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Southward Car Museum’s annual Auto Jumble in November

16 June, 2014

 


The Southward Car Museum is holding its annual Auto Jumble in November 2014 and owners of vintage, classic, and rare cars and motorcycles can bring their unwanted parts and memorabilia for others to rummage through.

Being an automotive only swap meet, punters may be able to find that elusive missing piece they need to get on with whatever project they’re working on.


The Auto Jumble provides vendors the opportunity to display their automotive-themed products to the public.

Once again we have the opportunity for vendors to display their automotive themed products to the public.

The Car Corral area will also be at the Auto Jumble. This is for those who would like to advertise their vehicle as being for sale. Southward Car Museum has hopes that this area will be a buyer’s paradise on the day.


Preferential parking will be set aside for those who are wanting to bring their classic car or motorcycle along for a ride on the day.

Children’s entertainment and paces to purchase food and beverages will complete the day out. Gates open at 8am — make sure you get there early so you don’t miss out on the great deals!

Vendors who are interested in holding a trade site should contact Hayden on [email protected] for more information.

Coaching from the bench: Casting plastic knobs and rubber parts

16 July, 2026

Casting rubber items is simple if you have a good original to work with. The item doesn’t have to be perfect. You can use plasticine to smooth out cracks, and you can even make whole prototypes out of low-fire modelling clay available from craft stores if you need to. Prototypes can also be made of wood or metal.
You will need mould dams to contain the liquid urethane moulding solution until it cures. You can build boxes out of strips of wood, but I have found that small plastic boxes and bowls such as those you would use for leftovers in your fridge work well if you spray them with a mould release agent.
Temperature is important to the chemical processes involved, so work in an area that can be maintained at around 20 degrees. You will also need adequate ventilation because the fumes can be dangerous to breathe. And you will want to wear latex gloves to protect your hands.

Fraser Cars – low flying into the fourth decade

10 July, 2026

With almost three and a half decades under its belt, Fraser Cars is one of New Zealand’s longest-surviving car manufacturers. The company first opened its doors for business in 1988, during the boom time for kit manufacturers. During the ’80s, around 40 different companies were building kits and turnkey cars for this niche market. Of those, only Fraser and Almac Cars (established 1981) are still in business today.
Most of the new kit car companies were killed off in the cradle by the threat of new legislation that never eventuated and definitively by the sudden availability of high-performance Japanese cars when the floodgates to second-hand imports were opened. The now long-retired founder of the company, Neil Fraser, first came across Lotus Seven replicas while racing Lotus Cortinas in the early ’80s. He regularly found himself racing against a little Caterham, a Lotus Seven–styled car built in England. He was very impressed by its simplicity and handling. In 1986 Fraser built his own Lotus Seven–type car, using the knowledge he had gained from several close looks at the Caterham.