Discovered wrecks along New Zealand’s highways and byways

30 December, 2014

 

data-animation-override>
Trevor Stanley-Joblin has put together a gallery of the roadside relics discovered while travelling throughout New Zealand

Morris Minor attracting attention to the Open Café — photographed during the running of the Pirelli Mainland Classic Tour, with a tour entrant’s Minor convertible parked alongside

A 1973 Land Rover — an ex–Automobile Association Canterbury service vehicle owned by a neighbour in August 2011

Part of a huge collection spotted in Ranfurly, December 2008

A 1916 White truck, seen on the roadside at Roxburgh — note the solid rubber tyres!

This 1951 Lanchester LD10 was, for many years, parked in a driveway on Avonside Drive, Christchurch. Trevor owned one of these back in the ’80s, and it appears to be completely original having only travelled 41,371 miles (66,580km)

This ‘landcrab’ Wolseley 1800 is still in remarkably original condition, but resides in a field in New Brighton. The 1800 Austin/Morris/Wolseley models have the most spacious interiors of any four-cylinder car of their era — they were, essentially, ahead of their time

This Ford Model A has been at the Te Waimate Station for many years. The station was founded in 1854 by Michael Studholme, while this Model A was purchased in 1953 for £35, and was originally a four-door sedan, but it was converted into a flatbed pickup for use around the farm

At Ashburton’s Botanical Gardens this Lanz Bulldog tractor is now used as a children’s play vehicle. These German tractors were built from 1921 right up to the ’60s, the company being purchased by John Deere in 1956. Can one of our readers tell us when this particular Bulldog might have been built?

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.

NZ Classic Car magazine, May/June 2025 issue 399, on sale now

Who would have thought it would become such a worldwide motorsport star when Ford introduced the humble Escort in 1967?
Its popularity, particularly in Mark 1 form, is now of iconic status. Our cover story for this issue is on a 1968 Ford Escort Mark 1, Alan Mann Racing Tribute. We talked with the owner of this very special Escort, finished in tribute also to the owner’s father.
“Most children love speed, and motorsport typically comes courtesy of a parent, and Elliott is no different. His engineer father, Mark, had a love for motorcycles and going fast; however, when children came along, he swapped two wheels for four, in the form of two Ford Escorts.
Little did Mark know it at the time, but the humble Escort was about to weave its way into the family fabric once and for all.
After emigrating from London to New Zealand, Elliott recalled one evening when he was 14 being invited to tag along by his father, helping a friend convert an Escort road car into a racing car. This was the pivotal moment when Elliott remembers the motorsport bug taking over. He knew he had to have his own one.”