PHOTOS: Local man shows off his mechanical skills

I once owned a Fiat 500 Cub. Collecting my son from school proved a huge embarrassment to him. But then, once he got his driving licence, the Cub became this 6-foot+’s preferred mode of transport.

“Dad, the chicks absolutely dig this car.” Brendan Jansen van Vuuren is a young man with old school values and a passion for Minis. In fact, he loves to “fine-tune” whatever he drives, but Minis are his thing.

And listen up – he does all the work himself and shortcuts are a no-no! This, in my book, demonstrates patience and single-minded determination. Can we please bottle and sell this stuff?

Brendan matriculated at Bergvlam in 2012 and then, on his parents’ insistence (kudos to mom and dad), he completed trade training and became a fitter and turner.

But yes, you guessed it, he has been fiddling with bikes and cars since he can remember. In 2010 he bought a 1974 Mini with money made from building and repairing bikes.

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He spent another R60 000, many hours, much blood, sweat and tears, on his initial R15 000 Mini investment. The latter will eventually, I teased, become his son’s first car. “Yes, I will never sell this Mini,” he said. “Me, myself and I did a bolt-and-nut restoration on this Mini. I struggled at times, because I do not have anybody to help me.

I improvise a lot and once, while I was trying to extract the engine, the whole body of the Mini fell on top of me. “Hectic yes, but I am quite stubborn about doing things properly. When things prove tough, my negativity becomes my biggest motivator. I often worked late into the night, after completing my schoolwork, on this Mini.”

He also had all his classmates sign the boot lid of the Mini. “It will make for interesting chatter at our 10-year reunion,” he said. “I always buy a complete car for a restoration project. It just makes things a lot easier.” He bought a 1980 Mini 1275 with the idea of building a rally car, but eventually decided to shorten it. The project is ongoing.

“With being employed, the time for restoration also become limited and when I do engage with the work, it becomes all-consuming. I listen to 80s music – I dance in between and while working. This is a joyous activity – it is really good for my soul.” In 2016 he bought a Fiesta ST. Now, today, it is considered one of the hottest ST’s in Nelspruit and Gauteng.

On top of this, he also does shows with both cars and has already won many trophies. And again, he did all the required fine-tuning himself. He is also in the process of restoring a 1400 Nissan bakkie. “This one will be – kind of – undercover. It will be as hot as hell but totally inconspicuous. The idea is to surprise all those other hot hatches.”

Yes – Brendan has a thing for drag racing and would love to perhaps, also try his hand at oval racing. But building a beautiful car only to then go and run the risk of damaging it against a barrier does not sit well with his constitution. And just as a sidebar comment – he also designs all his stickers himself. Talented? Yes indeed!

Well, I have to wrap this up, because I need space to show you some pictures. Brendan’s ultimate bucket list restoration or fine-tune projects are an El Camino and/or a split window Kombi and, of course, he would love to have his own business doing what makes his soul sing – restoring and fine-tuning cars.  Need a Mini for your Matric farewell? Well, follow Brendan via his FB page and enjoy the visuals.

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