vintage vehicle touring enthusiasts (car inc) moto media ......bleached ribs of timber echo some of...

Vintage Vehicle Touring Enthusiasts (CAR Inc) Moto Media Volume 4 - Issue 3


Committee Members for 2011/12 are: Co-Ordinator Alex Allum 0419 544 184 [email protected] Secretary/Treasurer Wendy Yarrow 5464 1273 [email protected] Dating Officer Alex Allum 0419 544 184 Editor Janet Smith 5426 8572 [email protected]

QHMC Rep Graham Allum 0403 528 331 [email protected]

VVTE EVENTS CALENDAR

DATE CLUB & INVITATION EVENTS

CONTACT

October 2011

16th Bundamba Swap - Ipswich Veteran & Vintage Vehicle Club Swap – Ebbw Vale Soccer Grounds

Ph 3201 8911

November 2011

5th/6th Gold Coast Antique Auto Club – Autorama 2011 rally

The Secretary, Margaret Hession (07) 55241 338

12th

VVTE Christmas Lunch at

Harrisville

Alex or Wendy

January 2012

26th Bayside Vehicle Restorers Club – Australia Day Rally Ormiston State School

Richard Egglesfield 0417612533

February 2012

TBA VVTE

Car Inc Birthday Meeting, Details TBA

Alex

March 2012

25th

BVRC Swap Ormiston State School

Gates open 5:45am

Richard Egglesfield 0417612533

April 2012 6th – 9th VVTE

Easter at Kingaroy Alex

June 2012

9th – 11th 2012 RACQ HMC Rally –

Maryborough Ken Ashford

Rally Co-Ordinator (07) 4122 2111

mailto:[email protected]





CO-ORDINATOR’S REPORT

Welcome to this issues Co-ordinators report.

I’d like to extend a warm welcome to our new members and thanks to all that attended our recent meeting at the Oxley Creek Common.

A great day was had by all I’m sure, particularly those who braved their vintage cars only to have trouble on the way home. Not to mention being in the wrong gear for hill climbing!!!

I do hope you will all be able to attend our Christmas day trip to Harrisville on the 12th of November. Its sure to be another fun filled day with much enjoyment to be had by all.

Alex Allum.

EDITORIAL STUFF... Our last get-together at Oxley Creek Common, Sherwood was a very enjoyable day. Wendy re-discovered an old friend (much to the amusement of all) and spent time reminiscing and catching up, and just for Jeff Cox - you will be glad to know there was no syrup involved! Harrisville Run is our last event for this year (details attached), it’s a good drive through a lovely area. Regards, Janet


Minutes of General Meeting – VVTE Car Inc. – held on 18th September 2011

At Oxley Creek Common – Sherwood

Chaired by Alex Allum. Opened at 12.07pm

Attended as per attendance book Apologies: Bob & Hazel Burley; Earle & Sis Chapman; Peter & Glenys Wilkinson; Jeff & Ann Cox; Bud (Team Smith). Visitor: Lexie Bryant. Pat & Betty Elliott Alex declared meeting open and welcomed Members and Visitor. Minutes of previous meeting held at Esk Tourist Park, Esk 2nd July 2011 were taken as read. Wendy Yarrow moved they be a true and correct record. Seconded by Elaine Pakeman. Carried. No matters arising from previous minutes. Correspondence in: Email- Invitation to Gold Coast Antique Auto Club Rally – 5th/6th November 2011 Kat O’Shaughnessy – Looking for true Touring Cars (60‘s/70’s) Leyburn Sprints Media – 18th September, celebrating 1949 Australian Grand Prix Membership applications: Michael & Marilyn Keating, Gatton; Peter & Glenys Wilkinson, The Gap; Pat & Betty Elliott, Gatton. Outwards: nil

Treasurer’s report: Closing balance $2,495.78. Banked $60.00 being for 3 Memberships. Moved

Wendy Yarrow. Seconded by Graham Allum Reports: Editor: Newsletter sent out. Car Inc. Rep: Spencer Yarrow reported that Car Inc new President is from Chinchilla Group. Scott Smith is Secretary/Treasurer. They would like to have runs to different places for their meetings so All Groups are able to attend. Dating: Alex Allum reported that there had been no vehicles to date. QHMC: Graham Allum reported that a letter had been sent to Minister about the seat belt debate. Membership: 3 new Memberships. Michael & Marilyn Keating, Gatton – 1929 Buick. Moved by Alex Allum Seconded by Gerry Smith. Peter & Glenys Wilkinson, The Gap – 1928 Essex Roadster. Moved by Alex Allum Seconded by Dave Pakeman. Pat & Betty Elliott, Gatton – 1928 Essex Van. Moved by Alex Allum Seconded by Janet Smith. Carried that they be accepted into the Group. General Business: Graham Allum reported that the Petrol Consumption run in Toowoomba was well attended with 43 cars overall of which 5 VVTE Car Inc. members attended. Spencer Yarrow moved that we make it a Group event next year. Seconded by Ebony Allum. Carried Gerry would like to see an events calendar included into our Newsletter


Meeting decided that Janet is to put info into an events calendar as she receives it. Gerry reported that the swap meet at Veteran Car Club rooms at Carindale was very interesting and well worth going to see. Graham Allum moved we have a Christmas lunch at Harrisville Hotel 12th November with a meeting to be held in the park after lunch. Seconded Elaine Pakeman. Easter Rally: Discussion led to meeting deciding to postpone Easter Invitation Run next year and look towards one at Easter 2013. Spencer Yarrow moved that the Group have Easter 2012 in Kingaroy and discuss venues at a meeting there for 2013. Seconded by Elaine Pakeman. Carried. Next meeting to be at Harrisville in November. No further business Meeting closed 1.06pm

Humour...........

Four men were sitting around a conference room table being interviewed for a job. The interviewer asked, "What is the fastest thing you know of?" The first man replied "A thought. It pops into your head, there's no forewarning that it's on the way, it's just there. A thought is the fastest thing I know of. "That's very good" replied the interviewer. "And now you, sir," he asked the second man. "Hmmm, let me see..... a blink!," said the second man. "It comes and goes and you don't know it ever happened. A blink is the fastest thing I know of." "Excellent!", said the interviewer. "The blink of an eye. That's a very popular cliché for speed." He then turned to the third man who was contemplating his reply. "Well, out on my dad's property, you step out of the house and on the wall there is a light switch. When you flip that switch, way across the paddock the light at the barn comes on in an instant. Turning on a light is the fastest thing I can think of." The interviewer was very impressed with the third answer and thought he had found his man. "It's hard to beat the speed of light", he said. Turning to the fourth man, an Australian, he posed the same question. "After hearing the three previous answers, it's obvious to me the fastest thing known is diarrhea," said the Aussie. "What!" said the interviewer, stunned by the response? "Oh, I can explain," said the Aussie, "You see, the other day I wasn't feeling so well and ran for the bathroom. But, before I could, think, blink, or turn on the light, I s..t my pants." He got the job.............


Oxley Creek Common, Sherwood - Run Report The Day started very hazy as there were a few “back burns” that went wrong on the South

side.

After a bit of a drive two vintage cars met at the BP at the western end of Blacksoil for the

drive into Oxley.

These were the Smith Team Dodge and Allum’s Model A.

We followed the Warrego in until we reached Dinmore where we turned onto Riverview Road

to go to the Moggill Ferry.

We arrived just as the ferry departed so had a pleasant few minutes watching it travel over

and back to us.

Only three cars on the ferry for our trip. The disembark became interesting as Alex tried to

go up the rather steep ramp in 3rd. Seems he had just rolled onto the ferry and the amazing

performance of the A allowed him to move across the ferry in top but the uphill grade was

another matter. In a magnificent display of driving he quickly selected 1st and we were off!

We proceeded into Brisbane via Bellbowrie, Kenmore and Indooroopilly then across the

Indooroopilly Bridge, down Sherwood road to the Oxley Creek Common.

We chose there as the “Sherwood Forest” park was undergoing extensive repairs.

The Common has quite good facilities and we were entertained by some radio controlled

modellers showing just how well they can fly. Quite impressive.

Eventually a few more people turned up, unfortunately no more Vintage though, so we had our

meeting then lunch.

It is quite a good park and worth using again at a future time.

The return home was not without incident as the Dodge had some fuel starvation problem

and the A started coughing.

We made it back to Prenzlau where we had some refreshments while the cars cooled down.

The Dodge was quietly parked once it managed to negotiate the Smith driveway. Then we

turned to the A which just needed the points adjusting.

For a short run it turned into quite a long day, but fun!

The amount of laughter coming from our group would surely attract the thought police as I

am sure we shouldn’t be that happy!!!!

A great day. Graham A.

FOR SALE

1929 BUICK BIG 6 Rare sports, RHD model with Dickey seat, older restoration, many

accessories including large rear trunk. Looks and drives great. $34,875 PH. 3823 1483

1927 OVERLAND WHIPPET 96, blue body, black guards, club rego, grey upholstery, side curtains all round. Traffic indicators, 6 volt electric fuel pump, good wooden spoke wheels, modern water pump, runs very well. $14 000 07 4057 8100

1928 CHEVROLET TOURER, AB National Tourer, older restoration from original vehicle. Competed in many club rallies. Good reliable vehicle. $17 500 07 3376 4964

If you would like to advertise either For Sale or Wanted, please forward info to the Editor.

http://www.justauto.com.au/justcars/buy_and_sell/for_sale/d637dcb1-968c-4f31-a8e9-b6ea38205a90?search=advanced&parent_page=%2Fjustcars%2Fbuy_and_sell&looking_for=For+Sale&search_category=&search_region=&keywords=vintage&search_type_make=&search_type_model=&search_type_year=&search_type_series=&search_details_lowest_price=&search_details_highest_price=&search_details_lowest_mileage=&search_details_highest_mileage=&search_details_transmission=&search_show_ads_from=all&search_location_state=&current_page=2&item_position=22


In a rural pocket north of Sydney, traditional car-making skills are restoring life to expired classics

Hard craft

Wheels Magazine September, 2008

Stare quietly at the jumble of aluminium panels, flopped in an approximation of a once voluptuous shape. An oxide frost clings to the dull metal, pocked with flakes of dark-green paint. Nearby, sun-bleached ribs of timber echo some of the curves; a holed, flat plank suggests the ghost faces of mechanical gauges. Around me, it's quiet but for the twittering of birds and cicadas.

In the wooded outskirts of a small village, I have the sense that I'm standing over the remains of a between-wars aircraft, ravaged by time and exposure. I can somehow hear the rasping of the wood-saws, the ringing of the hammers, the whirr and clack of the leather-belted machinery that, eight decades ago, had given this machine its form and its life.

And it's not just my imagination. "A lot of cars were made in factories with no more facilities than we've got here," says Jonathan Houston, standing beside me in the sprawling, backyard commune of corrugated-iron sheds that is Vintage Motor Garage.

The 1925 Bentley 3.0-litre Tourer disassembled on the floor in front of us has come from England to be recreated in sleepy Central Mangrove, 90 minutes north of Sydney. And the sounds coming from behind us are those of highly skilled and unexpectedly young men crafting cars from timber, metal and leather as they were decades ago.

Vintage Motor Garage was started in a single rural shed behind the Houston family home in 1973 by Jonathan's father, Max. Still housed in what's now a creeping growth of sheds up the backyard, the business has been in 45-year-old son Jonathan's hands since Max's retirement in 2001.

What has attracted the Bentley's English owner is not some cutting-edge technology to be found nowhere else in the world, but a proud outpost where traditional car-making skills are propagated and celebrated.

The 1925 Bentley was found 10 years ago in an English garden. It had been parked, along with the original owner's Aston Martin, and forgotten since the 1950s. VMG has been commissioned to rebuild the Tourer into an accurate replica of Mother Gun, the 1928 Le Mans-winning 4.5-litre car.

http://secure-au.imrworldwide.com/cgi-bin/a/ci_450304/et_2/cg_811826/pi_1016255/ai_860152

http://secure-au.imrworldwide.com/cgi-bin/a/ci_450304/et_2/cg_811826/pi_1016255/ai_860152


There's nothing remarkable about finding a W.O.-era Bentley in VMG's barnyard; the day I visited there were three W.O. cars, including Max Houston's own multi-awarded 1929 Speed Six. There were as many again Rolls-Royces of similar vintage. Houston pere et fils are recognised authorities on the marquee, but they're no Brit-car snobs; Jonathan also has an impressive collection of obscure, European dirt bikes.

The 50-odd cars spread among the sheds run the gamut of cute, collectible and plain kooky: an Alfa Romeo 105 Giulia Super, Austin-Healey 100/6, '64 Ford Thunderbird convertible, a Chrysler Royal hearse.

VMG and its staff of eight artisans is probably the only restorer in Australia that is able to do all of its coach building, wood-working, machining, engine building, panel making, radiator and fuel-tank fabrication, upholstering and painting in-house.

Part of the secret is simply that, as they've progressively introduced new equipment, they never got around to discarding the old.

The first thing I saw, in the original shed that's now the machine shop, was also the first thing that went in: a vintage Nuttall lathe, its bed long enough to accommodate a full-width solid axle. The lathe had already done years of service at the Caringbah, Sydney garage where a younger Max Houston, who had built his first car (an Alvis) from parts at age 16, earned his reputation for keeping 'old clunkers' roadworthy.

The second thing I saw was a Tatra T603. This rear-engine Czech state car was imported new for the Czech consulate in 1963. The Tatra's air-cooled V8 lay dismantled on a bench nearby, exposing the white-metal main bearings that Tatra workers originally cast and machined in position. I mused that every absent stud, spring or doo-hickey could prompt lesser men to sling a rope over the rafters.

"We just have to make things, or find what we can," said Jonathan, chirpily. "We're having pistons made for us, and the white-metal material for the bearings is used in ships' propellers - you can buy it just down the road here. And I go through the Repco catalogues by dimension; Datsun 120Y big-end bearings are gonna fit, and they're Mitsubishi Magna engine mounts.

"We try and use all the original bits when we can, it's just nicer," he added. "Or, if a part's not quite good enough to use, you'll keep it as a sample." A large, murky-windowed storeroom contained shelf upon shelf of paw-printed boxes of new and ancient parts, manuals of parts, parts of parts.


Jobs like pouring and boring main bearings in position require skills quite alien to those of plugging in a diagnostic machine. Machinist Troy Burton, 45, cut his teeth (so to speak) building custom Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

"Somebody's got to be not just a good tradesman, they've got to be a bit artistic," Houston explains. "I'm a fitter and machinist by trade, and Dad would come to me and say, 'We need a thing and it's got to go here, and it's got to work like this, and we haven't got the old one but it's got to look like it belongs to that 1913 car,' and I'd go away and make it - and he'd say, 'Oh, good, you found one!'

"Troy's the only other guy I've found that I can do that with."

It raised the question of the restoration dilemma: period quality, or modern quality? "Oh, you've got to go for modern build quality," Houston said. "People expect things to be reliable, better than they were. People don't realise how rough some of these cars were, even Rolls-Royces. You wouldn't get away with it now.

Engine - new whitemetal main bearings being line bored.

They can still be original in every detail - you've rebuilt all the old electrics and all that - but the quality of finish is going to be far better."

The Bentley's timber framework is being hand-made by 38-year-old Justin Grey, a self-confessed "wood enthusiast." Panel man Glen Crowther, also 38 and currently welding the steel rear-quarters on the '64 T-Bird, will roll the Bentley's aluminium body by hand.

He'll do this on an English Wheel. The tall, G-shaped device houses two smooth wheels of different diameters, which stretch the surface of the metal sheet as it is passed back and forth. The original panels would have been made the very same way, most likely by Vanden Plas, more than 80 years earlier.

Australia, too, was once crawling with coachbuilders - remember how Holden started - and, surprisingly, there are still a few craftsmen like Crowther who can use an English Wheel. "Most panel beaters can't, of course," shrugged Houston. "I've had panel beaters wanting a job who can't even weld."


The internet has revolutionised vehicle restoration, not only in sourcing parts but in rooting out pockets of traditional skills. "Some knowledge is getting lost, but other stuff, there's more and more knowledge around," Houston said. "It's not like it's a secret society any more. Though there is some stuff that's still secret."

Owners' motivations are as diverse as the vehicles themselves. The Chrysler Royal hearse belongs to a New South Wales funeral business, now in its third generation of family ownership. The current boss is collecting and replicating examples of each of the significant vehicles in the company's history.

Outside the modern spray booth out back, a pair of denuded WWII military trucks flank a bumblebee yellow 1921 Rolls-Royce that's straight out of The Great Gatsby. The Ford Blitz 4WD trucks, built from 1942-'45, are being restored for the Australian War Memorial in Canberra; the Rolls' replica Brewster body was built right here.

Houston recalled a similar-vintage Rolls-Royce project of a few years ago. The bare-chassis restoration was for a major wedding-car hire company in Japan that wanted air-conditioning and modern comforts - and wanted them to be invisible. "They spent as much on the modifications as they did on the restoration," Houston said.

At least one car - another vintage Rolls-Royce, in for an $80K smash repair job - topped the magic million in value. But what's the most valuable car they've done?

"Possibly dad's Speed Six - or a 1914 Silver Ghost, of which there aren't many. Any pre-war [WWI] Ghost is worth lots of money ... V16 Cadillacs, we've done a few of those, Rolls-Royce Phantoms.

"The most I can think of that anyone's spent is three-quarters of a million dollars," Houston went on. "There was a Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 ... it had been butchered and bastardised over the years. We had to make lots of parts, build a whole body, drinks cabinet and stuff like that.

"But you know, there's a few Silver Ghosts getting around and I hear people saying, 'Oh, he's spent more than a million dollars on that car.' And I think, well, he's been ripped off, because you can't do much more than we did to that Phantom 1. And I thought we were expensive!"

Our English Bentley owner is treading the replica route, with the certain knowledge that it will enhance the humble Tourer's value when it returns to Blighty. But it can be a jungle out there. How many clients over-capitalise on classic car restorations?

"Probably most," Houston said, again a little too chirpily. "But of course, a new car's not worth what you paid for it in three months' time, either."

1964 Ford Thunderbird Convertible


MAXWELL-BRISCOE, MAXWELL USA 1904-1925

Jonathan Dixon Maxwell and Ben Briscoe collaborated to create a 1647cc flat-twin run- about, followed by four-cylinder cars of up to 30/40hp. In 1909, Maxwell-Briscoe was part of the United States Motor group, surviving its collapse in 1912, and producing Mascotte and Mercury models. Low-priced monobloc fours were the staple offerings thereafter. The 1921 ‘New Good Maxwell’ was the prelude to Walter Chrysler’s take-

over in 1923 and the marque’s replacement by the four-cylinder Chrysler two years later.

The Akron-Hed

The Akron-Hed differs from others in that instead of using push rods and rocker arms, or

an overhead cam- shaft, it uses hollow tubes filled with ball bearings to transfer the action

from the cam followers (and extension rods) to the valves. The idea sounds good but in

practice it proved unsatisfactory. The weight of the balls, the friction in the tubes and the

extreme load on the small contact areas of each ball made for short life and limited engine

speed. Taken from “The Vintage Ford”, .... contributed.


Christmas Lunch at Harrisville

12th November Meet in Queens Park, Ipswich

At Kiosk

(on Merle Finnimore Ave

off Goleby Ave)

(coffee, tea etc available from Kiosk)

9:00am Meet for Morning Tea

After Morning Tea, we will tour to Harrisville where we are having

Christmas Lunch. Run info will be handed out at Morning Tea.

Expected departure time for Harrisville approx. 10:00am.

After Lunch, we will have our VVTE Meeting in the park.

This is our final run for the year. We hope you can join us, either Vintage or modern

Contact: Alex Allum

Mob. 0419 544 184

Home. 4697 6672 Visitors Welcome


Membership Renewal/Application

Name:________________________________________

Address:______________________________________

____________________________________________

Phone:________________________________________

Email: ________________________________________

Vehicles

Year Make Model Condition Rego

(Page 1 0f 2)

Vintage Vehicle Touring Enthusiasts 66 Ebenezer Road Rosewood Q 4340

[email protected] PH: 5464 1273

Please make cheques payable to: Vintage Vehicle Touring Enthusiasts.

I/We enclose payment of membership fee of $20.00 for year 1st July 20___ to 30th June 20___.

Sign: Date: ____________________



Vehicle Particulars

Make of Vehicle:_______________ Model:_________________Year:_______

Registration # (if registered):____________________________________________

Chassis #:_______________________ Engine #:_________________

Modifications:___________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

These four elements must be period or authentic.

Item Description Authentic/Period

Engine

Chassis

Front Axle

Rear Axle

(Page 2 of 2)

Two of these must be period or authentic. The remaining two must be in the spirit of vintage motoring.

Item Description Authentic/Period/Spirit

Brakes

Gearbox

Wheels

Steering

Overall

Vehicle: Eligible / Ineligible

Office use only Received: Receipt #:

Name: Sign:

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