Hi guys,

Surprisingly, they've put the entire* article up online BEFORE the actual magazine has hit the stands.

Check it here:

https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/even ... 16-gallery

1) I didn't choose the URL to be 'VIC'

2) I JUST realised that the event had a different name this year 'Isuzus on the Murray'. Apologies Gricey I've put thru a correction but it may be too late. It's been the Bellett Nationals in my head the whole time, I didn't think to actually check the paperwork.

3) AWESOME!

* There will be a few owner profiles that will be in the print version that wasn't in the online version, so you still need to buy the magazine when it comes out!

Hey Dave,
That's a great article you have put together there! Written in a style that most motoring writers would use when talking about their test drive of a current model car like the Subaru Levorg....drool... Or the Kia GT. You've missed your calling man!

Happy Days
PS I love the photos showing more than one Florian in them....just to show their non rarity.

Great story, congratulations in helping keep the flame alive in such an effective manner.

Ted

Thanks guys.

The Nationals has never been covered in-depth before, so it was an honour to write it.

I wasn't actually going to attend the event at all; my wife is crook again with breast cancer and she gave birth to a new baby girl at the end of May around six weeks premature (via C-section, because of said cancer diagnosis), so our lives are very, very complicated at the moment.

I did suggest to her that if there was a way of attending the event AND getting paid for it, would she be cool with me going, assuming her mother was also OK to come down from the country and help out for a few days.

Thankfully the stars aligned; I've been working for Bauer Media as a freelancer for a few years now; mainly doing feature car articles for Street Machine, but I've managed to cover a few events for Unique Cars including the Alfa Romeo Nationals, Skyline Nationals and the Austin Healey Nationals, so for the first time in my lifetime, I was in a prime position to make it happen and give some exposure to our favourite cars.

I felt it was well overdue; typing 'Bellett' into eBay brings up the same magazines like Australian Classic Car etc that featured Tom Amos' GTR many years ago, but nothing much else. Even the article on Brett Wild's Bathurst car doesn't seem to rate; I think ACC magazine was on its way out then; Brett's car is in the last or second last issue.

So to have our cars in one of the country's highest-selling classic car magazines (if not THE highest selling classic car magazine) is a real thrill.

Now while I was excited to participate and write the article, I was also nervous as I knew that due to my closeness to the subject matter could put me in the firing line.

Before anyone wants to fire off any emails or messages of dissatisfaction, let me explain:

The brief was for a 300 word article and approximately five owner/car profiles (these are going to print; not available on the online version).

Given that I was IN the event, rather than just reporting on the event, I chose to gonzo it a bit and intertwine my own experiences with the actual event. Needless to say, 300 words was not enough space to properly do that, so I wrote the article, then chopped it back as best I could. I then rang the editor, negotiated a six-page article rather than the usual four pager (WINNING!!) and submitted 533 words; I felt any more for a 300 word article might be a bit cheeky. That's why there is no mention of the shit weather at the show-and-shine (that's evident from the photos) and that is why runners-up and other non-core award winners were not mentioned.

The reason my Florian was mentioned as a runner up is because 1) it was from my perspective and my Florian was part of the article and 2) the thing that started this whole ball rolling was about two months ago when Unique Cars repeated a pic of my car that was originally run in 2008, prior to my purchase in their "Ones that Got Away" section, speculating that it may be the LAST FLORIAN left! They also mentioned they'd heard a Florian won "Best Florian" some years back because the other one failed to show. That is a true story; it was mine and I wanted to reference that to take it back to the mention a couple of months ago.

If they'd not mentioned my car back then, I probably wouldn't have raised the point of covering the Nationals, fixed my car and drove there and back.

In terms of photos, I took over 800 photos over the course of the weekend and I submitted about 150 of the best. Every photo sent was renamed in the following convention - "Where - Who - What" so if Unique Cars wished to create a caption for the photo, they had the info they wanted eg;
"Blacklocks Isuzu - Dave Carey - Isuzu Florian"
"Jingillic - Glenn Percy - Bellett 1800 Sport"
This way they could, if they desired, say "Dave's Isuzu Florian almost floated away at the Blacklocks Isuzu show and shine".

I did this for EVERY SINGLE PLACE, CAR AND PERSON, I will point out. I have no editorial control on what photos they use or how; I do note that the picture of Wally Wild fixing my Florian has been flipped; suddenly it's left hand drive!!

I hope people enjoy the article for what it is; the first proper coverage of our biggest event in a major magazine since time began; that's a win in any Bellett owner's book, surely.


Cheers,


Dave

Certainly is a win Dave, a very big one!

Leading up to the Nationals in Toowoomba, I was able to present some photos in Australian Muscle Car, but this effort of yours takes the cake.

By the way, the last issue of Unique Cars had a photo of the rear of a Wasp on page 17 at the Shannons Sydney Classic article, I don't know who the owner is, others must have noticed.

Ted.

Hi Dave, to back up the other comments, "a great write up and well written". I will be buying a copy when it hits the Newsagencies!
Sorry to hear the type of year you and your family have had to now, hopefully things will improve for you all in the very near future!
All the very, very best.
Dave M.

PS.
Ted, The Wasp belongs to a ICCA member, Warren Gore.

Love it mate great reading and reminiscing.

Will definitely be grabbing an issue on it's release