I had strict instructions that I had to have cold booze in the fridge when
the others arrived. Having just achieved this and gathering with friends
in the hotel, we saw dark clouds and a tremendously heavy hail storm
arrived. It was quite terrifying and also hilarious. Lindy an Jill were
laying over the bonnet of my car whilst Ron ran round filming on the
video. Lynne stood in the door way and ran out to top up the champagne
glasses. I stood there with towels & a blanket and was bombarded by large
hail stones. Luckily the P-type suffered only minor damage but many
others were not so lucky.
The hotel suffered much water damage and then the fire alarm went off and
we were all thrown out into the rain and the fire brigade came roaring in
with bells a clanging. The foyer was cleared of all the registration
material but strangely the R-type was left to burn if the hotel went up in
flames. The Kiwis certainly have their priorities sorted out. In about
half an hour the all clear was given.
So to the next day, being the concourse. What an array of Pre war cars. I
have never seen anything like it on this side of the world.
2 F's
3 J2's
4 P's
approx 5 VA's
approx 5 SA's
approx 5 WA's
All beautiful cars in just wonderful condition. I was especially
impressed with the F's. And of course a large number of MGs up to and
including MGA's
The show was just beautiful and I finally saw for the very first time on a
P-type, the original lay out of the windscreen wipers. I have these in a
box but I have never seen them on a car before. The detail of some of the
cars was outstanding. Seeing something like a hundred Pre 1956 cars in a
semi circle in front of an old fashioned grand stand with a brass band
playing really set the scene. It was a wonderful display although my car
was grandly out concoursed although it was featured in the Auckland
newspaper.
Next day was the trial. Not a highly competitive event but a glorious
tour round some pleasant country. Robert Smith navigated for me but it
was an up hill battle as the results were decided on average speed & this
was somewhat difficult without a speedo. We enjoyed the run to
Martinborough and had a glorious lunch at a great cafe called the
Flyingfish. Then a free tour home after stopping at more antique shops
and a Steam Museum.
Wednesday was a lay day and most went to Wellington on a Pre arranged
tour. I took the opportunity to do one or two things to the car in
preparation for what was coming. First was the Motorkhana on grass and
yes it rained. Robert Smith drove my car as I hate motorkhanas. But it
was a good event and the "Old Mother Hubbard" event was much fun. Lindy
did the work for Robert & Lynne did the work for Ron in a VA Pickford. And
that is not a typing error. It really was a Pickford.
And finally to the speed event - a hillclimb. Wet & cold. Far too cold
to risk using the racing fuel. The night before I had met up with Lawrie
Poolman who owns a magnificent C-type. Believe me, that car does go and
Lawrie has a reputation for being entirely fearless. We had much in
common other than the driving differences.
There were 5 supercharged Pre 1956 cars.
1932 C-type
J2 developing 96bhp
My P something
TF 1500
and a ZA Magnette all lowered and looking menacing.
Now, you need to understand that I am about the worlds worst driver but
enjoy what I do. We had 3 timed runs up a beautiful hill about a 1.5
miles in length. On the first run the C-type was the quickest (with a
lead of about 4.5 seconds) & the TF second quickest followed my P, the
Magnette & then the J2. By completion of the second run I had closed the
gap to about 2.5 seconds on the rapidly improving times of the C-type but
was still 3rd to the TF driven by local identity, Rod Brayshaw.
Time to get serious & as it was a little warmer I threw in some racing
fuel. What a difference a drop makes. On every run Lawrie went faster &
faster and ended with a time of 69.59sec and I managed second fastest with
a time of 70.02. The wonderful thing was the friendly competition and we
all took each other for a ride in the cars after the event.
There was an English couple out in New Zealand who were driving a borrowed
TA. They were Lynne & Robert Douglas from South Yorks. Lynne writes for
MG Enthusiast Magazine and we teased her continually and she took it all
in the manner it was dealt out. She had shown some interest in the P-type
and she was amongst many who said it certainly sounded the best going up
the hillclimb. So I relented, and offered to take Lynne for a ride and it
should be noted that I have never taken another woman in the car. She had
driven Pepi Gaspari's P-type in South Africa and was impressed but thought
the gearbox was hard work. Anyhow, I gave the car a real push and I think
Lynne is still looking for her eye balls. You know that Toyota add with
the guys grinning, well Lynne out did them all and was still grinning 24
hours later as we said good bye. She described the experience as mind
blowing and it will be interesting to see what she writes in the MG
Enthusiast. I also arranged for Lawrie to take her for a run in the
C-type. That is a really special little car and he takes the engine to
nearly 7000 rpm.
Just consider the results as they were from the event. The oldest &
smallest engined car actually took fastest time of day from something like
50 entries up to and including MGA. That is a pretty grand achievement,
well I think it is, anyway.
So to presentation night. More food and water (well, I ask you). Bill
Bollendonk (from USA) took out overall award with his PA in the concourse
and my Australian P-type took out Pre war Speed trophy and outright speed
awards as Lawrie was not eligible for an award. I did leave my perpetual
trophy in his care.
So we achieve what the title says : We Came, We Saw & We Conquered.
It was a grand meeting and has spurred me on to a full commitment to
completing my single seater racing car built on a P chassis. For those who
are interested I own 3 P-types and I am going to combine the best of these
into a car that I hope will literally blow my brains out. From then it is
time to hand over to the younger brigade. So watch this space.
Story by Pip Bucknell
Thanks to MG People in New Zealand & friends from around the world.
Just in closing, if anyone is looking for an Arnott Supercharger, I
knowwhere one can be found that is for sale.
British Cars Web: http://www.team.net/sol
MMM list subscription info: http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
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