We all have different ideas of paradise, but for the mechanically-minded car enthusiast, Colin Kiel’s setup feels heaven-sent.
His Sunshine Coast home looks out over an expansive lawn, bordered by a giant aircraft hangar-like workshop and two freshly-built ‘show sheds’ housing cars and memorabilia.
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With the shed roller doors raised, and the eclectic pieces of motoring history on proud display, it must feel like being a king surveying his kingdom. The subjects just happen to be beautifully restored and maintained vehicles, from a 1908 twin-cylinder Sears Motor Buggy, to a 1926 Panhard et Levassor X-46 Torpedo and bright red 1957 Chevrolet Corvette.
Most of us fantasise about owning a car collection, but there’s the inconvenient reality of having to maintain them. Mechanics have an obvious advantage here, and Colin’s life working with cars and deep understanding of these now ancient mechanicals means he can keep his fleet in running order.
Classic convoy
Colin and wife Maxine have recently relocated from Victoria to Queensland, moving their ‘4C’s Motor Museum’ with them. Colin’s Chair of the Australian Motor Museums Association (AMMA), and is strong advocate for maintaining historical vehicles and educating current and future generations about their significance.
And as anyone working in the restoration and classic car maintenance business knows, the old skills required for this are dying off, and there aren’t enough youngsters coming through to fill the void. For mechanics with a passion for older vehicles, there’s opportunity aplenty if you’ve got the required patience.
An electromechanical engineer by trade, Colin has a longstanding love of old vehicles. His first was a 1960 MG A Mk1, bought when he was 21 years old, which he reveals was roughly half a century ago. He won his class at an MG concours event, firing him up to continue his hobby.
“You could buy MGs for about $300 back then, and there were loads of spare parts,” he said. “The parts boys would know me well as I’d be in almost every Saturday morning; could see I was young and enthusiastic and would look after me. My father and grandfather were very hands-on people, so restoration made sense to me.”
His working life included designing and manufacturing the hanging speakers for cars at drive-in theatres (remember them?), but his workmates were also into old cars, so “it was always something to talk about at lunchtime.”
Colin bought one of the very earliest Land Rovers – a 1948 pre-Series 1 – which his mate found on a farm with a tree growing through its middle. Once restored and enjoyed it moved on (it’s the car he misses most, apparently), and now having children, he was into a Series 1 Jaguar. But most of his other car projects were put on ice due to business and family focus.
Dust off
When his youngest graduated, Colin got busy making up for lost time. “We decided we’d go back and start playing again,” he said, soon buying an elegant Jaguar Mark V and gorgeous 1934 S.S. open four-seater sports. The S.S. brand morphed into Jaguar after World War 2 – those two letters were a bit tarnished after Hitler’s efforts.
“Grace and pace; that’s Jaguar,” Colin said. “They’re just beautiful, and even today, very few cars have the same ride and comfort that Jaguar suspension provides.”
His targets were restored cars without the tough mechanical work completed, allowing him to put his skills to best use. “I buy cars with the beautification done like the body and paint, then I rebuild the engines and more or less do all the mechanicals,” he explained. “For me, it’s a lot easier to repair the engine than it is to have a body repainted.”
The really vintage stuff doesn’t daunt Colin, helping his museum display vehicles almost from the dawn of motoring. The horseless carriage Sears Motor Buggy is the eldest; this 1908 twin-cylinder automobile with tiller rather than round steering wheel was bought via mail order for $395 back in the day. A roof was an extra $5.
Colin bought it as a wreck and has completed a superb full restoration, with 1895 Melbourne-manufactured coach lamps – picked up at a swap meet – looking resplendent on the front. Ready to drive (slowly) on Australian roads, Colin said he’s waiting for the right rally to debut it at.
Alongside is a 1922 Citroen Boattail Doctor’s Coupe – head gasket needs fixed on that one – and then a grand 1912 Star Tourer with a Colin-rebuilt drivetrain. The defunct Star Motor Company brand was apparently the UK’s biggest car manufacturer that year, and this 2.5-litre 16 H.P. open-top is poshly appointed with rear passenger glass screen and drinks cabinet. Its external timber is Australian blackwood, and is one of just four examples remaining in the world.
Bits and pieces
As you’d expect, parts aren’t easy to come by. Colin’s more about repairing and rebuilding bits, as often that’s the only option. But he has resources. The ’34 S.S. now uses as 1936 Jaguar 2.5-litre engine, making life a bit easier. “With a mate I bought a collection of 12 Mark V Jaguars, so I’ve got lots of spares there,” he explained.
His massive workshop houses neatly labelled boxes of old car parts in the rafters, while ground level features a hoist, pulleys to lift heavy oily bits and even a Coventry Climax forklift with Jaguar badges (Bill Lyons of Jaguar fame bought the company in 1962).
There’s the rolling chassis of a 1949 Mark V Jaguar drophead coupe – its body is away for repair – while a lifetime of tools fill the walls alongside a heavy-duty drill and small lathe for polishing and refurbing generators, starter motors and the like. “I’m in here seven days a week,” Colin said. “It’s a hobby that keeps me going, and keeps the grey matter ticking over.”
Despite passion for all his cars, Colin has a particular soft spot for his French 1926 Panhard et Lavassor X46 16CV Torpedo. It’s been in Australia for almost a century, features a 3.2-litre twin sleeve valved engine and seven-seat Aussie-built Martin and King (Victoria) body.
The original car burned in 1939 bushfires, leaving little but the chassis and parts of bodywork. Colin has painstakingly restored it over 20 years, even travelling to Paris to source parts. Good excuse for a Euro holiday.
“It has two crankshafts, eight sensor valves, four separate heads, eight sets of rings and 12 conrods,” he said. “Engineering-wise they’re a delight to work on; just absolutely beautiful,” showing me one of the silky smooth-operating sleeve valves. “These engines were good for 650,000 miles.” Not many French cars have a reputation to match that in recent decades.
His American section includes a 1937 Studebaker President with South Australian T.J. Richards body and 250 cu in straight eight, and a 164 cu in 1951 Studebaker Bullet with distinctive pointy nose. Then there’s the Rock ‘n Roll toy. A bright red 1957 Chevrolet Corvette, this one with ‘Fuel Injection’ written down its flanks, which has been in Australia and in right-hand-drive since 1959.
Sadly, when it was converted in Sydney, the linkages for the fuel injection were now on the wrong side of the engine, and try finding an Aussie mechanic who knew much about fuel injection in the 1950s. A single-barrel Holley was put on instead, but Colin got busy upgrading to twin Webers. No more fuel injection, but good grief that V8 sounds good on carbies.
Into the sunset
There’s another 1949 Mark V Jaguar saloon, this parked beside a 1950 Lagonda LB6 Drophead Coupe. The latter has an aluminium body and six-cylinder twin OHC designed by W.O Bentley, and was originally owned by Winston Churchill’s grandniece. Solid English history there. Absent from the British section was Colin’s 2005 Bentley Flying Spur – his modern luxury choice which was away for body work.
Speaking about his collection, Colin said he uses each car on rotation. “You’ve got to properly run them. We take them on long drives and really enjoy club rallies. Sometimes they drive like crap for a few days, then they suddenly run beautifully. You must use them.”
But he’s concerned about the long-term prospects of older vehicles, and “the future of motor museums across the world is pretty glum,” he said. Museums like his aren’t eligible for grant funds, making them hard to stay open unless self-funded. “But we don’t mind that,” he said. “It’s all about the camaraderie and keeping the history alive.”
Colin also compels younger mechanics to consider a career working with classic vehicles. “They’re so rewarding and often easy to work on,” he said. “It can be hard finding parts and frustrating repairing things, but there are no electronics to worry about, and as you’re in demand, it can be lucrative and very satisfying too.”