History
I bought a 1959 FC Ute, an ex milk delivery vehicle, in 1963 that required lots of work to get it ready for when I got my license in 6 months time. My Day and I worked on it every spare minute we had until it was perfect. My 18 birthday present was a set of new hub caps for it. I guess you could say it was my first "Restoration". I drove that car everywhere, courted my now wife in it, used it to tow a caravan with on our honeymoon and it became my work wagon for my plumbing business. I reluctantly sold it when our second child was born.
Over the years, I often wondered what happened to "My Ute" and even began dreaming about it. The dreams became reoccurring dreams where my Ute was just out of reach, or in the mechanics garage waiting repairs. Sometimes in my dreams the car would be under the house in pieces, or in the back yard under a tree. Occasionally it would be a nightmare where my Ute was damaged beyond repair.
In 2004 the search began for another FC Ute and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and bought one from NSW that came from Tasmania after being stored in a garage for 30 years (so I was told). The FC Holden Ute had 35,000 miles on the clock and after some negotiations it was mine. My wife calls it my "End of Life Crisis" after buying and MR2 as my "Mid Life Crisis".
The FC had no rust and after a small amount of work, considering its age, retaining its age pertina, it was back on the road, and the bonus was it was the same colour as my first FC Ute. I contacted VicRoads and was able to secure my original number plate as a personalised plate (see photos before (B&W) and after (Colour).
I now have a stable of 5 hobby vehicles and will never sell my FC Ute. The strange thing is, in 11 years I have not had another reoccurring dream that my beloved FC Ute was just out of reach.
Kevin Clarence
Modifications
None. Completely stock standard, well except for a Cruise Control fitted to drive the the West and a few Nasco accessories..
