Club Corner: Daimler & Lanchester (Jaguar) Owners in New Zealand Spare Parts Club

10 April, 2016

 


The Daimler & Lanchester (Jaguar) Owners in New Zealand Spare Parts Club was founded back in 1971 by Gordon Somerville and the late Laurie Wason, and became an incorporated society in 1971.

Today the club, based in Christchurch, provides parts sales to members only, and has a wide inventory of spare parts, new and used, available in stock for most Daimler/Jaguar motor vehicles from Jaguar Mk1 and XK120 right through to modern Jaguars and Daimlers as well as Lanchester vehicles. The club carries approximately 3500 individual line items, all available ex stock for the above vehicles. The club also caters for more modern X-Type, S-Type, and XJ Jaguars.

The club is run by a group of volunteers, and is open for business and parts orders and information on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8.30am to 1.00pm. The majority of orders ex stock are shipped the same day, with competitive overnight freight rates. The club can also provide hassle-free shipping from overseas for those hard-to-get parts, offering a price advantage for parts supply for more modern vehicles over most local suppliers.

Join the club

If you’re interested in joining one of New Zealand’s largest one-marque car clubs, then join the Daimler & Lanchester (Jaguar) Owners in New Zealand Spare Parts Club.
Visit the website — daimjag.org.nz — for further information and to download a membership application form.

This article originally appeared in New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 299. You can pick up a print copy or a digital copy of the magazine below:


A Legend Returns

The Ayrburn Classic, one of the most anticipated motoring events on the New Zealand calendar, is set to take things up a gear in 2026 with a line-up that promises to captivate enthusiasts and the general public alike. Following the success of the inaugural event, the Ayrburn Classic returns with a recently confirmed feature that is nothing short of extraordinary: the historic Ferrari Monza 750 – a masterpiece of motorsport and one of the most significant vehicles to race on New Zealand soil.
Legendary status
This particular Ferrari Monza 750, which arrived in New Zealand in 1957 and has remained here ever since, holds a legendary status in motorsport history. It competed in the Mille Miglia, Le Mans, and the Targa Florio – the ‘Big Three’ of European endurance racing during the golden era of the sport. Few cars can claim such provenance, and even fewer have such a deep and poignant connection to New Zealand’s own racing legacy.
Tragically, the Ferrari Monza 750 was involved in a fatal accident at Ardmore in 1957, marking the final moments of British driver Ken Wharton, whose last photograph was taken next to this very car. The vehicle has since been meticulously preserved, with images from the aftermath of the crash etched in motorsport history. Today, it stands as a symbol of both the bravery of that era and the enduring beauty of Italian automotive craftsmanship.

1986 Pontiac Firebird

Seeing the car with his own eyes already had Scott fizzing, but when the curator of the car let Scott sit in the driver’s seat it became a truly unforgettable day. There was no way Bo and Duke’s orange stunt jumper could compete with this. To top it off, a photograph of him sitting in the car turned up in the local paper, so he started a new school with an added aura as the kid in the Knight Rider car.
Scott still thought about the Knight Rider car from time to time, but if he had not gone with his wife Abbey to the Selwyn Motor Fest in 2018, it may have remained just a treasured memory. At the show, Abbey asked Scott what his favourite car was as they ambled round. The man she had married instantly connected with his nine-year-old self, but in a deeper voice he said, “KITT from Knight Rider”. Had she just said, “That’s nice dear,” and left it at that, life might have continued as normal. However, unaware of the hole she was about to start digging, she said that she had never heard of it.