FAMILY REUNION
IAIN Carlin looks spent. “I think this is the best show we’ve ever done,” the Chrysler Club of SA president sighs as he leans against the bootlid of his tidy brown VF Valiant sedan. “I’ve been talking to people and normally you’ll get one or two complaints, but today I’ve not heard a single gripe.”
The people have spoken; the 2018 Shannons Adelaide Chrysler Festival has been a resounding success. The unique ambiance has been unlike anything we have experienced; after all, it’s rare for a car show to be held in the preserved remnants of the factory that built so many of the vehicles entered. The South Australian Government now owns the ex-chrysler/mitsubishi Main Assembly Building facility, transforming it into the Tonsley Innovation District, offering incentives for tech businesses to set up shop under the expansive main roof.
Iain explains how the show came about: “The club got involved in a project to put together a Tonsley-themed timeline display here – massive steel pictures detailing the history of the area, from farmland to factory. Then last year we held our annual membership day here; that really was the big test. Renewal SA couldn’t have been more helpful; as far as government departments go, they were so easy to deal with. They didn’t even want us to pay!”
The free venue meant the club could pass on the savings, with no entry fees charged for spectators and entrants alike. “We set ourselves a target to make this as easy as possible: no entrant numbers, no forms, no judging, no trophies and no plaques. And I’ve not heard one person complain about any of that, either.”
Iain isn’t wrong; the zero-pressure environment has made the Shannons Adelaide Chrysler Festival a refreshingly social event. Sure, the chamois have been out, but with no sheep station-sized trophies on the line, owners have been willing to kick back mid-polish and talk Mopars or no cars.
SHOW TO BE IT’S RARE FOR A CAR REMNANTS HELD IN THE PRESERVED BUILT SO OF THE FACTORY THAT ENTERED MANY OF THE VEHICLES
Moments after we’d entered the venue earlier in the day, snapper Alastair and I had lost each other; he zoned in on a zombie-hunting VJ Valiant coupe, while I followed a trail of hot Chargers lined up along the northern wall. The rich seam of Aussie metal continued, yielding an immaculate AP3 Wayfarer ute and a rare CM Valiant GLX in similar condition.
The sun filtering through the factory’s sawtooth roof danced upon the scintillating brightwork adorning Chrysler Australia’s finest, but even the most ardent Valiant nut knows that when it comes to chrome, nothing compares to the USA. Venturing deeper into the show, I was almost blinded by Simon Cole’s 1957 Chrysler Windsor, its massive, cheesy grille glimmering in the natural light as his son Phoenix danced to the live music that floated above the vinyl and steel.
Cover bands Crossroads, Katfire and The Groove provided a sonorous background soundtrack, audible throughout the open walls of the old factory; with local radio station Coast FM filling in the gaps, broadcasting live from the show.
Classic covers are good, but Frank Bergamin’s big-block Dodge Charger (SM, May ’18) rocked the building’s very foundations. People were drawn to the noise like birds to a freshly washed car; Alastair and I were no different, reuniting over the menacing black machine.
As we marvelled at just now much the place still looked like a factory, two former Chrysler/mitsubishi workers were discussing how much it had changed. Colin Shaw started with Chrysler in 1977, leaving Mitsubishi in 2017, well after local production had ceased. “Back in the Chrysler days, they’d be parts stillages piled three or four high either side of the assembly line, so it didn’t feel as open as this,” he recalled. “I worked in here at the end of the line, gassing up the air cons and testing them. That was a great job in summer.”
George Apostolidis also did a fair stint at Chrysler/ Mitsubishi, following in the footsteps of his father, cousin and uncle, who worked at the factory for a total of 75 years between them. “I was on the chassis line, installing differentials and tying them up to the tailshafts, then moved to other areas.” George pointed to a cladded office perched high in the roof, accessible only by a flight of metal stairs. “The superintendent would be up there. Sometimes you would look up and he’d be looking back, peering through these big binoculars. He was always checking we weren’t slacking!” he laughed.
THE AIR LINE, GASSING UP AT THE END OF THE SUMMER I WORKED IN HERE A GREAT JOB IN THEM. THAT WAS CONS AND TESTING