Building a car with your son is definitely one of those Bucket List items many fathers dream about. Over the last couple of years T has been slowly restoring a Holden Torana SL/R and he is including both our son AND daughter in the process.
For a good six months T spent hours monitoring car prices on Gumtree for the perfect car to appear for sale. In early 2011 he found a 1975 SL/R in Cairns and flew up for the day to view it. He bought it on sight and organized for Ceva transport to deliver it to our address. We were lucky that it arrived here in Sydney a mere day before Cyclone Yasi hit Cairns, wiping out the garage where it had been stored.
Parked safely in our garage, T began developing his vision for the car and planning its transformation. He started by sourcing the perfect wheels. Of course it was back to Gumtree and their Parts and Accessories category which he scanned and watched, scanned and watched. This time he found the parts he was after in Perth and had the wheels couriered across to Sydney without any problem. Car enthusiasts on Gumtree are typically pretty happy to help each other out.
The arrival of the new wheels led to T teaching the kids how to change a tire. I must admit that he used our trolley jack to raise the car which is unlikely to be in the boot of any car they ever drive so learning to use a scissor jack probably needs to be on the agenda sometime. I’m proud to say that other than that small point, both kids know how to remove the wheel nuts, pull off the wheel and change it, although both need some help lifting.
Further changes to the car have included a new interior, new windows and a range of authentic Torana parts from the steering wheel to the ashtray. I think the car looks pretty good now, but I am told that it is far from finished. Gumtree Automotive continues to be the place T heads to most nights for a quick scan so he can grab finds as they appear. (Sometimes I even hop on for a browse)
This weekend, T and the kids are going to give the car an oil change together. The kids are looking forward to getting their hands dirty. I must admit I am too as it will give me a few hours to myself to read a book!