The New Bains Classic Motor House
Andrew Bain, son and nephew of John and Gavin Bain, proprietors of the sadly missed Fazazz emporium, had set up his own classic car and memorabilia showroom in a converted mill building just north of Christchurch.
He has just relocated into a new building, still on SH1, between Waikuku and Amberley and when I went up to see how he was settling in, Andrew was delighting in sharing the plans for the immediate future.
Already he has more room and more stock in the way of models and books with more to come. The outside of the building is decorated as a 1920s petrol station with a selection of the cars in stock sprinkled around.
The Lancia Gamma particularly took my eye. It was the five door hatchback version. Going back a year or so to the 1990s when I lived in Hawkes Bay there was a Gamma coupé at the Hastings Opel dealer for sale for quite some time and I have to admit I was quite tempted but decided it may be a little temperamental for me and instead I opted for an Opel Manta... which was by far the worst car I have ever had the misfortune of owning... as well as it introducing me to the so-called delights of having to deal with General Motors when needing to get parts for it when it broke. Which it did. More than once. Shoulda bought the Lancia!
The intention is to keep a good range of around 25 cars in stock plus others on the website www.bains. co.nz so there will always be plenty for passing visitors to see.
Out the back is a small car museum with a very interesting range of cars including the exArchibald SS100 with a long New Zealand race history, and consent has just been granted for a major extension which should be completed by Christmas.
With a café as part of the complex which houses the Motor House and plenty of parking as winter ends Andrew is planning on a monthly “coffee and cars” morning for enthusiasts of all kinds to bring their interesting toys along for a coffee, snack and the chance to tell lies to others of a similar ilk.
Look for more details in upcoming issues of Classic Driver and I will see you there!