Three years of restoration work will soon come to an end when a small town welcomes a new (vehicular) resident. Photos: Braidwood and District Historical Society.
In his own words, John Stahel is not a mechanic.
“I’m that generation that had to know a little bit about cars, because breaking down was part of motoring,” he said.
But the Braidwood and District Historical Society volunteer was one of dozens of people involved in restoring a vintage car.
In 2022, the car was driven from Canberra after a conservator at the National Museum of Australia offered it to the society.
“Most of it was rusty parts, and they put it into pallets and kept it in storage. Eighteen years later, the personnel in the workshops had completely changed,” he said.
“The people who were there said we know it’s a 1930s Dodge, but they really didn’t know anything much more about it.
“It was just serendipitous that council had just bought a garage for redevelopment right on the main street of Braidwood [where they could store the car].”
After arriving in Braidwood, BDHS members spent the next three years carefully repairing and reassembling the car.
The volunteers were guided in their efforts by a manual prepared by museum staff, who had written down their progress as they took it apart.
That didn’t mean it was an easy job.
“There were things along the way that the museum people had done incorrectly (that we had to correct), and there were mistakes that we made,” he said.
“Sometimes it was three steps forward and one step back … There was also trial and error involved.”
Before arriving in Braidwood, the car travelled from a Victorian farm to a major Canberra museum. Photo: Braidwood and District Historical Society.
Mr Stahel said the historical society consulted mechanics throughout the process, while two bequests from Braidwood locals covered the cost of parts they needed to purchase.
“We worked once a week on a Saturday morning, usually for three or four hours,” he said.
“Some people took things home … but for the most part, there were people there in that workshop every week for three years.”
Different volunteers also took on different roles, ranging from project coordination to using their specialist skills in engineering or leatherwork.
“For me, the most meaningful thing about it was the way in which people who just came across it got involved with their special skills.
“They were just people who wanted to be involved, and they did it all for nothing.”
The BDHS has taken the car for a few test drives around town already, Mr Stahel said, but people will be able to see it at an official launch later this month.
The organisation is also set to decide shortly on what will happen with the restored car.
“Because of the way it was put together by volunteers in the town, in the centre of town … it’s become a town car,” he said.
“While it came to us without a Braidwood story, it now very much has its own Braidwood story.”
The car will be officially unveiled at an event organised by the BDHS on 22 November from 1 pm at the D&S Motors forecourt, 88 Wallace Street in Braidwood.
