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The
Morris Eight Tourer Club
Long
ago as a child I heard stories of a boy called Aladdin living in a far
off land who stumbled upon a huge cave filled with all kinds of treasures.
In later years, as a restorer of an old vehicle, It was my luck to find
myself in what had to be Adelaide's version of Aladdin's cave.
Once inside the shed I knew I'd found my Mecca. The destination I would
often find myself visiting time and time again.
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Our Aladdin,
John Biddle emerges from somewhere in the depths of his treasure trove.
There are many long isles running away opposite the counter area.
John, a quietly spoken and very helpful person who must have exceptional memory resources, can guide you to, “that box that if you like to look through it, may have one of those.” None of the boxes are labelled, but John can put his hand on the right box. Be it door handles, steering bits and pieces, manufacturer's badges, mostly used parts, but quite often new, and still wrapped in the original grease-proof paper, can often be found. If he hasn't got it, he can often guide you to someone who has. John first started in this field as a seventeen year old “thirty eight
years ago.” Filling an old Rosewater house and its yard with his collection
of old cars and memorabilia. With no intention of selling.
I asked John “just where do you find all these treasures, and what is
your involvement in swap meets?”
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One story he relates
about an interstate swap meet he attended, was when he wanted to peruse
the other stalls leaving his friend Peg Leg Louie to look after things.
When John returned to his stall, he found his friend sitting as he'd
left him, still clutching his mug of coffee, wearing a bemused look on
his face.
“What's up?” John asked.
“Some bird just dropped a two dollar coin in my coffee.”
“Did you spew at her?” John asked.
“Nah! That's two dollars I didn't have before.” Was Louie's reply.
John is in the throes of restoring a 1938 Dodge, and although at one time he owned nine of these cars for spares, he reckons it's one of the hardest cars to find parts for.
John's customers come from far and wide. Not only from all over Australia, but has had customers from Germany, USA, New Zealand, and Canada, are but a few I remember him rattling off.
As time goes by the visitor to our Adelaide Aladdin's Cave comes to
realize that some of the folk who are there during one visit, are often
there at other times too.
This is not only a good place to hunt out the Antique Auto Spares
you desperately need at a fair price, but it's also a good place to meet
others with similar interests.
Barry.