The Heathcote resident simply called on a neighbour who owned an HR Holden utility that had been in storage for 15 years. 

Following an eight-year restoration, the ute will participate in the VACC Centennial Cavalcade and Show ’n Shine in Bendigo later this month.

The event celebrates the formation of VACC in Bendigo in September 1918. The group’s foundation was driven by Bendigo-based car dealers and quickly grew into a statewide organisation representing the automotive industry.

The occasion holds special significance for Mr Middleton and his family, who have operated a Heathcote-based VACC member business, Rob Middleton Motors, for more than three decades. 

Mr Middleton has always loved the HR Holden’s shape and had admired this particular example for many years before making it his own.

“The owner lived across the road and when I was a kid I’d always see it. He’s 95 and had it as a work ute for years. He bought it from a Heathcote dealership in the ’70s. When he handed his license in, I bought it. It had a cattle crate on the back of it and was pretty rugged-looking at the time,” he said.

Read about some of the car lovers taking part in this weekend’s cavalcade:

Mr Middleton restored the ute with the help of family and friends.

“My partner, Samantha Heaton, and I rubbed it all back to bare metal. I also got a lot of help from her father, Geoffrey Pearce. All the family gave us a hand,” he said.

“Then Adrian Brown and his son Zachary restored it and did a fantastic job. Zachary is our apprentice mechanic, but he is handy at panel beating. After that we painted it at the back of the car yard on a hot summer’s day.”

Despite the dedicated effort, the ute’s first trip back on the road didn’t go to plan. 

“I took Samantha and my puppy dog for a trip to Wallan on New Year’s Eve, but it took us about five hours to get there because it blew a head gasket. After that I decided to rebuild the motor,” Mr Middleton said.

Despite that setback, Mr Middleton plans to drive the car to Byron Bay after the VACC event.

You can see the VACC Centennial Cavalcade and Show ’n Shine from 12pm-4pm on Saturday 22 September in the Bendigo Town Hall precinct.

The free event will showcase up to 200 cars, commercial vehicles, trucks and motorcycles, while the VACC Centennial Cavalcade will feature 100 different vehicles from 100 different years, driving from Melbourne to Bendigo.

For more details about the events visit the VACC’s website.

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