Oliver Agius

It was the early evening of a hot, sweltering June day in the late 1950s. The light green Morris Minor was coughing and spluttering as it tried to make it up the hill leading from Marsa to Blata l-Bajda, at the spot where the MUSEUM headquarters stands today, and where in those days a cemetery stood aloof.

Finally, it gave up the ghost at the top of the hill. The young driver, already late for an important appointment, descended, opened the bonnet, inspected the engine, detected the dysfunction, and after 15 minutes of emergency treatment, the vehicle was roadworthy again.

Alas, at times it doesn't just rain, but pours heavily, and no sooner had the car reached the traffic island at the Mile End area a short distance away, that the driver detected a puncture. By now the young man was perspiring heavily, both from his earlier efforts, as well as with the ascending anxiety and frustration at his ever increasing lateness.

He did not want to let the old man at the other end wait for too long, but he was already nearly an hour late for the regular task that he had been undertaking over the past few weeks.

For on a regular basis, Oliver Agius had been using his Morris Minor to give a lift to Dun Gorg Preca, after the saintly priest would have finished his weekly talk at the Pietà MUSEUM branch, to return to his home in Marsa.

"My parents' house was next door to this branch, so I was entrusted with getting Dun Gorg tea and biscuits before he started his talk, then ferry him back home afterwards," he recalls. On this particular evening, Oliver had first dropped his future wife Carmen at her home, then rushed to collect Dun Gorg.

The meeting had long ended, and many members in the audience offered their own transport to give him a lift. But Dun Gorg refused, adds Oliver, telling them not to worry unduly, as his usual driver had had some engine and other car problems, but he would soon turn up!

"A few years ago, when Dun Gorg's name cropped up again with so much prominence, I tried to locate the old Morris Minor, with which I had parted many moons ago, intending, if possible, to try and get it back," admits Oliver.

"Armed with its registration number - 14158 - I left no stone unturned in my detective work! Eventually it transpired that it ended up at someone in Tarxien, who had only recently scrapped it, unfortunately."

Once he has set his mind on it, Oliver is no stranger in trying to meticulously unearth the whereabouts of an old car. In an attempt to trace and obtain a vehicle with fond family connections, he embarked on a crusade which, in Sherlock Holmes sleuth fashion, lasted 50 years and took him across many a continent!

From early childhood, Oliver was completely enamoured of the four-wheeler, with an unexplainable penchant for large American cars. Going down memory lane, he recollects childhood experiences of even washing and polishing a huge Grand Prix Silver Cross baby pram belonging to a neighbour, who used to parade her twin daughters in it!

Oliver always had a bent for business, and after a secondary school education with the Frères at De La Salle College in Cottonera, he joined his uncle Peter, who had a car hire establishment, the Guardamangia Garage, besides importing the occasional American car, including classics.

It was here that he learned to drive, and by the age of 15 he was taking cars on the road (sometimes even ferrying clients!). In the prevailing post war era, traffic was very thin on the ground. However, Oliver recalls one unique hair-raising experience.

"My uncle sent me on an errand to Sliema with a 1937 Packard Straight 8. Coming down Savoy Hill, the brakes failed. I had to think out of the box and, in order to stop it, I had to go to first gear by using the double clutch - a manoeuvre that prevented a major accident, and further complications owing to my age.

"It came to rest by impacting slightly against the bumper of a stationary bus at the end of the hill, but the owner, seeing me emerging trembling from the Packard, brushed the insignificant damage aside. For a moment I thought that my end was nigh," states a serious Oliver.

Just round the corner from the Guardamangia Garage stood Villa Guardamangia, the residence for a period in the 1950s of the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Despite having their own official transport, the royal couple used to hire vehicles from Peter at times.

Security was far from the current strict, breathing down one's neck mode, and in those halcyon days, the young pair spent a significant part of their time going around the island, mixing and mingling freely with the Maltese.

Prince Philip was a frequent visitor to the Guardamangia Garage, walking in unexpectedly on his own to have a chat with young Oliver, who was also invited to visit Villa Guardamangia on a couple of occasions. Adamantly, Oliver refuses to be drawn into disclosing details.

He has a long list of very interesting anecdotes regarding royal encounters, but he would never kiss and tell. "All I can say is that the royal couple adored Malta and loved its people; it was heartbreaking for them when they had to leave the island," he said, discreetly concluding this episode in his life.

While working at the Guardamangia Garage, Oliver was completely bowled over by one of his uncle's cars, a rare white 1937 Citroën Light 15 (or the Traction-avant, as it is referred to by its many admirers).

"I was simply fascinated by it, to the extent that my uncle promised he would give it to me later on. However, for some reason or other, the car was unfortunately sold. The vehicle and its disappearance haunted me throughout my adolescent and adult life.

"I embarked on a self-imposed lifelong crusade, and I spent 50 years trying to trace such a model to buy it back," recounts Oliver as another gripping story unfolds.

The man with a mission surveyed, searched and scooped high and low, far and near, throughout the years. Sightings of this rara avis are remote and very infrequent; however, his endless endeavours resulted in the unearthing of three Traction-avants in France, one in Quebec, and another one in San Francisco.

Alas, and understandably, no one wanted to part with their prized possession! Then, some six years ago, while having a chat with an overseas tyre representative who was visiting Malta, Oliver got to know about the existence of such a Citroën, stored in a garage in the suburbs of Paris. But more important, family inheritance problems were forcing a sale!

He grabbed the next available flight to France, and homed in on the hunt. "I could not believe my eyes when I finally saw it," continues a visibly excited Oliver. "It was a real beauty with impeccable credentials and a riveting history, a 1939 Citroën cabriolet de luxe, the last in the series prior to the beginning of the second world war.

"Moreover, it belonged to a limited edition of about 30 models, which were manufactured for distribution as perks among the Citroën's management elite in France and overseas."

This particular Traction-avant found its way to a Citroën director in Berlin, prior to the start of the hostilities. Aware of its uniqueness, the owner had it stored well under wraps in the divided city for 40 long years. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it was taken back to France.

It was in a very good condition and still able to take its place with other cars and run on the roads. All original parts, including three tyres of the Thirties, had been preserved as nearly new. Mileage was very low, too.

After several rounds of negotiations, a deal was struck with the owner, and eventually the car arrived in Malta.

"There was no need for any touching up and it has remained in an as found state," discloses Oliver. "The only thing that was done here was the new number plate!" A towering reference point in the history of the motorcar, pioneering front wheel drive on a mass produced family saloon, this Citroën was recently under the scrutinising and admiring glare of a French old motors connoisseur, M. Giovannoni Thierry.

Owing to the scarcity of these models, M. Thierry, organiser of an international rally of veteran, vintage and classic cars, initially deemed it to be a replica! M. Thierry visited Malta quite a few times recently, in preparation for an event to be held on the island next October.

Having an innate drive to branch out on his own motoring enterprise, Oliver stayed only a few years in his uncle's business, and then started up his own garage in Guardamangia in the late 1950s. Following his dream, he focused on large American cars, and started importing well known brands, like Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets, Fords, Mustangs, Cobras and Plymouths, mainly for well-heeled Maltese clients, as well as for British servicemen.

"I used to import two to three cars at one go, and then make a sale, always ensuring that I keep one for myself," Oliver explained. "With no modern communication techniques available in those days, I used to conduct most of my business through personal visits to the United States, Canada, as well as to the American bases in Tripoli, Libya, and Naples and Sigonella in Italy."

Oliver is a rich mine of information, and he has a raconteur's natural gift of the gab. Already we have been talking for nearly two hours, in the sitting room of his sprawling house serenely secluded under the soft shadows of the silent and imposing San Anton Garden walls.

His wife, Carmen, comes in with tea and biscuits, as well as to bring her own vibrant motoring story. The daughter of the Fenech Clarke establishment owner - importers of car accessories as well as renowned old cars like Nash, Delagé and Studebaker - she is a keen driving enthusiast herself and, like her husband, sports a soft spot for spacious American cars!

"I worked for my father's firm for 17 years, so I know a thing or two about the car industry," she admits, smilingly. "I was brought up at a time when all the driving was done by men. In fact I was the fourth woman in Malta to get a driving licence.

"Children used to run alongside my car as I was driving, and kept it up for as long as they could, yelling at the top of their voice, 'They, look, look, a female driver, a female driver!' as if they had sighted the Yeti!" Being behind the steering wheel of classics like a Chevrolet wood panelled stationwagon and a Mercury stand out among the many cars she has driven.

When her father died, Oliver sold his own business and joined his wife's family firm, while still continuing to import old American classic cars. He imported dozens of them over the years, but a few stand uppermost in his mind.

"There was a 1959 convertible Chevrolet Impala, which the ecclesiastic authorities asked for when they wanted to celebrate Archbishop Michael Gonzi's 80th birthday with a drive around the Valletta streets.

"The event was a great success, although the vehicle came back inundated with scratches, inadvertently produced by policemen's belts and buckles, as they struggled to protect the Archbishop and keep back the milling, over-enthusiastic crowd who wanted to touch him," he says with a tinge of regret in his voice.

The Impala was eventually sold to Maltese Australians, who also took with them down under a memorable 1956 Ford Sunliner with a special Thunderbird engine. Oliver also singles out a 1969 Ford Mustang Cobra, and a 1969 Mercury Cougar convertible.

"My heart used to ache and break every time I had to sell an old car which I loved," laments Oliver.

There was one model that he did keep, and which remains in the stable with the Citroën. It is a 1978 Chevrolet Corvette. How did it arrive here, I ask? "Every quarter century, General Motors produce a limited edition model, which every one of its authorised dealers gets as a sign of appreciation," explains Oliver.

"In 1980, a relative in the States informed me that a particular dealer wanted to part with such a car. It was in an excellent condition and, after some discussions, I bought it. I use it frequently, too."

Oliver used to be a member of the Island Car Club, frequently taking part in hill climbs with a Mini standard, a Cooper S and a Cougar. He has been a member of the Old Motors Club for ten years, participating in shows and runs with Carmen.

They have two daughters, Nicky, who has lukewarm interest in old motors, and Carol, who loves them! "In fact, Carol and her husband Patrick took part in the Millennium Run driving the Corvette with American period dress," effused the proud father.

While lauding the OMC's activities, Oliver has a long list of constructive, critical suggestions featuring better time management to avoid unnecessary delays to start events, earlier arrival of news of activities, and a selection of better roads for rally routes.

Throughout our lengthy chat, it becomes more than evident how much the Citroën is the jewel in Oliver's motoring crown. A milestone model with a great impact on the motoring industry, especially for its front wheel drive and monocoque construction, the Traction-avant is a stylish, groundbreaking car with a cult following.

Having met Oliver, a gentleman of the old school - also like the Traction-avant, a rare breed alas! - I could not help observing how sometimes, old motors men resemble their magnificent machines!

• Joseph Busuttil is PRO of the Old Motor Club, e-mail: info@oldmotorsclub.com; Website: www.oldmotorsclub.com