Cars and Coffee holds 100th birthday party for two vintage vehicles
A 1924 Oldsmobile and Graham Brothers truck of the same vintage have been wheeled out for a Murray Bridge car-lovers’ gathering.
This post was contributed by Joanne Lovell.
Cars and Coffee Murray Bridge has celebrated the third anniversary of its move down to the wharf precinct car park.
The group, running for seven years now, also celebrated the 100th birthday of a 1924 Oldsmobile restored and owned by Reg and Heather Snelling.
Reg had originally inherited his family’s Oldsmobile, a 1926 model which had been in the family for 20 years at their residence, Oaklands Estate, in New South Wales.
This car was purchased for £20, equivalent to about $750 in today’s money.
When the Snellings saw another 1924 Oldsmobile for sale 12 years ago, it was a purchase they could not refuse.
The car was complete but did not run.
Mr Snelling spent many months and years restoring the car.
Mechanically, the car is now in amazing condition and has done the Bay to Birdwood, Mannum’s Christmas pageant, laps around the Bend Motorsport Park and many many cars and coffee events, both at the Coles car park and at the wharf precinct.
It runs beautifully but still looks like it’s 100 years old, though lovingly attended to.
Mrs Snelling made a cover for it from a tarp for the event at the Bend, as showers were on the radar; luckily the rain did not arrive, but her fine work remains on the car today.
Cars and Coffee also had the pleasure of having a burgundy Graham Brothers truck which was also turning 100, making it a combined 100th birthday party.
The group also promoted and had the pleasure of having vintage tractors and static engines thanks to Nick McCue, Jayme Marshall and his son Lyam, who shares the same interested in these incredible old machines.
You could hear them ticking over, with no need for a timing light or tester.
Some of the tractors need to be started with a fire pit under the engine, or a bullet in a shaft hit by a hammer … gee, they don’t make vehicles like they used to, which some would say is a good thing.
Some of the hazards of working with old tractors are like the photo below of Lyam while working on the beast ( photo of oily face)
Sunday’s Cars and Coffee event featured more than 200 cars and more than 180 coffees sold from the Little Café food van, plus egg and bacon rolls from the Rotary Club of Mobilong.
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