Benz World Blog » Classic

Chevrolet Engine

Jason Benz — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 09:09:44 +0000

I discovered this Chevrolet Engine on display in a random car park in New South Wales. On a drive from Sydney to Southport in 2014, at some point while stopping for food, I stumbled upon the Summerland Sports and Classic Car Club.

To process this image I created a two-tone effect in the paintwork by pushing the blues towards the purples and the aquas towards the greens. This was done using Camera RAW which is the import engine for Photoshop.

Pimped Classic

Jason Benz — Sat, 08 Aug 2015 10:10:21 +0000

Karen photographed this classic car in Cuba. If anybody knows the model please leave a comment. I used fractalius and photoshop to pimp it up.

Solo Road

Jason Benz — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 12:12:22 +0000

This is Coopernook Forest Park in New South Wales, Australia. Normally Karen takes a photo of our van at every place we stay. As she is not here this time I thought I should keep up the tradition. In the small hours of Monday morning, I dropped off Karen at Sydney Airport. She has just started a 10-hour stopover in Dubai before her flight back to the UK. We have been getting annual return flights from the UK since we first arrived in Australia in 2011. I am not joining Karen this year to qualify for Australian Citizenship at the end of 2015. This is the first time in over a decade I have been travelling without Karen and it feels different. The last time was the lap of Jamaica in 2004. I was in the final stages of planning that trip when we first met and discovered a mutual love for travel so we arranged to journey through Cuba together and had a magical time. I am looking forward to her return to the land down under.

Puss Moth

Jason Benz — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 13:27:34 +0000

This is one of many aircraft we saw at the Bert Hinkler Museum in Bundaberg, Queensland. This de Havilland Puss Moth was modified by the pioneer aviator to break records. Bert was the first to fly from England to Australia in 1928. Today is the anniversary of his final flight in 1933 in which he attempted to retake the record. He crashed on an Italian mountain and was buried with full military honours on Mussolini’s orders.

Dodge Bluesmobile

Jason Benz — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 23:12:05 +0000

This car was backstage at the Mitchell Creek Rock ‘N’ Blues Festival. It belonged to a colourful character we later met called Greg the Wookie. He is a singer in a Blues Brother cover band “The Soul Men” You have to admire the dedication of a cover band who invest in authentic wheels.

To process this image a Black & White layer was added in Photoshop. The Blue and Cyan grey tones were darkened and the Yellow and Green grey tones were lightened.

Mount Panorama

Jason Benz — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 04:22:33 +0000

This is the Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst. This race track is also a public road, and Karen found herself driving on it by accident the first time we drove to New South Wales from Victoria. This time it was my turn to do a lap in our van.

We have arrived in Sydney now and we have started making preparations for our flight to the UK at the end of the week.

Classic Holden

Jason Benz — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 07:22:03 +0000

This is a 1961 EK Holden Special. It was the first time the Australian car maker introduced a model with an option for an automatic transmission. Holden is now a subsidiary of US-based General Motors. We saw this classic in a car park in Albany, Western Australia.

N.B. Thanks to Doug for the auto identification.

Ghost Town

Jason Benz — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 01:29:51 +0000

This is the ghost town of Gwalia. One of many in the Goldfields. Gwalia was deserted overnight in 1963 when the pit closed down. Leaving an eerie atmosphere akin to Pompeii. It’s first mine manager was Herbert Hoover who later became the 31st President of the United States. It seems strange to me these places have not regrown since the rise in gold prices have reopened many mines. The pull of the city’s on Australia’s youth and the efficiency of Australia’s super mines seem to keep the population forever declining. We are about to leave the goldfields to head West to Southern Cross before rejoining the ocean at Hopetoun.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Toyota Hiace

Jason Benz — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:36:52 +0000

This is our van. It is a 1987 Toyota Hiace which has been converted to a campervan by a company called Sunliner in Victoria and I have many plans to customise it. It’s been around Australia a few times (150,000 miles) and we are hoping it has at least one more trip left in her. In my opinion, the ’87 is a great vintage, It was one of the first native unleaded engines and one of the last fully mechanical ones which make most roadside fixes possible. No computer or electronics to fail just steel and grease.

I drove South from Perth yesterday to a place called Buffalo Beach. I am currently posting this blog in the passenger seat while Karen has her first go at the wheel on our way to Bunbury.

John Deere

Jason Benz — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:13:39 +0000

This is a 1943 John Deere tractor which has been lovingly restored for classic farm shows. This may be the last post from the UK as we are in the final staged of moving to Australia. I will try to post more often once we are out there. Next stop Perth.