CLASSIC, VINTAGE AND VETERAN MOTORING FOR 76 YEARS
No. 376 June/July 2022
New Zealand’s Foremost Historical Motoring Magazine $7.95
SKOPE CLASSIC DRIVERS PUT THE PEDAL TO THE METAL ROAD TEST 1979 HONDA C50 CUB MARKET PLACE
9 418979 000012
FIND YOUR DREAM PROJECT
THE KETTERING CONTRIBUTION FROM ELECTRIC STARTS TO ROCK 'N ROLL
DRIVING OUR HISTORY
Possibly the bikes and riders are all lined up for a run. They are mostly Humbers and Triumphs circa 1912. Does any reader know anything more about this photo. Photo supplied by Bevars Binnie. 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.
NATIONAL OFFICE
The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.) PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140 Phone 03 366 4461 Email admin@vcc.org.nz
VCCNZ LIFE MEMBERS Andrew Anderson Roger White Norm Dewhurst Rod Brayshaw John Coomber
VCCNZ MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
PRESIDENT Diane Quarrie 06 876 4009 president@vcc.org.nz SECRETARY/ TREASURER Christopher Leith 03 358 5378 hon.sec@vcc.org.nz CLUB CAPTAIN NORTHERN REGION Kaaren Smylie 021 664 341 nicc@vcc.org.nz CLUB CAPTAIN SOUTHERN REGION Alon Mayhew 027 202 9491 sicc@vcc.org.nz
REGISTRAR Rod Brayshaw 07 549 4250 registrar@vcc.org.nz SPEED STEWARD Tony Haycock 021 662 441 speedsteward@vcc.org.nz BEADED WHEELS CHAIRMAN Kevin Clarkson 021 0270 6525 kevin@vcc.org.nz Tony Bartlett 06 867 9850
mgmt1@vcc.org.nz
George Kear 027 221 4332
mgmt2@vcc.org.nz
COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING comms@vcc.org.nz ARCHIVIST Don Muller 03 385 6850
archivist@vcc.org.nz
Murray Trounson 03 339 8830 mgmt3@vcc.org.nz
Please note this information changes annually - these details are valid until the next AGM
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 27 Showgate Ave, Riccarton Park, Christchurch 8042 bankspeninsula@vcc.org.nz BAY OF PLENTY PO Box 660, Tauranga 3140 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 3286 centralhawkesbay@vcc.org.nz EASTERN BAY OF PLENTY PO Box 2168, Kopeopeo Whakatane 3159 easternbayofplenty@vcc.org.nz
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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/- 53 Huia Street, Taumarunui 3920 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/- 21 Mornington Road, Balaclava, Dunedin 9011 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/- PO Box 39029, Egmont Village 4361 taranaki@vcc.org.nz TAUPO PO Box 907, Taupo 3351 taupo@vcc.org.nz WAIKATO PO Box 924, Hamilton 3240 waikato@vcc.org.nz WAIMATE 4 Harris St, Waimate 7924 waimate@vcc.org.nz WAIRARAPA PO Box 7, Masterton 5810 wairarapa@vcc.org.nz WAITEMATA C/- 9 Marlborough Ave, Glenfield, Auckland 0629 waitemata@vcc.org.nz WANGANUI PO Box 726, Whanganui 4540 wanganui@vcc.org.nz WELLINGTON PO Box 38-418, Petone, Wellington 5045 wellington@vcc.org.nz WELLSFORD/WARKWORTH PO Box 547, Warkworth 0941 wellsfordwarkworth@vcc.org.nz WEST COAST C/- 1999 Kumara Junction Highway, RD 2, Hokitika 7882 westcoast@vcc.org.nz
CONTENTS
Beaded Wheels Publisher
The Vintage Car Club of NZ (Inc.) The Historic Vehicle Authority of New Zealand ISSN 0113-7506 Vol LXXIII No. 376
Issue 376 June/July 2022
Editorial Committee
Kevin Clarkson (Chairman), Judith Bain, Rosalie Brown, John Coomber, Mark Dawber, Greg Price.
Material for Publication
Reports of restorations, events, road tests, historical and technical articles should be submitted to beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz. Email of text and photos is preferred, digital photographs should be high resolution eg 300dpi. Alternatively mail your contribution to PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140, typed or neatly printed, double space on one side of paper only. No payment is made to contributors. The opinions or statements expressed in letters or articles in Beaded Wheels are the author’s own views and do not necessarily express the policy or views of The Vintage Car Club of NZ (Inc).
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Correspondence & Editorial Contributions
Phone 64 3 332 3531, Fax 64 3 366 0273 PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140. Email beadedwheels@vcc.org.nz
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FEATURES 14 16 18 20 24 28 32 34 37
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Production
Design: RGB Design & Print Ltd, Christchurch Print: PMP Ltd, Christchurch.
Closing Date for August/September: Editorial Copy Advertisements
26 June 2022 10 July 2022
My Sports Car Obsession The final instalment in Roger White’s recollections of the sports cars of his life Recapturing the spirit Photographer and journalist John King digs into his back catalogue
From Electric Starts to Rock 'n' Roll The turbulent career of Charlie Kettering Behind The Wheel Peter Cooper’s 1979 Honda C50 Super Cub South Island Tour 1946 – Transcriptions from Owen Good’s youthful journey around the South Island
Rally Snippets 37 Hunua 100 (2021 Delayed) – Auckland 37 The Whale Tail Run – North Shore 38 Irish Woman’s Rally - South Waikato Grandad’s Wheels It’s taken a wee while but Peter Horgan’s family vehicle is getting ready for the road
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Captain’s Log
The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.)
41
Book Review
5
VCC Branch Events
42
Archivist News
National Office Phone 03 366 4461 Fax 03 366 0273 Email admin@vcc.org.nz
6
National Office
43
Marketplace
7
Mailbag
48
Swap Meets & Rallies
Postal Address: PO Box 2546,
9
Timelines
49
Trade Directory
11
Soapbox
51
Idle Torque
12
The Way We Were
62
Passing Lane
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 (Inc)” 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.
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Irish Woman’s Rally 2022
38
COLUMNS As We See It
Website: www.vcc.org.nz Copyright Information
32
Re-Powered Road Cars
President’s Message
New Zealand.
1938 Diamond T Texaco
1938 Diamond T Texaco Tanker Restoration
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Address: 12 Aberdeen St, Christchurch,
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The Day the Bugatti Broke Down
4
Christchurch 8140, New Zealand.
1979 Honda C50
Market Place
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COVER Enthusiastic VCCNZ drivers were hell bent on making the most of the track at the April Skope Classic held at Ruapuna Track outside Christchurch. Our cover features Canterbury Branch stalwart Colin Hey tearing down the track in his 1958 Wolseley 1500. A report appears in Banks Peninsula Branch Idle Torque for this issue see page 52. Photo John McDonald.
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. VCCNZ Registrar Rod Brayshaw is the New Zealand delegate to FIVA and also a member of the FIVA Technical Commission.
DRIVING OUR HISTORY
Well sorted 1972 Jensen-Healey in its element
MY SPORTS CAR OBSESSION Part III
Words and photos Roger White
The conclusion of Roger White’s series on his vehicle of choice.
1972 JENSEN-HEALEY The Jensen-Healey came into being at the behest of Kjell Qvale the American importer of Austin-Healey and other sports cars. He desperately needed a replacement for the ‘big Healey’. Jensen Motors also needed production work to fill the gap left by the demise of both the Sunbeam Tiger and Healey 3000 which they had built under contract The Healeys were miffed by the axing of the 3000 and the Sprite and were keen to keep their name active. They designed a thoroughly modern, unit construction, sports car. The engine chosen was the Lotus 2 litre twin cam 140 bhp unit developed for the soon-to-be-introduced Lotus Elite. The gearbox was Sunbeam Rapier and the suspension Vauxhall. Unfortunately, the British motor industry was in the throes of self-destructing. Quality problems and production delays reflected badly in the finished products. To make matters worse Colin Chapman sold the engine without warranty and was effectively using this contract to prove the design before using it in his own products. Proving my complete obsession with sports cars and in spite of enjoying the Tiger, I couldn’t keep away from Trade Me and spotted a very nicely restored 1972 Jensen-Healey at what I thought was a very reasonable price. A quick trip to Hororata with Frank Renwick confirmed my impression and I was soon driving home in it. I found that there was a big following in the United States for the Jensen-Healey and many specialist parts were readily available. As I wasn’t too happy about the handling, I imported a set of Bilstein shock absorbers. They transformed the car. The styling was not to everyone’s liking and most of my mates could not understand why I had bought it. But it was a delightful car to drive with far better performance than the MGB and TR4 and equivalent to the TR6. I fitted a Motorsport-approved roll bar to this car so that we could compete in hill climbs. Although the Healey did not have the torque of the now retired Tiger, its handling and gear ratios made hill climbing fast and enjoyable. The hood was even better than the Tiger and the cockpit comfortable.
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Quality issues gave the Jensen a bad start, but once they were cured it became a very competent sports car. Unfortunately, it was all too late and Jensen folded after just 11,000 Jensen-Healeys had been produced. So why did I sell it? I still don’t know to this day. If I could buy it back now I would. FIT FOR PURPOSE RATING
–9
10
PURCHASE COST (2010) $12,500 SUMMARY: Very underrated, good value.
VALUE
2022 $25,000
1965 AUSTIN-HEALEY 3000 MK 3 (PHASE 2) In 1964 I attended the launch of the new Austin-Healey 3000 Mk 3 at the Winter Show buildings in Wellington. There was an ice blue one on the rotating dais. It was gorgeous. I wanted one. It took 45 years to achieve that ambition. Once I had recovered my health, I decided to sell the JensenHealey and buy another restoration project, which didn’t work out, so I was back on the search again. Still scrolling Trade Me every day I came across a Healey 3000 Mk 3 in old English White, red leather upholstery, lovely condition. $55,000. Urgent cash sale required. It was gorgeous. A quick trip to Tauranga with Murray Hislop in support, a bank transfer and we were driving home. When we got to Taupo I thought I should check the oil. Not a drop on the dip stick, what the hell? We had checked the level before leaving Tauranga and could not see any obvious reason for such a dramatic consumption. We topped up and continued on checking the oil frequently. I puzzled over this for some time and then came across an article on the internet talking about excessive oil consumption on big Healeys. It suggested that excessive oil in the rocker cover due to worn rocker bushes and shaft, would cause massive consumption. The way to check was run the engine with the cover off and observe the flow from the rocker arms. If it is dribbling out – good, if it gushes
1965 SUNBEAM TIGER (2)
Austin-Healey 3000 Mk 3 (phase 2) The Handsome Beast- what more can you say?
out in a stream – problem. I fired the engine up, oil squirted everywhere, what a mess. I rushed to shut the engine down, but at least I now knew the problem. A new shaft and rocker bushes cured it. The Healey was widely admired and really looked the part, but I had been spoiled by the driving experience of the Tiger. The Healey’s engine and transmission was crude compared to the silky V8 and the Ford Toploader transmission. The cockpit was cramped and the perennial Healey problem of insufficient ground clearance under the exhaust was annoying. Author Chris Harvey described the Big Healey as ‘The Handsome Beast’ I don’t think I could argue with that. Diane continually tried to ban me from Trade Me, she claimed I was addicted. Who me? There it was, a 1965 Sunbeam Tiger, New Zealand new, restored. $55,000. The same price that I had paid for the Healey a couple of years ago. Now I had to put my money where my mouth was. Healey 3000 or Sunbeam Tiger?
FIT FOR PURPOSE RATING
VALUE (2010)
8.5 – 10 $55,000
NOW
SUMMARY: The Handsome Beast.
We rushed to Feilding to check it out, but I knew in my own mind already, that I was going to buy it even though the Healey 3000 was sitting sulkily in the garage at home. TIGER 0 was the fourth of the four New Zealand new Tigers imported by Todd Motors. This car was imported to order for a farmer in Featherston. He really wanted to buy a Jaguar E Type but couldn’t raise the extra cash. Just as well he didn’t, he would have been disappointed, Chris Amon sold his E Type after just three weeks of ownership and bought a Tiger. Chris said in an interview with Eoin Young “I bought a Tiger because it seems to me to combine a simple engine with a lot of reliable horsepower, good performance and a general lack of fussiness in a car that is pleasant looking and comfortable. I think it handles reasonably well and goes round a corner as fast as I want. It stops from high speed well with no fade.” Eoin Young says the main reason Chris sold the E Type was the almost complete lack of luggage space. The E Type didn’t meet the Amon requirements in the wet and that the Tiger was a much better all-round proposition. And Chris would know. The hard decision was made, and the Healey was sold. I was not disappointed, even the second time around we thoroughly enjoyed the Tiger for many years. In the early ‘60s Rootes Group had been struggling for many years and they were finally purchased by Chrysler Corporation. Chrysler was less than pleased that their flagship sports car had a Ford engine and promptly axed the Tiger before its time. Regrettably the time came to liquidate some assets and this very special car is now in the safe hands of Craig Pidgeon. Sixty years of sports car obsession was over, but I still have Trade Me. FIT FOR PURPOSE RATING
2022 $90,000
VALUE (2010)
9.5 – 10 $55,000
NOW
2022 $100,000
SUMMARY: An Exceptional Motorcar (Author William Carroll).
Tiger back home. Original owner John Barton with Roger (right)
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FROM ELECTRIC STARTS TO ROCK ‘N’ ROLL THE TURBULENT CAREER OF CHARLIE KETTERING Words and photos David McCarthy
The restless genius whose electrical invention all but killed off the electric car market would be sure to have been the first to cheer the irony of its rapid resurrection a century later. Charles Franklin Kettering, the man with a quote for every situation and a vision for every decade, would be just as excited as Elon Musk about an electric future if he were with us today. He was what the Americans would call an “electric guy”. But also an eclectic guy. The electric starter is now often thought of as just another step along the expanding automotive trail like automatic transmission, independent suspension or four wheel drive. It was very much more than that. The development of a practical starting system was a watershed moment in the history of the internal combustion engine. Electric cars were gaining ground in the US in the early 20th century as city life grew at an astronomical rate. The main reason was ease of use, especially the ease of not using starting handles. As many older readers will recall from their continued use on tractors and essential equipment on the many older cars which inhabited New Zealand roads until the 1960s, starting handles were potentially as dangerous as they were useful in the wrong hands. In 1910 society ladies cranking a car was out of the question and many males were wary of the danger of a solid metal object that could suddenly recoil at high speed. Deaths were not unknown,
▲ Charles F. Kettering, pictured with his first electric starter.
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▲ Kettering on the cover of Time in 1933, a landmark achievement in that era.
injuries to arms and body commonplace. One of those deaths came to a close friend of Henry Leland, of Cadillac, who had stopped to lend a hand to a stranded motorist, and Henry became a man on a mission. There were claims of battery starters from the 1890s and various other solutions, most using compressed air, were tried in the decade following. But for mainstream vehicles, the electric systems were either unreliable or too cumbersome to be practicalusually both. Electric cars started easily for an independently-minded lady of means. They were quiet and, while slower than internal combustion vehicles, because of their weight that didn’t matter for town driving. Most of the better ones could get up to 80km on a charge, fine for city work, and with no oily rags or mysterious mechanical mishaps to cause missing lunch engagements downtown. Electrics had a small market by percentage but as the styling improved an increasing number of influential people were buying them – as later happened with Tesla. They were expensive but threatening. When Leland, the pioneer of the interchangeable parts that made mass production possible, found even his clever Cadillac engineers could not produce a compact electric system he turned to Kettering and his Delco company team, a “skunk works” of that time based in Dayton, Ohio. Their solution sparked a revolution. Not just because it started the car without a handle, and worked, but because it also provided spark for the cylinders and, especially, power for the lights much as systems continued to do for decades. Kettering, originally a teacher and then a self-funded electrical engineering graduate, had joined the National Cash Register company (early 20th century) and within a short time invented the world’s first electrically operated machine. He became a motoring legend but was never exclusively into cars. He built and successfully demonstrated the first aerial selfpropelled bomb using a $40 two stroke motor with local Dayton citizen Orville Wright as adviser, but government funding to refine it was withdrawn when peace was declared in 1918. His team formulated a refrigerant to replace the effective but dangerous propane and ammonia for early refrigerators (Frigidaire was then
▲ 1912 Cadillac. The first car with a practical electric starter invented by Charles Kettering.
owned by General Motors) and its properties (cfc) brought spray cans into general use and later disrepute. He also developed the Hypotherm, a treatment for pneumonia, rheumatics and fevers by spending some hours in an electrically heated cylinder at temperatures well above normal, an advance on the traditional “Hot toddy and bed sweat” and used internationally. “No man invents something of note in the field in which he is trained” he would claim, somewhat oddly, adding “He knows too much about the obstacles. Theory should supplement the practice and not precede it.” So when he had GM assembly chiefs review their painting operation and they told Charlie with some pride they could shorten the process with new cars from about 36 days to 31 they were stunned by the response from “Boss Kett”. “Oh I was thinking more of one day” he replied. He went on to invent Dulon (known also as Duco) using a pyroloxine lacquer that could dry in hours. A walk down Fifth Avenue past a jewellery store displaying small objects with the new lacquer inspired that one. Later his Research Division introduced double filament headlights, double action shocks, high pressure lubricants, variable speed transmissions and, finally, his goal of a high compression engine in 1947. Small wonder that General Motors had bought out Delco, set Charlie up as head of engineering and later made him Vice President/Research. The Kettering starting system had been based on using the battery for short bursts to a starter motor as opposed to the extended use on earlier designs attached to the crankshaft which could flatten fully charged batteries on one trip. It took some time to trickle down from the 1912 Cadillac as still happens in design today. Most US car makers took it up within a couple of years but Henry Ford held out for seven years with the Model T. In the end
▲ Kettering’s Oldsmobile Rocket V8 in the Batmobile 1956.
▲ The Batmobile 1956.
▲ A restored 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 on display in the Netherlands. Its fame had spread far and wide.
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