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Few people can claim to have owned 45 vehicles in their lifetime, but for Snells Beach resident Kim Subritzky buying new wheels is a habit he can’t resist.
His list of cars range from his first – a 1951 Morris Minor Lowlight – to a 1965 Ford Mustang and, most recently, a 1943 Willys Jeep.
“I get excited about a vehicle, buy one and then get excited about another and move on,” Kim says.
“I wish I’d owned a barn so that I could have kept some of the vehicles.”
Kim’s interest in jeeps was first sparked when he bought a 1947 Willys in Whangarei 12 years ago, after studying the American presence in the Warkworth area during World War II.
“They are basic and dependable vehicles because they had to be.”
His current Willys has been adapted to house a Rover V8, made by Buick Aluminium, and carry a .52 calibre Browning machine gun.
He says he is considering selling it but admits if he saw another at a reasonable price he would no doubt buy it.
“It’s hard to come across a well-priced jeep. I remember seeing one for $800 when I was a child and now you can pay over $20,000 for one.”
He also owns a 2003 Jeep Cherokee and previously owned three different Willys Jeeps of the CJ series made for civilian use.
His only other military vehicle was a six-wheeled 1942 GMC army truck, which he discovered abandoned in Makarau while working in a forestry area.
“I was a hydraulics mechanic for logging trucks, and I came across this big GMC army vehicle.
“It took me and some friends two weekends to get it going again before we drove it back to Warkworth.”
Land transport is not the only thing Kim has restored; for three years he was involved in the restoration of the Jane Gifford now berthed in Warkworth.
“It was the best job I ever had, and I looked forward to work every day.”
Kim had a special link to the boat as his great uncle owned the vessel under Subritzky Shipping in Auckland for over a decade.
An engineer by trade, Kim managed the boat’s engine and did all the steel work during the restoration.
