Cold War Classics Ride Again

    by Angus McDonald

Venture out onto the streets of Vientiane these days and, amid the growing buzz of Honda Dreams and Toyota pickups, you might just spot a fire-engine red 1956 Pontiac station wagon, a silver 1968 Fiat 124 sports, or a 1930s Citroen convertible. Just as growing prosperity in the capital has brought a rise in traffic, it has also led to a trend for restoring classic cars, many of which have sat in garages for years since their glory days came to an end.

"My philosophy is, if I want to make a collection, I won't modify anything. I'm not interested in anything that's modified," says Alom Thavonsouk, proprietor of the Rainbow Nightclub and proud owner of a 1956 Mercedes 19OSL convertible, a 1958 MG Magnet, a 1964 Triumph TR4 and a 1958 Mercedes 220S sedan, all lovingly restored over the last decade. The pride of his collection, the 19OSL, is the only one of its kind in the country, down from about half a dozen before the change of government. Alom found it in the southern town of Savannakhet in 1991, sorely neglected but still running. Four years of restoration work included installing an original twin-carburetor engine shipped in from Germany.

"Before, I considered it as a hobby, but now I consider it an investment. It's too expensive for a hobby," says Alom, who once owned 13 Citroens. His passion for authenticity has led him to import original parts from Germany at three times the cost of local spares, although he took the fenders to Bangkok for the chrome work because the chrome shops there are reputed to be among the best in the world.

Alom was unlucky with spares, though. Vientiane's Mercedes dealership closed down following the revolution, and in the 1980s, Thai dealers came through and bought up its stock of parts. Among the inventory were taillights for the 190SL, which went to Thailand for 150 baht apiece. When Alom needed a new set of taillights in the early 1990s, he found them selling in Bangkok for 3,000 baht each.

Helping Alom locate parts for his Triumph and his MG was Peter Fogde, a Swedish forest engineer who has worked in Laos since the early 1980s. Peter owns four MGs, two of which he bought in Laos. One, a bright red early 1960s Midget, sat in a garage for years in the 1970s and 80s, when spares were scarce and fuel was rationed. He bought the car as a wreck for US$500 in 1991, and has worked on it for six years, a job which has included reversing many ill-advised modifications. The car still had its original engine, but after two overhauls, he threw in the towel and ordered a replacement from the UK. A suitable motor was duly found on a scrap heap, sent to Sweden to be rebuilt, and air-freighted to Laos.

Peter's other coup was a 1959 MGA, originally the property of a police colonel in the old regime. Out of about 100,000 MGAs built, his is one of only 1,,666 twin-cam models specially manufactured for racing between 1957 and 1959. From its chassis number Peter discovered that the right-hand-drive car was one of four originally bound for Australia. The other three made it Downunder; his was somehow diverted from Singapore.

Another Swede with a penchant for vintage red is Sune Wissmar, proprietor of the popular Scandinavian Bakery in the center of town. Sune is restoring a 1956 Pontiac station wagon, a car which has probably heard a few secrets in its time.

"The man I bought it from said it was from the king, but then everybody here says their car is from the king," says Sune. Nevertheless, the Pontiac is a rare model, built in Canada and factory-fitted with a straight-six truck engine. Designed for use by the US Army, its rugged construction would have been ideal for Laos' rough roads. The station wagon was shipped to Laos along with a sedan of the same model. Sune, who is married to a diplomat, says this is evidence that the car was imported by the US embassy, as it is common practice for embassies to buy cars in such pairs - the sedan for official use, the station wagon for more utilitarian purposes.

A car with a somewhat more convincing claim to royal associations is a pearly Jaguar 420G which adorns the front of an equally immaculately restored 1930s French villa in the center of Vientiane. Both have been brought back to life by Madame Manola, who had the Jag restored while establishing one of the city's most elegant restaurants, the Kualao, in the old house.

"I have been told that this was to have been a coronation gift for the king, but the coronation never took place, so the car remained with the family. I don't have proof of this, but this is what I've been told," says Madame Manola in excellent French. The car, which dates to 1964, sat in a garage until about five years ago, when Madame Manola bought it. It needed major mechanical work, so she turned it over to British spanner man Paul Bounds, who has a garage in the city.

"When we got it, it was losing oil everywhere. We stripped the engine, remade one of the pistons, and rebuilt the gearbox. We did some things that aren't written in the book!" says Paul, citing the shortage of authentic spares in Vientiane. "I've had businesses in England, Spain and Thailand, but this is the only place where they can make their own spare parts."

Part of the secret of Paul's business is his Vietnamese panelbeater, Phu, who rarely relies on putty and never uses new panels. No matter how damaged the originals, Phu will beat them back into shape. Paul recalls the day Phu walked into his office and convinced him to give him a job by returning a crushed Coke can to new condition before his eyes. "If I had half a dozen like him, I wouldn't have to work. If I start telling him how to do things, he tells me to clear off!" says the boss.

On top of these classics, there are several Citroen Traction Avants, a 1956 Opel, a 1956 Studebaker Lark, a couple of Thunderbirds, a Camaro, and numerous 1950s Mercedes still getting around town. Start fossicking around in old garages, and who knows what you might find?

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