Paul Blundell is a legally blind Ford fanatic who can only see the world through a spot the size of his thumbnail.
He cannot legally drive his beloved vehicles on the road, but, together with his father, Ron Blundell, Paul has amassed a collection of 70 classic cars and tractors.
The duo have opened a museum Paul's farm in the Far North Queensland town of Mareeba.
Paul's love affair with Fords began two decades ago when he bought a 1963 Compact Fairlane.
But in 2010, aged just 31, he had a cardiac arrest in his lime and avocado orchard and suffered a major brain injury, which left him with less than 10 per cent vision.
"He was [clinically] dead for seven minutes before his partner found him, and she did cardiac massage for another seven minutes before the ambulance got here," Ron said.
"There was one doctor who wouldn't turn [his life support] off, but, I think, there was another one or two who did say we're wasting our time with him."
From nearly dying to realising a dream
As Cyclone Yasi approached in early 2011, Mr Blundell was caught up in the mass evacuation of the waterfront Cairns Hospital amid fears of a dangerous storm tide.
He was sent to Brisbane, where he spent months in a brain injury unit.
"I had to learn how to walk again, crawl, everything from day one like a six-month-old kid," he said.
Paul has lost his peripheral vision, has difficulties speaking and moving, and needs 18 pills a day, including ones to stop him from having seizures.
Being unable to drive his beloved cars is also "a bit of a bother".
Watching his son go from running the farm to being relegated to the packing shed, "putting stickers on fruit", spurred Ron to embark on a venture to give Paul his spark back.
Six years ago, the pair started collecting the Fords in earnest from around Australia and employed a mechanic and coachbuilder to restore the vehicles.
Some of the high-end restorations — completely stripping down, sandblasting, rebuilding, reupholstering and repainting to the original colour — have taken nine months per car.
"I'm not mechanically minded — I'm a farmer — but I like a challenge," Ron, 76, said.
"That's his [my son's] passion, and his mum and I say, 'As long as there's breath in our bodies, we will assist to make it happen.'"
'He knows 10 times what I know about cars'
The Blundell Classic Ford Museum's collection ranges from a 1986 TX5 Telstar, which cost them $500, to a limited edition 2015 Falcon XR8 Sprint sedan valued at $140,000, which has never been registered or driven.
It also includes a 1961 Fairlane 500, a 1963 Consul Capri, a range of 1960s Falcons, a 1990 Mahindra Jeep, a 2003 Ghia Stretch Limousine and several Falcon utes.
The collection is housed on Paul's farm so he can access it independently.
They built sheds and a cafe and, with the recent addition of about 30 tractors, decided to secure council approval and open the museum to the public.
Ron said the museum would not be here were it not for his son nearly losing his life.
"It's hard. I'll never forget pulling up on the side of the road and having a bloody good howl like a kid," he said.
"To see this now, it's good."
Ron said it was really "neat" to see Paul come down and share the museum with the visitors.
"He does have a bit of a speech problem, but if they're patient, they can work it out," Ron said.
"Because he does have a real passion, and he knows 10 times what I'll ever know about cars.
"It's in his blood, not in mine. Paul's adopted. It's in his DNA. His natural father was a mechanic, we've just found out."
Continuing to grow the fleet
Paul said the collection was all the more important as, after 88 years, Ford had stopped manufacturing in Australia in 2016.
"It's a good car. The only car to have," he said.
"I'll never stop. I only want Australian-made Fords."
Ron said the museum had about 100 visitors in one of its first weeks open but expected it would be some time before it made money.
"Tonight, we'll be eating leftover pies and sausage rolls," he said.
Ron said every cent from the museum would go towards growing the collection, which he hoped would one day include one of every Ford tractor made.
"Might even go to the [United] States if the wife will let me and buy a shed full of Mustangs and display them," he said.
"I am really keen to try and get one of every ute because there's a cult following of utes, and it would be nice to do that.
"They're not classics yet, but in 30 years, they become a classic, so anything 1993 and older has become a classic, so time's flying, and I'm running out of time."
