PEOPLE LIKE US

> PERTH, WA

WE MET Kev last year at a roadhouse somewhere north of Coober Pedy, on our way to Red Centrenats #1. The carby on Kev’s slant-six, push-button-auto-equipped AP5 Valiant was playing silly buggers, but after it was fixed, Kev (who had so far driven solo all the way from Perth) joined our otherwise all-holden convoy for the rest of our trip. We all vowed to return for another round of RCN in 2016, but the only one of the group to do it in a car was Kev, this time in his HZ van. We gave him a call a couple of weeks after the event to see how the remainder of his trip was going. We all talked about making the big drive back for Red Centrenats #2, but you were the only one who actually did it – nice one! Yeah, I had a ball last year. I love a big drive. Last year my missus flew in from Perth and I picked her up from the airport in the AP5 and we’ve done the same this year. What’s the story with the van? We’ve had it 12 years. It was purple back then. It came from the factory with a 253, three-speed on the column and a bench seat, but when we bought it she had a four-speed and bucket seats. Everyone says “Love your Sandman,” but it is actually a Belmont. This year I decided to put it back to the original Panama Green colour, fit a Statesman dash and give it a retrim, ready for Red Centre. It had Hotwires on it and I wasn’t sure about putting on more modern 17s, but I reckon they look all right. How does it go on the highway? It is perfect for big drives like this. It has 3.08:1 gears in the back and gets around 13-14L per 100km. A lot better than the Val! So where are you now? Right now I’m in the middle of Rundle Mall in Adelaide. My wife came with me for this part of the roadtrip. We wanted go to the Victor Harbor Rock ’n’ Roll Festival, but the weather was atrocious, so we went to Melbourne and then up to Bright to the snow. We are back in SA to see our daughter, then I’m going to head back to Melbourne for the AFL Grand Final and maybe a car show in Geelong. Then I’ll head up to Bathurst for the Great Race. Then home, and back to work. Pretty good way to use your long service leave, I reckon!

I decided to put it back to the original Panama Green colour, fit a Statesman dash and give it a retrim, ready for Red Centrenats