I took this photo at Gladstone. This car was Owned by Club members John and Nancy Davies.
– Gladstone vintage Cars
1932 Willys Overland.
1932 Willys Overlander – Dot and Arthur bought this car from the late Bill and Elsie Turner. 18 years previous Bill had painted and reupholstered it, along with other parts that needed restoring. The wooden body frame was manufactured in 1932 by Holden and is still original. Tourers like this one were built in America and Canada for export, but no records are available in America of this model and less than five are still on Australian roads today.
The engine options were 6 & 8 cylinder poppet valve or sleeve valve.
Willys manufactured 6-90 engines to fit the green diamond international trucks 1932 to 1935. The 6-90 was the last model before the Willys 77. The motor was used on the famous Jeep
1932 Willys Overland Specifications
6 cylinder side valve
25 – 35 HP.
65 BHP.
Wheel base 113 inches
Track 58 1/4 inches
1942 Willys Jeep
1942 Willys Jeep Another Vehicle at Eddie Phillips place, a 1942 Willys Jeep. Eddie said that it was a goer, but he had not had it running for a while, and a few of the Club members were ready for a test run. But directly behind it was a tractor with a flat tyre and no battery. So we missed out.
1929 Willys
1929 Willys – A recent visit to Eddie Phillips place at Bororen gave the Gladstone Vintage and Classic car club members a chance to check out some of Eddies stationary Engines etc. In the back yard we came across these two 1929 Willys.
Eddie said the rest was in the shed , so we went and had a look.. Sure enough we came across a pile of bumpers mudguards, bits. What laid underneath this collection? We never looked.
Some Willy History The first Willys vehicles first appeared in 1909. John North Willys had rescued the Overland company a couple of years earlier . The early vehicles did not sell well, it would 
seem . J.N. Willys had a philosophy of prestige but the market place was looking for a more economical vehicle. Willys best know vehicle was the Willys jeep , the design was evolved through the Bantam car Company, but a lack of production facilities found willys with a contract to build the military version. Willys produced around 360,00 vehicles by 1945.
A good number of these jeeps are still to be found on our roads, and although an not overly comfortable little vehicle, they do have a history and are extremely collectable. Not to be ignored is that they are a great deal of fun go ‘most places’ vehicle.
1927 Vauxhall R type 20/60
1927 Vauxhall R type 20/60 Grafton cabriolet coupe – Owned by Ron and Joy Capil Ron and Joys latest acquisition is a 1927 R type 20/60 Grafton cabriolet coupe, to give it its correct title. Coach built body by The Grosvenor Carriage Coy Ltd London. As far as we know, this is the only example of this body style still on the road in Australia with only one other known to exist in the UK. –
The Capil’s purchased the car from Devonport in Tasmania, where it has been since about 1945. It was originally a Victorian car owned by a Queensland cane cutter. It underwent a partial restoration approximately 10 years ago. The mileage on the car at 33,000 is believed to be the genuine mileage the car has travelled.
1960 Vauxhall Cresta
Ron and Joy Capils 1960 PAY Vauxhall Cresta
The PC Model was launched at Earls Court Motor Show in October 1965 as a Cresta and Cresta Deluxe. The Viscount, the most luxurious Vauxhall of the period, was introduced in 1965. Standard fitment included individual reclining front seats, leather upholstery, power windows, vinyl roof, heated rear window and power steering.
The engine is a six-cylinder (3.3 litres) 8.5:1 compression ratio. OHV with Zenith carburettor, and develops 124 bhp (net) at 4600 rpm and 174 lb of torque at 2400 rpm.
Various Transmissions were available during the models run. Initially, the two-speed Powerglide was standard with a four-speed manual as an option. From late 1970 the GM 3 speed automatic replaced the Powerglide. (this was the European equivalent to the Holden Trimatic). The suspension is by coil springs, wishbones and anti-roll bars at the front, with a live axle half elliptic leaf springs and a radius arm at the rear.
This particular example is in original condition, has had two previous owners, and only 55000 miles. It was a New Zealand new import, first registered on 1st march 1971.
Ron and Joy brought this car to Australia in March 1966.
The PC Vauxhall was a popular model in New Zealand, with the basic Cresta being assembled by General Motors. All Cresta Deluxe and Viscount models were imported fully assembled from the Luton factory in England. An Estate model was also available in the UK. But unaware if any going to New Zealand..
The PC continued in production until late 1972. No changes were made to the body were made during the 7 years of production, however, some minor mechanical trim and fittings did occur. In Total, 53,012 Cresta’s were produced and 7,025 Viscounts.
The PC was not replaced in Vauxhalls model range until 1978 when the Viscount Royale was released. This was a re-badged Opel Senator.
Vauxhall Motors is now an assembler of GM designs, mainly Opels. A number of them are identical to the current imported Holden Models.
There are 19 PC model Vauxhalls currently registered with the Vauxhall owners Club of Australia.
1971 Vauxhall Viscount PCE
Ron and Joy Capils 1971 Vauxhall Viscount Model PCE
One of the last in the line of large Vauxhalls and a continuation of the PA & PB Velox and Cresta models which were assembled in Australia by GMH between 1958 and 1964.
The PC Model was launched at Earls Court Motor Show in October 1965 as a Cresta and Cresta Deluxe. The Viscount, the most luxurious Vauxhall of the period, was introduced in 1965. Standard fitment included individual reclining front seats, leather upholstery, power windows, vinyl roof, heated rear window and power steering.
The engine is a six cylinder (3.3 litre) 8.5:1 compression ratio. OHV with Zenith carburettor, and develops 124 bhp (net) at 4600 rpm and 174 lb of torque at 2400 rpm.
Various Transmissions were available during the models run. Initially, the two speed Powerglide was standard with a four-speed manual as an option. From late 1970 the GM 3 speed automatic replaced the Powerglide. (this was the European equivalent to the Holden Trimatic). The suspension is by coil springs, wishbones and anti-roll bars at the front, with a live axle half elliptic leaf springs and a radius arm at the rear.
This particular example is in original condition, has had two previous owners, and only 55000 miles. It was a New Zealand new import, first registered on !st march 1971.
Ron and Joy brought this car to Australia in March 1966.
The PC Vauxhall was a popular model in New Zealand with the basic Cresta being assembled by General Motors. All Cresta Deluxe and Viscount models were imported fully assembled from the Luton factory in England. An Estate model was also available in the UK. But unaware if any going to New Zealand..
The PC continued in production until late 1972. No changes were made to the body were made during the 7 years of production, however, some minor mechanical trim and fittings did occur. In Total, 53,012 Cresta’s were produced and 7,025 Viscounts.
The PC was not replaced in Vauxhalls model range until 1978 when the Viscount Royale was released. This was a re-badged Opel Senator.
Vauxhall Motors is now an assembler of GM designs, mainly Opels. A number of them are identical to the current imported Holden Models.
There are 19 PC model Vauxhalls currently registered with the Vauxhall owners Club of Australia.
1949 Austin A40 Devon
1949 Austin A40 Devon owned by Keith Parsloe –
In the late Eighties Keith decided to shop around for an older car suitable for restoring. His first choice was a 1959 6 cylinder Chrysler Royal (those were the days) But after a fruitless search settled for an A40 Chassis and related bits A few people told him it would never become a vehicle and be registered and on the road. Well that was all Keith needed and set out to prove them wrong. One mistake he did make though. It was not until he was well into the rebuilding process before he started taking photos Because he wanted to be able to work on the car, and also to be able to move the car to one side when other jobs came along, Keith scrounged up materials and knocked up a frame on some old coaster wheels, and included a pivot point so the body could be spun and locked in a suitable working position. This worked well and he reckons it saved him from getting a sore back!.
In the early nineties the Austin while not totally finished was ready to be registered. Since then the work on the Austin stopped and Keith is getting too much enjoyment out of driving it to do the final “pretty up”
But you only have to look at the photo above (taken on a recent rally) to appreciate that Keith’s idea of a ” Final pretty up” is probably buffing the windscreen wipers
1954 Austin A40 Somerset
1954 Austin A40 Somerset owned by Rob and Sylvia Charles –
Rob and Sylvia Charles 1954 Austin A40Somerset
This Somerset began its life in Australia by being off-loaded from a ship in Sydney in October 1954.
Thirty seven of them were “Shanghaied” while on the way to New Zealand. Somehow it ended up in a showroom for G&D Motors in Toowoomba where it was sold to Thomas Young of Amby for the sum of Eight hundred and sixty five pounds on the 5th of November 1954. It stayed on and around the farm at Amby for close to forty years until it was traded in on a Chevrolet after Thomas Young passed away. Rob Charles swapped a $ wheel drive Japanese Jeep for it.
Rob repaired the front end, replaced a couple of valves, replaced a little upholstery, and slapped on a coat of paint. A totally original car apart from a new radio and the above mentioned.
( Recent work includes (from memory ) a new head Gasket…….Tubby)
1949 Austin A40
1949 Austin A40 owned by John and Jenny Hinde’s –
When John, Natalie, Timothy and Cassie, all jump into the Austin and Jenny throws in the picnic basket, and the folding table there is not a lot of space. But with the Essex ( see photo below) with a top speed of “Plod” it is not surprising that they use the Austin for out of town rallies
The Austin and the Hinde’s have rallied to Bundaberg several times, Biloela, Monto and over Easter the Austin rally in Rockhampton. In the Austin’s over Australia Rally in Toowoomba.
John says the Austin is pretty much original and “Exactly what would expect of a British car of that era” (whatever that means..)
Before John got the Austin in 1993 it had spent most of its life in Baralba near Moura, it had spent some 20 years in a shed.
This car was built in 1949. After September 1949 the A40 Devon’s were fitted with quarter vent windows in the front doors The previous A40s had a B shaped bumper with one piece front side windows
An extensive restoration to the Devon was completed in May 1994. This was a good thing because somewhere hidden away at the end of the Hindes shed is a sad and incomplete Austin A40 Tourer, the Devon was bought as a source of spare parts. Looking at the Devon now one would be inclined to think it would have been a sin to have dismantle it
In the meantime the A40 Tourer awaits its turn.