A classic case of auto love

KATHERINE HOBY finds one man's passion reflected in the gleam of a classic car collection in Epsom.

The horsepower in John Fernyhough's stable is enough to make a petrolhead drool.

The former Electricity Corporation chairman is putting his family of classic cars on display at a new function centre in Epsom.

Diners at formal events will be surrounded by British engineering excellence spanning at least four decades.

Mr Fernyhough's passion for British cars started in his Chicago University days, when he used his scholarship money to buy an Austin-Healey 3000.

It cost him $US1700, but he later sold it in New Zealand - after having it converted to right-hand-drive in Britain - for a good deal more.

"I had a wife, a baby and a car, but no house. Something had to go," he says.

The original red Austin-Healey has since been traced and bought back by Mr Fernyhough. It is being restored in Christchurch and will take pride of place in the museum in the New Year.

"It took a long while to catch up with it, but she's finally coming home," he says.

Mr Fernyhough aims to show people "the best of British" with his collection of classic sportscars.

As a child, he says, most of the cars on New Zealand roads were British-made.

"When I starting collecting, it was definitely a throwback to my youth.

"Why sportscars? It reminds me of being a youngster. And I like them."

Mr Fernyhough was without a classic car from 1964 until 1994, when he came across a 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster for sale.

"It was one of those opportunities that don't come around twice," he says. "That was the beginning of what you see here."

He bought the old Shell service station on Manukau Rd to house his growing collection, but as it expanded to 25, 30 and then on towards 40, he had to enlarge the building.

As his collection grew, so too did interest from enthusiasts. Now he has found a way to keep his cars in good order and to share his passion with others.

Each car in the Fernyhough stable has a Classic Cars Club member to look after it. In return for those hours of loving care and maintenance, members are allowed to take cars out - on dry roads and only in daylight.

"New Zealand is probably the best place in the world for restoring old cars. We have access to parts, plenty of expertise and no shortage of enthusiasm," he says.

Mr Fernyhough clearly devotes plenty of time and energy to his Jaguars, MGs, Triumphs, and - the rarest of the lot - an Allard J2.

No one else drives two of the E-Type Jaguars or the J2. The Allard, he says, is worth more than $250,000.

Three cars - a Cadillac La Salle, a Minerva and a Packard Tourer - are not British.

"I saw the Minerva and just couldn't resist it. It was magnificently restored, but it didn't go with any of the other cars, so I got the other two to keep it company."

Six British motorbikes also feature in the museum.

"Again, it's a throwback to my early life," Mr Fernyhough says.

"I couldn't afford a car when I was at university in Wellington. There were a number of occasions when I went scrambling into lectures barely intact after another hairy ride there on my bike."

He still gets a thrill to hear the roar of an Aston Martin or Austin-Healey starting up.

"The E-Type makes the most orgasmic sound when it starts," he says.

"There's nothing like that sound and the feeling of power that's in your hands."

But which car is his favourite?

"This is so tough," he says, looking down the lines of gleaming automobiles.

"It's like being asked to name your favourite child."

Finally he says: "It's the Bristol AC 1960 at the moment. But ask me again tomorrow."