kiwi carman

Does anyone have any contacts for a replacement radiator for a 1917 Chalmers 35, my car is an ex musuem car and the honeycomb radiator has completely rusted out and I can't find anyone in New Zealand where I live to repair it at a sensible cost. Thanks for any assistance.

Hi 39 Buick, thanks for letting me know about Bob, I've not had much time to get on with my Chalmers since I last posted but it'll be back in the frame pretty soon. Where are you located in NZ as I see you are a member of the NZVCC. cheers Alastair

Hi Dave, I'm glad to hear that you're well and recovering from your knee op, as usual you've been a busy beaver in the garage and getting out and about in the Chalmers. At last I'm nearing the end of the shed project and hoping to get back to working on the cars in the near future. At the moment the Chalmers is at the end of the right hand row in the big storage shed sitting next to its UK cousin, a 1925 Sunbeam 14/40, 5 seat tourer which I bought to use until the Chalmers is a runner. The Sunbeam was restored here in NZ between 1999 and 2002 by Fred Cox, an aeronautical engineer so it was well done and having a vehicle of a similar era it is teaching me a lot about what the Chalmers will need doing. It's looking like it'll be 2022 before borders open to the extent we will need to be able to get back to the UK but I would like to catch up with you when it happens. I don't know why but I'm not getting any post notifications so have missed a heap from you so I'll keep checking the forum more often. Cheers, Alastair

Hi Andy, I've just come back on the forum and seen your post above, normally I would get a notification of a post but missed this one. I managed to get my Chalmers running the other day, jury rigged electrics and fuel dribbled into the carb, 12 volts to the 6 volt starter and the fire extinguisher handy and she ran, albeit for only a few seconds, but where there's a spark there's hope. Quite how it got power to the plugs given the state of the HT leads I'm really not sure so I'll have to get my order in to Vintage Supplies for a pile of bits to make things better. When we do finally get to the UK we'll make a plan for a visit to see your car, it's a fabulous piece of kit and the photos of it out and about are inspirational. We've been working for almost a year now to get a bigger garage up as a storage unit to keep the cars in but with Covid and the bureaucracy levels here everything is taking forever to get past council, very frustrating, and when that's done I'll replace my existing garage with a workshop facility to allow me to crack on with the restorations. Hope that you and yours are all well, Alastair

Hi Bob, I have recently acquired a 1917 Chalmers 35A from the States which needs some love and attention and have been reading your tale of creativity and engineering on your Chalmers but your last post was January 2015, have you been sidetracked, I hope that you are well and still continuing the good work. Alastair.

Hi Dave, thanks for all those photos and links, absolutely brilliant, it'll keep me out from under the wife's feet working through it all. It looks like your wiring and mine came from the same batch only in most cases mine doesn't actually go anywhere, all the back end has been cut off half way down the chassis and the rest is just a mess with stuff not connected and lying on the floor/under the bonnet, it was obviously an area that the previous owner hadn't got round to although it was meant to be a runner, he must have had a magic wand for it to have worked like that. Where is your car, in NZ?

Hi all, as NZ exited strict lockdown at the end of last week it allowed me to collect my car from Auckland and I spent the weekend just looking over it to assess where the previous owner had got up to. The first job is to get it running as it has been untouched for several years and the wiring is a complete shambles with the ignition/lamp switch being seized solid, I've got it off the column but can't get the housing to separate with gentle persuasion. The ignition system needs a new lead set which is easy enough to sort but the cap and rotor could be a challenge to find, anybody got any ideas of where to start the hunt? Is there information out there about timing settings or is it a case of guesswork and finally, for the moment, how does the fuel delivery system work? I knew it would be a voyage of discovery but I hope someone can help shorten the route a bit. cheers, Alastair

Hi Andy, looks like it was a very lucky car to find you, I think it has a very good home with someone who cares for and uses it unlike a huge number that end up in storage or become barn queens awaiting the start of "the project". Thanks for reminding me that the CNC Heads championship was previously the Ace Deliveries, I think I only did one season when it was Ace sponsored but I do recognise your brother's name. If you ever fancy a return trip to NZ, if and when this world returns to "normal", we live in Hastings in Hawkes Bay and can offer accommodation, nothing flash and there's usually a spare car or 2 knocking about that can be used. We might even try a meet with the other owners here. I'll let you all know when I've finally collected the Chalmers from Auckland and assessed what needs doing, that'll be when the questions will start. Alastair

Hi Dave, I have made contact with the Chalmers registry but it's not as easy to use as this forum which has given me good results. Perhaps once I've actually got the car in the garage and assessed it then the parts side of the Chalmers Registry might prove useful. Is your car in NZ? I would like to see it when you are back here. Stay safe and keep in touch, Alastair.

It is indeed a very small world these days, it sounds like your racing efforts were at an enhanced level to mine, Bathurst is definitely on my wish list although due to the passage of time it's getting less likely. I was very fortunate to get the opportunity to race at most of the North western European circuits when I had the Sprite in its original 1000cc FIA guise but you did always start near the back of a mixed grid and on a good day you didn't finish quite so close to the back but you were still nowhere near the front. I am intrigued about what made you decide to acquire a Chalmers, they're pretty rare even in America and getting parts seems to be a major mission although it looks like your engineering skills and having the right equipment get put to pretty good use. A fellow Rotarian here has a well equipped workshop which I have access to along with his mechanical skills which are a lot better than mine particularly on the older cars. It seems that including my car there are now 3 Chalmers cars in NZ so it'll be interesting to see them at some point. Your comment about the most wonderful country suggests that you have visited here, when and where did you get to when you were here? Alastair

Hi Andy, Alastair Chalmers here, aka Kiwi carman, I've just trawled through your photos and posts, only one word, all awesome with 2 standouts, the Chalmers sideways on the hillclimb and the Napier Lion aero engine at Chateau Impney. I was due to be back in the UK during June and July this year but that's not going to happen now although it will be as soon as possible after things return to as near normal as they are ever going to get to because my younger son and his family live just north of Manchester and we have a 6 month old grandson that we've not met in person yet. When I eventually get there I would love to come and see your Chalmers, it looks a stunning work of mechanical art and obviously gets well used, just how they should be. Cheers, Alastair

A quick Hi to Racer 2, I've just read some of your other posts, particularly the one about your first race at Oulton Park in 1995 in a Sierra, I raced there regularly from 1992 until emigrating to NZ in 2015. Which series did you race in, I did HSCC and Austin Healey events in a 1959 Sebring Sprite replica from 1992 until 1996 and then raced various Caterhams, mostly in the CNC heads series, great fun with a few wins thrown in. cheers, Alastair

Hi Dave, the car I bought from the States in October has finally landed in New Zealand, the day after lockdown started, and with it should be a copy of the book for that essential night time reading but with the current lockdown it's all in a storage facility in Auckland until I'm given permission to collect it. I've now got all the details of what it is, a 1917 Model 35A 5 seat tourer, it will need some work as the previous owner had died before starting the restoration/recommissioning and the car had previously been in a museum collection for a number of years before he had bought it. I'll wait until I have collected it and make an assessment of what needs doing to make it compliant for use in NZ and then decide how far I go with cosmetics as like you I like the originality of certain vehicles. I've e-mailed Jason but let me know if/when you'll be back in NZ and we should all try to meet up. Where is your car and how are you getting on with it? cheers, Alastair Chalmers - that explains a few things :)

Hi everyone, I'm currently trying to piece together the various models and styles of Chalmers cars by year. From the little I've been able to find so far once the 6 cylinder models were introduced the style seemed to remain fairly constant until the end of production. I'm trying to find a copy of the book by Dave Hammonds but with no success so far, does anyone know of one out there that's for sale.