FORD CLASSIC AND COLLECTABLE CAR SHOW
After being rained off in 2017, the KapitiHorowhenua Zephyr Zodiac Car Club could not have wished for a better day for this year’s Ford Classic and Collectable Car Show. The sun shone, and the convertibles had their tops down. About 100 cars parked up on the Kapiti Primary School grounds at Paraparaumu for the show on Sunday, January 21. The oldest car displayed was a 1915 Ford Model T, while the newest was a 2017 Ford Mustang 5.0-litre fastback.
Organizer Peter Morton showed me the badge above the grille on Mike Palmer’s 1952 MKI Zephyr. He said the badge from the flat dashboard of the 1950–’52 Zephyrs is the club’s logo. Mike’s Zephyr was the 326th Zephyr assembled in New Zealand, at the Ford Motor Company’s former Seaview plant. He is the car’s fourth owner.
Central New Zealand Region Zephyr, Zodiac and Consul Owners’ Club members Graeme and Raewyn Mcgrath drove their mid-blue 1954 Ford Zephyr convertible from Ashhurst to the show for the first time. They bought the car last year, and claim this English rose is “excellent to drive”. They said the car had appeared in an MTA TV commercial about 20 years ago. It was often the first noticed in the display, because the blue paintwork is different from the red or pale blue usually associated with MKI Zephyr convertibles.
Chris Mcginty’s 1972 MKIV Ford Zephyr won the People’s Choice award. Capital City Ford, the show’s sponsor, donated the new robot-shaped trophy — made from automotive spare parts — that will be presented each year to the owner whose car wins this category. Chris’s Zephyr will not be eligible for the award next year, as the rules governing the awarding of this trophy mean that no car can win two years running.
Some classic owners I see regularly at car shows told me how much they enjoy coming to this show. They said there’s always a happy atmosphere on the grounds. With a recommendation like this, their cars will be returning to the Ford Classic and Collectable Car Show for visitors to enjoy for many summers yet. All profits from the day went to the Mary Potter Hospice.