History
I had been looking for several years to find a 1955 coupe available for purchase here in Australia. However price was always far beyond what I was prepared to pay for an only driven on Sundays car.
Found the car on ebay advertised for $24999 with the seller located near Launceston in Tasmania.
My bid was a cheeky low and subsequently beaten. However the car was not purchased. I contacted the seller and some discussions later we agreed on a price.
With me being in Victoria and the car in Tassie i arranged for RACT to have it checked and the faults were only minor for its age. 3 new tyres ,convert headlights to Australian configuration, new suspension bushes and change seatbelts to Australian ADRs.
So i paid a deposit and booked a flight from Tullamarine to Launceston. Collected and driven to the owners farm and viewed and test drove the Bird. Very impressed and handed over the rest of the funds once all paper work including Import papers received.
Now the drive to Devonport to catch the
Bass Strait ferry via Launceston Roads for a one day pass. Completed but when I got back to car in carpark it would not start. Flat battery and as the saying goes (Not happy jan).
Thanks to RACV membership the local RACT arrived and terminals cleaned and a jump startI am on my way again. I had also had a visit from the local Police whilst waiting for roadside assistance. They just wanted to check out how good the coupe is. devonport here we come thank you Tasmanian roads for a 110 klm speed limit and quality road between Launceston and Devonport. Arrived in time to catch the ship to have a full search undertaken by Customs. Yes my wife tells me it looks like a Mafia car. A battered muddy 4x4 full of camping gear was waived straight through. A safe and smooth overnight trip saw us arrive back in Melbourne ready for the 70 klm drive home. Vic roads do leave a lot to be desired.
Modifications
Sunvisors. The securing arms were broken on the existing ones. 4 new Styled hub centre caps as the originals had disappeared in transit from the USA. Every thing else is stock standard as new from the factory.
