In my garage

Tales of blood, sweat and gears from some of SA's car enthusiasts.

By Ellen Morgan
Published: Thursday, November 5, 2020

Cracking open the dusty cobweb-covered doors of the family garage to discover what lies inside is a memory many of us treasure from our childhoods. There’s something mesmerising about watching the flickering fluros reveal historic relics inside.

The precious metals tucked away in sheds and backyards always have stories to tell, whether they’re passed down for generations, covered and kept for decades, or passion projects being brought back to their former glory over years of tinkering.

So how many South Aussie garages have 4-wheeled secrets kept within their corrugated walls?

We lift the roller doors and step inside to meet some of the state’s car enthusiasts and their treasures.

Tony Parkinson
1963 Austin Healey 57 FAC Sebring 3000

As far as Tony Parkinson is concerned, his love affair with cars came long before the wine.

Owner of the popular McLaren Vale winery Penny’s Hill, Tony is a member of multiple car groups and an advocate for a number of vintage rallies. He’s a previous track racer and passionate collector.

“Apparently I first showed enthusiasm for cars when I was 3 years of age,” he says.

“My parents said I would stand on the front bench seat of the car, back when they were like couches, and identify every make of car that drove past.

“My first memory of an old sports car was this Austin Healey that I saw in Willunga when I was 10, that I actually ended up buying. It only took me 43 years.”

It’s one of 6 Austin Healeys he’s owned, among an impressive collection of other restored vintage rarities.

“I have probably had about 85 cars I think.”

“In the old days, you could buy old cars for very little money – even $20. I used to have a few 1920s cars with my brother that we tinkered with and sold.”

Over the years, he’s grown into filling his garage with finished vintage treasures.

“Everybody is different with vintage cars. Some people want old Italian cars, some people want red cars, some people are more inclined to fix the mechanics, and others collect completed cars and don’t have much to do under the bonnet.”

Tony likes Austin Healeys. “Blue, white and silver ones,” to be precise.

His pride and joy? The 1963 57 FAC Sebring 3000, which he snapped up in 2015. With only 5 in the world, they’re some of the rarest Austin Healeys on the market.

3 (Tony’s included) were built specifically for the famous 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race in 1963.

“I like the look and feel mainly, and the noise – that’s something you only get from an old car. They have more character – you can feel and hear what’s going on.”

His first Austin Healey – a 100S built in 1955 – was another favourite. While Tony sold it in 2018, he still collects information about the car, which he records on his dedicated website.

“That car had more stories than any of my cars.”

Tony’s passion for his vintage treasures spans far wider than his garage doors, too.

One of his proudest achievements was staging the Lobethal Grand Carnival in 2008 and 2009 on the original 1939 Australian Grand Prix circuit. Since 2006, he’s also chaired a group which organises historic racing car demonstrations at the Australian Grand Prix.

“My 100S participated in Grand Prix events in the 50s, so I rattled a few cages to keep the historic demonstrations on track in Melbourne so we could race it again.”

He’s spent 20 years racing cars, taking part in an international Healey race at Bathurst in 1998 and a once-in-a-lifetime whiz around the iconic Mille Miglia track in Italy with the 100S.

“If you don’t go out and do it, you’ll just never know what it’s like… it’s just all been part of the zest for historic vehicles for me.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be far away from old vehicles that ‘go’.”

Megan Kelly
1960 Lloyd Alexander TS

Megan’s penchant for vintage cars started early. The Adelaide Hills resident was just 8 years old when she went thirds in her own car. Megan drives ‘Sweetie’ to this day – a 1960 Lloyd Alexander TS originally built in Germany, then re-assembled in Australia from a knock-down kit (the family think).

“My mum, sister and I saw this sweet little blue car on the back of a trailer at a swap meet about 15 years ago and decided to buy it together.”

The baby blue car was painted in blue house paint by the previous owner and has “all the mod cons”.

“There are tiny fabric pockets in the doors that are perfect for travel tea cups, and you can fit a meat pie or 2 in the tiny glove box. It’s beautiful,” she says with a laugh.

Vintage cars have long been in the Kelly family, a tradition Megan hopes to carry on.

“We’ve always had a lot of old cars, so for show and tell at school, I’d just show the family cars.

“My dad collects Jowetts in particular…we’ve got 2 Jupiters, 2 Bradfords and about 9 Javelins, and then there are others that are shells or wrecks too.

“I tried to work out how many we had one day, but dad just says ‘several’ and we leave it at that,” she laughs.

When Megan turned 16, she asked if she could take on the Lloyd.

“It was just waiting to be loved, so dad and I spent some time fixing it up a bit, and I drove it to school on my Ps.”

It’s not the only car Megan hopes to inherit from the family collection.

“We’ve also got my great-grandfather’s Holden HK Premier from 1968 that I was actually born in the back of, on the side of the road in Lobethal.”

But it’s the Lloyd she’s most attached to, despite a few sticky roadside situations for the pair over the years.

“We’ve had a journey, the 2 of us. There [were] a couple of years [when] she was waiting in the shed to be fixed, but then I entered [her] into the Bay to Birdwood, so we had to get her back on the road.

“I made time to be out in the shed with dad, and we fitted brand new pistons, a new timing chain, a new exhaust – all as original as possible, but it works.

“I only drive it locally and sometimes when we go up a hill I just pat the steering wheel and tell her she can do it.”

She says the car’s an attention-seeker, in all the right ways.

“I like that nobody’s ever really seen one before, and it’s just so small and squishy… it’s pretty fun.

“I love how underpowered it is, not like dad’s powerful four-cylinder cars… it’s kind of the underdog of cars.

“It was either me [driving it] or it was rusting, and I love that. It kind of feels like I’m more a part of the historical car world, rather than just a passenger in it.”

Daniel
1935 Ford Humpback sedan

For Daniel, restoring and driving old cars is about rediscovering history.

“It’s a bit of the romance of what the cars have done, what people were thinking when they built them, and the experiences the cars have given people… you get to step back in time,” he says.

Growing up on a farm in the Adelaide Hills, Daniel has been tinkering from an early age, learning the ropes on a 67 Mark II Cortina in the school holidays.

“My uncle was a panel beater, and that really sparked my interest in old cars.

“I started an apprenticeship after school and spent 20 years working on cars for other people.”

These days, Daniel is focussing on the skeletons in his own garage. Some restorations have been slower than others.

One of his favourites – a 37 Chevrolet – took nearly 20 years to complete.

“It came to me as two trailer loads of junk… you get this thing that’s pretty destroyed, and when you actually finish it, you get a sense that you’ve been a part of the car’s journey. That’s really cool.”

It’s the snippets of history uncovered along the way that keep Daniel hooked.

“I was working on the door of the Chevrolet and a live bullet fell out. I also found registration papers for the Kimba Country Show in 1957.”

These days, Daniel has a new guest in the garage – a 1935 Ford Humpback sedan. Purchased from a member of his hot rod club, the 35 is a work in progress.

“I’ve enjoyed taking off the paint and seeing 7 different layers of colour, finding out it had an accident decades ago and seeing how they tried to fix it… seems they just filled things up with lead back then,” he laughs.

Daniel says there’s a method to his restoration process.

“It normally starts off with a few beers and a few mates in the shed discussing the potential.”

Then the nightly tradition of working away in the garage begins.

“Right as Home and Away comes on, that’s my cue to head to the shed,” he chuckles.

Performance, suspension and brakes are always upgraded in Daniel’s builds, but trim and ‘trinkets’ are kept as original as possible.

“I’ve put a 350 Chevrolet motor in the 35 Ford, and a Commodore steering rack… it becomes a bit of a Frankenstein in the end, but it all works together.”

On the road, Daniel likes to drive his beloved 65 Chevrolet.

“It’s a bit of a fun car – it’s so big, fat, heavy and slow,” he laughs.

“It’s a comfortable, relaxing car to drive in. It’s lovely when you can pile the grandkids in or go for a road trip.”

Daniel’s also hiding a 1929 Ford sedan and a 1975 LTD – both on the backburner just waiting to be brought back to life.

“Once you fix 1 – achieve that goal – there’s always something next on the agenda to keep you inspired. It’s my way of doing art. Other people draw pictures and I just really enjoy mucking around with cars and hopefully turning it into something.”

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