46 | T HE B A R O SSA M A G
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>> Well known community member, Tim Lynas pictured alongside a Porsche 356B, part of his classic car collection.
Sitting amongst some of his favourite
classic cars in an area decorated with
trophies and memorabilia, Tim Lynas
humbly beams with pride, reflecting
on a life that has been fantastic!
Tim first moved to Tanunda with his
mother, father and brother in 1956.
The family packed up and moved to
the Barossa after his father had been
approached by General Motors to join
Hage & Co.
Late in 1968, Tim’s father, Vern began
selling cars out of his driveway in
Bilyara Road.
“People used to call it curb-side car
sales,” Tim chuckles. “We used to move
up to 25 cars in and out of the driveway
on Bilyara Road.”
Tim joined the company in 1974 and
they moved to 33 Murray Street where
the Honda dealership is now.
Tim worked with his father for 13 years
until he took the opportunity to buy
Valley Ford.
“It worried the hell out of my father at
the time,” Tim recalls. “Dad didn’t like
debt. He had seen his father struggle
through the Depression in the motor
industry and close a business due to
World War II coming along.”
Tim began the Lynas Motor Group in
1987 with Ford. Over time additional
brands were brought to the group,
Honda in 1995; Kia in 1999; Volkswagen
in 2007 and finally Chrysler Jeep Dodge
in 2012.
When asked if owning a car dealership
was difficult at the beginning, Tim
speaks kindly of his employees.
“I inherited some fantastic staff when
I bought the dealership,” Tim says.
“All of those people helped me to,
should we say survive.
“I can assure you, for the first few years
I had a lot of balls in the air. But my
loyal and helpful staff enabled me to
do what I enjoyed, dealing with the
customers.”
Tim admits that he was never
a brilliant student.
“They were always very kind to me,”
Tim laughs. “They would say, Tim’s
trying hard, we’ll put him up, he’s
starting to show signs that he’s learning.”
Tim repeated his final year at Nuriootpa
High after returning from boarding
school in Adelaide.
“Some of my friends would remember
that after being at an all-boys school for
four years my major subject that year
was girls,” Tim smiles.
If you’ve had the privilege of knowing
Tim, you would know of his love of
classic cars and motor racing.
“Cars have been my obsession, my
passion all my life!” Tim says. “I learnt
very early on that I was not interested
in being cleaned up on the football field,
I couldn’t hit a cricket ball, and Neil
Zerna was a much better tennis player
that I was. So I played Dinky
toys or I played with cars.”
Tim’s first real involvement came
when he purchased a Porsche 356B
for $3,100 out of a garage in Gawler.
This led to him competing in the
Collingrove Hillclimb and club
events around Australia.
“I haven’t not owned a Porsche
for 40 years,” he says.
When Tim purchased the Ford
dealership, Ford leant him a Laser
TX3 that had placed second outright
at the 12 hour at Bathurst to do
a hillclimb at Collingrove.
“They just sort of forgot to ask for it
back and I kept using it,” Tim smiles.
After a friend suggested the Targa
Tasmania, Tim rang the Ford Motor
Company and asked if they would allow
him to enter with the TX3. They agreed.
Eventually Tim purchased the TX3
and the boys in the dealership began
working on it and travelling to race
events together.