New year for the Old Wheelers
In typical Old Wheelers fashion, vintage vehicle enthusiasts from Windhoek have already released their exciting calendar for 2024.My.Na Cars caught up with club chairman Rainer Rusch, who shared intriguing insights about the historic Namibian organisation. “I am extremely proud to be part of such a prestigious club in Namibia. We have about 500 members, a strong presence, awesome vehicles of our members - cars and motor bikes alike - and the club really brings together like-minded people from all ages and parts of society," he said.
“Our events are a mix of public and internal events. The Bonnets Ups, such as the one on 27 January, take place at our beautiful clubhouse in Olympia and are open for the public. Anyone is welcome to visit, bring and brag about their Old Wheeler, and to enjoy the awesome classic cars we have in Namibia. That, of course, with a refreshing drink and meal prepared by our kitchen. Gates open at 11:00 and the entry is free,” he elaborated on the first opportunity to tickle that vintage fetish later this month.
“Other events and outings are typically for our members, or members of our affiliated clubs only, and are limited to old vehicles or vehicles of our affiliated clubs,” he said.
Clubs affiliated to the Old Wheelers include the BMW Motorrad Club of Namibia, Land Rover Owners of Namibia and the Harley Owners Group of Namibia.
“We are extremely proud of our Old Wheelers Museum, where our members get the opportunity to exhibit their vehicles. Our museum is open on Saturdays from 11:00 to about 14:30, and we invite the public to visit us. Entry is free, donations are welcome. We are planning an intake of new vehicles as of early February, this time with a utility theme - for example, tractors and pick-ups,” Rusch said.
Great success
According to him, last year boasted with too many highlights to mention.
"Our outings and exhibitions at the clubhouse were all a great success with much fun. One of the highlights was the Classic Car Auction with Auction Dynamix in September, which again showed which awesome classic vehicles are available in Namibia. Another highlight was yet again our Senior Citizen Drive, where we pick up our elders from various old-age homes in Windhoek, in our old vehicles of course, for a tour through Windhoek and a cake and coffee at our clubhouse.”
Regarding challenges last year, he explained: “We are a club and can only exist with the active support of our members. Life is busy and challenging and we know that not everyone can always contribute or take part in our events. Our biggest challenge is, however, the active participation and involvement of members in our club events. We have many members, yet participation in events often comes down to the same few persons”.
Get involved
“We have different types of memberships. Full membership for persons owning a vehicle older than 25 years, social membership for persons who just want to enjoy our beautiful clubhouse environment, or who do not yet have an old vehicle but are looking for one. And we also have a few International members - persons not residing in Namibia, but who have a close connection to our Old Wheelers Club,” he elaborated.
His advice to old automobile enthusiasts is to get involved. “But don’t get into things too hastily. Don’t expect an old wheeler to behave like a new vehicle. And especially don’t dream of having that awesome old wheeler standing in your garage, only taking it out for a drive every once in a while, and then driving without any issues. Any vehicle needs to be driven regularly, otherwise the standing will cause issues and lead to extra repairs.”
“Our aim for the next few years is to expand our museum, so this year, we’ll start planning and working towards fulfilling that dream,” he said.