On Wednesday, 16th August, Jean Watson, of Old Bar, celebrated an astonishing milestone, her 104th Birthday!

The weather was incredible for this auspicious occasion, and just as well, as this lovely centenarian was able to enjoy a ride in a 99 year old Ford Model T, which incredibly, is younger than its passenger!

Many thanks to Taree Historic Motor Club’s Events Director; John Fletcher for his tireless work organizing events and outings; and particularly for this beautiful opportunity.

Jean is quite the character! Her carers said that she enjoys the various activities organized for the residents at Banyula Lodge, of which she signs up for pretty much all of them!

Jean was born in Muskerry, near Bendigo in Victoria, in 1919; and she is one of ten children. She joined the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II and served as a nurse within Australia.

Jean was blessed with three children, though two are sadly deceased; and has five grand children and twelve great grand children.

After her time in the RAAF, Jean’s parents moved throughout NSW when her father became a teacher. He passed in 1971.

Earlier in life, Jean spent some 30+ years living in Sydney; and was also was kept busy with horses, her involvement in pony club and was a qualified judge.

In 2013, at the tender age of 94, Jean joined a gym, attracting the attention of the Daily Telegraph, plus a short clip on Channel 7 News as “Sydney’s Oldest Gym Junkie!”

Jean says she owes her longevity to keeping her mind active with crossword puzzles. Also keeping herself occupied with knitting, crocheting, sewing and quilting.

On the occasion of her 104th birthday on the 16th of August 2023, Jean celebrated her impressive milestone achievement, with the Manning River Times conducting an interview; and television news coverage by Channel 7, thank-you to Justin and Hannah, it was a beautiful story.

After the interviews, we went outside where Jean’s birthday surprise was waiting. Jean enjoyed a nice slow drive around the block, which must have brought back memories. What a great sport Jean, it was a great privilege, Happy Birthday, and many more to come!

You can watch the 7 News story by clicking this image…

Good afternoon everyone,

Our Club’s contribution of $5,000 to Palliative Care from Motorfest did not go un-noticed!

The eagle eyed among you may have seen the segment on 7 Local News last night (3rd August).

If you missed it, the video is now on our website: Click here for video library

If you’re not already subscribed to our Club YouTube channel, please check that out too: https://www.youtube.com/@GLHAC

Grafton Vintage Motor Vehicle Club – Motorfest ’23

Sunday 27th August 2023
Jabour Park, Minden Street, South Grafton.
Camping, All day entertainment, Markets.
Judging from 9am to 11am. Entry Fee $5 for any Vehicle. Spectators – Gold Coin Donation

Overnight Camping available $15. Gates to Jabour park will open at 7am. Entry Fee $5 all vehicles.
Vehicles (to be Judged) must lodge an Entry Form available on the day, Vehicles to be judged must be in place by 9am.
Judging will be held between 9 & 11 am. Walk in spectators by gold coin entry. Food & Drinks on sale all day. Raffle & Lucky Door Prizes.
Presentation of Prizes 2 pm.

Click here to download Event Brochure

More information: 0427 665 200

Please thank our Sponsors:
MAJOR SPONSOR
Benny’s Grafton Smash Repairs
PLATINUM SPONSOR
Ron Skinner Storage Sheds, 28 Bruce Street
GOLD SPONSORS
Inspirations Paint, Motortorque, Shannons,
Brewhouse Group Grafton, MJO Legal,
Snap-On Tools, Clarence Valley Council,
Ken Casson Motors,
Sea Breeze Motors + NRMA Yamba
SILVER SPONSORS
Grafton Toyota, Abbey Motor Inn,
Clarence Valley Tyre Centre, Hardware Shed,
Clarence Coast Motors, Geoff King Motors,
Al’s Mechanical, Smith’s Auto,
Westlawn Mechanical.
Please thank our Contributors:
Cromack Transport, Hessions, NRMA,
Grafton Fast Photos, Autobarn,
BSC, Battery Barn, Bursons Auto Parts,
Grafton City Batteries, Repco Yamba,
CDA Eastland Supplies, Loving LifeFM

James Bond is almost synonymous with Aston Martin, and his newest ride, the Aston Martin DB10, is a gorgeous one-off created specifically for the movie Spectre. It calls to mind the glorious DB5 from Goldfinger, a car that is almost as iconic as 007 himself.

But before James Bond was the dashing and debonair secret agent on the silver screen, he was the tormented and brooding assassin of Ian Fleming’s novels. And in those books, he drove a Bentley. In Fleming’s first 007 novel, Casino Royale, published in 1953, Bond tooled around in a 1931 4.5 Litre Blower Bentley. It wasn’t so sleek or sexy as the Astons that Bond would come to be known for, but it was among the finest cars of its day and just the thing for getting around in all due haste with style.

Bond was, in Casino Royale, something of a car nut and his beloved Bentley was “his only personal hobby.” He bought it in 1933 and kept it in storage while serving in World War II. “Bond drove it hard and well and with an almost sensual pleasure.”

Built by Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin, one of the famous “Bentley Boys” who raced the cars at Le Mans, the supercharged, two-ton Blower was based on the brand’s 24 Hours of Le Mans race car. It produced 240 horsepower from a 4.4-liter inline-four motor with a four-speed unsynchronized manual transmission. The supercharger, which forced more air into the engine to generate more power (thus “Blower”) was gigantic and easily spotted at the front of the car, between the headlights. Top speed was in the 120 mph range, impressive for the era. Just 55 supercharged units of the car were produced between 1929 and 1931.

Despite the Blower’s success, Walter Owen Bentley, founder of the company, was actually quite disappointed by the car. He strongly disliked forced induction and believed there is no replacement for displacement. But he had by that point lost control of his company and was powerless to stop Birkin’s work.

So why the shift from Bentley to Aston? According to Top Gear’s 50 Years of Bond Cars special, Fleming received a letter from a fan who encouraged the author to “have the decency to fix him up with a decent bit of machinery.” The chap suggested an Aston Martin DB3. Fleming made the switch in 1959’s Goldfinger, and when the famous film was made in 1964, the producers went for the more current DB5. The rest, as they say is history.

Blower Bentleys can fetch well over a million dollars these days, with the famous DB5’s commanding quite a bit more. The DB5 used in Goldfinger and Thunderball sold for $4 million at auction a few years ago.

A UK petrol company has launched a new ‘biofuel’ which it claims is designed to work in classic cars – but the emissions-reducing petrol blend comes at a hefty premium compared to unleaded from the regular fuel bowser.

British start-up Coryton markets its biofuels – which contain a blend of unleaded petrol and bio-organic compounds from agricultural waste – as ‘Sustain Classic’, claiming it can reduce tailpipe emissions of classic cars by “at least 65 per cent”.

While the company’s focus is selling its fuel to classic-car owners, it does not say why its product works better in older vehicles than existing biofuels – or regular unleaded petrol – on the market.

Coryton sells three ‘levels’ of biofuels: ‘Super 33’ and ‘Super 80’ contain 98-octane unleaded petrol and 33 to 80 per cent renewable content respectively, while the company’s flagship ‘Racing 50’ is a blend of 102-octane motorsport fuel and 50 per cent renewables.

However, Coryton’s biofuels come at a substantial mark-up compared to ‘regular’ 98-octane petrol in the UK and Australia.

Super 33 starts at £3.80 ($7.25) per litre and Super 80 costs £4.65 ($8.85) per litre – with Racing 50 setting buyers back £5.24 ($10) per litre.

Despite its high price, Coryton has secured a contract to supply its biofuels to at least one high-profile client in the UK, with the British division of Japanese car-maker Mazda now using the petrol to run its fleet of heritage vehicles.

In a media statement, Mazda UK said its press vehicle fleet – which includes 15 cars, from an classic RX-3 rotary coupe to MX-5 convertibles from the 1990s and 2000s – will be filled with Super 80 “each time the cars are driven or loaned to media”.

There are also just two ‘sustainable’ fuels available from petrol stations in Australia: E10 – which is the most common and contains 10 per cent ethanol – and E85, the latter of which is mainly used in modified high-performance cars. With both E10 and E85, a car’s fuel economy is also reduced due to ethanol containing lower energy levels than petrol.