A comment on the thread today though a different issue and a friends visit today reminded me of some very unpleasant experiences that I have had in my ownership of classic carsā¦..I am sharing this so that the fellow enthusiasts and budding collectors may find it usefulā¦..its going to be long so bear with me.
When I bought my first classic car at the age of 17 yrs, a 1949 Mercedes Benz SV 170, my mentor Jahanzeb Karamat gave me the following advice:
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He said, ā never let anyone else drive your classic car as these cars have their own unique peculiarities which you would have gotten used to and not othersā
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My father later gave me the same advice and gave me his own example. Here are some of those experiences where I broke the above rule and let others drive my cars:
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CITROEN TRACTION AVANT: This was in my daily useā¦.the only car I owned at the time. I had been using it for some years and it was amazingly reliable and maintenance free. Couldnāt say no to a friend who took his sister and bro in law for a drive and brought back the car with a broken pressure plate finger which messed up everything around itā¦..fixing it was not simple and I was without a car for many months.
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FIAT 500 L: Someone wanted it for an evening and brought the car back the next morning with a broken windscreen and a broken rear light assembly which was bought brand new in non internet days, no credit cards etc. he had opened the bonnet to fill up petrol and didnāt click it shut properlyā¦it popped open and broke the windscreenā¦.car was off the road for many monthsā¦.and I suffered.
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FIAT 500 L: a donor car later the car was fixed, another person insisted on borrowing and knew that I had given the car to the other personā¦.I gave in knowing that I am committing a blunderā¦just couldnāt say no. Car was towed back after 2 days with a seized engine, original set of keys lost and the oil cap missing. A couple of attempts to fix the engine did not work and I lost heart in the car and let it rot for 15 yearsā¦.almost sold it on a couple of occasionsā¦..not till I ordered new mechanical parts from Italy that the car got back on the roadā¦.
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FIAT 500 L: Fiat has been in my regular use since. Couple of years ago a friend insisted that he would drive itā¦.I told him that itās a very different car and doesnāt like to have new drivers using itā¦.I just joked that it has feelingsā¦..well he was adamant and had his fun driveā¦..broke the pressure plate into piecesā¦car was off the road for 3 monthsā¦till I got new clutch assembly from Italy.
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LINCOLN CONTINENTAL V12: In years of regular use, the car has never let me downā¦a friend insisted on driving it one evening and brought it back hissing and pissing, massive power loss etc. I donāt know exactly what and why it happenedā¦but the car was off the road for over 6 months. Some expansive parts from USA later, the car was back on the road.
JAGUAR MK V 1949: My daily driver for almost 10 yearsā¦..never missed a beat and purred like a cat. I let a friend drive it to Malir for a Jinnah movie shoot ā guess what? He owned a workshop and serviced the car without my permission. Water entered the SU Carbs and they freezed up. He opened them up without letting me know and screwed them up. I towed the car home, spent a whole day with my mechanic servicing and adjusting them before the car was back on the road.
FORD MUSTANG 1965 CONVT.: I bought the car 10 years ago with intention of gifting it to my son on his 18<SUP>th</SUP> birthday. He was 8 years at the time. 3 years ago I started restoring and completed it in a years time. First time and definitely last time I gave it for an advertisement with a clear understanding that the car will not be driven by any of the models. My driver was with the car who got hoodwinked and a model was made to drive the carā¦.he lost control on an āSā bend downhill road and hit a couple of boulders breaking and damaging the steering, suspension, brake drum, leafspring, gearbox etc. Its been 10 months and the car is still off the road as I hit a bad patch as far as money is concerned and have not been able to get new parts which will cost in excess of US $2,500/-. The model got his pleasure of driving it for a few minutes and ruined my 10 years old dream of gifting a restored Mustang to my son whoās birthday is next month.
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BSA M20 bike with sidecar 1941: a friend came to my house with his friend and his kids. He insisted that I let him ride my bike as he wants to take his kids for a spinā¦.I told him that this bike is not that easy to ride and he shouldnāt really try that. Anyways he was adamant and I could not say noā¦..in 5 minutes found out that he has had an accidentā¦the bike went out of control near my house hit a footpath, overturned hitting the wall in the process. Thank God that the kids and his friend were not hurtā¦but my poor impeccably restored bike was majorly messed up. It was a mechanical fork model and once they lose their shape it is difficult to fix them 100%. I never rode that bike again.
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Moral of the storyā¦.respect classic cars and their owners. Appreciate and admire the cars but donāt put the owners in an awkward position by asking to borrow the cars. A friend came over today asking to borrow a car for a few hoursā¦..I refused. There are two not very happy people today.
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I can still tolerate someone driving one of my cars in my presence and with my consentā¦..but do not have the heart to let the car out of my sightā¦..my helper for 20 years, Zahoor is the only one who can drive my cars when required without I getting anxious. Comments from classic car owners are welcome and from other too.
