A rumbling, candy-apple red EH Holden turned actor and comedian Shane Jacobson onto cars, infecting him with an incurable virus that continues to run rampant.
We sat down to talk to the Aussie icon about where his love of cars began, his idiosyncratic car collection, and his decision to join Retro Rides as an ambassador ahead of the launch of the new RRAuctions platform.
Retro Rides: Where did your love of cars begin?
Shane Jacobson: “Well, it’s funny that I guess most of us kind of know the moment. I mean, some people might say they’ve loved cars all their lives but the first memory I have where something automotive took over my body, I reckon I would have been 10 or 11.
“I was at a supermarket car park in Avondale Heights in the western suburbs of Melbourne. There wasn’t a lot of money around in my suburb, and if there was it was because someone had robbed a bank. People would put mags on cars, or whatever, just to try and make a car look tough. But I can honestly say there wasn’t any true muscle cars. There certainly wasn’t anything European or sporty. Anything expensive that came through town was probably driven a tourist.
“But one day in that supermarket car park a candy-apple red 1964 EH Holden, with a 400 Chev V8 rumbled into the car park. The thing roared and it really was the first time I’d seen an Aussie muscle car up close and heard it. It was like drinking contaminated water because from that moment on I was infected by this virus called the love of motoring, and it’s not anything I’ve looked for a cure for since.”
RR: I recall that you’ve got a clean and original EH Holden in your collection. Tell us a bit about that car.
Shane: “Yeah, I’ve got an EH. I guess it was my dream car. It was the first car I wanted. It was the first car I collected. It wasn’t exactly driven to church on Sundays but it was literally owned by a little old lady and had been her daily-drive since 1964. She would have kept driving it, too, but her husband wanted her to get a modern car, something that had air-conditioning and heating – well, you get hot in an EH, you just can’t get cool (laughs) – and he wanted something with air bags.
“I got it for like three-and-a-half-grand and the car still had [wheel] spats and venetian blinds in the back window. It’s gorgeous. She was devastated, to be honest, and she cried when I drove off, which kind of gave the story more meaning. I said, I’m going to do it up but I’m not going to put tattoos on its face; I’m going to just get the thing healthy, give it a birthday. So, I got it resprayed, put some whitewall tyres on it but kept it otherwise original. I even kept the original rego because I like the old black and white plates.
“I made sure that I delivered on my promise to her that I would send photos once it was finished. Apparently, she cried all over again but was thrilled. So that was, yeah, that was my first classic car.”
RR: Was that before or after you got started in the film and entertainment business?
Shane: “I think that was probably the first thing I splashed my cash on after I became a recognisable head, or whatever the hell I am. Originally, I didn’t have too many coins to rub together and while I was desperate to have an EH, I didn’t have enough money to buy a second car let alone get one and do it up.”
RR: So, what was your first car, then?
Shane: “It was a TE Cortina station wagon, in white with a green interior. I had a DJ business and went camping a lot, so I wanted the wagon. It was a good, reliable car. Buying a car was different then. Today, we’re all online, looking for car, which is exactly what Retro Rides does so well. But back then, you’d just go past the local car dealer and see what was in the yard.
“There was one nice-looking dealership near our place with a house that doubled as an office and a nice little front yard. The man wore a shirt and a tie and looked respectable, so I trusted him. The Cortina cost $8,000, which was so much money that I had to take out a loan. At one point, the loan was worth $6,000 more than the car (laughs).”
RR: So how big is the Shane Jacobson car collection today?
Shane: “Well, I’ve got a VS Commodore ute that I’ve done up as a bit of a rally ute. I’ve also got a HQ Holden ute and I’ve got some daily drives and some older four-wheel drives and stuff. I’ve got a ZD Fairlane, an F700 truck. I’ve got a 1963 pull-handle MG. I’ve just finished a 1950 or ’52 Morris Minor.
“I’ve got a VE that I’m going to turn into a Blue Meanie tribute, because I’ve got an LS3 V8 sitting on a pallet that I’ve been desperate to put in something. To be honest, I’d put it in a sandwich if I could (laughs).
“I’ve got a VB Commodore that I’m doing up; it’s got a 308 in it that I’ve turned into a 355 stroker. It’s going to be a Peter Brock Marlboro Commodore tribute car, but street registered, so I won’t do the roll cage. So, yeah, I’ve got a few cars!”
RR: The common thread here seems to be lots of Australian cars?
Shane: “Yeah, it is mostly Aussie. I think that, apart from the fact of being an Australian, loving the Australian automotive industry and all that stuff, I just can’t help being a boy from the western suburbs of Melbourne.”
RR: What about the age-old Ford-or-Holden-man question?’
Shane: “As much as I am more of a Holden guy, Fords are some of my favourite cars, including the XB Coupe, the 1932 Ford [Deuce Coupe], and the ZD Fairlane. People say, ‘aren’t you a Holden guy?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I love a whole bunch of Fords,’ you know? Particularly now, as it’s not sacrilege anymore. You don’t get beaten up on the streets of Footscray today, depending on what colour jumper you’ve got on, whether it’s blue or red (laughs).
“I bleed both colours now, and I think that’s easier to do today for people like us who’ve been loving cars for a fair while. Australia has changed, we’re not manufacturing those cars here anymore, so I think it’s far more acceptable and palatable and easy for us to confess that ‘I love them all!’”
RR: Does your passion for collecting extend beyond cars?
Shane: “Yep. I’ve noticed that I’m buying things now that I couldn’t afford as a kid. I bought two BMXs, a Mongoose and a Super Goose because I could never afford them as a kid. I just bought a Honda CR80 RZ two-stroke motocross bike because when I was a kid it was a thing I couldn’t afford. I could afford a YZ 80H air-cooled, probably because it was fourth-hand by the time I brought it and there was more water in the oil than oil (laughs). But, yeah, I kind of am retracing my youth, which I guess a lot of us do, so I think that’s why I just keep grabbing Aussie cars.”
RR: We’re chatting at Melbourne’s Benzina Stables, surrounded by some great cars and motorcycles that people have in storage. Where do you keep your collection?
Shane: “Yeah, I’ve got the same problem as most people, which is exactly that question of what do you do with them? So, I’ve got two in a museum [MOVE in Shepparton] and I’ve got the Ford F-700 truck that I’ve been working on that’s almost finished, so that will go up to the museum as well. I’ve also got quite a few on my property, in different garages. But yeah, I’m out of room.”
RR: What are the cars you have at The Museum of Vehicle Evolution (MOVE) in Shepparton, Victoria?
Shane: “I keep the EH there, along with the ’74 Holden HJ Kingswood from my 2009 film Charlie & Boots, starring Paul Hogan. I also restored that Kingswood and took it back to the original [specification]. I put a bench seat back in it as it had Commodore buckets in it, and it’s still got the original 202 motor in it.”
RR: What about your daily driver – I see a 200 Series LandCruiser out there with personalised plates?
Shane: “That’s right. I haven’t gone to the 300 yet. I like the fact the 200 is the last of the V8s. It sounds like something out of Mad Max. My jury’s still out on the 300 because we all know the 200 can go around Australia 8000 times (laughs). We know you can put a million on the clock if you service it right, and even if you service it wrong you can still put a million on the clock. So, you know, some people were dubious about getting vaccinations during COVID, and [while] I’m not saying the 300 isn’t a good thing, I just want to see what happens to it after a few years travelling this enormous country of ours.”
RR: You mentioned Mad Max there, which is a neat segue into my next question about cars from film and TV that fired your imagination?
Shane: “Oh my God, I love that question! So many of my film and TV heroes were made of metal, not a flesh. So, the Mad Max XB coupe, for sure. I still think to this very day, if you put an XB coupe in a boxing ring with any car, the XB would punch its head in (laughs). I don’t care what you put in that ring, if it was a punch up, the XB coupe wins. It’s the Mike Tyson, the Lionel Rose of cars and it would punch every other car’s lights out. It was just so tough to look at. To me, it’s the coolest car I ever saw on screen.
“But there’s also the Gran Torino from Starsky and Hutch, and the General Lee Dodge Charger from The Dukes of Hazzard. When I was a kid, I just thought they were amazing. There’s also the truck out of B.J and the Bear, a big flat nose Kenworth, right? The Shelby GT350 from Cannonball Run and the Ferrari 308 GTS from Magnum, P.I. that does a burnout at the start, and the 1932 Ford hot rod from American Graffiti.
“These were the cars I started purchasing when I could afford model cars and while I would have had two or three posters on my wall of human stars, I reckon I had 10 or 20 posters of cars. When anyone says, ‘if you went to Hollywood who would you want to meet, who are your heroes?’ mine are all cars. I’d have to drive to a whole lot of garages (laughs).”
RR: You mention a couple of trucks there, both in your collection and your favourite movie vehicles – where does the truck connection come from?
Shane: “To be honest, I don’t know. I own about six trucks. I’ve got a film truck company, and I’ve had a truck licence since when I used to drive trucks for a living. I just did Sandown Revival as an ambassador and they had some amazing trucks there that had been done up. But even just trucks on the road when they pimp them out, you know. As a kid, I was always interested in good, neat trucks, that were kind of kept with pride.
“It’s funny – I’ve not thought about this but you’ve taken me back in my memory to a mate of mine’s dad who is no longer with us. He had a ZD [Fairlane] and it was stunning; it was just the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen and it was kept immaculate. When his dad wasn’t driving that, he drove an Ampol fuel truck which was a Kenworth. He kept that thing as good as his car. He was the nicest man and his car, house and truck were all pristine. I really admired the guy. He had a slow, considered way about everything he did and when he drove his car, he never floored it. It just purred down the road.
“I realised, ‘this is a man that takes his time with the gearbox, to get through the synchro, to let it warm up.’ I used to climb up in the cabin of that truck and it had this brown leather, diamond-button pattern on the seats and roof. The thing was unbelievable it was the coolest thing. As a kid, I’d rather be sitting in that truck than in a playground.”
RR: You have lots of great cars and have had some amazing experiences, including as a presenter on Top Gear Australia, but why did you decide to partner with Retro Rides?
Shane: “Well, if I want to sell a car, Retro Rides sound like the right people to do it with. Although, the truth is, I’ll probably still be buying more cars than selling (laughs). But when I was asked if I wanted to have a chat with the gang at Retro Rides, I was genuinely interested in what you’re doing.
“I don’t say ‘yes’ to everything I’m asked to do, and there’s a bunch of stuff including online betting that I won’t do. I like to be involved with stuff that I think is the right thing to be involved with and something I’m genuinely interested in. That’s also why you won’t see me doing too many fashion items. No one’s gonna believe that (laughs). I reckon I could sell a pie or a beer and I reckon I can do anything to do with cars.
“When I spoke with Retro Rides founder Cameron Jurd, I realised we’re incredibly like-minded people and I love what Retro Rides is doing, with its content and the new RRAuctions site. I’ve also had great relationships with many car-related brands over the years, including Shannons and the VACC (Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce), and this just feels like a natural fit. So, my answer would be, why on earth would I say no to this?”
