IT was 20 years ago when Ajesh Sudhakar bought the 1997 Honda Prelude 2.2l, one of the last of the prelude to be manufactured in 1997.
The vehicle still has its factory standard engine with chipped engine control unit, fuel and induction upgrades. To top it off it still has its original factory paint job.
“It has never broken down in the past 20 years and none of the parts have failed me once,” Mr Sudhakar said.
Mr Sudhakar is the proud owner of the of Twin Tigers China Direct company that specilises in importing goods from mainland China.
Even though it’s more than two decades old, he said the prelude was street legal.
“The car can go 80km/h as that is the max allowed speed on our public roads. On private property it went in excess of 150km/h. I have never driven the car at its full potential though,” he said.
“I have always been into cars and I had a series of cars over the years. This is by far the one I have owned the longest (20 years). I bought it when it was brand new and it was when I got my first job. My dad thought at the time it was a good idea for me to invest in an asset rather than spending all my salary every fortnight. Over the period of time the car has gone through a series of changes.
“As a young adult it had a lot of coloured lights, loud exhaust and as I matured and learnt more about cars, it became simple with less noise and modifications become more subtle.”
His Prelude has now been bought by his 9-year-old daughter, who is also a strong car enthusiast.
“I have given her a 10-year term to pay off the car. As there are no free things in life, we need children to learn the value of things and appreciate the importances of earning money and saving,” he said.
“Every week she helps clean the car and she gets paid $5.00 and she does odd jobs at home and at our office too. Nothing is handed out on a silver platter for her when it comes to earning and saving money.”
He said his first car was a 1974 Ford Cortina and he was only 14 years-old when he got it from its previous owner — his father.
“Over the 15 years I enjoyed that car as my dad and I did a lot of father and son projects on it and I had learnt to drive in it too,” he said.
“I had stopped counting how much we had spent on restoring it as it was becoming a money pit for us. It was also the first car in Fiji to be painted by Carpenters Motors in two pack paint in 1997.
“For the 1997 Prelude it hasn’t really cost us that much in terms of money. However it has cost me a lot in terms of time that I have spent on the car. I did everything on this car with the help of my family and friends.
“The car has never broken down so I have never spent money to repair it. Money is spent on basic maintenance with its normal serviceable parts.”
He thinks long and hard on what he wants in a car before doing major changes.
“I try to avoid putting aftermarket parts from shops because that is what everyone does and it is easy to just buy and install. I try to think outside the box and create items which are custom made by myself.
A lot of things in this car are from all over the place, some used in home toy bikes, computers and the list goes on.
“It saves you money and it sets the car apart from the rest.”
He said it had taken him 20 years to modify the Prelude and every month he added something new and different.
“I am still working on chassis for the past eight months to tidy it up and it still has not been finished. Time, patience and creativity are very important and so is neatness when it comes to owning a car. Neatness is something that people usually overlook and they always are in a rush to finish things quickly. I see people buying expensive items and they install it quickly but it doesn’t look good on the car.
“I have a passion to go on long drives but not necessarily to drive fast. If you love to drive fast, you are not necessarily a car lover as there are a lot of reckless drivers out there. After spending your time and effort on your car you wouldn’t want someone crashing into it.
“I don’t really have any specific dream car. I love to have cars that are simple, neat and extremely clean. Sometimes less is more if cars are done up perfectly. “
He said in terms of future modifications he loved changes and he would try to do it up differently.
“It is a continuous evolving art for me. My advice is to never rush working on your car just for the sake of car shows and winning trophies.
“The main thing is to enjoy working on your car with friends and family and enjoy the atmosphere at car shows when you go and showcase your car”.
