'Whippets for Wishes' 1927 Overland Whippet Travels the outback: Lisa makes a wish in the Adelaide City region of South Australia
Peter Eaton has always had an eye for a bargain and that was certainly case when he fell in love with a car coming up for auction.
Peter Eaton, 'Whippets for Wishes': "I saw some vintage cars going up to Clare one day and they had this old Whippet car for sale so decided to go to my bank and pull out five quid which nearly depleted my account. We went on holidays so I gave the money to a neighbour and he went to the auction and when I came back he'd bought the Whippet for three and a half quid so I did fairly well."
That was fifty years ago when Peter was just 10 years old and the 1927 Overland Whippet he bought that day is still going strong.
Peter Eaton, 'Whippets for Wishes': "The fuel economy's pretty good - we get about 26 miles the gallon. It's only got a nine gallon tank so it gets us a reasonable way."
That's an understatement - Peter reckons he's clocked up more than 30,000 miles in the Whippet. It proved so reliable that 10 years ago he bought a 1929 model for $5,000. Remarkably, a lot of the miles on the speedo of these old jalopies have been clocked up in Australia's outback with charity runs for the Make a Wish Foundation.
Calling themselves 'Whippets for Wishes', Peter and a few mates travelled from the Bay to Birdsville in 2002 and in 2006 they went from Gulf to Gulf - from Gulf St Vincent to the Gulf of Carpentaria raising more than $65,000 dollars in the process. As their home video attests - they had so much fun - they're doing it again.
Peter Eaton, 'Whippets for Wishes': "This time we've decided to go on a bit of a longer trip so we're going from Clare to the Kimberley in Western Australia and then going down the Gibb River Road and coming back via the Tanami Desert into Alice Springs and back to Clare. That's about and 8,000 kilometre run."
It's a big ask for these 80 year old cars but Peter and his 15-man team of fellow adventurers says the Whippets will take it all in their stride. After all, there is a strong local connection.
Peter: "The original running gear came from Toledo, Ohio from the Willy's Overland Company and the bodies on both of these cars were built in Adelaide at Woodville - the old Holden Factory…"
They've been likened to 'chook sheds on wheels' and at first glance, you'd say they've seen better days but with their custom made corrugated iron roof, panels held together by rust, and flow through air conditioning - Peter say's they're well suited for the trip ahead.
Peter: "They are a very softly sprung car so it means that your ride is so much better on corrugated roads particularly in some of the outback areas. In the four wheel drives you get bounced around something shocking and these old girls, they just sort of plough through."
And plough through they will when the boys head off from Clare on the first of August and all going well return exactly a month later. Donations can be made on the Make a Wish Foundation website. www.makeawish.org.au If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
"Whippets for Wishes"
Clare to Broome
1 Aug - 1 SeptemberPublished 11th July 2010
