adminONE great marvel of our time is seeing a man or a woman driving an old car at a time when everyone seems to be obsessed with the latest fads in the automobile industry. Yes, there are individuals who have never been moved by the changing trends in the motor industry. They seem to lack the style and lag behind and yet they are admired by many for their choices when it comes to the wheels.
Individuals who have preferred to stick to the antiques not only raise questions about themselves and their tastes, but also about the very cars that they drive.
Younger people and some older folks who are not knowledgeable with cars will be interested to know some of the dynamics associated with these antique cars.
The antique car era includes the Veteran era – which is the first production of automobiles by Karl Benz in 1888 in Germany and, under licence from Benz, in France by Emile Roger, the Brass era – which was an early period of automotive manufacturing, named after the prominent brass fittings used during that time for such things as lights and radiators, and the Vintage era, which range from the beginning of the automobile up to the 1930s. Later cars are often described as “classic cars”.
In original or originally restored condition antique cars are very valuable and are usually either protected and stored or exhibited in car shows but are rarely driven in more developed countries.
As a collectable item, antique cars are desirable because of their age, beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal and emotional connection, and other reasons relative to their owners.
These cars are classics that represent a previous era or time period in human society.
One of the proud owners of these vintage collections in Bulawayo is artist Owen Maseko, who owns a black Ford Zephyr, 1961 model. The car’s ranges in all its guises received glowing reports from the motoring press of the late 50s. They were put through their paces on race tracks and extensive grueling trips, with the Good Year tyre company running a Zephyr for more than 659 831,04 kilometres with only two engine changes. The original engine gave the owners an incredible 254 276 352 kilometres. The car was taken at an average of 80kmph for the 20 month trial and its last three month doing 24hrs on the M1 with its boot well overloaded.
Ford’s MK2 Consul’s, Zephyr’s and Zodiac’s are a fine example of economy and style that will never be equalled. With its proven reliability, performance and exceptional appearance, it is easy to see why the MK2 is so highly regarded today.
Maseko said he enjoyed the car because of its artistic appeal.
“Old cars have this artistic appeal to them. I especially liked this particular one because it has a lot of chrome on the doors, the lights and other places on it. These cars were a limited edition and were never mass-produced so it’s a good feeling to own one decades after,” said the veteran artist.
Maseko who also owns a fleet of classics including an Austin A30 (1954), an Austin A55 (1956) and a VW Tampa van said the vintage cars were low maintenance and were even easier to use and repair on your own. He added that the car is always a conversation creator.
“When I meet people, the older folks always retell stories of association with the car. The younger folks, especially the hip-hop heads also carry incredible interest for the vehicle and often hire it for videos and things like that,” he said.
An elderly man who has interest in vintage cars, Brendan Andersen said vintage cars were like nothing else anyone can drive on earth as they carried with them an exclusive feel and touch.
“I just love these cars and I used to own quite a collection. See, what sets them apart is that they just give you an identity which none of the new vehicles can ever give you. They are just epic. You feel like you are trotting through a different epoch altogether, all the while, while you are in the present time,” he said.
For most of these cars though, parts are problematic and owners have to constantly be linked to other vintage car owners and also get parts from the countries where they were manufactured.
Said Maseko: “One interesting thing about these cars is that they are very stable and you rarely have any issues with them. I have had mine for more than 10 years and I have never had a problem with the engine at all. What also happens is that we, who have these cars know each other and so we help each other with parts. On other instances you have to actually buy these parts from the UK or other European countries or wherever the car was manufactured.”
Adolph Blume, who runs Verdol Panel Beaters and Spraypainters said they occasionally had customers who collect these old vehicles bringing their cars for complete overhauls and remakes. The Vendol boss took Sunday Leisure on a tour of their Belmont premises and showed the news crew a body of an old Chevy Impala, whose model could not be established, which they were working on.
“We usually take about six to eight months working on such cars because we have to be specific and we work on it from scratch, from the body, the interior and all other areas. We have been operating since 1996 and over the years we haven’t had many of such project cars because they are quite heavy duty and intensive and they are time consuming. We are enjoying doing it though.
“I recently also worked on my old Datsun and its looking nothing like a Datsun now. It’s awesome to see these old cars re-done,” he noted.
Online Reporter