CADDY SHACK

A SHARED PASSION FOR CLASSIC AMERICAN AUTOMOBILES LED TO THE CREATION OF AN ECLECTIC COLLECTION OF SHOW-STOPPING CARS COVERING THREE DECADES OF DESIGN BRILLIANCE

- STEVE NALLY

If space is the final frontier then Chris Salisbury and his partner Gudie Pohlmann have reached the outer limits of their ‘couple shed’. When they started collecting cars 15 years ago, the timetravelling duo thought their former factory in an industrial area of Melbourne had more than enough room to not only house a few cars but also Chris’s memorabilia and a zone for relaxing and entertaining. But then came the Cadillacs.

With the workshop measuring only 17 x 10 metres – about 2.5 Cadillacs long by two Cadillacs wide – it quickly became gridlocked and Chris had no alternative but to put three cars in to orbit on mobile hoists that can be rolled out for his annual Boxing Day barbecue. Apart from a small lounge area/bar and a mezzanine accommodation space, it’s jammed.

Chris and Gudie met at a rock ’n’ roll dance and discovered their passions overlapped: Chris loves classic American cars and Gudie the fashion and films of the '40s and '50s. Chris has owned many cars, starting with an FJ panel van when he was 18.

“I’ve had FCs, FEs, EKs … just about every model Holden and either worked on or done them up,” he recalls. “My first good car was a ’57 Chev which I got when I was 24. I wish I’d kept them all.”

Gudie admits she knows nothing about cars but like Chris, she loves classic American cars and appreciates their style and design. Originally, they were only supposed to buy one car, Chris says.