History of the Aussie Musclecar Museum - Behind the man
As a teenage petrolhead in the early 80s, Jeff Bloom totally idolised Aussie muscle cars, and often fantasised about starting a collection of his own. The two strongest influences - his elder brother Greg's Mobil garage and workshop in the inner Brisbane suburb of New Farm often overflowing with worked over GT Falcons, Torana SL/R 5000s and Monaro GTSs; the other influence a Street Machine article titled "Buried Treasure" showcasing American car collector Peter Sidlow's amazing selection of over 50 of the finest U.S. muscle cars in a 'hideaway' Los Angeles warehouse.
Jeff's boyhood dream was to remain exactly that for quite some time, for although he owned a number of tough Falcons and Monaros in his early twenties (although only one at a time!), limited finances put paid to any plans to start a collection - at least for the time being. A failed marriage and business and the death of both parents virtually wiped Jeff out emotionally and financially in his late twenties, and it seemed he would never achieve his dream. It would take three years for the wounds to heal.
In his early 30s, Jeff climbed his way back to the top to enjoy business success as one of the country's leading marketing consultants and business coaches, and in 1998 he decided to get really serious about achieving his boyhood ambition. The first car in the Jeff Bloom collection was a 289 V8 "Perana" replica GT Capri (which can be clearly seen to the left of Jeff in the museum shot), which led to GT Falcons, then Toranas, then Monaros, then Chryslers, and so on. Now Jeff's in his late 30's, and the collection is virtually complete, with 73 of the most desirable Aussie musclecars and British performance Fords from a 1961 'reverse rear window' modified Ford Anglia, to a current model BA GT Falcon, his daily driver.
Jeff does have a leaning towards products featuring the blue oval, but does not discriminate, being equally enthusiastic of anything fitting the musclecar tag. The 'big three' are all represented strongly, with some 'oddballs' thrown in for good measure.
The existence of the collection is surprisingly well-known in car enthusiast circles, thanks to articles appearing in Australian Muscle Car magazine and Unique Cars, but until now the cars themselves have kept a fairly low profile. That is about to change, because Jeff believes classic cars like these should be put on display to be enjoyed, not squirrelled away and forgotten about!
As a professional motivator and speaker, Jeff shows his audience practical methods on how to dream big and achieve big, and uses his car collection as inspiration for others to follow their dreams as well. Jeff is very down to earth and approachable and gets two great 'kicks' out of life:
- Teaching others the science of success
- Enjoying his unique car collection
