Getting to Know Calcutta's Restorer/Collectors & Collector/Restorers
I have had the privilege of being a Judge at the Calcutta Statesman Rally and Concours over the past five years and have been attending it for over ten years, one of the highlights of our wintering here away from the Cold winters in Toronto.
It's been great getting to know so many of the collectors and having the opportunity to check out their cars in detail and offer any guidance or help in "getting" things right, so that they can become as close to how they came out of the factory and to be more competitive.
My brother and I purchased our first car, a Model A Ford as we both turned 15 and in the subsequent years about 50 cars and bikes have passed my way, most of them requiring little major restoration as there were a lot to choose from.
We had a close friend who was doing a ground up restoration, piece by piece, of his 1926 Model T Ford touring in his basement and garage during our university years. I can remember, as if it was yesterday, the First Drive in his 'new" T; what a sweet sound and the elegance, and for me the awe that I had for his perseverance, dedication and finely developed skills. He is now a retired school teacher, living up in the lakes country specializing in restoring old wooden boats and still drive his Model "T".
Apart from appreciating all the cars, good and bad, (and there is no such thing as a bad old car) my greatest pleasure is visiting the Works to see what and how things are being done and the many magic "ten fingers" that bring these cars back to life under such primitive working conditions.
I hope to profile as many of the Calcutta Collector/Restorers and Restorer/Collectors as possible while I am here and would encourage any of the Calcutta Family to take a sense of ownership of this thread as this is about all of us here who share the same passion.
Definitions;
A Restorer/Collector is one whose business is to take in cars to restore and collects them as well.
A Collector/Restorer is one who collects cars and restores them for himself while occasionally passing some on.
I would say that Sanjay Ghosh would be classified as a R/C and Chowdhury is moving from a C/R to a R/C
I am sure there are some other variations and welcome any comments
Well I hope that this thread will shed some light on what's happening in Calcutta/Kolkata and perhaps something similar could be done in some of the other Centers, |