The road taken to get a 1957 Austin Healey 100-6 to the Vancouver Island Motor Gathering on Sunday speaks of love, loss, joy and family.
There will be just under 400 vehicles — classics, unique and custom cars, as well as some motorcycles — at the event, sponsored by the GAIN Group and hosted at its Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit.
One of those cars on display will be Louise Solomons’ Austin Healey.
The car, which is in the final stages of a Concours d’Elegance restoration, once belonged to her father, who bought it from his brother in the late 1960s.
“He just loved that car,” said Solomons. “Although he owned other classic cars in his time, that one was his favourite.”
Over the years, her father entered the car in numerous car shows and drove it until about 2006, but parked it because it needed work — and he didn’t trust anybody else to work on it.
When he died in 2016, he left the car to Solomons, who travelled back to England to settle the estate and take possession of the car.
Bringing the car back to Canada was a story in itself, starting with having to fend off people offering to buy the car from her.
“It was in really terrible shape,” she said. “It was definitely not how I remembered it.”
She took the car to Mike Grams at Coachwerks Automotive Restoration, because of their reputation in restoring Austin Healeys — having done more than 40 restorations on the British classics.
“Louise’s car is going to be one of the highlights of the show,” said Grams, who founded the automotive restoration business in 1998. “The car has been taken down to the last nut and bolt and rebuilt.”
He expects the car will garner attention, given the Vancouver Island Motor Gathering has become known for its ability to attract high-end collector cars in the local and Lower Mainland car-show circuit.
His company only takes on between 15 and 20 restorations a year, with cars and clients from across North America.
Although Solomons’ father would take her along to some of the shows, he never let her drive it.
“Even my mum only drove it once or twice,” she said. “It was his baby.”
When the restoration is complete — expected to be before the end of the year — it will be her first time behind the wheel.
Although the car will be restored to high show standards, it will not just be a trailer queen. She expects to drive it, weather permitting, as her fun car.
She has four children, but only one, who is 11 years old, has expressed a passion for cars. Solomons isn’t in a hurry to let him drive, but plans to keep the car in the family.
“It was my father’s pride and joy,” she said.
Soon it will be hers, as well.
The Vancouver Island Motor Gathering is not just a car show, it is also a fundraiser for local charities. In 2017, the event raised more than $174,000 in cash and $180,000 in in-kind donations for the Children’s Health Foundation. This year, all monies collected will benefit the David Foster Foundation and Cowichan District Hospital Foundation.
There is a suggested donation of $5 minimum for spectators. Non-judged vehicles are $25, judged vehicles $50. The event runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit, 4063 Cowichan Valley Hwy., Cowichan (spectator parking and entrance off Drinkwater Road).
For more information, go to motorgathering.com.
