Garage ornament heaven auction to take place in July

12 June, 2017

Calling all petrolheads — R.A. Proctor Auctioneers will be hosting the auction to cure your winter blues. The automotive, garagenalia, associated memorabilia, and vehicle auction will take place at the corner of Humber and Nen streets in Oamaru, at 12pm on Saturday, July 1, and includes a huge array of all sorts of automotive goodness. 

Among the items for sale is a collection of more than 40 rare and vintage petrol pumps, such as American, Bowser, and Lighthouse, as well as signs, bottles, racks, stationary engines, number plates, and more. Larger objects include a 1939 Ford hot rod with current WOF and rego, a 1957 Ford Fairlane convertible with current WOF and rego, a 1939 Ford body suitable for placement as a very cool piece of garden art, a ’60s Concord 20-foot caravan in excellent condition, and a 1945 Field Marshall tractor that was restored around 40 years ago and still starts first pop! 

For more information and photos, keep an eye on proctorauctions.co.nz; phone
03 467 9368, 027 432 2907, or 021 477 682; or email [email protected]

Two engines instead of one?

Popping two motors into a car is not only complicated, it doesn’t always end well. Donn Anderson recalls early attempts, including John Cooper’s ill-fated original Twini Mini built 58 years ago

For a boost in performance, better traction, and perhaps improved handling to some, two motors seems an obvious solution. It would also eliminate the need to develop a larger engine replacement from scratch, but would that outweigh the not inconsiderable technical difficulties?
The idea of using a pair of engines dates back at least 86 years to the Alfa Romeo Bimotor single seater racing car that was officially timed at 335km/h, or 208mph. Taking a lengthened Alfa P3 chassis, the Italians fitted two supercharged straight eight 2.9-litre and 3.2-litre engines, one in front of the cockpit, and the other behind the cockpit.

NZ Classic Car magazine, January/February 2025 issue 397, on sale now

Having dominated the world motorcycle championships of the 1960s, Honda had a crucial decision to make in 1969. Would Soichiro Honda heed his engineer’s pivotal advice?
“Very few examples of the early Civic, a car that set Honda onto the path to becoming a giant of the car world, remain road registered in New Zealand.
Retired Tauranga owner of this example, Graham Inglis is thrilled with his classic little Honda Civic, the first of eleven generations built so far by the company. The Civic became a household name.
“It’s quite amazing the number of people who not only wave, but come up to me in the street and tell me how much they like the little Honda and its colour, and then they want to start talking about it. A guy in our vintage car club wants to buy it and he has been pushing me a bit. It’s not for sale,” he laughs.
Graham bought his 1977 Honda Civic from Wellington enthusiast Julian Foster, who was the instigator of its restoration.”