It seemed like a good idea at the time…
Matt and Tim Eckert were invited to bring their impressive 550Hp Case IH Quadtrac (2014), affectionately known as “quaddy”, to display in Meningie as part of a showcase of farm machinery, past and present.
Travelling the 20km into town from their property, Mentara Park in Malinong, along the dusty dirt roads they arrived in town with their monster machine looking a bit worse for wear.
“We ended up cruising down the main street and I thought maybe we should just stroll into the car wash and clean her a bit,” Matt recounts. “It was spur of the moment, a shits and giggles kind of thing”.
Now this was no ordinary car wash.
This was the Smiley Car Wash.
Designed and built to accommodate semi-trailers by local businessman and former Peter Hood Holden dealership principal, Matt Hood, Smiley Car Wash had only recently opened in the main street of Meningie.
On this day, you have to remember that the Eckert’s quaddy was the only one in the district, so it turned plenty of heads, especially chugging through the township.
Having slowly guided the tractor into one of the Smiley Car Wash super bays, with just millimetres to spare, Matt’s next challenge was starting the self-service wash and polish.
“I opened the ash tray in my brother’s Landcruiser, grabbed whatever shrapnel I could find and just kept putting it into the machine.”
So, exactly how much does it cost to wash a 550Hp Case IH Quadtrac?
“A hell of a lot,” Matt laughed who then spent more coin on cleaning up the bay which was splattered with mud from floor to roof.
With the tractor now sparkly clean, did the boys also head next door to the service station to “fill her up”?
“Not likely with an 1800 litre fuel tank on board,” Matt said shaking his head.
“But we did do a ‘mainy’ with the quaddy which was something a bit different in Meningie, that’s for sure!”
