Absolute classic: Timour Hall vintage show has little bit of everything

The Timour Hall Classic Car show is without doubt one of the year’s highlights.

Set in an historical venue with ample shade, it’s an opportunity for the Cape car community to get together, share stories and show off their rare vehicles and unique take on the art of preservation and restoration.

Bobby Nitro recently visited on the Saturday, where the modern classics were on show. The Sunday was a delightful display of the real golden oldies, the vintage classics.

Entering the grounds, organiser Colin Greyvensteyn points out the Ineos Grenadier, launched just last year as a BMW-powered replacement for the discontinued Land Rover Defender. It’s a rugged 4x4 set to take the off-road world by storm. Look out on this column for a full review in future.

Moving through the autojumble section, where restorers hunt to discover that particular part they’ve been seeking, photographer Tashreeq Bijley and Bobby made a beeline for the rat rods and came across Faizal Rajie of Lexus fame.

Faizal says: “What I like about Timour Hall is it’s chill, it’s relaxed, it’s not a competition. We get to share our cars with people and that makes my day. The Studebaker, the hot rods, the Impalas, the Karmann Ghia and split window Kombi are not items you see often. These make this show unique. There is such a variety of vehicles.”

Maliekah Milleskie’s two Impalas and one ’48 Pontiac were really pulling the admirers. The sky blue Chevvy Impala, sitting pretty in the dappled light, had people stopping to pause in admiration and wonder, posing and snapping pictures. Maliekah says: “We do matric dances, tours, sunset drives and weddings, and we’re getting great feedback for our first time at the show.”

Jacques de Wet’s bagged Chevvy C10 in the corner was another unusual find. Presented in what is known as the ‘patina’ look, which means that the signs of ageing are proudly shown, and sealed in with a clear lacquer. This tells the life story, the history of the car. He says: “It is modernised inside with a digital dashboard, and gets a lot of attention on the street.”

Over at the Kombis, Bobby chatted to Chris, who says: “The split window is a proper, a beautiful old classic. It reminds me of the one I bought on a Thames lot in the late 70s, klapped a tour around Europe, and then resold at the same parking lot.”

In another area there were a line of six or so of the oldest internal combustion engines that Bobby had ever seen, all kept puttering along by their minder, with one or two from the 18th century.

Just across the way there was the very first SUV ever made. A Willy’s station wagon produced from

1946 to ’62, that in fact just recently completed an 800km off-the-beaten-track trek across the Cederberg.

Tashreeq, who provided insightful comment throughout the day, says: “I’ve met new people here, seen not just the regulars. Here there is diversity, everyone is here for one love: the passion for cars.”

When Bobby commented that what Tashreeq was getting at is that he was meeting the ballies and not just the laaities he had a good lag, and said that the bonus was learning from them the more traditional ways of doing things.

Look out in this column in the weeks to come for features on Bobby Nitro’s top show picks.

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