A way with the wheels

Wolseley, Herald, Ambassador, Fiat, Austins — Sheshi Gundu Rao’s childhood was a ‘polished’ one as he grew up with these sophisticated beauties. But the sweet irony was — he could only clean and polish these cars, which were owned by his father.

As a youngster, he went to the US for studies, so missed the chance to drive his fathers cars. But he did imbibe his father’s passion. While in the US, he attended one of the biggest auctions of vintage and classic cars — Barrett-Jackson Auction. He was mesmerised! “I fell in love,” he recalls. Thus began his romance with the vintage cars. No, he did not immediately jump into buying these antique wonders. Instead, he collected miniature versions of them and now has a huge collection.

However, in 2001, when he returned to India, he wanted to convert some of these miniature machines to real wheels. This longing of owning one of the vintage cars was fulfilled when he saw an advertisement in a newspaper. “The 1934 Austin 7 was for sale and I did not think twice. Luckily, the person who sold this car to me brought along a mechanic who was well-versed in repairing these machines. This was my first tryst with a vintage machine and I have learnt a lot about them through my passion,” he says. He also owns the 1938 Morris Tourer, which he bought from the same person. “The guy who sold the Austin became a close friend of mine and he happened to sell me the Morris owned by his father,” he adds.

Both the cars were in top-notch condition and all he had to do was to maintain them well. While many vintage car owners groom their cars just before the vintage rallies, Sheshi gives these beauties a weekly bath, not with water but with diesel. “I wash them with diesel as it prevents them from rusting and gives them a shine,” he explains. He takes them out on a date every weekend and likes the attention he gets from public. “Everyone wants to click a picture and it is nice and satisfying to know that my car is planting a smile on many faces,” he says with pride.

His rendezvous with vintage cars grew by bounds with these two eyecandies and he says, “I know a great deal about these cars now. The mechanic who came to repair my car closed down his shop. Since then, I am managing to do a little bit of the mechanic work myself.” While he says getting spare parts is a tough task, he makes sure not to keep these machines idle. His family is supportive about his passion as his wife Pratima puts it, “It is lovely to take a drive in these cars. I love the feeling.” His son, Subhash Rao too is pretty much interested in these machines. “He is next in line and I want him to take care of these wheels,” he says.

An active member of Karnataka Vintage and Classic Car Club, he says that the club is helping nurture the passion for vintage and classic cars among youngsters. Ask him to explain the charm of these machines and he smilingly replies, “My vehicle is different from every other car you see on the road. I am happy to put a smile on someone else’s face. It is truly satisfying to drive these simple yet elegant machines.” So any cars on his bucketlist? He goes on, “A lot actually. But the one vintage car that I would want to own at any cost is the Ford Model T. This was one of the first passenger cars that was mass produced and it holds top priority in my wishlist.”