Regular readers of Survivor Car Australia will remember our first outback adventure – The Great Aussie Road Trip with the Junker GT – which featured in Issue 16. The feedback on this story was incredible – leading to lots of suggestions and offers for our next road trip! One of those came from Matt Eastwood, whose Barbados Green HQ Monaro GTS coupe featured on the cover of our Best Barn-Finds special edition. Matt told us if we ever visited Tasmania he’d allow us to tour in the Qcar – an offer that could not be refused!

Back on the road again

Flying into Launceston on a sunny Sunday afternoon, we were full of anticipation and ambition – of what we would find in Tasmania. Our first stop was in Burnie with Matt, where we got to see the Qcar up close. It was every bit as impressive as the feature story, the vibrant Barbados Green paintwork with the contrasting black vinyl roof definitely makes this car a stand-out. Over a couple of Cascades and a parma at the local rub-a-dub-dub, Matt ran us by the ins and outs of the Qcar. It had been quite some time since the car had a long run – about 25 years to be precise!

Early Monday morning we hit the road, and boy was it fresh! The crackle of the 308cid V8 and rhythmic idle was comforting and gave us something to listen to whilst the car warmed up. Speaking of warming up, the great news was that the heater works in the Qcar! 

We were on our way to visit a local car enthusiast named Wade, who we’d heard had a few muscle car survivors that we just had to see, namely a HQ Monaro GTS and a HX LE coupe. [Ed: You’ll see these excellent Survivors in an upcoming edition of SCA – keep an eye out!]

Whilst talking to Wade about his cars, he mentioned that he had heard of an old Ford Escort RS2000 in an old shed on a farm near Mount Ridgeley. This was exactly the kind of thing we were hoping to find on our journey, so with a rumble we headed for the hills looking for the farm. Without an actual address to work with, we were looking for landmarks to help guide us. After a while we stumbled across an old bus depot, which looked like a structure that Wade had described to us earlier. 

Knock Knock!

Spotting some gates, and a long curvy driveway up to a house – we figured we’d try our luck that someone might be home. Spotting a late model ute with the windows down in a paddock, it was clear that someone was nearby. Calling out “Hello” and “Is anyone home?” all that could be heard was the echoes of our calls. There was lots of chopped wood in piles, some old farming equipment, and an old Bedford truck parked next to a big double-door garage. 

Knocking on the front door of the house, there was no answer – nobody home? One last tap on the timber door before we turned away, and we heard movement inside – YES – someone was home after all! “Who’s that?” was mumbled from inside the house. “Righto, I’m getting there.”

After introducing ourselves first, we met Bill – a local potato farmer and woodsman. “I was just having a nap, I’ve been workin’ since 5am this morning!” explained Bill, who was a little cautious in the beginning. “Yeah, I’ve got my wife’s old Escort in my shed.” Bill walked over to the shed and rolled the door up, revealing a Burnt Orange RS2000 sedan – which was doubling as a workbench and toolbox for Bill. “I come out here every morning. I know exactly where everything is!”

Bill was quite a character, and is still working 15 hours a day growing and harvesting potatoes. He happily told us stories about cars he’d owned and raced in the past, including the last Torana A9X hatch to be delivered to Tasmania – a Royal Plum example. He also described some very spirited night time drives home from the pub over the years. “They’d never catch me, I knew the back roads too well!” 

As we drove back down Bill’s driveway back to the main road, we couldn’t help but think what else we might find in Tassie, but we could never have predicted what we would come across next.

Proceed with Caution

Tasmania is very much old country, with many dirt roads and trails that do not appear on the road map – and definitely are not loaded into a modern GPS or Google Maps. We’d heard about a 2-door LC Torana that was parked in an old fallen down shed somewhere around Kindred. After further investigation, and some off road driving, we asked a local resident and found ourselves at another set of gates. Following the gravel road until it ended – abruptly, what greeted us was an empty muddy paddock, a line of huge trees, and way off in the distance, an old weatherboard house. 

It didn’t look like anyone had been on this property for years, and given it was wet and slippery we parked the Qcar and walked towards the old house. It was only as we got closer that we noticed a run-down timber skeleton of a shed, and a car under a tarp. We also spotted a whisper of smoke from the chimney – someone must be home or close by. 

The house didn’t seem to have a door fitted to its hinges – simply an open entrance, the weatherboards were covered in moss, and there were no lights on inside. The roof was partially collapsed, and we could see rain water leaking on to the floor in the hallway.

Calling out “Hello” and “Is anyone home?” we heard movement inside the house. A disheveled man stumbled out of the doorway looking towards us with confusion. “Who are you? What do you want?” he shouted. After explaining we were looking for an old car in a shed, the man screamed again, “Oh not again, that’s my mother’s car, leave me alone!” which was followed by some muttering to himself. “I don’t want to talk about it!” he yelled, which turned to sobbing as he cowered and put his face in his hands. The mumbling and crying continued, until he snapped and stood up straight. The man stared straight at us and roared “That’s it!” 

He ran towards his house, shouting something as he entered the doorway. Not wanting to find out what he was going to get from the house, we ran back towards the Qcar which was facing the wrong way in the wet and muddy paddock. Scrambling back to the car, there was no time for photos. As we looked back the man re-emerged from the house with something in his hand. No prizes for guessing what it was! Rushing towards the gates, we thundered back down the gravel track towards the main road. Sure, we’d found the 2-door Torana, but its story will have to remain untold. 

Tourist Attraction

Driving through Tasmania can only be described as breathtaking. It really is something special, so much colour and brightness, whether it’s the lush green paddocks and trees, the clear blue sky, or the glimmer from the sun reflecting off the many bodies of water in and around the towns and cities. We found that the best way to really take it all in was to occasionally pull over and get out of the car at random, drawing a big breath to absorb the vista which is simply stunning, and definitely a huge part of tourists’ fascination with Tasmania.

One of the must-see attractions for car enthusiasts is the National Automobile Museum of Tasmania in Launceston. The museum features many makes and models – and has a themed feature area where the cars on display change regularly. One of the more popular cars on display is another famous HQ Monaro GTS – when it dangled precariously on the edge of a fallen bridge – known as the 1975 Tasman Bridge disaster. This car is well known in Tasmania, as is the tragic story of the disaster in which 12 people lost their lives. Another notable vehicle featured at the museum is an extremely rare and valuable 1948 Tucker sedan – one of only 51 cars ever built, and believed to be the only example in Australia.

Continuing on our road trip, we headed south towards Hobart. The Qcar caught plenty of attention along the way, with lots of waves and headlight flashes from enthusiasts who were happy to see the green machine on the road. 

Each time we stopped at a landmark, whether it was the Richmond Bridge, Cataract Gorge, the Cascade Brewery, we always found someone that wanted a closer look at the Qcar, to find out what we’ve been up to and where we were heading next.

Suburban Finds

The best way to hunt old cars is to stay off the main roads and travel through the smaller suburbs and towns. Some of the best finds happen by chance, like the one owner XF Falcon S-Pack we came across after turning left, then right, then left, and then right again. We saw Dot standing on her front porch, after she’d just collected her mail. We also saw a car parked under a carport covered in a blue cover, so we asked her what it was “Oh, that’s my old red Falcon,” Dot explained.

Dot was only too happy to roll the cover back, revealing her immaculate 1985 Ford Falcon XF S-Pack that had travelled only 150,000kms since new. The car was incredible, with the red paintwork still as shiny and vibrant as it was on day one. This Survivor was still sporting the original alloy wheels and optional sun-visor, plus the matching numbers engine ran beautifully as you would expect. A surprising suburban find that we came across by chance.

Another car that we discovered totally by chance, thanks to a lead by a local, was a 1973 XA Falcon GT sedan, which had been parked decades ago under a lattice sided carport and blocked in by a bunch of bits and bobs. Amazingly, this car and the owner have some links to a particular Bathurst race car – but you’ll have to wait until a future edition of Survivor Car Australia for the full story on this dusty old bird.

Short Fuses

There is a small downside to an adventurous road trip in an old car that was parked for many years – and that is break-downs. Whilst everything possible was done to ensure the Qcar was as reliable as an old pair of boots before we embarked on the journey, something always pops up that you can’t be prepared for. 

Fuses are very small components of a car, small glass tubes housing a tiny piece of metal, however, they carry out some very important functions: Taillights, for instance. Despite having a handful of spare fuses in our tool kit, they didn’t last long – after replacing and then blowing them straight away. Eventually we found the issue, a dodgy wire connection on the boot light actuator, after blowing our way through about a dozen fuses. 

What are the Chances?

The Qcar was in its element. The winding hills and huge trees provided a wonderful backdrop to the adventure. There truly is some breathtaking scenery across Tasmania, particularly off the main thoroughfares – where Nature is ancient and the small towns are delightfully old-fashioned. It didn’t matter where we stopped, we were greeted by locals with smiles and stories, and they couldn’t wait to tell us about the old cars in their area that they knew of. 

Imagine our surprise when we pulled up at a farm towards Glengarry, where we spotted a mouldy Chrysler Centura amongst other old cars in a paddock surrounded by sheep. After talking to property owners Glenn and Mary about the handful of Mopar cars scattered around their farm, they mentioned that they had an old panel van we might be interested in, too. This wasn’t just any old panel van, it was a Drifter – a factory V8 with a 4-speed manual – the real deal! 

Glenn came across the Drifter in the bush, after hearing a rumour about the car from another local car enthusiast. It was parked because there was a crack in the chassis near the steering box, the owner simply left it out in the scrub, where it was vandalised and damaged. 

“The dent on the side is from one of our horses, it decided to take a seat right there,” explains Glenn, pointing at the side of the van. “We do plan to restore our Drifter, it’s a really rare car.” 

Glenn also had a customised Valiant Charger tucked away, and his wife Mary the proud owner of a Mercury Silver coloured Town & Country ute that resides in the same shed. Their son Luke is also a Valiant and Chrysler enthusiast and cannot wait until the Drifter is restored.

Always the Last Place you Look

On one of our last days in Tasmania, a minor disaster unfolded, leaving us stranded and locked out of the Qcar. Each night as we parked up at our accommodation, we fitted a wheel lock brace for some extra security (after all – the Qcar is irreplaceable!) and locked up the car. The next morning we’d remove the lock, warm up the Qcar, and be ready to head off on our next quest.

Well, this fresh and crisp morning we could not find the keys – they were nowhere to be found. We checked, and checked, and frantically checked again – nothing. After carefully unlocking the front door using a piece of packaging strapping, we had access to the cabin of the car – but still no way of unlocking the wheel lock! In a frenzy, we removed the back seat, maybe the keys had somehow fallen down there? But embarrassingly, the keys were hidden under a road atlas on the front passenger seat which we’d completely looked past in our haste – jammed between the base and the upright of the bucket seat. 

Happy as a Pig in…

One of our last treks took us way off the radar, no phone coverage, no street names, no turning back. We’d received a tip from someone in the know, who basically told us to follow the yellow brick road until we get to Oz – we just didn’t realize that the end of the road was a dead-end. It wasn’t the first time the Qcar got muddy, but when we heard the grunts of pigs and that smell – we decided we’d gone far enough. Stopping on the side of a dirt track, we saw a pig farmer tending to his stock. His work chariot looked a little worse for wear, car bodies littered his property inside and out of the pig pen. 

After a brief introduction, the pig farmer wandered us through his property. Hidden away under trees and beyond the mud was a handful of Valiants – rusted beyond belief. 

Stepping over a 14-inch rally wheel, we stumbled across something special. It was hard to make out, but there was block lettering H-E-M-I on the rear guard. Further investigation would reveal much more about this tired old R/T Charger – all of which will be revealed down the track in another SCA special.

Sailing Away

As we boarded the Spirit of Tasmania, our excursion to the Apple Isle was complete – this time. We’d covered lots of ground both high and low, and discovered only some of the gems that the island had tucked away. The Qcar has made the journey back across the strait – back to the mainland for the first time since it was sold new, and will be on display at an upcoming show. If you should spot it on the road, be sure to give us a wave. 

Plans have already begun for the next road trip, this time to a very special place in a very special car – so watch this space!