Vintage car work skills vital

DRIVING FORWARD: New Zealand Vintage Car Club president Diane Quarrie, Hastings, in her 1923 Studebaker Roadster. PHONE/DUNCAN BROWN

While the future of appreciating a grand old vintage car is never in doubt, being able to restore them and keep them running sweetly may have a bit of a question mark over it.

"The people who work on these cars are getting older and they are the ones with all the special skills," the new national president of the New Zealand Vintage Car Club, Hastings woman Diane Quarrie, said.

She is only the second woman in the organisation's long and colourful history to be elected to the president's role, and she said one issue she wanted to raise for discussion with the various regional clubs was a way of preventing the disappearance of the special skills required to work on vintage cars.

"We don't want to see the day when no one can work on them."

She said fears that the old skills were disappearing amidst ageing restorers and mechanics in the UK led to the introduction of special apprenticeship schemes being introduced for mechanically minded younger people at the equivalent of our polytechnic institutes.

"It would be good to be able to do something similar here - to get something like that up and running."

While establishing something like that here was a long-shot it was something she hoped would be considered.

"Because New Zealand has a really strong skill base for working on vintage cars and a lot of overseas people send their vehicles here to be restored."

The skills of "old style" panel-beating, painting, upholstery and mechanics were unique, she said.

Mrs Quarrie has long been fascinated by vintage cars, which went back to the vehicles her parents had.

"Growing up we always had older cars because we weren't financially well off."

And when she met her husband Geoff the love of vintage vehicles stepped up a notch as he was a big fan and had a couple.

They have had several through the years and her current favourite is the 1923 Studebaker roadster, although for "everyday" driving she fires up her classic 1966 Triumph Spitfire.

It too qualifies for the club - as cars just 30 years or older now qualify.

About 30 years she joined the Hawke's Bay branch of the New Zealand Vintage Car Club and was chair of it for five years.

She also took a place on the committee of the national body, which has more than 8500 members, and was there for eight years - with the move into the president's chair arriving after the former president recently decided to stand down.

She was endorsed by him and went on to take up the role.

Mrs Quarrie said is was largely a position of governance - of overseeing events and issues, and one issue she said needed plenty of focus was legislative changes set out by the Land Transport Safety Association.

"We have to ensure new regulations which come in do not effect us and do not mean some cars have to go off the road - we have to be vigilant."

She said New Zealand was lucky compared to some countries, including Australia.

As well as requiring log books, vintage cars were generally only given permission to use many roads when on official club runs or events.

On the horizon is one of the events she has come to love - the Tremains Art Deco Weekend where hundreds of vintage car enthusiasts gather for an international-class display of vehicles.

"We were part of the very first one more than 20 years ago ... there were six of us."