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Restoring memories

C Rajaram loves his job of breathing life into vintage cars

Photo S. Siva Saravnan

THE MAKEOVER MAN C. Rajaram

Parking your car among some old wrecks you walk into a grimy and noisy garage looking out for the mechanic.

And then someone points him out to you. This is no ordinary mechanic.

He is C. Rajaram who can turn an 80-year-old wreck into a shiny and attractive roadster.

Restoring old cars requires great patience and Rajaram has a reservoir of it.

"I have been breathing life into these old and dying cars for the past three years. I have restored a 1928 Ford model A, a 1931 Rolls Royce 20/21, a 1947 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith and a 1947 Daimler DE 29. At present, I am working on a 1953 Chevrolet and a 1946 Chrysler Windsor." Rajaram, who has assembled the prototype of the Lotus Seven replica (the Kari-65) in India, says there are close to 100 such cars and motorcycles in the city.

How many undertake restoration works? "Hardly any. The UMS group has a vast collection but they maintain them on their own. There are a few others who do it but those are mostly for motorcycles," he says.

Passion beckons

For Rajaram it's more of a passion than a business.

"I thought about this idea keeping in mind my work experience. I have serviced all types of cars, developed racing car bodies and tested Formula cars along with LG Sports Private Limited and Ms. LGB. I wanted to do something different and that's how the whole thing took shape," he says.

"It's a highly competitive business and you need Rs. 30 lakhs worth of equipment to be on par with the best. But for these cars it is skill that matters."

Rajaram acquired this skill over the years.

He was a rallyist in the inaugural edition of the Scissors Action Rally in 1982. Three years later, he starred as a racer in the all India motor sport meet in Chennai.

As the years rolled by, he was Chief Scrutiny Officer, Clerk of the Course, Advance Car Driver and Chief Safety Officer at various circuits.

Testing skills

Not satisfied with that, he put his skills to test working on the mechanics of the cars in a couple of automobile garages, one of which was owned by the late G. Karivardhan, (popularly known as the `Black Devil' for his daredevilry on the circuit).

Apart from his vast experience, Rajaram has detailed books and workshop manuals from the various car companies stacked in his steel almirah. "Working on the modern day cars and these old wonders makes a lot of difference. Before getting our heads down and hands dirty, we first do a detailed study through the available websites. This is to ensure that we are not caught on the wrong foot," he says.

Talking about the difficulty of procuring spares, he says, "As far as American cars are concerned getting spares is not a problem. For a 1928 Ford, we still have the components available. However, for the European and the British cars it's comparatively more difficult. We browse the Net and based on the available information we request the customer to import it. Since most of them have their own export and import houses it makes the job that much easier."

Spare scare

He says for the used parts they patiently scour the second-hand `gujri' markets in Chennai, Mettupalayam, Bangalore and Kolkata.

"We have been lucky at times but when we don't find something here then we try the foreign markets. If that doesn't work either we look for newer parts."

Rajaram, who was in-charge of Karivardhan's micro-light aircraft manufacturing company, says there is much pain involved in the restoration work.

Time consuming

"A modern day car can be done in days but a vintage car takes close to a year or even more. This is mainly due to the search involved for components. If there are identical cars then the work gets easier."

The fact that there is no real competition in his line of business helps and there is less pressure to deliver the car on time. However what keeps them going are the customers, who Rajaram says, "are a satisfied lot."

For details, call 98422-10099.

R. R

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