I’ve posted previously from trips to New Zealand, during which I captured various curbside and museum sightings of note. We’ve recently returned from another visit and, whilst I didn’t focus as much on the modern metal, there were some interesting curbside finds most definitely worth sharing with fellow Curbivores. So, in no particular order, let’s amble about two of the most striking islands you’ll ever see.
How about a 1952 Standard Vanguard Phase 1? This was a car designed as much for Empire and Commonwealth markets as it was for the home market.
Somehow, looking at it, naming it after the Royal Navy’s last battleship seems appropriate. Apparent also is the American influenced styling, allegedly honed by Standard-Triumph’s stylists sketching whilst watching cars come and go outside the US Embassy in London.
Also from 1952 was this Bedford K series truck, now being used on the street of a dock area of Oaramu to promote a collectables retail venture. I suspect the chassis was built in the UK and the body, and the later replacement one, built locally.
This is a 1954 Wolseley 6/80 – six cylinders, 80 bhp. The car was launched in 1948, alongside the visually similar Morris Minor and Oxford. The 6/80 and its Morris Six twin were long wheelbase six cylinder versions of the Morris Oxford and Wolseley 4/50, with all the difference being ahead of the windscreen.
2.2 litres, 80 bhp and almost 80 mph, and popular with the UK police at the time, even if most sales were exports.
Sitting alongside the Wolseley was this 1957 Vauxhall Cresta, possibly assembled in Australia.
According to the note in the window, Jim is working to restore this car. All he needs are some driving lights, hub caps, a Cresta badge and lighter. If you have anything…..
Or how about a 1964 Ford Fairlane 500, from Australia. Looking from Europe, Fairlane history seems a bit complex – the first Australian cars, in 1959, were actually versions of 1957 Canadian cars and the 1962-1965 cars were based on the American Fairlane.
This car is a 1964 built example, imported to New Zealand in 2021, with a 4.7 litre V8. That January sun shows that blue off well too.
Sometimes, when you see a Curbside Classic, you have to check your watch to make sure you can still catch your train or get to lunch. Once in a while though, you have to check your calendar – this Mercedes-Benz 190B is nearly 64 years old but looks showroom fresh.
According to the usual sources, it was imported to New Zealand new in June 1960. If you told me it hadn’t been out in the rain since, I’d probably believe you. But by 1993, it had done 190,000 miles (or maybe km – it’s not clear. New Zealand went metric in 1976). Usage now is much lower.
Something in this condition is rarely seen outside a museum; this one was actually outside the excellent Southwards Car Museum on New Zealand’s North Island.
Something most British visitors would probably recognise very quickly – a 1982 Ford Cortina 2.0 Ghia saloon. Many would call this a Cortina Mk 5, but Ford actually called it the Cortina 80 when it was launched in late 1979. In Europe, it was better known as the Taunus TC3. A 2.0 Ghia saloon was, in 1980, a symbol to the neighbours that you were doing “OK, thanks”. Chances are that the car was your employer’s and given to you as part of your salary package, and renewed every two or three years.
Next step would have been a Granada or perhaps a Rover 2300, unless you succumbed to the attractions of a German car. Choosing a Japanese car in that sphere of the market at the time was a big step, and almost unheard of for a manufacturing business. This car has been gentled personalised, with the window louvres and sheepskin seat covers; a UK market car would have had a tilt and slide sunroof as well.
And to finish, something even more British than the Cortina – a 1978 MGB with some extensive modifications.
The wheel arches and stripes are obvious, as well as the lack of bumpers and tailored mirrors. What you can’t see is a 3.9litre engine, most likely a version of the Rover (née Buick) 3.5 litre V8, which was a mainstay of the British low volume sports car industry for many years.
Drop tops seem to be relatively rare in New Zealand, among both new and older cars. We saw just a few MX-5s and a couple of Jaguar XK8s, and felt the sun a lot stronger than in northern Europe, which may be the reason.
And some unfamiliar road signs.
“Two of the most striking islands you’ll ever see”: even as one hailing from the slightly larger island to the west (which can be pretty marvelous itself) I have to agree. NZ has to be high amongst the most beautiful places on earth.
One of our lucky NZ readers will have to tell you about the Cortina Ghia (likely local assembly) but I can say it’s not Australian. Our Mk5’s got fully plastic/rubber bumpers, that did quite a bit to modernize the looks, even if nothing could ever fix the very ordinary driving proposition the always-pretty Corty was.
The sun IS hotter down here, even in the far south. It’s because the elliptical path of the earth puts it closer to the sun than the Northern Hemisphere gets in its summer. (We’re also more exposed to the ozone “hole”, making skin protection important all year). And in my case, you’re right – I’ve never hankered for a convertible: if it’s sunny, it’s usually just too hot to sit exposed in a car, and as for sunrife, plenty of upmarket models have them these days, but I swear I never see them open!
Vanguard Phase 1 for me. There’s just something endearingly stolid but quirky about these that I’ve always liked, plus they had a very good name for sturdiness for years after they last sold, which was far from common on UK cars. I haven’t seen one in probably thirty years.
“One of our lucky NZ readers will have to tell you about the Cortina Ghia…” ooo, pick me, pick me! The Cortina range was the top-selling model in New Zealand through the 1970s and early 1980s; Ford used to proudly state they sold over 112,000 of them here, which is small by most other countries’ standard, but good going here.
Cortinas were NZ-assembled from CKD kits imported from UK (mostly) and Ireland (in 1982/3 when UK kits dried up). There was a shortage of Mk IV CKD kits from 1977-80, so Ford NZ also imported fully-assembled Australian GL and Ghia sedans and wagons in 4 and 6 cylinder form.
The Mk V sedan consisted of 1.6L, 2.0L / GL / S / Ghia, and 2.3 V6 Ghia sedans and 1.6 and 2.0L wagons; we also got the Irish-market (I believe) Cortina Van, which was a tax-dodge wagon with no rear seats and a permanent load floor.
Our Mk Vs had a few minor differences from the UK-spec to simplify assembly – eg Ghia sedans had GL-spec seats and hard headrests until the end.
My first driving lesson was in 1988 in my parents’ ’83 2.0L wagon, gold like the Ghia above. Such lovely looking cars the Mk Vs, still a few around too.
My favorite here is the Cresta. Those taillights!!
The Wolseley 6/80 is one of those “off brand” (to an American) British cars that I wouldn’t pay much attention to. But the similarity in the rear 3/4 view here to the Minor, as well as the mention of that car, made me to look up how closely related they were. I would have guessed that the Wolseley would still be body on frame, etc as I assumed that the Minor was the first “modern” BMC car by a few years. But no, not only was the Wolseley unibody, IFS, rack and pinion etc like the Minor, it even had an overhead cam engine. That’s my trivia learning for the day.
Curiously the next big Wolseley reverted to body on frame! I only discovered that last year. Possibly because it was also a replacement for the RM Rileys (which were BOF), possibly because they were Gerald Palmer designs rather than Alec Issigons, possibly something else entirely – but it does seem odd.
Morris had begun unitary construction before the war, and OHC engines had been a Wolseley ‘thing’ for decades, usually based on Morris blocks which were sv or pushrod ohv. Except for the Depression-era Minor, which used a Wolseley ohc setup. And most of the famous early MGs used the Wolseley ohc setup too. Pre-BMC Nuffield cars were fascinating for these unexpected touches.
I too like the looks of the Vanguard, I’d prolly take the Wolseley over it though .
One of my mates married a girl from there and when they went to visit he brought home some nice photos of remote junkyards full of rusty cars the U.S. never got .
A truly beautiful place, I imagine there’s a big tourist industry there .
-Nate
As I read this in my iPad, I am sitting at San Francisco International, having just arrived in United flight 731 from Christchurch, New Zealand. Coincidence? And yes, New Zealand is perhaps the most beautiful places on earth, and this coming from a Colorado native!
Beautiful finds Roger. Twenty years ago, I worked as an exhibit designer, at a national historic site grist mill. It was the remote rural location of this structure, that helped protect it wonderfully for many decades, from vandalism, graffiti, redevelopment, or being condemned. Relative isolation from the outside world, perhaps one of the best ways to help preserve history, and CCs.
Nice shots. I like the Wolseley 6/80. I remember seeing a few Morris Minors here in Canada when I was a kid in the late ‘60’s – early ‘70’s. The secretary at my public school drove an old Minor, and it’s cool to see basically the same car with a longer nose to accommodate the straight 6. The Ford Fairlane of that vintage was a common sight at one time, although most Canadian examples rusted away long ago. A neighbour of ours who always drove beaters had a very rusty 2-door Fairlane in the early ‘70’s. The old Mercedes is a wonderful sight – and probably just as rare in NZ as they are here in Canada. I saw a red one for sale here in Toronto in the late ‘90’s in good shape, but I’m pretty sure the wife would have said “Are you kidding?”. I also used to see an old white 180d clattering its way around the neighbourhood once in a while. I like the MGB as well. I’m glad the owner ditched the ugly black bumpers they had in the ‘70’s – I’ll bet it’s a fun ride with the Rover V8.
The sun is indeed extremely fierce down here, you need UV protection as late as 5-5:30PM in the height of summer and pretty much year around at midday. Plus it rains a lot in much of the North Island and at all times of the year. In addition the weather is pretty unpredictable in much of the country. That is why convertibles are uncommon here. I have never wanted one myself, always had sedans or wagons plus a ute
We all joke about how horribly over-trimmed American cars were in the late 1950’s, but we yanks had nothing on that Vauxhall Cresta! But I am really liking that Wolseley.
The Cresta and Cortina were more likely assembled in NZ.
NZ was a very closed economy till the mid/late 1980s when Rogernomics demolished trade barriers and allowed the first flow of imported new and used vehicles into the country, spelling the end of local assembly by the early 1990s.
A touch early there, it was the late 1990’s when the likes of Nissan, Toyota, Ford, and Mazda ceased assembly here.
Great story, thanks Roger. Takes me back to my childhood, some of those pics.
Vanguards used to be everywhere. The perfect viable Holden-alternative, plenty were still giving good service well into the seventies. Tough, powerful (for the era) full chassis, roomy-enough body, .modern looks rather than Trad Brit. Standard couldn’t have come up with a better car for Australia; just a shame for them that GM came out with the Holden when they did.
I remember walking past one of those Vauxhalls on my way to school and being fascinated by those oddball taillights. There was more light on the side of the car than there was on the rear, and that weirdly-shaped massive chrome surround! School-age me wondered why on earth you would do that, it looked awful, like a big chome and plastic bandaid. It did enable them to put a larger taillight assembly on the old car without any panel changes, but the earlier taillights were pretty strange too.
Never saw that model Wolseley back then, but Dad ran an MO Oxford for about five years, and had nothing but good to say about it.
Always good to see some pics from here. The Cortina is a great example of a car that *Everyone* has a connection to. My uncle had one (blue 2.0 ghia), and a friend had a (blue) 1.6GL as his first car in the 1990’s. My neighbour even has a gold one right now! And finished with the louvres and sheepskin is about as perfectly period correct as it get!
The minor differences between that ’64 Fairlane and a US model (in addition to the RHD, of course) are fascinating.
I found reading about the Wekas very interesting, and it is hunted yet endangered, as it not a native bird.
Not sure where you were reading that, the Weka most certainly is a native bird. It’s not hunted, except in customary usage for some iwi (Maori tribes), it is fully protected. Here’s the page on it from the Department of Conservation: https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/weka/
I had to google the Wolseley 4/50 I didn’t realise it ever existed. Also didn’t realise Wolseleys still had OHC engines post-war.
Lots of interesting cars that were unfamiliar to me. Growing up in Toronto there were British cars around, but I don’t remember ever seeing a Wolseley 6/80. My best friend’s mother drove a Minor, which was my introduction to English automobiles. Later, in High school 2 friends each had Morris Minors ans first cars, one was an Traveller. Also, my grade 5 teacher, who had emigrated from England, drove a Wolseley 1500. I once got a ride in it and remember the leather seats.
In the late 50s, in suburban Toronto, our next door neighbours had a Mercedes 180, which was an exceptionally unusual choice for the time.
Roger! Fancy coming here again and not dropping in! A nice selection of cars. Rare to see a Phase I Vanguard now, the later Phases seem to have lasted longer. My grandparents had a Phase I Vanguard through the 1950s and early 1960s. It was my grandmother’s grocery-getter, and quite the size and style contrast to their family car, a ’59 Plymouth Belvedere.
That Merc is in spectacular condition – although I see the front number plate is a recent replacement as it has the current font with the line through the 0. Still see a few of the early 190/220 models around; they have quite a dedicated following.
As a New Zealander, I’m ashamed to admit the first time I saw weka was in 2021… Interesting birds, they seemed like a sports version of the Kiwi – lower, sleeker, faster…!