Fatima Jinnah’s car back to life after two years of repair

KARACHI: Exposed to dust and lying in ruin for years, the car of Miss Fatima Jinnah’s 1955 ‘Cadillac Series 62 Convertible’ has been finally been restored to its original condition after two years of work by a local garage.

The condition of the vehicle — 1955 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible classic car —first came to spotlight in 2007 when pictures were published on Pakistani automotive websites. The vehicle was kept at the Mohatta Palace and it was then taken away for repairs several years ago.

Another car of Miss Jinnah ‘1965 Mercedes Benz 200’ also underwent complete restoration and its work is also about to end.

Mohsin Ikram, founder of the Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan, had taken upon himself the task of restoring the vehicle to its original state.

According to Ikram, he had first discovered them in the garages of the Mohatta Palace from where they had been pulled out and left under the open sky when the palace was being restored. The labourers there used to eat their food on the cars’ bonnets.

Many of their parts were also stolen then. After his raising alarm about this the cars, which by that time were even without wheels, were literally dragged to the Sindh Archives building causing them further damage.

Now after its restoration, the car will be displayed at the National Museum of Pakistan.

Earlier, the vehicle was left to rot under the open sky in the parking lot of the Sindh Information and Archives department.