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Established in 1996, we are a group of passionate car enthusiasts who live and breathe American classic cars, and are based in Auckland, New Zealand.
Our mission in life is to provide an environment for other like minded car aficionados to savour and enjoy their American classics, without the rules and restrictions that seem to dog other areas of everyday lives. If you are an American classic car owner who feels the same as we do, we invite you to take a small journey through our site to see if this sounds like you. If you like what you see, and want to be involved, then send in a membership application. The only hard and fast condition of membership is that prospective members must own an American classic car that is over 25 years old at the time of joining, which must be of historical interest. |
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PLEASE NOTE: American Classic Car Club members are unable to provide classic vehicles for events such as weddings, birthdays, family outings etc, as our members are not licenced to do so. Thank you for your understanding.
on September 10 - Click here to check it out
Ryders Lunch & Movie – 14 August 2022
For the few days leading up to, and including our club run, it was thankfully fine weather, so a good turnout of club cars fronted up on the morning – 12 classics, 2 hot rods, and 1 veteran - and 35 club members. The meetup was at Western Springs College in Motions Road opposite the Auckland Zoo, which in previous occasions was more than big enough to cater for all. But what a difference this time, as every car park was taken, along with all the street parking for an event in the zoo, forcing some club members to double park anywhere they could. In fact it took the Pontiac as much time to drive the 1.2 kilometers along Great North Road from Motat to the College as it did from home. The standout club car at the meetup just had to be David Lane’s magnificent 1912 Model T Rootlieb Speedster, resplendent in bright red and brass, which certainly turned heads from the zoo attendees. Both Dave Roper and Allan Huljich had their hot rods out for the day, these being a 1934 Ford Sedan and 1932 traditional roadster respectively. A great mix of vehicles for sure. After a short briefing it was off to battle the Western Springs traffic and head to the Ryders Movie and Restaurant complex which is tucked out of sight down a right of way on nearly one hectare of land in Avondale. There are numerous historic buildings on the property, including a service station, villas, the former Kelvin Hotel from Auckland’s Hobson Street, and the theatre and restaurant. Unfortunately we were unable to view the inside of the buildings due to ongoing renovations, which was a shame as there is a great collection of curios and memorabilia to view. The famous Ryders roast lamb & chicken, crispy potatoes, roast kumara and pumpkin, mixed veges and gluten free gravy was just scrumptious, and certainly well worth the $40 per person, even without the addition of a movie and ice cream. Clint Ryder deserves an award for his untiring effort to provide the meal on his lonesome, as he has lost the services of several ladies who have helped in the past due to that dreadful “C” word. Along with club supplied wines and orange juice, the lunch hour and half passed very quickly, and then it was off into the theatre with our deluxe ice creams. The movie was The Greatest Showman, a musical starring Hugh Jackman, and follows the true story of P.T. Barnum's rise to fame with his circus, though some details are slightly exaggerated. There were certainly a lot of rousing songs performed, along with the usual circus stunts, which made for an entertaining afternoon. There were a couple of non-musical fans in attendance, but most members seemed to enjoy the movie when quizzed afterwards, so all in all in was a great day out. Clint Ryder has been really struggling since the two Covid lockdowns, and has been trying to get the business back to it’s former state, but it has been a hard slog. He has a couple of property developers chasing him to sell the land for housing, and of course all the old buildings would be demolished in the process. Understandably he is not keen to see this happen to his family’s heritage, and needs all the help he can get. So if you know of or are involved in any social groups who would like a day out with great food and a movie, Clint would be very pleased to hear from you. Toodlepip for now, cheers Russell Fred's great photos and video can be seen here..... 
Wet Wonders in Warkworth – 24 July 2022
With the storm on Saturday night and the following day’s forecast, it was looking somewhat grim for a turnout of all those who registered for the day, however we were only down six members which wasn’t too bad considering the awful weather that morning. We still had nine classics and two dailys meeting at BP Motorway Dairy Flat for a quick coffee/gathering before heading off for a very leisurely run straight up the motorway to the Warkworth Museum, with another 2 dailys meeting us at the Museum and the café. I’m pleased to also be able to take this opportunity to give a warm, albeit wet welcome to new club members Mike & Kerie Dixon, who despite the dampish weather made their inaugural club run in their resplendent and ultra-cool 71 Mach1 Mustang that you will see in the Gallery photos, that I could easily have hopped in and driven home. But I’m showing my slight bias here with good excuse - I’ve got Mustang fever after having just done three familiarisation laps around Pukekohe racetrack in mine yesterday. The Museum is much larger than one imagines, housing a very large and expanding collection of all sorts of ‘Historiana’ that I had expected, showcasing interesting history and artefacts from around the Warkworth area and period, from the planning inception for the township at the navigable head of the Mahurangi river, to recent times that we will all remember. There’s always more NZ historical interest and relevance than you realise. The recreation of the ‘Murder House’ brought back some frightful Primary school memories! The general store recreation showed many of the old products and packaging that we haven’t seen for decades. The photo story of the laying of the Marsden Point gas and fuel pipelines was another highlight. There’s never enough time to take in all these written historical exhibits and stories, so for me it was also a chance to see all those things that I missed out on looking at on the previous visit. I was lamenting with Karen & Tom about how many thousands of times we’re all driven past the Warkworth Museum sign to the point where it just become part of the invisible furniture and having never gone there. A few months ago Greg & Val visited the Museum with the Northland Car Club, and when they told me I didn’t even know where it was and the opportunity arose to tag along for a visit, and was glad we did! Just before Noon we departed for a quick bypass loop though the south side of the township to avoid having to turn North onto SH1, for a short run up to Sheepworld Café for lunch with two group tables reserved for us and lashing of excellent hot coffees served immediately to ward off the winter chills! Worthy of comment was the appalling atrocious state of the road surface where LTSA are doing all the roadworks just north of the Warkworth, without any doubt it’s the worst sealed road condition I’ve ever driven on. Even though it’s only a short section, it’s a disgraceful state to leave SH1 in whilst they’re not actually working on it; they should be ashamed but probably don’t care such is the bureaucratic attitude to motorists these days. However the lunch and conviviality in a pleasant and warm setting at the Café made the trip worthwhile regardless, a big thanks to Hayden and his team for the menuboard service and great lunch. After that I’m certainly now looking forward to a great mid-winter roast lunch and afternoon movie at Ryders in three weeks time on August 14th. Cheers, Phil Officer Take a look at Fred V's excellent photos here..... Mid-winter Christmas Lunch & Quiz - 11 June 2022
After having been well looked after at last year’s Mid-Winter Xmas lunch event at the Gulf Harbour Yacht Club, it was always going to be a hard task to find a different venue that was going to live up to the same expectations, but by all accounts the Club once again succeeded with the Fairway Events Centre in downtown Glenfield.
As with any mid-Winter event, the weather forecast was a total lottery and was looking grim for Saturday which brought out a few more daily drivers than usual, but thankfully the rain held off and allowed us to congregate at the Onepoto Domain for a good catch-up and drivers briefing without the route instructions getting soggy and the ink running! With a send-off from Robert and Nicola who had recently acquired a new fur-baby Pearl, nine classics along with numerous daily drivers left the Domain right on schedule at 11.15 for a short 30 minute run to the North Shore Event Centre, with some cars meeting us directly at the venue in the reserved car parking, before the rain arrived in the afternoon. Bill T wowed us with his recently road registered blue Buick that has been a year or so in getting to this point, and incidentally is available for sale if you know anyone who might like a big comfortable turnpike cruiser. The Fairway Events team looked after us very well indeed, with the first-rate function venue looking out onto the picturesque fountain pool at the Takapua Golf course. The buffet lunch was superb, and many thought was the equal if not better than at the Yacht Club with a good variety of meats, veges and salads that would be the envy of any good restaurant, along with lashings of pavlovas, carrot cake, and fruit salad for dessert that this time outlasted the end of the queue! Some excellent wines were again provided by the Club for the tables, including one of Alex R’s favourite reds, and the venue also ran a cash bar for beers and other top-shelf refreshments. With a couple of last minute apologies we had sixty members seated at tables of between six and eight, and after the main meal Rob’s much anticipated trivia battle was the highlight of the afternoon. Broken into three categories of general knowledge, American automotive, and movie/TV/music questions, there was plenty of head scratching combined with burnt brain cells to get to the finish. Well done to the winning team with 35 out of 57 maximum possible points, with the writer’s team a scant 2 points behind! The winning team each received a $30 Countdown voucher. It’s important that we all recognize the amount of time and effort that Rob single-handedly puts into researching the quiz and preparing the presentation, and I’m sure you will all take the opportunity to thank him for his efforts for the Club when you see him next. It’s a huge effort for him in running the entire day for us whilst we get to sit back, relax and enjoy all the benefits, including being able to ever-so-slightly over indulge on the Barossa Ink Shiraz- it’s a wonder that I got any questions right at all!! Many spot prizes were drawn throughout the afternoon, together with the Advance Publishing/NZ Petrolhead main prize won by Steve and Alexis, which made for a thoroughly enjoyable day, and I for one are certainly looking forward ta more convertible-friendly Xmas summer event already! Phil O. Take a look at the days festivities here ..... |
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UPCOMING ACCCA EVENTS
Sunday 18 September ACCCA is Club of the Month at Meguiar's Coffee & Cars, Mt. Smart Stadium, Maurice Road, Penrose. 9am-12. All club member display cars AND volunteers to run the morning need to be on site Mt Smart Stadium (access via the Lilyworld Café gate – NOT the Stadium Gate - and park out front of Lilyworld Café) from 7.30am to be assured of a park within our display and in time for a 7.45am briefing prior to the gates (soft) opening at 8am Sunday 9 October Cruise/coffee/picnic to Betty Bean coffee truck at Kawakawa Bay via Clevedon. Meet up at Vector Wero Whitewater Park, 770 Great South Road, Wiri from 10am for 10.30 depart. Bring chairs and picnic lunch, club BBQ will be available with sausages supplied by club Sunday 30 October Run to Stragglers Charity Car Show, Mighty River Domain, Lake Karapiro. Meet up at BP Service Centre, Southern Motorway, Papakura from 6.30am for 7depart. Please park up at the rear of the shops in the truck stop rest area to avoid congestion issues 
My husband and I went through the McDonald's driveway window and I gave the cashier a $5 bill.
Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her 25c. She said, 'you gave me too much money.' I said, 'Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar back.' She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I did so, and he handed me back the 25c, and said 'We're sorry but we don’t do that kind of thing.' The cashier then proceeded to give me back 75 cents in change. Do not confuse the people at MacD's. We had to have the garage door repaired. The repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large' enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, 'You need a 1/4 horsepower.' I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4 and he said, 'NOOO, it's not. Four is larger than two.' We haven't used that repairman since... I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local city council office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: 'Too many deers are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.' IDIOT SIGHTING IN FOOD SERVICE. My daughter went to a Mexican fast food and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.' He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce. I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, 'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?' To which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?' He smiled knowingly and nodded, 'That's why we ask.' The pedestrian light on the corner beeps when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an 'intellectually challenged' co-worker of mine. She asked if I knew what the beeper was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, 'what on earth are blind people doing driving?!' She is a government employee..... When my wife and I arrived at a car dealership to pick up our car after a service, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver’s side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. ‘Hey,' I announced to the technician, 'its open!' His reply, 'I know. I already did that side.' STAY ALERT! They walk among us, they breed, and they vote… |