27 Jun Fathers’ Day Bonanza

Mother Nature provided sunny and warm winter Cape weather for Fathers’ Day 2019 and 875 visitors visited the Franschhoek Motor Museum on the day. The turnout was well over last year’s figure, highlighting the increasing popularity of this annual event.

All the vehicles in the display halls were shown with bonnets up, and 32 more of the FMM collection did five-minute demonstration runs around the quadrant in both morning and afternoon sessions. The museum’s ex-Heidelberg Museum Merryweather fire engine, complete with its wailing ‘dee-dah, dee-dah’ siren, was busy throughout the day giving rides around the L’Ormarins Estate during the six-hour event. Another popular attraction was the slot car track, which kept all family budding racers entertained. The museum’s Deli combined with an extra pair of food and beverage stands to keep all the Dads and their families suitably nourished, and the wine sales table was also full of activity. Local singer Johnny Camel performed on the stoep of the main building, providing gentle background music.

Adding to the fun was a lucky draw for attending fathers. The first prize of an FMM Experience with Wayne Harley, which includes some ‘bonnets-up’ activity and a trip around PlaasPad, was won by George Wiehahn. Second prize of a museum tour with Assistant Curator Cheslynne Ruiters for the winner and nine friends was won by Ashraf Kathrada, and third prize of a wine tasting experience for two was won by Ed Llewellyn.

“I would like to thank all the families for coming out to the museum and helping to spoil Dad and join in making the day such a huge success,” said FMM curator Wayne Harley. “It was also good to see so many familiar faces. ‘Can’t get enough of the action’ they were telling me. The event and the support we receive get better every year. Once again, it proved to be a great day out for families and friends.”

Cars and bikes on parade

In chronological order, along with a number of veteran, vintage, classic and chopper motorcycles that were demonstrated on the day, in date order the car line-up consisted of a 1922 AC Empire Model 12, 1923 Ford Model T, 1930 Chevrolet Universal 6, 1932 Rolls-Royce Phantom II, 1934 Ford Roadster, 1934 Packard Super 8, 1937 DKW F5 Cabrio, 1938 Buick Century, 1938 Tatra, 1939 Buick Phaeton, 1949 Hudson Commodore, 1953 Bentley R Type, 1953 MG TF, 1943 Bristol 403, 1947 Chevrolet Truck, 1956 Austin-Healey 100/6, 1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce, 1959 BMW 2,6, 1959 Chevrolet Corvette, 1964 GSM Flamingo, 1966 Ford Mustero pick-up, 1976 VW Beetle, 1984 Alfa Romeo GTV6 3,0, 1985 Maserati Quattroporte, 1991 Alfa Romeo SZ, 1994 Toyota Mega Cruiser, 1998 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Brabus, 2002 Ferrari Enzo, 2004 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM coupé, 2015 Mercedes-Benz AMG G63 6×6, BMW M1 and a one-off Chevrolet Brut pick-up.

The bikes that were ridden around the quadrant were a

1917 Triumph Model H, 1923 AJS 750 V-twin Model D, 1923 BSA 500 1926, 1936 D-J Run-winning AJS 350, 1980 Ducati 900 Mike Hailwood replica, Captain America Easy Rider Harley-Davidson 1340 and 1991 Sasol Jordan Yamaha FZR 1000.