By Margaret Maccoll
A 1922 Bugatti Type 13, the only restored one of its kind in Australia and worth more than $1million, was a stand out among classic cars on show and racing at the Noosa Hill Climb over the weekend.
Michael Freestone of Bli Bli was eight-years-old when he started helping his father restore the Bugatti in 1960.
His father was a motor mechanic working in Adelaide when a man came in to his work one day to say he had some “old junk under the house”.
“That was it,” Michael said. “He didn’t know what it was but my dad did.”
The car was in bits when his dad picked it up but he got it going, and father and son, who later became a mechanic, set about restoring it.
“It goes very fast and handles very well but there’re no brakes,” Michael said.
Michael’s father passed the car on to his son in 1980. A paint job last year virtually marked the end of the restoration project.
A similar car sold by Bonhams auctioneers in the US this year for more than $1.3 million.
Fred Sayers of Brisbane this weekend raced the Mini Sports Sedan he had from brand new in 1977. The car was damaged in a rollover and shelved for a number of years before Fred built it back to its former glory.
Having raced cars for many years in races including Bathurst and reaching the top 10 of Australian race drivers, Fred was pleased when a race category for pre-1984 historic cars allowed him to enter his Mini. Odds were against him winning though as the category also included V8s.
Max Parnell of Noosaville brought along his Brabham BT24 Formula One racing car replica he bought just two years ago. Max said when he saw the car that was built in Maroochydore he wanted it.
“I wanted an historic car, a pretty car and something good to drive,” he said.
It didn’t prove so successful in the wet conditions making the road a bit slippery and greasy, he said.
Barry Smith scrounged the pieces to put together his 1936 Ford V8 Special. Having been a racecar driver for about 40 years – in cars including Ford Cortinas and Minis – he just wanted to build a Formula One car from the 1930s.
Barry gained second place at the Noosa Hill Climb with the car.
