When tiny cobwebs start to appear on the mudguard of one of his future vehicle projects, that's a sure sign Canberra collector Darrell Leemhuis is car-rich, but terribly time-poor. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading $ 0 / $ NaN /year All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue "Will people think I'm a bit mad, having all these?" the self-confessed car nut asked, with a laugh.
"But you know, I really don't care what people think. This is my thing. I just love cars.
All cars." However, owning a multimillion-dollar, driveable and road-registered collection of this size - around 35 in all - comes with its own down-to-earth issues. Such as: in the depths of a subzero Canberra winter, how do you keep 35 car batteries charged up? "You wouldn't believe how many [battery] trickle chargers I went through until I found a brand that was super reliable," he said.
His goal is to find the time to enjoy his collection more. Picture by Gary Ramage "And then I bought a heap of them." So all the way through his significant garage are extension cords with chargers plugged in and gently feeding the batteries with voltage to keep them prepared for their regular start-ups to warm their collective oils, valves and seals.
Some are so old they need a squirt of oil across their exposed valve actuators before start-up. Like many veteran and vintage cars, there's a degree of finesse to the starting procedure and each one is different; perhaps one prod or two on the accelerator throttle and just the right amount of choke. Get the procedure right and it's all fine and dandy.
Get it wrong and you have to wait and provide gentle mechanical encouragement. "I really need a cheat sheet of the start procedures on the older cars because at the moment, it's all in my head," he said. Most car-loving tragics dream of an eclectic garage just like this one.
But there's a cost. Not just a monetary cost - that goes without saying - but a time-draining one. Darrell Leemhuis surrounded by cars from the turn of the century to modern and complex.
Picture by Gary Ramage Combustion cars - and EVs, too - are not engineered to be parked up for long periods of time, even when secure and well-protected from the elements. So with the customary attention to detail and enthusiasm that is required when you build a Summernats grand champion-winning car from 2009, Mr Leemhuis keeps a spreadsheet of all the cars, when they were last serviced, their registration status, any repairs or attention needed, and when they were last driven. "I'm so time-poor that trying to keep on top of it is a problem," he admitted.
"But I'm really lucky because my 17-year-old son is as mad about cars as I am so he helps me work through the weekend logistics." Darrell Leemhuis knows the intimate details - and starting procedures of each of his cars. Picture by Gary Ramage Another of the time-consuming processes is sifting through an ice cream bucket full of car keys to find the correct one.
"One day I will give each one their own little number plate tag," he said. Then there's the oil changes and the "101" little things that go wrong, like a blown tail-light bulb. "With old cars, you can't just go to and buy something like a tail-light bulb for a six-volt voltage system," he said.
So just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a network of friends and fellow car nuts - in this case, the ACT Vintage and Veteran Car Club - to own a collection and help track down the necessary bits and pieces and source the required expertise for some of the trickier jobs. It helps to be handy on the tools, too. "I've taught myself how to do most things like welding and spray-painting and mechanical repairs, because you have to," he said.
"I enjoy that side of it, too. When I get the time." The unbridled joy, of course, is always in the driving.
They are all road registered and used for various events such as club outings, displays and concours. One shelved wall of his shed is groaning from the weight of trophies won down the years. What proper would be complete without a Lamborghini? Picture by Gary Ramage He loves memorabilia like old service station signs and petrol pumps, and has hunted down special digit number plates to match to his cars, like his beautiful original 1957 Hudson Hornet which is used to cruise around Summernats.
Some, like his veteran Buick roadster, putt along at barely more than a brisk jog, while his low-slung black Lamborghini convertible has a top speed only suited to a racetrack. And they are all "keepers". "I have a special connection with every one of them," he said.
Share Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Email Copy PB Peter Brewer Reporter Telling the truth and holding agencies accountable must matter to us all. It's also important to tell the story well, and factually. Contact me at peter.
[email protected] Telling the truth and holding agencies accountable must matter to us all.
It's also important to tell the story well, and factually. Contact me at peter.brewer@canberratimes.
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