New Zealand’s largest garage sale goes off

14 October, 2015

Having been described as the largest garage sale in New Zealand, the McLeans Island Swap Meet and Display is a must-do for anyone who has even the slightest interest in anything automotive.

This year, close to 30,000 people filed through the gates hoping to pick up a bargain, or find that hard-to-get or missing part to complete their project parked in the garage. With more than 650 stalls, plenty of time was needed to get around and look at what traders had on offer. Thankfully many regulars occupy the same site year after year, making it easier to find your favourite stall to see what parts they have for sale this time around.

Not all sites are automotive-focused though, with all manner of things available for purchase. Everything from crafts, toys, and books to clothes, old furniture, and plants. If there is something that you want, chances are you will find it at one of the stalls.

One of the other attractions at the swap meet has to be the automotive display area. Many clubs make a weekend of it by setting up great displays, with some camping on-site for the weekend. A large area is also set aside for individuals who wish to show off their pride and joy. Whether you are a Ford, Holden, Citroën, Morris, or Lotus lover, there was enough to whet the appetite. The vintage-machinery display is always a popular area to visit with many working examples on show from yesteryear. This year’s display also included two working traction engines, giving the younger generation the chance to see how things were done back in the early days.

If you have never managed to make it to the McLeans Island Swap Meet, put it on your to-do list for next year, as, you never know, you may just find that missing part you need to finish your project.

Roadside relics

24 July, 2025

There’s been a proliferation of ‘barn find’ and ‘junkyard relic’ type books hitting the market, over the last 10 years or so. Writer Tom Cotter has been a major culprit with titles like Barn Find Road Trip, The Cobra in the Barn, Route 66 — Barn Find Road Trip and many others. In the same vein are: Lost Muscle Cars and a swath by Jerry Heasley, such as Jerry Heasley’s Rare Finds: Mustangs and Fords. They are almost exclusively American titles.
It got me thinking of all the road trips I’d charted around this country over 40 plus years hunting out and photographing what I thought of as roadside jewels — diamonds in the rough if you like, captured in all their glory, ensnared by time and weeds out in the back blocks. Interestingly, most of those cars have disappeared with the passage of yet more time.
Mulling on this point prompted me to go through scenes that had captivated me over 45 years on the road, an epitaph of sorts of earlier times, when these cars arrived at their final resting spot. I’d also capture those on their last legs, supposedly still operational and snapped curbside. I’ll also include a few snaps from my overseas junkets in Cuba, Buenos Aires and other locales.

Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

New Zealand’s largest garage sale goes off

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