Skyliner drives memories
THOUGH it may look like just a car to some, a 1959 Ford Skyliner has been the driving force behind some treasured memories for one Tasmanian man.
Back in 2014, Paul Oakley spotted the car online and, hoping to buy it, he and his cousin journeyed to the US to take a look.
The two flew into New York and drove to Wisconsin, where they ended up buying the Skyliner, and then drove to Los Angeles.
Later, after returning to Australia, he surprised his dad with the trip of a lifetime.
“Dad had never been overseas before, but he saw Billy Connolly driving across the US on a trike and loved it,” he said.
“I surprised him and said, ‘would you like to come to America with me?’
“We did a six-week road trip on Route 66. We did west to east, from Santa Monica Pier to Chicago.”
They were joined by Mr Oakley’s partner, Ryan, in the middle of the trip.
“Then dad and I kept driving through the New England states, flew out of New York and got the car shipped home,” he said.
“We had a wild time in it. Now she’s part of the family — her name’s Bessie.”
As a self-described “serial restorationist”, Mr Oakley has many stories to tell about his collection. Under restoration at the moment is an old 1948 REO bus.
He said the bus was once owned by a Burnie company called Tatlows until about 1975, and later belonged to a family who used it to drive up to the Gold Coast and back.
Restoring it was a longterm project, he said.
“Once I get it fixed I’m going to try and use it in the tourism industry.”