My first van run was in Taranaki, went with long time school mate as passengers in club members vans, 1979, Van Jam 80 Hosted by Vanawatu. 

I kept in contact with the club, my mate was killed in motorbike accident, parents gave me is project van, Ford Anglia, but not being able to do work on van and bad memories, I brought a legal car and put a hot motor, wheels and seats in.  

Lost contact with the club, after a crash, rebuilt in my MK1 cortina, swapped for a transit van, Rover V8, big wheels, flares, went good, handled like shit, take all day to stop, my first big van, bedroom/house/party hall, unreal. 

After some trouble with the law, (think my ears were painted on back then) a holiday on the government, (lots of time to think), I still had the van, but not able to drive, I met a nice girl who could, I went looking for the club, but it had closed up, people moving on, loss of interest, some of the old members had joined Brotherhood of Vans. 

Went to van run at Taupo racecourse, must have been 100 vans, best 10 went in parade. It pissed down with rain at night, we had mud wrestling under headlights, band in marquee, had unreal time, I was hooked, seeing what could be done to a van, so easy just bolt this on and bang different van. 

So work began, (much to girlfriends delight!). Disc’s to make it stop, F100 kingpins drop the front down, Rover out Ford 302 in radiator to diff, wrecked a stolen but recovered 1972 falcon, everything went in, dash, seats, new outside body panels, made new front spoiler, fitted ready for paint, it never got painted as a young club member came up the drive too fast and couldn’t stop and wrote the left hand side front off. Cause while building up the van and using it we had got the club back up and running. bsp;             

1985 was my first van nats, went to the 1986 nationals, missed the 1987 nats in Christchurch and haven’t missed one since. My back wheel parted company with the rest of the van on my way to a van run Waitangi weekend 1988, with help from a farmer on his tractor to get the van off the road, and then other vanners were able to get the van mobile again to get to the event. The next day I made better repairs so we could get home safely. The back of the van was written off, and the only way to fix it was to cut off the back and weld on a new back. I found a good back half on a van (man only wanted the motor out of it). We went to pick up the van body and he hadn’t taken the motor out of it and was not home. We had no tools (what to do??), we didn’t want to have to come back. Then we found his axe – open the doors boys, we’ll cut the thing in half! Everyone had a turn, even the man from across the road who laughed at us, then when having one of his beers, said it was fun and at least half the wreck has gone! Back at the shed the back half had already been cut off the van ready for the new back, but after a few more beers, and a bit of dreaming the idea was come up with making the van longer! A few phone calls, and a bit of talking to the right people Extended Play was made, then driven to the 1988 nats in Auckland, and every other run possible until 1998. I would leave home with 1 or 2 passengers and get to an event with 8. As I was always going to the events in a big van with more room than most, it made sense to pick up vanners along the way.   

One time we all jumped in it at a run to go to town to find somewhere for tea (about 15 people and a keg!). The man at the pizza place’s eyes popped out and he rubbed his hands together at the thought of the money he was going to make. He had a B.Y.O sign out front but said no to our keg coming in! I still have the keg it was turned into a can cooler.

I co-hosted my first run at ANZAC weekend 1988. I was voted in as VANZ President in 1993 and stood down in 1999. Being able to put something back in something like VANZ which does so much for the sport I enjoy is very rewarding and a must for every member.  

I have owned a few vans over the years, including a Chev C20 long wheel base, XB Falcon panel, helped build a FB Panel in 1990 which I brought outright in 1995, which I still have. I am rebuilding a 1962 EK Holden stationwagon which keeps on getting put on the back burner. At present I am rebuilding a 1974 Dodge Tradesmans 200 which came out of the factory as a custom van and come into NZ in 1975. Then there’s the workhorse, a 1983 CF Bedford which goes everywhere, and most times with a trailer in tow. 

I am also a member of the Feilding Rod & Classic club and NZDRA. I do most of my drag racing at Masterton motorplex, plus I do the local 1/8 mile street meets around the lower half of the North Island. Masterton motorplex is an airport which they close for the weekend. They also let us camp on site which is cool for me as that’s what van’s are good for. My best time so far is 13.1 seconds (115mph) for the ¼ mile (400m), 8.6 seconds for the 1/8 mile (200m). drag racing is very enjoyable, which I’m sure more vanners would enjoy. 

At street meets, after a few practice runs, you get put in classes and race against vehicles doing approx the same time as you, so fast race fast and slow race slow. At other meetings you run under D.Y.O, which is dial your own. At this type of meeting the slower vehicle gets a head start. Its about setting a time which you can do all day long but not go faster or you break out and that means you lose. If perfect you should both cross the finish line together. 

Vanning to me is more than a sport, it’s a lifestyle. The friends I have made are more like family. There might not be as many events as there used to be and they are nowhere as large, but I will never stop attending as many as I can possibly get to. 

One thing that hasn’t changed, is the cost of most events. $120 for the nats is still the same as 15 years ago and thats good value. 

Hope this gives you and insight into Tony Baird – the vanner who always seems to be there, playing tricks on others, making a fool of himself or just showing off! 

Keep on vanning – cause I am.

Look forward to catching up with you all at the next event soon. 

Vans were made to be used – so get out there and be seen using yours!! 

Cheers

Tony