PHOENIX
The Russell Ellis Delage DIS. Taken by Michael Greig in 1975 at Marshalls Road, Glen Murray
WAITEMATA BRANCH DIRECTORY
CHAIRMAN: ROBERT CHAPMAN
CLUB CAPTAIN: Awaiting appointment.
021 038 3281
SECRETARY: JACQUI GOLDINGHAM 09 44 58811
robman@orcon.net.nz
waitemata@vcc.org.nz
TREASURER: JACQUI GOLDINGHAM 09 445 8811 goldienz@orcon.net.nz
BRANCH DELEGATE: IAN GOLDINGHAM 09 445 8811 goldienz@orcon.net.nz
EDITOR: MICHAEL GREIG
SCRIBE Moveable Feast
PAST CHAIRMAN: BRENDAN LAMAIN
COMMITTEE:
0272455786 michael.john.greig@gmail.com
021 132 4557
brendanandterry@gmail.com
MAX JAMIESON, MIKE HOPE-CROSS, HAMISH ANDREWS, MARCUS LING, STEVE SHARP, RAY FERNIER, STEVE CRANCH
COMING EVENTS
Looking Forward
Decem ber 6th Saturday Rob’s Xmas Run
Novem ber 8th Saturday Fab visit to Motorcycle Collection and BBQ Lunch with Austin 7 Nobility.
15TH SaturdayMonte Carlo, Banks Peninsula Branch
2nd Sunday, Tauranga, 9am start. 29 Cliff Road, VCC Bay of Plenty
16th Sunday Waikato Swap Meet @ Karapiro Domain, Cambridge
Club Night: Still the First Tuesday of the Month, until further notice. Tuesday 4th November
N.B. See you at the RSA Room, King George V Memorial Hall, Library Lane, Albany, 7.30 pm.
Waitemata
Other Events
Shed Raid and Picnic.
SATURDAY 8th NOVEMBER
Meet at King George V Memorial Hall carpark
Library Lane, Albany
Starting at 10.15am
Revisiting the Fabulous Motorcycle Collection in Albany& visit to the Austin Shed of Ian Williams. BYO Picnic lunch (tea/coffee provided).
North West Auckland Austin Register. Events on the horizon.
Saturday 6th December.
Rob’s Mighty Pre-Xmas Run.
Start at the ‘clubrooms’ Albany at 10.30am.
Ending up at a Nice Lunch place.
Club Night: Still the First Tuesday of the Month, until further notice.
Tuesday 4th November
N.B. See you at the RSA Room, King George V Memorial Hall, Library Lane, Albany, 7.30 pm.
Art-Deco Festival 2026
Hawkes Bay VCC. Featured marque will be Rolls-Royce & Bentley.
19-22 February 2026 Lochinver.
That vintage experience that the proper Vintage Driver must partake in. The journey to the hunting lodge is an adventure in itself. Thursday 26th February/Friday 27th . *Note this flows on to Highland Fling.
Highland Fling.
Friday 27th February-Sunday 1 March 2026
Held by the South Waikato Branch, overnighting at Te Awamutu. Traditional event that members have enjoyed.
Vero International Festival of Historic Motoring
Nelson Tasman, 15-21 March 2026.
Still accepting late entries and add-ons. With a bit of organisation, one would be able to put these in a line and attend all.
https://youtu.be/fgMV5jZJzGI
Above is a link to u-tube with a few of the cars and bikes at the event.
Suitable for our chaps.
The address above is of the event! Fill in the details and e-mail it to Tony whose details are at the top of the page.
For those interested:
There is the start of the Auckland Branch Motorcycle run leaving from the North Shore Branch clubrooms at 9.30 on Saturday the 21st November. Should be an interesting lot of bikes and sidecars to be inspected.
Goodwood revival 2025
Ray Ferner
If you want to have an exceptional experience of motoring mayhem, fine people and exuberant festivities…. Goodwood is the place for you.
I had the pleasure of visiting this year for the first time along with Megan and my daughter Alice who resides in those parts. We arrived on the Saturday morning during a biblical deluge that ensured a good supply of mud in the carparks. We were a bit early due to some premium parking courtesy of Tim Hill and watched the All Blacks get destroyed by the Spring Box while we waited for the worst of the rain to clear.
The crowds weren’t deterred by the weather and so we were amongst the throng at Madgwick watching the Goodwood trophy for fledgling F1 cars both post and pre-war. Maserati, Alfa’s Riley, Fraser Nash and a bunch of ERA’s and a few others made up the field. Despite the wet track it was all on with close and fearless racing. An ERA won out in the end closely followed by the Fraser Nash “Fane” Monoposto and the Maserati 8C closed out the podium.
This was the start of a fantastic day of motor racing with track parades, tributes (Jim Clark this year) and the all-important Settrington Cup pedal car race for the next generation of racers.
While I knew that the Revival was a big event, the scale of it has to be seen to be appreciated. There were 150,000 attendees, all manner of off-track experiences, car and restoration displays, Bonhams auctions, themed music everywhere and plenty of places for “refreshments”.
The weather remained “on and off” over both Saturday and Sunday which enhanced the spectacle. The bravery to throw multi-million-dollar machines
around the track within millimeters of others was a sight to behold and not without the occasional consequence. Austin Healy’s seemed to get the worst of it with one on its roof and another on fire but no injuries were sustained.
For those in the two-wheel fraternity, the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy was exceptional. Manx Nortons and Matchless G50 made up most of the field with star studded riders such as Hillier, Harrison, McGuiness and Hutchinson in the mix. Riding these things on a fully wet track seemed close to lunacy but they all survived.
On Sunday there was a celebration for VE day with a big military parade of WWII vehicles and a street party re-enactment of the VE festivities that occurred all over Britain.
The highlight of the whole event for me was the RAC TT. Cobras, E-Types, TVR along with a few others for an hour-long tussle. The race started with a crash and was followed by another incident and a red flag. When it all got going again the rain came! Two E-Types battled on in the rain for the first two places after a superb display.
The restoration and car sales area was interspersed with all manner of stalls selling their wares. I came away with several opportunities to spend vast amounts of money on stuff I probably did not need. Fun nonetheless.
I will certainly return to Goodwood in the future and recommend it to any one even slightly interested in cars.
Notice the choppers. Below are drinking horns from Das Rhinegold.
A Terence Cuneo from 1928. Uplifted with reverence from the Bulletin of the Vintage Sports Car Club No. 184, Autumn 1984. Best caption will win an …... Send entries to the Editor.
Looking for a new custodian.
A sleeper, a keeper, suitable for a youth around town with capacity of one only passenger, pair of dance shoes and nocturnal accoutrements. 2001Toyota MR2 Spyder.
A proper convertible, genuine 80k km. 1.8 litre OHC, 4 valve head, 138 bhp. Only $7800.
You will not get a better deal. Selling due to having bought it with the sun way past the yard arm at the sailing club.
Contact at the first instance Rob at 021 038 3281
The Chairmans Report. A big thanks to Kevin Beasley, Mike Hopecross, Ian Goldingham for scrutinising the National VCC constitution and rules. At the same time Steve Cranch scrutinised and updated the branches constitution and rules. Both tasks though arduous are necessary to comply to the new incorporated Societies Act that comes into effect next year. Our Branch Constitution will be circulated to you all before our December club night and we can discuss and vote to accept or make changes to it.
Robert Chapman
Editorial Notes
Well, you may ask, what are these images are going in a newsletter of this specific type. We may relate our interest to the motors of the Veteran and Vintage period, their mechanical complexities, varieties of technical designs, performance, durability and function in two, three and four wheels.
It was a period of amazing technological and social change. Part of that is its cultural diversity marked by fashion which covers music and clothing. Clothing styles adapted to the motor vehicle to cope with the environmental changes that were experienced such as open and closed cars. Post the Great War, social changes occurred and design, music, arts, theatre and clothing reflected this.
Above pictures are an example of the ideal of the Renaissance man of the veteran and vintage period, a mixture of scientist, artist and craftsman, Mariano Fortuny. His range of skills and success in set designs, lighting systems, printing and couture has not been equalled.
From a Spanish family residing in Italy, his fame was respected on both sides of the Atlantic.
This is a discussion on an undercurrent that is part of our interest in older vehicles. In my ‘umble opinion, the cultural and social history of the vehicular interest has not been fully explored. Hence the images of high fashion, finely crafted and very expensive garments. In this same period, such names as Dior, Balmain, Chanel and Schiaparelli were the great fashion houses.
For chaps, look at the fashion icons of that period. The Prince of Wales, later, King Edward VIII, was outstanding. Film stars of the 20’s and 30’s are seen in a variety of styles. For the vintage driver, the collection of clothing from Aubrey Esson Scott, Bugatti driver (owned the Bugatti Brescia T23 that William Hearne once had), is at the Victoria and Albert Museum as an example of style of the era.
I have not mentioned the coachbuilders, and will not put down a list of the imaginative designs that were in the time. The palette of colours and images that were put on cars should be revisited by those doing restorations or new rebuilds. Big pat on the back of young Vaughan for his stylistic interpretation of the three-seat roadster.
Apart from architecture and the various painting schools, there is one that I support and that is a dance of the era. My passion as many know is Argentine Tango. It flourished in the great cities of Buenos Aires, New York, Paris, London and Moscow. I am more than pleased to introduce you to this period mystical experience.
For Sale
Yamaha SR500 1978
Second Owner, Original with agent fitted fibreglass saddle boxes. Comes with spares. Alloy wheels and discs back and front. New rings, piston and valves, braided brake hoses, new tyres. Has VIC and reg on hold. New parts still manufactured and on the shelf. Plenty of hot up kits made around the world.
Workshop manual, period road tests. Regarded as an ‘‘Old Thumper”, suitable for two up and trips around the country. Often made in to café racers. Owned the bike for 10 years and done little milage as the shed is full of other projects.
This is road version of the earlier Yamaha XT and TT which were motocross and dirt track models. Yamaha made this model (the SR) as the Norton, BSA and Matchless singles had left the American market with only two stroke single available. Looking at $6K but will haggle will local member.
Michael Greig. 027 24 55 786
80 years ago.
Don’t forget Mac’s Garage. Top advice, professional service, and well known and respected in the Vintage Austin and Riley world. Gearbox and diffs a specialty.
Ryan Mc Donald 09 443-3733, found at 4 Ashfield Road, Glenfield.
Wynyard Street Motors. / Devonport Tyres
Aaron Brown, owner/operator
1 Wynyard Street, Devonport. 09 4451357 | 021 040 6111 aaron@ambro.co.nz
WOFS- car and motorbike, sidecars
Batteries, servicing, repairs, brakes, tyres
BASIS open 6 Days 09 869 3141
Classic Auto Rubber Specialists. 7/1 Tony Street, Henderson
PHOENIX
The OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER of THE WAITEMATA BRANCH of the VINTAGE CAR CLUB OF N.Z. INC.
Richards Stanley in his Brescia Bugatti No. 2536, for sale in Oz. From the Newsletter of the Vintage Sports Car Club of Victoria
CLUB NIGHT
Tuesday 4th November
At the usual place with the usual suspects. Come on, join with us as it is your club too!