Time To Play

We found a wonderful private collection spanning more than a century hidden away in Port Elizabeth

- Wilhelm Lutjeharms

Invitingly reversed against the walls, the ages of Jan Enslin’s span over a full century. He is a big fan of and owns some of the earliest Ford Model Ts, through to the glorious Mercedes-Benz and Porsche models from the 1950 and ‘60s … and quite a few up to the Eighties, too.

Jan’s garage also houses his horde of model cars, vintage signage, and the compulsory vintage Shell fuel pump. “I recently went to a car show in Oudtshoorn and an auction in Beaufort West. I bought more memorabilia than I had intended to...”

One of the highlights of Jan’s collection is a nuts-and-bolts restored Porsche 356 B concourse winner. In fact, there are four 356s in the collection: an A, two Bs and a C. “I recently sourced another 356 A,” adds Jan with a big smile.

He points to a more contemporary Porsche. “This is my new project car. It is a 1981 911 SC Targa and it has covered … you won’t believe this … 275 000 miles! That is 440 000 km. It was a UK-based car that was imported. I took the engine out and, although it required new piston rings and other work, when I split the block, I was amazed at the condition of the main bearings, which were still in perfect nick.”