Hundreds of mourners gathered today at Leppington (Friday, November 16) for the funeral of classic car and hot rod legend, Charles Seaberg who died suddenly last week aged 74.
Charles who was Vice President and Club Captain of the Sunbeam Owners Club of NSW lived most of his life in south-west Sydney and was a well-known and respected identity within Australia’s car enthusiast community.
Charles has been around muscle cars, hotrods and classic cars his entire life. He collected and restored many classics including an original 1967 XR Ford GT Falcon, 1940’s Ford Tudor Hot Rods and his latest passion, his beloved Sunbeam Tiger roadster.
He also had what he referred to as the ‘dream job’ being the owner of Charles Classic Cars & Cartage, which transported classic cars, muscle cars and priceless vintage cars across the country in his immaculate green Ford F350 covered car carrier.
Charles achieved unmatched show successes in many categories, most recently with his Sunbeam Tiger – a British Sports car with an American Ford V8 engine made famous by ‘Secret Agent 86’ Maxwell Smart, in the hit 1960’s television show ‘Get Smart’.
After completing a total restoration of the car in 2014, Charles took the trip of the lifetime when he shipped his stunning sports car to the UK and Europe to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Sunbeam Tiger with fellow Sunbeam enthusiasts.
Always humble, Charles said he was blown away where he was awarded what he considered the ‘ultimate trophy’ in the Tiger world, taking out the ‘People’s Choice’ award as voted by the owners the world’s best Tigers from the UK, USA, Australia and Europe.
While there, Charles and his sister, Barbara Lawler also drove the Tiger across the UK and Europe including on the legendary Le Mans race circuit in France, the scenic winding Monte Carlo rally route in Monaco and the high speed Nurburgring circuit in Germany.
On his return to Australia Charles won overall “Best Presented Sunbeam” and “Champion Tiger Awards” at both Sunbeam National Rallies he attended in Forbes NSW in 2016 and Stanthorpe, Queensland in September, 2018.
Charles received a fitting send-off at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Leppington on Friday November 16. The memorial park resembled a classic car show with mourners arriving in their classic cars, hot rods and muscle cars as a sign of respect for the widely loved classic car enthusiast.
Tributes have been flowing in from car clubs from all over Australia and around the globe on Facebook, in club magazines and via email since news of Charles’ sudden death broke.
Sunbeam Owners Club of NSW president, David Petrikas, said Charles would be deeply missed. “Charles was a wonderful ambassador for our club and was a very well loved, passionate and cheerful person. He was a true gentleman in every respect.”
