RETRO RECONDITIONING – December 2015

IN CONVERSATION WITH RISHAD KUNDANMAL. WHO RUNS THE KUNDANMAL CAR SERVICE STATION WHERE HE LOOKS AFTER AND MAINTAINS HIGH END MARQUEES AND ALSO RESTORES VINTAGE CARS TO THEIR FORMER GLORY

What got you interested in retro wheels?
Ever since I can remember I used to be crazy about cars. When I was 7 years old I found my dad’s 1939 Austin 8 and told him I wanted to fix it up. At first he informed me that the car was never lost, but was just parked away. He then laughed and encouraged me to go ahead and to restore the car with the help of some of his technicians.

What are the skills required for someone dealing with vintage cars and which are the most popular ones?
More than skills alone, one needs to have a passion for these beauties along with knowledge and understanding of how and why a particular system was placed on the car and as to how these cars have evolved over time. It is difficult to specify which would be the most popular brands, but since India was under the British for almost 200 years, consequently most of the cars in India are of British heritage.

Do you participate in the vintage car rallies in the city? Tell us alittle about your experience.
Participating in Vintage runs smoothens my nerves and keeps me at peace. More than just Vintage and Classic rallies a group of my friends all of whom share the same interest, meet almost every Sunday at 7 am for coffee and breakfast to sit and discuss the various aspects of each ones cars. A group of 30 then jump into our respective cars and drive in a convoy 70 to 90 miles on that Sunday morning. The morning run has become so successful from the time it first started with 4 cars doing the runs that has now expanded to 30 cars where each one of us has a great time cruising across the country.