Graham Sawyer is a long-time member of the Milton Ulladulla Vintage and Classic Car Club and loves the classics.
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His interest in old classic cars led him to a 1930 Chrysler 70 sedan, which a fellow had bought as a project in order to build a hot rod, but had lost heart, realising just how much would be involved in attempting the feat with a wooden-framed car.
So in 1978, Graham purchased the car transporting it to its new resting place ready for its journey back to life, not as a hot rod, but restoring it to its former glory, as Series 70 model.
After dismantling the body, he found that he'd bought a pile of rotted timber - so, what to do next?
"After some time scratching my head and thinking, I ordered a quantity of Tasmanian ash timber, and when the ute load of ash arrived, I sat the body on concrete blocks and with no real experience at working with wood," is how he sums up his initial thoughts.
"I dived into the deep end, starting the reconstruction of its almost 50-year-old body.
"There isn't a straight piece of timber in the frame - I kept one piece of the original though, for posterity, it's the one that sits under the rear window."
He tackled other parts of the project.
"Even though I had meticulously matched each side of the frame, when I came to fit the steel body onto the frame, it was slightly short across above the windscreen, but I was able to cover this with the section of aluminium that is on the external sun visor," he said.
Graham also painted the car in red acrylic himself, after some tuition from a local automotive spray painter.
It was to become a journey of two-and-a-half-years before he got the old girl back into the condition that its creator Walter P. Chrysler intended it to look, some 90-years previously, and on the road once more.
He loved the style of the car, so in the early 1990s Graham bought a second Chrysler, but this time a roadster, purchased from the widow of an old mate in the Chrysler Car Club, who unfortunately had died of cancer, and his wish was for Graham to have the car.
While it was in good condition, the second Chrysler needed some 'TLC' .
So, he embarked on another two-and-a-half-year journey, but this timeless intense, more fine-tuning the specifications it to his requirements - like the fitment or twin Tillotson carburettors, which are a standard tune-up kit for this model.
A replacement distributor from a VK Commodore with the vacuum advance connected, making the engine more tractable, and a Ford high flow water pump for greater cooling.
Graham has included many of his own innovations to the roadster (even though it drove and rode beautifully for a car of its vintage) in order to make it more user-friendly for 21st century travel to the many events all over Australia that he and wife Kerry have attended - clocking up well over 50,000miles (some 80,000 kilometres).
The engine is a 3.6-litre side-valve with a seven main bearing crankshaft and pumps out 75hp at 3200rpm.
It is coupled to a four-speed gearbox with a planetary gear system on third gear, eliminating the need to double-the-clutch (a must with cars of this vintage) to make a smooth gearshift. Graham's two Chryslers are magnificent examples of our automotive history and both a genuine labour of love.