I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
The weather has certainly been beautiful again - two years in a row, great if you are not a farmer. Without wanting to sound selfish, it can rain as much as it likes now, as long as we get the fine days over Easter.

I am sure that you will read elsewhere in this mag. about the overwhelming response that we have had for our International Convention. Everything is going extremely well, and I know that everyone that attends will have a wonderful memorable time.

If there is anyone interested in going and doesn't have a Zephyr ready to use, see if you can go with other club members - there is plenty of room in a Z car!

It will be great to see so many Z car enthusiasts in Timaru over the weekend, especially if there is a large turnout from our club.

Please don't hassle the organisers for information on what's going to happen over the weekend - it will be much better if it comes as a surprise to as many people as possible.

See you there!

Take care.

John Hull.
President

Well, here we are, already one month into the new year, with Easter fast approaching, I hope everyone had a good holiday and you are all now getting ready for the Convention.

The competition in the last mag. was an underwhelming success, in fact there was not one entry! - so the prize has been carried forward to this edition, and hopefully this one will not be quite so difficult!
Apologies to those reading the online version - haven't been able to upload the competition - Ed.

I've been asked to mention that any new members who didn't receive a Convention registration form, or any others who wish to attend and haven't returned their form, to please contact Barry Goddard immediately as time is running out, and numerous things need to be finalised.

Mike Constantine
EDITOR
[email protected]

Careful!! It is now the year of the International Convention with less than eight weeks to the actual event - scary - heh?

By now you should have returned your Personal Registration Form and your polo shirt order and payment. We will be ordering the shirts within the next two weeks so will not be able to extend the order date for these.

Believe it or not - we have 145 Vehicle Registrations making this the largest Convention held in New Zealand and, possibly, the world. There will, therefore, be over 300 people attending, which will create some logistical challenges that the committee is working through.

We have several people coming from Australia, England and even the top of the North Island who would appreciate a lift in a Zephyr during the Convention, so if you can help please let one of the committee members know.

John and Glenis Hull are still looking for items for the goodies bag and would like to hear of any suggestions you may have. With the numbers attending they are looking for 150 of most items but any quantity is more than welcome.

The new Grey Way Lounge caterers have confirmed the catering prices with a greatly extended menu that is really hard to believe and our entertainers have also confirmed their participation.

The club will, as mentioned before, require assistance from most members over the weekend including the initial set up, at the registration desk, parking assistance, vehicle run assistance and many other areas. We need to know when you may be able to help and what you would like to do.

Please let us know as soon as possible.

Barry Goddard.
Convention Chairman
[email protected]

So you thought your 1951 MkI was the first vehicle to carry the Zephyr name? - well these beauties were made from 1935 until the 1940's. Edsel Ford once said. "Father made the most popular car in the world,'I would like to make the best." To that end, he hired John Tjaarda, one of the designers behind the stunning Dusenbergs and Packards.

In 1935, Lincoln introduced the Zephyr, which the Museum of Modern Art called "the first successfully designed streamlined car in America."

The Zephyr had a 122-inch wheel base and a 110 hp motor. Priced at $1275, it gave Ford an entry into the medium-price field.

Sales were encouraging, two years before only 2170 Lincolns had been sold, and by 1936 sales had jumped to 18,994 Lincolns, of which 17,715 were Zephyrs.

In May 1939, the Ford exhibit at the New York World's Fair was drawing people by the thousands. Located on the fair's highest ground, the exhibit covered almost seven acres. Inside, the nature and character of the Ford Motor Company were illustrated through numerous exhibits, climaxing in "The Road to Tomorrow", an elevated highway over which people could drive Fords, Mercurys or Lincoln Zephyrs.

By August, four months after the fair opened, 4,953,610 people had visited the Ford exhibit, with over one million riding on "The Road of Tomorrow."

In 1937, the Zephyr had pushed sales of Lincoln up to 25,243, but then sales for both the Zephyr and the regular Lincoln car declined steadily.

Henry Ford, was less than impressed with the Zephyr, taking little interest in "motors that had more spark plugs than a cow has teats". Regarding the Lincoln as a mere plaything of Edsel's, Henry resisted putting money into it's production and the car never rose above the status of beautiful loser.

The Toyota Museum has this to say.

"In the 1930s, almost all products, from automobiles to architectural structures and electrical appliances, acquired the streamlined shape. The Lincoln Zephyr that appeared in 1935 was totally streamlined and quickly became popular because of it's supurb styling, in particular the flawless balance between the front and rear of the body created by the monocoque structure, significantly influenced other makers. A luxury car reshaped according to aerodynamic theories of the 1930s, the Lincoln Zephyr's fenders, tail end, and even its headlights echoed a teardrop motif. In addition, the windshield was more sharply tilted, the radiator led into the body in one smooth curve, and the headlight housings were integrated with the front fenders. The Zephyr was the masterpiece of streamlined design and retained the proven chassis components".

Saturday 13 February 1999.
1 or 2 day run to Homebush Station, leaving the Doncaster at 9.00am. Bring your morning tea. Lunch will be at the Station.
Those on the 1 day run will return to Timaru mid afternoon, the others going on to the Springfield Hotel for the night. Jet boat rides in the Waimak Gorge Sunday morning, and returning to Timaru mid afternoon. A chance for a good weekend at a country pub owned by one of our members. - Contact Bob Stevens for more details.

1-5 April 1999.
International Zephyr Zodiac Convention, Timaru

A two-owner car that has spent all it's life in Pleasant Point, makes this a rather unusual vehicle. Purchased new in December '55 from Timaru Motors by James Keane, it was owned by him until his death in 1983, at which time it had done 91,000 miles.

Graham decided to buy it because, as he says " my first car was a Zephyr and thought maybe I should have another" - this seems to be a the reason a lot of members give for owning their Z cars.

The car was in very good original condition, and didn't really need a lot of work doing it, but Graham decided the paintwork needed touching up, and this somehow turned into a bare metal repaint - mainly to replace the existing enamel with a more modern finish, but still in the original colour.

The gearbox syncros needed attention, and Graham was lucky enough to find a brand new gearbox in Palmerston, which was installed, and the motor was fitted with new rings, bearings and valves.

New carpets have been fitted, but the rest of the interior is original, with only minor repairs being done. The bumpers were also rechromed.

In the 15 years Graham has owned the car it has travelled another 14,000 miles - a lot of which were done during a 7 month period when it was used as a daily driver, and the speedo now reads 104,690.

These days the car is mainly used for club runs, and has travelled to Akaroa and Mt Cook.

Graham has no intention of selling it, though he does say that he would like a S1 XJ6.....

FOR SALE

1971 VW Variant Stationwagon.
One lady owner since 1972, ex. condition, estate sale.
$3400 ono.
5" Colour TV / Radio. 12 volt or mains, ex. condition.
$120 ono
Ph. Garey Hanifin, 03 688-6663

MkIII Zodiac & Zephyr Parts: Various parts available
Ph. Colin Chambers 03 688-0807 or Eric Scott 03 688-6930

WANTED

Wipac 5.5" Driving light for MkIV Executive.
Ph. Mike Constantine 03 688-8391