During this strange time in history (Coronavirus) I thought I’d share my recent 11-day journey in my 1941 Buick Series A Special Business Coupe which I purchased in August 2018. I hope you enjoy reading about my trip here in Australia.
I named this trip the ‘1941 Buick Reliability Run’ and I departed on March 9 (1 day after my 58th birthday) sadly without my wife Stephanie due to her work commitments, but I was more than happy to be alone in my beautiful Buick.
I named this trip the ‘1941 Buick Reliability Run’ and I departed on March 9 (1 day after my 58th birthday) sadly without my wife Stephanie due to her work commitments, but I was more than happy to be alone in my beautiful Buick.
I greatly enjoy driving my Buick or my 67,000-mile 1965 Chevy SS Impala Sport Coupe (it’s done 8 interstate trips & 28,000 miles in just 6yrs). I’d been very keen to take my first long trip in the Buick. Prior to this trip, I had covered 4,600 miles (7,400km), proving she was up to the task.
I bought the car with no modifications apart from a brake power-booster – fitted when the previous owner, the (late Jack Provan) owned it. I’ve lowered the car 3-4” in the rear, added hand-made fender skirts & vintage aftermarket Lyon hub caps. I’ve also removed several incorrect accessories (spot-lights, fog-lights & Holden mirrors), and am in the process of fitting the correct replacements. The drive-line is the standard 248ci inline-8, 3-speed trans, and torque-tube rear-end – all in excellent working order. New Firestone 700-15 bias-ply tires were also fitted.
In planning the trip in my Buick, I decided to visit lots of car mates in the state of Victoria – which adjoins my state SA’s (South Australia’s) Eastern border. Victoria’s countryside is significantly more beautiful than where I live as SA is the driest state on the driest continent of the planet. The provided map shows my route and the towns visited, but there
were many coffee & photo stops in little towns I’d not heard of before. I had some great
chats with locals due to the car attracting plenty of attention as you can imagine. During
my planning, I discovered that the ‘Rich River Rod Run' was to be held in the historic
Murray River town of Echuca on the Vic/NSW border.
I’d heard of the event over the years, but some of my friends which I planned to visit on this trip were planning to attend and I was to be in the general area, my involvement was a ‘no-brainer’. March is also the beginning of Autumn in Australia (the opposite to the Northern Hemisphere), and my favorite time of the year with beautiful weather.
I packed my tent & luggage and headed off on March 9 for 11-days. I returned just 5-days before our state borders were closed due to the COVID-19 restrictions. I probably attended one of the last car events in the country for some time.
I’ve included a map of Australia which shows my journey. For those of you from the USA, you may not realise that Australia is about 80% of the size of your country but a population of just 25 million. Australia has only 8 states (2 are classified as territories). I live in the Southern coastal city of Adelaide (population 1.3 million) which is the state capital of SA (South Australia). Adelaide is 155 miles from the Eastern state border, 780 miles from our Western border, and 770 miles from our Northern border. SA is 1.4 times the size of Texas and the 3rd largest state in Australia.
DAY 1: (275mile/440km: Adelaide-Naracoorte-Mt Gambier).
I kissed my wife goodbye at 6.45am (photo above just prior to leaving) and headed off to Mt Gambier on what was a beautiful Autumn day. This was my longest day of driving for the trip. I stopped for lunch in the neat town of Naracoorte, but just 15min later (1hr short of my Mt Gambier) I had my first of 2 flat tires for the trip due to poor-quality Chinese
made tubes. I had another a few weeks earlier in my workshop – lesson learnt. A local policeman stopped to chat and soon after the
RAA showed up (RAA = Royal Automobile Association/24hr emergency roadside assistance). I do carry a spare so was able to assist to get back on the road quickly. As my car is quite low, the RAA trolley-jack was most helpful.
Once I arrived in beautiful Mt Gambier, I checked into the local holiday (vacation) park and set up my tent (with disruptions of people wanting to talk about my car). I then caught up with friends Aaron & Mel in their ’50 Chevy pickup & ’48 Chevy Fleetline Aerosedan. We cruised the town then went out for dinner at one of the local pubs (taverns).
Mt Gambier has a population of 30,000 and is located on the slopes of an extinct volcano. Near the top of the volcano is its famous crater Blue Lake approximately 250ft (76m) deep. The crater rim measures 2,700ft. (820m) and supplies the town with its drinking water. During Dec-Jan each year, Blue Lake turns to a vibrant cobalt blue. The area is also known for limestone, caves & sinkholes. Mt Gambier is just 11 miles (18km) from the SA/Victoria border.
DAY 2: (155mile/250km: Mt Gambier-Hamilton-Warrnambool)
I awoke early for a shower & packed up my tent for another day of superb weather, then headed off to have the faulty tube replaced from the previous day’s flat tire. I then visited a friend Mark Fry with a hot-rod building business. He showed me the ’34 Dodge coupe he’s working on for local guy Tony who I happen to know. The car will run a supercharged Chrysler Hemi (the usual motor for Tony).
I then headed off for my 150mile/240km drive to Hamilton in Victoria. 13 mile out of Mt Gambier I crossed our state border with Victoria so I had to stop for a photo with the border sign. I then stopped in Casterton (population: 1,700) for coffee & cake at the local bakery, then headed for Hamilton (population 10,000) to visit elderly relatives John & Effie Zippel who I met for the first time a year ago. John’s ancestors emigrated to Australia from Prussia (now Poland/Germany) in 1857 – 2 years after my ancestors, coming out on the same boat, landing at the same port, moving to the same part of Australia. Then soon after 1900 my grandfather's family moved 700miles (1,125km) West where I grew up and the familes lost touch.
Only the two Zippel families emigrated to Australia and I’ve been tracking them down. Up to this point, I’d met 3 families from this other Zippel clan (all closely related) – the 4th family I met later in this journey on on day 10.
After having lunch with John & Effie, I took John for a ride around town in my Buick (which he was very keen to see as his family had a 1930’s Buick when he was you
ng), then I dropped him home, said goodbye & headed to Warrnambool (65 miles/105km) for the night where I set up tent again before visiting my friends John & Sharon. John has 3 superb cars (red ’63 Corvette split-window coupe, blue ’64 SS Impala Sport Coupe & a red ’32 Ford roadster Hot Rod, plus several vintage motorbikes, vintage signs & gas pumps). John also took me to the business/workshop of a friend who was working on several cars including a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Seville coupe – a rare car in Australia. The night was capped off with a lovely home-cooked meal with John & Sharon.
Warrnambool is a coastal rural city of 35,000 people and marks the western end of the famous Great Ocean Road which as a strong seafaring & shipwreck history.
DAY 3: (105miles/170km: Warrnambool-Ballarat
I awoke to another glorious day, packed up my tent, ate breakfast, then headed off for my drive to Ballarat. This was to be a special day as I would be showing the Buick to the very man who bought the car to Australia 30 years ago (1989).
Anyway, back to my drive – I set off with my windows down again and sailing along lovely country roads. What a wonderful way to enjoy a day – it doesn’t get much better. I stopped in the small town of Mortlake for coffee & cake and a quick photo of the car next to an historic building. I then drove on to Ballarat to set up my tent before meeting a friend Adriana (formerly from Adelaide) who owns 2 American vehicles (1961 Plymouth station wagon & 1959 Pontiac sedan). She grew up with parents who always had American vehicles and I’ve known her since she was a 1 year old (about 30yrs). A great catch-up and chat at her favorite bakery.
I then arranged to have dinner with Dale Collins (the man who imported my Buick into Australia). Dale purchased the car in Waco, Texas in 1989 (after a deal on a Packard fell through). He drove the Buick back to
LA (1,400 miles/2,250km), imported it into Australia, converted it to RHD himself, but sold it within 6 months to a local businessman Jack Provan who lived in the same suburb of Melbourne. Now living in Ballarat, Dale had not seen the car for about 20 years. Dale is a retired Marine Engineer who still has classic cars (1946 Ford convertible & 1946 Packard sedan). Dale and his wife Junie were overjoyed to see the car and thought it was fabulous. While Junie prepared dinner, Dale asked me to drive him to a friend’s home to show him my car. His friend owns a 1948 Hudson, which Dale had rebuilt many years earlier. We then returned to Dale’s home and went for a drive in his magnificent ’46 Packard before we enjoyed dinner with together. Another wonderful day!
Ballarat is a city of 105,000 people and is located on the Yarrowee River in the Central Highlands of Victoria and is the third most populous inland city in Australia. Ballarat has a rich gold mining history which is strongly reflected by the large number of grand historic buildings.
DAY 4: (50miles/81km: Ballarat-Daylesford-Castlemaine)
Another glorious morning, packed up my tent, then drove to a nice tavern for a fully cooked breakfast dining outside overlooking Ballarat’s Lake Wendouree (covering 590 acres) with my Buick in front of me. What a life!
I then made the short drive 28 mile (45km) to the lovely township of Daylesford for
another coffee (life is good). Daylesford is in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range of Victoria, and is known for its natural miner
al springs.
I then drove on to Castlemaine where I was invited to spend the night with friends Kim & Malinda who had moved to the town in the last few years from Sth Australia.
I drove straight to visit friend Larry O’Toole who owns Graffiti Publications (established 1977). This company publishes various automotive magazines & books and Larry along with his wife Mary & son Al are wonderful people who have been involved in Hot Rodding for over 50 years. Their magazine Australian Street Rodding has been published for decades. Castlemaine is also the self-proclaimed Hot Rod centre of Australia with many small businesses catering to this at a national level. Plans for a permanent Hot Rod centre are well underway. Larry jumped in my Buick and we headed off to see the location for the planned ‘Castlemaine Hot Rod Centre’. This is to be a training facility to focus on all the skills required for Hot Rods including engineering inspection & compliance, a Museum & Archive, meeting facilities, an active retirement centre for Hot Rodders, industrial development, and even an event & entertainment centre. I was extremely impressed to see how their plans to convert a retired technical college is well underway to becoming a long-term dream. The planning involved government etc.
I then headed off for a brief visit to the home of Rod & Carol Hadfield (life-time friends of Larry & Mary O’Toole). Rod is Australia’s most well-known Hot Rodder and has built some truly spectacular cars. His wife Carol was busy processing entries for this year’s Salt Lake Racing on SA’s Lake Gairdner in just 11-days. Unfortunately, the event had to be cancelled just 4-days later (due to COVID-19). Rod was in his workshop/showroom with several of his amazing cars, but the one I had yet to see was his Rolls Royce Merlin V12-powered Warman Special. This engine is a 27-litre (1,650 cubic inch) aircraft engine which weighs around 1 imperial ton fitted to an enormous polished aluminum bodied boat-tailed roadster. This is the 2nd road-going vehicle Rod has built with one of these engines – the previous being a 1955 Chevy Belair Sport Coupe which was purchased by an American. Rod was contacted by Jay Leno during the build of the ’55 Chevy many years ago as he heard of the build and was most interested in Rod’s work. Rod & Carol are amazing people who are truly inspirational.
Larry & his wife Mary came over to my friends’ home that night and we had a wonderful BBQ meal and chat. Wonderful friendships indeed. Off to bed – a very special day coming tomorrow.
DAYS 5-7: (83miles/134km: Castlemaine-Echuca)
Friday morning - I departed my friend’s home for Echuca mid-morning, but first there was something very special to attend to which required just a short 10-min drive to the small town of Harcourt to visit a couple I’d only met once before, 9 months earlier. Geoff & his wife Sylvia own a 1941 Buick Super Sport Coupe (Model 56C) which I was told about by a couple of Victorian Buick owners soon after purchasing my car in 2018. I managed to track down Geoff and phoned him. I discovered his car was previously owned by David Provan – brother of Jack Provan – the Melbourne businessman who purchased my car 30 years ago soon after it arrived from Texas and was converted to RHD (previously mentioned on Day 3). 9 months ago, during a quick trip to Melbourne, I dropped in to meet Geoff & Sylvia and see their beautiful car. That was a special time, but I now had the opportunity to park my car next to Geoff’s, thereby parking the late Provan brother’s cars side by side after more than 12 years apart. Geoff knew both Jack & David Provan personally. I took several photos along with a video and posted them on Facebook for
Jack Provan’s grandson (also Jack – who inherited the car & sold it to me), along with his mother (daughter of Jack Provan) to see. They were both overjoyed and young Jack wrote “100% couldn’t have asked for a better person to pass it on to, it’s getting the life it deserves, thank you” – his mother agreeing strongly with him.
Geoff then took me out for lunch in his ’41 Buick which was wonderful. He is an elderly gentleman, and how I love meeting these wonderful people from the era when men were ‘gentlemen’ & females were ‘ladies’. Geoff is a retired electrical engineer? He also showed me his magnificent model railway. The attention to detail on this was what you would expect from a retired electrical engineer – enough said! He also lived & worked in California for a period. His Buick came to Australia back in 1946 after an Australian pilot stationed in California during the war had owned & driven the car there and liked it so much, he bought the car home with him.
My time was up, so I said my goodbyes and headed off to my next destination. I was
buzzing inside! This time with Geoff & Sylvia was the highlight of my entire trip.
Cruising down the road in a ’41 Buick feeling very excited from the wonderful memories just created, on a superb Autumn day on country roads for 75 miles(122km) – It doesn’t get much better! And on top of that I was headed for the wonderful historic river town of Echuca to be part of the annual Rich River Rod Run for the weekend. I booked 3-nights cabin accommodation in one of the many local tourist parks – this one set right on the Murray River.
A storm arrived in town soon after arrival with heavy rain & windy conditions. Fortunately, the rain stopped before I headed off to the event drive-in night 7-miles out of town on a reserve with a large digital screen on the back on a truck. I caught up with several Hot Rodders I knew from both Mt Gambier & Castlemaine.
Next morning (Sat), I had a wonderful 2-hour breakfast with the same friends at a café in the main street before joining them on a river cruise on a privately owned luxury 1874 paddle-steamer ‘HS Hero’ – one of the oldest paddle-steamers in the world. This amazing boat was superbly restored and its magnificent steam engine was a work of art – superbly hand-painted and with all its brass polished. After this, other good friends Garry & Lynne from Shepperton (1hr away) drove over in their ’51 Ford Victoria to spend the night with
me. We had a meal together and chatted into the night.
The next day (Sunday) was the last day of the event and involved a large ‘Show & Shine’ for the public to come and attend. There were 100s of cars on the oval with superb weather again. To my complete surprise my name was called out to receive 1 of the 8 top-voted (entrants’ choice) ‘Straight Eight’ awards. What a name for a guy with a straight-8 Buick? This really capped off the weekend for me. After we all said goodbye, I retired to my cabin for the evening to enjoy a cold beer and fish & salad overlooking the beautiful river. Then at dusk I went into the historic precinct to take the photo of my car outside the Star Hotel.
Echuca is located in northern Victoria on the banks of the Murray River and boasts the largest fleet of paddle steamers in the Australia with 7 operating commercially plus a large number of smaller privately owned vessels. Across the river is the state of New South Wales and the town of Moama (Echuca/Moama are referred to as ‘twin towns’ – separated only by the Murray River/state border). Paddle steamers depart the historic Port Precinct, which has exhibits on the 19th-century river trade, plus part of the original Echuca Wharf adjoining historic Murray Esplanade – a dirt street with reproduction buildings (see photo of my car parked outside the Star Hotel). A museum displays the rich local history, and the town also hosts the privately run National Holden Motor Museum.
DAY 8: (180miles: Echuca-Castlemaine-Maldon-Newstead-Maryborough-Avoca-Ararat)
I departed Echuca to head back to Castlemaine where I had been just 3 days before. This
was due to an appointment to visit a business I had been told about – Up the Creek Workshop, owned & ran by ex-New Zealander Grant Cowie. His 25yo workshop have restored, rebuilt, maintained and preserved almost every marque of prewar car from Delage, Bugatti, Austin 7, Sunbeam and Lancia through to Bentley, Frazer-Nash, Alfa Romeo, Benz, Talbot, Hispano-Suiza and Amilcar. One of their recent projects was reconstructing the engine of the world's only surviving 1914 Delage Type-S grand prix
car (worth many millions of dollars). The have a fully equipped engine reconditioning workshop & machine shop. Grant employs 8 staff, many of them quite young but all very keen on and drive cars from the early era. Grant utilizes some of the local elderly vintage car experts to assist training – ensuring this valuable knowledge is not lost. Grant gave me a brief but thorough tour through his facility before several of his staff wanted a good look at my Buick before I departed Castlemaine for the final 100-mile (160km) drive of the day to Ararat.
I stopped for a coffee in the nearby historic township of Maldon which is noted for its 19th-century appearance, maintained since gold-rush days. I then continued on to Maryborough where I had lunch and then continued onto Ararat where I was to stay with Hot Rod friends Mark & Tracy. Mark is a prolific building of very cool Hot Rods or custom
cars which attract lots of attention. Mark invited several family & friends from his hot rod club (many I’d met before) for a BBQ dinner and there were lots of laughs before climbing into bed after another great day and the usual superb weather.
DAY 9: (32miles/52km: Ararat-Halls Gap)
Next morning, one of Mark’s friends from the night before took me for a tour of his son’s business Ace Panel Worx, where they do very nice car restorations as well as Hot Rods & Street Machines. I then followed ??? to his 150yo home in the country which also happened to be on the road to my next destination – Halls Gap, in the beautiful Grampians National Park. ??? showed me his magnificent old home and his Hot Rod, before I continued towards the beautiful sandstone mountain range known as The Grampians. I was happy to be back to camping in my tent which I enjoy very much being surrounded by God’s beautiful creation – kangaroos, kookaburras and cockatoos. I enjoyed the wildlife in this beautiful place, even hand feeding a spectacular Sulphur-crested cockatoo which sat on my knee (see photo). I then enjoyed fish & chips next to my Buick & tent while the sun descended over the mountain range. Of course, putting up a tent next to a 1941 Buick does attract some attention also, so chatting with people is always on the agenda.
I decided to make contact with a Neil Zippel (part of that other Zippel clan). We’d not met but I had heard he was a policeman in Dimboola where I would be passing through the next day. Anyway, I phoned and he answered the phone and as soon as I said my name he said “I know who you are because I am building a hot rod”. This is due to the American car events I’ve been organizing in Adelaide for the last 32 years, I guess I’ve become well known far & wide – which still seems rather strange to me. He invited me to visit and said Dimboola’s tourist park was very nice. I was looking forward now to meeting another Zippel tomorrow.
DAY 10: (71miles/114km: Halls-Gap-over Grampians-Horsham-Dimboola)
I awoke to another spectacular morning (is it getting boring hearing that?) feeling grateful for how well the trip had gone so far. After a hot shower & breakfast, I packed up the tend and headed on my way over the mountain range which at its highest point is only 1,167m (3,829ft), but when all the surrounding countryside is flat it makes for a beautiful view. The morning was nice & cool while cruising slowly for 30km (19mile) to get over the hill. A couple of times I had to slow right down to miss kangaroos which were on the move. Anyway, I got over the hill and down onto the flats and I had my 2nd flat tyre. This time it was the RH rear and that meant my lowered car with full fender-skirts may present a problem. I called again the RACV (emergency roadside assistance) and they came within 30min thankfully and I was off headed for the short 30min drive into Horsham where I promptly had my dud tube replaced (damn Chinese junk). I then drove to the edge of town to have lunch with friends Dave & Marge who have a 1918 Buick roadster which Dave restored, and he’s currently restoring a 1910 Buick roadster. They had not seen my Buick and we only met just after I’d purchased the car. They were impressed and Marge said I can park it in her garage anytime. Wonderful people! Horsham is a regional city with a population of around 16,500 people and is the centre of Western Victoria's wheat & wool industry.
I then headed onto Dimboola to meet Neal Zippel for the first time. He was on shift that day in his Police role and agreed to meet me when I hit town which we did. I then pitched my tent before Neil dropped around in the police vehicle and gave me a personal tour of the town and surrounds in uniform. He even offered me a ride in the back seat with hand-cuffs – quite a character! We got on
like a house on fire. That night I had a great meal in the Victoria Hotel (pub) causing quite a stir when I parked my Buick at the entrance. This was my last night before arriving home so of course I pitched the tent again and enjoyed all the sounds you hear in that environment (although I go to sleep in about 1min).
DAY 11: (250miles/400km: Dimboola-Nhill-Serviceton-Bordertown-Home)
Next morning, I departed for Neil’s home as he offered to cook me breakfast & to meet his family, before I headed home. After we had eaten, he showed me his project 1937 Dodge sedan which he’s building into a Hot Rod. A neat looking car which is in very sound condition. What a great guy! I knew we would be seeing more of each other. I said goodbye and headed off for the final 250miles/450km to Adelaide (home). The day was quite warm and with a hot North gusty wind which buffeted the car a little on the road.
On the advice of a friend, just before the SA/Vic border, I turned off to Serviceton Railway Station. I had always saw the sign for this and had no idea what I was to see. This large historic 1887 Railway Station has sat unused since 1986. I was glad I made the effort to drive the short 4km to see this largely unknown piece of history.
I then continued over the border back into SA before stopping for lunch in Bordertown, before continuing on home. I stopped briefly to visit a friend in Coonalpyn, then head off again. I arrived safely home at 5.30pm after 11-days away and 2,145km (1,333 miles). Other than 2 flat tyres caused by faulty tubes, my 1941 Buick was faultless. What a dream trip for me. I’m now looking forward to an even longer trip in October for the Buick Nationals in Lakes Entrance, Victoria (Corona Virus permitting). This would be 3-weeks away and covering 2,800km (1,750 miles). I can’t wait!
