{"id":24787,"date":"2023-07-22T10:01:27","date_gmt":"2023-07-22T09:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/?p=24787"},"modified":"2024-09-12T16:17:34","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T15:17:34","slug":"confessions-of-a-car-collector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/confessions-of-a-car-collector\/","title":{"rendered":"Confessions of a Car Collector"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a car collector who hoards and saves weird and interesting cars in much the same way that delightful old ladies rescue and re-home cats, I\u2019m often asked the very simple question; \u2018Why?\u2019 And it\u2019s a good one. Just what is it that prevents some classic car enthusiasts from saying \u2018no, thank you,\u2019 when offered another tempting driveway filler \u2013 and how does one explain the magic of multiple motors getting us all hot under the collar? After all, when you peel and boil it, one decent classic car is all any of us really needs, right?<\/p>\n

\"classic<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never been able to explain it. Since I was a small kid, I\u2019ve always enjoyed collecting things. It started small, with pencil rubbers and keyrings, before progressing to Lego and Matchbox Cars. There\u2019s a \u2018completist\u2019 mentality amongst true collectors, for sure \u2013 an innate desire to \u2018finish\u2019 acquiring every single different one of whatever it is we\u2019re collecting, but in my case, I don\u2019t even ever think that\u2019s possible. For example, I love air-cooled Volkswagens with all my heart, and I\u2019m lucky enough to own a handful \u2013 but can you even imagine what it would take to own one of each kind? How much money and space you\u2019d need as a car collector for every model year, variation and body style? And then where does it stop? Do you go for one in each colour, trim code and engine spec? If you\u2019re the Sultan of Brunei, the answer to all of these questions is always \u2018yes\u2019, but for the rest of us, a fair smattering of the range is usually more than enough to satisfy that collecting urge. Cars that really mean something or that resonate in some way. It\u2019s where I started, after all. My very first car purchase, at 16 years of age, was a 1972 Beetle<\/a> \u2013 and I\u2019ve never been without one since.<\/p>\n

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Some collectors fixate on one model, to become the world authority on their chosen steed. They collect every spare, buy every parts car, rule the owner\u2019s club and perhaps even pen a book with their peerless, encyclopaedic knowledge, but that\u2019s not for me. I can admire it greatly, and I\u2019m super grateful to the many that I\u2019ve met over the years, particularly when they\u2019ve been good enough to advise me on a restoration, or even sell me one of their cars for a project, but I think that I would simply be unable to work on the same cars, doing the same jobs week in, week out. For me at least, collecting has to offer a real variety. Knowing how quickly I can get bored, the cars around me need to bring new challenges, create additional opportunities or just tickle that itch that crops up every once in a while.<\/p>\n

\"classic<\/p>\n

Anyone who has ever sat there in a late-night Instagram \u2018scroll hole\u2019 will know the feeling. You suddenly see a great video of say, an E36 BMW<\/a>. You like how it looks and sounds, and before you know it, you\u2019re checking out the hashtag, looking at dozens more, before you start searching the models and colours you like on Car & Classic. Moments later, you\u2019re checking wheel fitments and rarities for a car you don\u2019t even yet own. It\u2019s a joyous journey of discovery that, before you realise it, means you\u2019ve been stuck on the loo for half an hour, the kids don\u2019t know where you are \u2013 and now you\u2019ve got leg cramp.<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/p>\n

Finding a new classic you love, or a new marque or scene, is a lot like meeting a new partner. There\u2019s that wonderful moment at the beginning when you don\u2019t know anything about each other, and you get to learn what makes them tick \u2013 or indeed, tickover. As time progresses, if you\u2019ve chosen wisely, hopefully all the things you liked in the first place become more deeply ingrained, and before you know it, it\u2019s a full blown love affair. Obviously, in both cases, at some point, there\u2019s a possibility that you might get bored or frustrated with the other party, and it\u2019s at that point that sensible and rational people simply sell their car and move on to the next. Or perhaps get divorced. One of these options is definitely cheaper than the other, however.<\/p>\n

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Me? Well, I just keep adding. Cars, not wives that is. Thankfully, I\u2019m still on the original model there, and perhaps that\u2019s one of many reasons that I\u2019m lucky enough to afford the motors that I have. Speaking from a purely automotive perspective, once that initial joy of a new flame has dulled a little, it can simply be parked in the corner of the workshop until that ardent urge returns, and in the meantime, I can simply save up my pocket money and add something else to the collection to satisfy whatever inner 9-year old flashbacks that my brain is telling me to satiate. Something with a V8, usually \u2013 and you can blame that squarely on a diet of American television as a child.<\/p>\n

\"classic<\/p>\n

The only downside to being a car collector and owning more than one car, of course, is that as well as the delight of having a miniature fleet at your disposal, you can also look forward to the logistics \u2013 and invoices \u2013 that match. It can almost be a full time job running a high car count, and it\u2019s probably not best to ever stop and tot up exactly how much has been spent over the last few years. Particularly if you are trying to stay on a low wife count\u2026<\/p>\n

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Paul’s Pontiac Tojan definitely understood the weird and wonderful assignment<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always collected with my heart, rather than my head, buying cars that I like, that have great back stories, or ones that are just plain weird or rare. If it\u2019s got that indefinable \u2018X\u2019 Factor, and I can afford it, then it\u2019s probably going to have to come home. That buzz of finding something new or disappearing down that rabbit hole of research is always too great a thrill. As the old lady said to the cat\u2019s home, \u2018There\u2019s always room for one more\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n