FEBRUARY 2020 - Auckland Veteran & Vintage Car Club Inc
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February 2020 Page 1
FEBRUARY 2020
Page 2 February 2020
February 2020 Page 3
Index
In this issue… Page
Gymkhana 2020 15
The Silent Grey Fellow Makes a Noise! 18
2019 Christmas Pot Luck Dinner 19
2020 New Years Day Run 20
2019 Christmas Motorcycle Run & BBQ 21
The Mystery Tale of Two Daimlers 22-23
Early History of Surviving Ford Premises 24
Pukekohe Classic Motorcycle Racing 25
Club Night 25
Volunteers Required 26
Vero International Festival of Motoring 27
Vintage Muster 28
Regular Features
Chairman’s Report 4
Club Captain’s Report 5-6
Veteran Notes 6
Library Notes 7
Motorcycle Notes 8-9
Entertainment Notes 10
Commercial Notes 11
Mid Week Tourers 12
Vintage Notes 13
Secretary Notes 14
Coming Events 16-17
Spares 29
Your Committee 30
March Bulletin closing date Strictly 25 February 2020
Cover Designed by Melanie Ball
The views expressed by the correspondents in this Bulletin are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Auckland Veteran &
Vintage Car Club Inc. Any articles of interest, comments, letters to the Editor etc are welcome. All contributions are pre-
sented to and approved by the club committee prior to printing. Please forward any submissions to the Bulletin Editor.
Page 4 February 2020 Chairman’s Report December started with the Veteran section meeting that is continually getting good turnouts. If you have a Veteran or would like to know more about them, do go along and join them. Club Night was the Christmas Pot Luck dinner, which was a great night of food and company and was enjoyed by many members. Following this was the Motorcycle meeting, with a very large turnout to hear Alice Leney tell us about his 14.000 mile trip around Europe on his 1952 Vincent. The next day was the Christmas BBQ Motorcycle run and the last meet- ing for 2019 was the Vintage section, organised by Murray Firth. Again, if your passion is for Vintage vehicles, do go along and join them. 2020 started with the New Year’s day Kaiaua fish n chip run. John Stokes Veter- an meeting followed this and then the Midweek Tourers first run of the New Year. This was followed by the Motorcycle meeting, where the speaker booked let us down a few days before the meeting, so a few DVDs were shown followed by lively discussion on a variety of subjects and lots of laughs. January’s Club Night saw Mark Hall as our guest speaker and the last meeting was the Vintage section. Now, to a more serious note. Our neighbours next door have expanded their business and bought the factory on our left hand side. On Monday 20th January they opened at 8:00am and when their office lady arrived in the car park and instead of putting her foot on the brake, she put it on the throttle and shot over the retaining wall into our building. Amazingly, she wasn't hurt and the car’s air bags didn't go off. Lynda and I met member Max Colman, who does our WOF on the Clubroom buildings, at the Clubrooms to survey the damage to the build- ing. He said there is no worries over the safety of the Clubrooms and that half the wall from floor to roof from the corner window back will have to be taken down and rebuilt. He guesses it might cost around $20,000. He said that when the builder's start, it would usually take a day to take the wall down and possibly 5 days to rebuild it. That means the question of security, while the repairs are being done, but this will be sorted out by the Insurance Company and may re- quire us moving things from the main room into a more secure environment for a couple of weeks. Max and I went next door to see Gilt Edge and to tell them what Max says needs doing. So it’s now up to the Insurance companies to get things sorted out. Keep those 2, 3 and 4 wheels turning safely. Martin Spicer
February 2020 Page 5
Club Captain’s Report
This is my first report for the year. I hope you have all had a lovely festive sea-
son and if you have been away on holiday that you have had a wonderful
start to 2020.
The Veteran section has had a couple of good turnouts during the past two
months. The midweek Tourers continue to have good attendance at their
monthly runs and the run out to Port Waikato in January, by all accounts, was
thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. The Motorcycle Section had a great
final meeting to the year with Alice Leney entertaining them with his story of
touring Europe clocking up over 14000 miles. He had a great film show and a
large map detailing his journey. Thanks Alice. The following day the motor-
cyclists had a short run and ended up at our farm for the annual BBQ. Smaller
numbers this time but it was the only Sunday Martin and I had free, so we will
plan it differently this year. January’s meeting saw smaller numbers which is par
for the course at this time of the year and Martin showed a couple of short films
and then they had a general chinwag talking about all sorts.
The New Years Day Rally was another great success with 38 cars and 42 motor-
cycles leaving the Jolly Farmer start and another 30 bikes joining us at the finish.
It was only marred when after Martin and I and the family finished the day off
by going to Miranda Hot Pools and on returning to our car an hour and a half
later, finding some nasty person had broken into the car and stolen my hand-
bag, purse, Martins wallet, my iPhone and various other bits and pieces. Never
mind, can all be replaced, unlike what’s happening in Australia to some peo-
ple, let alone the animal nation there.
The Pot Luck Dinner, which was our last Branch event for 2019, was another
huge success with 70 people attending. There was lots of yummy food on offer
and the Branch had provided a whole ham for all to enjoy. Everyone went
away with a gift from Santa and lots of fun and laughter was had by all. Thanks
Santa and his Naughty Little Elf who joined us for the evening. January’s Club
Night saw 42 people come to listen to Mark Hall, who is a Trustee of a Charita-
ble Trust set up to provide a Museum in France as a permanent dedication to
the soldiers who re-took the village from German occupation, without losing
one single villagers life. The museum will honour all New Zealand dead from
WW1 and WW2 who lost their lives in France and Belgium.
I attended the second Vintage Section meeting in January and it was pleasing
to see a diverse group of people who spoke about their vehicles and trials and
tribulations being experienced during restoration etc. Shaaran Price gave out
entry forms for the Vintage Muster, which is being held on Sunday 8th March, so
be sure to get your entries in as soon as possible. A lovely off the main road
rally has been plotted and Martin and I hope to join everyone for dinner if pos-
sible, at the RSA.
January ended with our monthly run which I had plotted, covering a lovely
Northern Waikato route taking in lots of beautiful views of the mighty Waikato
River and the Waikato countryside. 20 cars were at the start and I knew one
was coming who could not get to the start on time, so 21 vehicles in all and 42
people arrived back at our farm for a light lunch of hot, cold, sweet and sa-
voury delights.. See photo on page 4 and the results for the rally.
Page 6 February 2020
Club Captain Report Contd...
Results as follows
1st Rodger and Val Ball
2nd John & Pat Campbell
3rd Dave Allbon
Some dates for your Diary:
Club Night – Thursday 27th February
Monthly Run – Sunday 1st March
Vintage Muster – Sunday 8th March
See you out and about
Lynda Spicer
Veteran Notes
Turnout was down at the December meeting as many had attended the Vet-
eran enthusiast Richard Hadfield’s funeral. Terry Jenkins has his 1917 Dodge
registered and warranted and Dennis Lowe brought along a rare rev counter
manufactured in Germany. Dennis also has the 1903 Oldsmobile registered
and warranted. Murray Toms has apparently got his Dodge Four involved in
movie making.
January’s meeting had better attendance. Barry Robert reported that his sin-
gle cylinder Rover has been repainted blue by the new owner. Jim Boag is
considering selling his 1915 Humber. Gavin Welch is working on repairing the
differential on his 1912 Model T Ford. Alan Meredith has published a book Pio-
neer Motoring in Southland, which is a well researched publication and is of
much use to those interested in automotive history in New Zealand, something
much overlooked by academic historians, despite the fact that the automo-
bile had a major impact on twentieth century New Zealand history, considering
that the organised European Settlement of New Zealand was barely sixty years
old when the automobile arrived.
Mike Courtney has his 1909 Sizaire et Naudin registered and warranted and
Doug Hamilton is still working on the 1911 Cadillac. Grant Stott is driving again
after an eye issue. Bryan Belcher brought information on the centennial of
Packard and told a very interesting story about the Packard and apparently
half of Onehunga owning Morton sisters, whose Packard was well known about
Auckland, up to the 1970's. Dennis Lowe and George Urquhart have been
working on the wheel alignment on George’s Model T. Dennis also brought
along a Dodge Salesman’s Confidential Handbook in very good order. Kit
Maxwell has got the radiator for his 1913 Maxwell repaired and also brought
along a photo of his grandparents in a veteran motorbike and sidecar. Barry
Birchall has compiled a list of thirty plus veterans for sale throughout the coun-
try·
That's it for this month and by the time you read this, our Annual Veteran Rally
will have come and gone.
John Stokes
February 2020 Page 7
Library Notes
They say that Christmas is the season for giving and this has certainly been the
case for our Library, as we have recently been blessed with yet another very
generous donation of books, this time from member Graeme Harrison.
There were some 85 books received from Graeme’s collection and they are a
very worthwhile mixture of both car and motorcycle publications. The ‘bike’
books that have thus been added to our shelves include many wonderful pub-
lications, especially those with a racing bias. Famous riders’ stories are just part
of the collection, with the likes of Barry Briggs, Barry Sheene, Aaron Slight, Ivan
Mauger featuring, as well as other books of a more general nature, e.g. ‘The
Love of Motorcycling’ by Graham Forsdyke and ‘A Twist of the Wrist’ by Keith
Code. Members from the Motorcycle section would do well to visit the Library
and check out these additions to the motorcycle section. We wish to record
our very grateful thanks to Graeme for his very generous donation.
Another most significant addition to our collection of Rare Books has just been
made with the purchase of the recently published book, ‘Pioneer Motoring in
Southland’ by Alan Meredith. Alan, who lives in Christchurch is well known to
Veteran car owners throughout this country. Over the years he has also been
a regular visitor to our Library and is much admired not only for his encyclopae-
dia knowledge of the veteran years of motoring in NZ, but also for the work he
has done in researching and recording that motoring history, especially that of
the lower South Island. This is the second book published by Alan and the out-
come is truly another masterpiece. It is full of superb reproductions of early
photographs of cars in Southland, all supported by well researched and insight-
ful commentary of those historic times in our country’s history. If the ‘veterans’
get you going, then come into the Library and check out ‘Pioneer Motoring in
Southland’.
On another front our magazine collection is an important part of the Library
collection of historic material. Issues from days gone by such as early issues of
‘The Autocar’, ‘The Motor’ and ‘Motor Sport’ are a snap shot of their times and
a wonderful record of all aspects of motoring, especially in the UK in that case.
We also collect NZ, Australian and US magazines, and in particular, NZ Classic
Driver and NZ Classic Car Our collections of these magazines are not com-
plete, however, and we would be very grateful for any donations of the follow-
ing issues:
NZ Classic Driver, No, 36, 44, 51, 52 and 60-66. NZ Classic Car, 2013, Vols. 268,
270. If you can help with any of these magazines we would be very grateful.
Ph Chris: 021 988 684.
Chris Wood and the Library Team:—Owen Hayward, Colin Bott, Barry
Birchall, John Stokes & Barry Robert.
Page 8 February 2020 Motorcycle Notes Upon arriving at the Clubrooms for the December meeting, guest speaker and member, Alice Leney was already waiting. Alice’s 1000cc Vincent was pushed into the Clubrooms and as this motorcycle is an early 1950’s British vehicle, paper was laid under the engine just in case it leaked oil. 19 motorcycles were parked and 75 people in attendance. Visitors: Barry McNut, Rob Chapman, John Gurney, Neil & Peter Hansen, Bob Meade, Trevor Hacker and Heather Hartles. We welcomed back from his recent illness Ernie Williams very good to see you Ernie. Reports: Martin gave a short report on the Branches recent Gymnic, then Don Green presented certificates to members who had their vehicles entered in the Restoration event. Martin also spoke about the recent Club Night Pot Luck din- ner, which was a great success. Guest Speaker: Member Alice Leney lives on a Co-operative Society at Karuna Falls, which is at the top end of the Coromandel Peninsula and his work is to do with recycling and waste and he travels to many of the Pacific Islands to help sort out their waste problems. Alice owns a 1938 Norton Model 18, a 1942 WLA Harley outfit, a 1949 500cc single rigid Matchless, a 1954 ‘bitsa’ Goldstar with a ZB top end on a DB bottom and Benelli wheels and forks, a 1961 BSA Super Rock- et, a 1965 Electra Glide Panhead Harley, (all registered and warranted) and a 1952 Vincent Rapid – called ‘Melvin’, as the registration number is MEL 36. Mel- vin has never undergone a restoration, only ever been fixed and Alice has tracked down most of the previous owners. The motor was last rebuilt in 1968 and Alice has never had it completely to bits, even though he has now done 30,000 miles on it. He has been riding old British motorcycles since he was 16 and is a member of the Vincent Owner’s Club. He has ridden from top to bottom of New Zealand and on many of the metal roads in the country. In 2019 he decid- ed to take part in the Vincent International Rally which was held in Belgium and Austria and so he shipped the motorcycle to the UK. He then set off from the UK on Melvin for Europe. He showed great photos of the different venues they stayed at and the varied sightseeing trips, including the famous Hitler’s Eagles Nest on top a mountain in Austria, plus the amazing Vincent motorcycles at the Rally. After the rally he went touring, riding through Austria on fantastic roads through the mountains, across northern Italy and through Switzerland, then back to Paris to the historic race track Montlhéry for its Café Racer Festival in late June. Going down through France, he rode over the Pyrenees into Spain, then across to Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and then onto Italy. From Italy he and Melvin went back to Germany in a van for camshaft repairs, with the wonderful help of the Vincent Owners Club network and after that headed south again through Austria, around Slovenia, a bit of Hungary then back to Austria and Germany and from there it was back to the UK via Amsterdam. He then rode up to the top of Scotland and down again to Dorset in southern UK. On the trip he clocked up 14,745 miles (23,730 km), wore out 3 sets of tyres, a chain and all the brake shoes. The oversized fibreglass petrol tank was damaged when the bike fell off its stand and the tank then had a fuel leak that was fixed with a bar of soap for the rest of the trip. The kick-start lever snapped off and had to be weld- ed twice, then a UK Vincent friend removed one from his collection and lent it to
February 2020 Page 9
Motorcycle Notes Contd...
Alice via DHL from London. The worst thing to happen was a cam bearing
breaking up and removing all the broken bits with a magnet on a stick. It took
more time than fixing the broken parts, which was done by rummaging
through 20 litre paint buckets of parts his German V.O.C. friend had got from
Argentina 30 years ago, plus a bit of Loc-
tite. Alice talked for one and a half hours
and I’m sure he could have gone on for
much more and we wouldn’t have mind-
ed. Alice was thanked for coming and
telling us his and Melvin’s story.. (Take
note, if you look at the photo you will not
see any oil leaks from Melvin)
For the January meeting, numbers were
expectably down as people were still on
holiday. There were 12 motorcycles in the
carpark and 36 members in attendance.
Martin reported on the Christmas Motorcycle BBQ and the New Year’s day fish
n chip run to Kaiaua.
Peter Alderdice reported on a very good Mid Week Tourers run to Port Waikato,
with two motorcycles on the run. Peter said, and I agree with him, that the Mid
Week Tourers was originally set up many years ago by the Motorcycle Section
members who wanted an extra motorcycle ride in the week and it grew in size
when “car” members asked to go along with them. But now the motorcycle
numbers have dropped off. The Mid Week runs are on the 3rd Wednesday of
the month and alternate start from BP Drury on the Southern Motorway and
Westgate. They are well organized and go to some very good venues. Look
for the Mid Week add in “The Bulletin” to see where they are going and do go
along and join them on your motorcycles.
The guest speaker I had lined up for the meeting had to drop out, so I showed
three DVD’s.
We then had a lively discussion on a variety of subjects and a lot of laughs.
Coming up, I and a number of our members will have been down to Welling-
ton for their Bi Annual Motorcycle Rally, this year based in Featherston. Look for
full report in the next Bulletin.
Keep those 2, 3 and 4 wheels turning safely
Martin Spicer & Jack Clark
Page 10 February 2020
Entertainment Notes
At January’s Club night, we had a
presentation from Mark Hall. Mark's
career was in the Police, but with
an involvement in the Military and
served overseas with the United
Nations, which qualified him well for
the subject of his address, namely
the memorial to NZ forces at Le
Quesnoy in Northern France. This
was where NZ Forces liberated this
fortress town. Although we lost heavily, not a single civilian perished during this
action. New Zealand acted solely on it's own without any other allied forces
included. This is the only place where there will be a memorial dedicated exclu-
sively to New Zealand's involvement in World War One. Many of the streets in
this town are named after New Zealand people and places. Our own Cam-
bridge is a sister town. The memorial will use a beautiful substantial home built
for and by a former Mayor many generations ago.
The address was well received with several members remembering visiting as
part of tours, including one whose father had participated in the action. A Trust
has been formed to raise funds for this project with a goal of $15 million. I will
email the details to the membership of where donations may be sent to. The
evening was well attended.
Robin Elliott
Robinson Instrument LtdFebruary 2020 Page 11
Commercial Notes
A small group from the section enjoyed a light meal and a chance to “chew
the fat” at our home on Sunday the 19th of January. A good opportunity too,
for the ladies to socialise, something which eludes many of our women folk in a
club that is seen by many as a “Blokes” club, It’s not!! It was good to see Bryan
Belcher looking decidedly better than he has for a long time, due in no small
part to Dorothy’s constant care. There is still plenty of frustration in the Shoe-
bridge camp, as Colin prepares to remove the motor from his ’37 ½ton Chevro-
let pick up for the third time, trying to find the cause of water getting into the
sump.
The accompanying photo,
taken in 1938 and provided
by Barry Robert, shows a 1937
5 ton Chevrolet six wheeler
concrete truck in Certified
Concrete’s livery. A question
we mulled over recently was:
who was behind Certified? A
bit of research reveals that
Ted & Tony Firth, grandsons of
the Patriarch Josiah Clifton
Firth developed Firth Con-
crete Ltd., from a Pumice
washing boiler, invented by
their father E. Clifton Firth. In the beginning, concrete products in New Zealand
were manufactured by hand in small scale operations, but over the next fifty
years, the Firth Brothers took their business from a two man operation to a large
diverse business, with branches all over the country. The patriarch, Josiah Firth
arrived in New Zealand in 1856 and in 1865 established a business in Matamata
from which everything else evolved.
Keep “M” Rolling
John CampbellPage 12 February 2020 Mid Week Tourers Wenderholm would be one of the best venues in greater Auckland for a picnic and the settled weather prior and forecast should have attracted a good turn- out of Branch members to take advantage of picturesque countryside for the 42 mile run from Westgate to this seaside destination on our December run. Alas, there was just fourteen cars to arrive at the start. Perhaps it is the choked roads south of the city that is the major distraction for all except for the most hardy. Regulars Dewdrops, Firth, Driver, Howarth, Bieleski, Shoebridge and Hosking were joined by the Winterbottom siblings in mums MGB GT, Max Ja- mieson in his Delage DI and David Lane who sat on the righthand side of his Studebaker roadster with his son who was over from Australia doing the driving. There were two newcomers; first being Allan and Eleanor Kerr in their bright red E Type Jaguar and Bruce and Trish Pitcher in what looked like a newly restored 1936 Ford V8 Roadster but had hidden away was a late model 5 litre Falcon motor and transmission driving a nine inch rear axle with linear rear springs and an independent front suspension. Bruce spent four years putting together this beautiful creation. As most Branch members will be aware George Mihaljevich has been in and out of hospital. His grandson Kurt was over from Perth, so I therefore thought it appropriate for Kurt to be driver with Garry Pegler navi- gating while George and I sat in the back seat of my XJ6. Those who didn’t come, missed a great day. Jack Nazer Well, another wonderful day weather-wise and an excellent turnout for the January Mid Week Tourers. Some 36 vehicles included 2 motorcycles. Hope we did not miss welcoming any new members and it was so good to see so many old faces out again. A delightful run through Drury, Paerata, Tuakau, Onewhero and then on to Port Waikato, courtesy of Ryan Winterbottom, (who incidentally had just lost one grandfather (Derek) and the other (Norman) in hospital after a stroke. As you can imagine, the Port was a popular place but Sylvia’s Café right on the beach coped very well and people enjoyed various types of food and hot drinks for lunch. Thanks to all participants. It was lovely to see grandchildren from the Brough, Alderdice and Farr families, might have been others we missed. Don’t forget to let us know if you want to join the launch trip for lunch after our March 11th run, spare seats are rapidly being filled. A 2-hour cruise on the southern Manukau, $27-00pp, BYO lunch, tea and coffee provided, correct change please. Ryan Winterbottom & Pat Dewhurst Coming Events: Wednesday 12 February: Too late, will have been and gone by now. Wednesday 11 March: Another early in the month run, this is the only Bulletin where you will see it. Starts from the Drury Service Centre, Southern Motorway 10:00am for a 10:30am departure. A good run over, we hope, some new old roads to Waiuku. BYO lunch on a charter launch for those who have pre- booked. Which might bring us to the end of the current Mid-week Tourer’s Runs. Drive safely and enjoy the countryside. The Dewdrops & the Mid-Week Team
February 2020 Page 13
Vintage Notes
Despite the date for our second Vintage Section meeting falling between
Christmas and New Year, we had a very encouraging turnout of 25 members,
with several old cars in the carpark.
There was discussion around upcoming events, particularly our own Branch’s
Vintage Muster on the 8th of March. This year it is being plotted by Shaaran &
Alan Price using some of the interesting little rural roads north and west of the
city and is restricted to Vintage vehicles only. Also, mention was made of the
‘Vintage Vehicle Rally’ to be held in Hawkes Bay in September and Taranaki’s
Maunga Moana in late March. Both of these more distant events will have a
‘back roads route’ plotted to offer a more relaxed trip there and back to en-
courage Auckland Branch participation. It was noted that some members do
not want to do long trips and this will hopefully be catered for as our group de-
velops.
We were encouraged to start thinking about the future directions of the Club as
there is a questionnaire being prepared by our Branch Committee. Our group is
an ideal forum to discuss ideas.
Peter Alderdice placed an interesting device on the table with ‘Fuel Saver’
marked on it. It was incomplete but sure enough, someone was able to tell us
how it worked.
Also a sump oil level gauge off Wayne Robert’s Velie was handed round. A
cork float manually operating a dial on the side of the block.
The January meeting was just in time for the February Bulletin. Once again we
hit the long weekend but still had a turnout of 20. Shaaran & Alan Price brought
along the entry forms for the Vintage Muster to be run on the 8th of March. This
year it is starting after lunch and covering around 60 miles of rural roads. Any-
one wanting to use the Firth’s property in Oratia as a base prior or after the
event to shorten an otherwise long day for those living south would be wel-
come. Some cover available. We are looking at compiling a list of Vintage
members with their contact detail to facilitate easier exchange of information
and advice within the group. Norm Dewhurst raised the problem of 6 volt lead-
acid batteries so common in this era. Very expensive and short lived if the vehi-
cle is not in regular use. Neil Lucas uses sealed gel batteries which although
initially more expensive are more robust and are probably cost effective over
time. Neville Holland brought along a Tillotson carburettor to suit Wayne Rob-
erts’s Velie and John Stokes found and printed all the data on that carburettor
in the library. A very lively and informative meeting.
Murray & Penny FirthPage 14 February 2020
Secretary Notes
There is plenty happening in the next couple of months, within the Branch and
around the country.
If you are planning to go to the National Easter Rally in Levin, your entry should
be in to the organisers this month. Let me know if you need an entry form.
Please, if you have changed your email address, can you let me know to ensure
our records are up to date.
From the Committee table: there is some maintenance to do to the Charabanc
hood. Low numbers meant the Hunua ran at a small loss. We are looking for
new people to step into some of the non Committee roles.
Tracey Winterbottom
WANTED
Bulletin Editor
Our Editor Val, has been doing a wonderful job for 17 years and has indi-
cated it is time to step down. We are looking for someone to take on this
role. It is not onerous and involves collating the reports and articles sent,
preparing the draft for Committee proof reading and approval, and then
getting an electronic copy to the printer. Val is still here and prepared to
show a new volunteer the ropes. If you are interested, or just want to find
out more detail, please give Val a call to have a chat.
VIC Officer
Likewise, Michael O’Kane has been our VIC officer for many years and
needs to spend some of his time in other areas. This task involves signing
off VIC applications before they are sent to Christchurch. Again, Michael
is here to show you what is required and will still be on hand for assistance.
The role can be done by more than one person, so if this interests you,
give Michael a call for more information.February 2020 Page 15
Gymkhana—2020
GYMKHANA
29TH MARCH
1:00 p.m.
40 Hunters Road, Waitakere
(courtesy of member Mike Courtney)
open to ALL club eligible vehicles
all events based on time
you’ll need a navigator/mechanic with
the exception of single motorcycle
riders
winners announced at the end of
event
coffee cart will be on site
Looking for helpers on the day
Please phone Russel
0274 735 451Page 16 February 2020
Coming Events
February
13 Thurs Bulletin Mailing night 7:30pm
14-16 Three Rivers Rally (Gisborne Branch)
15 Sat Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm
19-23 Art Deco Festival (Hawkes Bay Branch)
22 Sat Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm
26 Wed Commercial Meeting & Charabanc Maintenance Night
Clubrooms 8:00pm
27 Thurs Club Night 8:00pm
29 Sat Swapmeet (Wellsford/Warkworth Branch)
March
1 Sun Club Run—starts Jolly Farmer Drury—BYO Picnic Lunch 10:00am
3 Tues Committee Meeting—Clubrooms 7:30pm
8 Sun Annual Vintage Muster
11 Wed Mid Week Tourers
Starts Drury Service Centre, Southern Motorway 10:00am
12 Thurs Bulletin via Website or email
14 Sat Veteran Section Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm
15 Sun Bert Cuthbertson Motorcycle Rally—Jolly Farmer Drury 12:00 noon
14-15 Mad Irish Woman Rally (South Waikato Branch)
21 Sat Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm
22 Sun Karaka Vintage Day—advised via email regarding time
25 Wed Commercial Meeting & Charabanc Maintenance Night
Clubrooms 8:00pm
26 Thurs Club Night 8:00pm
28 Sat Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm
28-29 Maunga Moana (Taranaki Branch)
29 Sun Gymkhana—40 Hunter Rd, Waitakere 1:00pm
29 Sun Vintage Venture (Waikato Branch)
31 Tues Committee Meeting (April) - Clubrooms 7:30pm
April
9 Thurs Bulletin Mailing Night 7:30pm
10-13 National Easter Rally North Island (Horowhenua Branch)
11 Sat Veteran Section Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm
15 Wed Mid Week Tourers
Starts The Warehouse Carpark, Westgate 10:00am
18 Sat Motorcycle Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm
19 Sun Swapmeet (Northland Branch)
22 Wed Commercial Meeting & Charabanc Maintenance Night
Clubrooms 8:00pm
23 Thurs Club Night 8:00pm
25 Sat Vintage Section Meeting—Clubrooms 2:30pm
Note: The clubrooms are open on the second and fourth Thursday evenings
each month from 7:30pm till 10:00pm
and every Saturday afternoon from 4:30pm till 6:30pm.February 2020 Page 17
Coming Events
Thursday 27 February
8:00 p.m.
Guest Speaker—Paul Stewart
From the Motorcycle Industry
From 7:30 p.m. sausage sizzle, coleslaw &
ice-cream will be available
Club Run
Sunday 1 March
Starts: Jolly Farmer, Drury
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Finishes: At a Museum
(BYO Picnic lunch)Page 18 February 2020 The Silent Grey Fellow Makes a Noise! I’ve been collecting parts suitable for a 1917 Harley Davidson for over 30 years and in 2011 reckoned I had enough to commence restoration and assembly. Veteran Harley Davidsons were painted Renault Grey by the factory from 1907 until 1917, when the colour changed to Drab Olive, as Harley began supplying machines for the army for use in WW1. Factory records show that the first 1917 model were indeed painted grey, so I decided mine would look resplendent in that colour. I matched a sample provided by the late Bud Grose of Christ- church. The company's quiet motors and grey paint would prompt riders to nickname Harleys the "silent grey fellows." My model 17-F is specified as 61 cubic inch F Head V twin with three speed transmission and magneto ignition and sold for US $275 ($35 cheaper than the electrical equipped Model J). Production totalled 17,707 models F and J in this year. Options available included foot and hand clutch and acetylene lighting. The H-D Motor Co minutes of 1917 confirm that H-D starts supplying the Army with motorcycles and almost half of the models manufactured go to the military to be used as message runners and for traffic duties. H-D is given the official US Government Classification of B-4, designating the industry and its products of essential need for the war effort. (The USA entered WW1 on April 6 1917). The year was also the last year of exportation of motorcycles to the Japanese army. Specifications: Engine: F-Head 45-degree V-twin Displacement: 60.33 ci (987.67cc) Bore & Stroke: 3.31 * 3.5 inch (84*89mm) Horsepower: 16@ 3000rpm Carburetion: Schebler Transmission: 3-speed (* F 5954) Primary Drive: chain Final Drive: chain Brake (rear): expanding band Ignition: Magneto Frame: steel, single downtube Suspension: front leading link spring fork Wheelbase: 59.5 inch (151cm) Weight: 325lb (147.4kg) Fuel capacity: 2.75US gal (10.4 litres) (2.29 imp gal) Oil capacity: 5 US pints (2.36 Litres) (4.15 imp pints) Tyres: 28 *3-inch clincher type Top speed: 65 mph This machine has been assembled using parts collected from a variety of swap- meets over a number of years. The flywheels and crankcases were assembled by Chris North, barrels and pistons machined by Franklin Engineering who also supplied new rings. Paul Tomlin fitted the gearbox with new bearings and Leo Fowler performed all the nickel plating. I assembled the remainder of the en- gine, painted, pin striped and assembled the bike. The restoration was complet- ed in October 2019 and was first fired up on 27 November 2019. Peter Alderdice
February 2020 Page 19
2019 Christmas Pot Luck Dinner
Thursday 19 December
Christmas Pot Luck Dinner
Santa & Elfie
Below—Santa & Elfie distributing gifts
Below—What is Santa up too!Page 20 February 2020 2020 New Years Day Run We had a great New Year’s day Kaiaua fish n chip run. Lynda and I arrived at the Jolly Farmer Drury at 10:30 am. Where there was a very large collection of vehicles and people already there. As in the past, the weather was warm and sunny. We had a pleasant traffic-free journey to Kaiaua and coming down into Kaiaua was that great view of the Firth of Thames and the Coromandel Peninsu- lar. People come over from Thames and Alice Leney came from the top of Cor- omandel on his BSA and Benelli, whilst Clive Hallam came from Waihi on his Roy- al Enfield. I counted around 70 motorcycles and 40 cars in the two car parks and along the waterfront with around 100 plus people there having their fish n chips or a picnic. Unfortunately, the hotel/pub doesn’t open till 1:00pm so they miss out on some trade. There was only one down side to the day and that was when Lynda & I and our daughter and her family went up the road to the Miranda Hot pools. We had a great time there, but when we came out we found that our car had been bro- ken into and my wallet, Lynda’s purse and phone, spare car keys and house keys were gone, including credit cards, driving licences, gold cards, club mem- bership cards. Let’s hope the year gets better. Martin and Lynda Spicer Expressions of Interest are invited for crewing on the Branch Charabanc for the 2021 Vero International Festival of Motoring event in New Plymouth. Contact John Stokes—(09) 236 4582 or 027 277 2108 or email: jcstokes96@xtra.co.nz
February 2020 Page 21
2019 Christmas Motorcycle Run & BBQ
It was a warm and sunny day, Lynda had been baking and making home
made burgers to go with the sausages for the BBQ. I and grandson Riley went
to the start at the Jolly Farmer, Drury, where there were 6 cars and 8 motorcy-
cles and around 20 people.
We had a pleasant country trip from Drury, making our way up to Bombay Vil-
lage, then travelled along that great twisty motorcycling Razorback road, then
through the ever expanding village of Pokeno and finally to our farm where
Warwick and Tris Darrow were in control of the BBQ and Brenda Green, as al-
ways, was a great help to Lynda in the kitchen. We erected 2 marquees to
keep everyone out of the sun. There was a surprise visitor, member Clive Hallam
who rode his 1962 Royal Enfield 500 from Waihi. Others on motorcycles were
Don Green Norton Commando, Brian King Matchless G80, Steve Denze Indian
740B, Eric Drabble MV Augusta, Lloyd Wilson Jawa, Alan Macey Norton Com-
mando, Peter Cooper, Loretta McGarry, Brenda Green. Alan Greenslade, Geoff
Stoner and from Kamo, Northland, Simon & Sylvia Clearwater. We spent a
pleasant afternoon eating and chatting in the sunshine. The last guest left at
5:00pm.
Martin Spicer
PAUL’S MAGNETOS
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-Page 22 February 2020 The Mystery Tale of Two Daimlers I get the odd enquiry from someone trying to identify a car in an old photo. On this occasion they were just trying to establish what year the photo was taken. I was a little silly and provided more information than required. I named the own- er of the car as Ron Moses and was told the car had been owned by Dick Endt and the car had belonged to the Governor General. I should have known bet- ter as I knew there had once been two large early vintage Daimlers in Auckland and my enquiry had come from an historian working for the Auckland Library. I had been to Dick Endt’s property in Oratia and he had told me he had owned a 1920 Daimler that had belonged to the royal family. The car had been ac- quired by Frank Mappin, who Dick said was Governor General. He said Mappin had given the vehicle to St John who had turned the vehicle into an ambu- lance. Dick then produced some excellent photos of the vehicle and told me his father-in-law had been a professional photographer. The second car I knew of had been brought into Auckland in 1919 by the Moody family after they did a tour of Europe in the vehicle. The car had been kept by the Moody family in Herne Bay until the early fifties. The 1919 Daimler was rebodied in Auckland at one stage, where it was changed from an open tourer to a sedan. James Moody purchased a Ford V8 in the mid-thirties and the Daimler was pushed into the back of his Herne Bay garage. The car was sold to a Mr R A Stevenson, a founder member of the VCC, after James Moody died, then to Ron Moses and Keith Lawrence who joined the Auckland Vintage Car Club in the mid fifties. When I looked at the photo sent by the Library you could clearly see the Vintage Car Club badge on the front, so I thought it had to be the Moody car. Barry Robert had told me Dick Endt had never been a member of the Vintage Car Club. Still not happy, I asked others to help. John Stokes told me Mappin was never the Governor General, but had given Government House in Mountain Road to the Government. Chris Wood said he remembered the car on the Haast Rally in 1965, but when we checked the old photos in the Clubrooms, we could see the car in the photo provided by the Library was not the same car as the side lights were in a different place. Still not confident I had it sorted, I spoke with Murray Firth who has lived in Oratia all his life and he said he had gone to school with Dicks Endt’s wife Annemarie. Murray said the Daimler was never owned by Dick Endt. The car had been owned by his father-in-law W R Ferwerda who Barry Robert confirmed was in the Vintage Car Club for a few years. He had joined the club in 1958 at about the time the badges were first produced. After a little bit more research, I discov- ered the car had been bought into NZ by George Henning, the Daimler agent in Auckland, for a Royal Tour in 1920. The Prince of Wales, heir to the throne, ar- rived here on the battle cruiser Renown and was in NZ travelling mainly by train for four weeks. After the tour, Sir Frank Mappin acquired the Daimler and in 1943 had the car converted into an ambulance and donated to St John. St John sold the vehicle in 1955 for two hundred pounds to Dick’s father-in-law. Keith Lawrence and Ron Moses who already owned the Moody car bought the Mappin Daimler in 1964. They could have purchased the second Daimler to get the tyres at the time as they were not available. The wheels of the Mappin car
February 2020 Page 23
The Mystery Tale of Two Daimlers Contd...
were on the Moody car when, it went to the South Island for the Haast run in
1965. Sadly, the Moody car was damaged in a garage fire in the late sixties
and has never been rebuilt. The garage in Avondale had been torched at the
time which was sad. In club circles, the Moody Daimler was always called
“HMS Hood”. Ron Moses son has taken the Mappin car to Australia. The key to
the puzzle was the position of the side lights and establishing the fact that Dick
Endt never owned the car. The photo provided by the Library was a front view
of the car, so we could not see down the sides.
James Moody was a well-known builder and one of the first to purchase a mo-
tor car in Auckland. His membership card in the AAA was number one. James
Moody had first purchased a single cylinder Oldsmobile in 1902. The car was
replaced with a 10 hp twin cylinder Darracq in 1905 and 24 hp Daimler in 1912.
A few years later that Daimler was fitted with electric lights as the gas light were
still in the garage when he died. In 1905 Moody and Leyland drove a 15 hp
Darracq with four people aboard between Auckland and Timaru, going down
via Napier and Greymouth. They intended to drive to Bluff but could not find
replacement tyres in the South Island to let them continue. They had to send
petrol and replacement clothes ahead each day as there was no space in the
car. When the cars were first registered in Auckland in 1906, his number plate
was A 3. That plate was on all his cars up until 1925 when the Government took
over motor registrations.
There are photos and magazines in the Clubrooms at Penrose that go back to
1905 which came from the Moody estate. When the family cleared out the
garage, they found a 1917 Smith Flyer in the roof space. His grand-daughter
told me many years later, in retirement James used to go around the auction
houses and that is probably where the Smith Flyer came from. The Smith Flyer is
now in a collection at Beachlands. The motor registration records in the Club
rooms tell us he did own a motorcycle in 1906.
Barry BirchallPage 24 February 2020
Early History of Surviving Ford Premises
In the early twenties the Colonial Motor Company built a new building in Fox
Street Parnell to assemble the Model T Ford in Auckland. They built the truck
bodies and assembled the Fordson tractors in the building. The building was also
used for the distribution of parts and vehicles to the dealers. Staff called it
“Paddy’s Puzzle” after the Irish builder who built the building, with all its corridors
and small spaces. In 1923 over 350 people were employed by Colonial Motor
Company in the Fox Street plant. The Colonial Motor Company used the build-
ing up to 1935, when the parent company took over the assembly and distribu-
tion in New Zealand and moved it to Petone. When the Ford Company moved
out of the building, the International Harvester moved into the building. Bruce
Madgwick tells me when he started work there the gantry cranes in the building
were still running on Model T Ford wheels. Many years later, the wheels were
recovered by John Stewart. The NZ Herald had rolls of news print stored in the
building for a while. Today the building is appropriately named “Fordall House“
and it has been converted into up market apartments. In the building in several
areas there are photos of the old Model T Ford assembly line. The building has
been altered very little and it has still got the high ceilings and the windows put
in by the old Irish builder. There are several car parks below that would have
once been full of Model T Fords.
Another old Ford building that has survived in Auckland is the office, showroom
and workshop built by the Colonial Motor Company for Carlaw and Jones in
Auckland, a Ford dealer on the corner of Glenside Crescent and Symonds
Street. The building was constructed in 1923 at the height of Model T Ford sales
in New Zealand, when one in three cars sold was a Ford. In the Ford Times at the
time they said it was one of the best car showrooms in the world. The Colonial
Motor Company took over Carlaw and Jones and had the company rebranded
as the Universal Motor Company. When the Model T Ford production stopped,
there was a long period before we saw the first Model A Ford in Auckland and it
was decided to amalgamate the business with John W Andrews and sell the
new cars out of the building in Symonds Street. The new company would be
called John W Andrews and Sons and the truck and tractor sales would be from
the old John W Andrews building on the corner of New North Road and Porter
Ave. Walking through the building today you can see it hasn’t altered much
and could still be restored. There is a safe on one floor you could park a car in
and a grand stair case that would have gone up the centre of the showroom.
Tenants still park their cars on the roof, once occupied by the Model T Fords.
Most of the tenants knew the building had been built as a Ford showroom and
had seen photos of the old showroom. I do hope the building is saved as so
much early building history in Auckland has been lost.
Barry Birchall
:Right
Symonds Street Headquarters
of John W Andrew & Sons
after the amalgamation with
Universal Motor CompanyFebruary 2020 Page 25
Pukekohe Classic Motorcycle Racing
What a great weekend was had
at Pukekohe Park Raceway re-
cently. Lynda and I took grand-
son Riley with us. Both days were
hot and sunny with very large
crowds in attendance. Each day
saw around 12 members' motor-
cycles displayed on our stand.
On display were 2 modern Tri-
umph Thruxton's, 1929 BSA Sloper,
1960 Triumph T120, 1960 BSA
Golden Flash, 1957 BSA Bantam, 1961 BSA Rocket, 1952 Vincent 1000, 1956
Matchless G9, 1990 Honda 750 VFR, 1939 BSA 250, 1958 Triumph T100, Royal En-
field Bullet, 1974 Triumph Trident. Also, there were demonstrations of 2 of the
famous 1000 Brittens ridden by Andrew Stroud, Chris Haldane and Steven
Briggs. There were around 200 entries, with around 15 racing sidecars and also
recent speakers at our November Motorcycle meeting Ben and Rob Creemers
riding their Brough Superior. There were race motorcycles from the 1930's up to
the 1990's. There was a brilliant flying demonstration of 2 great WW2 fighters,
namely Spitfire and Kittyhawk, along with a number of stunt riders doing tricks,
wheelies and burnouts. Other motorcycle club stands at Pukekohe were: BSA,
Norton, Velocette and Italian. Lynda and I spent a lot of time chatting with
members and old friends. So ended another great Classic Racing Register
race meeting, looking forward to the next meeting.
Martin Spicer
CLUB NIGHT
Thursday 27 February
8:00 p.m.
Paul Stewart
Speaking on the Motorcycle Industry.
From 7:30 p.m. sausage sizzle, coleslaw &
ice-cream will be availablePage 26 February 2020
Volunteers Required
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—February 2020 Page 27
Vero International Festival of Motoring
January 17 to 22, 2021
Check out the Website or Facebook page.
www.historicmotoring.co.nz
For a week in January 2021, New Plymouth City and the Taranaki district is
going to be the place to be for any lover of old cars, trucks or motorcycles.
Our team has put together a fantastic event to suit all types of vehicles from
the 19th century up to 1990. Our festival village is the base for the week and
will have a range of great quality food, drink and entertainment and the
roads are made for motoring. The world famous Festival of Lights is taking
place at Pukekura Park, which is right alongside the festival village and coin-
cides with the festival.
All we need now is you – our entrants, the people who have been the sole
reason for us putting the festival together. So mark the dates on your calen-
dar 17th-21st Jan 2021, and register your interest to receive emails and stay
updated with event planning. Now is the time to get together with your mo-
toring friends to plan your journey to and from Taranaki – be it from elsewhere
in New Zealand, or anywhere in the world. Head out to your workshop now
and get that “almost there” project back on the road by 2021 and we can’t
wait to meet you in Taranaki!Page 28 February 2020
Vintage Muster
—February 2020 Page 29
Spares
Spares..Spares..Spares
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Open only the second and fourth Thursday evening from
7:30 p.m. till 10:00 p.m.
Saturday afternoon from 4:30 p.m. till
6:30 p.m.
New parts coming in regularly!
If you need it, take a look around
or ask,
you may be surprised!
-Page 30 February 2020
Your Committee
Chairman/Motorcycle Rep/Delegate
Martin Spicer (Lynda) Email: spicerclan2017@gmail.com Ph: (09) 233 6382
or 0274 454 593
Vice Chairman/Clubrooms Booking/Name Badges
Don Green (Brenda) Email: greend@slingshot.co.nz Ph: 266 8836
or 021 073 2642
Secretary/Privacy Officer:
Tracey Winterbottom Email: vintagesunbeam@hotmail.co.nz
(Stephen) Ph: (09) 232 0246
or 021 732 209
Treasurer:
Ian Hubbard (Lesley) Email: ian@fhp.co.nz Ph: 575 8236
or 0274 426 748
Club Captain:
Lynda Spicer (Martin) Email: spicerclan2017@gmail.com Ph: (09) 233 6382
or 021 454 593
Committee Members:
Warwick Darrow (Trisha) Building Maintenance
Email: waktrish@gmail.com Ph: 520 2882 or 021 203 4562
Robin Elliott Entertainment Officer/Spares
Email: robaleen@actrix.co.nz Ph: 0274 922 188
Alan Price (Shaaran) Building Maintenance
Email: birdwoodprices@gmail.com Ph: 833 8575
Shaaran Price (Alan) Social Convenor/New Membership Liaison Officer
Email: birdwoodprices@gmail.com Ph: 833 8575
John Stokes Veteran Rep/Spares/Trophy Steward
Email: jcstokes96a@xtra.co.nz Ph: (09) 236 4582
or 0272 772 108
Non-Committee Officers:
Librarian Bulletin Editor
Chris Wood (Diana) Val Ball (Rodger)
Ph: 524 9478 Ph: 298 6476 Email: rvball@xtra.co.nz
Beaded Wheels Reporter Commercial Rep
John Stokes John Campbell (Pat)
Continuous Membership Awards Steward Ph: 828 7850 or 0272 446 928
Glenn Morris (Marion) VIC Officer
Ph: 273 4975 or 021 136 5926 Michael O’Kane
Insurance: Ph: 813 4944
Vero Consumer Insurance Specialist 0800 505 905 or 356 4501
Agency Number: 0300126
Clubrooms Ph: 579 5625
Street Address: 39 Fairfax Ave, Penrose
Postal Address: P O Box 12 138, Penrose, Auckland 1642
Open: 2nd & 4th Thursday 7:30-10:00pm, Every Saturday 4:30-6:30 pm
Club Night: 4th Thursday of the month
Branch Email Address auckland@vcc.org.nz
Library Email Address libraryavvcc@gmail.com
Branch Website www.avvcc.org.nz
Branch Honorary Life Members: Barry Robert
Norm Dewhurst QSM
Alan RobertsFebruary 2020 Page 31
Page 32 February 2020
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