General News
20 April, 2023
Car full of memories for Wendy Pearse
In 1959, Alf Leech travelled from Maryborough to South Australia, where he picked up a brand-new AP 2 Chrysler Royal. More than 60 years later, Alf’s granddaughter Wendy, along with her husband and son, travelled from Maryborough to...
In 1959, Alf Leech travelled from Maryborough to South Australia, where he picked up a brand-new AP 2 Chrysler Royal.
More than 60 years later, Alf’s granddaughter Wendy, along with her husband and son, travelled from Maryborough to Albury/Wodonga, where that same car — restored to mint condition — was a star in the annual Chryslers on the Murray.
“My grandfather had the AG Leech Chrysler dealership here,” Wendy said.
“This car was for pa’s personal use. Over the years he and my grandmother did trips in it to the Northern Territory and all over the place.
“My dad and pa would travel to up to Broken Hill and get parts for the quarry at Talbot — dad said they would sit on nothing but 100 miles per hour all the way. It was also driven around the paddocks chasing sheep. The paddocks were full of rocks, so it was well-used, pa drove it fairly hard.
“So it’s had a pretty colourful life.”
Wendy’s grandparents eventually retired the car to a shed, and when they passed away it was moved to her father’s truck depot where it sat for many years.
Finally, Wendy convinced her father to let her take the car, and that’s when its new life began.
“When we got it home and pulled the seats apart they were full of wool and newspapers and the rats had got into it, it just smelled foul,” she said.
“Obviously they all had to be replaced. It was a ground up restoration which is why it took so long — everything had to be redone. We did it in bits and pieces which has taken so long.”
As well as holding treasured memories of Wendy’s childhood, the car proved to be a time capsule to her grandparents’ life.
The glovebox was sealed from rats and mildew and, when they opened it, among the assorted bits and bobs were Christmas cards, one from the Chrysler manufacturers in South Australia where the car was made.
After seven years of painstaking work, the car was finally ready to be put on show, and Wendy and her family joined hundreds of other Chrysler enthusiasts where their hard work was rewarded with first place in their category.
Unfortunately, Wendy’s father Ken passed away in 2019, so never got to see the car restored to its former glory.
“I know dad is looking down on us smiling, he would be happy the car will stay in the family now for generations to come,” she said.
