CLASSIC, VINTAGE AND VETERAN MOTORING FOR 79 YEARS
No. 392 February/March 2025
New Zealand’s Foremost Historical Motoring Magazine $8.95
9 418979 000012
PASSING OF ANDREW ANDERSON – LAST REMAINING VCC FOUNDER
MARKETPLACE VEHICLES FOR SALE INCLUDING EDELBROCK SPECIAL
BEHIND THE WHEEL OF A 1965 SUNBEAM TIGER DRIVING OUR HISTORY
Wanganui hoons - what happened to old Model Ts in the late 1920s! In a family photo album I found this photo of my uncle Jim Mayes (1902-1984) at the rear, an unknown driver and the car’s owner Ira Pepperell all pretending to be gangsters. Jim, long a car painter with great skill at painting coachlines, and to my knowledge, never owned a gun. Supplied to Beaded Wheels by Ronald Mayes, Rotorua Branch.
PHOTOGRAPHS REQUIRED: Submissions of suitable prints and information are welcome. Post or email original photographs or high resolution digital files of
historical interest with any available information to: beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz or Beaded Wheels, PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140. Laserprints/photocopies are not suitable. Photos will be returned as soon as practicable.
Beaded Wheels
The official club magazine of Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (inc.).
DRIVING OUR HISTORY
To find out more about the club visit www.vc.org.nz or contact your nearest branch. VCCNZ BRANCHES A full list of branch addresses and contact details can also be found on the VCCNZ website at www.vcc.org.nz ASHBURTON PO Box 382, Ashburton 7740 ashburton@vcc.org.nz AUCKLAND PO Box 12-138, Penrose, Auckland 1642 auckland@vcc.org.nz BANKS PENINSULA C/O, 722 Waterholds Road, RD8 Christchurch 7678 bankspeninsula@vcc.org.nz BAY OF PLENTY PO Box 660, Tauranga 3144 bayofplenty@vcc.org.nz CANTERBURY PO Box 11-082, Sockburn Christchurch 8443 canterbury@vcc.org.nz CENTRAL OTAGO C/-114 Shortcut Road, Luggate, RD2, Wanaka 9382 centralotago@vcc.org.nz CENTRAL HAWKE’S BAY C/- 448 Tukituki Road, RD1, Takapau 4286 centralhawkesbay@vcc.org.nz EASTERN BAY OF PLENTY PO Box 2168, Kopeopeo Whakatane 3159 easternbayofplenty@vcc.org.nz FAR NORTH C/– PO Box 312 Kaitaia 0441 farnorth@vcc.org.nz GISBORNE PO Box 307, Gisborne 4040 gisborne@vcc.org.nz GORE PO Box 329, Gore 9740 gore@vcc.org.nz HAWKE’S BAY PO Box 3406, Napier 4142 hawkesbay@vcc.org.nz
HOROWHENUA PO Box 458, Levin 5540 horowhenua@vcc.org.nz KING COUNTRY C/- 923 Taringamotu Road, Taumarunui 3994 kingcountry@vcc.org.nz MANAWATU PO Box 385 Palmerston North 4440 manawatu@vcc.org.nz MARLBOROUGH PO Box 422, Blenheim 7240 marlborough@vcc.org.nz NELSON PO Box 3531, Richmond 7050 nelson@vcc.org.nz NORTHLAND PO Box 17, Whangarei 0140 northland@vcc.org.nz NORTH OTAGO PO Box 360, Oamaru 9444 northotago@vcc.org.nz NORTH SHORE C/- 7 Godwit Place, Lynfield Auckland 1042 northshore@vcc.org.nz OTAGO C/- 125 Forbury Road, Saint Clair, Dunedin 9012 otago@vcc.org.nz ROTORUA PO Box 2014, Rotorua 3040 rotorua@vcc.org.nz SOUTH CANTERBURY 19 Redruth St, Timaru 7910 southcanterbury@vcc.org.nz SOUTHLAND PO Box 1240, Invercargill 9840 southand@vcc.org.nz SOUTH OTAGO C/- 1931 Breakneck Rd, RD 4, Balclutha 9274 southotago@vcc.org.nz
SOUTH WAIKATO PO Box 403 Tokoroa 3420 southwaikato@vcc.org.nz TARANAKI C/- 7 Leatham Ave, Strandon, New Plymouth 4312 taranaki@vcc.org.nz TAUPO 33 AC Baths Ave, Taupo 5530 taupo@vcc.org.nz WAIKATO PO Box 924, Hamilton 3240 FAR NORTH waikato@vcc.org.nz NORTHLAND WAIMATE WELLSFORD/ NORTH SHORE 4 Harris St, Waimate 7924 WARKWORTH waimate@vcc.org.nz AUCKLAND WAIRARAPA WAITEMATA 24B Nikau Heights,Lansdowne, BAY OF PLENTY WAIKATO Masterton 5810 EASTERN BAY wairarapa@vcc.org.nz OF PLENTY ROTORUA WAITEMATA SOUTH WAIKATO C/- 8 Jean Place, Stanmore Bay, TAUPO GISBORNE KING COUNTRY Whangaparoa 0932 TARANAKI waitemata@vcc.org.nz HAWKE’S BAY WANGANUI WANGANUI CENTRAL MANAWATU PO Box 726, Whanganui 4541 HAWKE’S BAY wanganui@vcc.org.nz HOROWHENUA WELLINGTON WAIRARAPA PO Box 38418, Wellington Mail Centre, NELSON Lower Hutt 5045 WELLINGTON wellington@vcc.org.nz MARLBOROUGH WELLSFORD/WARKWORTH PO Box 547, Warkworth 0941 WEST COAST wellsfordwarkworth@vcc.org.nz WEST COAST CANTERBURY BANKS PENINSULA C/- 143 Ward Street, Cobden Greymouth 7802, ASHBURTON westcoast@vcc.org.nz SOUTH CANTERBURY WAIMATE
CENTRAL OTAGO
SOUTHLAND
GORE
NORTH OTAGO OTAGO
SOUTH OTAGO
CONTENTS Issue 392 February/March 2025
FEATURES 10 18
Sunbeam Tiger
12
12 18 First International Rally
37
Marketplace
24 28 32 50
VCC First International Rally Barry Barnes recalls the VCC rally that for some still sets the standard as one of the best International club events organised in New Zealand.
Behind The Wheel – 1965 Sunbeam Tiger Desert Truck A group of North Island mates took on the challenge of honouring the Long Range Desert Group with their restoration. 2024 Isle of Man Manx Grand Prix – Classic Races Roving reporter Stuart Francis gets to indulge his passion for two wheels at the home of the TT. Rally Snippets 32
Aucklands Annual Motorcycle Rally
34
Taihape Gumboot Rally – Wanganui Branch
Andrew Anderson We acknowledge the passing of one of our Club’s founding members.
24
Desert Truck
COVER
COLUMNS 5
From the Editor
43
Swap Meets & Rallies
6
VCC Branch Events
47
Trade Directory
7
Mailbag
48
President’s Message
8
Timelines
49
Commemorative Awards
35
Polishing the brass
49
National Office News
36
Archivist News
52
Branch News
37
Marketplace
66
Passing Lane
The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Incorporated
1963 Datsun Bluebird Boy racers eat your heart out - is this the original Japanese street car?
Soggy weather meant a smaller turnout at the Banks Peninsula Branch New Year’s day picnic but there was still plenty to be seen including this Austin Big 7. First registered in Christchurch on 19 April 1939 to Mrs Evenatt. The Austin is now owned by Canterbury member Marshall Harkerss. Photo: John McDonald
National Office
Phone 03 366 4461 (9.30am–1.30pm) Email admin@vcc.org.nz
Postal Address PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand.
Address 12 Aberdeen St, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Website: www.vcc.org.nz
DRIVING OUR HISTORY
4 Beaded Wheels
Find us on facebook Vintage Car Club of New Zealand
The Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA) is the worldwide organisation dedicated to the preservation, protection and promotion of historic vehicles and related culture. The Vintage Car Club of NZ (Inc) is a founding member of FIVA. VCC Life Member Rod Brayshaw is the New Zealand delegate to FIVA and also a member of the FIVA Technical Commission.
FROM THE
EDITOR
All Vintage Car Club of New Zealand members receive Beaded Wheels by post. In addition to this we have provided the extra benefit of having a digital copy free of charge for those who have requested it. This enables you to read the magazine when you are on the go and also allows you to save the digital issues to your computer hard drive. These saved copies can be a valuable resource should you wish to do a search for something later on. Speed of delivery is another major advantage of receiving the digital version of the magazine. We are noticing an increasing number of members not receiving their hard copy of Beaded Wheels in a timely manner – the magazine enters the New Zealand Post system in one bulk lodgement, after that the delivery time is unfortunately out of our control. We are currently investigating alternative delivery methods but for many (eg rural addresses) there is no alternative delivery system. Now that we have rolled out a number of issues of Beaded Wheels in a digital format, we are
Beaded Wheels Publisher
The Vintage Car Club of NZ Incorporated The Historic Vehicle Authority of New Zealand ISSN 0113-7506 Vol LXXVI No. 392
Typesetting and Design
RGB Design & Print Ltd, Christchurch
Editor: Kevin Clarkson Sub Editors: Judith Bain, Rosalie Brown,
Mark Dawber, John McDonald, Greg Price, Charles Rushbrook
able to evaluate how the process has been working. While the platform we use for this purpose, ISSUU, is working satisfactorily, some of our members find it is rather clunky and not particularly user friendly — but it does have one major advantage in that it is at a low cost to Beaded Wheels. The time may come when we go to another platform, giving the reader a different experience, but that will be at a greater cost. We are receiving the occasional request from a member who is getting the digital issue and wishes to no longer receive the printed magazine. We can cope with that, but the problem arises if they also want to see a reduction in their Club subscription as a consequence! Not everybody is asking for a reduction, but a few have. Providing for two levels of subscription for members, ie: one price with printed copy and the other for digital, is not catered for in the Club Constitution or By Laws so there can be no change to policy in this regard. That may be a decision for the National Executive of the Club at some point in the future. As you will see from the workings
Correspondence & Editorial Contributions Email beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz Phone 64 3 332 3531, PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140.
Advertising Enquiries
Classified and Display Advertising to: Email beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140. Phone 64 3 332 3531 Rate schedule available on request.
Back Issues Available on request to admin@vcc.org.nz
below, any reduced subs could be only very minimal anyway. The question arises about what size of a reduction we are talking about and how would that be calculated? Members pay their subscription and of that, some goes toward Beaded Wheels budget to produce, print and post the magazine. Worth thinking about that members get a high-quality publication for only a few dollars per issue. Also worth thinking about is that this is only possible because of the voluntary labour of many hours that the Beaded Wheels team put in to produce the magazine. Production costs are fixed no matter how many magazines are produced so no reduction is possible there. For the digital version the same base production costs also but in addition there is a small increase in costs to prepare Beaded Wheels for the digital format, plus the costs of using ISSUU. Printing costs are forever increasing but the fact remains that printing some 9,000 copies six times a year comes at a substantial cost. Reducing that
Subscriptions
Beaded Wheels subscribers change of address to: PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140. Phone 03 366 4461, Email admin@vcc.org.nz Annual subscription (6 issues) $52* inc GST Australian subscription (6 issues) NZ$112* Other countries (6 issues) NZ$185* Digital subscription (6 issues) NZ$39 available from issuu.com. *Payment by credit card incurs additional bank fee processing charge of 2%
number by 20%, say, would not necessarily result in a 20% reduction in printing costs. Postage costs will reduce if we are posting fewer hard copies. Of course, if we go to a different platform for the digital issue as numbers increase, then we will have increased costs for the digital version which need to be taken into account. My recommendation to members is to keep getting the hard copy, the magazine lends itself to be kept handy so that it can be browsed from time to time. The digital copy is available as an extra benefit so you can read it on the go and also to build your Beaded Wheels archive for future reference without taking up valuable space in your garage.
Kevin Clarkson Editor Beaded Wheels
Copyright Information
The contents are copyright. Articles may be reproduced complete or in part provided that acknowledgement is made to “Beaded Wheels, the magazine of The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand Incorporated” as the source. Reproduction of articles must be at least 12 months after original Beaded Wheels publication date. Beaded Wheels reserves the right to digitally store all published material for archival purposes.
CLOSING DATES FOR APRIL/MAY
Editorial Copy 26 February 2025 • Advertisements 10 March 2025
Beaded Wheels 5
HIN BE
D THE WH EE L
The Sunbeam Tiger is an enigma, it shouldn’t be as good as it is. After all it is a hybrid built from a Hillman Husky platform with a ‘cooking’ Ford Fairlane V8 shoehorned in. A recipe for disaster surely? In the 1950s and ‘60s the British motor industry was at its peak before the calamitous decline of the ‘70s. The booming American market was the golden goose for the manufacturers. While the British industry struggled to establish themselves in the breadand-butter market over there, they were well poised to exploit the surging sports car fad that began with returning troops at the end of WW II. MG was up and running with a warmed-over pre-war design (the TC) and in 1948 Jaguar astonished the sports car world with the thoroughly modern XK120. Donald Healey was struggling to establish his company with Riley engined saloons and sports cars. He entered an arrangement with Nash Motors to produce the Nash-Healey which performed well at Le Mans and the Mille Miglia. And became a success in the US market. Healey could instantly see the huge potential for an exciting sports car positioned between the MG and Jaguar. Hence the
18 Beaded Wheels
1965 SUNBEAM TIGER Words Roger White photos John McDonald, Craig Pidgeon
Celebrating 60 years of the Sunbeam Tiger creation of the Austin Healey 100. Other British manufacturers (notably Triumph) rushed to get a slice of the pie. Rootes group, not really known for sporty cars in the early ‘50s, was left out in the cold. Rootes had a mildly sporty saloon car, the Sunbeam Talbot 90, with which they competed in European rallies. They had considerable success thanks to the top line drivers employed. Stirling Moss won three Alpine Cups in this most unlikely of cars. To make the most of this success Rootes introduced a stripped down two door soft top version with a sloping back and called it the Alpine. Good car as it was, it did not crack the sports car market. Rootes knew that they needed something much better if they were to make a mark in the US market. By the mid ‘50s Rootes were planning a whole new range of medium family saloons. As part of this they employed Ken Howes, an English designer, who had had experience with the famous Raymond Loewy design studios in the US. His brief was to design a new sports car that would have international appeal utilising the soon-to-be-introduced new model range components.
Howes succeeded admirably, he came up with a smart thoroughly modern sports car, ahead in many ways compared to the rest of the British sports cars of the day. Monocoque construction (based around the immensely strong Hillman Husky floor pan, which set the wheelbase and track dimensions) wind up windows and a decent concealed hood! The styling was streamlined and the cockpit comfortable. Just the ticket for America, over 70,000 Alpines were sold there in an eightyear period. However, one thing became apparent quickly. More power was required. The 1500cc (later 1600 and 1725cc) engine even with twin carburettors and sporty cam could not provide the 100 mph + desired by the enthusiasts. Jack Brabham (who was a Rootes dealer in the UK) was familiar with American engines and initially floated the idea of a transplant for the Alpine as he was doing conversions for other manufacturers. But no suitable engine could be found at the time. Meanwhile, Ford Motor Company was looking to manufacture a ‘small’ V8 for their ‘compact’ car range. Their engineers
Beaded Wheels 19