Jeff Falcone with his 1925 Dodge Tourer.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
He’s owned fast cars before, such as the GT Falcon he had for 35 years, yet it’s Jeff Falcone’s much slower 1925 Dodge Tourer he’s had the most fun in.
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Mr Falcone purchased the stunning pre-war car, affectionately named Esmeralda, about two years ago from “a bloke in Queensland, who had restored it, but then it had sat under his house for five years”.
Esmeralda is a beautiful Brunswick Green.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
He had been chasing one for years but was looking at the later models (around 1928) that had hydraulic brakes.
Alas, he saw Esmeralda and fell in love with her, cable brakes and all.
She is heavy with her timber floor and timber in the doors and wheels.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Having started her life Killarney Grey coloured, Esmeralda now boasts a beautiful Brunswick green exterior, with impressive hand-painted pin-striping in gold to top it off.
The American-designed vehicle, which was built by coachbuilder General Motors-Holden, is grand and spacious.
It has timber floors, timber in its doors and timber featured in its wheels.
The timber is the reason Mr Falcone doesn’t like getting Esmeralda wet too often, but is also what gives her that grandeur that turns heads and inspires interest.
The vintage car also causes a fair share of welcome nostalgia for people who remember vehicles like her regularly getting around on public roads in their younger years.
Since he bought the stunning automobile, Mr Falcone hasn’t had to do much to her besides a few mechanical things with her springs and steering to help her drive smoother, seeing as she’d been somewhat neglected and unused for half a decade.
Jeff Falcone shows a magazine that Esmeralda appears on the front cover of.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
But she starts first go with her relatively new motor (1500 miles on the clock) and rebuilt gearbox.
“It has a lot of life left in it,” Mr Falcone said.
“And you can still get parts pretty easily for them.”
Mr Falcone said he drove Esmeralda regularly to places such as Violet Town and Dookie on a nice day.
She sits comfortably around 35 to 40 m/h (55-65 km/h), but has a top speed of around 50 m/h (80 km/h) — no chance of a speeding ticket in this beastly beauty.
Last year saw a highlight of their time together so far, when Mr Falcone loaded Esmeralda on a trailer and travelled to the Barossa Valley with his wife Viv for a week-long rally.
“We based ourselves in Tanunda and did day trips from there,” he said.
Though a slower ride, Esmeralda is more fun for Jeff Falcone than faster, more modern cars.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
The pair has a passion for travelling but is limited in touring the Tourer in the colder, wetter months, so they’ve bought a caravan to shoot through for the winter next year.
But before that, they’ve got many spring, summer and autumn days to get more enjoyment out of their historical head-turning four-wheeled third wheel.
“People want to yap about them, they’re more interesting,” Mr Falcone said.
“There’s too much competition with modern cars. Whose is best? Whose goes fastest?”
While he’s not a fan of that kind of competition, he is drawn to putting Esmeralda on pedestals at car shows.
The glorious pre-war car inspires nostalgia of years gone by.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
His motivation isn’t for her to win but win she has, on several occasions, taking out awards at the annual Show at the O’, the Finley Show and Shine and a Top 10 accolade at Rotary’s car show at the showgrounds.
What’s next, Mr Falcone doesn’t know yet, but he’s certain of one thing; Esmeralda will be with him for many years to come.
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