Garage days are worth gold

A few weeks ago I was in Schalsum, with my classic friends Peter, Thomas and Arnold. In the small village, near Franeker, something beautiful is currently being created. Thomas's most recent acquisition - the VW 1303 LS Cabriolet - is undergoing a metamorphosis and is on its way to becoming one of the most beautiful examples in the Netherlands. I recently witnessed this during a wonderful garage day.

Spending a day or an afternoon in a workshop and contributing to a repair or restoration, no matter how small. Ever since I was younger, I have found that a very pleasant activity, just as I also liked to walk around scrapyards. The dismantling companies of that time were the ideal opportunity to sit in a car for a while. The scrapyards were no longer candidates to return to the traffic scene. The final farewell to the road always marked the beginning of the dream for me, to one day own a car. The cars were used, at the end of their life cycle. But even more than the new cars in the shop windows - they were at the beginning of their career - they appealed to me. They had a life history behind them, and fulfilled the function for which they were built.

I always liked to walk between the cars, and I found it a wonderful phenomenon to see how they were maintained. In Wieringerwerf I sometimes spent an afternoon in Jan Hoogendijk's garage. In the workshop at the front of the old shed I learned to do an oil change, replace fluids and change a light bulb. And then I also helped - while the Kempe brothers did the real key work with an almost uncomplicated self-confidence - with bleeding the brake system. Seemingly simple things. But when I saw the Taunus TC2 that I had washed, the seventy-six Passat three-door, or the Peugeot 305 GRD driving through the village, I felt proud. "I worked on that too", I thought. Those were beautiful afternoons, which were always rewarded with a small amount of money and delicious cake from Buwalda in Wieringerwerf.

I have always had that feeling, and in Schalsum it has surfaced regularly. Peter and I once had a great garage day when we were working on the Jetta. I don't touch a timing belt, I simply don't dare. But still: the idea of ​​working together on a car - that feels fresh again after such a day - is wonderful. We had the same with the Saab 96. Peter is not someone who quickly hands over work, but discovering shortcomings together and drawing the right conclusions remains great. Also because those findings lead to a better technical condition.

In the run-up to the 2024 holidays, a list of replacement parts was created, and the pleasure of ordering them was great. On the way to perfection. In the coming spring, the Saab will also be cosmetically addressed. The UV light in the garage in Schalsum exposed a few potential rust hazards. That's not bad, you know that happens with a classic from 1978. Just like the dynamo has given up the ghost. And as I write this, I can't wait to take in that good-natured Ford 1.5 V4 sound again.

And recently I had another day like that, in which Peter and Thomas did the major work on the Volkswagen 1303 LS Cabriolet, and Arnold and I assisted. The electrics were fixed, the starter motor was mounted, the engine compartment of the open Beetle got its new upholstery, and the 1592 cc engine got its place in the back of the body, which was previously united with a beautiful new signal orange paint job. In this way, the VW came a step closer to returning to the Dutch roads.

Such days are worth gold. Because you are working on a shared passion within a comradely setting, which makes you realize that you are alive. That you have beautiful people around you, with whom you have a lot of fun. And that you are never too old to learn.