They were pioneers of their automotive time, and while the formation of what they decided to call the Marineland Street Rod and Kustom Klub was a modest affair today it is one of the most successful such clubs in the land...and like the cars within the garages of its 55 current members it is going strong.
Over the weekend of November 17 through to November 19 the half century of magnificently firing engines, countless social gatherings, nationally applauded car festivals and many a great run will be celebrated.
Joining the current members will be many past members, with some flying in from far afield to be part of something unique.
And a lot of great stories will be told.
"That's a polite way of putting it," one of the original founders, Barry Swayn, said with a laugh.
"I was 16 when we started it up - I was doing my (painting) apprenticeship with Vic Viggers," he said, adding with a smile that what he was running at that time was slightly removed from the '39 Chev Coupe tucked away in the back of his shed today.
He was running a Morris 8 "with a bit of chrome work".
"As an apprentice I didn't have a lot of money for it back then."
But like the other young enthusiasts who decided to band together within a new club, it was all about enjoying the cars and the companionship.
One of the initial lady members, Pam Howell, had a Hillman Californian and Don Griffiths was building up a Fiat Topolino.
"Another guy had a 1932 Ford V8 Sedan."
To mark the founding Donne Griffiths designed and cast special plaques, and the club still proudly has one.
They started the club as an alternative to the Hawke's Bay Rod and Custom Club of the day which had a major focus on drag racing.
"We were just more of a social club," Barry said.
"And it's no different today really," another long-time member, Malcolm Wilkie, said.
"Like anything it is always evolving and we are very family orientated - it has a few generational members now," Malcolm said.
His son has a car set for restoration and Malcolm is building a miniature hot rod for his grandson.
The club soon attracted attention and membership clicked up to about 20 within the first year, and with help from the Napier City Council they were able to use the old Ahuriri fire station in Waghorne St for their clubrooms.
It was the desire to put their cars and their name as a fundraising and events club on the map that really set them up in 1970.
It was a lot of time and effort and potentially risky, but they staged their inaugural Castrol Kustom Car Show in 1970 at the Centennial Hall at McLean (again with the council's blessing) and it was a staggering success - as the ledger revealed about $6000 had come in from it.
"That was a lot of money back then - for us it was really pumping and we were able to own our first clubrooms (in Husheer Place) as a result of that," Barry said.
It was a solid start for the club, which had developed a good reputation within the community and within the parents of the young members as they were more focused on building and presenting what Malcolm described as "works of art" rather than tear about the streets in them.
"Oh no, we weren't larrakins," Barry said.
"Mind you, we weren't exactly pure either," he added with a smile.
The success of the initial car show sparked what would become an increasingly popular and high-profile series of automotive events.
They staged Napier Airport Drags, National Hot Rod Shows, Cars Under Canvas and the Show and Shine Swap Meet at Meeanee which had morphed into a diverse and colourful festival drawing thousands of visitors from all over the country.
As part of the great festival back in 2009 the club flew in iconic American rock guitarist and passionate pursuer of the hot rod scene, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top.
It was a sensation, and had effectively been sparked by club president Geoff Mitford-Taylor's US connections.
Before returning to his home Napier he spent about 20 years there and worked in with top US hot rod builder Pete Chapouris who ran the SoCal Speed Shop in California.
Billy (who has about 30 cars) had solid connections with the shop and those connections all came together again when the club approached both Pete Chapouris and Billy to pop over for the annual festival.
"That was one of the highlights of our club history," Malcolm said.
They have also had leading US hot rod illustrator Thom Taylor call by to be part of the annual festival.
The success of the shows, which has led to tens of thousands of dollars worth of donations to community groups and charities through the years, meant the club had also been able to develop its large new headquarters in Meeanee.
It will be the venue for the opening "casual nog and natter" evening for a catch-up of old faces and on Saturday night a big dinner and dance will be staged at an inner-city venue.
And on the Sunday, of course, there will be a rod run.
Time to turn the keys, turn over the engines and turn those sparkling wheels.
Had someone asked Barry back when he was a teenager at the wheel of his Morris 8 if the club would still be running strong in half a century he reckoned he would have shaken his head in doubt.
"No we didn't really think it would last, so this is just great."
Malcolm said there had always been a strong core of people helping maintain the club's drive, and they were always keen to hear from potential new members, who could check it out on their website, marinelandstreetrods.org.nz
