Driving down the nostalgic lane

Vintage pride

A software consultant by profession, Praveen Sridhar, recalls having grown up on a diet of stories about vintage and classic vehicles narrated to him by his father.

As a child, Praveen, says that he would never miss a chance to visit vintage car rallies, whenever it was held in the city. “The occasional sighting of Cadillac, Chevy, Dodge, Austin and other such beauties on the road always held my interest,” says Praveen.

Today, Praveen is the proud owner of 1951 Morris Minor which he bought a couple of years ago. 

This young man is no stranger to the world of automobiles. His grandfather owned a 1930 Ford Model A and his uncle had a 1949 Hindustan 10.  “I remember spending so much time just looking at the car, admiring its design and the flowing lines of the bodywork. My interest in these cars grew as years wore on,” he shares.

During his college days, the urge to own an old car was so overpowering, that Praveen and his friend decided to buy a Dodge Kingsway from Ramanagaram. “My classmate and I pooled in some money and went to Ramanagaram, to try and find a good car. To our disappointment all we could find for our limited budget were big buckets of rust with four wheels and a chair, used mainly to transport anything from vegetables to animals,” he says.  However, he persisted and his first ever purchase was a well-maintained 1960 Fiat Select 1100. He drove the car for six years until he bought a second car. “Krishna, a mechanic who helped me restore and maintain the Fiat, owned an incredibly original 1951 Morris Minor. The moment I saw the car, I told the owner to let me know the day he wishes to sell it. Years later, he did and I became the proud owner of the Morris. I sold the Fiat to a very passionate buyer from Kolhapur,” he says.

While Krishna takes care of the Morris, Praveen bought himself a workshop manual just to understand the working of the car.

“Even if the car is being worked on by Krishna, I try to read about the functioning of the car. This gives me an understanding of what the issue is, how it is supposed to work and what is needed, to bring it to working order,” he explains.

He says that he always gets down to grasping the finer details about the car such as the engine, gearbox, transmission or the electricals.

He feels one must be passionate about these cars, to be able to keep them in good condition. He also owns a Jawa 350CC Twin motorcycle and Triumph Tiger 800.
The family outings in the Morris are restricted to weekends when the traffic is less.

“Traffic has got heavier over the last few years. These cars were designed for traffic conditions of the 50s to 70s and not get stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic as it is today,” he says. Praveen meets people who own a similar vehicle and says that it is wonderful to exchange information about the car.

“I come across many people who fondly recollect the car that they once owned. Each of them have their own charming story to narrate about their experiences with the car,” he adds.

He also feels he couldn’t have taken forward his passion of collecting the old beauties without the constant support and encouragement of his family. “Not only has my family been very supportive of my passion, they have been very patient as well because I spend long hours with the car or at the mechanics,” he adds with a smile.

(Praveen can be reached on [e-mail])