The Day of the Customline: Classics by the Beach

The Day of the Customline: Classics by the Beach - Sunday, 6th of March, 2016

There's no such thing as a poor turn-out at Classics by the Beach. Every so often the stars do seem to align, however, resulting in an extra special event that would put many organised car shows to shame.

This month's get-together was one of those days, coinciding as it did with the 49 - 59 Customline Car Club of Victoria's Tasmanian tour. And what a spectacle they made with everything from four- and two-door sedans, two-door coupes and a delightful convertible Sunliner on display!

UMPH was fortunate to have bumped into Jim, owner of the beautifully restored red and white four sedan shown below. Jim explained that he'd had a similar car as a young bloke but, being newly married, had sold it in order to buy a more economical Holden. Nine or so years back, he found and did up the one we see here.

The fruits of six years' labour.

Don't be fooled by the authentic exterior, though. Behind all that glittering chrome and glossy paint is a very potent late-model Falcon XR8 5 litre fuel-injected motor and drive-train, with four-wheel disk brakes sourced from the same donor-car, making for a fabulous combination of V8 grunt, contemporary reliability and efficient, dependable stopping power.

Custom Customline interior.

Jim explained that the left-hand drive vehicles were US imports, whereas his was an Australian-built version. Customlines were manufactured in this country for two years after their production ceased in the States, he said, leading to some interesting combinations of accessories and trim not seen on American-made cars.

Another couple of right-hand drive examples.

This very tidy F-truck appears to have been part of the Customline entourage.

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The local cars weren't to be sneezed at, either. Many of the regulars were present but there were also quite a few vehicles that UMPH hadn't seen before, as shown below.

This local black 'stang has the added cachet of a Cobra badge. Nice!

Another local Mustang.

A TR3?

The cheery face of a Frog-eye Sprite.

An immaculate EH Premier.

3 Bs.

A very, very elegant Jag.

One of two early Cortinas on display.

A fabulously stock-standard HK Monaro.

A perfectly restored early GT Cortina.

Iconic! An FJ Holden.

An interesting pearl finish steering wheel.

These Super-lite wheels suit the era very nicely.

Is this what's known as a Berlinetta? Either way, beautiful!

UMPH suspects the owner of this 2000 cc Alfa 105 might be a bit of a legend. She* expressed her preference for a 1750 version, like one she had owned in the 70s, but loved the way this one kept up with today's traffic (unlike a Karmann Ghia that had also been on her shopping list of potential classics). There was also talk of a 124 Spider in her motoring past. Alfas, Fiats, classic VWs ... A lady with true style, clearly!

(*Please excuse the cat's mother personal pronoun.)

A Citroen, Lotus, Riley, Clubman and MGB.

The Scotts' Alfas.

U M P H.

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au .)

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