Graeme from Ruby Bay has taken 46 years to finally become the owner of a 1955 MkI Ford Zephyr. Graeme, a semi-retired plumber, says a MkI Zephyr has been on his wishlist since started  his apprenticeship on $4 /2 shillings at Cambridge freezing works in 1964 where he saw older friends earning $11/10shillings driving theire MkIs.

In the 1960s the MKI seemed to attract the ‘Bodgies’, a group Elvis Presley lookalikes with greased hair who were seen hanging around milk bars listening to rock & roll. I remember MkI Zephyrs cruising up the Strand in Whakatane full of ‘Bodgies’ all smoking hanging out of the windows whistling to the girls. They liked the MkI for the big engine and exhaust noise. Graeme recalls , for a lot of young men of the day who pushed their MkIs  too far and it became the death of them. Now days they are called ‘Boy Racers’ and nothing has changed.

The car body appears compact at 4.368m long and 1.765m wide  making it  a medium size car today but in its heyday it was billed as a big car. The bonnet  is rolled with its signature spreadeagle bird mascot and guards raised from the bonnet and then down with a conservative roll under the door sills. Front grille scrolled again – just a little chrome to be interesting but not loud like American cars of the 50s. Sides have a nice chrome strip midway with stars moulded in at the front for a little treat.  The back has a nice and tight ‘holding your cheeks together’ look about it with a decent sized piece of chromed number plate cover / boot opener all inclusive. The back wheel arch slightly covers the top of the tyre to hint at trendy wheel spats. Hot MkIs always had back wheel spats and the big ariel on the front guard with the triangular flags. Tyres 175 x 70 x 13 as you can no longer buy 640 x 13 cross ply tyres. Graeme’s car has a few extras for 1955 – a heater, twin horns, headlight shades, sun visor, twin mirrors on the guards and chrome wheel trims  making his MKI a cut above the rest.

Inside this car its roomy with plenty of leg room but three burger eating Aucklanders would not fit across the seats. It feels spacious in the MK1 as the car is not cluttered with consoles, heater tunnels and having to provide under dash space for all the bells and whistles.  A nice open parcel tray right across the front under the pressed steel dash .

Speedo, temperature and fuel all in a raised console right up under the thin bakelite steering wheel.  The large diameter steering with half moon horn ring and centre indicator lever is required for turning as it was “powers steering? What’s that?’ in 1955.  This has a luxury extra in 1955 – a heater just below the parcel tray and a dip switch type on/off for the single speed wiper now up graded from vacuum to electric.

A 2.6-litre MkII engine has been fitted to the car with custom free-flow exhaust manifold with a single barrel Zenith carburettor. Along with the three-speed gearbox and diff’ the 6-cylinder engine produces 68hp and can manage  0-50mph (80kph) in 14 seconds. The top speed is 130kph and it’ll run 23.7 mpg or 11.9 per/100k m.

I looked up Zephyr in two dictionaries and has a meaning of a ‘mild wind, west’.  I suppose you will get mild wind so to speak if you stood road side when a MkI passed by. I plugged  ‘Zephyr ‘in Google and yes the Ford Motor Company  in 2004 revived the Zephyr  as Model for their luxury Lincoln cars in USA.

As a child my Dad had Ford Prefects,  Consuls and one day he came home in a new Zephyr. Well you should have seen us kids when the green and white MkII turned up the drive. Later I learnt to drive in the MkIII when that arrived, but Dad never made it to a Zodiac. Most New Zealanders will remember an occasion with a Zephyr. Wayne Coster tells me there was a MkV designed with a V8 but never went to production after the with troubles in the Mk IV.

Graeme took me for a drive  the car had  good positive acceleration in first gear and a nice lazy change into second gear to avoid clashing the synchros, up to 40mph before dropping in to top and there it stayed. No problems getting up the Bluff hill then a slow change to second  to go round the hard left at the top and then back into top. There is no stress driving this car; everything takes a little time , making time to talk and watch the world go by. The column change in the narrow MkI leaves space and elbow room and I was tempted to wind the window down and hang my elbow out but, hey, I’m 59 now.

Graeme just likes to drive it when feels like it or let it sit in garage to remind him of the past . The car has been noticed in the Mapua village and we know you will look after it.  The MkI Zephyr, a nice bit of NZ working class history when cars were very special.

Fred  Cassin

At odd times I also meet people who have a lot of knowledge about their special interests. When I started clearing out the shed and garage I didn’t know very much about cameras but as time went on I learnt a lot about the various old makes and what was special about each model. Luckily my wife’s dad had written down instruction and had drawn diagrams on how to repair these old cameras.
Being a member of an active car club we also get to go to some very interesting places. Quiet often one drives past these places and don’t know what is behind a house or a repair shop.

Recently The Early Holden Enthusiast Club, Central Region, had a run to Rod Clifton’s yard at Te Horo. From the road front there is a yard with tractors, trucks and cars, and a workshop to one side and an office on the opposite side. Our tour started in the workshop where restorations of tractors take place. After spending some time in the workshop area we were taken for a walk down the side of the front yard, down a long drive past a tractor grave yard (doctor’s waiting rooms) to a large shed full of all makes of old tractors, many going back to the 1920s.

Again Rod has a lot of knowledge about his hobby and the ability to create the part required from a picture or vague written description. The point is that we need to get down on paper or lap top the knowledge these older people have, for once these people are gone their knowledge is also gone. Generally they don’t think of themselves as being old but fortunately they love to talk about their interests.

Motor racing really came out of hibernation in the spring and so it was that on March 7^th we arrived at Brands Hatch for the season opening BBC Radio One Championship Race Meeting, phew what a mouthful.

The Headline race was for Production Saloons with a new 3-litre capacity limit, designed to keep out the all-dominant Chev. Camaros, although the price based classes were retained.

Immediately the rule change appeared to have worked as a huge variety of makes and models meant the racing was close with battles throughout big fields in both the expensive and cheaper classes.

The race for the expensive classes, which featured a real who’s who of British Saloon racing, went to Phil Dowsett in a Capri 3.0 GT from Derrick Brunt in the IMP Manitou BMW 3.0Si, Bob Saunders (Dolomite Sprint) and Rod Birley’s Capri. Win Percy was next in a Toyota Corolla 1600GT who fended off challenges from the Magnums driven by Jeff Allam, Nick Whiting and Gerry Marshall.

The result of the cheaper class race looked similar to 1975 and went as usual to the fleet of Mazda RX-2s and RX-3s except that Ray Tunney and Danny Alderton in Escort Mexico and Honda Civic (yes really) got among them in 4^th and 6^th respectively.

Among the Ford formulae it was interesting to see Tiff Needell graduate to the 2000 class having been a winner in the 1600s in ’75, and win this day’s non-championship race from Ian Taylor, one of the perennial top drivers and benchmarks in UK National racing in the ’70s and ’80s for newer drivers to try and beat.

An interesting driver in this race was British Olympic Show Jumper Anne Moore who had been brought into motor racing by the promoters to broaden its appeal to more generalist sports fans. I recall she did reasonably well, for a novice with little training in the lower classes, although she was 9th on the grid and finished in the same position in a field of nine, i.e last! At least she was out there giving it a go, as we say these days.

Yours in motorsport

Charles

Hear the one about the Rotary Engined Mustang?

Well it’s true, strange as it may seem. I was thumbing through the July 1966 issue of Car recently to read an article about the Ferrari 250GTO and its namesake the 1965/66 Pontiac GTO, I turned a page and, suddenly, there it was!

The article reveals that in the early to mid 1960s all the US manufacturers (Ford, GM and Chrysler) were experimenting with rotary engine technology in the expectation that “such engines may replace the gas turbine as the alternative to the piston engine.”

The Mustang was an experimental vehicle built by Curtiss-Wright, the aircraft engine makers, and NSU who still had the patents to the Wankel concept. It was fitted with a Curtiss-Wright RC 2-60 engine which developed about 185 bhp, slightly less than the 200bhp quoted for the standard 289 cu. in. V8.

Journalist Jan Norbye found that with standard transmission and auto-box the Rotary test bed was only slightly slower than the V8, and he commented that if it had gearing to match the rotary’s power band, the RC 2-60 had the potential to beat the V8.

Bear in mind that in 1966 NSU had not yet launched the Ro80, and the RX series were still no twinkle in Mazda’s eye. Also in 1965 NSU had sold over 1,000 Prinz Spyders in Europe, so the rotary concept was still very new.

On reflection it is typical of the late 20th Century that it took a Japanese car maker to develop the concept and turn it into a reliable product which sold in huge numbers worldwide.

And finally, relax Mustang fans, I think the smart red Fastback pictured in the article was only ever a one-off.

Yours in motoring
Charles

While I soon developed a more cosmopolitan attitude to racing elsewhere within easy reach of home (such as Brands Hatch, Crystal Palace and Thruxton), in 1966 Goodwood was my favourite circuit, especially as it was the first circuit to which I had been taken by my parents back in 1963.

Much has been said and written about the friendly atmosphere of a Goodwood race meeting in the 1960s, and I would concur with this view. Free admission to the Paddock, and the Grandstands at Woodcote and the Chicane at Members’ Meetings emphasised this too.

The Lloyd family visited Goodwood four times during 1966, in March, April (including Members’ Days and the practice day for the Easter Monday event) and June.

I am not sure whether prices had risen so high that my Dad felt that it was too expensive for a family of four to attend the Easter race day, or that first, the crowds were too big for small kids, second, the circuit’s new 3-litre limit for Racing and Sports Racing Cars or third, the fact that the big race was for the 1-litre Formula Two cars, I am not sure, but in any event we went to the practice, which I recall we also did in 1965.

Ironically we went as a family to the Brands Hatch race meeting on the Monday.

I was excited that the freedom of movement we were allowed gave me the opportunity to snap a number of cars with either the family Baby Brownie or my sister Julia’s Ilford 127 camera. I took pictures of a number of cars which grabbed my attention during the days racing or which looked good or different in the paddock.

My own memories include an intense battle at the March meeting between the Fraser Imps and Roger Nathan’s version, which ended with Nathan and one of the Fraser cars in the bank at Woodcote.

An equally intense battle at the June meeting involved  Don Jones (Anglia), Peter Bevan (A40) and 2 Minis driven by David George and David Meer.

Saloon cars I particularly remember are Doc Merfield’s Cortina V8, Peter Wardle’s Renault R8 with a Lotus twin-cam in the boot (the original Super Saloons!), and Mick Cave’s very fast grey A40 which he shared with Harry Digby.

Other drivers included Clive Lacey and his beautiful BT8 Brabham, which became the Courtenay Brabham GT a couple of years later, Dickie Metcalfe, Len Gibbs and his wife, Bluebelle Gibbs, all of whom I recall, from my research, raced at the opening meeting in 1948 as well as the closing one in July 1966.

Also there was John Bromilow who won a number of Clubmans Sports Car races in his DRW (pictured).

If my memory is correct, Geoff Mabbs, who drove the pictured Mini Marcos, is the chap who gave his name to Mabbs’ Bank at Lydden Hill, when he hit the bank during a Rallycross Meeting televised by the BBC.

A Busy weekend for some

The Easter weekend in 1966 was a busy one for the Formula Three and Saloon (Touring) Car teams and drivers because there was an International race meeting at Snetterton on Good Friday, practice at Goodwood on Saturday and the races at Goodwood on Easter Monday.

Motor Sport’s reports and centre spreads give a good impression of the intensity of the battles in both classes. The Saloons had a terrific field at both venues and the leaders were largely the same: Brian Muir in the fearsome Willment Galaxie and Jack Brabham in Alan Brown’s Mustang (pictured below) took a first and a second each but battled with Jim Clark in the Lotus Cortina, Mike Salmon’s Mustang and Gawaine Baillie’s Falcon V8. This car was the first to appear in British racing of the cars from the former Ford Rally Team prepared by Alan Mann Racing in 1964 or ’65.

A close look at the tow vehicle in the picture of the Mustang clearly shows the link between the Car’s owner and entrant, Alan Brown and the former Connaught Grand Prix team. Alan Brown was one of the principals of the team and was using the team’s truck to tow the Mustang on that Easter Weekend.

To finish this small piece about the Touring Car races, the picture below is rather special as it shows the Cooper Car Company’s transporter leaving the Goodwood paddock with its pair of Cooper Ss, for John Rhodes who drove the 1275 car (no 100) and Warwick Banks, the 970 car (No 111).

The Formula Three races at Snetterton and Goodwood were typically frenetic affairs for the 1-litre screamers and featured many of the top drivers of the day.

From Motorsport’s reports it looks as if Chris Williams was the one of the biggest losers of the Weekend as he was forced into a mistake by Roy Pike while leading at Snetterton and also spun while leading at Goodwood to finish 4th and 7th respectively.

Roy Pike, Peter Gethin and Brian Hart took the top 3 at Snetterton and at Goodwood the order was Chris Irwin, John Fenning and Peter Gethin.

To round off properly about Easter Weekend and fill the page a bit more, Jack and Denny established the pattern for F2 in 1966 by taking a 1-2 at Goodwood in the Brabham Hondas, against a strong field comprising names like Stewart, Clark, Hill, Ickx, and Arundell among others.

At Snetterton the big race was the first race for big Sports Racing cars under the newly formed FIA Group 7. Motorsport’s reporter, MJT, was disappointed by the 13 car field, the fragility of the cars as only 6 finished, and the scarcity of true Group 7 cars, of which there were nine. These were 4 McLarens; 2 M1Bs (called Mark 2s at this stage by the press) for Bruce himself and Chris Amon and 2 1965 M1As (for David Prophet and John Coundley), 4 Lolas for Denny Hulme, Graham Hill, Hugh Dibley and Brian Redman and a privately entered Lotus 30. Completing the field were David Piper with his 365P2 Ferrari (with open style body) and 3 GT40s for Richard Attwood, Eric Liddell and another who Motorsport did not mention.

After a processional race, the six finishers came home in the order Amon, Hulme, Attwood, Coundley, Liddell and Piper. At least Group 7 got better during the year with more cars and greater reliability but even so the RAC and promoters such as the Grovewood (Brands Hatch) group of circuits dropped its support for the category for 1967 onwards in favour of the 1.6 litre Formula Two and Group 4 Sports Cars.

And finally, my memory of  Brands Hatch at Easter 1966 is sparse but I recall that Chris Lambert won the Formula Three race while my memory of the saloon race is only of the  East Anglia Racing Team Anglias of Alan Peer and Roger Taylor, Terry Drury’s Lotus Cortina V8 and Brian Tarrant’s A40 Chevrolet, but I don’t remember  who won this or any other races.
Yours in Motorsport,

Charles

The other day I was investigating the government’s pledge to invest billions of dollars in our state highways and I stumbled across the Cycling Advocates Network (CAN) website. Harmless enough, you might think, until I discover that CAN has recommended that government increase fuel tax by twenty cents per litre in “year one” and another ten cents in “year two”. Where do these loonies get off? I nearly fell off my chair! All that is going to do is remove food from our table thank you very much.

We (my betrothed and I) need, yes need, to drive on a daily basis. Our home is 28km from my partner’s place of work and 25km from mine. If you think that (to avoid suggested, ridiculous fuel taxes) we are going to ride bicycles that distance carrying groceries, head down into a howling southerly with a chill factor of minus 300 degrees Kelvin you’ve got another think coming. The lunatic fringe in New Zealand appears to be expanding at an exponential rate and it won’t be long before normal, hard working people, going about (and minding) their own business, will be a minority group.

Fuel taxes are high enough in this country and while, in reality, we enjoy reasonable fuel prices in comparison to many OECD countries I doubt anyone would like to see prices leap by thirty cents a gallon just as a strong-arm incentive to hop on a bicycle all in the name of reduced global warming, doomsayer-waffle, don’t-start-me, gasses. At this point I would hasten to add that many bicycles on the market today are made in China and the emissions produced in making those bicycles would far exceed what our little commuter box pushes out, I can assure you. If CAN wants to prevent ‘global warming’ I suggest they stop spouting hot air.

Now; a billion dollars is apparently going to be spent on our highways in the next three years. Sounds great but there’s always a catch, right? Just as irritating as the above might be, the fact is the government plans to extract about a third of that billion with increased fuel taxes. Thanks for that. In the same breath they propose to increase the maximum allowable load on heavy trucks from 44 tonnes to 53 tonnes. (Correct me if I’m wrong.) There are bridges to strengthen, some corners to widen and much more besides, so who is going to get the maximum benefit from the billion dollars spent? Sure Road User Fees will cover a certain amount but why is it I get the distinct aroma of rodent here?

The heavy transport industry is big in NZ, meaning there are a lot of trucks on our roads. Some would suggest that to have larger loads would mean fewer trucks while I’d say “don’t hold your breath”. Over time the trailers will be lengthened to accommodate the bigger loads (and let’s not forget we’re talking around a 20% increase here) so it stands to reason that it will take you longer to pass them. Alternatively you can put your foot down a tad harder and run the gauntlet of revenue collectors who will be strategically placed to nab you doing just that. Sounds like a conspiracy, doesn’t it?

I have read that state highways represent 11% of our roading system but carry 50% of the traffic; a large volume of that 50% is heavy transport. I sincerely hope that some of the projected expenditure goes into additional passing lanes but my gut tells me a large amount will be sucked up by cost overruns, budget blowouts and administration costs. We’ll probably get one or two bridges strengthened and a corner or two shaved off but I doubt that too much will change. I also hope that regional roads, not included in the government’s plan, don’t suffer too much and cause a horrendous increase in local rates.

Heavy fleet operators might argue that the increase will be beneficial by way of decreased fuel consumption, increased productivity and the roads can handle the higher loading because in NZ trucks have a fairly high axle-load ratio. There may be some truth in that and I’d be more likely to listen to those who are contributing to the cost of improvements.

As for banning cell phone usage while driving; good job I say.

Cartoon by Steve Richards

Regular readers will be familiar with my oft-used claim that the only changes to anything to do with cars and transport are industry driven. By that I mean that vested-interest groups and manufacturers, car retailers and the like, frequently lobby government and government departments (such as NZTA) to further their own interests. In most cases what is mooted has little, if anything to do with road safety. On the contrary, it is usually about furthering profits.
In early 2007 I recall a newspaper article promoting the use of an anti-car-theft device that utilised microdots carrying the vehicle’s VIN number to identify cars and the associated parts. In the event that the car was stolen, and broken down for parts, it would be impossible to remove or disguise all the microdots and therefore a stolen car and/or its parts could be recovered. Given that recent police statistics revealed that of just over 21,000 cars reported stolen, of which nearly 17,000 were never recovered, any device to reduce car theft would surely be snapped up?
More recently, another press release advocated the fitting of engine immobilisers, and went on to say that an immobiliser reduced the chances of your car being stolen. The downside to that is that over a few weeks, if the car is not used, the immobiliser can flatten the battery.

Whole of Vehicle Marking
In May this year, yet another newspaper stated that the government was not going to proceed with data-dotting, referred to as Whole of Vehicle Marking (WOVM) when it was tabled by the previous Labour government. Transport Minister, Steven Joyce, is reported as saying that the potential benefits of the scheme would be outweighed by the cost to motorists.
Mr Joyce said, “It is far more cost efficient to add security features at the point of manufacture, rather than as part of the importing process!” And, of course, therein lies the answer. Clearly the importers do not want to pay for the costs of micro-dotting each import lest it eat into their profits. But that argument does not hold water.
“Subarus sold in New Zealand, covered in micro-dots are preventing the criminal community from successfully stealing the cars!” According to Subaru NZ’s website. Approximately 7000 data dots are sprayed onto every new Subaru sold in NZ through an official Subaru dealer. They are not applied to second-hand, used import Subarus. Data dots have been applied to new Subarus in NZ since 2003, with reportedly corresponding reductions in the theft rates. While NZ Police statistics do not identify specific makes of cars, apparently in Australia there has been a 93 per cent reduction in Subaru thefts.
I would have thought those statistics would have been a good indication of the likely reductions in NZ, had the government run with the original proposal to make importers retro-fit micro-dot anti-theft identification. Apparently too, Australian Insurance companies have offered premium reductions of up to 18 per cent for vehicles which have been micro-dotted.

The Cat’s out of the Bag
What has not been debated is how one would identify stolen cars and parts, and what technology would be required, and where it would be located. Seems to me that only if the car or part is scanned at point of sale would it necessarily be identified as stolen. By way of comparison, we had our cat micro-chipped, having been persuaded by the vet that this would help its return if it ever wandered or was picked up by the SPCA.
Six hundred dollars later, as luck would have it our cat was stolen by a departing itinerant neighbour. Either it has never been taken to a vet during the three years it has been missing, or if it has, the vet has not bothered to scan it for a micro-chip. And even if it was, all the person in possession of it needs to say is, “I bought it!”
There is no checking process for authenticating a micro-chip. Thus unless there is a valid method for checking parts and cars that show micro-dotting (maybe at WoF time) I could see it not being 100 per cent viable. Again, are cars and parts stolen to order in NZ and shipped overseas, subject to checking when they arrive at their port of destination? I think not.
The interesting thing was that I was able to identify the sources of both newspaper articles — the companies promoting micro-dots and engine-immobilisers! I might have guessed.
What I haven’t established is who has now persuaded this present government to back off the idea. Seemingly new car importers are keen but used importers are not. Seems like anything that is proposed that would either add to the cost of a landed import or the importer’s mark-up is to be opposed. One only has to look at seat belts, frontal impact standards, the age restrictions on used imports, and now micro-dot technology, to work out whose interests are being looked after. Not ours for sure. If nearly 80 per cent of stolen cars in NZ are not recovered they would need to be replaced — get the picture?

Vested Interest
While I usually take a dim view of vested-interest groups pushing their own agendas, in this instance, I actually think that all cars should be micro-dotted upon arrival in the country, new and used, and if it costs a bit more, so what? All we need is a robust, incorruptible process for checking cars and parts as part of the WoF process.
We also need to beef up the borders both at entry and exit. Checking only 15 per cent of containers isn’t doing much to stop the export of stolen vehicles.
Write to the Transport Minister and ask him to have another, more in-depth look at the micro-dot technology. Insurance companies are doing their bit to increase the number of immobilisers.

Photo:: Nelson VCC’s Snow Run to Lake Rotoiti

Rental Car Warning
Make sure that you have inspected your rental vehicle when you return it, before leaving the rental office. Unfortunately we did not and upon returning to NZ found AU$1500 deducted from our Visa for alleged damage. We had inspected the vehicle on pick-up and noticed previous damage that had been repaired. The alleged damage was in the exact same spot!
On asking for evidence it took 20 days for them to send a photo, and that did not include the registration plate, and the attached quote was not legible. On asking for better photos and a more legible quote we received an email saying — “You know you caused the accident. Enough of the games.”
The only reason they finally did anything at all was because daughter Carol asked her bank to reverse the charges (which they have not done saying they cannot enter into a dispute). We felt scammed and reported the matter to the Australian Consumer Affairs Department, which has agreed we have a case and will look into it — but after six weeks, I still have not heard any further. Other friends have had similar problems after leaving vehicles un-inspected. Be aware of this. Have the car inspected before departing!

Ford Rally Canterbury
The 16th Annual Henry Ford Memorial Rally is to be held on Sunday August 30. It’s open to all Fords from 1903-2009 and departs from the Janel Coffee Lounge, Hawke Street, New Brighton, Christchurch from 9am to 10am. Cost is $10 per vehicle, and every entrant receives a free copy of NZ Classic Car magazine.

Earlier this week, Dennis Marwood kindly visited  NZ Classic Car’s office and allowed us to film an interview with him

In order to tie in with the conclusion of our three part story on Dennis Marwood (See NZCC May, June & July 2009), we got  the writer of our story — motorsport historian, Gerard Richards — to sit down and chat to Dennis about his motor racing exploits. During the course of the interview, Dennis talks about his early racing forays in his Humber 80; his single-seater racing days with ‘classic’ monopostos and the thundering Chev-Eisert F5000. Dennis also talks at length about his famous Camaro, his involvement with Performance Developments and, of course, his later career as a classic racer in a variety of Alfa Romeos.

Once we’ve edited together the video footage, we’ll be loading the interviiew onto our website — so keep and eye out for this exclusive special. We’ll advise readers through the website and the pages of NZ Classic Car when the video is available for viewing. And, if there is sufficient interest, we may look at producing a small number of DVDs for purchase by readers.

From our earliest days we start to learn, through our school years this is built on and expanded to a point where we are fired at the adult world, only to find that the learning curve has still got a long way to go.
As adults we learn to compromise, adjust and co-operate; we even learn to obey the rules of a society that until you leave the sanctuary of the home/ school life you rarely have to deal with. Road rules, for example, aren’t something that are designed for toddlers, but even at an early age it is beneficial to understand the basics, such as looking for cars, holding mum or dad’s hand and not playing on the road. Yes, even toddlers can grasp that much.
Growing up in a world that is on the brink of automobile saturation can make life a little scary for the many teenagers who want to get mobile. Traffic moves pretty quickly in these modern times, and there’s plenty of it in the main centres so you have to have your wits about you and observe certain rules.
Of course, you don’t have to have an automobile to get mobile, you can always ride a bicycle, it’s pretty cheap transport and you get fresh air and exercise into the bargain. However, you are still bound by those pesky rule things, they’re everywhere. You must wear a helmet, for example, it’s compulsory in New Zealand, and you must not ride on the motorway — it’s against the law as well as being dangerous.
Auckland Harbour Bridge is part of Auckland’s motorway system and therefore you can expect to drive your automobile over the bridge, within the speed limit, at any time on any day. You’re a motorist, you paid for the road and you have every right to use the road or the bridge, or any part of the roading system for that matter, unless, of course there are some protesting cyclists who would take it upon themselves to hold up law abiding motorists for 90 minutes just to make a point.
It would appear that the cyclists want a cycleway attached to the bridge but Transit has deemed it unfeasible. So there you go, it’s been looked into, it isn’t happening, get over it.
The word selfish doesn’t come close to describing the actions of these clowns, and I make no apology for using the word ‘clown’ because that’s what they are. Cycling or walking (I saw one woman with a pram) onto a motorway is lunacy, and at that point this group lost all credibility in my eyes. Transit said they were not to cross, police were in attendance to keep order (that’s their job) and blow me down, off go the protesters gleefully flouting the law, jeopardising their own safety and that of others and inconveniencing thousands of motorists who paid for the darned road in the first place!
What this tells the world is that if you have a noisy minority group who want to make a point to their nation then you can do so by pushing past hapless police, shoving Transit representatives aside and holding up traffic at will.
Incredibly, Supt. Bill Searle stated on nationwide television that he was “proud” of the action police took. Surely he was joking? Why were there no arrests? I would have thought that a handful of bobbies can grab a few old ladies and make an example of them to ensure that they and their ilk think twice about rampaging onto the bridge a second time. It smacks of football hooliganism and usually police take a dim view of it, making arrests on the day and afterward using videotape of events to identify law breakers. There’s plenty of tape available; go nail some of those lawless cyclists. Could the organiser not be charged with inciting civil disobedience or something?
Seriously; if there are that many people who want to walk and cycle to work then build them a walkway/ cycleway and put a toll on it, just like they do for cars and trucks. User pays. Cyclists haven’t paid for the motorways so they should damn-well stay off them!

Illustration by Steve Richards

A recent newspaper article highlighted the supposed problem experienced by an American tourist who had a $150 penalty added to his rental car bill because he ‘forgot’ to pay the toll when he drove through the new tunnel on State Highway One, north of Orewa. The tourist didn’t seem to think he’d done anything wrong, and in any event he thought that he should have only had to pay $2.
The newspaper must have been short of stories, because if the reporter had done a little investigation, the conclusion would have been that it was the tourist’s own fault.
For starters, toll roads are not uncommon in the US. Over there they are referred to as turnpikes — Ford even named one of its Mercury cars as a Turnpike Cruiser, and that was in the early ’60s.

Click Go the Toll Gates
This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. That was the North Island’s first toll road. A local broadcaster of that time, Les Andrews, even produced and sang a parody song called Click Go the Toll Gates. The South Island’s first toll road was the Lyttelton tunnel. Since then there has been the Tauranga-Mount Maunganui toll bridge, and a short section of highway into Tauranga from the Kaimais that took about 20 minutes off your drive from Hamilton.
I can recall some worrying times with the Auckland Harbour Bridge in the early days. On the first occasion I drove over it, I had the two shillings and sixpence (equivalent to 50 cents) in my shirt pocket but would my 1937 Austin Seven actually make it to the top! It did, of course, so I paid my toll at the booth, drove off the Onewa Road off ramp, hung a right and then back over the bridge — only to find that the gradient was actually steeper from the North. I should have had more faith. The little Austin powered her way to the top, albeit in second gear — which was just as well, as I had yet to learn the niceties of double-declutching into first gear, should the need arise!
The second occasion was when a friend and I were returning from the very first Pukekohe Swap Meet. Halfway up the Harbour Bridge, we realised that we’d spent all our money at the swap meet and we needed 25 cents for the toll. A search of our respective wallets yielded nothing. Then I had a bright idea. Invariably there would always be a few coins under the back seat. I clambered over into the back (I wasn’t driving, you understand), pulled the seat out, and as luck would have it, there was a total of 33 cents in loose change. Back then there was just no excuse for not being able to pay the toll.

Read the ‘Terms and Conditions’
More recently I had occasion to rent a car in Perth, and not from my usual Mr Budget. So, I thought it a good idea to read the ‘Terms and Conditions’ before heading out into the traffic. The first thing I spotted was the $150 penalty that would be charged to my credit card if I incurred any traffic infringement that necessitated the rental firm to simply forward this on to me.
That meant if I got even a parking ticket, or a speed camera fine, in addition to the fines, the rental company would slug me further with an ‘administration fee’ of $150. Believe me, it was a real incentive to be careful out there. Prior to that I had got rid of my American Express Gold Card (with unlimited credit) because I discovered that rental car companies charged the whole cost of a replacement rental car to my card. Thus, if I had a mishap I had to try to get the cost of the car back from the rental company!
On a recent trip to Sydney I was waiting behind another renter at Mr Budget’s counter, and the clerk was attempting to tell this tourist about Sydney’s toll roads, and that if he didn’t pay as he went through, Mr Budget would charge his credit card $150 for each infringement — and the renter would still be responsible for paying the tolls. She told him this about six times. However, the tourist wasn’t listening properly and I’m convinced he went off thinking that the rental company would pay any tolls incurred. I’d have loved to see his face when he opened his credit card bill.
For my part, I elected to steer clear of the toll roads, as some of them were electronic accounts only, with no ability to pay as you drive through.
The American tourist who lamented the $150 penalty should have read his rental contract’s terms and conditions. I’m quite sure that if he rented his car in Auckland he would have been told about the toll road. Like his Sydney counterpart, he should have listened to the instructions when he picked up his car. Fortunately, Mr Budget does not charge an administration fee when he sends me those action photos of me hooning past those parked vans that take nice three-quarter pictures of your rental car at speed! Maybe they should? It might make all of us drive a bit more carefully in someone else’s vehicle.
And, speaking of speed cameras — in Brisbane the police have one of their speed cameras hidden in the snorkel of a 4WD! How sneaky is that? All the locals know about it apparently, but I only knew it was there because it flashed someone in front of me!
Maybe our American tourist would have been better off catching a bus? The cost would surely have been less than the $150 penalty. And I still don’t accept that, having seen the sign warning him about the toll road, he simply forgot about paying it. Yeah, right!

Results:
1. Derek Ayson/ Greg Scott, Ford Escort FJ2000, 2h37m15.7s
2. Brad Goldsbrough/ Aaron Topliff, Datsun 1600, +2m31.2s
3. Jeff David/ Grant Geelan, Porsche 911, +3m26.9s
4. Ross Dunkerton/ Alan Stean, Ford Escort RS1800, +4m35.6s
5. Duncan McCrostie/ Murray Marshall, Nissan Bluebird Turbo, +6m07.5s

Further to our previous news item (10-06-2009: Lotus bids for return to F1 next season), here’s the official word from Group Lotus plc:

Group Lotus plc and its subsidiary Lotus Cars Limited, the manufacturer of the iconic Lotus Elise and global high technology engineering consultancy, are not connected or affiliated to, nor in any other way associated with the newly announced “Team Lotus” that has submitted an entry for the 2010 Formula 1 championship. Group Lotus plc will take all necessary steps to protect its name, reputation and brand image.

Lotus will continue to focus on the tremendous worldwide opportunities that exist for its core businesses. Lotus Cars has recently launched the stunning new Evora 2+2 global sportscar to great acclaim and deliveries to the first customers are imminent. The company is pulling all stops to ensure production meets demand. Lotus Engineering, one of the market leaders in automotive green transport solutions, is currently working with many of the world’s vehicle manufacturers on state of the art projects with plans of growth in its international targeted markets such as Malaysia, China, USA and India.

Auburn Hills, MI and Turin, ITALY — June 10, 2009 — Chrysler Group LLC and Fiat Group announced today that they have finalized their previously announced global strategic alliance, forming a “new” Chrysler that has the resources, technology and worldwide distribution network required to compete effectively on a global scale. The new Chrysler will begin operations immediately.
As part of the alliance, Fiat will contribute to Chrysler its world-class technology, platforms and powertrains for small- and medium-sized cars, allowing the company to offer an expanded product line including environmentally friendly vehicles increasingly in demand by consumers. Chrysler will also benefit from Fiat’s management expertise in business turnaround and access to Fiat’s international distribution network with particular focus on Latin America and Russia.
“This is a very significant day, not only for Chrysler and its dedicated employees, who have persevered through a great deal of uncertainty during the past year, but for the global automotive industry as a whole,” said Sergio Marchionne, who today was named Chief Executive Officer of Chrysler Group LLC. “From the very beginning, we have been adamant that this alliance must be a constructive and important step towards solving the problems impacting our industry. We, now look forward to establishing a new paradigm for how automotive companies can operate profitably going forward.
Mr. Marchionne continued: “We intend to build on Chrysler’s culture of innovation and Fiat’s complementary technology and expertise to expand Chrysler’s product portfolio both in North America and overseas. Those Chrysler operations assumed by the new company that were idled during this process have or will soon be back up and running, and work is already underway on developing new environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient, high-quality vehicles that we intend to become Chrysler’s hallmark going forward.
“The same attributes that first attracted us to this alliance — a global automotive company with first-class technology, a devoted workforce, improved efficiency, a strong, global distribution network and an unyielding passion for building great cars that consumers want — are even more true today. While it does not solve every issue faced by the automotive industry today, this alliance, established with the full support of President Obama’s Administration, is a very significant step toward positioning Fiat and Chrysler to be leaders among the next breed of global automakers. This has, I know, been a difficult process for everyone involved, but we are ready to prove to the American consumer that Chrysler can once again be a strong, competitive company that produces a full portfolio of reliable vehicles that capture the imagination and inspire loyalty,” Mr. Marchionne said.
Under the terms approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York and various regulatory and antitrust regulators, the company formerly known as Chrysler LLC today formally sold substantially all of its assets, without certain debts and liabilities, to a new company that will operate as Chrysler Group LLC.
Chrysler Group in turn issued to a subsidiary of Fiat a 20% equity interest on a fully diluted basis in the new company. Fiat has also entered into a series of agreements necessary to transfer certain technology, platforms and powertrains to the new Chrysler. Fiat’s equity interest will increase in increments by up to a total of 35% in the event that certain milestones mandated by the agreement are achieved, but Fiat cannot obtain a majority stake in Chrysler until all taxpayer funds are repaid.
Similarly, the United Auto Workers’ Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association trust (VEBA) has been issued an equity interest in Chrysler Group equal to 55% on a fully diluted basis. The U.S. Treasury and the Canadian Government have been issued an equity interest equal to 8% and 2% on a fully diluted basis, respectively. These interests reflect the anticipated share dilution as a result of Fiat’s incremental equity assumption once the milestones outlined in the strategic alliance agreement are achieved.
In addition to Mr. Marchionne, currently the Chief Executive Officer of Fiat S.p.A. serving as CEO, the new Chrysler will be managed by a nine-member Board of Directors, consisting of 3 directors to be appointed by Fiat, 4 directors to be appointed by the U.S. Government, 1 director to be appointed by the Canadian Government and 1 director to be appointed by the United Auto Workers’ Retiree Medical Benefits Trust. The Board is expected to name Robert Kidder as Chairman. The process of determining additional board members is continuing and updates will be announced as appropriate.
As previously announced, Chrysler has entered into an agreement with GMAC Financial Services to provide automotive financing products and services to the Company’s North American (NAFTA) dealers and customers. GMAC Financial Services will be the preferred lender in North America for Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge dealer and consumer business, including wholesale of new and used vehicles as well as retail.

Rising Fees
On a different tack; I can understand motorists griping about the new license fees, because as from July 1 this year the ACC portion of your fee is going to rise to $168, and let’s face it, ACC doesn’t have the best of reputations for being wise with our money, does it? Also, as our population gets older claims will increase, and as it becomes more obese. Obese workers have a higher accident rate and take longer to recover. Why should the motorist fork out for that? Why should the motorist fork out for sports injuries? When was the last time a rugby club was levied? If you want to play rugby, go skiing down a mountain or leap out of an aircraft, get yourself some insurance!
I can’t help but think Nick Smith might be right when he suggests increasing the ACC portion of our petrol taxes, but only if he does away with the levy on the license fee. With four vehicles in the shed and the ability to operate only one at a time I feel ripped off to say the least when it comes to re-licensing time. You could even put a fee on the actual driver’s licence; simply swipe your licence, or scan it, at your local revenue collection point, fork out the dollars and off you go for three, six or 12 months. Stash as many vehicles as you like in your shed and drive whichever takes your fancy on whichever day. Have one for each day if you like, you can only operate one at a time, but to be obliged to pay ACC levies on all of them is scandalous. However, these issues have been debated for years with little change other than increased fees.
Sure, the money for fixing the roads and so on has to come from somewhere and I really have no objection to a road tax being taken at the pump. The way in which some of the money is raised is of concern though, and who pays for what? I actually think the road tax on heavy vehicles is fair enough because heavy vehicles are hard on roads, and they seem to be out there in large numbers. Although I object strenuously to having it siphoned off and poured into the abyss of the consolidated fund, which appears to feed far too many scammers.
I doubt that any system is perfect, but surely those who are likely to put themselves at risk for the sake of simply having fun should be paying for an adequate level of insurance? I have no idea what the current figure is but in 2007 some $69m was spent on treating injuries that came about from partaking in our top 10 sports. There are no prizes for guessing which sport takes top honours when it comes to injury figures and total costs.
There aren’t many sports that interest me, but if that’s your thing then go for it, just don’t ask for my petrol tax or licence levy to pay for your (very likely) injuries!

Illustration Steve Richards

Since the new National Government came to power late last year, one of the time-old topics that has re-surfaced on their ‘To Do’ list, is ‘fix ACC’.  Yes, it is broken therefore it needs to be fixed.  Regular readers of this column (both of them) will be aware that I have written about ACC on more than one occasion in the past.   With the debate on its future renewed it is perhaps an opportune time for this scribe to fire another broadside.  Simply put I take strong exception to paying exorbitant ACC levies through motor vehicle and motorcycle registration.

Unfair
In 2001 the ACC Act was amended so as to make ACC build its reserves sufficiently to be able to meet all claims lodged in future years.  Previously it had been ‘pay as you go’.   In an effort to become self-funding, measures such as ACC only paying up to 50% of our Doctor’s bills, physiotherapy, x-rays and the like were introduced.   The ACC component of our motor registration fee was ratcheted up, and motor cyclists were extorted even further.
Why was this unfair?
For starters, not all motorcyclists are responsible for their accidents.  In the five years from 1996 to 2000, only 24% of motorcycle accidents did not involve another road user.  Almost 40% were deemed not to be the motorcyclist’s fault at all.  For the 2001-2002 period, 230 of the 682 reported injury accidents for motorcyclist were deemed not to be the motorcyclist’s fault.  Not included in these statistics are the figures for all All-Terrain-Vehicles (ATVs) and farm bikes.  I know that in one year alone, there were nearly 1000 injury-accidents involving ATVs — which of course we know are all unregistered and do not attract ACC levies, save for the ‘Earners Levy’ or ‘Employer’s Levy’ (and a small amount of petrol tax which presumably the rider would be paying either as an employer or employee.   If you look at the actual numbers for the 1996-2000 period, and that 1133 motorcycle accidents did not involve any other vehicle, then isn’t it unfair to make motorcyclists pay additional levies because they are more likely to be seriously injured — even though in 40% of instances it was not their fault?  Even more unfair is the fact that as you read this, the ACC component of your registration is being increased yet again, as from 1 July 2009.

Where Does the Money Go?
Back in 2003 I asked this same question.  According to ACC it employed (at that time — 30 September 2003) 2016 full-time-employees.  10 of those employees were remunerated in excess of $200,000.00 per-annum, and 82 were paid in excess of $100,000.00.  The remaining 1924 employees would have been paid around $50,000.00 each.  So the wage bill for ACC, as in 2003, was $106.4 million!   According to recent records, there are some 2.5 million cars on our roads, and for this exercise we’ll overlook that anecdotally approximately 500,000 of those are unregistered, so that means that at $200 per car for ACC levies, 20% of the ACC levy collected for cars goes towards paying the ACC wage bill!  On top of that, 861 ACC staff contribute on average 5.25% of their salaries to an approved superannuation fund which is matched by ACC.  So arguably another $2.5 million of ACC levies is used to ‘top-up’ the staff super fund!  That’s another 12,500 ACC car levies!
It would be reasonable to believe that these figures have markedly increased in the last five years.  But before anyone bursts into print, I acknowledge that in 2004, the ACC levy for cars was reduced by 6.8%, or $14.46.

Going Private
Previously there was a time when ACC coverage was available privately, and I recollect it was actually cheaper.  The biggest argument in support though, is that private Insurance companies already exist, and their staff are already being paid.  Therefore if ACC was given lock stock and barrel to private companies, there would immediately be relief for motorists in the form of $10 million dollars in saved wages!  Also competition produces competitive premiums, and I’ll bet private companies will not want to meet the costs of Farm Bike or ATV accidents when little or insignificant ACC premiums are being paid by some of the riders, given the accident statistics for them.
Of course you will hear squeals of protest from the retailers of farm bikes and ATVs citing falling sales if such vehicles had to be registered, but isn’t it fair that ATVs and farm bikes should have to pay increased ACC levies?
If we introduced a true ‘user pays’ concept we would do two things.  The first thing would be to build the ACC premium into the cost of your driver’s license.  The more accidents that you have or cause, the greater your ACC levy will be.  Eventually the worst drivers or riders will not be able to afford a license, and arguably will not be on the road.
The second thing is to load the price of petrol with the ACC premium.  In this way, the more you drive, the more risk you pose on the road, and thus the more you pay towards to costs of the accident you may cause.  In this way, those of us with a few ‘toys’ in the garage, can keep them road legal (registered and warranted only) and thus only when we venture out on to the road, would we need to contribute towards ACC in terms of the fuel we use.
It’s common sense really, I just cannot understand why this concept has not been taken up previously.
In the meantime drive and ride safely out there.  As Mr T (of the A Team) used to say, “There are some crazy fools out there!” — More than one of whom recently and publicly claimed that cutting blind corners and driving on the wrong side of the road is quite safe!  God help us!

Turning Back the Clock
We now have enough racing saloon cars in the South Island to run exclusive races for ex Shell Sport Series, ex All Comers and ex OSCA, or genuine replicas. As well as existing cars, several others are currently being restored — such as the ex Mike Fitzgerald Capri-Chev and the ex Scott Wiseman ‘Sparkles’ Viva-Mazda. There are probably many more that I am unaware of. Let me know of any Shell Sport, All Comers or OSCA cars under restoration or lying idle, North or South Islands. Email to stancar_nzcc@hotmail.com.
A replica of the Custaxie is now almost complete. Built in Motueka by John Miller (Renault-Chev builder). Driver? Robbie Francevic, as per the original car. Now won’t that be something? Roll on next season.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for a Ferrari Store in New Zealand!

Earlier this year, an article was brought to my attention that highlighted one man’s frustration at having to negotiate 14 sets of traffic lights on his way to work. It turns out that Matt Hancock’s 5.5km journey through Auckland could take him up to 45 minutes. That’s something Paula, my partner, faced on Auckland’s North Shore; a 7.2km journey would often take that long, even with ‘only’ 10 sets of lights to negotiate in that 7.2km.
Traffic is a hassle, make no mistake, and we had got to the point where we decided that enough was enough. We packed up our meagre belongings, got out of Auckland and after more than a year in Nelson would never, ever, consider returning.
When I was working on Auckland’s North Shore I was fortunate enough to avoid the worst of the traffic woes, but when I did have to cross town it was a nightmare and I hated it with a passion. The only times one could enjoy driving in Auckland was at about 3am or during the holiday periods when everyone had left town.
I had to return to Auckland early last December for a business engagement and I was kindly collected from the airport by my eldest daughter. The plane touched down just before 4pm and I thought we might miss the worst of the rush hour traffic. Wrong! It took two hours to get to her place in Stillwater, slightly northeast of Albany. I think we encountered three sets of lights but they weren’t the problem, it was just that traffic volumes were extremely high, and we were either crawling along the motorway or we were parked on it. An hour later would have been even worse.

Population Growth
When I moved from Wellington to Auckland’s North Shore in 1986 the road we bought a house on was mostly gravel, and it led down to an area of paddocks that supported a fair whack of livestock. Also, a generous dose of bush was home to healthy amount of birdlife. It was a tranquil, country-like setting. Today that area, the Albany Basin, is a concrete and asphalt nut-farm. There are even areas that couriers refuse to drive into after a certain time of day, because they know they’ll not get out in time to deliver their freight to depots where inter-city line-haul trucks are being loaded, ready to leave at specific times. All this gets 10 times worse if there’s an accident or other such emergency.
Fortunately for us, a new school was built just a few hundred metres from our house and we were able to walk the children to school, but I did notice that as the roll grew, so did the traffic volumes. It became increasingly difficult for those who needed (or chose) to drive their children to school to drop them inside the school grounds. You get that with population growth.
The subdivision that surrounded the school swelled like a hammered thumb and the whole thing snowballed into a motoring bun fight. Some people thrive on it, being part of the growth excites them, many make good money providing goods and services to those who live amongst it and if that’s how they make their living, and if that’s what they like, good on them.
I didn’t like it at all; I didn’t like trying to get anywhere, especially on a Saturday. Furthermore, getting out of town (or back in) over a holiday weekend was enough to drive you potty. So, two or three years ago we made the decision to abandon ship. We had a choice and plans were made. A lot of the transition was hard work and expensive, but ultimately it was worth it.
Something else I have noticed is; living in Nelson I don’t have to run around like a headless chook trying to make money, and I don’t think there are 14 sets of traffic lights in this whole region!
I’m sorry Mr Hancock but I have little sympathy for you. I don’t doubt your daily commute is hellish but there is an alternative; get out of Auckland. Do yourself a favour, you’ll enjoy life more and probably live longer too. I understand the pain that traffic can cause, but this is a free country and you can live wherever you choose.
Like most things in life; you just need to make it happen.

[Illustration by Steve Richards]

Those who have been around for a while will recall the good old days when much of Saturday morning was spent scouring local wreckers’ yards for that desperately needed spare part. In some cases the wrecker’s yard would also yield some weird accessory that would look great on our pride and joy. Of course, those were the days when such car owners were generally honest and the local wrecker would let you wander around his yard to your heart’s content, remove the bit yourself, and then take it to the office and part with some folding stuff.
Jack’s Motors in Panmure was a goldmine for old car parts, be they Austin 7s or Ford V8s. Horopito Wreckers in the Central North Island (world famous in New Zealand, and featured in the movie Smash Palace), had an old bus you could sleep in, for those who made the journey an overnighter. Sometimes it was just fun to visit such a yard and wander around and look — maybe dream a bit about cars you would like to have owned but couldn’t afford.
From the mid ’70s onwards, however, the tendency for less than honest types to remove small bits and pieces, and then neglect to pay for them, saw the curtailment of our freedom to just walk around.
These days wreckers put a call out over the network, then you wait for the courier to arrive. But for some of us the need to actually wander around such places stays with us forever.

US Breaking Yards
On a trip to the US, much of our time was spent visiting breaking yards (they don’t call them wrecking yards over there). In the northern states, such as Vermont, it was winter, and many of the yards were closed and covered in snow. In Illinois, a couple of hardy souls opened their yards up for us and said, “Have a good look around, take off anything you want!” Meanwhile, they sat in front of the pot-belly stove to keep warm. It was minus five degrees.
Our video camera kept freezing up and we had to keep getting back in the car every 15 minutes to thaw us and the camera out! When I went to remove a Cadillac emblem off a car my fingers froze to the bonnet. Another yard in Illinois had been closed since 1970, and the most modern car was a 1957 Ford retractable. Apart from a dent in the driver’s door it was complete and very restorable, but there was no title. It was destined to be crushed, and the yard owner would receive approximately US$200. It was enough to make you cry into your handkerchief — except that was also frozen.
In Arizona it was 28 degrees and sunny. In Phoenix there is a huge yard called Desert Valley Auto Parts. At the time of our visit it encompassed 12 hectares and about 3000 cars. It is now 40 hectares and 8000 cars! Some are for breaking, or ‘parting out’, while others are sold complete for restoration. We were looking for a seat cable for the Cadillac, which meant hunting around under the seats. “Watch out for rattlesnakes! They are just coming out of hibernation about now!” Said one of the staff. A large stick proved useful for making sure it was safe under there.
In the end they had no 1959 Cadillacs, but it was a most enjoyable day. If you did find a part, you came back to the office with the car ID number and they would send a ‘gopher’ to remove it for you. They also had a huge mail-order division, employing about 16 people in their office just to manage the orders from all around the world. United States Postal Service (USPS) vans were arriving and departing for most of the day.
In California, there were two breaking yards that specialised in Cadillacs — Cadillac King, and Caddy Daddy. Caddy Daddy was where Robbie Coltrane bought his Cadillac and then drove across America in it, from which a TV series was made — Coltrane in a Cadillac. Both these yards were in Pacoima (north of Los Angeles), near the Sierra Nevada range. However, most of the parts were very expensive — if its Cadillac, multiply the Chevrolet equivalent price by 10, and if it is a 1959 Cadillac, think telephone numbers! My list of 33 desperately needed parts dwindled to five. However, just standing looking at nine 1959 Cadillacs was worth the trip.

Thunderbird Chrome
More recently we needed a big chrome thingie for the front bumper of our recently acquired Thunderbird. Seems that when the car was repainted in the USA around 2004, this bit was left off. I tried several internet sites in the US to no avail. Then I had a bright idea — Desert Valley Auto Parts!
I typed DVAP into the browser line and up came its site. Better yet, it had a list of the cars that were for parting out, and also a list of cars for sale. There were even photos of each car. Unfortunately, none of the parts cars had the piece I required, so I just sent an email, asking for the chrome surround, the number plate holder, and all the attaching bolts. I got an almost immediate response, with a photo of the part. I responded straight away and asked for the costs to be charged to my credit card. It took just six days for the part to be delivered to my door, complete right down to every single washer and nut, all carefully removed. Within another day it was on the car. What was interesting, was that the part came off one of the cars for sale, not for breaking up.
Today, you can browse the internet looking for that elusive part — and buy it without leaving the comfort of your own home — but it’s not quite the same as being there, and ratting around amongst all the classics.
And next time you are sitting at your computer, whether or not you want any parts, type in ‘DVAP’ in the browser line and hit ‘enter’. Among other things you’ll be able to see the car that our number-plate surround came off (61-0075)!