The Little Car That Could

Who would take his three sons on a motor rally in a car older than any of them? MIKE COPELAND did and proves that a family that drives together, thrives together

- Mike Copeland

You did What? That’s the motto of the Nuts & Bolts Rally Group who love old cars and aren't afraid of using them. If your car is older than 25 years and cost you less than R25 000, you are welcomed into a gang of crazy enthusiasts who believe that cars were made to enjoy.

I had been looking for quite a while for a car that both qualified and had that extra bit of character. Eventually my search led me to a barn on a farm in the Bonnievale district where I found ‘Dingetjie’, for that was the name given to this little gem by her lady owner. And the car's history was too good to be true.

Dingetjie was a brand-new shiny Chevrolet 1900 LS as she rolled out of the showroom of the local Bonnievale Chevy dealers in 1975. Her new owner was a lucky lady who had just turned 21 and received the car as a present from her farming parents.

The lady driver qualified as a teacher and taught in the district while exploring far and wide in her new car. Although in remarkably original condition, Dingetjie had been fitted with the latest, up-to-datest radio/cassette player of the day and could still have artists like Neil Diamond blasting from the speakers. But in time our teacher bought a new car and Dingetjie was pensioned off, parked in the farm’s barn and only used on Sundays to run into Bonnievale for the Sunday papers. And when Sunday papers lost their appeal the little car stood alone and abandoned, waiting. I like to think she was waiting for me, as I found her in 2017 and gave her a new home.

When I first read that ‘The Nuts & Bolts Rally is a challenge where we travel across some of South Africa’s most arduous and unthinkable roads in a cheap and old jalopy, all in the name of fun and supporting a charity’, I knew this was the group for me and signed up for my first rally (although Dingetjie was a little put out at the ‘cheap old jalopy’ label).