Salvaging cars is his passion

Farooqi in the restored 1972 Citron DS at his garage in Kibuli. Photo by Edgar Batte

The entire compound is littered with different shades of new and old car models. In a shade adjacent to an office, with a lady busy on a desktop computer, are mechanics engaged in different chores.
They are working on a 1972 Citron DS. Some are using sandpaper to wipe parts, one checks out the accelerator peddle.

Giving guidance and orders, is a relatively old man with a shirt is half tucked in. He speaks between fetes of puffing away at a cigarette. The fingers which hold the cigarette are dirty and oily but that does not seem to bother him.

In his office, he picks a dirty towel which he uses to clean his hands.
At that point, lyrics of Paul Kafeero’s master piece, a song titled Kampala Mukooti, in which he sarcastically asks if dirtness is part of the facets that make a mechanic good, comes to mind.

Peji Farooqi is at work. He is the managing director of BHP Motors located in Kibuli, near Kampala. Restoring and fixing damaged cars is his passion and forte. It all started in 1979, during the war that led to the fall of president Idi Amin Dada.

His father was a policeman and head of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) which made him a natural target by the Amin’s rivals so he fled with his father to Kisumu, Kenya. It is here that the 16-year-old would join his uncles in a motor vehicle workshop and garage to learn how to fix cars.

“I realised I would not go back to school so I became keen on learning how to fix cars. My uncles would assign me to wash car engines. I would wash them manually because there were no jet sprays or hose pipes. I would use a basin, water and bar soap to clean them to near perfection,” he recalls.
Fixing cars runs in the family and dates way back to 1930s.

While in Kenya, Farooqi acquiered experience and soon got offers from DT Dobi, the official Mercedes Benz distributors in Kenya, Pan-African Equipment, who distributed Komatsu- earth-moving equipment where he was employed as a mechanic.

He recalls that, in the 1970s, Japanese cars had not flooded markets in Africa. Cars on the road were mainly from Europe and America. He was renowned for fixing Volvos, BMWs, Peugeots, Renaults, and the like. His speciality is panel-beating, engine repair and general body car work.

When he had saved enough money, he decided to invest it in a motor vehicle workshop, Peji Auto, in Kisumu. It was situated on family land. Business was good until 2007 when the post-election violence broke out in Kenya.
“My garage was looted and burnt and so was one of our family homes. January 2008 was one hell of month for me. I decided to sell my assets in Kenya and returned home.

Restore
Old cars that have been restored by their owners are proudly displayed at car shows, cruise meets, and all sorts of parades. Classic cars are admired by both old and young alike. There is a tremendous satisfaction that comes from bringing an old car back to life, and when accomplished, easily outweighs the bother and frustration. Getting an old car back together, running well and looking good is a great feeling when accomplished.
restoreanoldcar.com

Farooqi’s wall of fame

He was also persuaded by friends, the late Sam Patel and Tarne Padhaal. The two were his first clients when he set up BHP Motors. They gave him their damaged cars which he restored. Whereas his garage does all mechanical work, it is popular for restoring cars. Farooqi explains that most of the cars taken to his garage are almost rotten.

“I will look at their engine, suspension, body and interior. Fixing such cars is not about money but the time invested in trying to restore them. Most cars have working engines and most of the work is around restoring the body, which is expensive because parts of vintage or classic cars are not easy to find,” he observes.

Most of such body parts are sourced from the internet. Farooqi is a dedicated mechanic but so is he to his family of two daughters and wife. He also lives with his mother.
If he is not watching motor spot, he likes to take his family somewhere peaceful ad quiet in his home town- Jinja or in Mihingo in Lake Mburo National Park. They have been to the Masai Mara, in Kenya and the Serengeti national parks in Tanzania.

The numbers

1930s

The time when Farooq’s family started Fixing cars.

2008

The year when Farooq decided to sell his assets in Kenya and returned home.