The queens who never age

As a young boy studying in Bishop Cotton Boys School, Pradeep had a great liking towards vintage beauties. He recollects how the old MG Road had many garages which repaired vintage cars and recalls the days when he used to get a glimpse of the antique beauties in these garages. He could not afford the royal machines then.

But he never missed an opportunity to enjoy their sight. Not being able to own a vintage car as a young boy, his interest shifted to the two-wheeled inventions and he took part in various bike rallies around the City.

Completing his engineering and entering the professional world in the 1970s, he came across three vintage cars that kindled him to have a collection of his own. “I saw three cars and I wanted to buy at least one of them. I had the money, but I did not know how to go about it. I asked one of my friends Surendra to help me out and that is when I bought my first vintage car,” says Pradeep. His first antique beauty was the economy car of the 1928, which was — Austin 7. He restored the beauty of this car and this was just the beginning of his burning passion. The next car in his cluster is the Ford Model A of 1928. A silver and black pride, this car came in bits and pieces. The parts were replicated and the elegance was restored.

 “It took almost three years to restore this car. It was difficult to get all the parts in place,” he says.

Owning two antique automobiles, Pradeep decided to join a group of like-minded people and became a member of the Karnataka Vintage and Classic Car Club (KVCC). “I met many like-minded people after I joined KVCC. President Jamal, Secretary Ravi Prakash, are all a bunch of inspiring people. All  of them have a huge collection of vintage cars and they are passionate about owning and maintaining them,” he says.

His next possession was the 1940 Sunbeam Talbot. A perfect British beauty, this car takes one back to the long gone royal era. A suicide door, stand-alone headlights, strong wheelbase, this is a perfect example for style with elegance. One more in his collection — the two seater Vauxhall of 1950, stands strong with a willingness to take over any terrain. 

While Pradeep wants to own more of these royal machines, he says that space is the biggest challenge. He adds saying, “It is an expensive hobby and it is difficult to get people to do up the cars. It is a dying hobby as youngsters these days do not care much about them. It needs not only money but also a lot of patience.” 

What pains him more is when people ask questions about the mileage and fuel type about these cars. “The vintage cars are not valued by the mileage it gives. Mileage and money are least considered when you own a vintage car. They are to be appreciated for their uniqueness,” he says.

He feels that the vintage cars were individually crafted with care unlike the modern cars that are mass produced. “Vintage cars need personal tuning for engines and there is an individual touch to all these cars,” he says. He often takes out his vintage cars for rallies, but laments about the state of roads in the City. “It is extremely difficult to drive these cars on our roads as these cars do not have well-versed brake system. Also, when I take out these cars for a drive, there are people who come right in front of the car to take a closer look and controlling these cars at this time becomes tough,” he says. 

Maintaining his cars in a top-notch condition, he wraps up saying, “I will uphold these priced possessions till my end. After that, I do not know what will happen to them.”