By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
Let us clarify though what my definition of restoration is. When it comes to vehicles, it is not to bring back a unit to mint condition but just to have a reliable transport with some redeeming qualities.
Bringing back something to mint condition would be for collectors. Those who can afford the expense of having to travel to the ends of the world just to buy a badly needed part. Or those who can buy an old vehicle, usually at an exorbitant price, just to complete a long standing project. Like one you had started long ago but took all of a few decades to complete.
While a good enough look if restored is always a good reason, the most important to me would be reliability and performance. In one word usability or meeting the demands of day-to-day life. And, of course, some enjoyment when running the thing.
It should not be one like eating “ampalaya”— detested but had to be done for good health. Instead, it should be a venture you will feel excited about, or to wake up to every morning. Or it should be one like a T-bone to a dog or a small pond to a duck.
One good choice to work on, would be the old Mitsubishi Lancer, circa early 70s. It was dubbed an ordinary model, for ordinary people. But it was great for driving and quite economical to run. Reliable too.
Most of all, it went about its business in a very smooth way. Not with a lot of grunts and effort. You would often be surprised you were already at 60 kilometers per hour without noticing it. That was how smooth it was. This, however, could be drowned by rattles or “kalampag” if the owner did not care enough for rudimentary maintenance.
Every now and then I would see one running around and wished the owner appreciated what a good thing he had in an ordinary car. It could be worth restoring at a very reasonable price.
Another good one was the Mitsubishi Colt Gallant. There was more heft to it with the smoothness. But unlike its smaller sibling, the Lancer, its eats or sips considerably more. Well, some considerable power does not come for free.
What’s the value of taking the trouble of restoring a good old car when a new one can be had at a reasonable rate? For one, a new one would would not really be that cheap if you are on a tight budget.
Then there is the desire to maintain a very good memory or the need to be nostalgic about some good times in the distant past. While that has to come with a cost, it need not be prohibitive.
In our face, however, right now is an imperative we have to heed. To be kinder to the environment. Reduce, reuse, recycle. For climate change is now hitting back in a vengeful way. Look at how more intense and destructive storms are now. They are always killers.
Yet we forget how much destruction we inflict to our surroundings with the gadgets and equipment we buy and use. Do we realize how much mining activities had to be done to come up with the metals needed to build a vehicle? Or about the manufacturing processes resulting in a lot of pollution being spewed out so there will be plastics, paints, upholstery, etc., to complete a car or an appliance or equipment?
At the very least, we should be conscious about these. So we have to tell or remind ourselves.**