TONY Denny bought and sold more than 5000 cars to get the 400 or so he wanted for the opening of Australia’s biggest car museum.
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“It’s been a big year and I’ve kept thinking, ‘Am I mad?’,” he said on Thursday at a media walk-through before his Gosford Classic Car Museum opens on Saturday.
“There’s a lot on the line for me, financially, reputationally, but it’s very satisfying to be here today and see the cars on display. It’s amazing.”
One of Australia’s 200 richest people, Mr Denny’s love of cars started early – “We were a Holden family” – and his love of Australian cars saw an FJ Holden in the showroom of his Prague car business where he ran the largest used car network in Europe for more than two decades.
Standing beside the powder pink Holden EK Special from 1961, the kind of car he learnt to drive in, Mr Denny showed the enthusiasm that has seen $70 million dollars poured into the cars for the museum venture.
“I go inside the EK and it just smells beautiful. even from those smells it just ignites all those amazing growing-up memories. I love this baby,” he said.
The museum is in the former Bunnings warehouse at West Gosford and was bought in 2015. About 95 per cent of the cars were purchased in Australia, with the only imports some of the Soviet and Eastern European vehicles and some Ferraris.
One of the first acquisitions was the Nash, AMC, Rambler Museum of Western Australia and 53 cars owned by John Ivy.
The museum is the largest car museum in Australia and one of the top five largest car museums in the world. About 20 cars per month will be sold, and another 20 bought, so that every six months 120 new vehicles will be on display.
“What we’ve tried to achieve here is a broad range of cars,” Mr Denny said.
The cars range from Ferraris, Lambourghinis, Porsches and Jaguars to a tiny Australian-made Dart produced by racing driver Bill Buckle.
“The Australian cars. That’s where you’ll find me,” Mr Denny said.
Newcastle District Vintage and Classic Car Club member Brian Schasser and wife Dale favoured a Valiant SV from 1962. Mr Schasser’s passion is Dodges.
“He wanted a 1962 Dodge Phoenix from when he was 17. He got a 1928 Dodge Tourer and it took him nine years to restore it,” Mrs Schasser said.