Model companion is a smash hit

By Marc McGowan
PAKENHAM car afficionado Kym Greenfield’s 1929 Model A Ford has had a more intriguing history than most.
His father, Pat, acquired the vehicle in 1960 in a straight swap for his Norton ES2 motorcycle with his cousin, Ray.
It started off as a company car for Rawleighs Cosmetics, before its more recent use for kangaroo shooting and rabbiting.
Pat intended turning it into a hot rod, but those plans were dashed when Kym, then three years old, ventured out to the garage and decided to have a bit of fun with the car.
The only problem with his ‘fun’ was that it involved smashing the front of the car.
“Because I wrecked it, dad just hung onto it,” he said.
Fastforward to 1975, and the fatherandson combination decided to restore the vintage wheels, and it turned into a sixyear endeavour that cost between $5000 and $6000 to complete.
“That was a lot of money back in the ‘70s. Dad and I paid half each,” Kym said.
“We stripped it right down to the chassis.”
He grew up in Port Pirrie, which is three hours north of Adelaide, and he helped start a car club there, of which he is now a life member.
Since moving to Pakenham two years ago, he has also joined the Gippsland Historical Automobile Club.
His father still lives in South Australia and shares the fourcylinder machine with his son, but he drove it over in May, and Kym has had it since then.
The vehicle has done 33,500 miles since 1981, but it is mainly used for national Model A Ford meetings now, and his highlight of these meetings came in 1995, when he drove to Alice Springs.
“Every state has a national meeting. It was just the achievement of driving so far and being able to see Ayers Rock,” Kym said.
It is certainly a different experience to when he is zooming around in his 2003 Ford Falcon XR6.
“The biggest difference I notice is with the power steering and automatic,” he said. “I have a sore shoulder, and I really notice the difference with all the roundabouts in Pakenham.”
Despite all of his accomplishments in the car, Kym gains a lot of satisfaction from the small perks it offers.
“I get a lot of pleasure when younger kids see it and ask me to toot the horn!” he said.
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