Club Corner: Auckland Veteran and Vintage Car Club

26 August, 2016

 

The Auckland Veteran and Vintage Car Club was established in 1954. The club is affiliated to the New Zealand Vintage Car Club, along with 35 other branches, and enjoys a nationwide membership of approximately 8500, with the Auckland branch having 658 members. The clubrooms are situated at 39 Fairfax Avenue, Penrose, and are open every Thursday from 7pm to 10.30pm, and every Saturday from 4pm to 7pm. The clubrooms are licenced, so a convivial atmosphere generally prevails. The third Thursday of the month is club night, and the club usually has an invited guest speaker. 

The club has a 30-year rule that allows all types of motor vehicles up to 1986 (30 years old) to participate in club events. Within the club, there are motorcycle, commercial, and stationary engine groups. 

Each month, there is a run to a place of interest, and, in addition, there is the option of attending events at other branches. Membership entitles you to six bi-monthly publications of Beaded Wheels magazine, and a monthly Auckland-branch bulletin. The club has an extensive library, with most books being able to be borrowed. 

Recently, the club has experienced an increase in later-model vehicles being introduced and used in club events, and its members sincerely hope this trend continues. 

This article originally appeared in the May 2016 issue of New Zealand Classic Car (Issue No. 305). Grab a print copy or a digital copy of the mag below:


Polishing to perfection

The secret to a show-stopping finish is colour sanding, no matter which paint system you use. Even a good painter, no matter how experienced or talented — like my mate Bruce Haye, CEO at Ace Panel and Paint in Whitianga — can’t shoot to a perfect mirror finish. To get that level of perfection, you need to colour sand.
It used to be called ‘rubbing out’ or ‘cutting’, and it was done with pastes that came in cans. They worked — sort of — but the compounds really just rounded off imperfections instead of eliminating them, and they removed a lot of paint in the process. But now your new finish can be made flawless, thanks to microfine sandpapers that come in 1000, 1500, 2000, and even 2500 grit ranges, and Farecla G3 polish — available from automotive paint suppliers.

NZ Classic Car magazine, March/April 2026 issue 404, on sale now

BMW’s flagship techno showcase
The supermodel 1995 BMW 840Ci is simply elegant and perfectly engineered.
BMW’s 840 Ci flagship Coupe provides superb comfort and equipment packaged in a stylish body, with grand-touring performance and surprisingly competent handling for its size.
It’s the kind of machine that stands apart from the start. When BMW first unveiled its flagship Grand Tourer at the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show, the automotive world blinked twice. Sleek, low, and impossibly modern for its era, it combined drama with a sort of purposeful understatement. This silhouette still looks striking today, long after its peers have faded into obscurity.
Initially offered with a range of engines, the model you’re reading about is the V8 iteration, featuring a 4.0-litre eight-cylinder heart under its long bonnet and a smooth five-speed automatic at the back. It wasn’t about blistering sprint times so much as effortless velocity. There was power on tap, sure, but the way it delivered thrust felt unhurried and measured – the automotive equivalent of a deep exhale on a long drive.
Poster 1964 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, C2