CARS: Who are those funky car drivers who spend summer afternoons whizzing along on the highways of Ireland? Alanna Gallagher meets some classic car owners - and finds out how you can become one for a day.
This time of year, for a subsection of society, is about hitting the road to showcase the lines of their vehicles. As soon as the good weather appears, weekend drivers notice a new addition to the nation's roads. They are the car collectors. Their passion is old models: buying them, fixing them and driving them.
The car types vary in age from classic, through vintage to veteran, and the most popular are the American and English designs.
This is mostly a male pursuit. "It's like saying, look at me, I'm different, I'm kicking against the establishment. Driving a classic car has a feel-good factor that you'll never get from a Ford Focus or a Renault Megane," says Classic Car Magazine editor, Martyn Moore. "It's also a great attention-seeking device and provides ordinary men with extraordinary charisma - as long as they're behind the wheel."
While a classic car is technically any car over the age of 20, for some owners, there is another criterion. "It's a car you wanted when it was new, and it's the car you still want, even though that is no longer the case. Any car you feel better after driving is, in my book, a classic car," adds Moore.
He has noticed increased interest from Irish collectors. "I was amazed at the number of Irish collectors and dealers with their pockets full of euros at the last International Classic Cars Show in Birmingham. The driving infrastructure of Ireland and its fabulous twisty roads should lend itself well to UK classics."
That would not seem to be the case. Richie Smyth's collection includes a 1965 Mustang Fastback and Mustang Coupe, a 1966 Pontiac Parisian, a 1973 Buick Riviera, a 1967 Cadillac Coupe Deville and 1966, 1968 and 1972 Dodge Chargers, as well as a 1989 Mini Cooper.
"The first car I bought was the Mustang, which I got for next to nothing when I was about 18. I trashed the car. I can only drive one car at a time and I like to drive the bejaysus out of my cars. I even take them on holidays across Europe and down to the south of France. They're really good for long-distance travelling."
The 1968 Charger is like the car in the Steve McQueen classic Bullitt, and was a souvenir of a recent holiday.
"I bought it on holidays in LA, shipped it back and stripped it down to the metal and brought it back to its original black. It sounds really impressive, but in reality most of my friends have had to pick me up at one time or another, when one of the cars has broken down."
As a hobby, it is demanding. "Be prepared to spend every penny you have on them. I lived at home with my mother for years instead of renting a flat so I could afford my hobby. My dad was a panel beater. I picked up a bit about cars from him. I spend most of my down time up to my eyes in oil, and live in T-shirts and jeans."
Smyth's fascination with American cars is, he claims, because they are easy to maintain. "American cars bolt together like Meccano. Their mechanics are easy to figure out but my best car is a 1978 Aston Martin Vantage, which I have to send to England to get fixed."
Eamon Dunne likes to collect a different type of car. Instead of classics, he likes vintage and veteran. "I'm much more interested in the cars of the 1930s and before," he says.
His collection includes a 1914 Swift, the oldest Model T in Ireland, which dates back to 1911, another Model T, from the "any colour so long as it's black" early 1914 production line, as well as a 1929 Morris that belonged to a butcher in Wicklow town. Dunne trained as a mechanic, which started the ball rolling.
"It's a bug that just grows on you. My very first car was a 1949 Fiat Topolino. I learned to drive in that car and by way of harking back to my youth I bought a 1938 fiat Topolino, which I did up from scratch. It had had one owner, an English lady who used it to get around when staying in her summer house in Wexford. When I got hold of the car, it had been painted for blackouts during the second World War. The headlights were halfblacked out and the mudguards were painted white. The car hadn't been on the road since the end of the war."
Dunne usually hears about cars through the Veteran and Vintage Car Club. The Dublin club meets in the Merrion Inn on Merrion Road on the first Monday of the month.
He also hires cars to film producers and has been involved in the Irish film industry since My Left Foot. "I've also rented cars to the productions of Michael Collins, The Mammy, The Butcher Boy, The Boxer and Angela's Ashes. For authenticity the cars have to look lived-in - not too shiny. But I have some original cars that have never been touched, including one of my model Ts."
Joe Keenan is chairman and co-founder of The Midland American Auto Club, and likes a horse of a different colour. "I'm a pick-up truck man. The pick-up truck is the workhorse of classic cars. It's often the first car our members acquire."
Keenan's preferred mode of travel is a 1964 beige Chevrolet pick-up, but he's also the proud owner of another four pick-ups of varying vintages. At this time of the year, the club spends many of its weekends attending rallies. They tend to travel in convoy. "It is awesome to see us pounding up the highway, especially on the inside lane, getting flashes and waves from passers-by. The midland roads are great for American cars. I've no complaints about the roads."
For the club's other founder, Kieran Mullen, the bug bit five years ago, when he bought a Cadillac 8.2 litre V8 El Dorado, which he saw in Classic American Magazine. He buys one car at a time and trades in each vehicle when he spots another that he fancies.
"The car cost €2,500 and for the sake of the price of a flight to the UK I decided to take the plunge. I was lucky. The interior of the car was pristine. It belonged to the same owner for 20 years and had been garaged all its life. The man had even got married in it."
The real selling point was its sex appeal. "To step into a 20-foot car with an eight-litre engine and a width of between six and seven feet and drive the machine to the ferry round the backroads of Wales was daunting. But once you get used to the size it becomes easier. You feel like you're king of the road. This is not the car for a shrinking violet."
While car collecting is perceived to be a relatively new pastime in Ireland, the practice has already been handed down from father to son. Larne-based Mike Barr is a second-generation car collector.
"My father had Beetles and MGs when he was young and he is now the proud owner of a 1972 red Beetle and an 1970 bright orange MG."
Barr also runs a website, www.starcarhire.co. uk, that features a host of "celebrity cars", vehicles that featured in films and television series such Harry Potter, Starsky & Hutch and The Dukes of Hazzard.
"The purpose of the website was to gel together a bunch of local car collectors as well as create a facility for them to make money from their hobby and give their vehicles regular road use. Driving these cars is like sitting in a goldfish bowl. They are cult cars and the amount of attention you receive driving them is incredible. You can't go to the shops in a Starsky & Hutch car. You have to have a destination to go to rather than posing in your car at weekends."
Joe Sheridan is the proud owner of a 1968 iceblue Mustang Coupe. He's a recent convert to collecting. He bought the car over the Internet and had it shipped to the UK from California through an agent. "I'm selling it this week to buy another Mustang. It is the sort of hobby that could easily get out of control, so I keep it to one car, which I change when I get bored. I'm still hankering after a 1972 yellow and black Mustang, so I've put out a few calls to my contacts and I check the websites regularly."
Classic cars can be purchased for as little as €2,000. The cars do need a lot of tender loving care. They need to be stored indoors. They also need to be started on a weekly basis and moved around to keep them functioning.
Becoming a member of one of the clubs listed affords you professional advice when it comes to making your purchase.
"Don't buy a project," is the advice from Richie Smyth. "Buy someone else's project - a car that someone else has spent time and money on doing up. Otherwise, you'll never be able to afford it."
"Be mindful of the commitment an old car requires; the support for spares," says Martyn Moore. "An Aston Martin, for instance, can't be taken to a typical garage. Talk to other owners before making a purchase - there are cars that are temperamental. And of course specialist magazines are a fabulous resource," he admits.
The cars will make demands on your free time. "I spend about two full days a week tinkering with them," says Eamon Dunne. "The most expensive part of the hobby is getting the car. If it's a good car, you'll always get your money back. There are some good cars to be had in Ireland but England is really the home for it. You really need to be in or around a club to hear of all the deals."
So which cars are destined to become classics? "While Lamborghinis and Aston Martins will always be romantic looking, there are other cars that achieve a moment in time," says Moore. "The Datsun 240Z, for instance, is becoming trendy. It has a great sporting pedigree from its rally driving days and with Nissan 350Z using it in its advertising, interest in them is resurrecting. Likewise, BMW's Mini did a lot for the old British Leyland Mini in creating a nostalgic regard for the original of the species."
Certain cars will produce a return on investment but that's not the driving force for the collectors. Dreaming of first cars, like first loves, can take a particular type of man back to the glory days of his youth.
Whatever their reasons for collecting, the effect of these vehicles also spills out onto other drivers. For that, we thank you - summer Saturdays and Sundays are all the more colourful for you. u
Kieran Mullen is running the Midland American Auto Club annual show, which takes place on September 12th in Kilbeggan opposite racecourse. It will feature star cars from Mad Max, Knight Rider, Dukes of Hazzard, Starsky & Hutch etc. Starts 11.30 a.m. See also www.maac-ireland.com