Wagga Veteran & Vintage Collection: Classic Restos - Series 51

In Wagga Wagga NSW, Fletch catches up with local Ian Holgate to take a look at his collection of veteran & vintage vehicles. It's not a massive collection; it's more about quality than quantity and the fact that Ian has restored every one of these vehicles himself. 

Ian's passion stems from his father, who operated a garage in the district. As a youngster, he spent time with his father working in the garage and can even recall seeing a T Model Ford from a local farm coming for repairs. This background and a love for old cars led him to take up panel beating as a trade. He then became a teacher at TAFE, specialising in restoration work on veteran & vintage vehicles. All of which has come in handy with his hobby of vehicle restoration.

He has four beautiful examples of his restoration work. The first is a 1926 30D Oldsmobile 4-door Sedan which is the pride of his fleet, taking five years to restore. The 30D Oldsmobile is quite a rare vehicle, with only 50,000 built. Ian's craftsmanship in this restoration is on show, meticulously restored and presented. The car has travelled widely across Australia; Ian says the only thing you need to consider is other drivers on the road when out and about, as these don't pull up like today's vehicles.

Next is neither veteran nor vintage, but a classic coming on 50 years old; Ian's 1974 XB Ford GS Fairmont. His family car since he newly purchased in 1975. It's stock standard, having travelled over 300,00 km with the original 302 V8 motor, but has entirely new interior trim and a paint job. It's another beautifully presented and maintained vehicle. Ian has a soft spot for the Ford, believing it's one of the best models Ford built. He was tempted to sell the car but was not offered what it was worth, so he put it back in the shed.

Another long-term project is his 1923 Gardner Radio Special, originally from St Louis, Missouri, in the USA. The Radio Special was considered a luxury vehicle with a four-cylinder 43hp engine, believed to be the largest four-cylinder engine of the time. This restoration project took twenty years and is absolute perfection. Ian's theory is, 'If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right'.

Finally, the 1938 Morris Roadster it's one of only 54,000 built and Ian's second restoration project after the 1926 Oldsmobile. He purchased it from a local car club member who had completed all the mechanicals and lost interest in the project. The Morris was considered the poor man's MG, but Ian has a soft spot for the small car that he has restored beautifully, like all of his vehicles.