Dave Pink and his son Michael, passionate collectors of Studebaker cars, belong to the Werribee and District Collectible Vehicle Club. 76257 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By ALESHA CAPONE
WHEN Dave Pink was a young man, he could not afford a Holden Monaro, so he bought the fastest car he could afford instead – a 1964 Studebaker, an ex-police car.
This purchase sparked Dave’s passion for the Studebaker brand, which was founded in the United States and developed a reputation for quality vehicles, before halting production in the 1960s.
Dave’s son Michael inherited his father’s fondness for Studebakers, after helping his dad fix up a 1953 Champion model as a youngster.
Nowadays, the Altona Meadows car-crazy pair own 12 Studebakers between them and have won numerous trophies at car shows and rallies.
Dave was president of the Studebaker Car Club of Australia for 12 years – and now Michael is the club’s president.
They are also both members of the Werribee and District Collectible Vehicle Club and Dave has won Werribee Car of the Year three times – with two different cars.
This year, the vehicle club will again be taking part in the Weerama Festival’s Show’n’Shine on 4 March, which will include some of Dave’s cars.
The father-and-son team said the best part of collecting classic cars was driving them.
“We get lots of waves and stares and people come up and ask questions,” Dave said.
Although they own an impressive collection of Studebakers , Dave said he never intended to amass so many.
“We’ve only ever sold two, because we ran out of space,” Michael said.
“We’ve had to build a lot of the cars from scratch, and sometimes you have to re-do something two or three times to get it right.”
