Residents of cool Manchester were in for a treat last Sunday when the Jamaica Classic Car Club (JCCC) made their annual trek to the parish.

The club visited two venues, instead of the usual one. The first stop was Midway Mall in Mandeville, which was followed by the regular hang-out of choice at the Mandeville Shopping Centre.

“At the last count I did before we wrapped things up, it was 42 cars present,” Shane Angus, JCCC president, told the Jamaica Observer’s weekly Auto magazine.

The numbers were bolstered by the club’s largest classic car collector Mandeville’s Victor Dixon.

The curious crowd quickly descended on the display, capturing the images with their cellphone cameras. JCCC members came from as far as Ocho Rios in St Ann and Portland, providing a rich variety of cars on display. Those old enough to remember, relived the glory days of the vehicles, many no longer visible on Jamaican roads. All were popular in their own right. The picture takers, however, made a constant beeline for the very racy Tiger sportscar, but the 1967 Austin Moke, otherwise known as the MINI Moke, was a sure hit.

As part of Dixon’s collection, over the last three years has seen a ground-up restoration with a twist — a boat theme.

“We turned it into what is called a sports yacht, so we did a boat interior while the body remains classic MINI,” Dixon explained.

Throughout the day passers-by were held in awe by the blend of wood, metal and fabric that made up the details of the re-imagined Moke.

“I just want to appeal to members to really drive out and make our numbers much bigger. As we try to attract sponsorship and government benefits, we need the numbers to show our viability as we are being watched to see how active we really are,” Angus said.

— Rory Daley