Hauraki Vintage and Machinery Club members Lorraine and Peter Williams joined a convoy of around 20 vintage truck drivers at Waitakaruru bound for Kawakawa Bay last month.
Lorraine told The Profile the event was part of the Northern Classic Commercial North Island Long Lap 2022 which had around 90 vintage trucks travelling across the North Island and stopping in various towns between October 9 and October 22.
“We heard about it so we met up with them at Waitakaruru and they had travelled from Hamilton and there were probably 20 odd trucks that went up to Kawakawa Bay,” she said.
“Our truck was a 1982 International T Line and I think it was 2012 when we bought it from Ryal Bush down south because we’d been to a few vintage shows and travelled around on tractors, so we needed a truck to take us. “It was great to catch up with a few friends and fanatics.”
Lorraine said her and Peter were often stopped on their journey by people who wanted to admire their truck.
“We usually always had someone say ‘oh I learned to drive in one of those,’ she said.
“They were a work horse in the 1980s, and carried all sorts and because of the registration number, people wave and toot.”
Lorraine said her and Peter also travelled with Peter’s international harvester 685 tractor which was around the same age as their truck.
“The truck travelled a lot better with a load on it because it’s got no suspension, its not like the modern trucks,” she said.
Lorraine said her and Peter also took part in the 2018 event where they travelled from Cambridge to Whakatāne, Gisborne and Taihape.
Peter and Lorraine Williams with their 1982 International T Line vintage truck. Photo: SUPPLIED
