Vintage charmer in classic car rally

OLD CLASSICS: The Sunbeam Car Club's annual Lake Ferry excursion

The annual Lake Ferry Excursion organised by the Sunbeam Car Club will celebrate its 36th anniversary on December 12.

The classic English cars will show off their vintage charm as they drive from Featherston to Lake Ferry.

The Sunbeam Club convener, Bryan Atkins, said the group will meet outside the Fell Museum before driving down the western side to the lake. He said it's not just about Sunbeams though. "It's great to see other vintage cars turn up.

"It's about collectable cars," Mr Atkins said.

In the past, the club has had a variety of different vintage car fanatics show up including the Corvette Club, Mustang Club, Capri Club, as well as some others.

Generally about 30-40 car loads turn up for the big day, but in the past attendance numbers were around 80-100, Mr Atkins said.

"The best part of the day is looking at the cars and talking to people," Mr Atkins said.

Sunbeam originally started making bicycles in 1888 before turning its attention to motorcycles and then onto cars.

In 1935 Sunbeam went into receivership and was bought by the Rootes Group. By 1976 the new owners rebranded to Chrysler.

The last Sunbeam (Chrysler model) was made in the early 1980s, Mr Atkins said.

However, Mr Atkins is confident the Rootes Group added "a bit of quality into them". But with this, of course, the prices increased, he said.

The classic Sunbeam cars are a special because they are "easy to work on, nice to drive and they drive well on New Zealand roads," Mr Atkins said.

The Sunbeam Car Club is a national organisation with five separate branches covering the country. The club also offers an exclusive 'spare parts' service for its members. The handy system imports new parts from the USA and sells them on to keep the cars in tip-top condition and road ready.