Eureka talk at The Blue Mountains Cultural Centre

[mrtomt]

Hi Eureka Forum Members,

I'm part of a group of speakers presenting at an automotive day at The Blue Mountains Cultural Centre on the 30th of this month called "The Fast, The Furious & The Forgettable..."

The collection of talks will all have an automotive theme & there will be a display of classic & unique cars present. I will be presenting a 10-15min talk about the Purvis Eureka.

I am a life long automotive enthusiast & Eureka enthusiast (however I have never owned a Eureka). The talk will be very tongue-in-cheek. I want to talk about the pros & cons of the car's design, it's history, it's future, it's movie appearances (including Nova, Sterling etc.. ) & anything else of note. Race/rally history, body & mechanical modifications etc etc...

I have a range of questions below that I'd really appreciate any help with...

-----

Are your cars registered as "Purvis Eurekas" specifically, or are they "Individually Constructed Vehicles" or registered as "VW Beetles"?

How many members are in the Purvis Eureka Car Club?

Who now owns the company "Purvis Eureka"

Where do club members source replacement Eureka specific parts from?

Who was the last person to assemble a Eureka from new?

When was the first & last car sold in Australia?

Is registration getting harder year by year?

What is the best thing about owning a Eureka?

What is the worst thing about owning a Eureka?

Who has Australia's best Eureka (are any pictures available)??

I'm also trying to find out how many Eurekas are still on the roads in Australia & have so far had no luck attaining any information from NSW-RMS or Vic Roads. Does anyone have an idea about this?

Lastly, is there a Eureka owner in or near the Blue Mountains that would be interested in displaying their car at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre? Having a nice Eureka with the roof up in the mix of classic cars would be fantastic.

Thanks so much in advance.

All the best,

Tom

[barsted]

G'Day Tom.
Some Eureka's are registered as Eureka's, some as VW coupe's, and I dare say a few other descriptions as well.  I don't think the "company" as such exists at all. Allan Purvis sold it to Colleen Long, who sold it to Paul Nelson and I purchased the remaining factory moulds last year. So I am now supplying parts on request, to help people finish their projects. I have all the moulds to build a complete F4, which was the third and final version sold in Australia, plus a few bits for the Sports. If you have not done so yet, go to the Purvis Eureka Car Club website to get a pocket history of the 3 versions made here.  As far as rego goes, it is difficult to register a new car, but since nearly all have a rego history, it is a matter of 'renewal after a lapse' as long as you have a record of one of the previous rego numbers.
As far as the best in the country, mine is of course! There are some photos of members cars on the club website under "RIDES".  Mine is the red one under "NSW''.  i can supply several photos of mine if you are interested. Unfortunately I will be in Mudgee that weekend, otherwise I would have been glad to bring it up, as I live near Campbelltown. Seriously, there are some very good ones and, sadly, some not so good ones but not enough of either are actually on the road, where they belong.
I'm sure others can give answers to some of your other questions.
I would certainly like to hear and have a record of your talk. Will there be a recording, or copy of the text, made available?
   Ted Smith

[mrtomt]

Hi Ted,

Thanks for the info. That's very handy. Have had another look at the website & am also reasonably familiar with the different models. I was looking for an original sports for a while & still keep an eye out for a car with NSW rego but have not seen one in the classifieds for ages.

Will definitely see what I can do re a recording of the talk.

P.S. do you know what a full F4 body would cost?

All the best,

Tom

[barsted]

G'day Tom,

[barsted]

Lets try again,

  Stupid computers!

[barsted]

what the F*** is going on here?

It keeps posting by itself while I'm trying to type.   GRRR!
Are you looking to buy/build a Sports?   The 'cars for sale' section of the forum will have one from time to time. As far as building a body, I have not given it much thought, firstly because there are quite a few out there waiting to be snapped up and have the required TLC applied, secondly we do not have the structural specs for the production of a body. I am concentrating on producing minor parts as requested by customers so they can complete their projects, as the moulds are available for the first time in 20 years. Bumpers, engine lids, bonnets, dashboards, Tee roof panels and seats, etc.
683 cars were sold and the club can only finger about 70 or 80 for certain, so many more must be out there. 1 or 2 a year appear out of the woodwork and it is not unusual to be told about one by a member of the public attending one of our displays. So we try to spread the word and hope it will bring forth another car.

          Ted

[WebGoat]

G'day Tom,

I've sent you a couple of private messages with (hopefully) some useful info for your presentation next weekend.

Good luck,

PP.
for Life.

[mrtomt]

Thanks Ted,

I'd like to build/restore  a car one day but it seems the only way to do this in NSW is to find a car that has or had NSW rego as a "Purvis Eureka" otherwise you are limited to beetle rego which seems much more limited (wheel/tire sizes etc.. ).

My talk is partially going to be about researching a Eureka build & the mechanical options for upgrades to handling, performance & safety. I'll also talk about the company & how the car sold across Australia. I'll try to relay the talk to this group one way or another.

Also, I thought I would put one last call out for any Eureka owners that could possibly bring up their car to the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre on Saturday???

I think at this stage we have a custom Porsche 911, A D-Type Jaguar, An Alfa Brera, & an MX5 track car so it should be a pretty good line up.

All the best,

Tom

[barsted]

As I said, I would be happy to bring mine up but I will be in Mudgee on family business Thurs, Fri, Sat and home Sunday, so not available this weekend.
Surely, someone out there is able to fly the flag for Eureka, to help spread the word on the best looking car ever sold in this country!

          Ted

[CyCo]

I'm not sure I can make it myself, and my car is still in Sydney.   

[mrtomt]

Thanks for the help guys. The talk went really well. The photos & info really helped. Hope to have some photos from the talk soon.

Thanks again,

Tom

[barsted]

Good to hear it went well. You are helping to spread the word!  Thank you.

      Ted Smith