Thread: NZ NSRA Nationals

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Wishing all of the deep, deep south folks a great weekend for the upcoming NZ NSRA Nationals gathering. I've mentioned before that I found the NSRA in New Zealand to be a tight knit group of like minded folks who treat their Nationals like a family reunion. Lots of food, fun, organized cruising, and visiting for the extended weekend. Hoping for sunny skies for your 42nd Nationals, with fond memories off the 39th in Taranaki! Good times, great folks!

Kiwi's in general seem like a great bunch of folks!

Thank-you!
Much appreciated, and all the better for being totally unexpected.
Our Nationals are being held in Rotorua this year, home to Admiral and sharpmark.
We'll be taking the bus, as it solves any accommodation problems, yet still gives us a street-rod type vehicle to join in with.
Going up a day early (ie tomorrow, Thursday,) as we have bones in the area (She's brother, a good bloke,) that we'd like to catch up with and swap lies.
Looking forward to it; it's always good fun and a laugh a minute.
Getting together with good friends is always good fun; life don't get much better!

Originally Posted by johnboy

Thank-you!
Much appreciated, and all the better for being totally unexpected.
Our Nationals are being held in Rotorua this year, home to Admiral and sharpmark.
We'll be taking the bus, as it solves any accommodation problems, yet still gives us a street-rod type vehicle to join in with.
Going up a day early (ie tomorrow, Thursday,) as we have bones in the area (She's brother, a good bloke,) that we'd like to catch up with and swap lies.
Looking forward to it; it's always good fun and a laugh a minute.
Getting together with good friends is always good fun; life don't get much better!

Please give my regards to Collin (The Admiral) and Mark, as well as Sharpie, Coxy & Lynne, Gary & Elaine (though I kick around with Gary on FB) and anyone else that you think might recall us being among you in Taranaki! Good times, good memories.

Consider it done.

Enjoy your weekend you all. I've been really considering getting an old bus to build for the next project after the next 5 are done. LMAO

hi Rodger , things are looking good for the nationals weatherwise and everything seems to be coming together well organization wise. We have 100 cars entered and 164 people coming so its going to be interesting. I'll be taking lots of photos but still need my daughters help to work out how to get them on here since photobucket went dog on us. Also have a lot of photos of my new an old projects to catch you all up with. Mark
.

Originally Posted by stovens

Kiwi's in general seem like a great bunch of folks!

Of course we are!
We're not descended from convicts like those Ausbloodytralians!

Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe

Enjoy your weekend you all. I've been really considering getting an old bus to build for the next project after the next 5 are done. LMAO

Just do it mate.
We've enjoyed ourselves with the bus over the last few years about as much as we've enjoyed all our other cars combined.
We've had teething problems; but you expect that and we've worked through them. (Although our biggest problem, and hardest to solve, was with bloody bureaucrats!)
When we did finally get it on the road I never expected it to become the crowd-puller that it is; eventually I had to write a story board explaining its history and what it's running. I just got fed up with having to repeat myself over and over ad nauseam.
And lots of interesting people come up and strike up conversations about how it reminds them of a wide variety of experiences...
You walk away from it, look back, and someone's leaning on it having their picture taken...
All good.

Although you're going to need a full-sized one with your team!

Saw that Gary Pulley (turquoise & white '55 or '56 'Bird) said it rained on them most of the way home from the Nat's event. Hoping that the rain stayed away from the weekend. Gary's 'Bird was Top Ten, plus Bowl's Club Choice! Way to go Gary & Elaine!

IMG_4172(2).jpg

L to R jb, Gary, my Susan, Rosie, Elaine at a roadside scenic overlook where we ran into Gary & Elaine, having just picked up the 'Bird from Christchurch on the South Island, heading north towards the ferry back home on the North Island. We were southbound and happened upon them, having been introduced at the '14 NSRA Nat's in Taranaki.

Friday 20th October.

Overnighted in the bus on the Pukeko’s front lawn, and spent the next morning socialising. Barry (Pukeko,) kindly offered to take us out to Nongataha in his car to show us exactly where we’re headed, (thanks mate! You come across that second turn very quickly; and I most probably would’ve missed it!) and we headed out there after lunch arriving to register around 12:40.
Barb (in NSRA nearly forty years,) dropped a bombshell; she and Colin are thinking of resigning. I have known of the incident triggering this, totally understand their reasoning, and can empathise. I don’t know what my reaction would be in their position; so it’s not for me to pass judgement on their decision one way or the other. So I won’t.
But I sincerely hope you don’t.
Caught up with Coxes (and passed on Roger’s regards) they’ve brought their ‘new’ Mercury, Wasses, who’ve brought their ‘new’ Pontiac, (Sam’s driving the Edsel,) Woody and Roger, (Woody riding shotgun with Roger; he broke a rear axle in his A roadster on the way down,) and it appears the other of the ‘Terrible Trio’, Kevin, is pretty crook in hospital. Bugger! Pass on our regards fellas; he’s a good bloke.
Met with sharpmark and passed on Roger’s regards, met with all the usual reprobates and eventually drove around to Willow Haven Motor Camp to claim our site.
Walked back to the venue, (Nongataha Bowling Club,) picking up a fish and chip tea on the way. Then it was all meet and greet of old friends not seen for the last twelve months
By the end of the evening I’d passed on Roger’s regards to all but Sharpie. I know he’s here somewhere because I met up with Jody, but never saw him all evening.
Took the shuttle back to the camp around 8:30 and in to bed.

Saturday 21st October.

We took the bus up to the park alongside the Bowling Club and parked it up for the Show and Shine (not so much ‘shine’ in our case…it got covered in filth yesterday…) and in to the Club for brekky. A bit niggardly I thought…but. After brekky and more greetings of new arrivals, we walked up to the Nongataha township itself. And for the main part it was closed. Bought a kai for lunch, (bacon and egg sandwich and a custard square,) an walked back to the Show and Shine, now open to the public for a gold coin donation to the local volunteer Fire Brigade.
I put the story board out, She sat in the bus, and I did a wander of the cars on show

Some bloody gorgeous machinery. The car I wanted to vote for (sharpmark’s truck, very smart) didn’t have a number; so I finished up voting for a ’46 jailbar that used to belong to Coxy for fifteen years, now owned by Pete Terryl, and owned by him prior to being owned by Coxy! What goes around…
Met up with some interesting people, amongst them were Arthur and Lynne Evans. A local couple who ‘do’ Americarna every year, so I invited them to call on us next time they’re down for it.
Back to the bus about two hours later about car-ed out. One of the local tock-tocks wanted to befriend me, yeah, okay, whatever, but started becoming insistent in wanting our Mobile Caravan Assoc. Year Book and our current ‘Street Torque’ No! We need both of those. I know you’ve got to be patient with these blokes but he became more and more insistent, eventually trying to rip them both out of the pocket we keep them in. That’s when the “NO YOU CAN’T HAVE THEM!” became even more emphatic and he eventually wandered off. But I kept an eye out for him after that.
Caught up with Sharpie eventually and passed on Roger’s regards, and we were then given instructions as to how to get to the Government Gardens Event Centre in the heart of Rotorua town itself. We were lucky, and managed to latch on to a local Galaxie and followed him. There, the younger fitter idjits played four-a-side soccer wearing Humpty Dumpty balloons around their bodies with a tube through the centre and straps to hold the balloon in place. One of the most hilarious things I’ve seen in my life. But it was certainly a game for the younguns; obviously very strenuous.
Back to the Motor Camp around 4:00, tidied up, went to make the bed…and the pin at the front of the left seat that clips the seats/bed together broke. Bugger! They’ll have to stay as seats; single beds tonight
Back to the Bowling Club around 5:30. Met with Barb Sundgren again and it’s official. She and Colin have resigned from NSRA, effective as at the end of these Nationals. A sad day. Those two are both going to leave a vacuum behind them; Barb would be the longest serving female member of the Association, she’s right down there among the foundations of the outfit. But it’s their decision; and I can understand why this has happened.
Tea, Association prize-giving, and halfway through: “Best Interior: John and Rosie Norton!” I was gobsmacked; and sent She up to collect the trophy…I hate that sort of thing.
Once again the band was too big for the venue; I was trying to talk/listen to Stretch and as it turned out got heard the story completely wrong…sigh.
Back to the bus and bed by 9:30. Half a queen size bed less the thickness of the squab on the wall = small. A woke myself up twice during the night by almost falling out.
And I was sober!

Sunday 22nd October.

Low cloud with occasional drizzle that eventually became continuous light rain. I’d spoken to Coxy last night about the rims on his old jailbar, this morning he came across with the web address of the manufacturer; he’d bought a magazine yesterday and they’d had an advert inside it. Thanks Coxy, top man! Back to the venue about 8:00, and managed to catch up wit BJ and Shaza…all good. (Pam told me later that Bill had seen us coming down the street in the bus and said: “He’ll have to have 4 or 5 swings to turn around down at the end.” and then: “Look at that!” [in his rear view mirror.] “He did it in one go! Amazing!” I cheated. I put my left side wheels up one driveway, drove along on the berm and the road, and down the next driveway. Hoho.)
Talked with Richard Ashby and Karen, passed on Roger’s regards, everybody remembers them; those two made quite an impression amongst NZ NSRA.
Got given a list of questions and directions and headed out to go around the lake looking for ‘things’ described in cryptic clues. To Hell with the ‘things’, just concentrate on the directions; I don’t want to find myself heading for Napier with no idea of how I got there or how to get back. So we just had a leisurely drive around the lake…first time I’ve ever circumnavigated it. All good. For me anyway.
Although on a windy section the left bed/seat with only one pin holding it shot away from the wall, tipped the ashtray over and smashed it, and jammed itself in the middle of the bus. We’ll worry about it later.
We found The Toy Shed (our lunch venue,) and there were lots of ‘toys’ alright! The most memorable being a Merlin aircraft/tank engine fitted with a blower. Crikey! When they fired that thing up it rattled your teeth even! It’s destined to go into a Bedford truck chassis and have a Model A coupe body plonked on top. That would be one helluva thing to drive.
Next up was the boat-racing. Taranaki had no team entered so there was no interest for us there, so we headed back to the camp gassing up enroute.
50% of the population are of below average intelligence, and we met one of them on the way back. A little red Jappa in front of us at 40mph approached the roundabout at the foot of the Mamakus. The roundabout itself was empty; not a car on it. And he came to an abrupt (almost tyre screaming) halt at the Give Way sign. With 3.5 tons of bus behind him also doing 40mph.
I stopped. But I said some naughty words.
Sheesh.
Camp, and everyone was busy preparing for the evening, with the theme being A & P (Agricultural and Pastoral,) Show. RJ and his mate (can’t remember his name,) came out of their tents with blow-up horses strapped to themselves. You had to be there to believe it. They both looked absolutely ridiculous but it was bloody funny. The cheers and laughter that erupted when those two walked into the hall…well done you two.
Hilarious.
Tea was adequate…the girls serving were a bit parsimonious but. And on to prizegiving. “People’s Choice: John Norton!” Crikey! I never expected that one either. I had to go up for this one as She wouldn’t. This is the wrong reason for being the centre of attention; quite embarrassing really. But thank you people. (Neighbour [Andrina] later told She that she helped with the counting of the votes for People’s Choice and it became obvious right from the start that we would get it. “It was a landslide,” she said. Quite embarrassing alright. We’ve never built our cars for show.)
The prize was a beautiful waterproof bum-warmer length jacket, an oil pack, aerosol of penetrating oil, and a voucher for a $200 photo of our bus on canvas. Thank-you people. And the trophy of course.
Back to the bus around 9:30.

Monday 23rd October.

Calm with occasional showers, back up to the Bowling Club for brekkie and farewells. Another Nationals over for another year. Drive carefully out there you lot; and be wary of those that don’t!
Headed for home around 9:00, an uneventful drive, although had the wipers going until just about the end of the Uriti valley.
Lunch at Waitara and home a bit before 3:00 and started straight in to writing all this out. The end of a great weekend with good friends.
All good.

You'll have to ask sharpmark for photos.
I don't own a camera; let alone know how to use one.