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St Heliers fills with classics, customs, and kids toys

2 December, 2014

The first Monday of December may mean different things for different people, but for us it’s always the day of the annual ‘Toy Run’. The Toy Run, which is hosted by North Shore Rod And Custom Club, actually doesn’t include a run at all, but is more so a giant park up of generous car lovers keen to make a difference for kids in need.

Taking place at Vellenoweth Green, St Heliers, Auckland, the event sees the hundreds of vehicle owners present making a gold coin donation to the Salvation Army upon entry, as well as many of them donating a children’s toy, which is then given to charity to be used as a Christmas gift. While the event has been going for many years now, the toy donation part (and the event itself, if we’re honest) isn’t all that well promoted, so while many toys were donated we did think that aspect could be pushed a bit more.

Regardless, the NSRCC did a great job on the night coping with the 300 or so cars that arrived, even going as far as providing a lolly scramble and presents for the kids in attendance, and credit must be given to them for running a great family-friendly event.

Mark down the first Monday of December in your diary for next year, as the event is well worth heading along to, regardless of if you’re driving a custom or classic car, or are just keen to take a look.

Travelling companion

It’s easy to see why the Morris Minor Traveller was one of the best-loved variants of the Morris Minor. Introduced in 1953, it was equipped with the same independent torsion bar front suspension, drum brakes, and rack and pinion steering as its saloon sibling but, with their foldable rear seat increasing versatility, many Travellers were used as trade vehicles, says Derek Goddard. Derek and Gail Goddard, the owners of this superbly restored example, have run Morris Minors since before they were married in 1974.
“Our honeymoon vehicle was a blue Morris Minor van — it was a rust bucket,” says Derek.

Super Leicht Gullwing

It’s fair to say that nothing much in the classic Mercedes world gets past Mercedes-Benz Club stalwart Garry Boyce so it wasn’t surprising to learn that around 15 years ago he had sniffed out an extremely rare 300SL lightweight Gullwing as well as a 1958 300SL Roadster hiding away in the Waikato. The cars were not for sale but Garry eventually managed to persuade the owner to allow him and his restoration team to take a look at the Roadster. They discovered a very distressed but largely unmolested car. The car was so original that the body had never been off the chassis, meaning most of the parts and fittings were still present and correct, as they had been fitted by the factory.