Classics by The Beach: Sunday the 4th of August, 2019

- August 05, 2019

Generally, I try to avoid being too partisan when I feature a whole lot of cars, all of which are great in their own ways and are no doubt quite special to whoever owns them. This is: (a) so as not to offend anyone; and (b) because I suspect that, ultimately, nobody gives a rodent's bot for my opinion, anyway!

So, having made my transparent - as in you can see right through it - claim to neutrality, I'll now go on to shamelessly tell you why this outstanding early 1970s' Valiant Pacer was car of the day at August, 2019's, instalment of Classics by the Beach. Not that there's ever a car of the day, of course!

Other than a set of period-appropriate Aunger Dragway mags, the car was ostensibly standard. Everything else - and I do mean everything - was bang-on original, from the four red horizontal grille bars, through to the mustard yellow duco, perfect panels, decals and badging, and its pristine interior.

The other thing is - and here I'll be really, really careful - is that it's not an example of the very most desirable cars of the era. Politeness dictates that I won't list those models that seem to have attained cult status, almost to the exclusion of all others - becoming emblematic, cliched if one were feeling less PC - of Aussie "muscle". However, there are some properly brilliant late 60s' / 70s' cars that aren't from the V8 Holden and Ford line-ups and that were never driven by Brockie, Alan Moffat or Dick Johnson!

Less controversial, I hope, is the notion that a classic vehicle doesn't have to be exotic or expensive, sporty or luxurious, or have a particular pedigree or country of origin. To my mind, this early- to mid-1970s' Land Cruiser is a perfect example of this, as it's very much of its time and has been beautifully restored. It might just be that as one of Toyota's most enduring name-plates, along with the Corolla, there's a reasonable claim that it helped establish the marque's place in the Australian psyche.

Having had my say, I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of the vehicles on display. There were a good many that I'd never seen before, like the lovely Morris Minor Tourer above and the delightful four-seater Morgan shown below.

Also magnificent was this presumably pre-World War Two Riley. How I'd never seen it before's a mystery to me, as it was extremely elegant and really quite striking.

Whatever this very A Team van is - possibly a GMC - it was very, very cool! Its USA-styled personal rego plates and left hand drive configuration suggests that it's almost certainly an American import. "I love it when a plan comes together" (Lt Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, 1983).

Also undeniably fabulous - although for entirely different reasons - is this old-school International truck. What's so great about it? The Cascade Brewery, that's what!

A regular at Classics, this lovely Porsche has had a change of livery.

As interesting and fun as this replica German police car is, I suspect it was what your poor old Teutonic plod got to drive while their cool traffic cop colleagues were fanging about on the autobahns in their 911s. It is, however, a brilliant way to make a classic bug stand out and has been exceptionally well done from the roof-top strobe light, German POLIZEI decals, Bosch claxtons and dark green and white livery.

This Jaguar XK 150 - not an XK 120, as I thought until told otherwise - is a study in elegance. Superb!

Rounding out today's commentary is Steve Last's gorgeous - and very original - EJ Holden, which hit the market today for offers over $25K. He's had the car for the last twenty five years, having bought it off your classic little old lady driver in Victoria. If you're interested, I believe that it was advertised in today's Mercury but if I'm wrong, simply google Steve Last, architect, or The Last Villa, Sandy Bay, as I'm sure you won't have any difficulty contacting him.