Steve has progressive multiple sclerosis, a somewhat less visible form of the disease which sees a gradual worsening of symptoms (progression) from diagnosis onwards with no relapses or remissions. It snuck up on Steve but by the time he got the diagnosis he had a pretty good idea about what was going on.
I knew something was terribly wrong but wasn’t sure exactly what. It was a culmination of two years of visiting doctors and asking what was wrong with my leg but I kept getting told it was age-related weakness… it turns out it was this. Even after getting all the test results and receiving a final diagnosis, I thought that maybe they got it wrong. In a way, it was good to know that there was a reason for the symptoms. But I also thought it was just like a really bad cold and I’d get over it. It’s obvious now that I’m not going to get over it”.
I would like to add that I think MS Auckland does a wonderful job. Of course, you’ve got to get in touch to communicate your needs and ask for help. I haven’t had a lot of interaction because I’m kind of independent, I think it’s my problem and I’ll just get through it. But I guess as time goes on, I might need to lean on them a bit but also try and help in any way I can.
There must be a lot of people out there that are undiagnosed or newly diagnosed that don’t want to face the music, I suppose. I’m past that stage now. I’m listening to the music.
I’ve been collecting automotive memorabilia probably for 40 plus years, and I feel very fortunate to have the collection in part of the house. And with the cars, it’s just a wonderful hobby. I mean, I say hobby, but collecting is probably like a disease. An addiction? Yeah, I suppose it is.
Steve, ably assisted by wife Sue and sundry other local gurus, also restores old vehicles back to their former glories. There is a local and international recognition that goes with this.
More than thirty years ago, Steve started collecting the odd piece of service station memorabilia and now has an extensive collection. He does ongoing restorations on gas pumps and service station collectibles and is an avid collector.
His most recent project, achieved while dealing with the effects of multiple sclerosis, has been the long and difficult restoration of an extremely rare, original 1938 Diamond T streamlined Texaco tanker truck.
Steve has been immersed in classic and collectible cars his entire life with his late father, Les, owning vintage cars for more than four decades. Steve began building hot rods in his late teens and for the past 40 years has owned vintage, hot rod and classic cars.
In the late eighties, Steve built (and raced) a popular Mercedes ‘doorslammer’; a 1986 500SEC. He has done a number of rebuilds over the years with other projects being a 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt recreation and a 1951 Ford F5 Cabover.
The full restoration of the Diamond T was carried out over more than four years with help from a team of incredibly talented craftsmen and, in February 2023, Steve and Sue unveiled the finished truck. They also discovered much of the tanker’s history with help from locals in Newberry County, South Carolina who recognised it online.
Research over five years has revealed that this truck is the only complete Diamond T streamlined tanker known to exist with a Heil tank.
Call Steve a glutton for punishment (these restorations are highly complex and demanding undertakings) but no sooner had he done with the Diamond T than an even more gargantuan undertaking came into his purview. The new restoration will actually be a recreation of the now extinct ‘Doodlebug’ tanker truck of which only seven were built between 1933 and 1934. Making things even tougher, there are none in existence and Steve and his team will be building from the ground up, so to speak.
There are none left in the world, so we are going to reproduce one. It had a Diamond T chassis and a tank also made by Heil. It was a very unique vehicle, curved glass, engine in the rear and was very out there for 1933. It’s going to be a big job.
Of course, making the big job even tougher also means having to deal with disease. Like all his projects, Steve deals with what is in front of him.
I just try and brush it aside for as much as possible. It’s becoming increasingly harder to just ignore it and not to think about it getting a little worse. But I just keep pushing through.
Steve hasn’t given up yet, but he is coming towards the end of his work on the smaller car projects he does ‘in between times’.
I’ve got another car that has been on my hoist out in the shed for six years. It’s nearly finished and about to go on the road. And I’ve got a Dodge truck that I’ve had for years that I’m getting a guy to build out at Whitford.
A diagnosis of MS is make or break – I was broken for the first year. Then I decided that enough is enough. I want to do something more with my life.
In 2017 Michael explored options for HSCT! Not long after he was flying to Singapore with his parents for stem cell treatment.
