Wooden Boat Festival

Sydney's Wooden Boat festival and for me Gretel II is always the star of the show. One of Australia's most famous yachts she challenged for the America's cup in 1970 and 1977. Mike Maxwell has done an incredible job with the restoration with some practical modern  super yacht touches.

Sydney Harbour is a better place because people like Mike step up to restore these wooden boats. It's always an expensive, time consuming challenge but if not we'd just lose so much history.

Legendary Halvorsen, Silver Cloud after a gorgeous refit.

My friend Dave Pagano has quite a collection of wooden speedboats including this gorgeous Italian boat and the mighty Aggressor Hydroplane with a 27 litre RR Merlin engine.


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Aggressor racing in the 1970's

Aggressor launch

I just love the look of these vintage Hydroplanes, badass horsepower in a light plywood step hull - all business.

Corvette block in a a clinker hull. Look at the web of lightweight ribs that line the hull - such craftmanship. Not sure if this is a Lewis or Hammond build.

Legendary Land Rover

I love these early series Land Rovers - they are a design classic and really undervalued. One of the easier vehicles to restore as there are a lot of them around. I've seen a few in LA that have been polished back to bare aluminium and they look incredible. I guess it helps with the lack of rain there to keep the corrosion at bay but some clearcoat will help with that.

This is my 1960 Series II SWB (short wheel base) part way through the makeover. Those narrow headlights are so distinctive.

 Looking for an original set of wheels + now has a spare on the hood for that distinctive Landy look. I've been letting the paint fade to a flat green and looks much tougher now.

4 bolts and the top of the windows come off + I've built a simple bimini top that works well.

I've replaced the vinyl with green canvas so you don't feel the heat in summer. I love the patina of the interior, scratched, scuffed and faded.

Rods and randoms

Saw this '32 5 window coupe at the Pomona swap meet in LA, great details including the faded numbers. Everything about this rod was right from the balance of the tyres to the period push bar, not to mention the flathead.

Here's Joe (the Godfather) in his 1934 Dodge roadster, a rod straight out of the 1940's. Love the styling on the numbers.

This is one of the earliest rat rods I ever saw (Pomona again). Looks like a T bucket with a funky cut down nose from a tractor. I like the velocity stacks.

One of my all time favourite cars, a 1956 Chevy Nomad. This was beautifully done with some mild custom details. I'd love to build one in black & cream but a good car is hard to find + expensive. Sill they're a badass family wagon with lots of room.

Check out the lines on this 1961Chevrolet Impala. Love the black with the red insert + that chrome trim. For some reason I don't see many 61's.

I've got a thing for Patina - worn & faded paint + the way it reflects a long lifetime of hard use. That's the fun of rat rod culture - nothing to paint or polish, just leave things as they are.

These prints are hanging in my friend Jonathan's office in TLC in LA. He has immaculate taste and always finds cool stuff at swap meets. JW has done more than anyone to introduce me to California style car culture over the years and get me into restoration.

Like me he has broad, eclectic tastes which is part of the fun, don't just be one-eyed about your passion because you might just discover a whole world of other cool stuff to enrich your life.

I can't remember what this is but it's got to be a Buick or something unless it's from outer space. Just look at the angles on this rear end and that cool down turned bumper.

Something you don't see is an Allard powered drag car. Love those zoomie pipes.

Something a little different, a vintage Baja Buggy race car. Would have been an easy, fun resto project and I wish JW would have bought it.

A rare little Bantam. Looks like a toy on the trailer and JW got really excited by this. His sone would love it.

Now you just don't see enough twin-mill rods these days. Both these cars are part of the Petersen museum collection in LA. Love the carby intakes.

Back then people really built customs complete with hand formed fibreglass bodies, Love the windshield  line + check out the laid back seating position with the red velour. Did anyone actually drive this thing?

This is my friend Tony's badass '67 Camaro. Look at that that custom grille with hidden headlights.

Joe and I saw this 1927 ratrod next to Shinya's motorcycle workshop in Azuza CA. The guy does beautiful work and I love the straight 8 motor - really gives the car a nice line.

The rod has an elegant balance in the rear end. Love the transverse leaf spring + the tank. In California you can also register cars with the vintage plates - cool.

Now I've seen this survivor at a few shows and the combo always blows my mind. The model T Ford is in perfect 'barn fresh' condition with just surface rust on the faded paint. Everything is just so original. Add to that the vintage race boat on the back from the same period complete with home made trailer - straight out of the 1920's. Where did they find this?

Just look how original this setup on the boat is - the wheel, gauges and the home made dash. Check out the thin wire trailer wheels.

Look at that tow hitch and drawbar, you just don't see things like this anymore - ever. Back in the 20's this was a state of the art tow setup - ready to race. Where there even any launching ramps? 

Not sure what this race motor is but look at those zoomie pipes and overhead cams.