French collector restores classics

Claude, who works as general manager of Victoria Hoi An resort, has used his 11 sidecar collections as tourist vehicles to maintain the 1970s model motorcycles.

He has also built a garage to restore and repair all the cars in the resort on Cua Dai beach.

"I came here to build the resort 14 years ago. As a hobby, I bought old sidecars from different provinces in Vietnam. Most of them were Russian-made Ural sidecars," Claude noted.

The Ural sidecar, which was the popular model used during the World War II by Russian Army, has two four-stroke 650 cc engines. It has three wheeler drum brake and a four-level gearbox and a reverse gear that allows the driver to control it as a car.

Tran Van Mai, a mechanic, said that the sidecars could run well at a speed of 80km per hour in the rough road.

The 1942 model Renault was very popular in the central region as public buses in the late 1980s. However, local mechanics had modified it with a coal-fired air turbo-driven system to save fuel.

Claude noted that the collection of vans decorate the entrance of Victoria Hoi An Resort only because the vehicles are not allowed to run. The vintage vans are lined up with sidecars on the sidewalk in front of the resort.

Tourists find the collection interesting, as that they have not seen these for a long period.

The French stated that this is one of his most favourite collections, and that is the reason he has taken time and spent money to preserve them.