NRMA Motorfest 2006

[will and Lyn]

;D
just to let the Forum know what a great group we have here
I asked Reddo to check a van for me he handled it efficiently and swiftly
and I am going to nominate him as an Honorary NRMA inspector of the year
Thanks again Reddo

Will and Lyn

[Deleted]

Awwww sucks Will .Thanks for the kind words.... It was nothing.

Reddo

With regards to those that missed out on getting thier applications in for Motorfest. I send you my commiserations.
Have a look at Belindas first post about registering for this event.
To roughlyQuote belindas post:
"10/4/2005 - applications came out today. Closing date is November 11th 2005 ( or earlier if the spots fill)."

Doesn't give you much time to get an entry in duzzit???. Only about 5 weeks. i would have thought an event of this magnitude would have warranted running applications for about 3 months leading up to November. I suppose if they did there would still be those that would have late entries.

Poor old Stephen sounds like he will be busier sending out more "knock backs" than "acceptances".

Conclusion: "2007 is gunna be gianormous".

Reddo - still hasn't recieved an acceptance note.

[Tickos]

Hi all

We have been accepted for motorfest as far as i know so far. ;D ;D It is a good day out and we have the billy boiling for visitors all day, so we look forward to all vv visitors dropping in for a cuppa . They may have to add a couple streets to the great event to allow for us enthusiasts ( or crazy people depending how you look at things )

Looking forward to seeing everyone

Ticko's

[bigdidda]

Hallo everyone,
Have just received the info pack from NRMA Motorfest.
Just a little question.Is it better to come in from parliament house end or Circular Quay end for parking.
I know it sounds a bit dumb but i try to never go to Sydney least of all in a mechanical braked car towing a crazy (like its owner) little caravan so please be patient with me.
Any and all assistance will be appreciated.
And by the way Merry Christmas to you all and a happy healthy and prosperous new year.
regards
don

[belinda k]

For anyone in Sydney on Australia Day, the position for the vans is described as:
"Macquarie Street, between Bridge and Bent Streets. They will park facing south, parallel to the kerb on the eastern (Botanic Gardens) side of Macquarie Street at places where the road narrows, i.e. not in the recessed parking bays."

This means:
- we're (hopefully) a bit further away from the worst of the crowds
- we're next to the gardens
- this year the van doors will open onto the footpath, not the road

It also means:
- we are on a hill, so bring your chocks and don't expect the water in the sink to be level.
- unless we are opposite some tall buildings it could be pretty hot
- I'm not sure if the comment "in places where the road narrows" means we are in a continuous line or dispersed along Macquarie Street between parking bays.

Don, if the marshalls allow you to come up from the Opera House end you'll be facing in the right direction. However I couldn't work out from the directions we've been given where the road blocks and entry points are.

For anyone arriving by train, the nearest station is Circular Quay.

cheers

Belinda

[cobber]

Motorfest goers, ;D

At the motorfest earlier this year we were required to be in place before 7.00am.

The “supplementary information” notice, for “cars with caravans”, for the 2006 event made no mention of that so I have spoken to Stephen Knox and he said “YES,
PLEASE BE IN PLACE BY 7.00AM AS THAT AREA OF MACQUARIE ST. WILL BE THE FIRST TO START FILLING UP.
I told him I would let those going know. So now you know, no excuses.

Early to bed early to rise makes little boys healthy and wise.

Cobber.

[Tickos]

Hi everyone,

Looking forward to another great day, and getting together with everyone. ;DIt is a shame we are so far down Macquarie Street this year :(and a little concerned about parking on the Hill. I know its not that big, but with the amount of people that love to check out the old vans it could be interesting.

See everyone there . Have a great Christmas

[Deleted]

Good Morning Ladies and Gentleman

I have some deeply upsetting news for those attending Motorfest 2006. i am not sure how to break this upsetting information to everyone but i will try to be as caring and sensitive as possible.
At this point i must ask you to pour a stiff drink and take a comfortable chair.
Are you relaxed???...... Good... read on....
It is with a heavy heart that i inform you that I have recieved my acceptance by the NRMA for Motorfest 2006....

Pause here to collect a tissue from the kleenex box.......

i know how depressed this information must make all of
you feel and i would like to apologise for any inconvienience my attendance may cause you. To minimise the impact of my presence , bad manners, foul language, body odours and my habitual flutulence i will ensure that i arrive early as Cobber has suggested ,set up the van and then make my way to the Alcoholics Annonimous display.
I have been asked to demonstrate the correct use latest breathaliser units as well as doing a few stints on the catwalk modelling the latest brown paper bag , newspaper and army great coat creations from Sydneys lowlife fashion designers that the well dressed wineos and homeless people will be wearing this summer.

I intend inviting a few of my mates from the St Vincent de Paul soup kitchen back to my van for " after dinner " drinks. around 3.00pm . I extend to you an open invitation to bring along your favourite bottle of cheap brown muscat and join us for a Xmas drink. I apologise in advance for the overwhelming stench of urine and excreta . You can blame the local authorities for this. It has become increasingly more difficult to find somewhere to pee in public due to all the new building being built with curved walls instead of secluded corners where one can quietly relieve oneself.

So there you have it folks. As you can see there is planning going on all the time. Me and me mates can't wait to mingle amongst the crowds and show the motoring public just what a great bunch of people we vintage vanners really are

Aren't ya's glad you mentioned Motorfest to me..... What a great bunch of mates i have....... i raise my
(yard)glass to you.


Belinda: Not sure what to do when i arrive about 6.30am. Do i have to do anything other than drive up Macquarie st and park between bent and bridge st???
I would imagine there will be someone official manning barracades somewhere who will no doubt tell me where to go in the nicest possible way. . I also imagine that most of the vintage vanners will also tell me where to go when i pull up. I am getting use to that sort of greeting nowadays... ;D

If the street is steep i thought we might be able to drop the van off the towball. leave the safety chain attached so the van dont roll off down into the harbour, then level the van up with jockey wheel and rear stabilisers. That way the van sits level for those wanting to trample around inside and keep the drinks level in thier flagons.

Humpty 2.: We gunna travel down "al la" convoy or will you be taking the underpowered Ford and leaving a day early

Australia day 2006 - Strewth Mate .... Its gunna be bigger than my bottle shop account.!!!!

Reddodetox

[humpty2]

Reddo........I ain't goin' .....Done many stints to Motorfest in the 'good old days' in vintage cars ( leave home @ 4 am to get there), but since they moved it from The Rocks I just haven't been keen anymore.
I will probably be sitting under the Fig trees at Stockton enjoying a few ales, the harbour and maybe a Barbie!!
You will have a good time there......but I bet you don't get to see all the cars......oh and some motorbikes go there too.

Regards Humpty

[belinda]

I rang Stephen Knox and clarified the questions that have come up on the forum.

Will we be all together? No. It won't be a continuous line of six vans and tow cars, but we will be all within the same vicinity. He guesses we'll be in pairs rather than on our own - a couple of vans, then half a dozen cars, then a couple of vans etc.

Is there much of a hill? No, it's more of a gentle slope. Should be no problem.

What is the best access? Do we have to do a u-turn? His advice is to come up Bridge Street and they'll let us through the barriers. If travelling from the south come up George Street and turn right into Bridge Street. Cars coming South over the Bridge should use the Cahill Expressway and take the Macquarie St exit. That brings you out at Bridge Street near the Conservatorium. From Bridge Street just turn South and you won't need to do a u-turn.

Stephen stressed that it's essential to have the Motorfest sticker on the windscreen to ensure you are let through the barricades. As much as possible they plan to have NRMA personnel who know the score manning the baricade, but there can be others who aren't always as well briefed (police, RTA etc.). At times like shift changes glitches can occur.

Mark is sending over some vintagcaravans.com stickers so they'll be available on the day if you want to buy one.

cheers

Belinda

[will]

;D
What did you guys make of that blue and white boat fronted type van ?
they just seem to be getting stranger each time

Belinda did you get that little annexe yet I sent it around 3 to 4 weeks ago?

Reddo and Jailbar you are men after my own heart Tucky and I are of the exact same opinion
If your going to keep them under wraps or stored in a garage you have lost the real enjoyment of what these cars and vans are all about
its called DOING IT

Welcome to the site ekwoodwork we have another Vintage brother over there in The U.S. Jack is his title he sent us through some great shots of the American and Canadian landscape
Our Resident expert on all things timber and vintage is on Holiday or should I say vacation His name is Retro 1
you can see some of his handiwork under members photo albums and jacks photos as well if you click the little box on the bottom left pages will come up it will be a fair way back
Im sure Retro can help you EK stay tuned

speaking about EK I registered the plates TRUBLU EK

then my son in law came up with EKNOMICAL
wouldnt it P@%s you off

Will

[belinda]

oh dear oh dear oh dear.

No Will, we never received the annexe. Who did you send it with, and do you know the consignment number?

Belinda

[cobber]

“Open Road” the NRMA’s member magazine arrived in the mail today.
It has an article on “Motorfest 2006”, pages 30 to 33. Page 30 shows a line of veteran cars driving along one of the roads with two plywood caravans parked on one side of the road, FE-FC car club members I think.

In the text of the article it mentions that “This year we’ve got plywood caravans from the 50s being towed behind vehicles (of the same age),” says Motorfest founder, Stephen Knox. “People are going to enormous lengths to fit them out with laminate tables and crockery and memorabilia from the 50s.”

So there you go--we are being noticed. We will have to make sure we live up to that wrap eh?--won’t be hard.

Cobber.

[Deleted]

and please don't forget to heavily promote what started all this recent vintage caravan hype .....www.vintagecaravans.com ;D ;D

The great TV coverage of Coledale that I viewed recently didn't once mention the website name

Cheers

Mark

[Deleted]

Hi Mark Poo-bah.

www.vintagecaravans.com stickers will help this time. The paper media made mention of the site when we where at Coledale.
I am sure that we mentioned it to the TV mob as well. unfortunately we have no control over the reporters or thier editors once they have left the scene.
We will do our best to promote the site... dont worry about that.

See Memrobillia for my latest brainwave for promoting vintage vans and the site..

Reddo

[veedubnut]

Hi Folks,

I'll have my VW at the Motorfest parked somewhere along Macquarie St with all the other VW's... Maybe next year I'll have the Teardrop Trailer there as well to display with the caravans if there is enough spaces allocated of course

Just an idea... ;D Maybe some of you could place some photocopied flyers of the website near your vehicles/caravans for the interested public... Atleast make as many of them as aware as possible of the site and generate some more new interest in vintage caravans.

Cheers Greg

[cobber]

Don’t you worry about that Mark!

Before www.vintagecaravans.com came along this hobby was jumping up and down in the one spot.
Each of us knew we were onto a good thing but we thought we were the only ones, or maybe there were a couple of other nuts we bumped into occasionally.

The movement has taken off only because you took the trouble to start this site and none of us should, or will, forget it.

I take every opportunity to promote it, don’t you worry about that.
Cobber.

[WILL AND LYN]

;D
Hi Cobber
it takes a long time to establish any kind of name and Our first step was the stickers next step the T shirts
as far as Im concerned your efforts are second to none
and as the ball rolls on it will get bigger and keeping motivated guys like you and many others doing what you are doing is a good thing

Dont you worry bout that !!!!Mayyyt

Will

[Tickos]

Hi Mark and fellow caravaners

In regards to the TV coverage, John & I mentioned the site a couple times
but obviously that section made the cutting room floor.
If we have time (we go away tomorrow and arrive back in time to get orgainsed for motorfest)
we are going to try and put the logo on to business cards. John tried the other day but they didn't line up so we will try again later.
Tickos

[MRFJ55]

G'DAY MOTORFESTER'S ! Just wondering if a table for info ,stickers, brouchers,photo's etc is a good idea on the day ? Kate just came home with a little beauty from K-Mart that folds away to keep in the van . Its 113cm x 60cm x 70cm high . I was going to bring it along anyway to use for promotional stuff for our up coming FX/FJ HOLDEN NATIONALS .( 27th-30th Dec 2006 Canberra ) . So we can use one end for each lot of PR stuff . I'll do up an info sheet for Coledale '06 to hand out (if i did 1000 i'd still probably run out) to anyone serious about attending . If someone could do the same for the Munnmorah gettogether (TICKO'S) that would be great . I'll man the table on the day , well , until my voice gives in ! Whats everyones thoughts ! A golden opportunity with potentially a couple of million spectators passing by our little vans . Regards , Maurie . V/VAN PR MAN !

[belinda]

Hi Maurie

don't be surprised if you don't have a second to scratch yourself at Motorfest! Cobber had warned us that the vans are popular, but that was a complete understatement

Last year it was a solid eight hours of talking to people about the vans and doing (very short) guided tours. We took our folding chairs and table and things to do "when things got quiet" and they never made it out of the van.

Things could be easier this year with more vans and a spot further from Hyde Park. I hope so! I don't think I could stand the excitement again.

I'll bring the stickers, and Mark has also sent some stuff on Atlantic vans that you'll love to see. We checked out the address where they were made - it's now a big BP service station on the highway at St Peters.

[Deleted]

Hi Maurie,belinda and any other Mfesters.

Rather than just rely on the stickers getting the message across
I will volunteer to put something together about "www.vintagecaravans.com" to steer budding vint van owners in the right direction.
Basically use the logo and Marks speil about the purpose of the site.
Should be able to squeeze a few pix from W.A , North Coast runs, retros adventures in S.A as well as a few treasured happy snaps from Coledale 2005.to show the lookers we truely are a national goup of enthusiasts ... not just locals.
The need to do something like this struck home to me the other day when "Susan" the guest contacted me about the "caramel toaster"i offered for sale. She had been searching the internet for info on where to get info on old vans and possibly get help buying one.

She had Googled on all sorts of terms like "second hand, used, old van" and had no luck. Eventually she stumbled onto www.vintage...... by accident.
She said she was overjoyed to find the site and was really happy to have found pictures of the vans she seen at Coledale. Hey maurie ... this is the lady that spent some time sitting in your van chatting with you and Kate at Coledale. Slept every night since dreaming about getting her own van..... great stuff..... what did you put in her coffee??
Anyway point made eh!!! Promote , promote, promote.

Back to Motorfest...

I will be taking a noticeboard of some sort with the articles form the Woolongong papers etc. might do a seperate couple A3's of members vans that wont be attending motorfest.
Gotta hit the OP shops shortly and get some period board shorts and hawian shirt, straw hat, oversized elton john type sunnies... Hey people relate vans to Holidays, vacations and good times why not dress the part of the 60's holiday maker........Reddo in Neck to Knee swimsuit ... not a good look

Planning going on all the time. Hell i might even evict the chooks and hose the van out before the big day . Hmmm ....chooks in floral shirts and thongs might ask 'em if they wanna come along!!!.

Reddo - 7 more sleeps kiddies.

Reddo

[Deleted]

thanks Tickos ....I am fully aware of what the TV media are like, and don't doubt for one moment that you guys gave the website name good exposure .........

keep up the great work of exposing vintagecaravans.com

Cheers

Mark

[MRFJ55]

G'DAY 'FESTERS ! ;D Just wondering what tow vehicles everyone is bringing . I know that ill more than likely see a certain Panelvan , two Austins a top looking green FJ sedan and a big fat Chev all towing splinters . I am bringing my FX convertible with Doris in tow (hopefully both washed and all polished up ) . Is anybody bringing anything different ? If we get to choose , do you think there is any value in putting certain car/van combinations together or just in whatever order we all get there (mix it up just for fun ) . Regards Maurie . "KEEP HOLDEN ON" p.s REDDO I'll meet you at 6am at Hornsby if you want .

[Deleted]

Hi Maurie.

Yep , that sounds cool.
probably best if i catch you at the first garage on the left after i get off the F3.
I was planning on leaving up here about 4.30am. Its normally about an hour and a bit on the Pathetic Hwy to The Sydney exit. i will leave a bit of spare time to allow for punctures etc. See ya there at or before 6.00.

I am not full bottle on where to go after we cross the harbour bridge so i will follow you.

Reddo