Ralph Hellyer who built the Deora was helped by his brother Ron who was a motorcycle racing champion and built racing bike frames.
On their fathers farm they had a wrecked WW2 Avro bomber and that's where the steering column and many other bits of the original vehicle came from. Ralph was also a founding member of Lake City Rodders in 1974. He drove the Deora for many years until it developed an engine problem, then it sat in his shed for a long time.
He always intended to rebuild it and fit a V-8 but work and then ill health got in the way. Ralph died a few years ago from lung disease caused by fiberglass fibers and Ron died 4 years ago from
asbestos related lung disease.
and the much more recent photos of its neglected state
someone down here needs to save it.
ReplyDeleteYes! There's got to be some Ossie down there that can save this piece of automobile history. Hey, Maybe George Miller can rescue it for another Max movie.
Deletehello guys
Deletein the words of Huckleberry Finn: "hello yourself and see how you like it"
Delete