By Kath Gannaway
When Rob Holland was told by an auctioneer that the car he wanted to buy was a two for one deal, or no deal, and that the other car had been buried in a creek, his response was “that should be fine”.
Turned out the car, crushed beyond recognition under tons of dirt and ravaged by years as part of a make-shift dam wall, was not just fine, it was the find of the century.
What he had was the remains of a unique 1928 Buick speedster with a rip-roaring story to tell.
Rob, a Healesville car collector and restorer spent 12 years from around 2000 rebuilding the brilliant red six-wheel equipped, boat-tail speedster classic which this week will go on show at Motorclassica – The Australian International Concours d’Elegance and Classic Motor Show -in Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Buildings.
In its second appearance at Motorclassica, it will represent the 1920s era in a tribute showcase to five decades of Australian-made Holden cars.
Rob was unable to resist doing a bit of research into the car’s colourful past and was hooked … left with no option, he says, but to bring her back to life.
The car was made by Holden in Australia for the American market to compete in the Brooklands Time Trials in England.
With calculations confirming it would have been capable of 140 miles per hour, there’s little doubt it would have smashed the top speeds being achieved at that time for a production-type car.
It wasn’t to be. Brooklands closed before the Aussie classic got a chance to compete, and in the first of its clashes with the law, police ordered it off the track and banned it from racing.
Repatriated to Australia, it was sold to a private buyer who had a need for speed.
Painted matte black and with the headlights removed, it was pressed into service for the over-the-border illicit booze trade around Mildura and Swan Hill.
It was a thorn in the side of local police for more than 30 years.
Rob’s first indication of this part of the story came as he was driving the crushed remains of the car out of Swan Hill.
“I didn’t realise what I’d bought until I was stopped by local police who told me the car was marked as never to be registered again.
“It had a reputation, nicknamed ‘the moonlight speedster’ because the guy used to do a run every time there was a full moon.
“If the cops chased him, he would turn off the lights and because of the jet black paint job, they couldn’t see him.”
The car’s clandestine career was no secret in the industry, and Rob said that in 1932 Chevrolet in Australia brought out a ‘commemorative’ car called the Moonlight Speedster.
“It was produced in low numbers, and I think they got into a bit of trouble for their efforts,” he said.
Not surprisingly, as police were still being dogged by the original which operated all through the alcohol wars until 1964.
When police eventually got hold of the car, they bulldozed it into a local creek, and as Rob says, put ****loads of dirt on it.
“It was less than a foot high when I bought it as part of a $200 deal, and it came home in a 6×4 trailer in pieces,” he said.
Rebuilding the car was a 12-year commitment, and it was a family effort with sons Jarrah and Storm working with Rob on the car and wife Judy backing his passion through every late-night session in the back shed and with every signing of a cheque.
“At the end of the day, you can’t do something like this without your family, they are the ones who give you the inspiration,” Rob said.
He said everything was rebuilt, reconditioned or remade.
“Ninety per cent of the car is original parts from when it raced in Brooklands, the rest of it is manufactured to original specifications.
The process was gruelling. Twelve months spent on the wheels alone, stripping down six wheels and making 64 spokes for each of them from scratch.
Parts had to be carved from wood to be recast as a one-off before being filed, polished and chromed.
Once he started, Rob says he had no choice but to keep going.
“You can’t walk up Mount Everest, get halfway and turn around … you’d be gutted for the rest of your life,” he said.
“I’m glad I did it, and it’s fantastic that this car is a survivor.”
The beautiful 1928 Buick Speedster is a tribute car in every respect – to Holden’s place in Australia’s car industry, to Rob and his family … and even to its colourful, ratbag history.
Only in Australia!
Motorclassica is on at the Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne from 13 to 15 October.
Visit www.motorclassica.com.au for more information.
