BEHIND THE GARAGE DOOR
Nestled in the hills above Lawrence in Central Otago is a diverse collection of classics that has expanded beyond what its owner originally intended. Nicol Kane has amassed some very interesting classics over the years, all stored in a large three-bay shed and looked after with assistance from his friend Gavin Patrick, who helps keep them all running.
“It’s hard to keep up as you get older and every one of them is a runner and I enjoy driving them,” Nicol says.
Getting the collection together wasn’t Nicol’s immediate intention for the relatively new storage shed. “I originally built the shed for my trucks, but somehow the trucks
didn’t make it in here,” he chuckles.
One of the trucks he refers to is sitting outside when we arrive to inspect the collection: an immaculate, 1987 World Cup, Special Edition Mack tractor unit.
The number of genuine GT Ford Falcons surviving in the south is growing, and Nicol added one of them to his collection: a 1970 XR GT. He says he bought “it off Nathan Abernethy at Regional Ford in Gore, and it is a matching-numbers car. It goes very well and I enjoy driving it.”
The GT has been subjected to a bare-metal respray in its original colour of Reef Green while in Nathan’s custody, along with a detailed tidy-up of what was a very good car to start with. Catching up with a couple of previous owners, we found that the engine had been lightly breathed on with a different camshaft in the course of a freshen-up, resulting in a lively quick-revving V8. On our short ride, it sounds just as good inside as it looks outside.
“All the cars except one I bought in restored condition. A couple I bought off Gavin — such as the black Chevrolet Bel Air, which was restored in Dunedin,” Nicol tells us.
A favourite is a lovely pink and white Ford Mainline: “The Mainline ute was sold locally in Lawrence by the Ford dealers to my brother-in-law. I bought it off him, so it’s been in the area and the same family really since new — not many around now, and not
in that condition. That was 35 years ago, and I had it fully restored. It’s a lovely car to drive. It’s the only one of my cars which I had restored.”
Gavin, who keeps his 2007 Roush Ford Mustang in the collection, enjoys helping keep all the vehicles in running order. Next year, Nicol’s collection will be displayed publicly for the first time.
“The Lawrence Car Show and Shine will be a big one and they have asked me to display my collection,” he says.
The 2020 event at Wetherstons gully is scheduled for 27–29 March, and organizers hope to hold the event over three days for the first time. The annual event attracts more than 250 cars.