British Car Day
After indifferent weather in 2014, the sun smiled upon the 29th annual British Car Day on February 8, when the event was again held at Trentham Memorial Park, Upper Hutt.
Chris Torr of the Morris Enthusiasts Car Club, summed up the reason for the show’s longevity and success when he said, “It’s always a good show. We (the club members) always enjoy coming here.”
Chris’ own British classic is a 1937 Morris 8 Series 1 convertible that had been restored from “a trailer of bits.” It was one of an estimated 400 cars that took part.
Readers of the Upperhuttleader will have recognised Ian Price’s 1959 Daimler Dart SP250 convertible and 1966 Daimler 250 V8 saloon from the newspaper’s pre–show publicity item. Ian restored the saloon with the ‘V8 DAME’ number plates 20 years ago.
In 2015 the 60th anniversary of the MGA will be commemorated, and while I didn’t spot any 1955 models, two nice examples were seen in the MG Car Club Wellington Centre’s display; one from 1959 and the other from 1961.
Patrick Reilly, the Deputy Head of Mission at the British High Commission, again presented the prizes. He was ably assisted by his young son, James.
The Wellington Vauxhall Bedford Club received the trophy for the Best Club Display and the public voted for a 1960 Morris 1000 four-door saloon as the Best Car in the show. The Morris is named “Daisy” and sports a very colourful paint job reminiscent of swinging Britain in the 1960s. A 1970 Leyland Mini 1000 with Union Jack paintwork was another of the day’s eyecatchers.
What appears to have been the oldest car on the concourse was a 1906 Alldays & Onions tourer that absolutely fascinated younger children. At the end of the day the car started with a couple of coughs and off it went, no trouble at all!
Proceeds from the day again went to the Wellington Free Ambulance to help keep the service free.
Remaining dates for the 2014/15 calendar are as follows: Legends Of Speed: March 28/29, 2015 at Hampton Downs
More info on Historic Muscle Cars can be found at the HMC website: www.historicmusclecars.co.nz or through the HMC online discussion forum at The Roaring Season: www.theroaringseason.com
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