ownerdriver.com.au AUGUST 2019 39
to Adelong. There was a big clearing sale. He said goodbye
to tractors and other machinery he had used for farming
and contracting, and he doesn’t miss them. But he kept that
original Blitz. He’d added a few more military vehicles to his
collection by then, and he kept them too.
Growing collection
Now that he’s living in Adelong, semi-retired, Kevin has more
time to indulge his passion for his hobby, and his collection
has grown.
Owner//Driver was impressed with the 1980 Mack 6x6
cargo truck with a Hiab crane, which Kevin drove on Sylvia’s
Gap Convoy in June. And when we visited him at Adelong
last month we ran out of fingers and toes counting all his
military vehicles.
In addition to the Blitz and Mack there are a couple of
jeeps now (a 1943 Willys and a 1942 Ford); five Dodge trucks
(a 6x6 troop and cargo carrier; two weapons carriers and
two command cars); two GMC 6x6s; four Studebakers; a Bren
Gun Carrier; a FWD truck; four Land Rovers; two Kaiser trucks
(one wrecker and one instrument repair van); and a couple
of ex-Australian Army Internationals.
Kevin took us for a drive in his 1970 Ford Military
Utility Tactical Truck (MUTT). His loyal dog Oscar, was
also a passenger.
Part of the fun is stripping vehicles back to the chassis
and rebuilding them. Kevin showed us the 1942 Diamond T
ex-Australian Army wrecker, which he has been restoring for
Top: Kevin’s GMC on Sylvia’s Gap Convoy in 2018
Above L to R: Kevin was born in 1941 – the same year this 1/2 tonne Dodge
command car was built; Kevin is restoring a 1942 Diamond T which the
Australian Army once used as a wrecker
Right: After W WII Kevin’s 1943 Dodge command car was used during
construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme
Opposite: Kevin Purcell, 77, is passionate about military vehicles