Rare car collectors are passionate people with strong arms for steering and strong backs for cranking.
Hans Compter (76) has collected vintage cars since 1962 and his fleet of 130 veteran, vintage and classic cars are stored in his home town Kauri, north of Whangarei.
His collection started when he bought a Model T in Sweden, and continued growing after he emigrated to New Zealand from the Netherlands with 60 vintage cars.
‘‘It's a passion.''
When the fleet was stored together, it cost too much to insure, so he did not, and besides, many of the cars were so rare, if they were destroyed, they could not be replaced.
His cars include the 1951 Lancia Aurelia owned by Argentina's leader, Eva Peron.
Mr Compter and Chris Peacock (43), of Rolleston, drove a 1910 Veteran Napier Taxicab across Coast Rd to Waikouaiti as part of the International Festival of Historic Motoring yesterday.
Mr Peacock said the taxicab handled the road well, but the drive tested his strength and made his triceps work hard.
‘‘It's about half a turn lock-to-lock - I'm building up some good muscles,'' Mr Peacock said.
The trip was the first ‘‘dry run'' in Dunedin but the rainy runs never dampened the spirits, Mr Peacock said.
‘‘That's all the fun of it, it makes you appreciate going into a pub with the fire roaring.''Greg Elder (63), of Riversdale, also owned a rare car.
He bought his 1924 Star in 1966 when he was 14.
He ‘‘bandied and bandied'' his father until he relented and allowed the purchase.
‘‘I bought it when I was a kid for £100. It was a wreck and it sat in the shed for years. I only got it going last year.''
He and his father stripped the car and found parts in South Canterbury but the restoration stalled after his father died.
‘‘Forty years later, I dragged it out of the shed.''He had restored the car in its original colour and polished the car's mascot - a naked woman on a six-pointed star.
The rally was the first ‘‘big run'' for the car and it had been fun but testing at times.
The combination of rain and no front brakes made for cautious cruising in second gear.
‘‘It's a lovely car and it's very, very rare.''
For British couple Phil (81) and Jan (76) Diffey yesterday, they had something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue - a 1924 Humber 8hp saloon.
The couple borrowed the Humber from a friend in Christchurch.
The new element was cleaning the dirty contacts on the starter motor because cranking it was too much effort.
‘‘I tried swinging it, but I'm too old,'' Mr Diffey laughed.
The couple have travelled from Bedford to attend the festival six times over more than 50 years.
They usually shipped one of their own classic cars from England but stopped doing that when the shipping charges totalled nearly $9000, he said.
They expect the Dunedin festival to be their last, doubting they would make the next festival in New Plymouth in six years.
‘‘Which is sad, but you don't want to fly around the world when you're 87,'' Mr Diffey said.
