My 1915 Willys-Overland Model 80

and now he owns a stable of historic cars and bikes. But electrician Carl Neilsen, 42, got the shock of his life last year when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. "I had to make some hard decisions because it wasn't looking good," he says.

Neilsen went in for a life-saving operation to have it removed and is now planning a 20,000km trip around Australia in a mate's 1915 American-made Willys-Overland Model 80 to spread the word about prostate cancer.

"We're starting in July or August with a figure eight around Queensland then - all going well with sponsors - a 98-day tour with 72 stops to talk along the way at mining camps, Aboriginal communities, saleyards, pubs, anywhere where blokes gather," he says.

His co-driver is Lang Kidby whose adventures include competing in the 2005 Peking to Paris Expedition in an Itala and driving around the world in a Fiat Bambino. Kidby bought the Overland C-cab commercial vehicle in Melbourne when he heard about Neilsen's cancer awareness trip plans.

"It needed a full restoration," he says. "We built the body from scratch and did all the mechanical work ourselves. Everything except the signwriting. "Lang paid around $15,000 and we've spent about $35-$40,000 restoring it."

The Overland is powered by a 48 horsepower (36kW), three-litre, four-cylinder, side-valve engine with three-speed transaxle rear end and rear brakes only. The rear suspension features a normal eliptical spring with a half eliptical spring at the back which Neilsen says makes it ride well and prevents axle tramp.

"The only modification is a Stromberg carburettor to make it more reliable. Nothing else," he says. "It's actually quite surprising. It will cruise at 70km/h and is quite smooth, but the steering is heavy. We'll end up both looking like Schwarzenegger at the end of the trip." Neilsen is quietly confident that the vehicle will complete the journey. "With the size of the 24-inch wheels, it will go anywhere, crawl over anything."

Neilsen says they thought the car was apt for its duties because of the bonnet ornament of a Belgian boy peeing. "There are numerous stories about it, but the one we like is that it is a Belgian boy who apparently found a bomb near Brussells when it was under siege and he peed on the fuse to save the town," he says. "So the prostate message is if you can't pee you can't save anything." Neilsen calls himself the "perpetual restorer" having restored cars and bikes "as long as I can remember".

He now owns 16 vehicles including 11 Fiats, an A40 Austin Somerset, Lancia Beta Coupe, MGB GT, a modern 147 GTA Alfa and two Ducatis, a modern Paul Smart 1000 and 350 Silver Shotgun. "I drive myself insane with them all," he says. "I'll never stop. It's one of those things. You've just got to keep going. People phone you and ask if you want to buy something and you say no... but you just can't say no because the curiosity gets the better of you. My wife thinks it's quite amusing, but my mother thinks it's some sort of illness."