Mum said that Dad loved tinkering with cars. Any make or model. He used to wag school when he was a young lad to go to the local mechanics and help repair cars. As we would drive along on trips he would be checking out the passing cars - noting new or rare models.

When Mum and Dad first had the farm at Bogan Gate, Dad got a reputation around the town for fixing cars. The barmaid from the local pub told Mum that the talk around the front bar was that if you needed your car repaired, buy the part and see Peter Longley, he would fix it for nothing. Mum let Dad know what the blokes in the pub were saying. From then on Dad started charging for his car repairs, and gradually put his prices up until no one asked him to fix their cars any more.

All the time though, he was working on his hot rod racing cars. Mum used to tell us how the calliper Dad had to wear after his foot was badly damaged during the Darwin bombing was even turned into car parts!

Dad loved the country car races. He used to test drive his racing car along the dirt tracks of the farm.The races were drag races or standing start quarter mile sprints. Not very dangerous, but dangerous enough. Mum got Dad to stop racing after Alison was born as they had four daughters to look after.
At the country races they had a hill climb for the women at the end of the day. The wife of the President of the Racing Club had purchased a beautiful crystal bowl as the prize (thinking she was going to win). Unfortunately for her, Mum won in Dad’s hot rod. The President’s wife was not happy but Dad didn’t complain that Mum had burned out the clutch on her way to the top!