July 2015

Ford Capri Dave and Margot Thornton

DURBAN EARLY CAR CLUB COMMITTEE

website: www.decc.co.za / email: club@decc.co.za

PRESIDENT ... Ken Tilly (h) 031 8112967tilly.ken01@gmail.com (c) 083 7835752

CHAIRMAN...Alan Evans (h) 031 7652556evansint@iafrica.com (c) 083 3517284

VICE-CHAIRMAN... Jack Kalil (h) 031 5621395jakalil@telkomsa.net (c) 083 4579852

SECRETARY... Elsabe Nell (h) 031 4640030masterdojo.trainer@gmail.com (c) 074 2943721

TREASURER... Nita Ryan (b) 031 7024817 (c) 084 5051525

NEWSLETTER...Richard & Shirley Palmer (h) 031 2668058richard@rjpalmer.co.za (c) 082 4002377shirley@rjpalmer.co.za (c) 083 236 4492 EVENTS... Steve & Elsabe Nell (h) 031 4640030masterdojo.trainer@gmail.com (c) 083 6920682 DATING OFFICER... Peter Gillitt (h) 031 7656176

SAVVA REP... Ken Tilly (h) 031 8112967tilly.ken01@gmail.com (c) 083 7835752

BANKING DETAILS DECC - ABSA BANK ACCOUNT NO. 4048096534 Branch No. 505626 PinetownAll correspondence to be addressed to: The Secretary, Durban Early Car Club P.O. Box 183 - SARNIA 3615

BANKING DETAILS DECC PROWL ONLY- ABSA BANK ACCOUNT NO. 4080276497Branch No. 505626 Pinetown

The opinions in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Early Car Club, it’s members or the editor.

July 2015 Greetings

Here we are in July already with our General Meeting coming up on the 12th, followed by the Scottburgh Car Show at the new venue, Scottburgh High School on 19 July. With the George Show, Cars in the Park and Vryheid Car Show behind us, before we know it, another year will be gone!

I believe there are still a few places left for the DECC Southern Explorer Prowl, so if you were hoping to still go, please book and pay now before you don’t get the chance. Those who haven’t paid in full yet, please get those final payments in. The Prowl is just around the corner, 7 - 10 August! Any questions, please contact Barbara or Nita now, at 031 5621395, or 084 5051525.

Driving back from the Vryheid Car Show in my ‘hot’ Cortina, it made me realize just how fast the modern cars on the road are today, because in comparison, my Cortina seemed rather slow! Admittedly, the altitude plays a part, but I could not help thinking that most modern cars,( be it they are supposed to be safer and more reliable), are actually way too overpowered for our roads!

As I drove past the ‘Speed Kills’ sign, it wasn’t difficult to work out why our accident rate is among the highest in the world! One can’t blame the taxis for everything! The expensive cars such as BMW and Mercedes are almost insanely overpowered for our roads and it seems there is no Body corporate in place in SA to restrict power. In fact, they simply get more powerful as a ‘marketing tool’! This leads to egotistic ’superior’ drivers who assume they ‘rule’ the road, with no regard for speed limits, and you had better get out of their way!! Speed fines are no problem, just pay the bribe and go! The new Ferrari is fatal in the wrong hands,- 0 to 100 in 3 seconds. While it is thrilling to feel and enjoy the power of these monsters, are we on a trail of insanity where motor manufacturers have scant regard for human life and money is their motivation as they compete against each other? The world corporate body has all kinds of restrictions for modern cars, safety restrictions, design, size, even materials, so why is there no restriction on power. Is it because power is impressive and power sells?

Excuse me while I take a break and go for a ride in my beautiful Model A!Have a great month,

Rich.

Southern Explorer PROWL – 20157 – 10 AUGUST 2015 - Friday to Monday.Nearly fully booked! Limited to 40 persons, so don’t miss out. Book now and get those final payments in.

This will be our 18th Prowl and promises to be another unusual, fun and exciting number of days. .

Hi Willem

I hope you are well and will be enjoying the day off tomorrow. This is just a short note to say thanks for all the help you gave me on Saturday at the Vryheid Car Show.

As I drove into the grounds on Saturday morning I heard a hissing sound coming from my right rear wheel, and on inspection I found that it was going down. I changed it and fitted my spare. Later on in the morning when my friend and I were walking round the grounds we came upon your exhibition stand, and as a joke I approached you and asked you where your 44 gallon drum of water to fix my puncture was. After ascertaining that it was a 15 inch Jaguar spokes wheel you then made a phone call, accompanied me to my car, collected the wheel and took it away with you to your shop in town to have it repaired, returning with it later.

I must be very honest, very seldom do you come across somebody that is prepared to go the extra mile for a total stranger without a second thought. I was anxious that I had used up my spare with the road to Durban waiting, and this act of kindness brought me much relief. å This story does not end there, as on my way back to Durban I had another puncture on the other rear wheel. Fortunately with you having repaired my first puncture I was able to change it and arrive home safely. Once again I thank you very much.

Stephen NellEvents Coordinator - Durban Early Car Club.

VRYHEID CAR SHOW 2015The Group of us who completed the expedition to the Vryheid Car Show in 2013 decided to attempt it again this year, bearing in mind that of the 7 cars that went last time, all 7 of us received speeding fines from Melmoth. The plan was to meet at the Ultra City near Stanger for breakfast before venturing into darkest Africa (except for Nkhandla, which is lit up like a travelling circus – no load shedding there). Unfortunately Tom’s Volvo behaved temperamentally and so our convoy split into 2, with Jack, Barbara, Manne, Sheryll, Nita, Elsabe and myself enjoying our breakfast as we watched Alex, Theo and Tom go flying past up the freeway. After an uneventful, but sloooow journey (hopefully no speeding fines) we arrived at the show grounds to be met by Malcolm, Ja-nine (subsequently promoted to Ja-ten), Richard, Shirley, Breyden and our guests Barry and Liz Liggins in a Beautiful Jaguar convertible. Unfortunately as I parked the Jag I discovered that I had a puncture, but that is another story. We had just set up the deck chairs when Laurie arrived to join us with his cousin in a magnificent Studebaker Grande Torismo. We spent the morning relaxing in the sun and enjoying the cars on display. As usual there were Vintage, Classics, Tractors, motor bikes, and static engines on display with flea market stalls, and food stalls in abundance. I must make mention of the service we received from Willem van Deventer the owner of the Vryheid Supa quick. He was manning his stall and when Malcolm mentioned to him that he was looking for some scarce tyres for his daughter, Willem not only had them in stock but offered to take Malcolm to his shop to collect them. In addition, when Manne and I walked past the Supa quick stall, I joking enquired if Willem could repair my puncture. Due to the wheel being spokes, he made a phone call, then went to the Jag, collected the wheel took it to his shop and had it repaired, before returning with it. Later in the afternoon we wandered off to the B & B, where in anticipation of our needs Isobel the owner had placed a carafe of Old Brown Sherry in the rooms. Barbara then produced an OB’s” Vyf-Man-Kan” and a jolly time were had by all. Jack and Barbara then retired for “40 winks”, but not before Jack showed us what the modern man is wearing for night attire. As we were enjoying the afternoon we became aware of a strange banging on the wall on Barbara’s room. All was revealed when Barbara emerged with a huge bandage on her head. We had been invited to a braai at the Vryheid Car Club, however when we arrived it appeared as if half of Vryheid had pitched up, so after a few drinks we departed for the local Spur for an enjoyable supper with the added bonus of watching the Sharks thump the Stormers. On Sunday after a hearty breakfast we were homeward bound but not before Barry and Liz joined us as Club Members. The convoy split in 2 with some going via Melmoth and the rest of us going via Ladysmith. My sorry saga with punctures continued as I suffered another blow out. The convoy turned round and assisted me to change the wheel. Special thanks to Jack and Manne who escorted me almost to my front door to ensure we got home safely. Due to the success of the weekend some of us have decided that next year we want to have another weekend away and go to the Bethlehem Car Show.Steve and Elsabe Nell.

Vryheid Car Show June 13

Vryheid Car Show June 13

SOUTH AFRICAN ADVERTS FROM YESTERYEAR1970

PRESIDENTS PERSPECTIVEJULY 2015

Hello everybody in the land of warm sunshine. Well, we are back at last after a very hectic 3 months in UK. Last month I described the buying of a 2000 Rover automatic for 500 pounds, well, because cars are so cheap in UK I decided to buy a cheapie to resell at a profit so as to stimulate our funds while in UK. I ended up buying a 2002 Ford Focus Ghia. So far, so good. Not! I met a guy at the local shop who on seeing my DECC badge on my Prowl jacket, started asking me questions about classic cars as he wanted to buy a Jag XJ 6 (Poor sod). In the end he told me that he worked from home as a mechanic and knowing that the Focus needed new brake pads I left the car at his house, along with 60 pounds, for him to fix the brakes over the weekend. When I hadn’t heard from him by the Tuesday I decided to call on him only to find that the house had been vacated along with his girlfriend and the Focus. After a lot of police action and a lot of miles and a lot of money (425 pounds) I eventually retrieved it from the police pound 30 miles away. He had been arrested for drunk driving, no driving licence, driving a car without the owner’s permission and operating a vehicle with faulty brakes. They put him in the slammer for the weekend and he is now out on bail. That nice mechanic cost me a bomb as in the end I sold the car for 300 pounds! Not a good start to my UK car dealing venture. Oh well, we live and learn.Don’t know if you have ever heard of the Bromley Pageant of Motoring which is advertised as the biggest one day classic car show in the world? That may be if you consider trudging around looking at over 50 Triumph Stags, 46 Jaguar MK 2’s, about 30 Morris Minors and Austin Healeys by the score the biggest, then yes, it might be the biggest but certainly not the best. The show must have covered ten times the size of Cars in the Park in PMB but if you thought the access to CIP PMB was bad this year, you should have visited Bromley. Without a doubt the worst signposted event I have ever been to. The only people who seemed to know where to park were the people displaying their cars while the paying public at 15 pounds a head (R300) were left to find their own way into the event. Very poor to say the least. That’s enough for this month but in closing let me please ask you all, and that means you, to consider standing for a seat on the committee.. See you at the AGM.Happy and Uneventful motoring to you all.

K.T.

SAVVA Technical Tip 98 - Motorcycle side standThis one is for the vintage motorcycle enthusiasts:Perhaps you have had the same problems as I have had with vintage bikes over the years. If so, this could be a solution.The problem I have had is with the cycle stands that clip up behind the rear mudguard - which invariably fell down on a rough road causing one to stop to hook the thing back up into the clip. I often wished the bike had a side stand like many modern bikes i.e. BMWs, Harleys etc. It was always my intention to try and make one but never got around to it.Recently, my grandson, who was visiting for a few days, went to the local bicycle shop and came back with a perfect side stand which he had just bought for R85.00. It looks ideal for a vintage bike. It is a “fit all” design and manufactured from what looks like cast aluminium and the length is adjustable. It even has a rubber thingie on the end to stop it slipping. The return spring is very strong and cannot fall down when ridding. I’m currently rebuilding a 1923 AJS and will try one out.

EVENTSANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - 12 JULY 201510.30am for 11am sharp. Lunch will be served after the meeting.VENUE: East Coast Cruisers Clubhouse, Pineville Junction, Stapleton Road, Pinetown.

AGENDA

1. Welcome 7. Financial Report2. Apologies 8. SAVVA Report3.Quorum 9.Electionofofficebearers4.Confirmationofminutes10.General5.Matters Arising 11. Closure and thanks 6. Chairman’s Report

SCOTTBURGH CLASSIC CAR SHOW - 19 JulyNew venue - Scottburgh High School 41 Allen Street.

SOUTHERN EXPLORER PROWL-7-18 AUGUST

Garden Cafe - 21 June 2015