The Italian connection

Vintage pride

They grew up alongside the Italian beauty and their childhood memories are incomplete without reminiscing their grandfather’s 1954 Fiat 1100.

Passionate about classic wheels, cousins Shoib and Zakir Kalami currently own a 1962 Fiat 1100 and a very unusual 1952 Matador. It is the nostalgia of the Fiat and the robust make of the Matador that holds a special place in their life. The duo also owned a left hand drive Willy jeep, which they had to let go for personal reasons, and they say, “This jeep is heavily missed.”

Solid metal body, heavy metalled bonnet, suicide or  rear-hinged-doors, hand gear and the powerful 1100 cc engine; the Fiat 1962 has the old-world charm and Zakir says, “The interiors of this car even now has a special smell, which is nostalgic.”

The car evokes sentimental values in the entire family. It is the never fading love for the classic wheel, which is till date alive in their grandmother, who prefers to go in a Fiat than their new model of Swift Desire. “Doctor’s appointment or any work, my grandmother always travels around the City in our Fiat,” he says.

They frequently take the car to Yelagiri in Tamil Nadu too and he says, “It is very rare, may be a couple of times, that the car gave up on us as it was overheated. But otherwise, it still rolls in style and all one has to do is give it for servicing to the right mechanic every once in six months.”

He comments on the technology of the car saying, “They were definitely ahead in terms of technology, but it is true that they did not have the luxury of better roads then. With solid built exteriors, they did not use any plastic materials even in the interiors. Compared to these cars, the present models are not that efficient and are manufactured to survive a short period of time.”

Ask him if it’s tough maintaining these rugged machines and he says, “It is the passion for these wheels that lets one keep them alive. All one has to do is grease them regularly and check for the oil. The metals, since they are old, might get rusted. But repainting them once in five years will keep them stylish and going.”

The 1962 Fiat had alloy wheels. But the duo made sure to put back the original wheels and restored its rustic charm. But the wing mirrors, which were fitted when they bought the car, are still attached to the Italian beauty as he says, “It is impossible to drive in Bengaluru traffic without looking at the side view mirrors.”

He goes on about the heavy traffic in the City and says, “It is a little straining to drive the car due to the absence of power steering. Also it takes a while to shift the gears as they are hand gears. But the attention one gets while driving the car makes up for all these. There are curious commuters who throw in a lot of questions and it is a pride to drive them around.”

The less usual commuters in the traffic, the car has a ‘pretty design’ and it still zooms in style at an average speed.

Apart from the classic beauties, the two passionate cousins also own the 1986 Yamaha that has covered a distance of three lakh and the 1995 Fiat  1100.

(Shoib can be reached at 9738352890.)