Cars and Motorcycles
Cars and Motorcycles - tales from my life
Michael Organ
Introduction
Cars and motorbikes have been an important part of my life - they have provided mobility and the pleasure of ownership. As the following account shows, I have owned a variety of vehicles over the years and used them in many different ways. I have been more attached to some than others, and the history of each is unique, even if short-lived. It is interesting how personal transport can be such a revelation of character and personality, yet it is rarely talked or written about. My early interest in motorsport is reflected in the purchases I maid prior to, and during the early years of, my married life. They were also impacted upon by my employment conditions and peer groups associated with that. Of course in the majority of cases it was all about practicality - getting from A to B - but not in all cases.
1975
Honda XL125. My first vehicle was a near new Honda XL 125cc motorcycle I purchased it from a car dealership in Wollongong for $400 during 1975, my first year at university. I was then aged 19. The bike was similar to the one in the picture on the left - I don't have an original photograph - though my recollection is that it had orange-brown coloured tank and no rack. I did not own the bike for long - only about a month, I think - as I needed a car with a boot to help lug guitar speakers around and get me to classes at the University of Wollongong during my first year there undertaking a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) degree. Because I had the bike for such a short period of time I cannot remember much about it, apart from the fact that I wore a daggy white helmet. I can barely even remember riding it, though it was a nice little bike and I never fell off. I didn't have another motorbike until about 20 years later. I remember in primary school a friend of mine had a small motorbike which we used to ride - a BSA Bantam, and his brother Bill had a beautiful brown Ducati. I think I went for a motorbike first up out of school because it was the cheapest option at the time. However I quickly realised that I needed a car. I was able to do almost a straight swap for a car. Sold: 1975.
Holden HR 1967 white . My first car was a white Holden HR which I purchased from Bulli Motor Village, trading in my Honda XL125. It was similar to the one pictured on the left. I needed a car to drive myself and friends around and, as I was in a small band at the time called Raven. We also used its cavernous boot to transport speaker boxes, including Oscar's Marshall cabinet. Eventually rust and collapsing rear springs meant the end of the HR, though it served me well for almost 4 years. It was a lovely car in may ways - roomy, enough power in the straight six 186, handling not too sloppy and nice lines for a Holden from that era. Unfortunately the HR as a model was susceptible to rust, and my white one was no exception. I remember spending a lot of time cutting rust out, patching it up and covering it with cheap paint jobs. It had blue trim, a column gear shift, front bench seat and was very basic. It did not even have a heater and I remember when I drove it down to the Snowy once that it iced up on the inside of the windscreen - it was that cold! Sold: 1978.
1976
Holden HR 1967 - brown. For some reason, which I can no longer recall, I brought a second HR in 1976. I can remember the two cars sitting on my front lawn at 6 Westmacott Parade, Bulli, but I must have only had it for a couple of months before getting rid of it. Perhaps I didn't like to colour, and I vaguely recall it may have been an automatic, though it is more likely that I could not afford the two and decided to stick with whitey, which was subject to rust - like all the HRs - and getting worn out. Whilst I loved whitey, I really had no time for this car. Sold: 1976
1978
Holden HQ 1974 station wagon. I purchased this car out of the Trading Post for about $2500 when the HR died. I travelled out to western Sydney to pick it up and remember that when I arrived there I could not take it because the owner had lent the hotwire mag wheels to a mate to help pass rego! The wagon was a basic white, though it had lovely blue panels sprayed on the sides and bonnet, velvet curtains in the back, and a nice set of wheels. It had been done up a bit, including removal of the column shift to be replaced by a floor shifter, which used to get stuck, and the inclusion of a Statesman grill at the front. I think I only had it for less than a year before getting a Torana. I remember the gear shift getting stuck a number of times and I had to get out and bang it loose with a hammer. So much for good ol' do-it-yourself. Sold: 1978.
1978
Holden Torana SLR 1975 - orange & black. I purchased this car off my then girlfriend Jeanette's father Neville -
I traded in the HQ
and gave him some money for this hot little Aussie sports car. The
Torana was a V8 - 4.2 litre - with a bit of power and nice to drive,
especially after the mechanical troubles with the HQ and the sloppy old
HRs. It was a dark orange - basically similar to the one in the picture
on the left, though with square headlights and a small upper black
stripe. It had black trim and I put some deep red-purple velvet inserts
in the front seats. The Torana was a nice car, though the clutch was
stiff, as was the gear box, and I had to spend a lot of money on things
such as tuning. At the time I was very interested in touring cars -
this was the era of Peter Brock, Alan Moffit and Alan Grice - Bathurst
dues and the Holder versus Ford wars. I was an avid fan,
especially of the Holden brigade remember going to the Bathurst 1000 in
1980 - the year that Dick Johnson hit the rock whilst in the lead.. I
probably drove the orange Torana up to the race that year. Sold: 1980.
1980
Holden Torana A9X 1977 - yellow & black . Once I had the SLR Torana I starting to develop an interest in this make, collecting magazines and articles that featured it. When I was working full time at the Thirroul brickworks I started to look into an upgrade of the orange 4.2 and trading it in on a better car. Naturally I was a big fan of the Torana A9X released at the end of 1977, and I remember during 1979-80 regularly looking in the classifieds for any for sale. For months I would scan the papers and travel up to Paramatta Road, Sydney to look at the various car dealerships that had these rare but beautiful Toranas for sale. One day I happened across a car listed in an advertisement as a Torana SLR5000 for sale in a north Sydney yard. When I checked it out I realised it was an A9X, on sale for $6500. It had obviously been through the wars, having seen use to pull a horse float, with horse hair throughout. It also had an aftermarket air-conditioner and a sunroof. The paint job was also worn. Nevertheless I didn't hesitate in trading in the orange SLR for this pale yellow and black A9X. It had a basic 5 litre V8 and could do over 80kmp in 1st gear. The front scope on the car sucked fumes into the airvents so the car showed its racing heritage. During the almost 3 years that I owned it I had it resprayed in the original pain colours - this can be seen in the picture on the left. I also had a set of hotwire mags installed and the sun roof resealed. The car was nice to drive, with a lot of power - I only ever get it up to a fast speed on the expressway to Sydney, but it could obviously wind out, despite having the standard motor. In hindsight I would have liked to have had the time and money to keep it and restore it, but as it was I drove it and the cost of petrol, insurance and maintenance was a bit much for me, especially when I stopped working at the brickworks at Thirroul and started university again in 1981, this time doing geology. I remember driving out of Lithgow on my birthday in that year and a cop pulling me over, saying I was speeding - I wasn't - and checking the tyres on the car. Everything was fine, but it just showed how that car was a magnet for such trouble. I eventually sold it through the Trading Post to someone from the western suburbs and often wonder where it is today. Sold: March 1983.
1983
Ford Escort RS2000 (copy) - brown. Having sold the A9X I purchased a 2 litre Escort - it was in an old Aussie twin cam shell, with an updated 2 litre motor and was a real change after the big V8 - similar to the car on the left, though with black stripes. A local friend of mine painted it in these colours, because it was a simple mustard colour when I purchased it. We also added RS2000 badges. I enjoyed owning the Escort, though it had its own problems - the brakes were an issue and at one stage they failed whilst it was being driven home from Sydney - running into the back of a car and requiring some work on the front. Jeanette and I used this car when we joined the Volvo Car Club and did a bit of timed track racing at Oran Park and a few hill climbs at Dapto. I had the Escort for a long time and it serve me well until I had to get a bigger car when the kids - Andrew and Kyle - can along in 1991 and 1993. Sold: 1990.
1983
Ford Escort - Lotus - blue. With my money from the A9X I also purchased a cute blue Lotus Escort.
It looked great, but was mechanically a real problem and I had to spend
a lot of money on it before eventually selling it after about a year.
We did a few races in it, though as I said the engine was fragile. It
was an amazing vehicle in that the Lotus twin cam engine pulled like a
V8 and would have been amazing to drive if tuned properly. Sold: 1984.
1990
Holden Camira station wagon - green. Andrew was born in 1991 and there was a need for a bigger car than the brown Escort, which by this time was getting run down. I sold it and got a Camira for about $5K. It was roomy and ran OK, with not a lot of problems, though it was relatively slow after the racing cars I had been driving. This was my first, practical family car, and it served us well, with plenty of space in the back for baby seats and transporting stuff around. At the end of its life I gave it to the local scrap metal yard as it was not worth reselling. Scrapped: 1997.
1997
Toyota Seca - white . When the Camira died we purchased a Seca off of Jeanette's niece. It
was a great little car, with a nice body and motor and not too
expensive to run. Jeanette mainly used it for work etc., and I moved
over to using the motorbike. It took us on a lot of trips to Lithgow back
to visit Jeanette's family, and up to Sydney for various excursions
with the kids. It was a nice car to drive as well and very reliable. Unfortunately I blew up the engine whilst driving home from Sydney one day, but we had that fixed. Sold: 2005.
1998
Yamaha Virago 250 . I loved this bike and rode it practically non-stop for a decade, including a trip around Tasmania in 2005 - the photograph on the left is from that excursion. I purchased it for travelling to and from work, and it was great to have a low cost vehicle for once - petrol was only about $10 a week max, and other costs were very low, so it worked out fine. Plus I also loved riding it - it was like a small Harley, where you could just sit back and relax and enjoy the view, though it was a bit small. I never much went over 80kph on it, and for this reason it lasted a long time - some ten years. I eventually sold it to a man in Fairy Meadow as the engine was pretty well worn out. I had it both before I get elected to parliament, and after. Sold: 2008.
2002
2003
Holden Commodore - silver . This was a lovely car to drive and served me well during my two years as Federal member for Cunningham. I did a lot of driving in it, especially between Wollongong and Canberra and Wollongong and Sydney. It was the first new car I had ever had, though I had to give it back when I lost my seat in October 2004. Returned: 2004.
2005
Holden Vectra - white. What a dog of a car - always playing up and needing a lot of money spent on maintenance. I think I purchased it for about $5000. The Vectra was made in Germany as a left-hand drive car and everything swapped around for Australia. It was mechanically temperamental and this cost me money. Apart from that is was a lovely car - nice design with the mags I had; comfortable and well fitted out. But let down by mechanical issues such as tuning and electrics. I eventually traded it in on a Viva, a Holden branded Korean vehicle. Traded: 2008.
2008
Holden Viva - black . The first new car I had ever owned. I was so sick and tired of the constant paying out of money for used cars that I decided to purchase a new car and hopefully have many years where maintenance wasn't an issue. And this was the case with the Viva. For $100 a week over 5 years I got a new car which was very low maintenance. The only problems - it was black and subject to dings in car parks, plus it was an automatic - the first I had ever owned - and these used up tyres and brakes more than the ordinary manual. Apart from that it was a great little car. I would have liked one with a bit more performance, but it was fine. We eventually sold it to Jessie and got a new Mazda 3. Sold: 2017.
2016
Mazda 3 - red. This was purchased new from the dealer in September. A lovely car - 2.8 litre, with plenty of power, great sound system, comfortable and low petrol consumption. Drove up to Bryon Bay in a single day from Gosford in 2017 and no problems. $158 a week for 5 years. It is a great family car, though in this case it has suffered a few dints and scratches from car park encounters. I love the style of this car, and especially the red colour which brings that out. It is quite a sporty design, and the mags really set it off.
2020
CFMOTO 300 - black. This Chinese knock-off of the European KTM brand is a great little bike. It is good for around town, short trips, and even long trips as long as you stay around 90kph and 5000rpm. Great mileage and very cheap to run. I brought it near new for $4,000 with less than 10K on the clock. It has a kind of modern Mad Max / Batman styling, in black with silver trim. Very cool.
Site last updated: 26 March 2023. Return to Michael Organ's Home Page. Any comments, corrections, or additions to this site are most welcome.
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