Don’t get lost! October’s Caffeine & Classics has a change of venue

20 September, 2016

For those partial to a good cup of joe and a few hundred classic cars packed into one place, Caffeine & Classics is where you want to be.

Proudly brought to you by Protecta Insurance, Caffeine & Classics is held on the last Sunday of each month at Smales Farm, Takapuna, and has been going strong for the last three-and-a-half years. However, the October event will see a temporary relocation to the NorthWest Shopping Centre due to the surrounding streets of Smales Farm being closed for the Auckland Marathon the same weekend.

Don’t sweat, though — although our expertise may not be marathons, we do know that the runners will only block the way to Smales Farm for one event, and the move is a one-off. As for the finer details, the date and time remains the same as always, with the October event held on the 30th at 10am — in case that wasn’t clear enough, Caffeine & Classics will be back at Smales from November onwards.

If you haven’t already pulled the old girl out of the garage and headed out on a beautiful Sunday morning, you really ought to mark it down on the calendar. Numbers are frequently upwards of 500 cars and bikes, with like-minded enthusiasts to shoot-the-sh*t with. It’s a laid-back, family-friendly environment that you can bring the little ones to, and one of the few events that are open to all types of classic and collectible vehicles. Entry is free for vehicles and spectators — for more information click here.

  • October 30 (one-off event)
  • NorthWest Shopping Centre
  • Gunton Drive, Westgate
  • 10am–12pm

Lancia Stratos – building a winner

On his own, and later with his wife Suzie, Craig Tickle has built and raced many rally cars. Starting in 1988, Craig went half shares in a Mk1 Escort and took it rallying. Apart from a few years in the US studying how to be a nuclear engineer, he has always had a rally car in the garage. When he is not playing with cars, he works as an engineer for his design consulting company.
Naturally, anybody interested in rallying has heard of the Lancia Stratos, the poster child and winner of the World Rally circuit in 1974, ’75, and ’76. Just as the Lamborghini Countach rebranded the world of supercars, so, too, did the Lancia Stratos when it came to getting down and dirty in the rally world.

This could be good news for restoring cars and bikes – but we must be quick!

Our parliament is currently considering a member’s Bill, drawn by ballot, called the ‘Right to Repair’ Bill.
It’s due to go a Select Committee for consideration, and we can make submissions ie say what we think of it, before 3 April this year. It’s important because it will make spare parts and information for doing repairs far more readily available and this should slow the rate at which appliances, toys and so on get sent to landfill.