Don’t know about you, but I find one-marque car collections to be a bit, er, mentally limiting. Which is not to say I wouldn’t love a shed full of Porsches or Jags or whatever floats yer boat, but if you take a look at most sheds that keep the rain off a fella’s or gal’s keepers, you’ll probably find a fair bit of variation in badges.
Right now, the MBC is home to everything from a ’60s Pom, to a 21st Century Aussie with a bit of everything else in between. So I reckon it’s fair to say that, as a group, we understand the concept of credit where’s credit’s due, as opposed to the more closed-shop idea of one brand ruling supreme.
Certainly, the former is the vibe at Shepparton’s MOVE (Museum Of Vehicle Evolution) where you’ll find not just a revolving line-up of gorgeousness, but also a huge range of gear including everything from race cars, street machines, hot rods, classics, Aussie metal, busses, trucks and motorcycles.
Right at the moment, the first car you’ll see as your stroll in is the 1973 HDT XU-1 shared by Peter Brock and Doug Chivas. You may remember poor old Doug pushing the car up the hill in pit lane after it ran out of fuel on top of Mount Panorama on lap 112, handing the Bathurst win to Allan Moffat.
The car is the real deal and has been restored just so, making it an incredible time capsule and one that all true petrol heads understand the significance of. Not to mention a pretty good way to welcome MOVE guests.
The cars, bikes, busses and trucks on display speak for themselves, so we’ll let the pictures tell the story there. But it’s worth noting the museum also features a very good display of Furphy water carts and their history, a great collection of pushbikes and penny-farthings, a wall full of Bakelite radios and old gramophones and a huge collection of women’s fashion dating from first-fleet times through to about the 1970s.
There’s also an excellent (trust me) café/restaurant next door and the facility can be booked out for car club events and conferences. It’ll be hosting the Ford GT Nationals in March next year, just as an example.
According to current acting manager, Jim, the goal is for MOVE to offer something for everyone, hence the fashion and Furphy displays.
“By incorporating a lot of different components, we’ve ended up with a true attraction. And because we don’t receive any ongoing government funding (the museum runs on sponsorships and gate takings) we can call our own shots. We function on a commercial model and while our turnover might be small, our footprint is much bigger.”
Admission to the whole MOVE complex is a value-plus $20 and just $50 for a family of two adults and up to four tackers. Or, you can really get behind it and buy yourself a single or family membership at $80 or $180 per year respectively. That gets you 12 months of access, special offers, a key-ring and four passes a year for your mates.
MOVE is open every day from 10am to 4pm and it’s located at 7723 Goulburn Valley Highway, Kialla, about two hours north of Melbourne, and a nice drive to the countryside in the bargain. The rest of Shepparton and the general region is worth checking out too, with good pubs, great restaurants, a lake, heritage centre, art gallery and wineries aplenty.
STAFF FAVOURITES
HIGGO – 1968 FORD FALCON GT
Higgo didn’t take long to find his favourite in the main hall at MOVE. Mind you, Ray Charles would have spotted the red XT GT from a mile out. So what’s the attraction Higgo?
“Dad (motoring journo Paul Higgins) had one of these when they were new.”
And it wasn’t just any ordinary GT, either. Bill Bourke, the boss of Ford Oz back then, organised a ‘special’ version for him.
“Bill (Bourke) was there when Dad ordered the car and said: ‘Paul, you don’t want a standard GT’. So, Dad’s was red with a black vinyl roof, a sunroof and an eight-track player and way more grunt. So, yeah, special order.”
What happened to it?
“I have no idea, but I’d love to know where it is, if it still exists. Beyond the one-off special order of it, the thing I remember most is not being allowed to eat in the car. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t let my kids eat in this one, either.”
BLACKBOURN – COMMER KNOCKER
No surprises for guessing that Blackbourn would be magnetically drawn to something oddball. Even so, a Commer truck with the fabled, but rarely understood Knocker engine is about as out-there as it gets.
“I’ve always been attracted to stuff that doesn’t let convention get in the way of a good time. I’ll take a flat-four over an inline four every day. But when, as a kid, I learned that the Commer Knocker used a pair of pistons per cylinder and linked them to the crankshaft via rocker arms, I was sold.”
The Knocker is a two-stroke diesel that is also supercharged (it needs to be to scavenge the exhaust gasses) and they were famous for two things: The first was the propensity to snap the quill (the driveshaft) that drove the blower. And the second was the ear-shattering sound-scape they produced under load.
“The tragedy is that when Chrysler took over the Rootes Group, management took one look at the Knocker engine and said: ‘Nah, we don’t need that’. And that was the end of it. Shame.”
ANG – 1962 OLDSMOBILE STARFIRE
Lord, the ’60s was a time of great car names, wasn’t it? I mean, Starfire; it can only (assuming you disregard the tragic Holden Starfire four-cylinder that plagued early Commodores) suggest a combination of space travel, hellfire and thrust, right? Which of course, was exactly what car buyers wanted in 1962. Apparently.
Boss man Ang is one of them.
“Everything ’50s and ’60s American catches my eye. Plus, it’s my favourite combo of black with a red interior. These were such a rare car anywhere, let alone little old Australia. I first saw this car out the front of the museum on opening day. I just happened to drive past and, wow, there it was.”
The Starfire was Oldsmobile’s highest price model (in convertible form) and was designed to tackle the likes of the Caddy Eldorado. Being a ’62 model, this example has the heavily sculpted sides including those too-cool brushed-aluminium panels.
JOHNNY – GREY FERGIE TRACTOR
You can take the boy out of the country …
Johnny made a bee-line for the Grey Fergie, the classic tractor that he reckons must have kept every second farm in business back in the day. And he’d know.
Mainly because he grew up with frequent visits to the old family farm in Yarragon in the La Trobe Valley east of Melbourne. And like so many kids on farms, a Fergie was his first taste of controlling four wheels.
“Yep, I learned to drive on a Grey Fergie. I wouldn’t have even been 10 years old, but I can remember it well. I also remember that you couldn’t stop the bloody thing. Like a lot of farm machines back then, the Fergie was still running and driving long after the brakes had given up the ghost.
”He’s right, too; my own recollections of farm Jeeps, tractors and trucks was that you had to run them into the side of the nearest dam to get them to stop. And forget about one bum for every seat; these old girls often carried the whole family.
“Yeah, that’s the other thing,” says Johnny, “I can remember everybody riding on the tractor at once … people hanging off everywhere. Even then I figured it was dangerous, but imagine doing it today!”
MORLEY – 1954 FLXIBLE CLIPPER
Unconventional to the very end, Morley finds himself surrounded by jaw-dropping cars and hot rods, but still manages to choose something weird as his pick.
“Okay, so I chose a bus. But, really, it’s not the rows of bench seats or the crazy art deco styling that does it for me here, it’s the engine. This is an Ansair-built (under license) Flxible Clipper with 29 seats, a five-speed crash-box but, most importantly, a Screamin’ Jimmy up the curvy rear end.
In this case, the two-stroke GM diesel is a four-cylinder measuring 284 cubes (call it 4.7 litres) and contributing a 160-horse (119kW) kick in the pants to all 29 passengers and the driver.
This particular bus has a huge history in Australia, operating first in Tassie in the mid-50s, then in Pioneer livery before being recognised for the amazing piece of engineering it is and entering semi-retirement via a full restoration.
“If you’ve ever heard one of these gadgets roar away from a standing start, up through the gears and off into the distance, you’ll know what a biblical racket they make. Actually, racket is the wrong word; this is music. Well, to the ears of a bloke like me anyway. And remember kids, in a two-stroke, every stroke is a power stroke.”