b"08 SEPTEMBER 23, 2022 The Great Eastern MailIt has been a long and memorable ride for a couple of childhood mates who, together, had the dream of restoring a classic vehicle they purchased back as 16-year-oldsW HEN Bill Jarvis became school friends with Pete Edgley at the age of five or six, they probably never imagined that almost 70 years later, theyd be sitting around the kitchen table together, in the same house in Swan Reach where Bill grew up, talking about a 1926 Dodge Tourer that they co-own and restored together.The car actually used to belongto my mums neighbour in Ellaswood, explains Pete. My mum used to get driven around in it when she wasSome thingsDodgegrowing up. The original owner, a local school teacher named Mr McBriar, bought it in 1926 from Dwyers [who were also around back then], and he drove it around for a few years, says Bill.you just can'tIt only went eight or nine miles to Bairnsdale once a fortnight for Friday night shopping; thats all it was ever used for. And then he put it in the shed after he bought a new carprobably when the FJ Holdens came out. got it, which was probably strange forbefore, but they had both grown up onkilled! I wish we had that on video!and front seat, because thats where It had a 1952 registration on itthose days. a farm and knew how to repair things.Pete laughs.youd have to put all your luggage. when we got it, adds Pete. We were thinking about whenThankfully, it didnt need a lot of workWhen we got it, it was all in oneTheres all that space in the back, We paid 10 pounds for it, whichwed turn 18. The Dodge had so muchdone to it; it was more so a case ofpiece; the canvas hood was in goodbut in the front its a different story, was about a week of combined pay forspace that we could fill with beer andsourcing the professional skills theycondition, and you could still driveadds Bills older sister, Marie, who is both of us, says Bill.ice, and a lot of room in the back forneeded such as an upholsterer andit, says Bill. But the rats had gottenreferring to the fact that due to the The car wasnt in poor shape whenbirds. Sadly, we didnt get any of thepainter, for example. While they wereinto the seats and started to eat all theinability to adjust the drivers seat, in the two then 16-year-olds bought thebirds or the beer! Bill laughs. able to work on the motor. leather out of it. order for Bill to get behind the steering Dodge. There were thousands soldAfter we brought it home,Even though its now fullywheel, he has to enter the car from in Australia, so they were a prettywork got in the way of doingrestored, we rarely take it out;the passenger side and slide himself common car; much like a Holden isanything to it; that, and weEven though its now fullyits probably only been aboutacross the bench seat.these days.realised we had other thingsrestored, we rarely take it out; itsfour times since we finishedTheres only a very small space Bills brother, John, loved his cars.on our mind. and shes sittingprobably only been about four timesit in December last year. Itsbetween the steering wheel and the So, he took us down to tow the Dodgeat the end of the table there,since we finished it in December. not very pleasant to drive,door post. The old fellas back then from Ellaswood, Bill explains. It wassays Bill, referring to Joy, hiswith the clutch on the right,were not necessarily that tall, but probably a bit dangerous becausewife of 50 years. So, we putthe brake on the left, and thethey were often fairly round; so theyd I dont think we ever checked thethe Dodge in the shed and there itWhen we opened the shed door,accelerator in the middle; and theprobably have struggled to get in brakes before we took off! I remember,stayed for quite a few years, says Bill.you could hardly see the car becausethree-speed gearbox is very differentthrough the drivers side door too, on the way back, when John stoppedIn real-time, Bills quite a fewof all the dust and cobwebs! recallsto other gearboxes too. explains Bill.to turn, he put the foot on the brakeyears translates to 50 actual years,Pete. During that first trip out to Metung,In its day, it would run on Standard harder, harder, harder. only to justbecause it was just two years ago,Bills older brother, John, was veryJoy and I had to hold the doors topetrol. Today, using Unleaded it needs stop in time before we ran into hiswhile Bills construction companymechanically-inclined; a pretty smartkeep them closed! laughs Petes wife,some sort of additive, because lead car!Jarvis Norwood was dealing withfella, says Pete. So when we wereLesley. was a lubricant for the motors back A lot of people had been trying toCOVID lockdowns, when Bill and Petetrying to work how to start the car up,The near-Century-old vehicle wasthen.get that car, but Mr McBriar wouldntthought now that were both slowingand we thought we'd have to crank it.definitely built for different times.Bill is currently working on his next sell it to them. Back then, neighboursdown a bit, what will we do? And thisBut John said whats this button underBack in the day, it would probablyrestoration, a 1950 Riley RM; after were like family, so when Bill and Iis what prompted them to head intothe firewall? and when he pushedhold eight people! But these days,which his son Ross has him lined up went there and told them about mythe shed, peel back the tarp and do upit, it made this asthmatic wheezingyoure probably lucky to get five fittingto work on a 1977 Ford F100 ute. If mothers connection to the car, theythe Dodge. sound, and all of a sudden dustin there comfortably. Theres no bootI got serious, I could finish the Riley let us have it, Pete explains. We hadNeither Bill nor Pete had everwent everywhere, and it started! Weor storage space; so thats why theresoff in a couple of monthsits 80 per no intentions of destroying it when werestored anything like the Dodgejumped backwe thought wed beena fair gap of space between the backcent there now.G IPPSLAND G RAINS TOREStockfeedRural HardwarePet SuppliesElectric Fencing SuppliesElgas Gas DeliveriesAnimal Supplements157 Macleod St, Bairnsdale OPEN HOURS5152 3093 MON - FRI: SATURDAY:Mobile: 0408 587 493 8:00AM - 5:30PM 8:00AM - 12:30PM"