Story: Darrell Nash
Classic car enthusiast Les Hanson of Lake Innes is poised to realise a boyhood dream.
Mr Hanson, the proud owner of a
fully restored Peugeot 203, has entered his pet “Pug” in the 60th Anniversary Re-run of the Redex Reliability Trial.
This prized event, around Australia, is due to start in mid-May, 2013.
Peugeots dominated the inaugural event
in 1953, won by Cessnock driver Ken Tubman from a big field that included
colourful motoring identity “Gelignite” Jack Murray in a Ford Mercury and legendary radio announcer Jack Davey.
Although only a lad in 1953, Mr Hanson had already developed a strong love of cars.
“I was disappointed to miss a ride 60 years ago but now I can drive the dream,” he said.
The Redex trials captured huge nation-wide interest, plus massive publicity.
Early model Holdens failed to make the grade but the gritty French-built Peugeots proved tough and mighty durable.
“They simply outstayed the opposition,” Mr Hanson added.
“I always wanted to own one so, when I retired a few years ago, I began a serious search, knowing that surviving 203s were quite rare,” he said.
“The car I eventually bought, a 203C model, was first registered on Christmas Eve 1954. Ed Cole, a Peugeot dealer in Colac, Victoria owned it for many years before it changed hands.”
Today, fitted with a later model Peugeot 403 engine block, sleeves and pistons, Mr Hanson’s vehicle is not an exact replica of Ken Tubman’s car but he expects it to perform competitively, as it has less than 19,000 miles on the clock.
Mr Hanson, a keen Hastings Auto Restorers Society member, says he knows enough about cars to appreciate a genuine classic.
“Restoring this car to the stage where it can tackle an event of this type is well worth the effort,” he said. “The rebuilt engine also features a special thin head gasket to increase compression, while the big bore exhaust is stainless steel.”
The 60th Anniversary Redex event is scheduled to start at Maitland on Sunday, May 12.
The field will travel north to Queensland, then head for Darwin and Alice Springs, with the three-week itinerary also including sections of South Australia and Victoria, before finishing in Sydney.
