In Tribute to Hot Rodder Extraordinaire – John Beer (5th June 1944 – 6th April 2025)
It was with great sadness that we said our goodbyes to Hot Rodder extraordinaire John Beer in early April 2025.
A dedicated family man, with a passion for Hot Rods, he loved his cars like his children, and his children like his cars – with absolute care and attention. He also held true, lifelong friendships for those that were lucky enough to know him. Always helping those in need, sourcing car parts and reconditioning them for his mates, or whoever asked, and never asking for anything in return, and, until recently, still buying car parts and working on his treasured Hot Rods (his 1928 A-Model Ford Pickup, 1948 Studebaker, 1932 Roadster, and his most treasured, the Nash Bucket he custom built himself as a teenager, a true one of a kind, just like John). John’s Hot Rods (many of which he used as his daily drive), and his Hot Rod community, were integral parts of his life.
Fittingly, one of the earliest photos taken of John as a toddler was in the driver’s seat of a toy car…a passion that lasted a lifetime.
John’s first foray into Hot Rod Clubs in 1965
John’s first foray into the Hot Rod Club world was as a member the Road Knights Hot Rod Club back in 1965. Club President Brian Hines fondly recalls helping John get his Nash Bucket entered in its first Hot Rod show in Roselands in 1966, by pushing it in, as it was 80% finished and not yet registered or running. Special thanks to Charlie and Corrine Falzon for digging this out of Charlie’s archives!…
Brian recalls John always being up for a laugh with a key feature of many Club BBQs – John’s Unicycle – for fellow Club members to try out, some more successful than others.
Road Knights Club Members circa 1965…
Like so many, Brian fondly recalls John as “one of those guys that everyone liked” who was “always happy to do anything for anyone”.
Brian also recalls John’s ingenuity, always having a unique project on the go, including a submarine he had made out of wood in the early days, which they tested out in the lake at Paramatta. He vividly recalls how John made his beloved Nash Bucket – out of an old 1939 Nash Packard boot lid, cutting it in half, tipping it 90 degrees and welding it together to make the back section, and making the front cowl from the rear section of the old Nash Packard’s front bonnet.
John’s beloved Bucket was always evolving, with different motors (including a Toyota Hemi motor his Rodder mates still talk about today and now another alloy motor, a Buick V8) and colours (from white to blue to red), an ongoing project for John which spanned 6 decades. At one point he fully rebuilt it with a new chassis, to save a few kilograms. Charlie Zahra built the new chassis for him and joked with John that he would have saved months of work and ended up with the same result if he’d just skipped a couple of meals and dropped a few kilos.
His dedication to the Bucket saw him presented with a ‘Preservation Award’ in 2012 at the Australian Hot Rod and Drag Racing Reunion, to honour him for his contribution to Hot Rodding, along with Lynn Arrowsmith for still owning the rods they built back in the 1960s:
Dedicated, Lifetime Hot Rod Associations Member
John was held in high esteem as a dedicated lifetime Gold Pass Member of the ASRF (member #36), and one the DLRA’s earliest Foundation Members (member #20). John was at the first DLRA meeting at Lake Gairdner, where you “run what ya brung”.
Last Remaining Foundation Member of Macquarie Towns Hot Rod Club
John was the last remaining Foundation Member of his beloved Macquarie Towns Hot Rod Club, which he helped to establish in 1981, with an eager young witness, his 9 year old stepson Jason Ormond, whose love of Hot Rods and all things cars he has passed on to.
As Nathan Carter, Secretary of his beloved Macquarie Towns HRC so eloquently put when the Club learned of his passing:
“John was not only a cherished member of our Macquarie Towns Hot Rod Club but also a source of inspiration, kindness, and dedication that touched the lives of everyone around him.
John exemplified the values that our club holds dear – unwavering commitment, community spirit, leadership and a passion for Hot Rodding that became infectious to all that surrounded him. His legacy will forever remain a cornerstone of our Club and a reminder of the profound impact one person can have.”
Farewell to a Lifelong Friend
Lifelong friends, Ronnie Williams and Garry Gregory both from the Drag-ens Hot Rod Club paid tribute to John, saying:
“We are lucky to have a lifetime of memories of John – of mateship, helping one another or just “shooting the breeze in the sunshine over a cuppa”, along with mates dropping in to solve the problems of the world!
It has been a very sad time for those close to John as this last chapter closed on his life.
He was a very humble man, a quite achiever, a very loyal mate and friend to many as was evidenced at “John’s Farewell”. Macquarie Towns HRC was a very large part of John’s life and vision. The Club certainly appreciated John by giving him the greatest send off any Rodder could wish for, at their Club House. His legacy will continue to be remembered into the future by members “old” and “new”.
Words can hardly describe John. He was an inspiration to all who knew him, and his eagerness to help was second to none. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of anything mechanical and “what could or would interchange” in the true hot rodding spirit of our past. John’s “go fast” experience from working with the late Bert Jones at Parramatta was locked away in John’s memory bank forever, “These were the days before you brought it from the States”.
John also knew who had “what” and where it was “hidden” and would often turn up with the “part” that you were talking about. Not only did he get the part, but he would take it home and recondition it for you with never a dollar changing hands. It was a true friendship that was just reciprocated throughout our lives. Many Rodders owe John for encouraging and helping them to finish their Rods or projects in their shed.
Our families, rodding, salt lakes and drag racing tickled our passions for many years. There have been highs and lows in all our lives, but we were always there for each other no matter what! …Thanks mate!
Farewell Beery..We’re waiting for your call!”
Special Thanks from John’s Family
John’s family would also like to take the opportunity to pass on a number of very special, heartfelt thanks to those that worked tirelessly to make sure all 4 of John’s Hot Rods were on hand to farewell him at his funeral, including Peter Hayes, Charlie Zahra, Steve Kent, John Woodgate, and Rocket Industries for the urgent spare parts needed, and to Roy Brand, who was working with John before he passed on the Studebaker, and forever tinkering, by upgrading the manifold and changing the carburettors from 2BBL to 4BBL in the Bucket.
To the members of Macquarie Towns HRC – a special thanks, and to Steve Kent, Nathan Carter, Blake Doyle and Lyn Hudson – for their tireless work to host John’s wake, a special gathering of all that were dear to him. John’s family are forever grateful that he was farewelled with such love and in the most fitting way, with a BBQ at his Club headquarters, with all the Hot Rods on show, and everyone in Club T-Shirts.
Thank you also to Scooda for so quickly supplying Club T-Shirts to John’s family to commemorate him on the day, a keepsake that can be treasured forever.
A special thanks also to the members Drag-ens HRC, with many members joining John’s family on the day, and to the broader Hot Rod community, many of whom travelled from afar or joined online, to farewell their mate.
With their dedicated care and collective love for John, his family, including daughters Mici and Gabrielle, step-children Jason, Justine, Jason and Pauline, and their respective families, partners, children, grand-children and great grand-children, together with the extended efforts of son in law, John Holloway, are forever grateful for the rallying of John’s community.
Taking John to the 2025 Easter Nationals
A very special call out needs to be made to Peter Hayes, a treasured, lifelong friend of John’s, whose meticulous work restored the shine on John’s Studebaker. John was hoping he’d be well enough to travel with his son in law, John and Club members to the Nationals at Bendigo this Easter, and after initially aiming to take the A-Model, as they got closer, he thought they’d have more space in the Studebaker. True to his nature, Peter sprung into action, and one of the last photos John saw was of his Studebaker after Peter’s efforts, so pleased, he said he didn’t think it could be that shiny! Peter, thank you from the bottom on our hearts, you made his day when he saw that photo, and your efforts in supporting John (and the Club over the years) does not go unnoticed. John’s family is forever grateful.
Whilst heartbreakingly John didn’t quite get to the Nationals at Easter as planned, his son in law, John and stepson Jason, together with members of his Club, were able to take the trip, made even more special by John and Jase taking his beloved A Model, lovingly nicknamed ‘Nag’ (from the numberplate) for the trip. It was a great way for many of John’s Hot Rodder mates to farewell him, with his presence felt at what was one of his favourite events on the calendar. It was fitting that the boys took Nag, as it was the car that John held some of his best memories in, with many road trips and holidays taken with his beloved wife Sue, across the Nullarbor, the Salts, the annual family holiday to Valla, and many others.
On the way to Bendigo, a Hot Rod lunch at Jugiong, NSW…
Hume Hwy, just south of Tarcutta, no Hot Rod Run is complete without some mechanical issues, the water pump issue in the A Model starts to escalate…
A fitting photo at Holbrook…
In convoy across Victoria, taking John along for the ride in their hearts and minds…
Changing the water pump in the hotel carpark ….always with Club member assistance…
View from the Macquarie Towns HRC tent at the Nationals, the A Model in full view…
It’s not ‘Farewell’, but ‘Thank You’ John
It is not often in our lives we get the opportunity to have someone like John in it. From his Hot Rodder community, friends and family, he made a real difference in each of our lives, and for that we say ‘thank you’ to you John.
We know that John’s legacy will live on, through his beloved Macquarie Towns HRC, his cars, his Hot Rodder mates and friends, and of course his loving family, survived by his brother Robert, his nieces and nephews, his daughters Mici and Gabrielle, and step-children Jason, Justine, Jason and Pauline, as well as his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
May John rest in peace with his much-loved family members, including his late wife Sue, step-son, Shayne, brother Charles and sister in law Helen, fellow Rodders and dear friends.
In our hearts you will always stay,
Loved and remembered every day.
