“MY FATHER bought this 1977 Torana brand
new and it was our family car when I was a kid.
He sold the car 17 years ago but I kept an eye
on where it was and managed to get the bare
shell from Cowra in October 2016. With only
five weeks to go until my father turned 80, we
decided it would be a great idea to pick him
up on his birthday in his old pride and joy. We
stripped the body down to bare metal, repaired
all dents and got the body primed and sent to
Frank Myers at Custom Colours panel shop.
By the time he had the body painted we had
the panels primed and ready. We swapped them with him for the body, and while he started on the
panels we began fitting all the interior, drivetrain, windows, etc. Matt Turnbull had an old injected 5.0-
litre laying in his shed so we slotted that in up front. We finished at 12.30 on the Saturday morning
before my father’s surprise party. I turned up to his house and he asked if it was the same car, and
when I told him it was he told me I’d ruined it (typical old man)! But you could see the excitement
in his eyes as he went over every little mark and said: “Gee, you even fixed that!” Big thanks to the
guys who helped: Danny Board, Matt Turnbull, Ben Azmi, Jon Smoother, Darren Williams, Frank
Myers, Dave Dolbel, James Dean, Ji Rissler, Jeff Patterson, Jack Smoother, Peter Butcher and many
others that came and went. It was a massive effort by all, especially Frank, who got the paint sorted
in miraculous time. Words can’t describe how good this was to get done for the old man on his
80th.” Photos: Ben Hosking
“MY FATHER bought this 1977 Torana b
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with him for the body, and while he started on the
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