In the mid nineties Lood Krause and Harry Heyns discovered that they had a mutual passion for old cars. Leon Oelofse, who shared this interest, would join them for an occasional run with the old cars, and they were later joined by Charl Oberholzer. Lood always felt that they should start a club, and although Harry was more hesitant, a mutual decision was reached in 1997 that a club must be formed.
In March 1997 the VVCC was started, and soon started growing despite the fact that there was no clubhouse. Initially meetings were held at the Flying Club, but it was felt that the R50.00 a night fee charged was too high and that an alternative venue should be found.
For a short while meetings were held at Harry's office at Glenbar until he was able to clear out a storeroom located behind the office which was to become the clubhouse. At this stage there were about 10 members and, as this venue was fast becoming too small, Harry offered to give up half of the garage which was attached to the clubhouse. Before long however, even this space proved too small and Harry had to relinquish the remainder of the garage and find alternative parking for his beloved old cars.
The clubhouse is now about 80sq. m. and has been upgraded with a beautiful pub, braai area and toilets – a far cry from its humble beginnings! Membership currently stands at about 45, with members living in Vryheid, Paulpietersburg, Melmoth, Dundee and Pongola. Collectively the members own more than 100 cars – the oldest being two 1928 Model A Fords and a 1928 Chrysler. The standard of restoration of the vintage cars in general is very high and members take great pride in their gleaming oldies.
Attendance at meetings, which are held on the first Thursday of every month, is high and averages out at about 70%. There is a great spirit in the club and good participation in all activities. The club has one social evening and one Sunday run once a month, as well as an annual run to Pietermaritzburg Cars in the Park where there is always a fantastic turnout. National tours all over the country have been organised, and these have been most enjoyed by all who participated.
By: Harry Heyns
