EADED IBEELS N.Z. VETERAN AND VINTAGE MOTORING

SEPTEMBER. 1962 "HORSELESS CARRIAGE"

In 1893 th e first successful g-asoline powered motorcar in th e Un it ed Sta te s cruise d down th e main st reets of Spri ng-field, Ma ss., a t a s peed of five miles an hour : This car was made by two brothel'S, Cha rles E . and J. F rank Durvea,

In 1896 Henry Ford drove his firs t car out of t he m achine sho p in D etroi t. Later, his system of machine-m ad e, interch an geable parts, and assembly lin e pro­ duction, put mo torcars within th e price ran ge of th e man-in-the-street.

By the beginning of the 20th century, 8,00 0 mot orcars we re regis tered in th e Uni ted S ta tes. These were pow ered by stea m, ga soline or elect ricity, and even th en th ey did not look mu ch like th e oriuiual "Hurseless Ca r riage."

Some of th e law s pa ssed in th e ea rly day s of the motorcar make us chuckle today. Fo r instan ce, on e community ruled th at if a hor se refused to pass a motor ­ ca r th e dri ver of t he ca r must "take th e mach ine apart ... a nd con ceal th e pa rts in the grass." In some plac es motor cars were banned entire ly, and a ngry fa rm ers gua rded the ir lives tock wit h shotguns aga ins t th ese "contraptions of th e devil."

It is eas y to see that ea rl y mo toris ts we re ind eed brave pioneers, often r un­ ning ri s ks that would be hard to imag-ine today, for th ey a lso had to co nte nd with th e discomfort of rough roads, op en driving seats and temperamen tal en gines. Times ha ve ch an ged and those first motoring enthus ias ts would be the first to appre cia te th e adv ances made both in ca r and tyre desi gn since the exc ifi ng , s ti mulating days of th e " Horscless Ca rriage."

FIRESTONE 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. Bead ed Wheels is th e voice of th e V intage Car M ove me nt in New Z ealand and of th e Clubs w hose efforts are fostering and ever wide ning the int erest in th is m ovement and form rallying points for tha t eve r increas­ ing band of enthusiasts. The fascination of age itself or revulsion from th e flashy m edio crit y of our prese nt day is d rawing an incr easing number of mo torists back to the individua lity, solid worth, and functional elegance that was demand ed by a more discriminating generation and it is to these that we d edicate- BEAR)ED WJfIEELS \TOL. VIII,No. 3 1 SEPTEMBER, 1962 " BEADED WHEELS" DIRECTORY TO THE Beaded Wheels is Published VINTAGE CAR CLUB 'S OFFICERS Quarterly by the VINTA GE CAR CLUB O F N. Z. INC. National Executive: President, R. B. Shan d, Christchurch; 20 HACKTHORNE RO AD Club Captain, L. G. J. Witt e, T eddington; Vice-Clu b CHRISTCHURCH,S.2, NE W ZEALAND . Capt ain and " Beaded Wheels" Edito r, Mollie Andcrson, Yearl y Subscription 10/ - post free. Christchur ch; Hon. Secretary, A. A. Andcrson, Christ­ church; Com mittee , L. B. Sou thward (Wellington) , R. Individu al copies 2/6 each. Porter (Carterton ), H . B. Foster (Christchurch ), N. C. Edit or: Mr s M. J. ANDERSON. Adarns (Auckland) . Assistant Editor: R.PO RTER. All correspondence to Club Secretary, E. A. Bailey, P.O. And ersons Line, Ca rterton. Box 2546, Christchurch. Copy must be typed on one side of paper Auckland Branch: Chairman, H. Robinson ; Secreta ry, G. and sent to the Editor, 20 Hackth orne Wright , 9 Maid stone Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland . Road , Christchurch. Bay of Plenty Branch: Ch airman, L. Coupe, Secretar y, Mr s -*- D. Carnerson, 97 Churchill Road , Taura nga. COpy FOR DECEMBER CLOSES Wanganui Branch:Chai rma n, B. A. Tasker; Secretary, R. NOVEMBER Hth Lee, 47 M t. View Road , Wanganui. IN THIS ISSUE Hawkes Bay Branch: Chai rma n, K. Rieper; Secretary, Mrs Page O.Kilbey, 4 Chilton Road , Napier. Editorial 1 Taranaki Branch: Chairman, N. B. Collins; Secreta ry, K. Humberette 2 Kircher, Box 504, New Plymouth. N.Z. Car to Engl and 3 Manawatu Bran ch: Chairma n, K. V. T ownshend; Secretary , Bentl ey Alpine Rally, 1962 6 D. O 'Neill, 3 lIford Place, PaJmerston North. Otago Motoring in the Early Da ys 8 Wellington Branch: Chai rman, R. I vin; Secretary, J. The H eavy Metal • 13 Elworrhy, 6 Pempsey Street, Silvcrstream, Wellington . Camera Review 16 & 17 Marlborough Bran ch: Ch airman, L. C. Gifford ; Secretary , Looking Back 18 J. D. Finnie, 114 Mu ller Road, Blenh eim. V. & V. Motorcycle Notes 21 Canterbury Bran ch : Chairman, E. J. S. Walker; Secreta ry, Vintage Car Insurance . 24 J. S. P. Palmer, 10 T orq uay Place, Bryndwr, Christ­ Northern Natter 25 church. South Canterbury Not es 26 South Canterbury Branch: Chairma n, G. W. Piddington; Nelson Section Not es 27 Secretary, B. C. Goodman, c/- Post O ffice, Washd yke, Bay Bant er . 27 Timaru, Wanganui Notes . 27 North Otago Branch: Chairma n, R. Murray: Secreta ry, J. Automobile Quarterly • 28 O 'Br ien, 18C R.D., Oamaru. Southland Notes • 28 Otago Branch: Chairma n, R. E. No Oa klcy; Secretar y, P. Canterbury Notes . • 29 M. Sanders, Agnes Street, Dun edin. Manawatu Notes . • 29 Southland Branch: Chairma n, R. Lindsay, Secreta ry, J. Looking Backwards in Motoring • 30 Barn es, 206 Bluff Road, In vercar gill. Classified Advertisements 31 The Veteran and Vintage Car Club (Waikato In c. ): Secre­ tary, Mrs J. Roberts, P.O. Box 924, Hamilton. COVER PICTURE. - 1913 8 H. P. Humbcrette, beautifully restored by EDITORIAL Wangan ui Branch Secretary, Reg Lee. (see article. ) Our thanks to the ma ny contributors who have ( By Cou rtesy Wa nga nui H eral d ) sent a deluge of mail pouring into the Editori al mail­ box and we tru st that you will bear with us if it is some time before your article or photo appears in print. Keep up the good work! 1 PAGE TWO SEPTEMBER, 1962

1913 HUMBERETTE ed and are now splined on to the axles. (By R.P. ) The all tubular chassis ( 1Y2 inch dia­ meter) is mounted on qu arter elliptic leaf Veteran Concourse winner at the Palmer­ springs at rear and a single transverse leaf s~ on North Easter Rally was Reg Lee's trim ~ p r i ng at front. The rack and pinion steering little 8hp. 1913 Humberette. Alth ough in this IS uncomf ort ably high in rat io, th e wheel tak­ instance judged solely on front axle condition, ing only three-quarters of a turn from lock this Wanganui ca r would have been well up to lock. This calls for little arm movement among the finalists had it been judged on but a dea l of bracing and concentration on a general condition. Weighing only abou t six pot-holed gravel road! The ride is sur pris­ hundredw eight and having a V-twin air-cool­ ingly good. ed motorcycle type of engine, it is classed as a cycle-ca r. Rather heavy cast iron 2-ring pistons and the inhere ntly unbalan ced 50' "V" design The Humberett e was produced by th e produ ce plent y of engine vibration, but it Humber M otor Co. Ltd. of Coventry for a pulls really well and with th e light overall brief two years only, just prior to World War weight , will slug up many good hills in top I, so it ca n be regarded as one of the more gear most satisfactorily. The top speed is rare types. Thomas Humber began with the not much over 30 and it cru ises happily manufacture of bicycles in 1867, produ ced his around 25 to give a fuel consumption of 40 first car in 1899 (a 3 hp single, water­ Y2 to the gallon. cooled job ) and mark eted man y good fam ily cars through out the Veteran and Vintage Engine lubricati on is typically early motorcycle. periods. The 1912 Humber motorcycle had a 500 cc side-valve single cylinder engine. For The round end of the cylindr ical tank the cycle-car of 1912/1 4, two of th ese 84 x protrudes through the dash and has two 90 mm cylinders were V-m ounted on a specia l ide ntical filler caps for the th ree ga llons of cra nkcase. True to early Humber tradition petrol and one qu art of oil which the tank the engine run s " backwards", but as the holds in its two com partments. The word s crankha ndle is coupled to an idler gea r be­ " PET RO L" and "OIL" are painted, in large tween the half-speed timing-gear and the whit e lett ers beside each filler- a rep roduction crankshaft, it is cra nked normally, except for of the faded origina l. There is a spring­ the fact that it is gea red-up 1:2 and takes loaded hand oil pump, drip feed sight glass, quite a heave-an advantage with HT mag. and control valve. The feed is adjusted to ignition . produce a faint blue haze in the exha ust. Anv The engine (No . 6902 ) is verticallv less and it is prone to seize. . mounted at front, cra nksha ft fore and aft, and The foot brake works a contracting band is covered with a neat one-piece bonnet with on a six inch drum behind the gea rbox. The grille front and air du cts to dir ect the air outside mounted hand brake opera tes bands on to th e cylinder head s. There is no fan, on the rear hubs. a lack which is rather a worry up hill in a The comfortable little dark green body is followin g wind on a hot da y or when driving beautifully finished in beige leather trim. The slowly in processions. adjusta ble screen is framed in polished Behind th e engine is a sma ll well-be­ mahogany and the very trim foldin g hood can haved foot-operated, leather cone clut ch and be raised in a jiffy to afford maximum 3-speed and reverse gea rbox operated by a weather protection. NIudguards are black plain qu adrant gea r lever on the right, inside and th ere are bla ck leather valances along the body. Gear cha nging is not difficult . the steps. Engine and gea rbox form one unit. All wheels had been badl y rusted so were Sliding block un iversal joint, d rive sha ft and rebu ilt using well-base rims of only one inch bevel gears transmit the dr ive to rear wheels. less diam eter. (T here will be no both er with Originally, the hubs were cottered on to a cut tyre beads) . Wheelbase is 90 inches, flat at eac h axle-end, as per bicycle pedal. tr ack 44 inches and overall length 120 inches. This had proved unsatisfactory in the past, The list price of this M odel E. Hu mberett e so during restoration , the hubs were re-work- in 1913 was £ 125. SEPTEMBER. 1962 PAGE THREE

The Humberette came into Reg Lee's hands through the Wanganui Branch. They had acquir­ ed it from Dick Moult, whose valuation at the time was to give the "heap" a kick and say, "you can have that." Moult had obtained it from H. Yoller Ltd., New Plymouth agents for Rover and VW. A farm­ er is said to have brought it in to them and they had ideas of restoring it. Blue-prints had been ob­ tained from the Humber factory but were later lost. It still had County l. registration number SD­ Hurnberette motor. The long rod standing up from the carb is the "Tick­ 76, presumably Stratford ler." It can be depressed through a fingerhole in top of the bonnet. County, but enquiries in (By Courtesy R, P, Lee) that district have failed to reveal the orig­ ling had rusted out in places but, surprisingly inal owner. the wooden frame-work was still in good The well worn engine had been dis­ order. ,'\' ell mangled guards were quite res­ mantled and stowed in the boot. Carburettor torable but there were only a few odd bits of and magneto were missing. Back axle had screen frame and hood bows. All flooring been replaced with a Ford T unit and the was rotten. The acetylene lamps had been universal joints replaced by fabric ones. There well butchered in an attempt to convert them were no tvres and all wheels were severelv to electrics. rusted, one front one collapsed, and th~ chassis was bent at that corner, possibly as Restoration has been a big job but this the result of a collision. Steering was com­ final result is a credit to this keen Wanganui pletely seized and the outer layer of the member. It is an attractive and economical column had to be cut off in sections. It was little car in which two can enjoy veteran later replaced with a new tube. Body panel- motoring in reasonable comfort.

N.Z. CAR TO ENGLAND (By R.P.) Wellington and Wanganui Branch mem­ contend with. There were still plenty of bers were invited to a farewell viewing of other problems such as badly broken cast Len Southward's fabulous 1904 Wolseley just aluminium crankcase and cracked ditto water prior to its departure as New Zealand's first tanks. The crankcase had previously been representative to run in the London - Brigh­ repaired by the metalock process but had ton. broken again more destructively. Another in good order was found at Hastings, and the A superlative restoration has been lavish­ two water tanks were welded. Then a lot of ed on this fine old veteran. Rarely has such time was spent eliminating small water leaks a thorough and painstaking job been made located with air pressure and a smear of of the entire rebuilding of a car which had soapy water. The bubbles were stopped by been reasonably complete when acquired. peening the spot with centre-punch and ham­ Fortunately there had been little corrosion to mer. PAGE FOUR SEPTE:\IBER. 1962

On checking with the Wolseley factory, tonneau body was built, all of new materials, who still have their early records , it was found and a beautiful job has been made of the that this was the actual machine which had black leather half-d iam ond pleat ed and but­ been displayed at the Paris Exposition of toned upholstery. There is no stitching and 1904. That apparently is why every metal it is a credit to the elderly craftsma n respon­ part, hidd en as well as seen, had been beauti­ sible. Body colour is blood-red with fine gold fully hand-finished and highl y polished. This "stripin g" . Gu ards are bla ck with a wide enco uraged Len to give the car the " full red stripe and fine gold linin g. The half­ treatment". O ver th e past six months or so round br ass beading at body top edges was it has been completely dismantled, every part sha ped from strips of sheet brass and filled and bearing checked, and an ything showing with solder with small nails in-set. Plain the slightest sign of wear was re-worked or brown lino covers front floor and steps, the replaced. Double row ball races were re­ latter edged with brass. placed in man y cases with especially made Rear floor is almost too beautiful to step roller races. Several new gears and numerou s on. It is covered with dark red lino having other items were mad e. All polished parts a fine spotted design in a light red shad e. were re-polished and have been left unpainted Lower part of the doors are lined inside with in authentic Exhibition style, but one imagines the same material. T he spotted design , a this will entail a lot of maintenance and it is copy of the worn original, was produced by doubtful wheth er the car would have been the silk-screen printing process. Paintwork origina lly placed on th e road in this slightly is also a credit to the cra ftsma n responsible. nak ed and vulnerable condition. T he bright It was han d-brushed with Dulux (three coa ts steel parts are :-- hubs, stub axles, tie rod, of colour), rubbed down, and finished with dr ag link, dash brackets, gear and brake two hand-brushed coats of Dulux clear. T here levers and qu adrants (very impressive these), is no denying that this method gives a finish foot pedals, cha in adjusters, door handles, side different from that of a plain lacquer job. lamp br ackets, and every part of engine an d T here is a lovely sheen and a " depth" to the transmission inside and out. colour. T he awkw ardly shaped little side A faithful replica of [he -l-seat open doors click shut most satisfactorily and the

Th e Southward machine prior to its departure for Gr eat Britain and the London· Brighton. Best of Luck Len! (By Court esy Rov Southward . SEPTEMBER, 1962 PAGE FIVE locker doors below both front and rear seats eac h have a roller running in the slots.( With are also a nice fit. lid off the box it is most intriguing to see the The Wolseley had been partly restored, gea rs dodge this way and that as th e lever previously, by Dunedin member Darcy Read, is moved ). From either side of th e differen­ and it was after the repaired cra nkcase had tial, roller chains dri ve the rear wheels. Rear brok en aga in that he had agreed to let Len hub drums carry internal and external brakes. have it. It has a twin cylinde r engine of 4 x The wooden wheels are shod with 815 x 105 4 inches bore and stro ke, mounted horizon­ bead- edge tyres. Mounted crosswise behind tally under the front floor, cra nksha ft across the gea r-box-diff unit is a huge cylindrical the fram e, cylinde rs side by side, heads to the muffl er (about 30 inches long by 12 inches front and accessible via the bonnet which diameter ) which produces a very nice soft hinges up like that of a mod ern car to reveal and mellow exhaust not e from the evenlv a gleaming array of polished steel, copper, firing two cylinde rs. The crankshaft ha~ brass and aluminium. En gine number is 9 10. only a single throw so the two pistons move in The radiator is a unique Wolseley feature unison to give evenly spa ced firing but a total consisting of a single bank of large diameter lack of mechanical balance inspit e of a very giIled tubes, lying horizontally and forming heavy counterweight between the two big­ the sides and front of th e engine compart­ ends. In fact this counterweight mak es itself ment. Each tube is a separate unit coupled quite evident by rockin g the ; hole car gently by large brass union nuts to the two vertical up and down on its springs when the beauti­ wat er tanks at either side of th e dash. A fully quiet engine is ticking over. Although system of internal baffles in the tanks ensure th e cylinders lie horizontally, valve stems are that water circulates through each tube in verti cal, the inlets, above, being automatic, turn. and the exha usts, below, operated by long Water ca n be added from either side of rocker-arms proje ctin g forward from the the car as each tank has a filler ca p. The cap cra nkcase, below the cylinders . Ex ha ust in th e middle lead s to the copper fuel tank valve springs are unique, being of flat m ulti­ mounted above the engine on th e front of leaf type attac hed by min iature shac kles to the one-piece polished ~na hoga ny dash. the stem ends. The large aluminium car­ The long , detachable, crank handle which burett or is a single-jet, float-feed, type with is stored under the front seat, is insert ed on piston-valve throttle and adjustable air in­ the left side of th e car and turned clockwise take. Ign ition is by battery, LT timer and in th e normal way. It is obvious therefore twin trembler coils. The coils are housed that the engine rotates contrary to the road on th e right of the dash facing th e driver in wheels inspit e of there being chain dri ves. a neat mahogany box with brass switch on The gearbox effects th e change of direction, front. Centrally on th e da sh is th e fuel gauge there being no direct driv e. Each speed is a vertical glass tube protected by a slotted through gears, and top is extremely high in brass housing. Main fuel tap is at lower rati o ab out three to one . end. The whole of the left side of the dash A typically large and heavy flywheel is tak en IIp with the brass oil tank and its ca rries th e leather faced cone clutch, and a impressive array of eight drip feed regulators long, exposed, silent-chain transmits the drive and glass "sights" . back, on th e right side, to the change-speed The steering wheel is rath er tin y but and differential gear box mounted amidships. looks nice with its deeply dished brass spokes The changing mechanism for the four-speeds and dark maho gany rim. Brass column car­ and reverse box is on ingenious affair. The ries a bulb horn, sma ll spa rk and throttle lower end of the side-mo unted qu adrant type levers, and is braced to the dash with a grace ­ gear lever has a toothed qu adrant engaging fully shaped brass bracket. a sma ll spur pini on on the end of a shaft The two piano type foot pedals look in­ leading in to the gearbox. M ovement of the nocentl y conventiona l, but Len has not yet gea r-lever revolves this sha ft attached to a decided whether he should driv e cross-legged, four inch diameter drum inside the box. The or merely concentrate carefully on the fact drum has several involved ca m slots milled th at the clut ch is on th e RIGHT and brake on its surface. The vari ous sliding gear forks on LEFT. PAGE SIX SEPTEMBER, 1962

Lamp equipment is particularl y pleasing. was scarcely necessary and would have to Small brass P. & H. side and tail oil lamps wait until after its arrival in Engl and. are a perfectly matched set. Lu cas Autolite For shipment it was mounted with axles self-gener ator carbide head lamps with mag­ up on blocks so that wheels carried no weight, nifying lens in the centre of the glass, are a and was then crated. Its own special trans­ magnificent pair, just right as a final tou ch porter trail er was partly dismantled and ship ­ of Veteran elegance. (T hey are all in work­ ped sepa rately. T his latter nearl y slipped off ing ord er, too ). By some "gentle persuasion" the slings when being hoised on board, but 11 umb er plates 21,904 were secured. the precious car itself was handled with the Wh en we saw this lovely machine, the utmost care. The car left N.Z. mid June, final driv e chains had not been fitted , so al­ Mr and Mrs Southward travelling by air via though treated to a cra nking-up so that we U.S.A. After meeting up with the Wolseley could appreciate the quietness of the engine, again, they will take it across The Ch annel we were unable to have a drive in it. and trailer it to North Bavaria, in Germany, Later, with cha ins fitted, Len tried it on where it is ent ered for a big two da y Veteran the road . He was rather disappointed at Car Rall y at Badkissengen at the end of Sep­ first. En gine revs were severely limited and tember. there was a noise like loose nu ts in the com­ bustion chambers. He thought of those two The wide interest this project had arous­ horrible big nuts on each piston crown-they ed among Club members was shown by the hold the bosses for the gudgeon pins. How­ large attenda nce at the far ewell party. Wel­ ever, they were still OK, so the automatic in­ 1ington Branch turned up in full force and lets were suspected and heavier springs fitted . there were also a number from Wanganui This did the trick. Clatte r was eliminated and Wairar apa. and performance greatly improved. It was V. C. C. of N.Z. will be proud to be then easy to change up th rough the gears to represented by this fine Veteran at the Lon­ that high rati o top when the car ran along don - Brighton on November 4th, and all delightfully with the engine just going " phat­ members will wish Len and Vera the very phut-ph at-phut". It had not been possible best of luck with the weather. We will be to do any real test driv ing before shipment, looking forward to hearing something of their but in view of the ca rdul restoration, such experIences. BENTLEY ALP/NE RALLY - /962 falling snow, let's look at the line up. T aking On Saturday, 11th August 1962, a gro up age before beauty we have Ron H asell's 1923 of Bent ley enthusiasts set out on what was to 3 Litre tourer (Chassis No. 260) ; Geoff prove an exciting, successful one-day Alpine Ow en's 1926 ) 3 Litre T ourer (Chassis No. Rally. Organised by Bent ley Drivers Club 1215 ) ; Don O ddie's 1927 4Y2 Litre T ourer member Dave Bowman , who is at present res­ (C hassis No. 3008) ; George Wright 's 1929 toring a 1925 3 Lit re, the rally undertaken 4Y2 Litre Roadster (Chassis No. 3288 ) and in the heart of Winter, took the cars through Andy And erson' s 1929 4 )12 Litre Park Ward some of the most rugged, spectac ular and Saloon (Chassis No . 3559. British racing beautiful country th at could be found in the green was the predomin ant colour but Don world . But more about that later. There Oddie's Black 4 )12 Van/den Plas had eye was nothing competitive in the rally, just a appeal. T o complete the picture we have well planned opportunity for people betrothed Edgar Ridgen's sleek R type 1953 ( H and to Bentleys to enjoy the type of motoring that cha nge, but this was the year Bentl ey first only Bentl eys can provide. offered optional automatic ) and Archie The meeting point was a H otel at Shef­ Scott's beautiful 1956 Automatic S-type . This field, a sma ll country town some 36 miles from was the gro up small in number, but big in Christchurch. The sta rting time 8.30 a.m. spirit, that was farewelled by a small group Apart from the snow, sleet, rain and bitterly of frozen sympathisers. cold wind, it was perfect Vintage motoring The 380 mile rout e took the cars through weather. But before we leave in a flurry of the majestic Southern Alps of the South SEPTEMBER, 1962 PAGE SEVEN

Geoff Owen cruising down into the sun from Arthur's Pass. ( By Courtesy W . Br y n ly- Ke it h Ltd .) Island, via two mountain passes exceeding trouble for the rest of the day. At various 3,000 feet. One hundred miles of the road altitudes on the pass there were frozen fingers for want of a better word is shingle. Part fitting cha ins, or mud-grip tyres. A small is so ravaged by adverse weather conditions German car, in a desperat e attempt to rea ch it provides a perpetu al head ache to th e road­ the top, overtook a Bentl ey only to slip side­ ing authorities and is impossible to seal. Then ways within feet of the unprotected edge, spun on down th rough a gorge, wild, bleak but around and continued up wards. (Another beautiful, to stea dily descend beside mountain driver with a secre t to sha re with his laundry­ rivers to th e West Co ast. The return was by man ) . Geoff O weri's 3 Lit re slid 100 yards a pictu resqu e birch forest-fringed highway backwards with locked wheels, like a sequence that stea dily rises to the only remainin g pass from a M ack Sennett movie. Archie Scott 's in th e Alps, with a descent through easy, in­ heavy S type, the last ca r to th e summit, was teresting and varied country back to th e Can­ save d fu rth er embarrassment by the tim ely terbury Plains. arr ival of a road grader. With smiles of satis­ H owever, 20 minu tes after leaving Shef­ faction and an occasiona l " 1 knew she's make field the Bentleys commenced the steep ascent it" the cars moved off, but not before Edgar to th e summit of Porters Pass (3,100 feet ) in Ridgen 's R type had slid gracefully on a lightl y fallin g snow. And th ere th e fun began. treacherous section to nu dge an A40 whe re Ron H assell's 3 and Andy Anderso ri's 4Y2 it had never been nudged before. The prob­ Litre, literally charged their way to th e top. lem of Port ers Pass was behind, the weather As testimony to the amount of wheel spin had broken, the sun was out. This was Vint­ Andy's two venerable rear tyres were cut to age motorin g at its best. the ca nvas; rather disastrous, and in Andy's Past wa terfalls, rain forests, rock falls and own words " left me dan gerously short of potholes, the narrow winding road led the boots". This was to set the pattern for tyre cars through the Arthur's Pass Nationa l P ~rk . PAGEEIGHT SEPTEMBER. 1962

George W righ t's R oad ster un accou nt abl y of cake, although strewn with rocks brou ght backfiring mu st have caused some ala rm to down by recent rain, and as darkness was th e Park R an ger ever wat chful for illegal falling the party arrived at Hanmer Springs marksmen. for dinn er. 304 happy miles were behind Motoring over th e 3,020 feet Arthur's them, and only 83 remained. Pass was a joy, but un eventful. The scenery The rather tired and scruffy crews, wit h beau tiful. The Ben tleys in convoy through th at ench anting Bentley exha ust note still Kumar a received an enthusiastic reception. ringing in th eir ears, tri ed unsuccessfully to At the halfway mark , Greymouth, a look immaculate amongst th e patrons of a recepti on committe e wh ich included a police­ high class T our ist Hotel. man , a dog and a Vintage H upmobile, greet­ The cars set out ind epen dently on the ed the "courageo us crews". Lunch at the last lap hom e, but not without excitement. best H otel was well received and at 2.30 p.m. Ron H asell chewe d up a set of skew gears, on a better roa d, and in perfect condition, the and covered the last 30 miles intim at ely link­ Bentleys began th e return run. ed to Geo ff O wen's 3 Litre. The only At the M ar uia H ot M ine ral Springs mech anical failu re of th e day. Andy Ander­ George W right's 4i'2 Litre was conspicuous son in th e 4Y2 neatly and expe rtly despat ched by its absence . T hree of th e cars thundered a merin o (trust Andy to be in at th e kill ) and back 13 miles to find Geo rge and co-pilot Pat Don Oddie had to hitch a ride on a horse K eatin g pati entl y playing Boy Scouts, pat ch­ float to seek assista nce in mending his third ing a cut tyre with old leather boot ton gues. blowout before he arrived hom e to " M urn". George had kindl y lent his spare to Andy. A wonderful experience in open ai r Ea rlier Don Oddie had received two pu nc­ motoring, the 1962 Bentley Alpine R ally had tures, one a blowout at speed with no serious ended, a rally tha t has surely paved the way results. The sharp stony roa d surfaces wer e for an annua l event th at will honour the taking th eir toll. Bentley car in New Zealand. T he 2,968 feet Lewis Pass was a piece - B. W . BI CKERTON.

OTAGO MOTORING IN THE EARLY DAYS (conti nued) By Dryden Rowan, Dunedin. wood in the cha nging temperatures. It was Otago Cent ra l has always been a par­ som e years before manufacturers realised th at ticularly hard testing ground for motor conditions here were tough , and that much vehicles. Even today with well-formed road s stronger cars were a necessity for our rough and bridges over the many rivers an d strea ms, roa ds. wear and tear is mu ch greater th an in man y Looking back to 1910, the wr iter recalls other districts. a tri p to Wanaka with the lat e M r T ed How­ Motor importers bega n early to take a lison (of Cooke Howlison Ltd. ).M r H owli­ grea ter interest in th e sale of cars to sheep son had for years cycled around the O arnaru run owners wh o lived far from the towns and Otago Central districts. He was a big and whose only tr ansport before the adve nt of man and had a cycle mad e with longer motor cars had been by horse or on foot. So cranks th an usual. On this he could travel with cars, th en limited to a few makes, com­ all day with ou t appa rent effort. H e had tra­ peti tion becam e very keen and motor agents velled from Cr omwell to Dunedin ( 140 miles ) went farther and farther into the bac k coun­ in a day on more th an one occasion. Stra nge­ try and placed cars which were not always ly enough, though a cycle and motor-cycle suitable for use there. enthusiast, he never drove a car. This seems Overheating was a common complaint hard to believe! When the firm import ed and radiators became sha ken to pieces whil e the first Buicks, the writer drove Mr H owlison run ning gea r would not stand up to th e wor k. on man y tri ps th rough O tago Centra l and T he wooden spoked artillery type of wheels both were well known to man y residen ts became loose in th e hubs du e to shri nkage of th ere. PAGE l\' IN E

Start of a Sa tur day Run to Henley in 1912 (sec "Otag o M otoring in the Early Days"). Early in 1910, many ca rs were being gear box. After a thorough overhaul the used for mail deliveries and for taki ng pas­ Clernent-Talbot was bought by the Dunedin senge rs from Clyde to \Van aka and othe r Fire Brigad e, and with its bright red paint, scenic resor ts. Conditions were severe and was mu ch admired by the younge r generation ca rs did not last long owin g to lack of service as it too k part in brigade activities as a fire­ facilities. We left a Buick at Wanaka and tender- a real old timer rej uven at ed. started back to Dunedin with a 15 h.p. 4 U nfortuna tely, man y fine old cars, re­ cylinder Cleme nt Talbot tourer whi ch had ga rde d then as worthless, were destroyed or a goo d motor, bu t the gearbox was certainl y pushed into water holes or gullies. An en­ pas t its best. O n the well-kno wn hill called quiry in one of your recent numbers regarding the Pigroo t, betw een Ranfurly and Palm crston a Rolls-R oyce orig ina lly used in Napier, (a very steep, hilly and winding road ) we brings to memory a similar car ow ned by a were comi ng down in second gear when the Sout hla nd family. T his car cam e from the gea r stripped and the bra ke wou ld not hold . nor th . Wh en I saw it in 191 3 at Kaita ngata, As the road followed th e top of a ridge we it was for sale at a very low figure. A patent could not stop so had to let it go for th e strea m ca rburettor had been fitt ed by an Invercargill at th e bottom of the hill . We certai nly took resident wh o claimed great increase in mile­ the last corner on two wheels and landed in age, but I'm sure the Roll s-R oyce Company the stream with an almig hty splash and crash. woul d not ha ve approved of the alteration An old tin trunk which ha d been stowed on wh ich mad e the engi ne very erratic. In spite the back sea t hit the floor wit h a crash. T wo of this, the motor ran quietly and sweetly. I very sha ken and disgruntled men got out into have never found out just wha t became of the strea m, cr anked and sta rte d off again. th is ca r, though someone has said that the Only low and top gears were left, so th e Clut ha R iver was th e finish of many old ca rs. trip to D une din was then a case of trying Readers may be interested to know that on top all-out or crawling along on the very that visit to K ait an gata, I drove a Regal low gear of the Clement-T albot four speed similar to one now owned by a D unedin mc m- PAGE TEN SEI'T E:\IIIER, 1 9(,~

ber of the Vintage Car Club. Another trip to Gore . Two days lat er we started off again, to Kaitangata was made lat er with three int ending to be at Balfour for lun ch or rathe r passengers in an 8 h .p. single cylinder Rover "a turkey dinner" which the own er had al- with 4 sea ter open bod y. Nowadays, I'm ready arranged for . This time we had afraid my patience would be sorely tried by mech ani cal trouble. Smoke coming up such a trip, even on the better roads. through the floor boards made us stop sud­ Moving around the Otago and South­ denl y and we found a heated bearing on a land are as, one often came ac ross old cars shaft in front of the ge::tr box. The owner standing under trees or haystacks. One Wol­ promptly grabbed the canvas bu cket (which seley tourer, though not used for years, was was more or less sta ndard equipment in those kept like new in a shed. This old model had da ys ) and made for a nearby dit ch for wa ter copper tubes leading from an oiler on the and returned to cool the shaft. I tried to stop dash to various bearings on the engin e and him , pointing out that the shaft was too hot were polished and shining like new. Senti­ and that cold wat er would harden it. T he ment al reasons were given for this unusual owner said, well it was his car and he had tre atment of this old car (about 1906 model ) this a ppointment for the "turkey dinner" but it was definitely not for sale. whi ch he int end ed to keep. So the colel One does realise today what wonderful water treatment was applied acco mpanied improvements ha ve been made by the motor by clouds of stea m. He th en ga ve word to manufacturers. The first 30 h.p. Austin resume our journey. A loud click-a broken T ourer was brought to Dunedin by a shipping shaft ! I was rather upset by this but he company man ager, NIr H oldsworth, in 1910­ pulled out his wat ch and said " Com e on boys, 1911. This was an unusual car both for size we've only two miles to walk and th e turkey and performanc e. The engine had a low ten­ dinner will be waiting for us." So wc left sion ignition (no plugs ) whi ch was very tricky the Cad iliac. Halfway through lun ch there to keep in order. It was necessary to make was a commotion outside caused by the arr ival . constant adjustm ents by altering the opera­ of the hot el groom whipping up a swea ting ting rods to keep the timing on the big 4 horse and towing the Ca dillac. The groom cylinder motor synchronised. The engine had cut his wrist with hitting it against the was verv powerful and had to be handled top of the windscreen as he whipped the poor well to 'av"Q id trouble with the chain dri ves horse. He had towed the big car two miles on both rear wheels. Lat er a H.T. magneto with the hand brake still on ! ! T hat after­ was fitted . The Dunedin owner was a per­ noon, our party shift ed tons of coal from a sonal friend of Lord Austin and had many railway wagon at the rail siding and load ed Austin cars some of whi ch were returned to the Cadillac thereon and all arrived ba ck at the factory for chec ks and adjustm ents to Dunedin by rail. Trips round the country suit conditions here. reall v were full of interest and th is one was A 1908-1909 Cadillac tourer own ed by no exception. I'm sure we really enj oyed the Hudson famil y was th e first large 4 cylin­ motorin g mu ch more than man y do nowadays. der American type car here . This was a Anoth er long trip was in a 1909 Buick 30 h.p, 4 cylinde r with an epicyclic gear box. to Kurow. The owner was a great sport I had some pleasant outings in this car. Later and could dri ve quite well himself but when the car changed own ers and the new owner he wa nted to enj oy himself and have a few asked me to accompany him to Gore and drinks, he always had someone else drive him. Lumsden. He was a happ y care-free Iri sh­ His first question before we left was always, man who had man y friends and we certainly " Have you plent y of blad ders?" (spa re tubes ) . had a great trip. After visitin g friend s in These wer e often a necessitv. H owever on Gore for a few da ys we left with three others this trip we had no punctures, whi ch was for Lumsden. U nfortuna tely we ran into a something most un usual. \'V e wen t on to the heavy thunderstorm and finished back at Gore Kurow races where the cars were a centre of completely covered in mud. The road then interest-all five of them-Cadillac, Ford, was just a tr ack and the ca r had to be kept Ov erland, Olds and Buick. The moclel T goin g to get through th e mud holes. It was Ford was one of the first in that distri ct, and a real scramble and hard work getting ba ck the usual argument as to whi ch car was the SEPTEMBER. 1962 PAGE ELEVEN fastest resulted in a bet between a doctor and Star car , owned by Cooke H owlison and Co., the Buick owner. Which ca r would be first a nd dr iven by Aleck j ohnston. Next is a to reach Otekaike? The gravel road was not 14 h.p. Vulcan with overhea d worm dri ve, very wide but by a lucky break I managed rear axle, Arthur Wi mpenny a t the wheel. to get ahead and we were waiting at the Then, one of the earl y Buick ca rs, 2 cylinder hotel when the doctor arrived in the Ford. double-opposed engine, with single cha in The doctor was qu ite annoyed and said the drive to the back wheels. This was in charge ca r was onl y going on three cylinders (not of Geoff Clarke, a ver y well-known motorist unco mmo n with ea rly Fords ). On bein g of th ose days. Last, but not least, is the told that the Buick was running on only two, Silent -K night 38 h.p. D aimler car, own ed the Doctor was very wrath and had mu ch to by M r W . Da wson , with cha uffeur Bert say about peopl e who told untruths . H ow­ Wilden at the wheel. This was a remarkabl e ever he did enjoy the joke wh en he was car, with a commo dious landaulette bod y, shown the opposed twin cylinder engi ne of and was said to have steel sleeve-valves and the Buick. a high er compression, hence its tremendous Trips on a fine Saturday afternoon to speed on the hills. The usual silent-Knight H enle y or W aih ola (20-25 miles ) were regu­ eng ines had 2 cast-iron sleeves per cylinder, lar runs for ca rs (and mo tor cycles ) of that and were somewhat sluggish performers, but day. A fine photograph,( published in this this special engine of Mr Dawson 's with bore issue ) taken in 191 2 shows the following a nd stroke of 124 x 130 mm was a flier, and veteran cars drawn up in front of the Otago could pass everything on the hills, besides Ea rly Settlers Museum before a typical Sa tur­ being part icularly quiet. day afternoon run. First, nearest th e camera, is Sir J amcs M ill's 15 h.p. H otchkiss, with Bert Wilden mu st be given the credit Sir J am es himself in the front scat , the dri ver for looking after the car extre mely well, he being Frank Furminger. Next is the 12 h.p. was also a most carefu l driver. Drivers were

1914 Buick celebrating a Hill Climb win (see "Otago Motoring in the Early Days" ) !'AC;r: T\\'EL\":, ------''---S E I' T E ~ lB E R . 1 9 1j ~ m uch more responsible in those days, unlike test for ca rs a nd motor cycles was held. L at er the present on es. 'M igh t th is IX due to the th e Otago M ot or C ycle C lub was formed , fac t that ther e was no car in surance a t this a nd in 1912 th e two clubs a malga m ated . time, a nd the refore more ca re was tak en , F rom th a t day th e Associati on ha s increased since all accide n ts or collisions had to be paid in m embership an d usefulness a nd is today for by th e owners I ! I I am sure th ere is one of th e largest m otorin g orga nisa tions in something in th is th eory , perhaps a grea t deal! th e Domini on . An other good phot o of m an y well-kno wn In 191 3 th e Otago Au tomob ile Associa­ ea rly mot orists shows a 19 14 Bui ck 4 cylinder tion hel d a relia bility tria l to Tima ru and ca r well loaded up standing outside Cook back for cars a nd motor cycl es. This was a H owlison's early ga rage in H an over Street. big run for a day as t he roads wer e very Mr Fr cd Cooke a nd T ed H owlison, found ers rough an d th e last pa rt of th e ho me run was of the firm of Cooke H ow lison a nd Co, L td . made in da rkness (from P almerston to D un e­ a re seen, the form er seated in the m iddle of d in ) . M r H owl ison a nd I took pa rt in thi s th e front sca t of th e Bui ek, a nd th e latter is with a 1913 Buick a nd made a non-stop run. sta nd ing in a very charac teristic position near W e tr ied a com pressed ac etylene gas cylinde r the fr ont of t he ca r. Jim L eckie is th e driver for our headlights (so me thing new and un­ a nd sta nd ing just besid e him is D ryden tri ed ), but unfortunatel y th e gas burners were R ow an . Seat ed on Mr F red C ooke's left is too greedy and the cylinde r gave out short ly M r R accly fr om U .S.A., who was on a v isit after Eva nsdale. 'Ve had to com plete th e to N ew Zealand as th e Delco-Rern y repre­ run over M ount Cargill with kerosen e side­ senta tive, and kneeling on th e ru nning-board lights (very dim ) a nd reached D unedin wit h is Geoff Clarke, with , in the mi ddle of th e onc m inute to spare. back scat, Frank Rawley, head vulcanizer. The O tago Association have since had T his picture was taken on the d a y of a many reliability run s a nd have always been hill-climb, in whi ch thi s Bu ick ca r ca me first. interested in helping other ca r clubs. Four cylinder engines were co mmon till ( to be con tinu cd .) abo ut 1 ~ ) 16 wh en th e six cylinde r engine be­ ca me pop ular, th eir power a nd size maki ng the m a n ideal co untry ca r. Electric light a nd self-sta rte rs were then sta ndard eq uip­ There is NO WAITING LIST ment. with us if you have some ster­ T he 1914- 1g wa r u pset the British ca r ling funds. p rogramme co m pletely so th a t wh en peace was declared th ere was a ru sh to ge t ca rs ANGLIA, PREFECT, CONSUL on the market. So me of th ese were ju st not ZEPHYR, CONVERTIBLE, suita ble. O ne ca r, well adv ertised, a nd with ver y good specifica tions was a great disap­ ESTATE CAR pointment. Ever ything th at could break did £300 to £600 sterling and the so--in fact one owne r sa id the wind screen wa s ba lance in N.Z. curr ency. th e only part of th e ca r worth havin g. It ca n now be m ent ioned th at the name of this ca r An y overseas earnings, sh a res 01' was th e C ub itt . Soon how ever , manufac­ legacy are O.K. tu rers go t in to the ir stride a nd we now find LET THE VETERAN FORD that present d ay cars give a wonderful trou ble DEALER HELP YO U GET YO UR free perfor m ance. NEW FORD QUICKLY. Consult- The Otago M otor C lub wa s for med in 1905, its first presid ent being 1\'1I' ( afterwa rds GORDON HUGIIAN Sir ) J ames Mills, At a meeting held in M a rch 1906 , club runs were a rra nged as fol­ LTD. lows : T o W aihola, W ai tat i, Outram, Glen, P.O. BOX 48, CARTERTON Brighton and M cG reg ors G ully (via M osgiel ) . PHONE 8099 All little ma rc th an 20 miles from Dunedi n . (After hours, R. Porter, 8452) On th e first run to W aihola a pet rol SEPTEMBER, 1962 PAGE T IllRTEE;\ THE HEAVY METAL A survey of the Motor Racing on Muriwai Beach, 1921-1928. By W. Ca pper-Starr Part Two the mo rn ing, and left as its calling card one Salt for the Thunderbirds' Tails of the few fat al accidents (If not the only If a nyone thinks that some thing new can one ) that is connected wit h all the eight rarely enjoy any sort of immedi at e popularity, years tha t will be dealt with in the course let him look back to the Muruwai Beach of this survey. motor races held on Saturday, M arch 5, 1921. M ost of the traffic that wended its way Bear in mind that th is was the first even t of its to M uriwai that morning passed over the kind (for the mom ent I refuse to see any bridge that spanned Swan son C reek at the connec tion between motor racing and the bottom of Do n Bucks Hill, abo ut a mile and a motor cycle racing that had enjoyed several half outside H enderson. T he bridge, an old meetings at T akapuna prior to this ) . Then kau ri structure tha t had seen perha ps a few let him justify his belief in unpopula r new ness too ma ny summers, was well gone with dry in the ligh t of the crowds th at turned out that rot in the stringers underneath the p!anking. day. The planking itself, as was plainl y ob vious No fewer than 5000 and, in fact, an to an yon e who glanced at it, was in a poor estimat ed 6000 people chose to make the stat e. W ith the thousan d ca rs that must ha ve arduous tr ek to the coast. R ant and rave, ye passed over it tha t morning, it is little wonder critics, but the figures will alw ays be the re to that it gave way wh en a bus load of woul d-be confound you. spectators was passing OVLr its grea tly weaken­ That Saturday was one of the kind of ed memb ers. days that a re commo n in the ar ea . .. days T wo people died as a result of the acci­ when th e sun seems to shine through a haze dent. O f the 2 1 passengers who were on thei r of clou d th at suggests prom ise of rai n. But wa y to the races at M uriwai, 17-years-old while no rain fell that day, the shad ow of M iss M. '\V. Wilson , of New Lynn, an d NIl's something darker than rainclouds hung over Annie M arden, also of New Lynn, were killed . the meeting. Dea th had paid its entry fee to Coul d they be called the first deaths con-

Some spec tator's cars at the meeting. PAGE fOURT EEN SEPTE MBER, 1962 nected with motor racing in Ne w Zealan d ? Ne w Zealand M otor Cu p. To him must also At the beach, a receding tide left a stead­ go th e hon our of ow ning the ca r that took ily increasing expa nse of sand, and the sight second place. of the surf and the long stretch of beach from The 25-miI e New Zealand M otor Cu p the last leg of the journey was described bv race was a cha mpionship event tha t was open one spectat or as worthy of the trip from the to anybod y. The winner received a 100 city. Cars that were not competing were , of guinea silver cup that had to be won three course, not allowed on to the beach. Nor times in succession or five times at intervals could one blam e the organisers for this res­ before becoming the prop erty of the holder. triction. As a result, an estimated 1500 cars In addition there was also a trophy of 25 wer e park ed in the cleared spaces beneath the guineas presented by George H enning, and a trees. Diffi culty was experience d in keeping gold medal for th e winning dri ver presented some of the more enthusiastic of the crowd by the Reverend J asper Calder. The secon d away from the mark ed course, but the un­ and third prizes were 20 and 10 guinea tiring efforts of that energetic man the R ev­ trophies respective!y. erend J asper Ca lder (of whom mo re in a lat er In all, there were no fewer th an 13 chapter) and the committee members kept the acce pta nces for that race, but only eight course clear and free from acci dents. of the thunderbi rds took their place at the Oddly enough , the hillocks and sa nd sta rting line when Mr Gillet sent them off to dunes that stretched for some distance up the do battle on th e salt y sand. Now, 41 years beach failed to att rac t many peopl e. The on, it is impossible to discover just who the bulk of th e crowd preferred to rema in around eight actua l sta rters were. However , '''''. S. the general area of the sta rt-finish line. There M iller was listed among the acce ptors as were others, of course, who felt the call to having four cars entered, a Cha ndler (fo r more ac tive ways of passing the time, and which he was agent at the tim e ), a Napier, man y of these people took pa rt in wha t was a Pierce Arrow, and a Lan cia. Oddly, they then refe rre d to as the "spor t of sur f bathing." were all given the same registr ati on number H ow much have we lost over the years ! (A907), so it would seem th at only one was Dr C. B. Rossiter (w ho had earlier in actually intended to race. Of the other the day given what he!p he could to the acce ptors, th e U niversal M otor Compa ny en­ victims of the bu s accident) and Geo rgc H en­ tered a Ford, to be dri ven by H . C. Jones ; ning, who was lat er to becom e fam ous as the H oward Natrass entered a Ca d illac , J. Perr y holder of the speed record for the beach in ente red an Essex, L. Ad ams drove the GilIct no more auspicious a car tha n a blown Austin Motors Hudson, M otor Sales Co., entered Seven, acted as judges ; NIl' J. A. Gillet, whose another Essex, to be driv en by B. C. Emery, Gillet M otors Ltd., were distributors for Dort P.Seabrook entered a Premier, with K. Cald­ cars at the tim e, was the official starter, and well listed as th e driver ; W. A. Ch ee and to him must go the hon our of waving the Compa ny turned out with yet another Hud­ eight starters away in the first race for the son, to be dri ven by C. Ah Ch ee ; E. T. R. Carlyon entere d and dro ve his ow n Ca dillac (did it very well, too ) , and V. Little entered an owner-driven Daimler. You may take your pick of th e eight who sta rted in the race, since contem porary acco unts give only the nam es of the place­ getters. Certain it is, however, that by the time H owa rd Notrass was only a third of the way through the 25 miles of the race, he had secure d the lead which he maintain ed until he crossed the winning line . . . more th an a mile ah ead of the Gillet M otors Hudson. There is a story told occasionally that Natrass Howard Nattrass going through the " Water Jump" was so far ahea d at one stage that he sto pped at Muriwai, 1921. (By Courtcsv " H erald" ) SEPT EMBER 1% 2 PAGE FIFTEEN

The finish of the acceleration test. ( By Courtc sv " He rald" ) his car, donned a huge sombrero, lit an enor­ ent ered the Hudsons th at took first and second mous cigar, and drove sedately over th e line. place respectively, and, of course, the Swift T his is, apparently, typical of the man , and it was driven by H. A. Mildon . is said th at he did such things just to annoy The race for Ford cars was, as could others whose feelings toward him were any­ be expected, an interesting one, if for no thing but amicable. Be that as it may, the other reason than that science was on the side records sta te th at Natrass crossed the line at of the winner. No t only had he fitted a double no less than 90 miles an hour. For four miles air inlet (probably a choke tube ) to his ca r of the trip he travelled at 92 miles an hour, and balanced his pistons, but to the wheels and had a winni ng average for the ra ce of he ha d fitted tyres that had a tread specifically 88 miles an hour. The car was a sta nda rd designed to counteract the suction of the wet touring chassis of 1921, stripped for racing sand. To these fa ctors, R. Edwards attribut­ and fitted with an eight cylinder motor th at ed his win over J. F. Lambert , Jnr., who was was rat ed as 60 Am erican and 3 1.2 RAC second, and J. K . Stewart, th ird . horsepower. Fina l drive rati o was 3 Y2 to 1. Coi ncide nce, of course, could be expected Behind the Gillet Hudson supe r six came in any meeting of machinery such as this, and the Ah Chee Hudson, and whi le we are on it was certainly present at the finish of the 1Y2 the subject of horsepower, it's perh ap s inter­ mile open sprint race. The results, as far as esting to note th at the second and third cars were both Hudsons of 29.4 horsepower, tak­ ing the point a step further, the Ca rlyon WANTED TO BUY Ca diliac th at took fourth place was the same Back numbers of "Beaded Wheels" in rating as th e ca r whi ch won. Will somebody good condition. 2/ - per copy. Please ar gue th at ability is second to power? contact t he Secre tary, p.a. Box 2546, The report of th e first event of th e da y, Christchurc h. the Stock Ca r H andicap of five miles, is FOR SALE worth recording here in its entirity. As an Th e fo llow ing ba ck numbers are now available exam ple of brevit y in journalism, it is perh aps a t 3/ - per copy . unique, since it is also acc ura te, humorous and June 1957 2 copies December 1958 12 copies well-worded. Here it is: September 1959 26 copies " In the stock ca r handicap three cars December 1959 27 copies finished. The Swift, driven by M r H. A. March 1960 12 copies Mildon, was first away , followed by the \"'il­ June 1960 42 copies ton driven by M r A. Maunsell, wh ich, how­ September 1960 4 copies December 1960 3 copies ever, boiled its radi at or and withdrew afte r March 1961 3 copies about three miles. An Essex and two Hud­ June 1961 15 copies sons overha uled the Swift, but the Essex, December 1961 2 copies due to lack of benzine fed th rough the vacuum June 1962 12 copies To ens ure immedi a te deli very of YOU R maga­ system , was forced to reduce to half speed. zine please inform th is office of a ny address The Hudsons had pr essure benzine feed and changes. Club members PLEASE N OTE th at passed th e Swift half a mile from the finish. " as well as infor min g their Branch Secretary, th ey must also inform th is office. E. Johnston an d W . Ah Chee owned and PAGE SIXTEEN SI::PTE :>IIJER. I Y I. ~ Camera

Dignit y - Clouston's magnificent 1925 Lan chester. ( By C OIII tt· ",) S. H. ( ;Cillllvll"way) EASTER RALLY -

And " Grace" - Alan Dray's Alvis, ( By CpUII ...... y S . H . C;.lIll1o nsway ) SEPTEMBER. 1962 PAGE SEVEl\TEE;\ Review

And Impudence - The j ones immaculate 1914 Morris Ox ford. (By C Olll l :·...Y S . H . GaI Ill OIl ,,\\ .lY) ALMERSTON NORTH

And "Pace" - The Wycherley "T hirsty"(apologies Mr Lyons. ) ( By C Olu-k , y S.H. Gar llw w.\\ ~l Y } PAGE EIG HTEEN SE PTE MBER, 1962 dri vers and cars, although not, of course, much of that day. Consider that they were times, were concerned, were exac tly those of probably driven to th e meeting anyway, raced th e Motor Cup race. My ea rlier cha llenge hell-for-leather up an d down M uri wai Beach, abou t ability over power still sta nds. and found it in them to figure in the results of no fewer than five of the six events on the Hudsons also played a maj or part in th e programmes. The last event of the day, th e results of th e five mile race for taxi driv ers, 250 yards acceleration test, found th em first and it is curious th at one of the regu lations and th ird, with Gillet M otors supplying a for the entrants to this race was th at the ca rs Buick to take second place honours. and dri vers mu st have been registered eight So there it is. T he first meeting on weeks pr ior to th e day of th e race . No mere M ur iwai Beach was over in time for the tide j ohnny-com c-Iat ely was to be ad mitted here ! to come again. If you wish, yO I1 may in The Hudsons were those of M . S. R amsay memory, join the long line of cars that crawled ( first ) and E. C. Jo hnston (second) , with their slow way back to Auckland in the late J. Heyworth in an Essex trailin g them into afternoon and evening. You could, if you third, and M. Cha ppell dri ving George Mit­ wish, imagine that you are with those of the chell's Winton over th e line for fourth place. specta tors who chose to go to the social even­ The only other accept or listed is H . May, ing held by the Hcll ensville bran ch of the whose Wolseley was to have been driv en by Auckland Automobile Association in th e Allan Glass, but wheth er he started or not Agricul tural H all after the races. Or you is uncert ain . If he did he was, depending ma y just dream of the hot sand, and th e spray how you look at it, eithe r last or fifth .( Go tha t is always peculiarly cold, the smell of oil nn, be generous! ) . where there had only previous ly been salt, the The H udsons of Ah Ch ee and Joh nston cro wd tha t must (surely) have left its own cer ta inly weren't lying a roun d idle for very ghosts on the sand-hills. . ..

A Little Indulgence in Reminiscence. LOOKING BACK By Georg e Woodward, Auckland. Looking bac k is sometimes a dan gerous a chai n to the timi ng case for sta rting the business. You realise how much better you motor. Also included in the specifications could have do ne things, how mu ch you shou ld was a two-speed pulley on the engine shaft have left unsaid , and how you have litt le or ope rated by a rod and handle mounted at the no cha nce of atoning for the sins of youth. side of the tank . Somewhe re between the H owever, on looking back on my motor­ two speeds was a neut ral, ofte n very chancy cycling career, I ca n find nothing I am to locat e. ,\'e found the best way was to asha med of, exce pt perhaps making too mu ch wind th e handle int o " low" and then wind noise sometimes, and being a bit cocksure two turns back. ab out the merits of certain machinery. Getting on the move with the Rudge was I look back on this period of my life as quite a business. You began with the ma ­ one of happiness, indulged in with all the chine on th e stand, primed the engine with a enthusiasm of youth. I wish I could raise sma ll qu antity of petrol ( from a medicine the sa me e n t h u~ ias m for anything now ! bottle in Dad 's pocket ) by way of a priming M y first experience of motor-cycling was cock situated on top of the cylinder, turned provid ed by my fath er, wh o at th at time was on the petro l tap, tickled the carb, set the Vicar of Karori, Wellington , and whose par­ contro ls and sta rted to ped al. After a while ish included th e little settle ment of Maka ra. with luck the engi ne would start, the back To reach his parishioners in this far-flung wheel spinning madl y whether you had it in outpost of the parish he decided to purchase gear or neut ral. The next move was to get a motor-cycle and he tri ed a couple of th e th e bike off the stan d and keep the engine run-and-jump-on mode ls of those days, but running. Sometimes you found you had for­ soon tir ing of these gymnastics, he graduated gotte n .to put it in neut ral or else you hadn't to a more gentlemanly machine in th e form quite found it, in which case th e machine of a 1913 Rudge which ha d pedals ope ra ting would take a leap forwarcl and stall the SEPTEMBER. 1962 N GE N1NET EEl'

engine and the whol e process had to be started again. Having got the wheel on the gro und with the engine running the next move was to get into low gea r. The idea was to turn the gear handle slowly two turns int o "l ow" at the same tim e increasing the throttle opening. This was fairl y easy to acco m plish though fre­ quently th e engine was stalled again and the starting process rep eated . When the machine was moving and suffici­ ent speed atta ined, top gea r was engaged by winding th e handle six turns smartly in the opposite direction. Changing down on a hill was a matter of shee r speed on th e handle, winding the full Self with 1929 O.H. V. A.J. S. at Beach meeting. six turns to " low" before the machine lost too ( Photo by courtesy G. \VOOcl\\'3I'd ) mu ch speed. Dad could never man age this went to a friend for a fiver . Youth again! and usuall y had to start again. From this point on I really entered into This, th en, was my int roduction to motor­ motor-cycling as a sport and got togeth er with cycling, and man y were the trips I took as the boys. T he A.].S. was a machine I could a boy behind D ad on the old Rudge. She go touring on and I was immensely proud of served us faithfully for many years and was my "wings" and would come home covered really fairl y reliable for a machine of those in dust from a " blind " in th e country and days. I wish I had her now! sta rt planning the next escapade . In 1925 Dad bought the first family ca r, In 1928 I conceived the idea of forming a Singer 9 tourer. The car took over the a motor cycle club and with the help of sev­ parish du ties and I took over the Rudge. era l friends I started the Ixion M otor Cycle I rod e th e old girl for a couple of years Club which, I am proud to say, is flouri shin g using her for work and odd running round. today. I ha ve the honour to be an honorary During this tim e she developed a propensit y member of the club and ca rry the I.M.C.C . for shee ring t he thread on the nut th at held transfer on my H urley-Davidson . the pull ey-cum-gear box on th e cra nksha ft. A flood of memories comes to me now. T his ma y have been du e to a bent cranksha ft T ouring all over the No rth Island, reliabil ity or some misalignment somewhere and after trials, beach racing, committee mee tings, Su n­ severa l nut replacem ents the thread on the da y run s and a host of good cha ps, very few crankshaft suffered and I decided the only of whom I am in contac t with today. way to maintain drive to the belt was to pop We loved our sport and entered into it the key in the keyway and wire the whol e with the utmost good feeling ; the Brother­ pulley assembly on. This was accomplished hood of Motor- Cycling. by connecting the gear cha nging mech anism, Our membership grew and the clu b flou r­ which was sta tionary to the crankcase with ished. W e had something on nearly every several strands of ordinary packing wire. weekend; mostly aftern oon runs to spots After this I had no more trouble. Truly the around Wellington, but as often as they could ingenuity of youth knows no bounds! be organised, reliab ility tri als, beach meeti ngs About this time came a visitor from Eng­ and othe r events. I still treasure two little land with a 1923 350c.c . S/ V A.].S., a neat cups earne d in those far-off days. I hear litt le machine whi ch I was allowed to ride people say th at cups are a dead loss as tro­ occasionally. ph ies. I don't agree. Their very uselessness, Oh! What a transport of delight it was to except as conjurors of memory, is their rea l handle after the Rudge. I fell head over heels valu e. I have received pri zes of all sorts in in love with it and wh en th e owner decided to the form of useful things, but th ese have long sell it I was in like a big dog, and the good since been worn out, discarded, stolen or lost old Rudge whi ch had serve d us so faithfully and forgotten. All I have left of my Ixion PAC E TWE:\TY SEPTE MBE R, 1962 days are those two little miniatures and amaz­ his rear one causi ng rathe r a mix-up. I didn't ing as it may seem, a littl e red and silver pen­ wa it to sor t things out bu t shot oyer the top nant bearing the inscript ion " Ixion M.C.C. " an d ca rried on by myself, do ing cartwheels So give me cups for my atta inme nts, and in an d other fa ncy stunts to am use the popul ace. another 30 vears' time I sha ll sit in mv wheel Wh en I took stock I fou nd only a broken cha ir and ;'ememb er with joy 60 yea rs of thumb, whi ch mu st have got caught behind motor-cycling. the handle-bar, and a bru ised knee. The The beach me etin gs were great fun. With poor old A.J.S. had badl y bent forks and a th e co-operation of the Marine Department bu ckled wh eel and had to be left in the care we were allowed to hold race meetings on of a local reside nt until she could be brought Otaki and Waikan ae beaches when the tide home, red with rust after sta nd ing a week or was suita ble and for a week or two before, so with the salt spray on her. those wh o intended to race seriously go t to At one of our meetin gs one of th e boys work and strip ped th eir machines, putting on brought up a dirt-trac k Douglas to see wha t th ose sca nty, if any, rac ing mudgu ards, she would do. O n our rather er ude timing dropped racing bars, foot rests near the back she was clocked at 108 m.p .h.-prob ably wheel and removing all unnecessar y equip­ some thing in the vicinity of 100 . We were ment such as lighting, carriers and even tool all wildly enthusiastic and it was wonderful boxes, sta nds and cha in-guards.I entered to see her go ! int o all th is wit h the grea test ent husiasm and I mentione d ea rlier the dropped racing tun ed the littl e side-valve to all known rac­ bars we affected in those days. They seem ing sta ndards that I had heard of, but in the to have gone right out of f ash i ~n now ~ n d are light of more recent know ledge it might have only a nostalgic memory of the past. H ow­ been bett er to leave her as she was! H owever ever, the old-t imers will tell you that they she gav e me a grea t dea l of pleasure an d we gav e you a very good ridin g position when had a wonde rful time. you were flat on your ta nk with your feet I soon came to the conclusion th at I wan t­ planted on pillion footrests near the back ed something faste r and with the help of a wheel. This was th e riding position I ado pt­ loan from my father I trad ed in th e little ed on the beach. T he boys said th ey couldn' t side-va lve on 'a 1929 350c.c. O .H .\!. A.J.S. see me coming-only the bike. Wonderful from Tommv Oates, a well known motor days ! cycle dealer (n D ixon" Street. T oday th ere is O ur staff of life at tha t time was the a little shop in one of the streets off Manners " Blue-un," the magazine known as "The Stree t bearing the inscription "Thos, H . Mo tor Cycle ." O ur club was nam ed aft er O ates." O ld T ornrny is still in business, that old-timer " Ix ion" who wro te such well thoug h get ting n in years now . I usu all y balan ced articles on all aspects of our sport. drop in to see him when in Wellington. I have been readi ng through some old nu m­ T he O .H.\!. proved a mu ch better machin e bers lat elv and realise now how wiselv he for the beach with a speed of 70 or so and I g- uide d us' youngsters into the fold of sports­ was able to win some of th e races. men and responsible motor cyclists. We usually marked out a mile straig ht measured on the mean reading of several We devo ured the T.T. numbers' and ' took speedo meters and set out a row of flags down every corne r with Stanley Woods, Alcc Ben­ the beach, with th e sta rt and finish at one nett and all the giants of those days. I was end . imme nsely proud to read that in 1921 a 350 I rememb er laying down the law at one A.J.S. won both the senior and junior races, tim e about roping off the spectators who H oward D avies doing the honours in the would crowd round the finishing end of the senior and fastest lap in the junior. the straight, so tha t when it came to the end Brooklan ds was in full swing and British of the race, and you wanted to cross the line ride rs and machin es were scoopi ng the pool flat out, you had to trust to luck they would in Co ntinental events. Great reading for keen give you the right of 'Nay. I g-ot caught this motor- cyclists. way one day. As the crowd moved back to Wc would go to the dirt track most Sa tur­ let 'me th rough at abo ut 70 I found myself day nights an d chee r on our local lad , Wally facing the side eleva tion of a ma chine being K ilmister, to whom could be ap plied the say­ ridden across my path. My front wh eel met ing ," Local boy makes good." SEPT EM BER, 1962 PAGE T WE:\TY·O:\E We went to all the grass track meetin gs, the preparati ons goin g on and inh aling the run on the racecourses in those days, to sec intoxicating smell of "Castro l R ." Percy Colcm an with his Harley, H arry After th e meeting, of course, fired with the M angham, Len Southward , Reg. Ranby, Ben day's doin gs, we usually had a race home. Bray and a crowd of others whose names were Fortunately in those days the Traffic Depart­ household words to us. ment didn't worry us on the open road or Som etimes we would ca m p out the night there would have been a flock of " tickets" before near th e track in order to be there issued, H owever we alw ays got hom e safely, early and see the riders and their machines windburnt and happy. arrive and to gaze into th e "Pits," wat ching (to be continu ed. )

by Geoff Vintage and Veteran Motorcycle Notes H ocklcy THE OLD 'UNS COULD TAKE IT! We sometimes think that th ere's an in­ clination to rega rd veteran machines as just interesting relics of days gone by - museum pieces, to be eag erly sought after, ca refully restored, and proudly owned, but not to be regarded as ever having been capable of pro­ vidin g relia ble long-distan ce transport. And, ad mittedly, there's a yawning gulf bet ween the luxury models of today and th eir ancestors of fifty years ago. But 'sometimes it's not rea­ lised what sur pr ising performan ces th e old­ timers wer e ca pable of. Fo r instance, on our desk at the pr esent mom ent is a picture of the winner of the Christch urch-D unedin and re­ turn reliability tri al held in Mareh, 19l1-a jaunt of nearl y 50 0 miles in those days, on roa ds whi ch, exce pt where passing th rough 500 mile trial winner. In 1911, no mean feat. towns, were mainly dust, potholes, and the [ Pho to by G . H ockb-v) inevitabl e shingle of a depth of anything up TRIALS - AND TRIBULATIONS! to six inches, an d sometimes more, And the Always a favourite venue for reliability winner ? A single-geared "2% h.p." Douglas tri als, the stee p and tortuous roa ds and tracks (did we hear cheers from Gavin Pat erson ?) of Banks' Peninsula were for man y yea rs the whose makers still clung to the temperam ental scene of arduous tests of riders and mach ine, and almost obsolete au tomatic inlet valve ! especially in the days when few of the Penin­ Well, even today, with not a yard of road sula roa ds were metalled, and their grass an d [ between Chr istchurch and Dunedin th at isn't clay surfaces formed a treacherous combina­ as smooth as the proverbial infant's posterior, tion in wet weather which rarely failed to this would be quite a credita ble show on a acco unt for heavy losses of marks to tri als similar machine, but fifty yea rs ago it was, competitors. We can't remember striking to say the least, a remark able performan ce. anything else whi ch even approached th at H owever, this was not the first tim e that th e seemingly bott omless yellow Peninsula clay Christchurc h-D unedin and return tri p had for shee r diab olical gooeyness. In fact, there been utili zed as a test for men and machines, was a legend that someo ne's madly spinning for we th ink wc arc correct in stating th at as rear wheel once disinterred a com petitor and early as 1908 a combined car and motor­ his machine buried since the previous tri als cycle trial was held over this course, and we season, but we wouldn't like to vouch for the are equa lly certai n th at th e winner was Bert truth of th is. ' ''le can, though , vividly re­ Brown on a T riumph. Next time we meet call one storm y winter's day in 1918 when, Bert, who, incidentally, we saw recentl y get­ aided by a shivering sidecar passenger, we ting ar ound th e town as spry as ever, we were compelled to remove th e front and rear mu st che ck up with him on this. mudguards from th e machine to permit the 1',\ (;£ TW ENTY-TWO SEPTE .MIlER. 1962 clay-clogged wheels to turn. The unf ortunate Dick?" Yes, V. and V . motorcycle enthusiast passenger cuddled two filthy mudgu ards all Pat Wood of Pap atoetoe has acquired an th e way hom e, and we don 't think he has anomaly in the sha pe of a 1913 twin King ever spoken to us since. Another incide nt Dick which instead of possessing th e custom­ wh ich comes to mind is of a Peninsula trial in ar v, collection of wrist-w atch sized "zears in the autum n of 1920, unfortunatel y preceded the rear hub, actua lly boasts a four-speed gear- by a week's downpour, in which th e entire box, and an un common critter at th at- a entry was strewn over a particularl y gooey Jardine, with which we must admit no closer section near Port Levy, feverishly trying to acquaintance than the advertisement pages make progress th rough the hub-deep clay, in of ancient and hoary copies of "The Mo tor which even chains were of little effect, while Cycle". Rememb er the J ardine slogan , "Four over the frenzied scene rose clouds of blue Speeds With One Sliding Dog" ? An yway, smoke from overworked engines, whose ex­ gearboxes of any kind were not fitted to Kin g haust notes mercifully drown ed the impreca­ Dicks until some years after th e manufactu re tions of the competitors. H owever, th e point of Pat's mod el (and then three-speed boxes we intend ed to mak e, before side-trac king our­ only) so obviously the J ardine was a " ring­ self trying to freeze our readers' blood with in". Close examination disclosed th at at some "Horror Stories of Banks' Peninsula " , was tim e in the venerable model's ca reer a cra fts­ that for many years prior to these events, un­ man of no mean ability had made a most der the same or perhaps even worse condi­ workmanlike job of struc tural alterati ons to tions, trials competitors on machin es which fit the Jardine box. Question is-who, when, were crude and underpowered compa red with and where? Anoth er little conundru m ' is­ the models of the 1920's, got aro un d the how did a machine originally registered in gruelling courses with a credita bly high per­ Ch ristchurch ( the number plate bea rs the centage of finishers, man y even making non­ still-d eciph erable figures " CH CH 4913" ) stop run s; For example, in the sidecar trial turn up nea rly half a century lat er in T e of June 3, 1914, claimed to be the toughest Aroha, where Pat recentl y acquired it? yet held in N.Z. , th e winner, H arold Jones, Efforts to trace th e origina l owner from the took his King Dick sidecar outfit with passen­ Post Office came to naught, as ea rly record s ger through without the loss of a single mark. were destr oyed by fire man y moons ago. Yet his machin e was of only 650 c.c. or there­ Next- all the way from England comes an in­ abo uts, with hub gea rs, belt drive, stirru p front teresting bit of speculation from Mr W . R. brake, 2Y2 in. tyres, and looked abou t as com­ Paddon, an au thority on vetera n British fort able as th e top rail of a five-barred gate­ mot orcycles, who puts forward a theory, based but it ca rried dri ver and passenger th rough on a photograph he discovered in a 191 3 this tough event with flyinR colours. Whi ch issue of a British motorcycle journal, th at would seem to indi cat e th at the old irons had Pat 's model, in its origina l sta te, was th e what it takes ! In cidentally, H arold, we hope identical machine referred to ea rlier in these th at you're still very mu ch alive and kicking notes, which H arold Jones rode to first place up in W anganui, where we last heard of you. in both the 1913 and 1914 reliability tri als ! You certa inly could chuck a sidecar out­ A most interesting coincidence, if correct, fit around in your day! and we are hoping to dig up some fresh 'evid­ ence concerning this interesting old model THE GREAT KING DICK CONUN­ which will either prove or disprove Mr Pad­ DRUM: don's theory. An d lastly, the ~6 4 question­ This old and respected marque seems which we hope, for th e owner's sake, tha t destined to occupy a sizeable proporti on of someone has the answer to. Wh ere is Pat our space in this issue, but we can' t postpone going to find another set of crankcases for any longer bringing to the noti ce of all V. and his mystery model?Yes, one of th e connect­ V. motorcycle sleuths a puzzle almost as ing rods was overco me by claustro phobia baffling as the celebrated mystery of "Who after nearl y half-a-century of confinement, Threw T he O veralls In Mrs M urphy's and ran amuck with dire results to th e " bot­ Chowder?" . In fact , if you' re musically tom half". So rally round, fellows, and see inclin ed, you can even sing it to the same what you can do to help this worthy eause­ tune, but th e words are different-"Who Put we are sure that an y assistance will be highl y A Four-Speed Box On M r W ood's King apprecia ted. SEPTEM IlE R, 1902 PAGE TWESTY·THREE

F.N. "FOUR" COMING UPl Bonnington Cup, which was con tested for O ur plea in the previous issue of "B.W. " open competition over a period of 12 months. for the restoration of one of the old F.N . Here, is a short list of some of his othe r " fours" didn't fall on deaf ears. In our mail successes, T he Kenn ett Cu p, W akefield Cup, recently was a very nice lett er from M aurice Triumph Cup, Big T ree Cup, he also put up Fraser of H astings, who owns one of these fastest times on man y occasions. F rom Jones interesting old jobs, and who was kind enough M otors he shifted ca mp to the British M otor­ to say th at he was prompted to start restoring cycle Ag~n c y in Christchurch in the early it as th e result of reading our article in "B.W ." 30's. T hey were then the agents for the Judging from the photos whi ch he was good O.K. Su pre me and it was here once again enough to enclose, M aurice has quite a man ­ that Geoff's tuning and riding ability was to sized job on his hands to bring the old F.N. the fore. In 1938 he returned to J ones back to its original gra ndeur, but with the Motors (did you miss those crisp sounds of th e facilities at his disposal, the finished product H arleys Geoff ) until 1941 when he wen t and should be a verv distin ctive addition to the worked in the workshops at Burnham wor king ranks of restored vetera n machines in this on the Indians (war years) . After the war country. V-Ie wish him every success in the he join ed up with M r Joe Bond in th e M oto r­ project and look forw ard with very grea t in­ cycle business in Ch ristchurch and work ed terest to seeing th e completed model some­ there up until his retirement two yea rs ago . tim e in th e future. We only wish he was a Geoff in his hey-day would rate as one bit nearer to us, though ! of the best tuners this cou ntry has produced . But although he has retired he has not for­ V. & V. PERSONALITIES gotte n the two wheele rs, for he still tinkers The following has been inserted by the around with th em . In his den in Keyes motorcycle fraternity who feel that it is tim e Road , New Brighton , he has one very beauti­ we heard about the man who makes these fully prep ared 1920 7-9 H arley Davidson th at notes possible. A pologies Geoff for extracting has won for him many Rallies. One Re ading your usual V . and V. personality but on this Standard and a genuine racing 7-9 h.p. side­ occasion we feel our actions are fully justified. valve. Altoona Indian which I would sav - - E el. is Geo ff's most treasure d. Also a couple ~f The days of th e early racing H arle ys, Bix X M otorbikes one Blue, and Khaki. H e AJ S, No rtons, Douglas, and Indian etc. are would greet anyone with open arms for a blue now only past memories, but to a great num Big X tank, to finish off this imma culat e bike. bel' of people it always brings to mind one Also in his sta ble is a 350c.c. ohv Peash ooter certa in racing enthusiast who enjoyed mu ch H arley, and his every day moun t is a 350 c.c. succ ess and who brought the crowds to th eir sv H arl ey, and last, but not least, is a big toes with excitement on man y occasions. The twin Dayton engine, gea rbox, ca rb, and mag., man , our Motorcycle editor for th is maga­ but alas, m issing are the other components to zine Geoff Ho ckley. Geoff sta rted his Motor­ finish off this bike. His one ambition is to cycle trad e with Bell's Cycles in Christchurc h own a 8 valve H arIey ( has anyone one to in the early 20's and he competed with mu ch spare) . success with the Powerplus Indians, mainly T o every V . & V . m/ cycle enthusiast he in Trials, Beach racing, and Hill clim bs. In has become known as the Grandad of th e about 1926 he joined Jones M otors, Christ M otor Cycles. A title only fittin g to such a churc h, who were then the H arley Da vidson gra nd person. agents and he got to work with their little 2% Whether it be Yank or Pom bikes from h.p. bikes. cha in troubles to belt trou bles Geo ff is only Speak to any old motor cyclist and th ey too willing to stop and lend th at expe rience d all tell you that it was Geoff who put th e hand which I can tell you is greatly appreciat­ H arleys at the top of the ladder with his ed. Fo r quite a number of years now he has supe rb tuning and his fearl ess ability to get wr itten his very interesting motor cycle notes every ou nce of pow er out of those famous in this ma gazine and we all hop e motor litt le machines. H e won on numerous occa­ cycle an d car owne rs alike th at he will be sions with the H arleys th e mu ch soug ht after able to keep this up for yea rs to come . I' ..\ GE T \\ E:'-:TY·F O ll R SF.I'T D lB ER, 1%2

" Hockley Heyda y". Geoll astride his winn ing a.K. Supreme after the 500 c.c. Championship Beach Races at Christchurch in the T hirties. ( By C ou r tesy ~ ' II ~ llo ckh ' ~ ' j Vintage Car Insurance 3. M arine Insuran ce- crossing the Stra its­ loss or damage at sea. (T he Shipping Some members may be in doubt regard­ Compa ny is responsible for an y sma ll ing Vintage and Veteran ca r insuran ce. Gen­ da mage like dents du e to mishandling in erally, a prc-war car will not be accepted by loading or unl oading ) . the In surance Companies for "comprehensive 4. M edical Expenses for you and/ or wife, as cover", but a Club member will find that on result of car accident . showing his membership card he will have S. Personal Accident compensation to you little difficulty in securing what ever "cover" and / or wife, as result of ca r accident. he wants, and at the some rat es as for a 6. Passenger Risk. This is an optional extra modern vehicle. The company may wish to at small cost (20/- for £4000 cover ) with inspect the car, and may check with a Club some compan ies, bu t included by oth ers. official regarding valuation if the amo unt It is insur an ce against a successful claim asked for is at all high . for personal injury, made against you by Com pre hensive Cover means:- a passenger 111 your car. 1. Payment for repairs to your car, if dam­ 7. Accessory Ex tension. This is of particular aged by acc ident, fire, frost, or theft, up int erest to us as an extra 10/ - may obtain to the amo unt specified . an extension to cover against loss by theft, 2. Insuran ce again st Legal Liability for off the car, of accessories such as lamp, Third Party Property damage.(T his is:­ horn , tools, spare wh ecl or tyre, etc, when a claim for damage to the "other car", vehicle itself not stolen. someone's fan cy ga te post, fen ce, or a There maybe a claus e in the policy bridge, if you were at fault. (Limit setting a " franchise" in the even t of the car £ 20,000 ) . being dri ven at time of accident by someone SE PTE MBER, 1962 PAGE T WENTY-FIVE under the age of 21, or by someone who has except for injury to you rself or damage to been licenced to drive for less th an one year. your ca r. This "fra nchise" is a figure of £ 10 to £25, Va lua tion is a difficulty. We may know and in event of an accident while one of that some 1903 Whatsit changed hands in above was drivin g, then the owner pays the England for £ 1000, it is unreasonable to ask franchise am ount and the insuran ce compa ny an Insuran ce Co mpa ny to give this a mount pa ys th e balance of cost of repairs or legal of cover. The restored Vintage car should claim. be insurable for £ I00 or £200 with th e The vehi cle has to be registered and specially choice exa mple up to maybe £500. have a current Warrant of Fitness. The Cost of repair to your car is most unlik ely dri ver mu st have a Driving Licence. (T hese to reach these figu res. If a total loss by fire, do not apply to loss by fire whil e car is not then there will be some £ s. d. to start you in use ). off again. It is futile to over insure-you A Co mprehensive Policy may cost around only pay an unnecessaril y h igh premium. A £ 10 or so for the first year for a cover of ca r policy is one of Indemnity only, and in £ 200, but if you have a cla im-free year then the event of a total loss, the Co mpa ny will you are granted a bonus of one third redu ct­ not pay out more th an th e current valu ation ion for next year. at the time even if it were insured for more. Third Party Property Damage Only is T he important thing is for you to have suit­ another kind of car insuran ce policy which able insurance to guard against finan cial ruin is quite inexpensive-about £2 for £ I000 by legal action. cover. It gives insurance against a successful claim mad e against you by th e owner of NORTHERN NATTER " the other vehicle", the ga te post, fence, or By JOHN IRVINE bridge, etc., damaged by yO UI' ca r. It does Floods in the Waikat o! Slips on the not pa y for rep airs to your car. This policy Napier Road! Snow on the Waiouru plains ! is particularly suitable for owners of any old Co uld the weather man daunt the band of car of modest value, or Veteran of consid­ enth usiasts, 100 stro ng, converging on R oto­ era ble va lue but little used in normal traffic. ru a for the Annual No ggin and Natter ? Not "Third Party Personal" is th e compul­ perishin g likely! H aving tri ed and failed, the sory insurance we all ha ve to pay when regis­ wea ther man had turne d on his best by th e tering our vehicles. It provides you, for Satur day afternoon and those of us who took instan ce, with insurance aga inst a legally suc­ th e launch trip on R otoiti were rewarded by cessful clai m for person al injury mad e by the seeing the lake at its best, spending an enjoy­ pedestrian knocked down by your car. able couple of hours drinking in th e scenery. Ordinary Fire Risk insurance can be (Wot? No refreshment s? - Ed.) . taken out for a car with any Compan y. R at es By Sa turday evening the va rious lat e­ arc quite low, and the cover is like th at for comers had swelled the ea rlier muster and furniture, or personal effects. H owever, it the lounge of th e Geyser H otel was taxed to should be specified and a valu ati on shown the limit; th e meetin g was declared strictly on your Household policy, (No t needed if out of order, ind emnity for ms were circulat­ you have Comprehensive ). ed and the fun was under way. Each Branch The Vintage car in everyday use should was asked to give a sma ll item of enterta in­ definit ely have a Comprehensive Policly, pre­ ment and all responded ma gnificently. The ferably with Passenger Risk and Accessory fare was wide and varied, from " the Bays" Extension. Those used only occasionally, and hizarc bu t extremely am using "Man with most Veterans, would probabl y need only Three Legs" perform ed and, we assume, pro­ Third Party Property and Fire R isk Cove r. duced, written and directed by Jack Van de The cost of th ese two togethe r will be less H aven , to Olive Kilbey's very infor mative than a single Comprehensive policy, and as talk on " An tiques" , illustrated with th e actua l the T hird Pa rty Personal is universal, then articles. Harold Denton conducted the th ese provide a minimum safe amo un t of in­ "Auckland Sex-tet" in a b rack et of well surance against any maj or cal amity whi ch known songs with appropr iate variat ions, bu t could involve you in heavy finan cial loss, it was th e surprise ending to Tarana ki's item PAGE TWENTY·SIX SEPT EM BER. 1962 which brought the biggest round of applause. be I'll donat e it for next year's auction. An y­ Manv members will have heard of the mean way th anks to all th ose memb ers from all theft ' of the radiator bad ge from th e world 's over the Island who supported the auction only surviving " DU O" Cyclecar, whilst on and our very special th anks for attending th e display to the public some years ago . Ron Nogging and Natter and ensuring its suc­ J acob who had since purchased the Duo was cess. We look forw ard to seeing you all again engineered into winning the first prize for next year in even great er numbers. T aranaki's Quiz. The priz e proved to be, So with our winter North Island Social believ e it or not, the Duo radiator badge! rend ez-vous over and such necessar y cho res The T aran aki boys had gone to no end of as A.G.M.'s and things behind us, we look trouble to recover it and let it be clearl y under­ forw ard to th e warmer weather and some stood th at it was certai nly no club member really serious vintage mot oring. Talking of who had whipped it in the first place. Though V int age mot oring, the Auckland Branch once T aranaki would not reveal how the y re­ again upheld the hon our of th e North by trie ved it, we think there must ha ve been havin g their delegates to th e National A.G.M. a certain amount of arm twisting along th e travel down to Wellingto n in a suitable vint­ line somewhere before it was returned to its age ca r. This time a gallant little 1929 Aust in rightful place. A very fine effort and another 7 made th e trip. 850 miles or so in a winter's example of th e co-operative help th at arises weekend , most of it at 50 miles an hour is a from belonging to a truly national orga nisa­ wonderful tribute to Lord Austin 's versatile tion such as ours. and ever agile brain child. In th is instance th e Following the concert item s everybody of baby practically burst its seams with th e over­ course wanted to perform- and did! Even clad and amply padded bodies of Messrs Gill the boiling mud at Whaka couldn't compete and Adarns aboa rd. Both bods and bab y and it was rumoured that guide Rangi left not only surv ived to tell the tale, but are still the distri ct for a bit of peace and quiet. bouncing merrily ! Joking aside we do feel th at these gatherings serve a useful purpose in provid ing the oppor­ SOUTH CANTERBURY NOTES tunity for members to get to know one an­ T . M. Wilson other und er most informal circumstances. The Since our last report, branch activity at tim e vociferous exchan ge of views and vent­ has been confined to a weekend rally to ing of opinions overheard at the gathering is Akaroa during Queen's Birthday Weekend, a good thin g. We are only sorry th at of all two night trials and one film evening. At­ the North Island Branches, Wanganui could tend anc es at all these events have been excel­ not be represented, but we were pleased to lent, especially th e film evening and another meet Colin Kirkby and Keith Kircher who one will be held soon. carried the banner for Taran aki, the newest Restorations seem to be down to a mini­ North Island Bran ch . mum this winter. However, the first appear­ Oh yes, I almost forgot! Want to kno w an ce of th e M orris O xford Coupe of Alan how to make 24 quid in as many minutes? Armstrong and Danny Moran created much Members were invited to brin g along those interest at Queen's Birthday weekend and useless old car bits th ey've had lying around ap art from some slight teething troubl e, per­ for years and these were put up for auction. formed just as well as it looked. Garry Wright certa inly earned his laurels as Colin Lyons is repo rted to be making au ctione er. Bidd ing was br isk, though no stead y progress with his massive V-8 Ca dillac doubt prompted by altruistic motives, as it and we look forward to seeing more of this was made known th at the entire proceeds were ca r during the coming season. Don Oddie to be don ated to assist " Beaded Wheels" . We has finally collected all th e pieces of a singl e know someone who paid 11/ 6 for a genuine cylinder Darracq and restorati on is well hand operated wiper with the original price under way. of 3/6 still on the box and I am th e only Eric Robins' Darracq twin has been un­ person in th e world , who owns wh at appears dergoing an extensive motor overha ul but is to be part of a one shot lubricatio n system for almo st ready for th e road again. a 1908 Chena rd W aIche r. It is brass so I Wo rthy of mention also is the addition ca n polish and hang it up somewhere or may- of an imm aculate Vauxhaul 14/40 Tourer SEPTEMBER, 1962 PAGE TWENTY.SEVEN to Jim Sullivan's garage. Also, a run to Whakatane, which at­ The coming season promises well. The tracted the staggering number of three old highlight being our annual Mt. Cook Rally cars and three modern. It must be admitted and an all Veteran Rally which we are hold­ that the weather was not co-operative, but ing on November 3rd. This event is purely just the same it was the poorest turn-out yet for the benefit and enjoyment of the com­ and the weather has been worse on previous petitors and a full programme has been occasions. drawn up with this in mind. A rather uni­ The Club is doing fine-the spirit excel­ que plaque has been designed and will be a lent-but not enough mobile vintage cars are worthy memento of the occasion. seen on our runs. Still, we are only five years' old and we NELSON SECTION NOTES D. A. King had practically nothing to start with, so we Nothing very newsworthy has been hap­ mustn't grumble. pening in this neck of the woods since the We look forward to another five years last issue of Beaded Wheels, but will do my with undoubtedly more cars and, if not before, best to give readers the latest tittlc tattle. We we certainly hope to see most readers of have recently lost three Model T two tourers "Beaded Wheels" at a really big rally in the to Wellington and a coupe to Blcnheim. To Bay of Plenty at our "decennial?" celebra­ offset that loss we are pleased to welcome Jim tions, if not sooner! ! Chapple from Auckland, complete with Model A Ford and 3 litre Bentley. Soon to WANGANUI NOTES P. J. Nelligan live in the district will be the most immacu­ late Hupp in the country. I well remember Contrary to accepted belief, Wanganui this car when I was a lad in Timaru. Branch has not gone to sleep, and on Queen's Two well attended film evenings have Birthday Sunday, a record entry of 31 cars been held. At one evening we had a local turned out for the Shell sponsored rally to identity to tell us of his early motoring ex­ Marton and return. periences. This was an innovation which All using 93 octane in their vehicles, the was very well received and provided a wel­ hardy vinstronauts ploughed through some come change from films. of the slushiest mudiest (look at my-chassis From the motor cycle section we have mate) roads in N.Z. With a fine drizzle for lost John King with his 1915 Douglas who most of the 86 miles, the run was distributed have gone to live in Masterton, but are pleas­ with checks combined with the disturbing ed to welcome Phil Griffiths from Motueka hazards of driving tests. who is making a very nice restoration of a Upon eventual arrival in Marton, a circa 23 Harley and sidecar. Laurie Leyden picnic lunch was enjoyed in Marton Park is assembling all the necessary components for under the shelter of the Grandstand, after a 1910 Triumph to be a stablemate for his which the Mayor flagged off the cars back to Ricardo. Wanganui by a more direct route. Along the John Morrison is about to transfer his road side for almost 4 miles from Wanganui, twin cylinder Swift from Geraldine, a most the public were parked in their Tin Cans welcome addition to our Veteran ranks. waving the rugged, weatherbeaten vintage motorists home. "BAY BANTER" That evening a dinner and presentation Winter-time is a sleepy time in the Bay was held and a most interesting talk, illus­ of Plenty, with a main event, our 4th anni­ trated by slides, was given by a Shell Oil Co. versary run to Katikati Hot-Springs on the salesman on his recent Oxford-Cambridge 19th of August, exactly four days after the Expedition across the Sahara Desert. deadline for copy in "Beaded Wheels", so Prizewinners, in addition to their trop­ we will have to report on this in the next hies, were presented with petrol vouchers issue. from the Gonville Service Station. And so Nevertheless, we have had well attended ended a most successful Marton run. night meetings; a scrounge-run, on which About Wanganui, Vie Cascley is res­ each car was directed to a different farm to toring a Buick Master 6 of about 1926, while ask for any old iron. Result: sweet kiss-noth­ I am still trying to renew the rotten wooden ing. But good fun just the same. body frame of my 1927 Humber 9/20. What PAGE TWE""TY-EI GH T SEPTEMBER, 1962

He studies the pictures. The)' are excel­ lent inde ed. He settles into his chair and proceeds to" read as thoroughly and conscientiously as he can. Fin ally he takes pen cil and paper and begins : " It may be rather unfair to condemn a magazine after reading only the first issue." - B.R. M . Our copy by courtesy Doubleday & CO. SOUTHLAND NOTES At our A.G.M. the following officers were elected: President: Ray Lindsay. Secretary: Jack Barnes. Club Captain: Barry Barnes. Vice President: Ray Eunson, Jim Lawry, Ray Carter. Ex ecutive: Alf Wooll ett, Russ eU Lind­ say, Merv Coutts, Frank Robson and Russell McIvor. Social Committee: Graeme Lindsay, Cliff Beer, Russell Lindsay and Ray Eunson. During Sept ember we are holding our winter social evenin g in the form of a hard­ up dance. Last winter our shipwreck dance was a big success and this show will be too. Russell McIvor has his Aston-Martin motoring nicely again. A new hood is pro­ jected for the near future. His Ricardo Triumph motor bike is also mobile going like a rocket. Russell Lindsay has a 1925 Dodge with 5 seater English body . The front axle has been rem oved for a trailer set before he got the car but a bit of detective work located it. The car is undergoing restorati on. A prospecti ve club member, Terry Car­ roll, mov ed away to Auckland in the first leg of an overseas trip. Last we heard he had driven his 1924 Buick to Lyttleton with no trouble apart from a little brake trouble on the hills around Dunedin. The car is unres­ tored bodily but mechanically it is very good. We will be running the club-owned Dodgems at the Family Fair in the school holidays. They ar e a very good mon ey spinner but they take a fair bit of work to run. The club has for sale a 1922 Swift and a 1925 Buick. The cars are in relatively com­ plete conditions but are definitely in need of restoration, and are goin g at £ 10 each. Pur­ chasers would have to undertake to restore SEPTEMBER, 1962 PAGE T WENT Y·N IN E the cars. Inquiries to Secretary, Jack Barnes, tion. T ha nk you all concerned. 206 Bluff Road, Invercargill. O ur meetin gs are held on the third Fr ank Robson has acquired a collection Thursday of each month so welcome to any of brass radiator Fort T parts- sufficient to member who finds himself in the area at that make a complete car. or any other time, the directory up front should give you all the gen necessary to con­ CANTERBURY NOTES tact us. This Bran ch is away to its seventh year. Committee man J onathan Dransfield, The Annual General Meetin g drew one of formerly of Wellington now resident in Dan­ the largest gatherings we hav e had for several nevirke had the misfortunte to take an active years and the Secretary-T reasurer was the part in an explosion and following fire, while only person elected unopposed. workin g on his vintage Morris, thankfully the The incoming committee consists of car came off worst. I am sure all who know Chairman , Eri c Walker ; Secretary-Treasure r, him will join with me in wishing him a John Palm er; Club Captain , David (Speed ) speedy recovery, hope by now Jonathan you Bowman; Committee, Warner M auger, Bob are well on the mend. Scott, and Alan Storer. At time of writing we ha ve not had any Special mention was made of our past events or outings on which to comment, but Secreta ry-T reasure r, Jim Cummins and Val by December this well be rectified. M any who have somehow don e the job for the locals have exp ressed m uch interest in Easter last six years with out a break . Also H arry 1963 at Ne w Plymouth, do hope you can Wear who has been Club Capta in for the make it Tarana ki. I feel sure if it eventua tes past three years, and Alex Shadbolt com­ a good representation from Manawatu will mittee memb er who has been in charge of be there. the social committee over the last two years. We had two films taken of the Easter In M ay we held a Photographic trial Rally of this year an d look forward to viewin g and had about thirty cars, everyone enjoyed them. It is hoped the br anch will bu y at themselves not qu ite as man y got lost this least one, so at a later date this should be time but I am afraid it appeared as though available to oth ers for screening. No doubt there was some underhand work as the first our Secretary will advise when it is. three places were filled by Bentle ys. Queens Birthday Weekend we had the Local restorations continue, in some in­ usual trial to Irishmans Creek. T he weather stances at a fast er pace as the summer seas­ was perfect and the seventeen competitors son approaches, Bill Benn ett's 1913 Wolseley had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. Norm is receiving coac hwork, understand Welling­ King was first in his Dodge and George ton's No vember rally may be first outing for Wright was second in his 41'2 Bentl ey (wha t this one. Feilding's Les Fitzgerald, presses on not Bentl eys again ) . with the Roosevclt 8, hear some difficulty This is all this qu arter, hope to have has been experienced with body builder and mor e next time. motor seizure, hope it's not too bad Les. T he Morris marqu e is well represented round this MANA WATU NOTES By Griffon. area, particular the bull nose variety. New At the inaugural meeting on Jul y 19th , members Colin Looser and Bill Pringle have in Palmerston North a Branch was form ed come to light with one each. Bill's a four in this district. This was confirmed at the seater tourer, the wherea bouts of which he Annual Meetin g in Wellington on August has kno wn for a long time, one wond ers as 4th, so here we are. So far things have gone a car wrecker what else he knows of, time very smoothly, hope this happy state of affairs will tell. Club Captain Brian 30/98 continues. We have 53 members to start, WycherIey also has a M orris which is a dail y most of whom possess a vehicle or plural. sight in Palmerston North Squ are. Cha irman After the interest created locally by the Ken Townshend is forming up the frame for "Antique Aut o Show" of Easter last, the memb er daughter's bull nose roadster in necessity of a bran ch in the area was most mahogan y, says it's the only timber you can evident. We are indebted to our neighbours screw satisfactorily end on. Hope he is right Wanganui, Hawkes Bay, and Wellington, for Careen wouldn't like to be around if it fell their help and co-operation during our forma- apart. PAGE THIRTY SEPTEMBER, 1962

LETTER TO THE EDITOR The firm had found by experience such Dear Madam , th ings as a loose wire and water in the carbo In the last issue of Beaded Wheels (]une held the car up. As a service to motorists 1962 ) is an article called "Heavy Metal", in the school would begin if sufficient interest which the author states that the date of th e were taken. Enrol at NORTON and CAP­ first motor car race held in New Zealand was LEN The Ford agents HAWERA. March 5th, 1921. I think in all fairness to Fifty enrolled and so did 1. The school our pioneer motorists , this should be correct­ was a huge success from the firm's point of ed. The date of the first race held in New view and those interested learned a thing or Zealand was some time in 1903, and it was two. quite a serious affair, and was followed by On the fifth week of the school 16 Ford cars one in 1904. A picture of the 1903 race arri ved at the Hawera railway station. They can be seen in Beaded Wh eels, March 1958, were all placed in that school. With us, the p.I 7. There was also a motor cycle race in firm phoned and said to my father, "Mr F., 1904 , claimed to be the first in Australasia, your car is here ." The family had been hav­ but I cannot guarantee this. All these events ing an argument to get a car but these new­ were staged in Christchurch, and I have fangled ideas weren 't popular with the head seen the photos of all of them . of the house. By lunch tim e Father said to me, "Go to town and get that car. " I I remain, don 't think I have ever moved so fast. Yours truly, Wh en I got to the garage 16 Fords were Alister Macbeth. lined up, they all looked the same, but on (We assume that Mr Capper-Starrs' examination one had felt floor mats, and that reference is to the first Race Meeting held was my pick. When we opened the directions on a Nat ional Scale . - Editor.) we could not read a thing-the car was meant QUIZ for India. Four gallons of petrol were put into the tank, started up and I set out for No reply to June Quiz, and unfortun­ home. Every car was sold in a week and ately no space available for a block this issue. not one had been ordered. We painted our Howere, the June photo was H. A. Mildon, number on a piece of tin, H.W. 764. winning the 4 cyl. light car race in his Swift Hawera's number began at 501 so we were at Muriwai, 1922. among the early motorists. LOOKING BACKWARD IN MOTORING If we got 5000 miles on a tyre it was won­ H. J. Finlay, Tokaroa, Hawera. derful. We tried knobby treads, Palmer cords, but 5000 was our best. Oil lamps were CAR SALES a curse. I got fined for parking without Fifty years ago we bought our first car, a lights. Some towns had 10 to 15 rn.p.h . speed Model T, price £ 180. This is how the sale limit, and not a person in sight. took place. The local agents for Fords at I was popular at weddings. "Would you that time were fighting a battle to get sales. please drive the bride ?" In the wedding Water in petrol caused many a stop and the write-up, "The bride and groom left by man on the street did not like the idea of motor car," etc. being stuck on the road. This firm had a That boom in car sales set thin gs going. I bright idea. They adverti sed that their had a motor-cycle H .W. 595 so I was in the works foreman, who had just arrived first 100 motorists. I remember an instance. from England, was an expert on motor cars, I was sheltering under some trees during a and he had agreed to help motorists, so the storm when a famil y in their new Ford pulled firm were going to have free night classes for up alongside. They were wet to the skin and motorists and those interested in cars, each they said driving so fast into the rain doesn't Thursday night for six weeks. The expert give one a chance. I agreed, but said, " Why would teach those interested how to repair not put the hood and side curta ins up ?" The punctures, to do simple roadside repairs, to reply, "Has this car got a hood? We won't grease and change oil, how to dri ve a car get caught again. They didn't tell us we had (mainly Fords ) . a hood." SEPTE MBER, 1962 PAGE TH IRT Y·ONE Classified Advertisements " T'toentv -iour classic cars . .. . su perblv CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS RATES MEMBERS OF VINTAGE CAR CLUB O FN .Z . pho to graph er! in colour, and lin ked togeth er I NC.: F ree for first three lines (approx. 25 by Mr T'ubbs' ex pert te xt," - Pun ch . words) ; th ereaf ter 1/ - pe r line (8 words). NON-MEMBERS: 5/ - for first three lines or less; thereafter 1/- per line. To be accep ted a ll advertisements mu st be typed and be accompanied by the necessary re mittance and mu st be in th e hands o f the Editor not la ter than th e 15th day of th e month before publicati on date. Special disp lay advertisements of ca rs for sale complete with photos Illay be inse rte d at specia l and very reasonable ra tes, for details of whi ch ser­ vice write to the Editor.

LAGONDA 11 .9 1923, two seater, very good condi tion. Spa re motor £ 190. - T . W. Parkinson, 27 Jocelyn Crescent, Pinehaven, Upper Hutt. . A PAIR Nash Bump er bars and supporting brackets to anyone who wan ts same. Contact R H . Wal ton, 93 Alberton Avenue, Mount VINTAGE CARS Albert, Auckland. I N COLOU R WANTED: Handbook and any spares for Phot ograp hs by j a rnes Ba rron, text hy 1914 4-cyl. F.N. Motor Cycle. I have a D. B. T ubbs. radiator, front and rear axles and chassis for a 1914 H illman. (Free for removal ) . - M. VETERAN CARS J. Fraser, 1014a Fitzroy Avenu e, Hastings. IN COLOU R FOR SALE: 1916 Triumph Mo tor Cycle, by Antho ny Bird completely restored to original condition. 24 co lour plat es 7y.jins. x 8 ~in s . with text. £ 60 or offer. App ly Coliins, 30 Severn Street, (uniform with the above ) Publish ed by Bat sford. St. Albans, Christchurch. PRICE 16/ 3 each WANTED: Set special centre-lock wheels as shown in detail in photograph to suit 1912 15 h.p. Austin and to suit 815 x 105 RE. VINTAGE CARS , by Ph il Drackett tyres.-G.E. Gibbs, 9 Kokaka Street, T ai­ hap e. VETERAN CARS, by Phil Drackett published by Foyles com pa nio n bookl ets, ea ch containing int er esting facts and photographs Price 5/ 3 each

when the gauntlets come off take up these! • from all bookshops

DISTRI BUTED IN NE'''' ZEALAND BY WHIICOMBE &lOMBS lID. PAGE THIRTY-TWO SEPTEMBER, 1962

WANTED: Douglas 1920 rear mudguard FOR SALE OR SWAP: 1923 Essex 4 tourer with side flaps. A. S. BREHAUT, 22a Cain suitable spares ( no radiator, clutch, tyres, Street, Timaru. frant axle) 1923 Standard roadster all parts WANTED: Outer sleeve valve for Daimler ( body parts have been in shed, chassis in 15 h.p. 4 cylinder. G. CLEMENTS, 95 weather 2 or 3 years). Information available Burnlev Terrace, Au ckland. Phone 52-613 or on badly weathered 1912 and 1913 Cadillacs, 146 H~nderson (Bus. ). one is eiectric model, has tw o-speed diff. One WANTED: Two gallon petrol tin with em­ motor is in full go ing order. Information on bossed shell in gold on side for 1925 Morris 1908 De Dion engine, chassis, nothing else Cowley. ]. A. CONNOR, lOb Woodleigh except name plate off bod y. Several pai rs Street, New Plymouth. ( English and American ) rear doors, been stored in garage after 1930 conversions to WANTED : Two 33 by 4Y2 or 34 by 5 Y2 ton trucks. In new cond ition, but un­ W .B. T yres, also tubes if available. -W.]. identified. (T. C. MITCHELL, as above. ) Mitchell, Awamoa Road, Oamaru. FOR SALE : 1927 Essex Super Six 4-door WANTED : I pair Headlights for 1935 sedan, body in almost unmarked condition , Auburn 851 Model. Contact L. W . Diez, 7.l chas sis verv sound, motor very fair. Needs Ellis Street, Frankton Junction. urgent wa'rk on roof and upholstery ( re­ WANTED : Differential gear for 1910-12 paint, then ready for road. A one owner ca r Flanders R oadster, Buy or trade any parts (5 8,000 miles) going cheap. Make an for steamers. B. T. R ankine, 10 Churcher offer. (T. C . Mitchell, as above.) Street , Feilding. WANTED TO BUY OR SWAP OR Bugatti T ype 38 co m plete but dismantled. OTHERWISE ACQUIRE: A suitable body Some bodywork, exchange for early veteran for a 1929 Armstrong Siddeley pre-selector car must be original or completly restored. 20 h.p. model. The original was a We ym an Studebaker 1914.Com plete, unrestored. fabric saloon, but would conside r absolutely Ex change for English or Continental ca r same any suitable typ e of body, Ameri can or Eng­ period. Adjustment if necessary. lish or Continental , tourer, sedan or two seat­ A.].S. 35 0 D.H.V. 1928? Complete unres­ er, as long as it co uld be adapted to 120 in ch tared. Ex change U .S.A. or Continental same wh eelbase, and would suit th e period. (T he period. al um inium bodied 1928 Hudson fits, for - Write RON ROYCROFT, exam ple- is th ere one around going reason­ Glen Murray. ably?) . (T. C . MITCHELL, as above.) RELUCTANT SALE: 1926 Essex two-door WANTED: Anv information on any Arm­ coach. This is the last of the "box" shaped stro ng Siddeley 'models, vintage or ·P .V .T. models, has the 6cyl. motor and two wheel Would buy handbooks, photos, magazine brakes. All panel work has be en don e, roof articles. Would welcome correspondence with com pletely re-built and recovered inside and any owners or ex-owners. Guarantee to re­ out, all new ni ckel. N eeds re-upholstering turn an y items only on loan. T. C. (very eas y indeed-all flat square panels MITCHELL, as above. ) whi ch slide into slots, no screws required). WANTED: Sk ew gears for three Litre Bent­ Motor needs bearing att ention. Tyres fair, ley any condition . An yone interested in hav­ rims sound. A verv comfortable car to rid e ing a set of skew gears made and who have in, and to drive, as well as a real attention an old set co ntac t Ran Hasell, 78 Totara getter. H as appeared in Waikato and B.O.P. Street, Christchurch 4. ra llies. An excellent car for one just starting in th e Club, and one whi ch I would not be ANYONE wishing to join th e HUDSON­ selling exce pt that I need the money towards ESSEX-TERRAPLANE CLUB of AMER­ com plete re-build of body on Armstrong-Sid­ ICA please write Jim Sullivan, Otaio , No. 1 del ey. Start haggling at £40 or near offer, R .D . Timaru. but will only sell to a proven ge nuine club SUNBEAM 191 9 : Veteran characteristics member. V ery easy terms if needed . T. C . with vintage performance 16 H.P. Sid e valve MITCHELL, PRIMARY SCHOOL, TE motor. 16-20 mod el-4 spe ed gear box-2 PUKE. wh eel brakes-Sankey steel B.E. wh eels- imp orted by Lady Campbell of Cheviot. FOR SALE : 1928 Scott 600 c.c. wat er cool­ M echanically complete and sound wit hout a ed Motor cycle. R ebuilt condition. Offers. J. body . Spare motor - diff . wh eels and two TOOHEY, 19 Huxley Street, Sydenha m, gc Zt r boxes. Make perfect Vintage restora­ Chr istchurch 2. tion . J. B. LOUGHNAN, 24 Creyke Ro ad, Christchurch, 4. WANTED : Pair Marechal headlamps, buy or swa p for pair Lucas P lOO's. A. ANDER­ CH RYS LER, 1930 / 31 : 77 Roadster, 4-speed SON, 20 H ackt horne Road, Christchurch 2. gear box, some rear bodywork required, other­ FOR SALE : V8 . backaxle complete £7. 1 wise complete but in need of restorat ion. T his pr. Smiths 4 ~/2 litre Ben tley headlamps less car is similar to one owned bv member R. reflectors-for the taking aw ay-ANDER­ Kilbey. J. B. LOUGHNAN, 24 'C reyke Road, SON, 20 H ackthorne Road , Christchurc h 2. Christchurc h, 4. WANTED : Eiscmann magn eto or North WANTED: Clutch, or three speed Hub for Eas t electrical system for 4 cylinder Dodge motorcycle, or parts for same. Also Controls. (D. B.) and set of Ke lsey 32 x 4 wh eels and R . D. C ROS S, 25 King Street, Timaru. rims. W. J. VOYCE,P.O. Box 12, K aikohe . WANTED : To Complete file of Veteran WANTED: Morris bull-nosed car or M odel Car Club of G.B. 1928 Aut ocars dated J an ­ T or Beauty Car. Also any parts, wheels, uary 13, February 24, March 9, June 15. tyres. MISSCAR R O L, Box 3434, Au ck­ Reasonable price paid. Replies to Editor land. Bead ed Wheels. FOR SALE - \VAN T ED : Wheels and mudguards or any 19 14 Bod ywork panels and suppo rts, Eng­ parts suitable for 19 12 King Dick motorbike. lish. T. BAR NES, 46 Beverley Road, T imaru. 1912- 13 12/1 6 Wolseley M otor Semi com­ SELL: 1915 Ford T. Well known S.I . car. plete £3. Full y restored . Good original upholstery. U nused T yre and tube 500 x 24, £ 1O. Rebored. Exce llent tyres and wheels. New 1928 approx 4 cylinder Humber. Vee hood, etc. Spa re 'Wheel, T yre and Tube. wind screen model. Conver ted int o truck . Genuine reason for selling . OFFERS. D. Pref er to sell complete. MORLEY, 323 W airakei Road , Bryndwr, 1926 M axwell, registered, 20 ineh tyres. Ch ristchurch . Ph one 29-939. O ffers. Interested person s sho uld inquire im­ mediatel y. Must be cleared from storage . HOTCHKISS: For Sale 1928 3 litre AM80 Les Fit zgerald, 7 Carthew Street, Feilding. model. Only vint age exam ple in New Zea­ WANTED : Radiator cap and Bumper bad ge land. M echani cally good, bod y fair. Plenty for Rooscvelt 8, also inform ati on, manuals of spa res. Enquiries to P. SLOCOMBE, 96 and publicati ons por taining to same. In­ K handallah Road , Wellington . qu ires and replies to LES FlTZGERALD, 7 " SELLVauxhall 20/60 engine and gea rbox Ca rthcw Street, Feilding. spa res also front axle assembly. Apply 5 WANTED: Two 28 x 3 bead ed edge tyres Bctwin Avenu e, Christchurch." and tubes, urgently required . Con tact PHIL WA NTED : Any parts or information on G RIFFIT H S, Smiths M otors, Riw aka, Nel­ '02 U.S . LONG DISTANCE, 7 h.p. hori­ son. zontal single cyl. 5 x 7 bore, stroke. Believed WANTED :Sidechair for vintage B.S.A. ill Auckland area . - J. Bayly, R .D . 2, Tirau. M / C speedo meter, rea r seat, handbook for 50 1 Fiat. Bayon et typ e taillight and coach \,VANTED: Sa loon body for Ford T , 19 15­ triming for vintage closed coupe. Have Fiat 23. "Top H at" style, with centre doors and 50 1 and 1926 M or ris Cowley parts for sale. oval rear window, conside r who le car. - D. G.M . BAIN, 12 Bcvcrlcy Street, Christ­ Ki ng, 166 Quebec Road, Nelson. churc h 1. FOR SALE : Set new piston s for Model 90, WANTED : 1927 Pa cka rd 6, for spares- any Overland. - D . King, 166 Quebec Road , moveable condition. N. A. M dvIILLAN, Box Nelson . 408, Invercar g,_il_I. _ WANTED: Vintage or veteran motorcycle \VANTED: D irt track Douglas wheels and in running orde r. Reasonable condition and tank. F. C. SPENCER, 25 Lorn e Street, price. Contact D . Agnew, 155 Esplan ade, Wellington . Pct one . Phone 65-728 . }ltl11tI••{mliilt?m*mwm t-- ALYIS ASTON-MARTON AU STIN BENTLEY If11 ~ ~

~....

r~'11 JAGUAR ;:n LAGONDA I LOTUS © MG (t MORGA N

Every British car manufacturer officially approves Ca~1 CASTROL 'balanced' SUPERGRADES ,..0 .

-.4/Wcr)/S' qsk fbr CASTROL 'balanced' SUP ERG RADES - b.f !:Cllffe CASTROLITE CASTROL XL 5569 Advert ising enq uiries to be addressed to th e Adv er tisin g M anage r', :W H ackthorn e Road, C hr istch urch, S.2. Publish ed bv V intag e Ca r C lu b of N .Z. I ncorpora ted and p rinted by Simpsou & \ Vill iams Ltd., 169 St. Asaph Street , C hri ste hurch ?\ cw ' Zeala nd . Registered a t the C .P.O . \ Vcll ington. for tran sm issio n a s: a mag azine, e re. •

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