By Mikayla van Loon
85 years ago a young woman received a car for her 21st birthday.
That young woman just happened to be the late Lady Pamela Vestey, granddaughter of Dame Nellie Melba.
And the car, a 1939 Sunbeam-Talbot Ten, has re-emerged in its original working condition all thanks to the handy work of two restoration enthusiasts Terry Sully and Mal Clark.
But the story for them began much earlier than that, some 27-years-ago when Lady Vestey was looking to get one more ride out of her beloved car.
At the time Mr Sully was president of the Sunbeam and Talbot Car Club of Victoria, and so receiving a call about vehicle in need of repair wasn’t uncommon but to travel to Coombe Cottage, that was slightly more unusual.
“Lady Pamela Vestey rang up and said, ‘I’ve got an old Sunbeam Talbot and I’d like to make a run again’. And ‘could somebody come up and have a look at it? Can you do that sort of thing?’,” he said.
“So I went up there. Mal went up there. Mal’s a restore extraordinaire, probably one of the best, he does beautiful work. We actually got the car to go within half an hour.
“And she got in and drove it around the farm and she said ‘I’m happy now, I’ve driven it again’.”
Mr Sully said from the one small interaction, he could tell she was “a very lovely lady, very easy to talk to”.
In those two and a half decades, Mr Sully said he hadn’t known what happened to the car, until once again he received a phone call inquiring about a valuation.
This time it was from Coombe Yarra Valley managing director Grant Cummin.
The historic Talbot had been safely tucked away in the stables, protected from the elements for all those years.
“There was no rust in it but when it was in the shed, the rats and mice, the vermin, ate away all the interior,” Mr Sully said.
The estate however, had spent quite a substantial amount on repairing and restoring the interior with new carpet and seating.
“I had no intention of buying the car but Mal and I were worried about what would happen to it,” Mr Sully said.
That’s all it took for Mr Sully to purchase the car and with the help of Mr Clark, bring it back to life.
“It’s only done 32,000 miles [50,000km]. Mal found under the bonnet, engraved under the bonnet, the engine’s been replaced. It’s done 500 miles. It’s a brand new engine,” Mr Sully said.
“The car basically hasn’t been used, and I can’t verify this, but it basically hasn’t been used for 75 years, minimum, because [Lady Vestey] bought a Holden and a Mercedes.
“We pulled the whole front of the car off, all the headlights, and pulled the radiator out, we couldn’t believe how well made the thing is.”
Mr Sully said over the five weeks it took to restore the old car to its original running condition, “it was a labour of love”.
“That’s the thrill of doing up old cars, chasing the original parts, it’s a lot of fun,” he said.
Despite saying that it’s “chalk and cheese to modern cars”, Mr Sully said hearing the sound of the gears and all the work of the engine, makes for a joyous ride.
The only downside is the maximum speed of 30 miles per hour or around 60 kilometres per hour, a reason Mr Sully could understand Lady Vestey’s purchasing of a Mercedes instead.
Officially unveiling the Sunbeam-Talbot in its former glory on Wednesday 18 September in Mitcham, Mr Sully said “it’s a part of history”.
Now, the decision on where it will go next is still to be decided.
“I’m very careful where it’s going to go next. We’ve got interest from England on the car and I said no, it must stay in Australia,” Mr Sully said.
The ideal scenario, Mr Sully said, would be if it could stay in and around the Lilydale region, and in some way put on display to remain a part of history.
