Issue 07 - Motor Museum of WA

Issue 7 -
June 2015
Museum vehicles at the Guildford Heritage
Festival on 29 March
Museum
Musings
A Newsletter
for Motor
Museum of
WA
Volunteers
Above: Musketry demonstration at the Festival,
one of the many activities on the day
2
Featured: 1934 DeSoto Airflow Restoration
Issue 1 contained a report on the generous handover of Ron Powell’s much loved 1934 SE Series Desoto
Airflow to the Motor Museum under the Cultural Gifts Program. Ron undertook a full body and
mechanical restoration of the Desoto and his resourcefulness is demonstrated in the account of the
project he has provided below:
I first saw a Desoto Airflow during WWII travelling around Mounts Bay Road on many mornings and
believed it to be the most modern and beautiful car I had ever seen.
I found my Desoto Airflow in a lean-to shed on a farm on the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, in 1984.
The compound roof had collapsed, and chickens and mice were nesting in it, but it was complete and at
that time painted pale green.
After the car arrived at our home, complete, but needing restoration, my wife Shirley agreed that I should
take three months long service leave and get the car finished as quickly as possible so we could use it on
country rallies. United Motors in West Perth miraculously had every NOS part I would need; over-size
pistons, under-size main and con-rod bearings, wheel bearings, complete gear box, crown wheel and
pinion, half axle, valves and many other parts.
I completely dismantled the car taking care to write the sequence in a note book so that I could reassemble
everything in reverse order. Wherever possible, I used stainless steel screws, nuts and bolts on
reassembling the body.
The cylinders were bored, the crankshaft ground and all the bearings in the drive train replaced. The
brake cylinders all honed and lined with new buckets and hydraulic hoses. Unfortunately, I listened to
advice recommending the use of silicon brake fluid, which would not stop leaking, so later I had to wash
out the system and replace it with conventional brake fluid.
I found some of the original metallic gold paint under chrome trimmings and, after polishing the largest
sample, Dulux matched the colour with acrylic paint, using aluminium powder. (The Airflows came in six
different metallic colours.)
I sprayed the body with primer and then applied successive layers of grey and black undercoat, rubbing
it down between each coat until I could get a uniform colour. This was the longest phase of the restoration
before ultimately spraying several coats of colour and more coats of clear acrylic.
The steel window frames and body trimmings were badly rusted so I made new ones from brass sections
silver soldered together. The steel waterfall grill was a problem as it was badly pitted with rust. To
overcome the problem my friendly chrome plater coated it with a thick layer of copper. I took it home
and rubbed it down, then back to the plater for another coat, this was repeated again and again until it
was smooth and ready for the nickel and chrome. I replaced the floor boards with marine ply and installed
a new wiring harness.
Finally it was ready for the upholstery and local firm Crawfords did the leather seats and door linings. At
the same time a new compound roof and lining was fitted.
We decided to permanently lock out the free-wheel device and leave off the automatic clutch.
We went on our first country rally in the Airflow, the first of many, to Albany for the Easter Rally in 1985.
She ran and drove beautifully and clocked 60 mph effortlessly. We also had the honour of a photograph
of our car being featured on the cover of the Airflow Club of America Newsletter.
Ron Powell
See pictures on following page
3
Left: Desoto under full body
restoration
Below left: Cover of Airflow
Newsletter featuring Ron’s
car
Above: The handover featured
in issue 1
Left: Advertising 1930’s style
Married 50 years - Priceless!
After being married for 50 years, I took a careful look at my wife one day and said:
“Fifty years ago we had a cheap house a junk car, slept on a sofa bed and watched a 10 inch black and white TV,
but I got to sleep every night with a hot 23 year old girl.
Now we have an $800,000 home, a $65,000 car, a nice big bed and a large-screen TV, but I’m sleeping with a
73 year old woman. It seems to me that you’re not holding up your side of the bargain.”
My wife is a very reasonable woman. She told me to go out and find a hot 23 year old girl and she would make
sure that I would once again be living in a cheap house, driving a junk car, sleeping on a sofa bed and watching
a 10 inch black and white TV.
Courtesy of ‘The Vauxhall Enthusiast’ - Vauxhall Owners Club of N.Z.
4
_____________________________________________________________________
Latest Acquisitions and Exhibits
_____________________________________________________
A recent addition to the Motor Museum is this 1934 Studebaker Dictator Sedan in its modified form for
Variety Bash events. It has been kindly donated from the Estate of the late Marianne Brockwell. The
Studebaker, driven by team leader the late Maurice Brockwell, was a well-known competitor,
participating in seven Variety Bash events between 1991 and 2000, including one in the USA and one in
New Zealand. It also competed in three REDex Trials between 1989 and 1991 and a Heart to Heart Rally
in 1992.
________________________________________________________________________
English Fords on Show
The Classic English Ford Club of WA recently hosted its National Rally here in the West and took
advantage of the Whiteman Park Classic Car Show on May 3 to hold its Show and Shine, followed by an
evening function at the Motor Museum. Museum volunteer Rob De Burgh, who was the Rally’s
coordinator, said that it
exceeded
all
expectations with 49
small Fords taking
part; 14 of them from
east of the Nullarbor.
One extremely keen
Queenslander travelled
4,400kms to attend the
ten day event in a Ford
Prefect utility.
Left: Some of the small
Fords that took part in
the National Rally lined
up outside the Motor
Museum on May 3
5
FACELIFT FOR THE MUSEUM FORECOURT
In late March work started on a much needed facelift for the Museum’s forecourt. The project was
undertaken under a contract managed by Whiteman Park.
The catalyst for the revamp came about from an idea to create a purpose built plinth for the promotional
Morris Minor to give it prominence at the Museum’s entrance. At the same time the opportunity was
taken to complement the new resting place for the little Morrie by resurfacing the forecourt area with a
harlequin inspired oil resistant coating.
The project was completed in early May.
Further work recently carried out at the Museum was the replacement of the sky-light material in the
roof.
Above: The
new plinth
under
construction
Left: The
completed
plinth and
resurfaced
forecourt
_______________________________________________________________________________
6
Whiteman Park
Classic Car Show, Sunday 3 May
7
The following two articles were provided by Peter Taylor following a recent trip
east with his very patient wife Heather
COFFEE AND RETRO IN SYDNEY
Who doesn’t like a good coffee? It’s even better when it’s served in “THE GROUNDS” in Alexandria,
Sydney.
Located in a former industrial site of the 1920’s, The Grounds is a landmark coffee roaster, café, bar, eatery
and kitchen garden of vegetables, fragrant herbs, fresh fruit, flowers and a small animal farm featuring
“Bacon” the pig. When he was a piglet back in 2013, Bacon was pig-napped and only found after a huge
public outcry, so popular is the animal farm.
The menu for morning or afternoon tea as well as a sumptuous lunch is to die for, with presentation that
has a “Wow” factor. Well worth a “Google” to see what it has to offer. We loved it.
Just up the road is a retro second hand warehouse; Mitchell Road Antique and Design Centre. Unlike
anything we’ve seen in Perth, this shop boasts a huge array of everything retro from the 1900’s laid out in
a very clean and orderly manner without the musty dank smell so prevalent in many second hand shops.
Prices are reasonable and you can spend hours just looking. I would have spent a few thousand dollars
there on items of my childhood that brought back so many memories (in my
dreams of course).
Then, further up the road and around the corner is Lunatique, again a retro
second hand warehouse featured on Better Homes and Gardens earlier this
year. Not laid out as neatly as Mitchel Road, but again, full of many
interesting and unusual items amidst the array of expected household items.
No musty dank smell and they have a small coffee bar as well.
Both these places had a good selection of items that would be suitable in our
museum, cost was fair in comparison to what I’ve seen in Perth and I’d
probably need a 12 foot container to grab everything I thought would be good.
(Again, in my dreams of course)
A very pleasant mid-morning, or around lunch time even, could be spent in
these three locations next time you hit the old Sydney town.
MUSEUM VISITS IN NSW AND ACT
During our trip I was fortunate to visit three museums.
The first was in Gunnedah, North West NSW, to the west of Tamworth. A heritage rural museum owned
by its members. It is incorporated and controlled by a committee formed from within the membership.
Interestingly, “on loan items” are presented in the museum only while the member is financial. If a
member becomes un-financial for five years, the items become the property of the museum. Land is not
a problem as one aged farmer, Ron Grosse has a shed of his own to house this enormous collection which
he looks after in his retirement.
Committee member, Paul Gruber took the time to show me around and opened the yet to be “Opened to
the Public” sheds containing an assorted collection, including Arnotts biscuits tins, Coca Cola
memorabilia (to rival the Toodyay Café) and a shed full of cars including a Lancia Lamda, a Regal, a 38
Studebaker President, a collection of Zephyrs along with a Bug, a Moke and a couple of 24 and 29 Chevs
no less.
Although the collection does include cars, it primarily consists of rural items with many tractors and
general farm machinery along with a vast array of shearing gear, stationary engines, toys, radios, sulky’s,
garage equipment and bowsers (unrestored). Well worth a visit if you are in Northern NSW. The address
is Oxley Highway Gunnedah, phone (02) 6742 4690 open from 9am to 3pm every day except Christmas
Day and Good Friday.
Continued next page
8
Next stop was the National Museum in Canberra. Not the expected museum of old bones and stuffed
animals but rather a display of Australia’s heritage.
One wing housed many items of early farm life including an enormous windmill and the last of the three
“FX” (48-215 for the purists) prototypes shipped from the USA in 1946. The one on display is prototype
number one. Following its use as a test and promotional vehicle the car was fitted with a new engine and
sold to Holden foreman Arthur Ling. The car was later traded to a dealer in Morwell where it sat for the
next 40 years, slowly falling into disrepair. In 1999
Melbourne based Holden enthusiasts Graham and
Gavin Strongman purchased the car and over the next
12 months restored it to its final pre-production form,
incorporating many of the progressive changes
implemented by GMH during the testing phase. The
National Museum purchased the vehicle in 2004.
Interestingly, the Holden name came about by GM
executives wanting a short catchy name that was easy
to pronounce and identifiable with Australia. They
considered ‘GeM’, ‘Austral’, ’Melba’, ‘Woomera’,
‘Boomerang’ and ‘Emu’ before thankfully settling on
the surname of the company’s first chairman, Sir
Edward Holden.
If you visit the Nation’s Capital take the time to visit the National Museum on Acton Peninsula. Open
daily from 9am to 5pm (02) 6208 5000
Our next stop occurred more by accident than good planning. Kelvin Ferris had told me about the
Museum of Fire and I had no intention of travelling way out west to Penrith just to see it. Besides, Heather
had suffered the Gunnedah Museum and said ‘that’s it, the one and only museum’! I was on my own in
Canberra, having gone there to march in the ANZAC parade with 60 odd of my mates who joined the
RAAF in 1965 and to celebrate our 50th anniversary, so the Canberra Museum wasn’t a problem.
However!!!! It was decided to visit craft shops in Hornsby and Penrith where we ‘coincidently’ drove past
a fire engine on a pole. Well - fate intervened when the Penrith craft store proved to be disappointing and
Heather relented and offered to spend the time we had left to visit the Fire Museum.
What an eye opener, a fantastic collection of every fire appliance you can imagine from the 1800’s to
present day. The preservation of artefacts, helmets, badges, medals, and other memorabilia are well
displayed and identifiable. Display cabinets are on a light sensor as you walk past with a fully set up
interactive control centre, operated by a simple press of a button, depicting equipment in operation until
the late sixties. The gift shop carries a vast array of everything firefighting from models to jigsaws and
clothing.
The Curator, Mark White, gave us a good run down on the operation of the museum. A little different to
ours as they have a number of paid employees who do the behind the scenes work on office administration
and inventory and a qualified historian to maintain the history of firefighting in NSW as well as a number
of retired volunteers who do the day to day jobs around the displays and assist in the gift shop as we do.
Well worth a visit at 1 Museum Drive in Penrith, open 7 days 9.30am to 4.30pm. (02) 4731 3000.
The photographs I took at all three venues are available electronically at the Museum.
__________________________________________________
Morris Minor Airfix Kit is finally completed
One of the longer term projects at the Museum, and worked on over many months by a number of
volunteers, was ‘artwork’ in the form of a gigantic ‘Airfix Kit’ featuring a Morris Minor sedan. The artwork
has now been erected in a prominent position on the northwest corner of the building.
Continued next page
9
Airfix models were standard fare if you were a young lad growing up in the 50’s and 60’s. The Airfix
Company was founded by Hungarian businessman Nicholas Kove in 1939, and was taken over by
Humbrol in 1986 and finally Hornby in 2007.
During the 1960’s the range of models available in kit form was expanded as the hobby grew enormously.
The Airfix range now includes scale models of vintage and modern cars, motorcycles, figures, trains,
trackside accessories, military vehicles, large classic ships, warships, liners, engines, rockets and
spaceships, as well as an ever-increasing range of aircraft. Most kits are created at the "standard" scale of
1⁄ for small and military aircraft, and 1⁄
72
144 scale for airliners. After almost seventy years, the company is
going strong and is still producing a large range of models readily available on the internet and from
hobby shops.
Above: Volunteers at work
constructing the Airfix Kit
Left: The completed project now in
place in front of the Museum
A special thanks to Di Candilo Steel City for their generous sponsorship supplying the steel for the Airfix
project
Special late news update: Work is about to commence in the next few weeks on preparing the
land for the long awaited Museum Extension. More information will follow in the next edition of
Museum Musings.