After taking possession of the Monaro the decision was then what do you do with the car??. It didnt take long to decide to return the car to the original livery as the Sandown car.
I was lucky enough to spend a bit of time with Harry Firth, Ian Tate and Frank Lowndes and taped lengthy conversations with them about the Monaro and what the Holden Dealer Team did in order to make the Monaro a success and eventually win Bathurst with Colin Bond and Tony Roberts. These taped interviews will be provided with the car.
As far as restoration of the Monaro was concerned the Mechanicals did not require any work. The car has only travelled a little over 20,000 miles since 1969 so she is very fresh in this regard. The interior is virtually pristine and in exceptional condition for a car that is almost 48 years old.
The only thing that did require work was the paint on the Monaro as Tony had stored the car on dirt for decades and moisture had eventually worked its way through the car and caused all of the paint to crows feet and deteriorate.
The car was stripped and placed on a rotisserie and the whole body was taken back to bare metal and repainted in acrylic. Every nut, bolt and washer on the car was wire wheeled and replated. Rust was virtually non existent save for a small section the size of a 10 cent piece due to caustic soda retaining moisture in a rear box section behind ther back seat and there were 2 - 3 pin prick holes in the drivers side floor pan.
Very slowly and painstakingly the car was given what I deem a very sympathetic restoration which was completed by early 2007 when the car was taken to "Blast from the Past" at Simmons Plains in Tasmania where she was shown to the general public for the first time after completion.
Here is what she looks like now.
