July 2018 Issue Number 188 Page 2 Southern Tablelands Heritage the Wheel # 188 Automotive Restorers Club, Inc

Southern Tablelands Heritage Automotive Restorers Club Inc. page 1 July 2018 Issue number 188 page 2 Southern Tablelands Heritage The Wheel # 188 Automotive Restorers Club, Inc. PO Box 1420, Queanbeyan NSW 2620, AUSTRALIA President Geoff Rudd 0413446430 Vice President Joe Vavra 0407331048 Secretary Lawrie Nock 6230 3320 Email: [email protected] Membership Secretary Pam Corbett 6297 7285 Public Officer Chris Hillbrick -Boyd 62976014 Treasurer Brian Thomas 6242 5863. Events Director Max De Oliver 0427977763 Events Committee David Torricke-Barton 0401 071 143 David Arton 0414 923 349 Registrar John Corbett 6297 7285 Email: [email protected] Vehicle Inspectors Albert Neuss 6297 6225 Webmaster Malcolm Roxburgh 6236 9408 Email [email protected] Editor Rosemary Thomas 0438056938 Email: [email protected] Property Officers Ray & Barbara Malam 6238 3581 Publishing Committee Ronda Cornwell 0438 973 174, with Krystyna McLeish, and Jane Nock Website: www.stharc.org.au Club Email: [email protected] Club Meetings held at 8pm; 1st Tuesday of each month (except January) at the Girl Guide Hall, Erin St, Queanbeyan. Magazine Contributions should be submitted before the 15th of the month for the following month's issue. Articles covering events, members’ experiences, automotive/amechanical items or photographs welcomed. The editor reserves the right to accept, reject or modify any section of any article submitted for publication. The opinions and views expressed in the articles published in The Wheel are wholly those of the respective authors, not necessarily those of the Editor, or the Committee of the Southern Tablelands Heritage Automotive Restorers Club Inc. Previous copies of The Wheel are available from Australian National Library, Call No N796.70994WHE Photos/text are used with permission are © copyright of the owners and or SHTARC, or are public domain (if so indicated), or are used for “fair- use review” only. That is - images illustrate text next to which it appears, which provides critical commentary on the work in question for which it promotes. The images are of lower resolution and quality than the original (copies made from it will be of inferior quality). No free equivalent is available or could be created that would adequately give the same information. It is not replaceable. The image does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute the artwork in any way. The image's inclusion in the article is important because it is the subject of and is discussed in the text. The image is being used for informational purposes only. The material has previously been published in numerous sources, & on the internet with higher resolution images available elsewhere (Eg Amazon.com, Ebay.com). Online publication: ISSN 2208-1593. Southern Tablelands Heritage Automotive Restorers Club Inc. page 3 Minutes of General Meeting - June 2018 Held at: Girl Guides Hall, Erin Street Queanbeyan Guest speaker: Darryl Burke Meeting Commenced: 8.05 pm Attendance: 34 members Apologies: as per attendance book Visitors: Guest speaker and 3 prospective new members In the absence of both the President and Vice President and with the agreement of those present at the meeting, the meeting was presided over by the Treasurer, Brian Thomas. Confirmation of Minutes of May meeting: June edition of The Wheel. President has advised that the minutes as published do not reflect his contribution to the May meeting. On examination it was discovered that 5 paragraphs of the report provided by the President to the meeting did not appear in the published minutes. Missing text of President’s report to the May monthly meeting of STHARC: I was only able to attend Wheels of Wamboin and the men’s coffee morn- ing as far as our Club events were concerned during April. The Wheels of Wamboin was well attended by both our Club members and the general public. A total of 175 vehicles were on display according to a report in the Bungendore Weekly. My son Andrew and I travelled 1250 kms in a 50 year old Dodge semi- trailer to take part in the “Crawling the Hume” event. It was, as always, a good event except for very heavy rain on the Saturday afternoon. A lot of time was spent at the April Committee Meeting discussing the Club Constitution and a lot of time since the meeting has been spent on this matter. I would particularly like to thank Malcolm Roxburgh, Chris Hill- brick-Boyd, Brian Thomas and Lawrie Nock. My plan is after tonight’s discussion to have a final proposal published in continued page 9 Our thanks to Homestead Press for their support: 3 Paterson Pde, Queanbeyan NSW 2620 Tel: 026299 4500 Fax: 026299 4200 Email [email protected] page 4 The Wheel # 188 What is that little red blur? By Stephen Cole, and some photos by Pam Corbett. Well last year I gave up the search for a Valiant utility to match my 1972 Valiant Charger. I had bought a rust free CL ute to restore and then discovered that it would cost me around $30,000 to restore it to an equivalent condition to the Charger. Looking on-line I could pay $25,000 or more for and immaculate one but there are hundreds of them around and they just look like any other ute. I hoped for something a bit different? I have always admired those stepside pickups that were so popular in the USA in the 1960s and 1970s. We’ve all seen the Chev and Ford stepsides and admired their lines and the rum- ble of an iron V8. Well Chrysler made them too - as Dodge pickups. They used the same numbering systems as the other brands - such as the Ford F100, F150 - Dodge made a D100, D150. Why Dodge? Well the brand is another in the Chrysler stable so I can continue to take it to Chryslers on the Murray in Albury, my annual pil- grimage. Towing my Chrysler Conqueror boat with it appealed too. Trawling the net over a 6 month period showed me there were thousands of Dodge D150 short wheelbase pickups made and on-sale in the US at modest prices. It piqued my interest because cars built pre- 1989 do not have to be converted to right hand drive and can be regis- tered as historic vehicles. This allows 60 days use per year, more than enough for my weekend needs given I can’t drive both cars at the same time. One standout vehicle caught my eye immediately – the little red blur. This was the nickname of the 1978/79 Dodge D150 little red express pickups. You see in 1978, Dodge worked out that the pickups were ex- empt from the pollution controls that was hampering performance of cars of the era. As a result they raided the Chrysler parts bins and dropped a worked over 6 litre V8 into the smallest of the pickups, the D150. It incorporated a high performance carburettor and high lift cam- shaft, lots of chrome and unique twin fresh air inlets under the head- lights. Southern Tablelands Heritage Automotive Restorers Club Inc. page 5 The engine was just a part of a unique package that became part of the Dodge “big boys toys” range. Canyon red paint with special gold “little red express” emblems and white oak timber tray accents, and those spectacular exhausts. Big chrome rims and a high end interior “Adventurer 150” package finished off one of the most unique pickups ever produced in the USA - and it went! In 1978 it was the fastest US built car - capable of 0-60 MPH times that even today are impressive (6.9 seconds). Weight was the key – the short bed pickup weighed only 3000 lbs. which is about the same as my wife’s 2008 VW Passat! The LRE sold in relatively modest numbers (a total of around 7300 were produced over two years).It is a crazy machine labelled even today as the last of the US muscle cars of the era. I was sold. There are lots of cars in the US and thousands for sale. On any day you can find a dozen or more of the model that interests you and the little red express (lets call him Rex) is no exception. Prices are incredibly varia- ble but you have to be very careful. Cheap ones are cheap because of the hidden problems. I trawled through dozens and had several vehicles inspected. Prices ranged from a couple of thousand dollars for total re- builders to US $35K for high end restorations. I wanted something different, and without rust and definitely not high mileage. Finally after several months Rex popped up. 4935 original miles, and in unmolested original condition but somewhat neglected in recent years. I used a local agent in Australia - Iconic American Imports. Bill Comblas is a great guy and very passionate. He understood I wasn’t a FIFO with unlimited cash and helped me secure Rex and arranged all of the transport and import requirements. Continued page 6 page 6 The Wheel # 188 Continued from page 5 My advice is to use an agent. They have good working relationships with customs and quarantine and make the import process simpler and less worrying. Bill navigated Rex through the quagmire of asbestos (removed all the brake pads and replaced them in the US). This issue is a big prob- lem for imports. Also, make sure you fully understand of all of the costs – transport in the US, sea container and locally, import fees and charges and asbestos removal, and don’t forget you will have to pay GST on arri- val. So now Rex is gleaming in my garage.

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