In love with the car his parents banned

Les Pain has examples of all the Zephyr series Marks I to IV at his Omaha Beach home. Photo / Greg Bowker

Omaha Beach front lawns boast the latest in expensive cars and boats in the Christmas holidays, but none draws as many admiring glances as Les Pain's family of Ford Zephyr sedans.

Passing motorists wave and honk their horns in delight when they see his examples of all four series of a car which was once a familiar sight on the roads in the 1950s to 1970s.

"I grew up with them - in the 70s if you didn't have a Mark III you were nobody," said the former builder. But Mr Pain did not get to own one until he retired to the east coast Rodney resort last year.

He blames that delay on the Zephyr's powerful six-cylinder engine.

"It was the car my parents would not allow me to have when I was a teenager - I had to settle for a Ford Anglia."

Now he has parked on his lawn not only a 1964 Mark III but also the two models before and the model after.

All are roadworthy.

His 1953 Mark I has the bodgie bling of the era - chrome stars and red and green reflector buttons hold the number plate and the headlights have chrome shades.

"It will get a paint job and rust taken out - it's done only 143,000km because it had a fussy owner and was in storage for the last 12 years.

"It took me a fortnight's work to get the brakes working again."

Mr Pain's black 1960 Mark II had the same owner for 42 years and the vendor of the yellow Mark IV described it as "the straightest Zephyr in New Zealand".

Auckland Consul Zephyr Zodiac Club president Grant Anderson said the New Zealand-assembled cars were popular with baby boomers, who grew up with them.

"They are still popular because they are such a good car. They seat six people, tow a caravan, comfortably cruise all day at 100km/h, are easy for the home handyman to work on, and spare parts and tyres are plentiful."

He said Zephyrs drew keen interest on web auction sites, with good examples of sedans fetching $10,000 or more and convertibles up to $40,000.