NEW ZEALAND’S FOREMOST HISTORICAL MOTORING MAGAZINE No. 312 October/November 2011 $6.95 Behind the Wheel of a 1918 BUICK HINTS FOR CORK CLUTCHES 1901 White Steam Car 9 418979 000012 Club news from around New Zealand Photograph supplied by Peter Nightingale PHOTOGRAPHS REQUIRED Peter has been given this photo by the owner who has no Submissions of suitable prints and information (where available) are always information at all on it except that it was in a collection of welcome. family photos. The photograph owner has since gone overseas Please send original photographs of historical interest with any available but maybe a keen-eyed reader can assist with information or information to: details of the vehicle and its occupants. Beaded Wheels, PO Box 13140, Christchurch 8141. Laserprints/photocopies are not suitable. Photos will be returned as soon as practicable. management committee MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE SECRETARY/ TREASURER Bob Ballantyne Contact National Office for all queries Please note this information changes Michael Lavender 09 444 4066 [email protected] annually - these details are valid until regarding VICs, logbooks, historic race licences, 03 325 5704 [email protected] Tony Bartlett October 2011. lighting endorsement, registration of vehicles, REGISTRAR 06 867 9850 [email protected] address changes, subscriptions, membership PRESIDENT Rod Brayshaw Diane Quarrie John Coomber 07 549 4250 [email protected] 06 876 4009 [email protected] cards, speed events. 03 348 0062 [email protected] SPEED STEWARD VCCNZ ARCHIVIST CLUB CAPTAIN NORTHERN REGION The Vintage Car Club Of New Zealand (Inc.) Frank Renwick Betty Wallace John Foot National Office, 03 352 4383 [email protected] 03 929 0829 [email protected] 07 823 5641 [email protected] PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140 BEADED WHEELS CHAIRMAN Phone 03 366 4461 Fax 03 366 0273 CLUB CAPTAIN SOUTHERN REGION Kevin Clarkson John Chynoweth 03 385 9821 [email protected] Email [email protected] 03 439 5474 [email protected] branches A full list of branch addresses and contact details can also be found on the VCCNZ website at www.vcc.org.nz ASHBURTON EASTERN BAY OF PLENTY KING COUNTRY NORTH SHORE SOUTH WAIKATO WAITEMATA PO Box 382, Ashburton 7740 PO Box 2168, Kopeopeo C/- 34 House Ave, C/- 7 Godwit Place, Lynfield PO Box 403 Tokoroa 3420 C/- 9 Marlborough Ave, Glenfield [email protected] Whakatane 3159 Taumarunui 3920 Auckland 1042 [email protected] Auckland 0629 AUCKLAND [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] TARANAKI [email protected] PO Box 12-138, Penrose, FAR NORTH MANAWATU OTAGO C/- 86 Wilson St, Hawera 4610 WANGANUI Auckland 1642 2534 Kaitaia-Awaroa Rd, PO Box 385 PO Box 5352, Dunedin 9058 [email protected] PO Box 726, Wanganui 4540 [email protected] Herekino, RD 1, Kaitaia 0481 Palmerston North 4440 [email protected] TAUPO [email protected] BANKS PENINSULA [email protected] [email protected] ROTORUA PO Box 907, Taupo 3351 WELLINGTON PO Box 22-431, High Street, GISBORNE MARLBOROUGH PO Box 2014, Rotorua 3040 [email protected] PO Box 38-418, Petone, Christchurch 8142 PO Box 307, Gisborne 4040 PO Box 422, Blenheim 7315 [email protected] WAIKATO Wellington 5045 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] SOUTH CANTERBURY PO Box 924, Hamilton 3240 [email protected] BAY OF PLENTY GORE NELSON PO Box 623, Timaru 7910 [email protected] WELLSFORD/WARKWORTH PO Box 660, Tauranga 3140 PO Box 329, Gore 9740 PO Box 3531, Richmond 7050 [email protected] WAIMATE PO Box 547, Warkworth 0941 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] SOUTHLAND 4 Harris St, Waimate 7924 [email protected] CANTERBURY HAWKES BAY NORTHLAND PO Box 1240, Invercargill 9840 [email protected] WEST COAST PO Box 11-082, Sockburn PO Box 3406, Napier 4142 PO Box 17, Whangarei 0140 [email protected] WAIRARAPA C/- 9 Stafford Rd, Christchurch 8052 [email protected] [email protected] SOUTH OTAGO PO Box 7, Masterton 5810 Hokitika 7882 [email protected] HOROWHENUA NORTH OTAGO C/- M. Tapp, RD 3, Warepa, [email protected] [email protected] CENTRAL OTAGO PO Box 458, Levin 5540 PO Box 360, Oamaru 9444 Balclutha 9273 C/- 4B Roto Place, Wanaka 9305 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Please note this information changes annually - these details are valid [email protected] until October 2011. 2 Beaded Wheels Beaded Wheels Publisher THE Vintage CAR CLUB OF NZ (INC.) The Historic Vehicle Authority of New Zealand ISSN 0113-7506 Vol LXI No. 312 Editorial Committee Beaded Wheels Kevin Clarkson (Chairman), Judith Bain, Rosalie Brown, Bill Cockram, John Coomber, Issue 312 October/November 2011 Mark Dawber, Marilyn McKinlay. Material for Publication Reports of restorations, events, road tests, historical and technical articles etc should be FEATURES forwarded to PO Box 13140, Christchurch 8141, typed or neatly printed, double space on one 12 AGM 2011 side of paper only. Email of text and photos is acceptable, digital photographs should be high resolution eg 300dpi. No payment is made 12 John L Goddard 2011 to contributors. The opinions or statements expressed in letters or articles in Beaded Wheels are the author’s own views and do not necessarily 14 Sticking a Cork in it express the policy or views of The Vintage Car Club of NZ (Inc). Email 15 Early West Coast Memories [email protected] Advertising Address 16 Fordsons Classified and Display Advertising to: PO Box 13140, Christchurch 8141. 1901 White Steam Car, page 18. Phone 64 3 332 3531, Fax 64 3 366 0273 18 1901 White Steam Car Rate schedule available on request. Back Issues 26 Behind the Wheel — 1918 Buick Available on request to PO Box 13140, Christchurch 8141. 32 Those Fabulous Fours Correspondence & Editorial Contributions Phone 64 3 332 3531, Fax 64 3 366 0273 PO Box 13140, Christchurch 8141. Subscriptions Beaded Wheels subscribers change of address to COLUMNS PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140. Phone 03 366 4461, Fax 03 366 0273 4 President’s Message Annual subscription (6 issues) $39 inc GST Australian subscription (6 issues) NZ$70 Other countries (6 issues) NZ$100. 4 As We See It Production Typesetting & design by RGBDesign 5 VCC Events Printed by Spectrum Print Ltd, Christchurch. Closing Date for December/January Issue 6 National Office News Editorial Copy 25 October 2011 Cork clutches, page 14 Advertisements 10 November 2011 The Vintage Car Club of 6 Captain’s Log New Zealand (Inc.) National Office 7 Mailbag Phone 03 366 4461 Fax 03 366 0273 Email [email protected] Postal Address 10 The Way We Were PO Box 2546, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand. Address 11 Timelines 12 Aberdeen St, Christchurch, New Zealand. Website www.vcc.org.nz 22 50 Year Awards Beaded Wheels is the voice of The Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (Inc.) and its 35 branches 24 Two Wheels and Other Things covering the length and breadth of the country. The efforts of our members continue fostering and ever widening the interest in this segment 30 Brass Notes of our country’s history. It is to these people, who Branch news with Idle Torque, page 45 appreciate the fascination of age, the individuality and the functional elegance of vehicles from a 35 VCC Rally 2012 bygone era, that this magazine is dedicated. Beaded Wheels – A very apt and well-known title however readers may wonder at the origin of the 36 Marketplace name. By way of explanation beaded edge wheels use beaded edge tyres that are kept in place by reinforced rubber beads, which fit into the rolled 43 Swap Meets & Rallies edges of the wheel rim. This style of wheel was a distinctive feature of early motoring being used on early bicycles, many pre-1924 cars and most 46 Idle Torque motorcycles until 1927. The VCCNZ adopted the title Beaded Wheels for their quarterly club magazine in March 1955 which was the successor to the monthly Guff Sheet. Copyright Information The contents are copyright. Articles may be COVER reproduced complete or in part provided that acknowledgement is made to “Beaded Wheels, the magazine of The Vintage Car Club of New This 1918 Buick features in our Behind the Wheel road test. Zealand (Inc)” as the source. Beaded Wheels reserves the right to digitally store all published Photo Bruce Hutton, LPSNZ, QSM material for archival purposes. Beaded Wheels 3 president’s message as we see it There was considerable discussion on this and the Executive approved an increase of $5 in the annual subscription. It is always Last month the Nelson Branch disappointing to have to increase subscrip- Members of the Vintage Car Club enjoy hosted the Annual General Meeting and tions, and we have undertaken to review many benefits as a result of their member- Executive Meeting of the Vintage Car Club all aspects of our expenditure to ensure ship, not the least being delivery to your of New Zealand Inc. at the Rutherford that we can live within our budget and door of your copy of Beaded Wheels every Hotel. A lot of hard work had gone into still provide the services members have two months. Non-members living in New the planning and preparation of this event come to expect. The cost of travelling on Zealand who wish to read the magazine, by branch chairman John Hurley and his VCC business has escalated dramatically and there are many, pay around $40 yearly team.