At the 2021 Jiading District "May 1" International Labor Day and the 70th anniversary celebration of the establishment of the Jiading Trade Union, five people including Pei Yuchun, Zhong Jianfeng, Wang Junxi, Wang Wenqiang, Hu Huigang were awarded the title of "Jiading Craftsman" in 2021. Jiading District Integrated Media Center will launch a series of reports to introduce the pioneering and innovative deeds of these five craftsmen.
Today, let’s get to know Hu Huigang, director of the collection car management department of Shanghai Automobile Museum,
"Anti-style repair and maintenance of antique cars and the maintenance of social vehicles are not the same concept. We are based on the belief in restoring cultural relics. We must not only repair the old as it is, but also ensure that each car restores its factory appearance in the past." This is Hu Huigang, director of the collection car management department of Shanghai Automobile Museum, who often talks about it.
90% of the antique cars here have driving functions . In the maintenance room, the reporter saw that Master Hu was bent over and drilling under the hood to provide daily maintenance for an OPel rekord produced in 1965 in the museum.
"inside" to ensure that everything is foolproof, and the "surface skill" must also be done well. "There are nearly 40 kinds of waxes here, which are used on different cars..." In Master Hu's warehouse, the reporter saw that there were a wide range of wax products, including three layers inside and three layers outside. He noted the purpose of each wax product, which car and which part it is used. Yao Yanmei, a maintenance staff member of the truck management department of
, admitted that she didn't understand at first, but when she discovered that the car Mr. Hu was not only bright but also lasted for a long time, she realized the importance of these steps.
"The structure of these antique cars is very complicated. In the past, it was a kind of wax product tube for a car, but after using different wax products in different parts, it can effectively extend the time for damage and oxidation, which is about 6 months longer than before." Master Hu said that these are the experiences he and his team have learned from their many exchanges with industry personnel.
Repair of an antique car is like "fighting monsters"
Repair of a car almost a whole year, and Master Hu humorously compared it to "fighting monsters". "Although I used to do car repairs, they were all repairs of modern cars. Repairing vintage cars is basically a matter of 'crossing the river'."
Master Hu recalled that when the Shanghai Automobile Museum opened in 2007, domestic professionals and training institutions engaged in antique car repairs were still blank, and everything had to start from scratch.
"Shanghai Brand" Before the restoration of the restoration of
"The exhibition in the museum is basically all models of important significance in the century-old history of automobiles. Every era and every brand are basically just one." In the first floor exhibition hall, the most popular one is this Shanghai brand SH760 sedan, which is the first batch of mass-produced mid-to-high-end sedans independently developed in Shanghai in 1958."This car is the common memory of our generation. It is preserved so well. Seeing it feels like traveling through time." Mr. Zhang, an antique car enthusiast who came from the city, said excitedly. Behind the glamorousness ofis Master Hu’s hard work for nearly a year. He admitted that when he first saw this car, due to its age and its modification beyond recognition, he could only "dissect" the car first and dismantle more than 10,000 parts.
Master Hu smiled and said that the process of repairing and restoring is like a "find fault" game, and even if you fail, you can't pass the level. "If you go to the manufacturer to ask for information everywhere, you must first confirm which year it was produced, because each batch of processes and accessories may be different. Then find the corresponding information to compare and determine whether these parts are the original match. If you really can't find it, you have to copy it according to the information from that year and make it mold." Master Hu said that often, if one place is wrong, you must start over again.
Hard work pays off. This car with Shanghai people's memories has been basically repaired after careful "treatment". But Master Hu still felt something was wrong. "When I sat in, I found that there was an air outlet in the car, but I was not sure what it was used for." After asking several old workers, he learned that the Shanghai brand of that era had actually used air heating equipment. So, he traveled around many places and finally found the last "key".
To make yourself a "miscellaneous"
While improving your business, Master Hu also has to study across industries. "Many antique cars have also incorporated many other fields of craftsmanship due to their historical positioning at that time." After the repair of
the first generation of domestic high-end sedan-"Hongqi" CA-72 sedan. As the National Day parade in 1959, the interior decoration uses cloisonne, Fujian lacquer, Hangzhou brocade, etc., which is luxurious and exquisite overall. "Don't look at it so beautiful now. When I brought it, it was basically broken. We went to Hangzhou and Fujian to find a repair method, but there was no result. Later, I thought of going to Beijing to try my luck. Finally, I found a master who used to repair cultural relics in the Forbidden City and asked him to teach us how to repair it."
"New abilities", Master Hu groped and tried it himself, and in the past six months, he kept pushing it back. In the end, the efforts of the older generation of craftsmen returned to this car again. "The process was very painful, but during the visit, I learned that this car was the result of the joint efforts of technicians and workers across the country. In that era of underdeveloped science and technology, every detail was hand-made. If it was made so exquisitely, I felt very motivated. This is the spirit of craftsmanship." Master Hu said firmly.
Even though he had been bent over and working on the ground for a long time, he had caused his lumbar disc to be herniated and his fingers deformed, he was still addicted to this, and he had been in a flash for 15 years. One car is repaired a year, and he and his team have repaired 15 cars. "There are 4 more waiting for us to repair."
"Repairing an antique car is often more costly than buying a car." Master Hu said that Jiading is a fertile ground for cultivating the automobile market and culture. Over the years, he has been able to do this with peace of mind, thanks to the support of local governments.
Source: Shanghai Jiading
