc got caught up in his enthusiasm, which put some pressure on the drivers. Quite early on, someone had decided the vehicle would not go past an open pub and this made every journey a little bit longer. I remember one incident where they had to take the Minister of Railways from MOTAT to the railway station. He didn’t miss his train but it was close and I was told he enjoyed the stops. Barry Robert tells me he had to take Rob Muldoon across to see the new aviation park at very short notice and had Sir Dove Myer Robinson, the Mayor of Auckland in the vehicle on three occasions and his family on two more occasions. The first major run for the vehicle was to Nelson in 1972 for the 21 st International Rally. They had issues getting a crew and Jim Lewis ran advertisements in the newsletter for many months. It was very much a boy’s thing in those days and they were going to rough it, so a First World War round army tent was purchased. They had an old sock to look after the money and there was a large horn to round up the troops. The tent, sock and horn were used on all the early trips away from home. Mary Wassell had provided the troops with blue and white hats so they would not get lost in a crowd. On the Charabanc for the Nelson run were Barry Robert, Gerry Batterton, Ray Wassell, Des Chapman, Malcom Hall, John Stokes and Grant Taylor. The event for the Charabanc started in Manurewa, with overnight stops in Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wanganui and Picton. There were five days in Nelson and a speed event at Renwick. From Auckland we had a choice of three routes and there were more cars from overseas than local entrants at the Auckland start. Seven hundred and seventy vehicles had entered. Entrants were given a choice of eight start points and twenty runs. It must have been a massive undertaking for the organisers. With so many entrants from overseas it was quite a task for the Branch to move and house the seventy cars as they came off the Auckland wharf until their crews arrived. Most of the cars were stored in the old tram barn in Ponsonby, later Strachan’s body shop. After the start at Manurewa, I did not see the Charabanc again until it arrived very late in New Plymouth. It had been a thirsty run so there had been a few stops and then they had magneto trouble on Mt Messenger. They had to light the lights that night and every time a truck went past, it blew them out. Those on the short route crossed the water to Picton in the late afternoon on the third day. Most crossed Cook Straight the following morning. When we arrived in
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Early History of the Renault Charabanc Nelson no one had seen the Charabanc so Jim Lewis sent out a search party to look for the vehicle. They found the vehicle behind the hotel in Canvastown. On a Sunday the hotel should’ve been closed. They often picked up groups of children and took them for a ride and that had happened at Canvastown. With the speed event at Renwick which everybody had to attend, the Charabanc crossed the Rai and Whangamoa saddles four times. There was a car display at the race course in Richmond one day and a run for French vehicles out to Upper Moutere on another day. The Charabanc was railed home from Wellington. Also in 1972 the vehicle appeared at the Hunua lunch break for the first time. There was a letter written by the Charabanc team to the Committee seeking permission to take the vehicle and another letter written by the Secretary telling them they could go there. After that run, some were having trouble changing gear so a clutch stop was manufactured and fitted. Barry Robert had followed the vehicle home and said Des Chapman was doing 32 mph in the vehicle. A few months later between Christmas and New Year there was a fire in the shed at MOTAT where the Charabanc was stored. The fire started behind the Charabanc and went into the roof. The upholstery, linoleum and paint were destroyed, many of the panels were bent and some of the wood work would have to be replaced. The horn, tail light and one side light had come apart. There was a 1931 Morris Minor in the shed alongside that was also badly damaged. The 1918 army bell tent was destroyed and was replaced with an army tent from 1942. Both the Herald and the Star published items on the fire. As we had insurance on the vehicle and the vehicle was still mobile it was decided to move the vehicle to Jack Inch’s property and pay him to carry out the repairs required. The work was done by Jack over ten months and the vehicle was returned to the blackened shed a MOTAT. Before the work was finished Ron Richardson from MOTAT asked the VCC to transport people from the Smithsonian Institute in the States. Jack completed the work in the shed at MOTAT but was often asked to run groups of people round the grounds. The Charabanc missed the first veteran run in 1973 because of the fire, but was on the second run in 1974 and has not missed a run since. The second run went from Princes Street in the city to a Vineyard in Henderson. A month later, the vehicle went to Hamilton on the first Brass Era Tour organised by the Horseless Carriage Club. On the return trip they stopped at the Yates property in Karaka where the vehicle had been found. The whole family climbed aboard and were taken for rides and there is a photo of the occasion on the cover of the Beaded Wheels in August 1975. Over winter in 1974 they fitted a brake booster to improve the brakes. The Engineering Division at Forest Products provided working drawings and they were approved by the Transport Department before the work proceeded. In 1976 they wrote to Renault in France again, looking for information that might allow us to date the vehicle. A lot more material arrived from Renault in French and it did look like the vehicle was manufactured in 1916. The Horseless Carriage Club organised the first re-enactment of the Parliamentary Tour around the north in 1977 and the Renault participated. Travelling in the vehicle on that run were Barry Robert, Derek Crosby, Des Chapman, George
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Early History of the Renault Charabanc Mihaljevich, John Stokes, Gerry Batterton, Terry French, Don White and Malcom Hall. They did not always follow the route as they realised that on some days the tour party was covering too many miles. The run on the first day finished in Whangarei. The Charabanc established camp at Waipu Cove. There was a parade through the city the following day and the Charabanc was there to lead the parade and carry the mayor. In Whangarei they did have issues with the clutch and discovered there wasn't any grease in the rear universal that was creating the problem. In Kaitaia there was a motor show while participants went to the light house in a tour bus. The Renault team had a mud guard to repair, then went to Houhora, the northern most hotel. The hills between Herekino and Broadwood on the return run tested the Charabanc. The tour party had two nights in Dargaville, but the Charabanc team pushed on for home and stayed that night in the Maungaturoto hotel. The tour party caught up with the Charabanc in Kaukapakapa. When the vehicle arrived back at MOTAT it had covered 780 miles. Some participants on the tour had come from the States and Canada. During the tour the Charabanc gave rides to hundreds of school children. The vehicle was driven back to Whangarei by Derek Crosby and Keith Kelly for a motor show two years later. They travelled there and back with a V/8 Fire engine owned by MOTAT. They had no issues with the Renault but lots of problems with the Ford V/8. The Charabanc returned to Auckland in one day. In the late seventies Phil Jones was organising Annual runs for Commercial vehicles. The Charabanc first attended a Commercial run in 1979 which finished on a farm behind Omana Regional Park. I went with them on that run and I will never forget the snoring in that tent that night. There was competition going on between Des Chapman and Ray Wassell to see who could move the walls of the tent. I slept under the stars that night and never went away with them again. Just prior to the International Rally in Rotorua in 1980, the Government introduced car less days and for a while there was no sale of petrol on the weekend. When it was decided to enter the Charabanc in the Rotorua International Rally, they decided to fit an auxiliary 15-gallon petrol tank. Recruiting a crew become a problem. Barry Robert wanted to take his recently restored 1909 Rover. Derek Crosby wanted to take the club’s International buggy. Doug Pinker was given driving lessons. Tony Dalligan and Mike Greig, both North Shore members, joined the team. Others in the team were Don Strange, John Stokes, Des Chapman and Terry French, now living in Palmerston North. From a distance Barry Robert still controlled the sock. They left Auckland very early and were in Rotorua just before it got dark. The Rotorua Rally was more like the major runs we see today, where you stay in one centre for nine days and go out to different places. At Rotorua they had a thousand entries but there were not the numbers from overseas we saw in 1972. Norm Dewhurst was chief marshal for the rally. We were divided into six groups. From Rotorua we had day trips to Taupo, Whakatane, Tauranga, Cambridge and Tokoroa. There were shorter routes for the veterans but they still tested the Charabanc. When they went to Whakatane, the team from the
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Early History of the Renault Charabanc Charabanc decided to stay overnight. For one group each day there was driving tests at Mamaku. There was no motoring on Wednesday as it was a carless day. In Cambridge they assisted Gerhard von Raffay with tools to fix his 1921 Austro Daimler. He had bought the car out from Germany with his own riding paid mechanic. It wasn’t the first time they had got caught with an entrant from overseas. On the Nelson run they got caught with John Wein-Smith, when his 1931 Morris Minor broke down. When he came back to Rotorua with the same car they gave him a wide berth. John had no mechanical knowledge and relied on others to carry out repairs. I discovered that many years later, when I went to South Australia and travelled with John on a run in his 1904 De Dion Bouton. The Charabanc camp at Rotorua was attracting a lot of visitors; Harry Hagan from NSW, Earl Gill and Malcom Hall all stayed there for a few nights. I think it was cooked breakfast provided by Des Chapman in the morning that was the main attraction. There was no charge to sleep in the tent but they did make a small charge for breakfast. The Rotorua run was the last major event where they used the tent. In 1980 Alan Roberts went into the Chair and one of his first jobs was to arrange a new shed for the charabanc. In 1981, the vehicle was moved from MOTAT to a new iron shed built behind the clubrooms at Penrose. There had been a change of management at MOTAT and some felt we should move the vehicle before they claimed ownership. They had also been told MOTAT wanted the shed. I could not have written this article had Barry Robert not made notes covering these years, which I found in the Branch Archives. Barry was in those days referred to as the “gaffer” where the Charabanc was concerned. Barry Birchall
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Spares
Spares..Spares..Spares Open only the second and fourth Thursday evening from 7:30 p.m. till 10:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon from 4:30 p.m. till
6:30 p.m. New parts coming in regularly! If you need it, take a look around or ask, you may be surprised!
NZ Welder Repair Services Ltd. Unit 4/5 Portage Road, New Lynn, Auckland
For personal service call Rod Rugg (Member) Stick, MIG, TIG and Plasma cutters. All welding machine types and consumables for sale. “Over 30 years experience� Repairs to machines, new sales and used. Hire options available. For home or work. Large or small. We deal with only good machines not rubbish. Phone: 09 8261425, e-mail: rod.rugg@nzwrs.com Postal address: P.O. Box 19272, Avondale, Auckland 1746
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Your Committee Chairman/Motorcycle Rep: Martin Spicer (Lynda)
Email: spicerclan2017@gmail.com Ph: (09) 233 6382 or 0274 454 593 Vice Chairman/ Entertainment: Russel McAlpine (Jocelyn) Email: rjmcalpine@xtra.co.nz Ph: 818 4285 or 0274 735 451 Secretary / Privacy Officer: Tracey Winterbottom Email: vintagesunbeam@hotmail.co.nz (Stephen) Ph: (09) 232 0246 or 021 732 209 Treasurer: Ian Hubbard (Lesley) Email: ian@fhp.co.nz Ph: 575 8236 or 0274 426 748 Club Captain: Lynda Spicer (Martin) Email: spicerclan2017@gmail.com Ph: (09) 233 6382 or 021 454 593 Committee Members: Don Green (Brenda) Clubroom Bookings/Spares/Name Badges Email: greend@slingshot.co.nz Ph: 266 8836 or 021 073 2642 Alan Price (Shaaran) Building Maintenance Email: birdwoodprices@gmail.com Ph: 833 8575 Shaaran Price (Alan) Social Convenor/New Membership Liaison Officer Email: birdwoodprices@gmail.com Ph: 833 8575 John Stokes Veteran Rep/Spares/Trophy Stewart Email: jcstokes96a@xtra.co.nz Ph: (09) 236 4582 or 021 185 5915 Non-Committee Officers: Librarian Bulletin Editor Barry Robert (Elva) Val Ball (Rodger) Ph: 627 9451 Ph: 298 6476 Email: rvball@xtra.co.nz Beaded Wheels Reporter Commercial Rep John Stokes John Campbell (Pat) Continuous Membership Awards Steward Ph: 828 7850 or 0272 446 928 Glenn Morris (Marion) Ph: 273 4975 or 021 136 5926 Insurance: Vero Consumer Insurance Specialist 0800 505 905 or 356 4501 Agency Number: 0300126 Clubrooms Street Address: Postal Address: Open: Club Night:
Ph: 579 5625 39 Fairfax Ave, Penrose P O Box 12 138, Penrose, Auckland 1642 2nd & 4th Thursday 7:30-10:00pm, Every Saturday 4:30-6:30 pm 4th Thursday of the month
Branch Email Address Branch Website
auckland@vcc.org.nz www.avvcc.org.nz
Branch Honorary Life Members:
Barry Robert Norm Dewhurst QSM Alan Roberts
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