General News
28 February, 2025
Historic vehicle show to roll into Clunes
The Historic Commercial Vehicle Club of Australia (HCVCA) Ballarat branch returns for another year with a convoy of historic trucks in tow.
The Clunes Showground will be filled with old commercial vehicles of all kinds on March 9. From trucks through to caravans and tractors, all there to awe-inspire and raise money for charity.
Although these commercial vehicles are 25 years or older, they’re a lot more than an old tractor rusting in a farmer’s field. Carefully cared for, maintained by enthusiasts, these vehicles often have never looked better.
HCVCA Ballarat branch member Barry Dodson returns this year with two carefully restored trucks, one red and the other green.
The wooden flatbeds on his International C1800 Series and the bigger C1840 are so well maintained they look better than most home decks. That’s not to mention the hand painted detailing done in nearby towns.
“Some people are farmers, some people want to be dentists, I just wanted to be a truck driver,” he said.
Mr Dodson wanted to be a truck driver for as long as he can remember, and he was, for 52 years. But eventually the career wasn’t as fun anymore and so the simple pleasure came from old familiar hardware.
“It’s just stress free, hassle free, no timetables, no red tape, no law enforcement hassles or anything like that,” he said.
But like any enthusiast he’s got a project in waiting. A beige Cummins Diesel V8 903 sitting at the back of the shed. This unassuming truck is of particular importance to Mr Dodson.
“It was sort of special, a special truck from day one,” he said.
Mr Dodson bought it from a farmer 10 years ago, who previously had bought it second hand. How it ended up second hand? Mr Dodson traded it in in 1984, he had owned it for 5 years.
One of the last of its series of around 400, it was special from the get go. When others of its kind were red and white it came off the factory floor beige.
“[I] won’t even have to pull the cabin off that one. But those other two, they’ve been stripped back to chassis rails,” he said.
But once it is restored he won’t be getting any more, it makes for a logistical challenge organising drivers to get them to Clunes. No matter his decades of experience, he can’t drive two trucks at once let alone three.
But if he were to need help, he’s got a community of truck enthusiasts to turn to, it’s why he keeps coming back after all these years.
“Just the camaraderie and the people you get to know. You sort of know a lot of people from a lot of areas, it’s just a friendship. Everyone swaps parts and things like that and helps everyone. It’s just a big, close knit community in old trucks,” he said.
In the spirit of community effort, Mr Dodson doesn’t restore these trucks alone. From people doing the detailing to his brother-in-law doing the major mechanics its truly a small community effort.
“[I do this] just to have them. I’ve always lived for trucks since I ever remember really. Just have trucks, buy them, and look after them, and love them, and display them and that,” he said.
Alongside Mr Dodson’s trucks will be other restorations, food trucks, and much more. Something for everyone he said, all at the 2025 Clunes Historic Truck Show, Sunday, March 9, 2025.