“Dripfeed” NEWSLETTER OF THE BANKS PENINSULA BRANCH OF THE VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF New Zealand (INC) VOLUME 39, No 6 July 2017 Editor: Michael Williams 10 Selwyn Parade Lyttelton Ph 328 8043, email mimiandmichael@yahoo.co.nz
Chairman: Secretary:
Club Officers: Craig Keenan 332 1066 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 Road / Main North Road) Thursday 13th July. We look forward to seeing you there. Supper is provided.
From the Editor: Observant readers will notice the change of name in the editorial slot. Craig Cowie has relinquished the role he has filled with such distinction over the last seven years, and the committee, with very little thought, pleaded with me to take over the job. In doing so I am conscious of following in distinguished footsteps. When I joined the branch, the late great Dave Richardson was the editor, and his superb cartoons and constant reminders that we were The Hill Tribe, and the others were The Swamp Dwellers, never failed to amuse. He was followed by James Palmer, who introduced the Mr Toad that you see above this, and he in turn was followed by Louise Russell, before Craig took over. All of these distinguished people had one thing in common, apart from a love of old cars, and that was that their length of tenure was seven years, rather like the biblical plagues of Egypt I suppose. I can’t promise to do the same, indeed if any of you think you can do a better job, you’re bound to be right. I think Mr Toad summed up my, and probably our, attitude to motoring, if I might quote without fear of the late Kenneth Graham’s estate taking me to court: “What dust clouds shall spring up before me as I speed on my reckless way! What carts shall I fling carelessly into the ditch in the wake of my magnificent onset! Horrid little carts – "common carts..”
Considering that was written in 1908, it’s remarkably accurate. (Just substitute Austin 7 for carts). Letters, observations, corrections, opinions, suggestions and articles are all most welcome, as I struggle to master the electronic world, and thanks are due to Louise R and Michael P for their patience in helping me and therefore the club as I stumble towards some sort of competence. We don’t normally endorse the services of any particular garage, but exceptions can sometimes be the rule, as I feel the following incident illustrates. A few months ago I was gliding through Ashburton, and decided to pop into see Bruce McIlroy at his superior establishment. It was the weekend and Bruce was in farming mode, so I got a tour of the ancestral acres as well as the workshop, both very interesting as always. I duly departed, but had gone about 1k when my normally reliable Citroen suddenly lost most of it’s gears. I worked out that I was stuck in 4th, and at 11.30am on a Sunday morning, my options were limited, as there are few Citroen experts in Ashburton, and even the AA is threatened by the complexities of a D. So I limped back to Bruce and pleaded for help. Bruce was of course thrilled to see a decaying Citroen and once the jokes had stopped (which took some time), we pushed it into the sacred confines of the workshop and the problem was quickly identified. A 1972 8mm bolt had decided to seek freedom from the confines of the linkages. I was ushered into the spare parts dept and an equivalent imperial bolt was found and duly installed, Bruce also tightened up lots of other loose bolts and I was on my way rejoicing, with the tightest gearchange mechanism I’d had for years. This was a win win situation, in that Bruce can now advertise himself as a Citroen specialist, another highly lucrative and prestigious income stream, and I can now say that I own a Bentley Special, ex Sammy Davies, Tim Birkin et al. My money worries are over and Bruce has found a lot of new customers. Heart warming stuff. Welcome to new member Vaughan Morison with a wonderfully dodgy looking Model A, complete with skiis and thermette, that actually goes like a rocket thanks to clever mods that I don’t understand. As Dolly Parton said, “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap”.
Coming Events: The Balcairn Trial Sunday 23rd of July. Ring Ron for details, entry forms, regulations etc. From the Anglers Arms Pub at Sefton head up Pemberton Rd, turn right at the T junction into Marshmans Rd, straight ahead onto the shingle, turn left at VCC sign before the ford into Flemings Rd and follow the signs. Park near the usual first test area. Timetable: 8.00am 8.30 sharp 9.15 9.30 sharp
Breakfast at the farm Assemble at the venue for vehicle inspection Drivers briefing, all drivers and passengers must attend Battle commences.
Breakfast, Lunch and Coffee is available at the farm and we would urge you to support the Flemings, who provide these facilities as well as their farm. We are incredibly lucky that the Fleming family have allowed us take over their farm for the last 24(approx) years so please support them and of course respect the fact that we are on private property with all the responsibilities that entails. This year it should be wet and muddy, which is always lots for fun for the spectators, and much more annoying for the drivers, which is much more fun for the spectators and so on. Will the Nelson contingent sweep all before them? Will Avon Hyde prevail yet again? Will Phil Mauger
appear with the Austin Bimotore Climax? Will Brad Govern have a red mist moment? Will some of the dreaded A7’s actually get off the line? So many questions that can only be answered by being there, so get out the Skellerup Red bands and come along for what is always a brilliant day of mud sweat and too many Austins. Can’t someone build something can that beat them? David Owen, this could be your year!! Or maybe I could borrow my friend’s Kegresse.(Yes really, it lives in Methven)
Garage Raid, Sunday 27th of August, details next month. Brooklands Meeting 2nd September, Levels, Classic Motor racing Club, contact Ron for details. Past Events: Irishman Creek Rally. A record entry of 143 cars this year, with 78 of them being Model A’s of some sort. It started in Twizel and if you were a Model A fan I suppose it was wonderful for you. For others, a bit like being at an assembly line somewhere in Detroit as hordes of them went rolling on by, all the time. It was almost a pleasure to see an Austin 7. The Saturday was rather like an ABC tour of Holland (another bloody canal) , followed by the rather destructive Ironbridge Road through to the Haldon Road etc. Sunday was great, culminating in an entertaining river crossing, with ample scope for getting stuck. Interestingly, most BP members got through, as did anyone with a farming background. An exception was Donald Wright , who managed to get the fast truck from Crewe stuck in the middle, something to do with the weight of the bits of railway track that W.O. called a chassis I suppose. Richard Moody, the other Bentley driver, quietly went round the long way to avoid possible humiliation. Shands Patch was a non event really, as the paddock was too slippery for any cars to get traction for the driving tests, although many made brave efforts to actually get off the starting line. And so on to the prizegiving, where James Webb was the winner, and John Chamberlain the runner up, both of these sterling young chaps being our members. I’m sure that James, with help from Jane will do a fabulous job, but Chamberlain is another matter, as deadlines and organisation are not concepts that readily come to mind when thinking of the Squire of Hadstock. However, normally reliable sources have told the editor that Courtney will keep him on task and a support group of Messers Fox, Daglish, McGuire et al will also be there to provide the moral and spiritual support that he so badly needs. I came across the reasonably rare three wheel Model A on the Sunday run. We chugged round a corner and there, at a precarious angle was a 3 wheel Model A. “Nothing to see here!” Morris Wright assured us, as owner Glenn Birnie was seen scrambling down the bank to look for the errant wheel, which has come off before, reliable sources inform me. “Would a Stones Ginger Wine help the situation?” enquired Simon Read from Dunedin, on his first Irishman event, demonstrating the concern and sympathy for which Southern Men are not normally renowned. Incidentally, the car was back on the road by the afternoon, thanks to a kind farmer and someone else who had a spare hub.
Figure 1Chairman Craig discovers the awful truth about Austins
Figure 2Quality European motoring, what a relief
Figure 3Dodgy hot-rod section, new hood bows doubling the value of the car..
Figure 4The lesser spotted wading Hawk
Figure 5first time entrant Paul Morrison praying hard
Figure 6Courtney showing father how it should be done.
Figure 7Ford fording
Figure 8 Ford for thought
Banks Peninsula Branch, VCC- Night Run; 17.6.2017 An eager but nervous group gathered in the car park to the east of Barrington Mall at 7:30 pm; eager, because we do this only once a year; nervous, because Michael and Louise Pidgeon have shown in the past that they can trap young players (and also the not-so-young). They also have the knack of achieving pitch-black conditions on the night, even when a halfmoon is expected. Our gallant leader, Chairman Craig, tested organiser Michael with a trick question, intended to elicit the whereabouts of the finishing point, but found his caddish attempt was instantly and suitably rebuffed. After an extended meet and greet session, during which we had time to assess the opposition for this most testing of events, we sallied forth into the byways of Spreydon, Sydenham, Waltham, Beckenham and beyond. “We” encompassed the usual range of Banks Peninsula vehicles, including the rarely seen Austin Seven (this was a night run remember and even when nose to nose at an intersection, the oncoming dim glow could barely be called headlights). This illuminating display of English eccentricity was emulated by two Model A Fords, sporting a cumulative candle-power or so more than the Seven, and fresh from their usual lemming-like parade in the Irishman Creek Rally two weeks before; indeed one of them, belonging to new member Vaughan Morrison, still carried the skiis strapped to the rear, which possibly did not bode well for those of us who had not been on the Piste – was it possible he knew more than we about the route ahead? The other Model A ( Team McCulla) maintained a less obvious, yet more competitive profile. A plethora of left and right turns took us through avenues, streets and lanes we had never previously traversed (I claim), one taking us into a supermarket park merely to find their opening hours (there were questions scattered through the instructions calling for care and thought, not something on which we are big) and at one point an apparent proof-reading error led to three or more cars staring at one another from various ends of a T-junction; no matter, we all headed off in different directions to track the route down a couple of streets ahead. This was certainly separating the men from the girls, so to speak, leading to a degree of mistrust between the one at the wheel and the one who has the instruction sheet to read. I won't say we shouted at one another, but things became a little terse for a while. Life settled down as we climbed up through Cashmere and headed even further 'uppards to eventually attack the Summit Road from the Sign of the Kiwi; the curves, swoops and dives were quite a joy to some and here the blackness of the night became more apparent, to become positively Stygian as we dropped from Gebbies Pass down towards Motukarara and parts beyond. The Greenpark region in daytime is known to most of us, but under the present conditions, with the competitive urge adding adrenalin, it seemed a few new and unusual roads had recently been created, several being metalled. This was definitely Model A country and at least one of them was still in front somewhere – they breed you know. We saw parts of Tai Tapu, Ladbrooks, Lincoln, Southbridge, Doyleston and Springston, not necessarily in that order, and others may have seen (or passed through but failed to see) ever so many other places; no matter we were on a roll now and the instructions just flew from the paper. The questions? No matter, we'll just make something up when we get there, and eventually we did. A Lincoln hotel we did not know existed proved to be our destination, and here Michael and Louise promptly gathered the paperwork and calculated who was smartest and vice versa. We did not wait for the Prizegiving; recent experience at Irishman's indicated it was dangerous to stand aroound and be seen – you might have to organise next year's run if recognised. We hope Vaughan enjoyed his first Branch Run; they're not all as competitive as this; daytime events like the Gymkhana and Balcairn are really quite relaxed. Well they are, aren't they? Ivor McVelo II.