Phairoth Roikaew is the owner of a famous night market in Thailand. He started his passion for classic Chevrolet cars when he was 19. Now, at 43, Rod owns 10 rare models.
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| Unique vintage Chevrolet fleet of the 'boss' of the Thai market |
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| Phairoth Roikaew (43 years old) is the owner of the famous Rod Fai night market in Bangkok (Thailand). Not only famous in the business world, Rod is also known as a "Chevrolet enthusiast", especially classic pickup trucks. |
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| Phairoth Roikaew started learning about classic cars at the age of 19, after watching Hollywood movies. What fascinated Rod most in movies were the sleek, timeless classic cars. “I grew up in a poor rural area where people thought it was fashionable to watch American movies and read Western magazines, even though I wasn’t good at English at the time,” Rod shared. |
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| "American cars are very 'cool', and I started to love the classic Chevrolet design. The rounded, balanced lines but still not losing the muscular, aggressive look that is the strong point of American cars," Rod explained the reason why he attached his life to classic Chevrolet cars. |
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| When the economic conditions began to improve, Rod thought of collecting and restoring classic cars to satisfy his passion. He started to buy classic Chevrolet models more than 15 years ago. |
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| "I focus on buying Chevrolets and only order genuine parts from the US. My collection is all Chevrolets," Rod said. |
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| Rod's collection currently includes 10 trucks and pickups, some of which are over half a century old. |
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| The first model in Rod's collection was a 1965 Chevrolet C10 pickup, then he hunted for more models from 1941 to 1968. They are all models highly appreciated by enthusiasts. |
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| The Chevrolet 3100 Series is a car line that Rod especially loves. This is one of the models with the most iconic design in the history of the automobile industry. At that time, the 3100 Series was considered by experts to have "advanced design", because before that, no car model looked so round and sleek. |
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| The original spare parts were painstakingly collected by Rod from the US. The car's air horn is mounted on the outside, above the front wheel well. |
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| This car is a 1954 3100 Series. The most impressive part is the front end with shiny chrome front bumper and grille. In the mid-20th century, luxury cars were often large, shiny chrome, and had big engines. Fuel consumption was not a concern because gasoline was very cheap at that time. |
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| The cabin had two seats but was designed as a bench, unlike the two independent seats of today's cars. The design on the Chevrolet at that time was considered innovative because it was quite rounded, requiring advanced steel stamping technology. |
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| The Series 3124 began production in 1955 and continued through 1957, featuring design improvements. Also known as the Task Force, Cameo Carrier, this was the first generation to use Chevrolet's Fleetside design. |
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| The front of the car has a stingray logo, associated with the legendary Chevrolet Corvette line. |
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| The inside of the car is kept in pretty good condition. These cars are imported from the US, right-hand drive so they are not legally allowed to be used on the streets of Thailand. The owner of the night market often displays the cars in his market to serve visitors as well as to share with those who share the same passion. |
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| Most of the parts on the car are original parts. Rod often flies to the US to find replacement parts for his car. |
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| “The 1941 Chevy is my favorite for its design and classic style. The 1960 Apache is the best running car,” Rod shared. |
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| The 1958 Chevrolet Apache, a 3100 Series, an iconic Task Force model, is one of the American automaker's classics for over a century. This light truck was one of the first to feature air conditioning, electric power steering, and electric brakes. It had four headlights that slid down to the front bumper, and a rather unusual, rugged hood. |
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| Rod’s Chevrolet cars also contributed to the success of the business. Many of the cars were displayed by Rod at the night market for people to pose for pictures. These cars became an indispensable part of the market. |
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| For Rod, Chevys are in his blood, like a part of him. "I feel very happy every time I drive on the road, because thousands of eyes are always on the car," Rod shared. |
According to Zing
