Dennis' pride and joy good as new

Dennis Frear wasn't sure how much petrol his 1956 Ford Customline guzzled as he moved it out of its garage at Mangonui and into the sun so it could be photographed on Saturday, but he knows it isn't quite up there with the best in terms of mpg. And that doesn't worry him in the slightest.

He's just delighted to see the car he bought in Napier 20-something years ago back to its beautiful best, fulfilling a passion he's nurtured from childhood, after a two-year restoration job that transformed it from a wreck to what it was the day it rolled off the assembly line.

Dennis' mum, Ellen, treated her son to the restoration, and didn't have to look any further afield than her home town for the required expertise.

Arthur Lang (AC Panel and Paint) was the main man, transforming the bodywork in a workshop that is reportedly not quite big enough to swing a cat in, while Allan Hall was in charge of the upholstery and Chris Knight the suspension, brakes and running gear.

"It was just about a write-off before they got their hands in it. There was bugger all left," Dennis said on Saturday, the day it came back from "the shop".

Finding parts had been a nightmare, he added, and in fact some, including the front guards, had been fabricated by the restorers. And while he had been no more than the "gopher", the experience had taught him just what went into building a car.

Effectively rebuilt from the ground up, even allowing for what was manufactured locally, the finished result is not entirely true to label. The car now has a Mustang steering wheel, Bedford supplied the rubber mounts and disc brakes have been fitted to the front wheels "so it's a bit easier to stop".

All that remained to do now was to organise the on-road technicalities, Dennis said, and it would be ready to hit the road, where the Mangonui locals will probably hear its very impressive rumble, an art that has seemingly been lost by car manufacturers, long before they see it.