Vintage and Historic Restoration Visit 2002
Traditionally, June is a wet month, cold and miserable, so
it was a pleasant surprise to awake to a cold but bright
and not too overcast Sunday morning. As usual, by the time
I got the old car ready to head off, Margaret had Corry and
the picnic lunch packed and ready to go.
The plan was to arrive at the Brandon Park Shopping Centre
by 10.00 am. The traffic was light, the car ran well and
the weather was fine. We certainly were not the first to
arrive, so by the time the ‘A’ Model turned into Springvale
Road we were greeted by another eight or so vehicles and
their occupants. Much to the surprise of everyone, Irwin
and Bev Sinclair arrived in their 1935 La Salle 35/50
convertible coupe.
Like a giant magnet, club members wandered over to admire
this fine vehicle, talk to the Sinclair’s and inspect this
seldom seen vehicle. As the departure time approached,
Peter Lafrank gave a quick briefing on how to get to
Nick Langford’s Historic and Vintage Restoration workshop
at Blackburn.
What an amazing place, although the factory exterior
offers no clue as to what is inside, or for that matter
what the business does, once inside there can be no doubt.
Row after row of some of the most elegant and exotic
vehicles ever to land on these shores. Nick Langford and
his highly skilled band of employees carefully dismantle
and painstakingly reconstruct these often priceless vehicles
to better than new condition. Their attention to detail is
a credit to all that work there. Even Margaret was interested
and by the end of the morning had already made a selection
of vehicles she would gladly trade in the ‘A’ Model on
(no loyalty). It didn’t seem to matter too much to Corry
that she was admiring a vehicle worth $200,000, to her,
they’re all ‘A’ Models.
It was about late morning when news reached Nick Langford’s
workshop that Irwin and Bev had a Code 12 (for all you non
police persons, that’s a traffic accident, no injuries) on
Springvale Road on the way to Blackburn. An hour later Irwin
and Bev made it to the workshop and recounted what had
happened. Apparently the La Salle lost its front near-side
wheel causing considerable damage to the front mudguard,
running board and body. The front wheel was later found in
someone’s front yard and returned to the vehicle. The car
was undriveable and had to be towed away. Fortunately,
Irwin’s skilful driving avoided a serious accident with
other vehicles and neither Irwin or Bev were injured.
With a full crew of DVHCC and Cadillac/La Salle Club members,
Nick Langford took us all on a personally guided tour of
his workshop giving a brief history of many of the vehicles,
the type of restoration being conducted, approximate
costings and amusing anecdotes. Nick’s workshop embodies
what most car enthusiasts dream about.
It didn’t take long afterwards for the factory Barbecue
to be fired up and within half an hour the picnic baskets
emerged to litter the car park with yummy things to eat.
What more can a guy want, the weather was fine, the venue
interesting, the company wonderful and the car ran
beautifully. Many thanks to Nick Langford and Martin Utber
for opening their premises and a special thank you must
go to the members of the Cadillac/La Salle Club of Australia
for making this run such a success.
Stan Snyders
DVHCC MEMBERS IN CLUB CARS:
Ron and Pam Barnett 1929 A Ford
Roger Bowen 1929 A Ford
Kevin and Carol Clarence 1934 Lagonda Rapier
Ron and Margaret Elmore 1930 A Ford
Em and Pam Hopgood 1928 Chevrolet Tourer
Peter and Mazz Lafrank 1929 Chevrolet Sedan
Les Lucas and Friends 1927 Chevrolet Tourer
Graham McBain 1939 Mercury Sedan
Wally and Denise Nye 1928 Austin Sedan
David and Sue Pater 1928 Stutz Tourer BB
Stan, Margaret and Corrie Snyders 1930 A Ford
Irwin and Bev Sinclair 1935 Lasalle 35/50 Convertible coupe
INSTERESTING VEHICLES:
Reg and Margaret Clarence Morris Minor
Don Jones and Les Standing Austin A30
MEMBERS ATTENDING IN MODERN VEHICLES:
Ray and Ruth Paterson,Albert Briffa and Peg Place,
Meryl Castle, Fred and Val Lubbe, Peter and Noel Mathews,
Phil Bowden, Keith and Sheila Shugg, Michael and
John Hartman, Graham Cope and Martin Utber.