Paul Tollison inside the restored 1934 Plymouth Coupe. Photo / Pan Pac
Paul Tollison inside the restored 1934 Plymouth Coupe. Photo / Pan Pac
Two years on from Cyclone Gabrielle, a vintage car owned by pulp and timber mill Pan Pac is once again cruising the roads of Hawke’s Bay following an enormous restoration effort.
Pan Pac’s beloved 1934 Plymouth Coupe was covered by floodwaters and silt during the cyclone, like most of the vehicles parked at Pan Pac’s Whirinaki site north of Napier.
Its engine was sitting on a bench in the vehicle workshop and was in the process of being reconditioned but, unfortunately, it too was below the water level.
Paul Tollison works as an operator in the sawmill and has a passion for cars.
He volunteered to restore the Plymouth while the mills were non-operational during the cyclone recovery.
Paul dedicated over 700 hours to meticulously restore the Plymouth to its former glory.
The trickiest part was getting everything ready for recertification, he said.
“Every last nut, bolt and component has had to be pulled apart, cleaned up, rebuilt and put back together … it took me two 10-hour shifts to get the silt out of the carburettor.”
He said the process had been both frustrating and “very, very rewarding”.
The vintage car baked in silt following the cyclone. Photo / Pan Pac
“Unless you look closely, you won’t notice some of the parts aren’t original, like the new LED headlights,” Tollison said.
Some of the parts weren’t easily sourced, like the carburettor kit, which a staff member’s brother located and sent over from Australia.
Pan Pac managing director Tony Clifford said the restoration went ahead because of how special the car was to Pan Pac.
“The Plymouth is part of Pan Pac’s DNA,” he said.
“This restoration wouldn’t have been financially viable if it was done at commercial rates.
“It was only thanks to Paul’s discretionary time that we were able to rebuild and keep the Plymouth.”
Little is known about the car up until the late 1970s, when it was purchased by former Pan Pac director Masa Asai, who took it with him when he returned to Pan Pac’s parent company, Oji, in Japan.
It was never registered in Japan and sat in a garage for 25 years.
After a change in circumstances, Masa donated the car to Pan Pac, and had it shipped back to New Zealand.
Over the years, the car has been popular with staff, who enjoy taking it out for a spin on the weekend and using it on special occasions like weddings and the Art Deco Festival.
Clifford said Pan Pac was grateful to Paul and the other staff who helped save the much-loved company treasure.
