Father's Day Is Around The Corner So Here Are Some Suggestions For Your Petrolhead Dad

More importantly though, Father’s Day is this coming Sunday and you’re welcome for the reminder as well as this list of gifts you could get your petrolhead dad on short notice; if J&T plays ball that is.

Undoubtedly, this whole pandemic has been hard on everyone so a thoughtful gift for your father would surely go a long way in lifting his spirits; hopefully without lowering your bank balance too much.

There’s nothing cooler than repping your loyalty to a certain marque or model than donning it when heading out to buy groceries… because that’s all we’ll be doing until the month’s end.

Tarik Jeans has a collaboration with Volkswagen while Pestle & Mortar’s partnership with Honda for hitting one million units sold here; aptly titled the One Million Dreams Collection, are a fantastic way to support local brands and get your father some cool clothes. If your dad is more into retro and custom car stuff, Art of Speed has some catchy T-shirts that ooze that vibe perfectly.

If dad is a petrolhead, chances are he’ll want to keep that ride spick and span on the inside. You spend most of your time in the cabin anyways so keeping it spotless makes for a relaxed drive anywhere.

For a quick cleanup of the carpet or dash, a cordless mini car vacuum is just what the doctor; or loving child, ordered. Baseus has some great car accessories and our favourite is the cordless vacuum that even comes with a few different fittings to get into those pesky nook and crannies like between the seat and centre console.

3. A car detailing package

What perfectly complements a clean interior? A sparkling exterior of course. Seeing that we can’t really be driving around much for the month, it’s understandable that dad’s car might just be sitting collecting dirt or being target practice for birds.

Why not buy him a complete exterior detailing package at one of the car detailing centres around? A two-bucket system wash, some claying, polish and wax would have that exterior making Rihanna proud as it shines bright like a diamond once the open roads are, erm… open again.

G’Zox or Kuzig Glanz are good starting points.

Is your father always losing his car keys or leaving it at the oddest spots around the house and then forgetting where they are? Instead of losing your mind as he grumbles around blaming everyone for his keys going missing, why not make it easy to find them with a Bluetooth tag?

We recently gave the Apple AirTag a test and were more than impressed with it. Granted, for RM129 it better walk back to you but if you’re on a budget, you can find some pretty affordable alternatives on Lazada or Shopee.

So, the next time he loses his keys just flip on his smartphone’s Bluetooth and you should be able to hear the tag beeping.

Is your father the DIY type around the house for minor fixes? If he is; coupled with all this downtime the lockdown has left us with, now’s the perfect time to tackle some basic maintenance on the car or even the house.

To do so, he’ll need a decent tool kit. You can find some well stocked sets on Lazada for under RM200 that would cover most basic fixes. Plus point, you can use it too. Win-win situation.

6. Automotive books

With all that time to kill, a good book would go a long way in alleviating the boredom for the paperback petrolhead. There are some great reads that deep dive into the automotive world. If he watched the movie Ford v Ferrari, why not read about the story behind it in “Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans.”

If autobiographies are more of his thing, maybe “How to Build a Car: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Formula 1 Designer” would be right up his alley.

Lastly, a Haynes manual for his car would perfectly complement the tool set you got him to get cracking with wrenching on his own car.

Everyone needs a dashcam in their car nowadays. Be it to absolve yourself of blame in the unfortunate event of an accident or to capture some cool videos on the road that’ll light up the internet, dashcams should be made mandatory in all cars now.

We did review the Mio MiVue 792 a while back and its low-light capabilities left us in awe. Granted, this one’s a little heavy on the wallet but you can’t put a price on peace of mind, can you?

This one’s for your father’s inner child… or even yours. Lego is on a roll with its Speed Champions’ series that immortalises some iconic cars such as the Porsche 919 Hybrid, 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 and the legendary Audi Sport Quattro S1.

Some newer flavours can be had in the form of the Toyota GR Supra, McLaren Senna and the Nissan GT-R Nismo. If you’re after something more challenging or maybe a bigger project that the both of you can work on together, the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team set should be right up that alley.

No point repeating that we won’t be able to drive much this lockdown but for clarity’s sake, we’ll say it again; we won’t be able to drive much this lockdown. That means plenty of downtime for the car or your dad’s weekend ride.

All that sitting around could lead to a flat battery when the time comes to actually fire it up and head for a drive. To prevent the battery from going dead or losing its charge, a CTek battery trickle charger will get the job done.

Lastly, some of us play by the notion of “it’s always the thought that counts.” For those that’ve pledged their allegiance to that school of thought; no doubt with the backing of their back accounts, we’ve got the perfect gift.

A Touch ‘n Go Photocard lets you print a personal photo or graphic on the card that would make for a very personalised gift. Maybe a photo of your father from his younger days standing by his first car?