JOIN USKeeping the adventurous spirit alive
As an eight-year-old, M Vijay Kumar remembers fighting with his elder brother to get a hold of the wheel of his father M R Mohan’s Fiat car — a 1964 Premier Padmini. His fascination with four-wheelers has since turned into a passion for collecting vintage vehicles.
It is his father, informs Vijay, who started the hobby of spotting and collecting old cars.
While the Premier Padmini was the family’s first purchase, the second was the 1953 model of Willys Jeep, which Mohan bought during an auction of military vehicles in the 1980s.
Mohan later added a 1963 Fiat Super Select and a 1934 Austin to his fleet. His prized possessions were handed down to his son Vijay who is just as passionate about adding to the collection.
“We lived and grew up in Coorg and that’s where we started collecting the cars. Former chief minister Gundu Rao was a close friend of my father and he too has travelled in the Premier Padmini. The first car will always hold a sentimental value for the family,” says Vijay.
He adds that the family-owned garage is also one of the many reasons that got him interested in old cars. “My father owned a garage and I still remember he would spend a lot of time understanding the working of these cars. I would return from school and run straight to the garage to assist my father or just tinker around with the spare parts lying there,” he recollects.
About the Willys Jeep, Vijay says that it was in a bad condition when he first bought it.
“We worked on the Jeep and restored it to perfect running condition. We’ve driven it to Mumbai and back and even tested its strength and sturdiness by driving it around in rocky areas in and around Bengaluru,” adds Vijay. The Austin, which belonged to Vijay’s grandfather, is still under restoration. “It will be at least eight months before we can get the Austin back on the road,” he informs.
The family lives on their farmhouse, 40 km from the city, and this provides them with ample space to park the cars. “We needed to move into our farmhouse to accommodate our cars and five dogs. It’s peaceful out here because I can work on the cars at my leisure. We also don’t have to worry about finding space to park them and our dogs can move around the farm without having to bother the neighbours,” he adds.
Vijay makes sure he drives the Jeep and Fiat Elegant on a daily basis. “It is important to drive the cars for a certain distance just to make sure the engine is in a good condition and the parts don’t get rusted,” he says. Vijay’s wife Priya and son Brijesh V and daughter Esha enjoy their drive in the old vehicles as well. “In fact, my son has opted for automobile engineering because he is interested in understanding the mechanics that go into maintaining these vehicles,” he shares.
The two things that hold the interest of Vijay and his family are farming and old vehicles. This is also why he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of adding to his fleet of beauties. “No matter how busy I may be, I will always make time to take both these interests foward,” he says.
(Vijay can be reached on vijaym785@gmail.com)