From patrolling Queensland roads in AJS motorcycles with sidecars, to attending roadside callouts in Isuzu D-Max utes, RACQ’s roadside fleet has experienced the full evolution of motoring in the past 99 years.
Nearly 40 vehicle makes and models have transitioned through the Club’s fleet over this time and each forms a key part of its history.
RACQ’s historic fleet consists of 16 models dating from 1904 to 2007.
It includes authentic and replica vehicles used by the Club and they draw a crowd whenever they are displayed.
Two new historic vehicles – a 1976 Toyota FJ40 LandCruiser and a 1981 Daihatsu F20 – were unveiled at RACQ MotorFest 2024 in June.
The Club's Historic Fleet Coordinator Jim Butler is tasked with bringing these vehicles back to life and keeping the history of RACQ’s fleet alive.
“In the leadup to RACQ MotorFest, the team spent more than 600 hours restoring both the LandCruiser and Daihatsu,” Jim said.
“A lot of work went into restoring the bodywork but the cherry on top was fitting the RACQ bug light to officially transform them into patrol vehicles.
“We even organised for two former patrols, who used to drive these vehicles, to give their seal of approval before they were revealed to the public.
“It was also extra special for me personally as when I first joined the Club as an apprentice mechanic in 1980, I was maintaining the same types of vehicles.”
The Toyota FJ40 LandCruiser was used by the Club in the late 1970s and the Daihatsu F20 was a roadside vehicle until the mid-1980s.
Jim said the purpose of each of these vehicles was specific to the state of our roads at the time.
“During the 1970s and early 1980s, Queenslanders would have seen Daihatsu F20s and Toyota FJ40 LandCruisers patrolling both metro and regional areas,” Jim said.
“Both proved to be reliable choices for assistance vehicles as they were four-wheel drive and could handle Queensland’s many unsealed roads at the time.”
While the story of these two vehicles gives an insight into the evolution of RACQ roadside assistance and motoring more broadly, as motoring moves toward battery power, it begs the question: What vehicles will form the Club’s future fleet?
Photos Jake Ryan.