BRITISH BULLDOG EST 1952

A WAR MACHINE CREATED TO TAKE ON THE ORIGINAL JEEP AND SERVE IN THE BRITIOSH ARMY, THIS TROOPER WAS HIDDEN FOR YEARS UNDER DEEP DEEP COVER

- BRAD MISKIEWICZ

LET'S face it, not everyone with a newly minted licence is an excellent driver. It's a fair bet there are going to be a few bumps and scrapes along the way to seniority too. Couple that with a less than ideal war-chest for a budget and your choices on what is suitable dwindles considerably. Back in 1979 when pieces of Skylab peppered the south of Western Australia, and the dystopian world of Mad Max was a possible future for impressionable youth, Martin Hayes set out for his first set of wheels. Something cheap, quirky and able to take a punch, but keep on keeping on was his mission. As it turned out, Martin's brother had a fetish for the Britbuilt Austin Champ, having already captured one of his own, and he had a spare military-spec 1952 model he was willing to move on.

"Around 1978, my brother got on to Champs," Martin related. "The family fell in love with them, and with Land Rovers breaking axles and such, I wanted one too.

"He bought mine off a farm in Victoria, with the story going the original owner had died, and his kids knew about the Champ but they didn't know where it was. In the end they were pulling apart the farm's old hay shed and under all the hay was the long-lost Champ, and in pristine condition too! They are three-skinned, so they can get a lot of rust, but it was in the same condition as you see it now."

Champs were well-known for requiring a rigorous and regular servicing schedule, so it was no wonder when they found it the engine had seized after having sat for so long. A new set of Holden pistons was thrown in and the little war-rig returned to service. "I bought it off my brother the next year for about $400, and it was my first car," said Martin.

WAR FOOTING

BEING built to operate in all theatres of war throughout the world, getting Martin to where he wanted to go was easy work.