“Dripfeed” NEWSLETTER OF THE BANKS PENINSULA BRANCH OF THE VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF New Zealand (INC) VOLUME 41, No 11 december 2018 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 13th of December. We look forward to seeing you there. Supper is provided.
From the Editor: This is the last edition of Dripfeed for 2018, and the next edition will come out in February. I‟ve continued to enjoy the role of editor of this prestigious publication and after eighteen months in the job, I continue to enjoy the contributions that I have received from members. Thank you all, please continue to contribute, and I in turn will try to provide the usual opinionated and slanderous content that hopefully helps define the character of the Banks Peninsula branch. We must be doing something right because we keep getting new members in spite of ourselves. Welcome to James Robinson, with a 62 Austin Mini Cooper, a 65 Morris Mini Cooper and a 67 Morris Mini. I suppose he kept buying newer models in the vain hope that they would actually improve. And welcome to Royce Bayer, with a Bello single seater. This attractive looking and nicely made car is based round Hillman Super Minx mechanicals, thus proving that beauty is only skin deep, but it looks as if it ought to go much faster. A valuable addition to our single seater ranks.
We have received the following letter. „Ruapuna.(Mike Pero Motorsport Park) The Classic Meeting 25/11/2018. The forecast rain did in fact continue and the well washed surface added another notch of anxiety to the drivers of our 7 car entry.Three Mistrals made up nearly half the entries.!I would like to thank my fellow members who helped replace a lost carburettor boltin the pouring rain. More importantly I would like to express my admiration of Doug McDonald. At 87 years of age he drove in the tricky conditions with the flair of the champion that he is. I was happy with my own performance but could not catch him. Doug had a spin whilst under pressure from behind and the manner he dealt with this showed his acceptance of the fact that he is truly racing. What a role model he is. I was at Teretonga for the 25th Anniversary meeting. At the evening function Doug was honoured as a founding member and accolades were plenty. With his ever supportive wife Lyn, they travel from the top of the South Island, to most of events, towing the Alfa Sports. Friend, Graeme Taylor, is a welcome spanner man. High time I believe that he is recognised in our club, all VCC and motorsport generally. He reports to still having the goal of racing at 90. NB. We need as many cars that we can on the starting grid to be a viable class at motorsport events. Paul Tayler Congratulations to George Kear jnr on his appointment to the Management Committee
For Sale Riley 9 Brooklands Replica 1932. This NZ special was built in 1983 and has been on the road since then. Matching chassis and engine no.s. I have motored it extensively over my ownership and it has proved reliable, economical and great fun. It is an old car in used condition. It cruises at 55-65 mph, is economical and able to maintain high average speeds. Top speed is about 80mph. The chassis is modified Riley Monaco. It utilises the original front with a well fabricated rear copied from the ex-Dexter Brooklands and dimensionally accurate. All original running gear utilised. Close Ratio silent third gearbox. High diff ratio – 4.6:1. Remote change of the correct pattern. The body is wooden, seems well built and looks the part. Over my ownership, I have spent a fair bit on it getting it up to scratch including: – Reconditioned head – New radiator core. – New stub axles – Wheel bearings – Front axle – all shackles and bushes renewed
– New Tonneau There are many receipts and a maintenance log. Current Rego and WOF.
Craig owned the car for about 5 years
and has motored it extensively, but to my regret, changed circumstances necessitate it’s sale. Price is $38,500 If interested or you know anyone who could be interested please contact Grant Cowie on 0061427666449 or grantc@upcreek.com.au . Coming Events: New Years Day 2019, Little River Domain. Our annual picnic is on again, from 10.30am. This started off as a Banks Peninsula event but has grown to be a significant event and destination for a number of single marque clubs. Get their early and avoid massed Cortinas, MGs and other grey porridge as they chug out to Little River at speeds up to 70kph. Last year there were 5 real vintage cars there, so it‟s about quantity not quality. But it‟s still a very enjoyable day, with ample opportunity for mocking and sneering, as well as a jazz band, ice creams, lolly scramble and barbeque food run by the Litttle River Fire Brigade. Gold coin admission.
Afternoon Tea, 20th of January, 2.30pm,Tai Tapu Hotel. This event, at the Tai Tapu Hotel, is to honour six of our members who have been VCC members for 60 years. Leon Witte, Geoff Owen, Warner Mauger, John Palmer, Ron Hassel and Ted Loversidge will be our honoured guests so please set the date aside and join us on this very special occasion. There will be presentations, and we hope that there might be some speeches from some of our six special members. This is a catered event, so can you please confirm your attendance by ringing Craig Keenan at 322 1006 by the 13th of January
Nelson Swapmeet, 9th of February. Details from atmore.towers@xtra.co.nz
Art Deco Weekend, February 14 -17 2019. The Hawkes Bay VCC are hosting this event, which will have an emphasis on Commercial vehicles, so I suppose there will be lots of Bentleys there. Details are in the notice in the latest Beaded Wheels.
Picnic Run, 24th of February. We haven‟t worked out a destination yet, but it will involve a decent drive to somewhere interesting, so put it in your diary.
Veteran and Vintage Rally, May 6th – 13th, 2019. Details to be finalised, going through the Haast. Expressions of interest to Diane Ross at randross@kinect.co.nz or phone 03 3082356.
Past Events: Rallye Monte Carlo: The tumult and the shouting died, the captains and the kings departed, to misquote Kipling, and the mighty Monte is over. This was our best Monte Carlo ever, with a record 27 entries, and with 70 happy punters sitting down to dinner at the Gaeity Hall. The Dacombe, Palmer and Taylor families were represented by three generations each and there were many parent and child teams too which is very encouraging. There were two other hugely positive aspects to note. Of the 27 cars entered, 20 were new entrants, and even more importantly, it was an Austin 7- free event. As a long term A7 owner admitted to me; “We know our limitations”. Entrants started from Wellington, Puponga, Bluff, Te Anau, Karamea, Kurow, Dunedin, Rangiora and Christchurch. The oldest car was the 1923 Fiat of Tim and Thomas Palmer, and the newest was the 1981 Mazda Cosmo of Jared Dacombe. Jared had entered his Nash Metropolitan, but at the last minute, the ice box or the freezer or something malfunctioned, so for the first time a Japanese car entered the Monte, but fortunately didn‟t make the top ten. Many of the serious competitors left at midnight and drove for 12 or 13 hours, covering 1,000+ kilometres in a bid for glory and immortality. Others had a gentle drive round Canterbury and focused on the Concours de Confort. There were five teams entered, with the previously invincible Equipe Escargot, and the Dunedin based Ecurie Ecosse teams having three members and others playing it safe with two. This year the organisers decided to be more accurate with the scoring systems, and thanks to James Palmer and his impressive IT skills, the results were precise. The point of the Monte is that a well driven vintage car ( pre 1931) with a well planned route should be able to win, and this was nearly the case, with the Morrison 1930 Model A Hotrod finishing only 1 point behind the winner, with the Keenan 1928 Sunbeam just a few points adrift in 3rd place. But the popular and well deserved winner was the 1963 Volvo Amazon of Neil Glasson and family, who left from Bluff at midnight. En route, the engine mounts gave way, which wasn‟t a surprise, given the Swedish brick has done about 500.000k, but the ever resourceful Neil managed to solve the problem and forge on to victory. A key part of the results this year were the driving test and regularity run. The ever devious Peter Croft had devised the driving test, and very few people completed it correctly This was due in no small part to what had happened at the last Monte. In that driving test, the editorial Citroen flew through the test with the fastest time, but the exhausted driver had failed to read the fine print and forgot to take his navigator, thus scoring no points. This year Peter reversed the instructions, which said that no passengers were to be carried. Most competitors did not read the fine print, remembered the last Monte and carried their crew and scored no points. The editor had read the fine print, yet again flew through the test in an impressive time and was on his way to certain victory, when, according to normally reliable witnesses, an Austin 7- owning -marshal was seen to nudge a cone into the path of the rear wheel of the speeding Citroen, thus spoiling what was certain to be a winning time. Protests have been lodged at the highest level, and the results of the judicial review should be announced soon. Only 5 competitors scored in the driving test, which is of course what Croft intended. Anita Wright in the MG TD impressed with her lateral but correct interpretation of the rules. The results of the regularity test were more uniform. In the Grand Prix d‟Equipe (the teams event) Equipe Escargot were well on their way to certain victory for the 5th time. Their members had left from Te Anau, Karamea and Wellington just to show newcomers how it ought to be done. The Haycock Mathis/Durant was motoring steadily towards Kaikoura when disaster struck in the form of two punctures. Two punctures and one spare meant that forward motion ceased until the problem was solved some hours later. The reason for these two
punctures is very clear. Only a short time before the Mini team had driven the same route. Still smarting from their defeat in the 1964 Monte because of their dodgy headlights, Equipe Escargot contends that they spread tacks on the road, thus ensuring that the mighty Mathis came to a halt. and all hopes of another French victory were over. Yet again, protests have been lodged at the highest level etc etc. The newly awarded Le Fromage Rance prize for Outstanding Stupidity went to Ecurie Ecosse from Dunedin. They thought of a great team name, They did have team stickers made They did have special team tee shirts printed. But they didn‟t read the large print, let alone the fine print and didn‟t realise that they had to get to Duvauchelles by 3.45pm. Plus, Boyd Wilkinson refused to drive his delicate Mini Cooper on shingle in case the dodgy headlights bulbs broke, and whenever he came across some cow shit on a stretch of rural road, dodged and weaved as if he was in a gymkhana. They eventually arrived at about 4.30pm looking dazed and confused. Honourable mention should be made of John Fergusson and Morris Wright, who drove their 1936 Rolls Royce 25/30 through Danseys Pass in the dark. Given that the Roller is the size of a small bungalow, and with the same handling, this was a feat of some skill, not to mention strength. Graham Taylor and crew did the most miles and all in their 1923 Overland Hotrod. They left from Luggate, drove to Haast, left at midnight, drove up the coast en route to Duvauchelles, and then the next day drove home. Impressive. The formal dinner at the Gaeity Hall was a splendid affair, made all the more so by the presence of his Serene Magnificence the Monagesque ambassador, who tore himself away from the gaming tables of Monte Carlo to be with us. His distinguished appearance was a delight in itself, and even though he showed a lamentable lack of knowledge about French automobiles, his presence helped set a sophisticated tone for the evening. The instructions mentioned that formal dress or national costume was required, and most followed this instruction, none more so than the distinguished Concours de Confort judge, Gavin Bain, resplendent in the full formal dress of Scotland. Gavin in fact wishes to be known in future as Gavin McBain, Laird of Governors Bay. Geoff Walls, normally sartorially splendid, took the national costume instruction literally and came dressed as Canadian lumberjack. Giles Gill failed to read them at all and looked as if he had just come in from the garden. Hmmm. Not surprisingly Ecurie Ecosse team members had yet again failed to read the instructions, but, as David Hunter said, “In Dunedin, jeans and a leather jacket IS formal dress”. As organisers we were very pleased with the many positive comments we received about the event, with most people feeling that it should be run every 2 or 3 years rather than the pattern of every 4 years. Some, (Ecurie Ecosse) even wanted it every year, mostly so they could make up for their monumental blunders. The organisers, Louise Russell, Michael Pidgeon, James Palmer and Michael Williams announced that, having organised 5 Montes, this was their swan song, so new organisers will be needed for the next one. The club committee is very open to the idea of every 2 or 3 years, and looks forward to eager volunteers stepping forward. The outgoing team will of course help, and my sturdy brown 18 year old manila folder, full of everything you need to know, is always available. As the chair of the organising committee, I wish to thank all the volunteers who helped out in various ways, and of course the participants who made this, for me, the most enjoyable Monte ever. The atmosphere at the Duvauchelles showgrounds was quite special and one of my most enjoyable motoring moments. Once again special thanks to James, Louise and Michael for the huge amount of time and energy they expended to make sure it all worked so well.
A rattle of Bambinas at Little River
Bribing the judge....
Dithering Dacombe in the dodgy Daimler...
Half of the winning team, displaying a general lack of polish
The more polished half of the team winners
Viking conquest, no raping and pillaging ensued. (and they won!)
His Serene Magnificence indulging (toujours) For Canterbury branch events visit: https://vcccanterbury.wixsite.com/home