An engineer's vintage car collection that's worth a visit

Vehicles like an early 70s Ford Fairlane with a V8 engine & the evergreen Premier Padmini are a part of this massive collection.

BHPian Sanidhya mukund recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Don’t we all love vintage cars? Looking at them lets us get to know about how our roads would have looked decades ago, they give us a perspective of how far we’ve come in terms of technology and most importantly, they evoke emotions in ways that modern cars don’t. For most of us, owning and driving one such car is a distant dream, thanks to factors like prohibitive costs, part scarcity, lack of time and the colossal amount of effort that running such cars require.

That's why for a vintage car enthusiast, the best way to spend a Saturday is at a place with cars from the bygone era. Most places in India that display vintage cars don’t really have a wide range of cars. Most of the vintage car displays we get to see in India are at hotels, malls, tourist places, etc. and are generally comprised of one or two automobiles. Of course, there are museums like the Heritage Transport Museum at Gurgaon, the Hyderabad Nizam’s collection and the famous ‘Auto Worlds’ collection at Ahmedabad, but those are exceptions rather than the rule. Also, most such museums have been receiving support from the tourism departments of their respective states.

The collection that I am going to talk about here is a little different from the ones mentioned above. What makes it unique is the fact that it is being run by a one-man army, a very passionate man who has been genuinely working towards the preservation and propagation of the automotive history of this region. Mr. Palash Deka, an engineer at the Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited has been spending out of his own salary for the preservation of these vintage cars. A passionate enthusiast, he has a very wide range of vintage cars, bikes, artefacts, articles of wars, clocks, radios, gramophones and a lot more to display. However, maintaining such a wide collection is not an easy job, not in the least for one single man. As a result of this, even though he has a great collection, some cars are in desperate need of some tender love and care. Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable visit for me - a vintage car collection on display in the lap of natural beauty is something that one rarely gets to see. What Mr. Deka has been able to achieve all by his own self is something that really must be appreciated. Some of the items on display at the museum are extremely rare as well.

The museum is located at Sonapur, Kamrup (M) Assam, about 45 minutes away from Guwahati. It lies on the way when en route to Shillong.
It is really worth a visit for vintage car enthusiasts and those who are passionate about cars.

The cars

Please note that the cars aren’t in the condition that we expect from a typical ‘Museum’, but please consider the fact that here, it is a single man doing all this from his own pocket. Some of them are in running condition as well!

Standard-10:

Standard Herald:

A 1970s Hilman Minx:

An early American car: (Chevy?)

A phase-III Standard Vanguard:

An early Oldsmobile that had to literally be dug out of the ground:

An Austin A40:

An early 70s Ford Fairlane. This one has a V8 under the hood!

The evergreen Premier Padmini:

The reverend Citroen Traction Avant. According to Mr. Deka, this one still runs!

A Morris Minor:

W115 Benz:

An Austin-7:

A 1970s Datsun 1000:

An old Skoda 120. Hadn’t ever seen an early Skoda before this:

A convertible Morris Minor:

A Ford Prefect with relatively less rust. Most trims looked complete as well:

Morris Mini 1000:

Vauxhall 14/6:

Fiat 500 and Renault 4CV:

Continue reading Sanidhya mukund's experience at the vintage car collection for BHPian comments, insights and more information.