Family FC

[stapla]

I will be traveling from Adelaide to Wagga this weekend to surprise my grandad with his 59 FC that he purchased new.

It has had a restoration performed over the last year.

Once my mission is accomplished I will have more information to share.

Cheers
Peter.

 

[Paul In Ireland]

Don't forget to take photos and say hello to my sister for me!!

[DN2168]

That's unreal Peter, he will be stoked.

Dean.

[brads59]

Im sure he will be in tears.
Youve done a great job too.
Well done.

[stapla]

Well, this afternoon I finally acheived one of my life dreams.

Short recap.

Grandad purchased FC special as a brand new in late '59.
Car has been shed'd since 79 when I was 1 year old.
I fell in love with the as a kid when grandad used to take car from shed run it for 10mins and keep motor fresh.  Seats were removed for rust repairs and we used to sit on oil tins.

"One day" I dreamed of restoring the old car.

Fast forward to easter 2009.  Grandad (now 79) ran into illness. That "one day" came last easter when I hooked up a hire car trailer over the easter weekend and did a 2000km round trip from adelaide to grab the car.  I told grandad I wasn't sure when I would do anything with the car, however I started straight away.  The whole restoration was done without telling them.

12 months later - car was finished this week and I've driven the 1000kms to surprise them.

More info on this website that I've been doing for family.  Now I'm happy to share with the entire forum.  http://www.byh841.com   

There is some photo and a bit of a blog / story.  The blog has the most current stuff at the top.  For those that are interested it might read better if you go to the last page first and read it from start to finish instead of "finish to start"

Cheers
Peter.

[Paul In Ireland]

That is just fantastic. I look forward to the last installment of photos etc.

I hope you're all proud of what you did and I bet your Grandad was stunned!


Paul
 

[Martin]

Peter,

I was going to bed a couple of hours ago, but have been reading your blog and having a look at the pics..

Congratulations on a great achievement - a complete rebuild to achieve what is probably better than what grandad actually purchased back in 1959.

... and heart-in-the-mouth stuff - heading for Wagga, wondering if you were going to get there.

When the penny dropped, the look on the oldies' faces would have been priceless.

Fantastic stuff.  What more can I say??

Martin

[GOA350]

Love the story,
 The Hayshed FC that i just did is exactly the reverse of those colours, we should have some photos side by side at the Nats!

[NosFEratu]

Glad to hear you got there without too many issues. And it must have felt great finally revealing the secret build to your grandad! I'm sure he would have been absolutely stoked. 

[stapla]

Thanks all for the responses. 

Yes the photos sound a good idea GOA350.

I've spent the last day soaking up stories from my grandparents about the car. 

I found out if you remove the rear seats it used to fit 6 railway sleepers.  I'm amazed the interior was all still very good.

Also if the rear seat was out it used to sleep 3 kids.  One in front and 2 in rear.  The adults used to sleep in some kind of "auto tent" joined to the car.

Also they've found some 50 year old black/white photos of the FC when it was near new.

Another tip is if your radiator fills up with lucusts badly and you can't remove them from tight inside the fins, remove the radiator and pour petrol over it and ignite.  The last bits of the lucusts will burn away.


Cheers
Peter

[Hewart]

Congrats Peter... great story and an awesome job!!

Looking forward to seeing the old girl in Orange....

Those 50-year-old B&W photos sound great too.... History you can't buy....

Well done!

Cheers, Les...

[stapla]

I've just had a look at a couple of my old posts for a giggle.

I joined the forum late 2005 and asked about professional restoration options in Adelaide.

I didn't post again till late 2008 and was asking about some cheap parts to get the FC moving. 

I still laugh at part of Ken MCL1959 response at asking for some 2nd hand brake masters and other bits.

"appreciate that all this costs money - These cars are not for those that can't afford to maintain them properly or trying to find shortcuts. The cheap fix up and run car now is an early Commodore"

Not kens fault, I didn't make myself clear when I asked for the cheap brake bits.  I just wanted the car to be able to drive around the yard with my grandparents in it before it got loaded up onto the trailer.

Infact ken has been very helpful in assisting my project when I needed odd parts and answering those beginner forum questions.  I'm sure he provides the same assistance to many others on the forum.  Thanks again ken, your assistance has helped make this project a reality.

I have a bunch of other people to thank but wanted to make a special thanks to ken.

[zulu]

A good story Peter, congratulations on your effort!

This may be the tent your grandparents were reffering to, although there were probably others



It was from Chapel engineering in South Yarra

[FC0058]

Hi Peter
I saw you on the Highway yesterday on the Adelaide side of Murray Bridge cruzin along. Congrats on your award and all the hard work you put into restoring what is now your very own FC Holden.

I bet your glad to be home.

Cheers Jim

[fe-ambo]

Your car is a credit to you and your Grandparents would be wrapped to see such a great resto done on it. Congratualtions on your well deserved trophy at Orange.

Thanks again for stopping at Wagga when I was broken down.
Look forward to the next time we can catch up

Cheers
Paul

[stapla]

Thanks Paul and Jim,

I arrived back home safely yesterday from NSW.  I was able to spend some more time with the grandparents after the NATS finished. 

On the way home I had to stop for about 100+ head of cattle across the highway.  Straight away I remembered a story that my grandad was telling me about the FC and how a bull had sat on the front guard many years ago, denting the panel.  No problems on my trip though.

I hope to upload some of the B/W photos of the car within the next few days.

Thanks Zulu for the photo of the autotent.  I've found an old photo of their tent hooked up to their previous car the FJ.  The FJ which was traded in for the FC.

Cheers
Peter.

[hrpremier]

What an amzing read.

I know what passion you must have for this car.

I, for the last 8 years have been trying to find my grandfathers Monza Blue with a White Roof HT Premier with the intension of restoring it and handing it to my dad, as it was the family car as he grew up, seeing as my grand-dad has passed away.  I know it was last registered to someone in Kalangadoo, Sth Australia and can only hope its still there in a shed covered in dust waiting for me.  Its a long shot but its all I've got. Plus the fact I now live in Cairns, some 4500 kms away.

I dont even own the car im looking for (Really giving up hope of finding it - probably gone to the big graveyard in the sky), but still I am passionate about wanting it a restoring it.

Your story is a great read, amazing inspiration and a credit to the effort you have put in to get it to where it is today. 

As for the two blokes stranded on the side of the road with Generator problems ... Yes they seem like "top blokes" but first impressions can be deceiving.       (Sorry Paul could not help myself) 

I hope you have many wonderful memories with the car in years to come.

Jase

[stapla]

An update to this post from 2010.

My grandad has passed 16/11/2012. 

For those that didn't catch the story the first time, my grandad purchased a two tone grey FC brand new in 1959.  I fell in love with it as a tiny kid and the car was promised to me from a very early age.  I called it the "old bomb" but I still loved it.

Easter 2009 I bit the bullet and decided to drive from SA to NSW with a hire car trailer (sorry caltex servo, forgot to tell you that bit), and pick the car up from my grandparents.  Secretly I commenced a ground up resto. 

It took exactly 1 year and I drove it back to NSW during Easter 2010.   We video'd me driving the car in their backyard and their surprise.  I will never forget these memories.  I keep a website and blog of the project.

The car managed to get in top 20 fe/fc's at the nats that year.

Video of the surprise FC reveal - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3K1DeUg7sc
Website and blog http://www.byh841.com

Peter.

[NosFEratu]

Hi Peter

So sad to hear of your grandad's passing.  But so glad to know that you were able to undertake your restoration in plenty of time for both of you to gain enjoyment from it.
 
Keep your all your memories close to mind and while the sadness of losing him will never pass, in time, the good memories will gradually outweigh this particular memory. 

Kathi

[fe-ambo]

Hi Peter,

I am sorry to hear of your loss. This makes the restoration and surprise visit with the FC even more precious memory for you.

Regards
Paul