FOR Collector man Simon Watts, cars have always been a passion for as long as he can remember.
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Having grown up with a father and a brother also fascinated with all things cars, Simon has an affinity with the smell of oil and burning rubber, having attended Summernats in Canberra every year since 1987.
“This year’s Summernats will be my 28th, and it only started the year before in 1986,” he said.
“My dad wouldn’t let me go to the first one as I was too young, and besides it was a long way away in Wagga Wagga that year.
I have also camped for the whole four days straight at the festival for the last 20 years.
It’s about the only time of the year me and my mates are allowed to come out and play!”
At the age of 19 in 1991, Mr Watts purchased his dream car, a replica 1962 AC/Ford Cobra, which he has nicknamed ‘Venom’.
“It arrived literally with just the body and a windscreen and I spent two years building it which cost me about $22,000, which was a lot of money in the ‘90s,” Mr Watts said.
“It’s got a V8 motor in it which produces about 350 horsepower.”
His brother Chris Watts lives in Goulburn and owns what Simon reckons is ‘the best example of a Holden Commodore VL Brock Edition, and his dad Jim, (a member of the Goulburn Men’s Shed) owns two FJ Holdens.
Mr Watts moved back down to Collector from Campbelltown 11 years ago and due to work commitments, only started rebuilding cars again about two years ago.
“I try and source parts locally (in Canberra and Goulburn) as much as possible, and local bloke Peter Porter helped to restore the interior of ‘Venom’,” he said.
“If the parts just cannot be found here, I usually go to the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas in the U.S and see if I can get the newest available part there.”
He has also bought and is restoring a 1977 Holden Torana SLR with a stock 308 motor (which produces about 200 horsepower), which he is nicknaming ‘Punisher’.
“This year will be the last year I take ‘Venom’ out, as I will be retiring her for a couple of years,” he said .
“Punisher reminds me of my first car, which was also a Torana, and so I will finish restoring her and enter her into the 2017 Summernats.
I’ve also got the shell of another Torana which I will enter into Summernats 2018. Hopefully ‘Venom’ should be back again in 2019.”
Mr Watts feels that Summernats is also going back to it’s roots, as he reckons that for a number of years it had lost its core focus.
“I think Summernats is now going back to a focus on the cars, rather than the reputation it has had in the past for d**khead behaviour from some of the punters,” Mr Watts said.
“There’s much more of a ‘family’ atmosphere in the last couple of years and for those who are less interested in the cars, there is lots of entertainment and other stuff to keep them occupied.”
Summernats 29 will be running from January 7-10 at Exhibition Park In Canberra (EPIC).
For more information or to purchase your ticket, contact them on 6241 8111 or visit www.summernats.com.au.
