Cresta gets pinked!

Well the decision was made and after much deliberation, hesitation and contemplation the Cresta is now pink.  Now that it is finally done how do I feel about my decision? AMAZING! I love her more than ever. She is now, without a doubt of hesitation, the car of my dreams...

The most exciting part of the process was hitching her up to my caravan "Betty" and seeing the pink duo together for the very first time - they look soooo cute together.

Our first outing was down the hill from Maleny to the Ettamogah Pub at Aussie World - about half an hour's drive away where we attended the Australia Day Car show.  When we arrived the organisers were so happy to see us pull in. After having the event cancelled due to bad weather for the past two years, it had taken us this long to actually make it to this show. Although the weather was a bit grey and gloomy the crowds still flocked in and the reactions to the pink Cresta and Betty were incredible.  We ended up winning the viewers choice award! I was so happy that I cried! It was so nice to know that other people loved my pink babies as much as I did and I was the happiest woman on the planet.

It was so funny hearing so many people laugh and seeing the smiles on their faces when they noticed Cresta's new curly eyelashes

And that makes me happy too!

Pimp my ride...

It's been a long time between posts with me busy working on the magazine and the new book and I've had quite a few people write and ask me when I was going to post again...

The big question on my mind for the past six months or so has been the paintwork on the Cresta.
Pink or blue? Pink or blue? Pink or blue?
I've been driving everyone crazy asking for second, third, one hundredth opinions as I found myself quite unable to make a decision and wondering why was this so hard?

I have wanted to buy an old car, do it up and paint it pink for a very, very long time.
When I bought the Cresta, I thought I would do it up over a few years as I could afford to and then, once it was all fixed up and running well, I would paint it pink, redo the upholstery in white and make it look oh so pretty.

Having now replaced practically every component under the bonnet of the car, that time has come...

The Cresta is now in the paint shop getting prepped for paint. Pink or blue?

Pink is my favourite colour ever, but I must admit that the soft blue of the Cresta has also grown on me a bit over the years too, and pink and blue together kind of work too.
Would a pink car with a white roof look too much with an all pink caravan? Maybe if I painted the top half of the caravan white too like this duo - awesome!

I have changed my mind about what colour I want my car to be about ten times in the past few months.
If this is the final step in my long-held dream then why do I feel so anxious about it? Why did the thought of painting my car pink suddenly see me questioning myself? I had fears... Yes, real fears, and when I analysed them, I realised that all of those fears were about worrying about what OTHER people would think of my pink car.  I'm told that pink is not a good colour for resale... like as if I am ever going to sell the Cresta! D'uh!

When I put photos of pink car and caravan combos on the Vintage Caravan Magazine Facebook page everyone goes crazy for them.  When I asked VCM readers what colour they thought I should go, the most popular response by far was "Go pink!".  But still I hesitated...
Why?
Because a lot of men seem to really hate pink and I do not want to alienate them?
A lot of men also tell me that my Cresta is a piece of crap and to get rid of it, but that just makes me love her even more.  I love that she is so different from any other car you will ever see on the street.  I love that nobody knows what kind of car it is.  I love that it is unique.  I love that it is mine.
Oh how I love that car!
Pink or blue...

My new 1963 vauxhall PB Cresta

Vicky the caravan now has a new partner. Having had the ad for this cute classic Cresta pinned to my fridge since August last year, my dream finally came true when she was delivered to my house recently. Every time I had opened the fridge I had looked at the photo in the torn out piece of newspaper and said: "She will be mine, oh yes, she will be mine". I watched over the next few months as the price was reduced and then, in early December, the ad stopped appearing and I worried I might have waited too long and missed out. So when it reappeared just before Christmas at an even lower price I took no chances and bought her.

So it's not the EH Holden I had in mind, but I reckon it's the next best thing. It's a Vauxhall Cresta PB built in 1963 and very similar in design to the EJ Holden as it was also made by GMH. But for some reason, the Vauxhall does not seem to have captured the Aussie hearts the way the EJ and EH's have and when I excitedly tell motoring enthusiasts of my new aquisition I get chuckles and other less favourable responses.

Well, I don't get it. I think she's beautiful and I can't wait to get her restored and, yes, painted pink! At the moment she's in perfect running order, drives like a dream with her very cool "Hydramatic" automatic transmission and comfy bench seats and lots and lots of shining chrome in almost perfect condition.

We are already booked in to make our first appearance at an upcoming clasic car show - not as a show car, but as a vintage van and classic car combo in original condition and I can't wait to get the towbar put on her and take her and Vicky out for their very first photo shoot.

And here's one of the best things about this car; the mascot. Apparently it is off a 1954-55 Velox and has obviously been added by one of the previous owners, but I just love it!  All the chrome on the car is all in great condition and it even has a spare grille and hubcap in the boot!

Despite a severe lack of information on these cars, I have managed to find out that there are only around 50 of these cars still on the road in the UK where they were made, and only a handful left here in Australia, so despite what anyone else might think, I reckon I've scored something really special here and I love her to bits!