Joyrider wrecks Geoff's prized car

Although he drove it every day, Geoff Langdon kept his vintage FJ in pristine order.

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GEOFF Langdon’s exquisitely restored 1953 FJ Holden was wrecked by a teenage joyrider who had driven it for just 10 blocks before smashing into the back of a ute.

“When I got to the crash the police and firies were standing around looking like someone had died. The kid had done a runner but people were in mourning for the car,” he said. “There was so much sympathy.”

He admits he had a different emotional reaction when he saw the car.

“I’ve calmed down now, but if I had seen the thief that night I would have killed him. It’s just lucky for him and me that he had shot through.”

The FJ, distinctively finished in gleaming gold, was a familiar sight on Rockhampton roads. Geoff, who was given the car by his wife 10 years ago, used it every day.

And he loaned it for free for special events like The Rockhampton Grammar School formals.

“The car was restored here in Rockhampton and it was due to go in for a rebuild and a new paint job,” Geoff said. “I left it for 10 minutes outside my daughter’s house in Edward St. The keys were in my pocket.

“It took the kid no more than a few minutes to destroy it. He crashed in Edington St.”

He said because the thief was a juvenile he had not been able to get any information from the authorities about what might happen to him or what he would be charged with.

“I understand that he was injured and needed medical treatment, that’s how they got him, but I’ve not heard anything else,” he said.

Geoff said although he would get something back from insurance, it would not be anything like the price he could have got for it.

“I would never have sold it because it meant so much to me but it would have fetched at least $35,000. It was a piece of automotive history.

“Since it happened I’ve had mixed thoughts about whether it’s worth getting something else to replace it. But I really don’t like new cars so I think that I will pick up something and have it rebuilt.”