Why we are so excited by the auction at auction of a classic, classic car – but you can bet that there will be a lot of people there.
It’s not only the first car to have its wheels mounted on the roof but it’s also one of the most photographed of all time.
The first of the Vacation series, the Ford VE, is one of only two cars in history to be built at the Ford factory and is arguably the most famous car of the period.
“When we got the car it was absolutely perfect,” owner John Hogg said.
“It was exactly the kind of car you wanted, but you couldn’t put it on the top of the barn without someone putting their arm over it.”
The engine was still there, but the car wasn’t.
“It’s a car that has had an extraordinary journey, from its beginnings in a garage to its eventual debut in the race track.
But what was the process behind creating the car and what made it so special?
The first Vacation car was actually designed in 1932, by a team of automotive engineers, including Henry Ford, but it was actually in 1932 that the car was first driven.”
We were building a race car, and a lot was done before we actually started it,” Mr Hogg explained.”
A lot of the work we did on the car started before we even got started on the engine.
“There was a lot going on with the car at that time, so we didn’t even know what the engine was going to be.”
Auctioneer Mark Hogg from the Auctioneers, Auctioneers and Collectors Association, pictured at the unveiling of the car in St Kilda in 2013.
“This was the first Vacay that we actually got to drive.
It was the most complicated project we’ve ever had to do.”
Our first prototype was built in a car shed on a lake in St Lucia.””
It took a lot longer to build it than the car itself,” Mr O’Keefe added.”
They had to take it apart, then weld the parts back together, then put it together again and then take it on a test drive.
“I don’t know what happened with that, but we did manage to get it going pretty quickly.”
The car was never seen again, but its owner, John Hagg, believes it still has some of the same characteristics.
“That was the beginning of the beginning for Ford, to get that big, heavy, big wheel off the ground, it was the start of that big dream of having the best car that Ford could build,” Mr John said.
Topics:automobiles,car,history,history-and-culture,britain,united-kingdom,tas,japanFirst posted January 02, 2019 14:56:34Contact Greg OrmeMore stories from New South Wales