VS Commodore Wagon: A Driving History pt 12

She was big.  She was comfortable.  And, she was my "converted coupe".  To get the car roadworthy, I had to remove the backseat because I couldn't find a specific part for her.

Lowered, she was powered by 5L V8 with cold air induction and 3.5inch exhaust.  The car rumbled down the road.  To buy her, I had to go to Bundaberg.  Not that I minded.  Bundaberg.  Home of the famous distillery, and where I had my first taste of that nectar of the Gods, Bundy Royale liquor, a chocolate/coffee masterpiece.

The story with this occurred shortly after the purchase.  She did only cost $5000.  But she was also high mileage.  That didn't bother me.  She looked good.  Heavy tinted windows.  Fancy mags.  It was okay.  But the owner was trying to fit a rear differential to the car when I got there.  And given that it delayed my return journey, I probably should have walked away from the car, right there.  But, I didn't.  The car did get fitted, and the paperowrk was filed, and I drove home.

The Wife and I were not long out of of Bundy, when I picked up a tail.

"Uh-oh," I said, and as she turned to look at me,"Coppers."

"Are you speeding?"  I wonder what she was trying to say about my driving.

"No.  just under the limit."  Actually, I was surprised too.

The followed for a time.  And then, because of the loudness of the car, the tinted windows, and it being lowered, the coppers proably thought, "Hotrod.  Its not legal."

Their blue and reds started flashing in my rearview mirror.  Sure as a bear shits in the woods, (maybe I should now say a roo shits in the outback) they wanted me to stop.

I pulled off the road and into a parking lot of some kind, for a park I think.  I was careful not to rev the engine.  I wasn't sure it would pass a noise test, and didn't want to give them any more fuel for the fire they trying to light.  I wasn't far from Yellow Glen- these were small town coppers.  You know how they are. 

They walked over to the car.  I rolled down my window.  The face of the one on my side did a double take- I'm grey haired and older, not a young hoon.

"Can I help you, officer?"

Well, I'll say this, having made the decision, they were determined to find something wrong with the car.  Out came a light meter.  They put that to the tint.  It passed.  They ran hands over the tyre tread.  It passed.  They checked the interior, it passed.  Ran a noise test, the car passed (I was a little surprised at that, but I certainly wasn't going to argue).

About a half hour went by, of these tests, in the hot January sun.  They couldn't find anything wrong.  They let me go.

It was a hot drive home.  The air-con didn't work.  But the car made it.

For the short time I had the car, I enjoyed driving it.  I brought it up from Charters Towers when we first bought this place.  It was useful during the move, even if my driveway tore the crap out of my bodykit.  But I had a job that required me to drive 1100km per week.  The wagon cost me, at the time (it would be more now) $35/day.  I switched over to the Audi 80 (next installment) which I had for even less time.  But the car was still useful until the fire.

I was lucky.  where it was parked, it actually didn't take too much damage.  But the key for it was destroyed, and the body kit melted.  I sold it to a bloke for $1000 cash not long after the fire.  I needed the money and I couldn't prove that it ran.