EVENT: A GREAT WEEKEND IN PUTRAJAYA PART 2

Welcome to the second part of coverage from Millions of Youth Gathering in Putrajaya. Without wasting much time, I will continue to share the heart-pumping rides from the event with this historic 4 door sedan from the land of Rising Sun.

I go weak at the knees when I see a second-generation Corolla, and this particular KE20 kouki was simply spotless. Every single thing on this car was perfect that it could make any KE20 owners out there faint on the spot. Hope the owner manages to find a replacement for the front hood trim soon.

Judging from this view, I believe this KE20 had undergone proper restoration work as the door and bonnet lines were straightly aligned. Notice the chrome wheel cap? Who says a classic doesn’t look cool on 12-inches steelies.

The famous platform for USDM modifications, but on the other hand for this Volkswagen Golf MKII Cabriolet.

More vintage Volkswagen goodness here with this mild blue Karmann Ghia.

It's hard not to like this Volvo P1800 and like most European performance cars that I see in Malaysia, it looks similar to its brother during that event, the Amazon 123GT.

Two door convertible Mercedes S300, a mature option for hot babes hunting to the 635 CSI that I mentioned in Part 1.

What a clean and tidy engine bay for a 50-year-old chassis. Notice the Crosland Air Filters which are no longer produced. For your information, the Crosland was the OEM manufacturer for the  most prominent British vehicle manufacturers like; Bentley, Jaguar, Rolls Royce, Range Rover and many others.

One of my findings on that day was this sexy MGB Roadster in solid 2K red. I go weak at knees again spotting this kind of spoke wheels…

…with a combination of classic interior and some modern elements.

The infamous vintage and featured in many movies starting in 1970’s, meet this Ford Anglia 105E…

…that featured a cool illustration as well on the rear windscreen.

A moment later, I found this RR Silver Shadow II with heavy black tint all around. To make this more interesting, this car was manufactured in a very limited number and it is one of the expensive vintage in the world. A good example of money-can’t-buy-anything concept.

Let’s pay a respect to this gigantic 1954 Packard Clipper Deluxe. If you are familiar with the size of Datsun Fairlady 280ZX, you can imagine the actual size of this Clipper Deluxe. In my point of view, it could fit a family of 10 without any problem.

Take a look at this Mercedes 220S. It looked like it just stepped out of the dealership.

Can you get any more badass than this first-generation 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville? A very good selection on mild color to lower the ‘mafia’ level.

The name "De Ville" is adapted from the French de la ville or de ville meaning "of the town" (Source: cadillacdatabase.net).

V-configured weapon on that day with this stunning Chevrolet Camaro

A nice Mini Moke was spotted around the corner…

…with a revealing hood exposing the amazing engine bay.

What a relaxed and casual interior to sit in. The rattan steering and chair made me crave to go to nearby beach and enjoy the fresh breeze.

Some patriotic touch-ups at the back for good.

Back to the performance side from Europe, more Ford marque was exposed with this 2 doors Escort MKII.

And on my way back, spotted this cool modern classic BMW E34…

…and I ended shooting this Iswara Aeroback running on the vintage wheels that every Japanese Classic Car enthusiasts out there craving for, the Hayashi Street.

See you next time.

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Qatar Classic Cars, A Classic Love

Classic car lovers in Doha the capital of Qatar are willing to face the bumps to go after their passion. Classic, Antique or some may call vintage cars until very recently appeared to be a territory only the rich royalties and the VIPs are allowed to enter. However, this perception has gradually changed, and now the market holds possibilities for even the enthusiasts that are willing to spare a bit over a hundred-thousand Qatari Riyals the equivalent to twenty-thousands US Dollars. This became possible due to the economic boom the area is witnessing, efficient communications with classic car dealers in Houston, along with the superior supply chain management allowed cars in Houston to be transported at low costs.

It now became possible for a knowledgeable enthusiast, with patience, and time at their disposal to buy classic car in Qatar, or an antique car in Dubai, or even a classic car to be shipped from Houston. It became possible to start the process with the equivalent of three thousand US dollars, or in other words for less than the ca was worth in the seventies or eighties.

This however sometimes holds true, and sometimes does not. For instance, Morris Minors was valued in Dubai and Qatar at about QR 15,000 in the eighties. It is very difficult to sell such a car for QR 10,000 in 2007 according to a car dealer. Cars that were easy on the pocket back in their peaking days are unlikely to hold value over the years. Hence, exceptions always pop up, for instance this fact doesn't hold true with the iconic mini.

I respect, and always reflect my articles with both mine and the apposing; however I do not see a Qatar classic car dealer's opinion holding true. He said "The classic car market, if it can be called that, will flourish because people have bought [these cars] for nostalgia and recreation -- not for financial gain," says a dealer in classic cars. "Most people, who have bought a classic car in the last ten years, knew their cars would have seen a rise on the value." To contradict, According to Classic Car magazine, the US has seen a growth in the market for classic cars, particularly American sports cars of the 1960s and 1970s. Cars, such as Chevrolet Corvettes and Camaros, Ford Thunderbirds and Pontiacs, are said to have doubled in value over the past three years.

As I have been promising throughout the article series dedicated to Qatar classic car, the research journey has not stopped, rather the more research I make, the more I am interested to learn about the differences in tastes and markets. To get up-to-date research results, visit the section I dedicated to Qatar classic cars

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Babies on the Farm - The Start of Meat Chickens

We made the decision to take the plunge and have a go at raising meat chickens and over the weekend we picked up our chicks.
We believe that since we are meat eaters it is important to be in touch with where our food comes from.  It is one thing to know that your meat comes from an animal but to actually be part of the process I think will make us appreciate it a lot more.
We have discovered that with farming it is best to really think things through, come up with a good plan then smile and get creative after your plan goes sailing out the window.
We have two bantams who spend a lot of time being clucky and the plan was that they would sit on half the chicks each.  So what do you think happened a few days before we were due to pick up the chicks?  Yep they stopped being clucky.
So now we have a cage full of chickens in front of our fire in the house.  And let me tell you these 14 little chicks make some noise.

It is not ideal to have them in the house but without a couple of surrogate mothers we are limited in our choices.
At this stage all these little guys do is eat, sleep and poop just like all babies so other than providing basic needs we are not too involved at this stage.
Before getting the chicks we spoke to the breeder at length.  We discovered that once you make a commitment to raise meat chickens you have to follow through as there is no changing your mind and deciding to keep them for pets as they will not survive if they are purpose breed meat chickens.
Basically there are two types of meat chickens, purpose bred like the ones used in a commercial chicken farms and then there are the naturally heavy breeds of chicken suitable for meat.
The big difference is that purpose bred chickens are the result of two very heavy breeds crossed with each other to produce a very heavy bird that gets big fast so you do not have to spend huge amounts of money on food.  But they have a short life span as their legs cannot hold their body weight if you let them get too big which is part of the problem with the birds raised in some commercial situations where the birds can become injured  and they are so crowded together that it is not noticed.
We will be killing our birds at 13 weeks so that should be well before they get too heavy and could possibly become injured.

I will keep you all posted on how we go with this new journey as I am sure there will be a lot that we learn along the way

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EVENT: A GREAT WEEKEND IN PUTRAJAYA PART 1

In Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, the last weekend of May is about Millions of Youth Gathering, and most importantly for me, they organized a classic car show and invited Royal Selangor Club members to cheer up the moment with their precious rides. This time, lets approach things a little differently with more classics from west side, starting with this solid red MGB Roadster convertible.

But that doesn’t mean that every car was from western side. Some came from the land of JDM. Next to the MG was this striking yellow Civic CRX on stock OEM wheels.

Things became more serious with this super clean Mercedes Benz vintage, looking good on white wall.

Just around the corner, I was amazed with this unique Alfa Romeo…

...and more importantly, it is the original Alfetta GTV version. A very handful unit in Malaysia.

All types of the breed could be seen, including second-generation type cars like this Jaguar MKII.

And the event would not be a success without some Japanese classics…

...so one of Royal Selangor Club member brought his 510 Bluebird to impress JDM lovers.

One of my favorite vintage on that day, this Amazon 123GT was so attractive that I can’t resist falling in love with.

Hunting for hot babes anyone? This BMW 635C SI is a good weapon.

More French goodies on that day with this Peugeot 404. It may looked average from this view…

…but those pointing and sharp curves turned it into something.

If I am not mistaken, this was the car model that the Allahyarham P. Ramlee drove in ‘Madu Tiga’ movie, the Triumph Spitfire.

And this unknown vintage (apology for my ignorance) , but the design is pretty unique with the taillight at the same level to the wheel.

I don’t think this beauty needs a caption, and it is your lucky day to find a stock condition 280ZX…

...which it looks like just stepped out of dealership in 1980’s. You envy Fairlady enthusiasts?

Another pristine condition marque by Ford, meet this Escort MKI 4 door sedan.

With shiny and sparkling color, I just admired how they managed to keep their car up to this condition.

The icon of the world, and you are not living on earth if you do not know this bug.

Amazingly, this Beetle was restored with original Volkswagen parts. I believe the owner is a VW purist.

Undeniably yes, and it’s the matter of right foot…

The cutest little thing ever produced, this Mini looked business in brownish-purple color.

One of my findings from the event and looks like someone drove over this vintage Fiat 1100 from 1960’s. Another time machine? Ask the owner perhaps.

Along with much more from this amazing event in Part 2. Stay tuned.

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Beef Bourguignonne

At this time of the year we start to lean towards hearty warming dishes that we would not dream of serving up in a hot Queensland summer.
I make this in my slow cooker and when I but the mushrooms I find the smallest ones I can that are still fully closed and firm.

4 Tbs Flour                              1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Paprika                       1/2 Tsp Pepper
1kg Stewing Steak                   2 Tbs Vegetable Oil
300gm Mushrooms                  3 Rashers of Bacon diced
2 Carrots                                 12 Small Onions (pickling size) or 2 diced Onions
1/2 C Boiling Water                 1 Tbs Tomato Paste
1 C Red Wine                          2 Beef Stock Cubes
1/2 Tsp Dried Thyme               1 Bay Leaf
2 Tbs Butter

Combine flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a bowl.  Dice Beef and dredge in flour mix.
Heat oil in a heavy based pan and add beef 1/3 at a time browning well then transferring to your slow cooker.
Brown diced bacon in the same pan and then transfer to your slow cooker.
As soon as you have removed the bacon de-glaze the pan with the boiling water making sure you get all of the meat sugars on the bottom of the pan.
Then add the stock cubes and dissolve before adding the tomato paste then tip it all into the slow cooker.
Dice carrots and add to the slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients except the butter.
Cook on low.
In my slow cooker I cook it for 6 hours but as every slow cooker is different the times may differ so refer to your user guide for the time on a similar beef dish.
Just before serving stir through the butter

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