N.Z. Veteran and Vintage Motoring Se Pt E Mbe R, I 9 6 3
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BEADED IBEELS I N.Z. VETERAN AND VINTAGE MOTORING SE PT E MBE R, I 9 6 3 o pr I .... I ~, "HORSELESS CARRIAGE" In 1893 the first succe ssful gasoline powered motorcar in the United Slates cruised down the main streets of Springfield, Ma ss., at a speed of five miles an hour! This car was made by two brothers, Charles E. and J. Frank Duryea. In 1896 Henry Ford drove his first car out of the machine shop in Detroit. Later, his system of machine-made, interchangeable parts, and assembly line production, put motorcars within the price ran ge of the man-in-the-street. By the beginning of the 20th century, 8,000 motorcars were registered in the United States. These were powered by steam, gasoline or electricity, and even then they did not look much like the original "Horseless Ca rr iage." Some of the laws passed in the early days of the motorcar make us chuckle today. For instance, one community ruled that if a horse refused to pas s a motor car the driver of the car must "take the machine apart • •• and conceal the parts in the grass." In some places motorcars were banned entirely, and angry farmers guarded their livestock with shotguns against these "contraptions of the devil." It is easy to see that early motorists were indeed brave pioneers, often running risks th at would be hard to imagine today, for they also had to contend witb the discomfort of rough roads, open driving seats and temperamental engines. Times have changed and those first motoring enthusiasts would be the first to appreciate the advances made both in car and tyre design since the exciting, stimulating days of the "Horseless Carriage." FIRESTO NE Tyres since the earliest days of motoring, have set the standard of reliability, economy and safety. Today's motorist, like his father and grandfather before him, looks to Firestone for EXTRA mileage and EXTRA reliability. Beaded Wh eels is th e voice of the Vintage Car M o vement in N ew Zea land and of the Clubs whose efforts are fostering and ever widening th e interest in this mo vement and form rallying poin ts for that ever increasing band of enthusiasts. T he fascination of age itself or revulsion from the flashy medio crity of our present day is drawing an increasing num ber of motorists back to th e individuality, solid worth, and fun ction al elegance that was demanded by a m ore discriminating genera tion and it is to th ese that we dedicate- V OL. IX, No. 35 SEPT., 1963 " BE ADED "'lIEELS" DIRECTORY TO THE V INTAGE CAR CLU B'S OFFICERS Na tiona l Executive: P resident, A. A. Anderso n , Ch ristchurch; Beaded W heels is Pu blished C lub C a pta in, L. G . Witte, -d B.) qn jJ-;JJIt\ ~ u o l iJ U1 P P ;) .L Quar terly by the tain an d " Beaded W heels"Ed itor, M oll ie A nderson, Ch ristchurch; Comm ittee, L. B. Southward (W ellington), VINT AGE CAR CLUB OF N .Z. I NC. R . Porter (Carterton), H . B. F oste r (Ch ristchurch), N. C. 20 H ACK THORN E R OAD Adams (A uck la nd ). C URISTCHURCH, 2, N EW Z EAL AND All correspondence to Club Secretary, E. A. Bailey, P .O . Box 2546, Ch ristchurch. Yearl y Subscription 10/ - post free . Northhmd Bran ch :C ha irma n, P. V. Mc C rea dy ; Secretary, Individu al co pies 2 /6 eac h. W. J. Voyce, 13 K owha i A ven ue, Kaikohe. Auckland Branch: Cha ir ma n, H . Rob inson; Secr et ary, H . D . Editor: M rs M . J. ANDER SO N . K idd, P.O. Box 3382, Auck la nd. A ssistan t Edit or: R . P ORT ER. Ba y of Pl ent y Br anch: C ha irm a n. L. Coupe; Secretary, A. A nde rsons Lin e, Car terton and D . Carneron , 97 C hurchill Ro ad, T au ranga, Hawkes Bay Br anch: C hair ma n, T. B. La wr ic; Secr eta ry, L. Copy must be typed o n one side of paper 1. D. P riest, 305a Co l tinge Road , H as tings. and sen t to the Ed itor, 20 H acktho rne Wellington Bran ch: Chairm a n, R .Ivin;Sec ret ary, J. Elworthy , R oad , C hr istchurch. 6 Pemp sey St reet, Silverstream . Wanganui Branch: Chairma n. B. A. Ta skcr: Sec retary, J. B. K irkwocd , 12 G odwin Crescen t, W a nganui. COp y DECEMBER ISSU E CLOSES M an aw atu Bran ch : C ha irma n. H . C. B. Wychcrlcy: Secretar y, N O VEM BER 15th M iss C. S. T ownshe nd, 300 R uahine Stree t. Palrnersto n Nort h. Taranaki Bran ch: Ch a irma n, K . K ireher; Secr et ar y, C. K irk by, IN THIS ISSUE P.O . Box 486, New P lymouth. Page Editoria l 1 Marlborough Branch: C ha irman: L. G ifford; Secretar y, J. D. Road Test 2 F inn ie, 114 M uller Road , Blenheim. Was It Reall y Worth It 5 Ca nterb ury Branch: C hairman . E. J. S. Walker; Secretary, " A pres rnoi le Del age " 7 J. S. P .Pal mer, 10 T orquay Place, Bry ndw r, Christchur ch. International Rally, 1963 11 South Canterbury Branch: Cha irman, 1. Sullivan; Secreta ry, Vintage and Veteran Motorcycle T. M. Wi lso n, P .O. Box 2010, Wash dykc, Notes 13 Book Review 15 North Otago Branch: Cha irma n, W. G . Sp ite; Secre tar y. Camera Review ...... 16,17 J. T. O 'Br ien, 18CR .D ., Oarn a ru. The Heavy Metal. Part 6 18 Otago Branch: Cha irma n , R .E . N. Oukley; Secretary, S. M . Photo Quiz .... 19 Joh nson , 46 M a itla nd Stre et , Dunedi n. A Bit of Motoring History 20 Guess Who ...... 21 Southland Branch: C ha ir man. E. R.E unso n; Secre tary, J. W . Auckland Notes 22 Barn es, 206 Bluff Road , In vcrcargill, Northland Notes 22 The Veteran and Vintage Car Club (Waikato Inc.): Secre B.O.P. Notes 22 ta ry, L. D eath, p.a. Bcx 924, H am ilton . Waikato Notes 23 Tarana ki N otes 24 H awkes Ba y Notes 24 Wanganui Notes 24 EDITORIAL Wellington Notes 26 Nelson Notes 26 ON TH ECOVER of this issue you will find a Canterbury Notes 26 shot fro m the Presidential archives which is South Cante rbury Notes 28 North Otago Notes 29 part icularly apt at this mom ent in the Club's Southland N otes 29 story. At the Annual Meeting just concluded G eneral N otes 29 we say " Vale" to Past-President Rob Shand, Letter to th e Editor 30 who has guided our destinies for the past ten COVER years and "Salve" to a new class of vehicles to See Edi to rial our ranks- individual exam ples of Post Vint ll )' courtcs v A. Anders on age T horoughbred s. 1 PA GE TWO SEPTEMBER. 1963 The cover shows Rob in the first Maire primary aims a nd obj ects. He took office as hau Road R ace in 1951 in his famous "work s" President in late 1953 when membership had Railton, th e light sports machine of Brooklands dwindled to a mere 36 and initiated the poli cies fam e which should be a worthy subject for the which have led us by hard work and not a Club's attention under the new category now few disappointments on the way, to our pres that Rob is a ble to devote some time to his cars ent position on the threshold of an Interna in place of the cares of office. tional Event of almost unbelievabl e scope. To many members Rob will be relati vely It is entirely to R ob that we owe the fact unknown as an active competitor, largely owing that a strong nation-wide org anisation will to the ten years he has spent on the task of greet our visitors in 1965 and not the dis building th e Club up to the position it now jointed parochiali sm that marks New Zealand occupies. ers' a pproach to almost every other sport or In the late 'forties and early 'fifti es how hobby. Only an exce ptionally clear-sighted ever he was familiar on most circuits and mind could hav e devised the con stitution that sprint courses in N.Z. and your Club wa s in unites us all from North Cape to Bluff , just the forefront of organ ising major sporting fix as onl y a tactful yet vigorous personal ap tures, culminating in our organ isation of the proach could have ensured its adoption a nd N.Z. Hill Climb Ch ampionship in 1951, at successful application. which we were host to overseas drivers as well We owe R ob a grea t deal of gratitude for as the cream of all N .Z. competitors. In spite his work over these past formative years of of his close interest in open motor sport, Rob our Club and trust that his well-earned respite wa s the first among us to see how thi s type of will allow us to see again that unmistakable event was detracting from our prime interests jaw jutting out over the bonnet of the TT.