Apr 18, 2006 By Patty Yauger 4 min read

CONNELLSVILLE – A city man’s dream car that he hand-built more than 40 years ago is about to find a new home. Within the next few weeks, the Astra custom sports car, built by Frank Collingwood, along with the multitude of trophies won at shows and the numerous periodicals that detailed the owner’s rise to fame in the International Championship Auto Show Series (ICAS), will make its way to Australia.

“I was OK with it until I took the cover off of it recently,” said Collingwood. “It is going to be hard to see it go; it was so much a part of my life.”

His fascination with sports cars began in the early 1960s. Like so many young men, the sleek lines, potential for speed and the love of cars captured his interest.

The Astra became his favorite and when he found the fiberglass car body was available for purchase. Collingwood said he couldn’t resist having one delivered to his Connellsville home.

A construction engineer by trade, Collingwood began assembling the frame, engine and interior.

“I had to custom make the device to make the windows go up and down,” he said.

The benefit of constructing your own vehicle, said Collingwood, is that you have total control of interior fabric, color and layout.

After nearly two years in Collingwood’s garage, the Astra was ready to be shown.

The first showing was in 1964 at an ICAS event in Pittsburgh.

“I did pretty good,” said Collingwood of taking home the first in class and the Steward-Warner Best Interior Award. “But I knew I could do better.”

He took the car back to the garage to upgrade its features to make it more competitive at the shows.

During the 1965-66 circuit season, Collingwood traveled to nearly half of the scheduled events and took home eight Best Custom Awards, three Most Outstanding Sports titles, five Pop Hot Rod Magazine Awards for the Most Popular Car and a variety of special awards.

At the end of the season, Collingwood had tallied the most points, was declared the ICAS champion and was awarded a new 1966 GTO Pontiac.

“It was a great moment,” he said.

Because the ICAS regulations restrict champions from further participation, Collingwood brought the car home and parked it in the garage, covered it over and closed the door on placing it in other shows.

In the 1980s, some repairs to the chrome and paint were undertaken, but for the most part, said Collingwood, the car went unattended.

“About 10 years ago I decided to advertise it for sale,” he said. “I got a few calls, but not anything too substantial.”

The advertisement did continue to appear in the periodical for nearly a decade, and just when Collingwood decided to pull it, he received a telephone call from Mike Nicholas.

“He was really interested in buying it,” said Collingwood of the Australian custom car enthusiast and collector. “Not only did he want the car, but all the trophies and all the magazines it had been feature in.”

Nicholas is excited about becoming the new owner.

“It is one of my all-time favorites with its sleek body and sensual lines,” he said. “The Astra was not only an extraordinary show car, it was extraordinary among its peers, competing for gold.”

Nicholas said he admires and appreciates Collingwood’s ties to the car and, like him, believes that the car is a showpiece that should be on display.

“As the car’s new custodian, I intend to preserve the car in its original 1965-66 show winning format and to revive the Astra for show appearances for all to see and enjoy,” he said. “It will remind people of the glamour, excitement and all that was good of an era gone by, and to a new generation, it will represent the beginning of the custom show cars.”

The Astra will join a second notable custom car purchased by Nicholas, the Green Voodoo, a 1955 Ford Thunderbird customized by the late Don Tognotti.

The Astra and Voodoo will undergo some cosmetic upgrades and eventually return to the U.S.

“I intend to ship the cars back to the USA – their home soil – to participate and display the cars on the American show circuit and promote their historical significance,” said Nicholas.

Collingwood, meanwhile, said he will be undertaking some new challenges, but none that includes constructing automobiles. Instead, he said, he will be working on his home.

“I have a few projects that I haven’t gotten around to doing,” he said. “Now is a good time to get started.”