Mr. Bohdan and his collection

In this post I would like to present another interesting person, whom I met as a result of my new interest in vintage cars. The person is Mr. Bohdan and his name is quite unusual, because normally in Poland it is with „g” instead of „h” – Bogdan. The way in which we have acquaintanced one another is quite unusual and worth describing in a more detailed fashion. I hope you won’t mind :-). So let me start from the beginning.

When I was buying the new tires for my Corolla I made an appointment with the seller to meet at the parking lot at the supermarket near the place I live. After the transaction I was slowly returning home using a route that I rarely use. What I mean is that I do use it, but mainly for going from home to various places :-P. That is exactly why I had a chance to see something that normally I would probably not see :-). Hence, I was slowly driving on the right lane scanning surrounding car parks in search of any old- or yountimers. Taking into consideration the material status of people living in the area chances to encounter any of such cars are quite low :-). Nevertheless, I wanted to give it a try. I was so surprised when I saw a beautifully shaped car covered with Yellow Bahama paint  (as I learnt later) having old Polish license plates with white letters on black background going perfectly with it.  Without thinking too much I turned to the parking lot and quickly, so as not to arouse any suspicion, I briefly inspected the car. It was the Opel Kadett ‘67 and at first glance he impressed me very much. On the way back home I cooled down, but in my head the images of what I saw remained and an action plan slowly begun to develop.

            My “partner in crime” was chosen to be Milena and it was her I took for the night action under the cover of darkness. All of that in order to send a proper message to the owner of the beautiful car :-). The message was written on my business card and I was thinking of putting it under the windscreen wiper, but due to a bad weather it could have not reached the owner. Therefore, we decided to insert the card into the gap between the door and the chassis, which would result in its falling out when someone opens the door. We returned home convinced of accomplishing the mission.
            Very soon my dreams had to give way to dull reality and so with each passing day I occupied myself less with questions about the message we sent. And then, when least expected, the owner of the Opel Kadett called me! Of course I had no clue that it was him calling, because I was in the middle of conversation with Mr. Slawek at that very time. I didn’t answer the phone, yet I decided to call back on the way back to Warsaw. When I did so, while still being under huge impression of the meeting with Mr. Slawek I didn’t understand a thing from what the person I was calling was saying. If it was not for Milena, her full of expression gestures and the excited words “this is the owner of THE car” I would not have gotten a slight idea of what was going on. From that point it was much easier :-). We arranged a meeting on Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Bohdan turned out to be a very nice and humble man who has a passion for collecting and renovating old cars. He is an electrician from education, a mechanic born from passion and need. All his cars whenever it’s possible he tries to repair by himself on the parking lot in front of his blocks of flat. More advanced and demanding proper equipment works he commissions to persons or companies he got to know during his renovation activities. He has enormous knowledge and reliable contacts, which makes him invaluable person and source of needed information to me :-). Once he even appeared on a television interview for an automotive channel. I am sure he will be mentioned more than once on thi blog.

            The meeting was great! Three hours passed in a flash. During the meeting I learned a little bit of Mr. Bohdan’s car collection, which includes the following specimens: already mention Opel Kadett '67, Skoda Rapid (pictures below), Opel Kadett '84 and Opel Kadett from the 90's, Skoda Octavia from the 80’s I suppose, Opel cabriolet and a few more which I cannot recall right now :-).We had a ride with the oldest Opel on the parking lot only, and then with the one from 1984 we got to Skoda Rapid, which we took a small trip. Afterwards, I invited Mr. Bohdan to see my Toyota, and he confirmed what everyone already said that I would spend some time working on the car, but it was a very nice car. He also checked the if there was no slack in the steering wheel and if by any chance the strange dots on the body paint were not rust centers under the paint. Of course I have such as well, but in this case he was checking the countless number of dots on the paint. My every Sunday football game was getting closer and closer so I was forced to end the meeting. I took Mr. Bohdan back to his parking lot, thanked him warmly for his time and showing his cars. Mr. Bohdan said that for him as a vintage cars enthusiast sharing his passion with others is the greatest reward and happiness. Let this serve as a commentary:-).

Introduction

I am a person who has got lucky recently. Namely, in a couple of days I will become the rightful owner of a beautiful car Toyota Corolla KE30 from 1979. This will make one of my dreams come true. The whole story from the beginning has had marks of exceptional. It was exactly like the proverbial love at the first sight and deep in my heart I felt that it is written for us to be together, forever. My friend even said “this car has already bought you” before I had even a chance to do the opposite – buy it. The positive energy combined with adrenaline kept me awake for hours while thousands of thoughts and ideas rushing through my mind kept me restless.

Amidst these sleepless nights an idea was born to share my happiness with the world and pass the positive energy further onto the world. That’s why I have started this blog. Actually, there were so many reasons, that it is too hard for me which one was the most important. I will just name the main ones in the order they came to my mind. Creating this blog I wanted to:

• share my passion and happiness with people, which I have already mentioned;
• motivate myself to hang on to my resolution based on the rule known from psychology – the more people you tell about something, the bigger the motivation will be to act;
• receive broadly defined support from people sharing the same passion, especially these who are or were the owners of Toyota Corolla KE30;
• inform onboard everyone interested in my actions about any advancements in the realization of the project;
• create some kind of relic/monument/memento for this fantastic car and each of these wonderful people who had, have or will cross path with it;
• reach people who, maybe inspired by my project, would like to follow my steps and decide on a similar adventure;
• I finished George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire fantasy saga (4839 pages in 75 days) and I have to somehow fill this huge emptiness I feel waiting for next 2 books ;-);
• have a refuge from this crazy world where I could simply charge my batteries, quieten a bit or meditate – in prehistoric times man stared at fire to gather strength – I will be polishing my car’s body while doing so ;-);
• and many, many more.

So what is really the Project KE30? Project KE30 is nothing else then a set of accounts related to restoration of Toyota Corolla KE30 to its rightful, kindling great respect and admiration visual and mechanical state. When this goal is reached I will focus on documenting its further, heroic actions. The final form of this blog is not yet known, but I am sure that it will consist of a lot pictures, movies, accounts and even philosophical deliberations born during many hours spent together.

Coming slowly to an end, I would like to kindly ask everyone to share your impressions, insights, considerations and everything that comes to your mind while following posts on this blog, even though it is not directly related to the leitmotiv. I will be grateful for any suggestions, remarks and constructive criticisms to the same extent as for words of reassurance motivating me to persistence, tips or always warmly welcome acclamations :-). Write comments, mails, ask for the car’s condition, thickness of its body spray, level of engine oil – just stay in touch. From my side, I promise, I will answer you as quickly as my modest capabilities will allow me!