If you are ever asked to drive an 84-year-old Model A Ford, this might help:There is an ignition key, but to start the motor press the button on the floor with your foot.
The clutch pedal is on the left as it should be, but the accelerator is in the middle and the brake on the right.
Try not to confuse the two.
First gear is left-and-down and easy to find. Try changing up-and-across to second without graunching.
Third is straight-back down. Have another try at not graunching.
Allow the front wheels to direct you towards the gravel verge and correct gently as if holding the tiller of a sail boat.
If the speedo is bouncing between, say, 25mph and 45mph, you might be within the 50kmh speed limit.
The fuel gauge is nearby. It changes from full to empty depending on the gradient of the road.
The temperature gauge is on the front of the bonnet. Steam from under the bonnet is a signal to consult the gauge.
If you are turning right at an intersection, extend your arm. If you are turning left, ask your passenger to extend his or her arm.
And when you need to slow down suddenly, remember the brake is on the right, bring your knee up to somewhere near your chin well in advance of where you want to stop and apply plenty of weight to the pedal.
The Model A might be simple technology by today's standards, but keeping it from harm requires the sort of intense concentration usually reserved for driving a smartphone.
A far less fraught place to be is in the passenger seat beside an enthusiast who has been driving Model As for more than 40 years.
In Wanaka this week the enthusiast was Travis Michelle, a semi-retired dairy farmer from the Taieri Plains who owns four Model As - some of them even roadworthy.
His first, a truck, was rescued from beneath an old macrocarpa in the traditional way.
His second, with registration plate NO8YER, he bought from a Taieri neighbour and spent five years restoring.
It, and he, will lead the convoy of drivers game enough to tackle the tortuous Dingle Burn track alongside Lake Hawea on Wednesday as part of the 12th national Model A meet being held in Wanaka for a week from Tuesday.
Mr Michelle has attended the two-yearly event for 20 years and although the Wanaka event with 130 or so entries was an exception, he had noticed a general decline in the number of Model As taking part.
That, he believed, had more to do with the age of the owners than the age of the cars.
The cars themselves were durable, reliable and relatively simple to repair, with many new parts still being manufactured, he said.
And, because Model A cars had rarely been used for racing - unlike later model American V8s - there were still quite a large number around.
Not that Mr Michelle would admit to the Model A being overly slow.
He claimed to have marginally exceeded the speed limit on the Canterbury Plains, and he generally cruised at 80kmh.
''But you die on the hill. That's where you haven't got it. There's no performance in the motor.''
Mr Michelle said motorists in modern cars were generally quite accommodating when they encountered a Model A.
But, some did not quite appreciate the distance and effort required to get one to stop.
