BOLD in blue and full of style, this 1954 Holden FJ sedan pays homage to the fictional colony of human-like characters made famous by television, The Smurfs.
Titled Poppa Smurf, the vehicle packs a punch with its 186 red motor, five-speed manual transmission, modified steering, disc brakes, improved suspension and state of the art electrical system.
With a full instrumental dash, power door locks, a dash camera and GPS, owner Don Lockwood is proud to call the vehicle his own.
Mr Lockwood previously owned a “hot” FJ when he was an apprentice motor mechanic throughout the late 60s.
“When I completed my apprenticeship here in Mount Gambier I had an FJ,” he said.
“There was then another that came into work, from Victoria that had a bit of work done on it.
“I traded the other one in and swapped it for that one.”
When a friend told Mr Lockwood about another FJ for sale around 14 years ago he jumped on the opportunity.
“This vehicle was found at a Yahl farm and took eight years to restore,” he said.
“It has now been on the road for almost four years and has travelled over 14,000kms around the South East.”
Mr Lockwood believed his previous FJ was also blue in colour.
“My memory is not that good but my original FJ was a Ford blue colour and we could not find it,” he said.
“That is why this one is blue and we found this colour which is an American GM colour called light stellar blue.
“The metallic was altered to make it shinier and from what I could find I think it was an early Corvette colour.”
The body of the vehicle is mostly original.
“It is mostly original except the hood scopes on the bonnet and the wing on the boot,” Mr Lockwood said.
“The burgundy velour upholstery is nice and soft and has be restored.
“The front seat was originally a bench set for three people, but we have changed it to have two bucket seats.”
“The back seat is original and has just been reupholstered.”
The vehicle’s dash is original with added extras.
Mr Lockwood enjoys spending time behind the wheel over the weekend.
“Whenever I have time I like to take the car on a cruise,” he said.
“I have drove down to Coles to go shopping before.
The car has travelled to Ballarat and Gawler for general motors days and has previously featured in the Wigley Reserve All Holden Day.
“Some of the people that take their cars use a trailer,” Mr Lockwood said.
“We do not, we just drive them as I will not spend all this money on it to just put it on a trailer.”
“Of course, you are going to get a few stone chips on it but that is the fun of driving it and you can always fix it up.”
Mr Lockwood will travel to the 2018 FX & FJ Nationals held at Murray Bridge from December 28 to January 1 and will feature in its prestigious show and shine on December 29.
Being a member of the Holdens of Age car club, South East Classic and Unique Club of Mount Gambier and the FX – FJ Holden Car Club of Australia – Melbourne Chapter, Mr Lockwood gets to shares his passion with many other car enthusiasts.
Mr Lockwood will also take part in the Holdens of Age Car Club 20th Anniversary on April 13 at the Valley Lakes.
Mr Lockwood said “Poppa Smurf” was not originally going to be a gimmick.
“I had a mate that was in the car club and he had an EK sedan called Kermit the frog,” he said.
“He is now doing up a panel van up called Miss Piggy.
“He told me I should call it something and said, ‘look at you and your beard, call it Poppa Smurf,’ what a ridiculous name.”
Once Mr Lockwood looked into it he believed it made sense as the figure was blue like the car with a red hat like the interior and had a beard similar to his own.
“I ended up just going with it and I now have a soft toy Poppa Smurf sitting in the passenger seat as my body guard,” Mr Lockwood said.
“It just gets called Poppa Smurf now.”
