Meandering around an Old Motors Club activity, be it a rally, a static show, or a fun run, visitors frequently notice foreign participants - the telltale sign of the cosmopolitan nature of the OMC. In its 18 years the club has attracted several non-Maltese classic car aficionados.

Over the last couple of years, a 1978 tartan red MGB Roadster with a British number plate, has turned up at various events. The gleaming car has turned many heads. It is one half of a happy couple. The other is owner Ian McInnes, an OMC member who lives in Newcastle, but who has been visiting the island regularly over the past few years.

How did they both end up in Malta?

"Well, let me just put it down to eventful twists of fate," Mr McInnes begins. "In 2000, I was seriously ill with a life-threatening condition. Fortunately I pulled through, and immediately my priorities changed."

One of Ian's long-time friends, Peter, had been living in Malta with his partner Jayne for many years, and when he heard of his plight, invited him to come to the island to convalesce. "I came over in June 2000, and stayed with Peter and Jayne in Mdina. I fell in love with Malta, its people, its climate, and started to visit regularly", he adds. The frequent trips were facilitated after the post office with which Ian had been involved from the age of 15, and was running until he was 57, was closed down by the British government in 2003. He went into retirement two years later.

Mr McInnes had been fascinated with vintage cars since childhood, with a 1954 Austin A50 belonging to his grandfather the guiding light. "It was my first legal drive, although I had frequently been behind the wheel of a Land Rover much earlier," he admits. The Austin came in handy in 1965. When his grandfather passed away, he part exchanged the car for a new MG 1100.

A long-term relationship with the MG marque began. A keen motor sport enthusiast, Mr McInnes took part in rallies after he completed a thorough alteration which included modified camshaft, cylinder head, as well as underneath protection for the gearbox and petrol pipes. Even the original engine was replaced by a 1275 Cooper S. His efforts were rewarded: the souped up MG won several northeast racing and rally circuit events, including the Crofts Rally.

Unfortunately, in 1969, the rally MG was stolen. Mr McInnes then acquired his first MGB GT. "It was a new 1967 mineral blue beauty, which I exchanged a year later for a similar newer model, but this time in a glazier white finish." A couple of years later, however, he had to let go of the car.

MG mania was shelved in the 1970s and 1980s, but Mr McInnes' interest in motor sports continued unabated. He joined NERO (North East Rover Owners), where he frequently competed in offroading events, first with a new V8 Country Land Rover, and later with a 1966 Series 2 Land Rover.

But in the early 1990s, Mr McInnes was again seduced by the MG, and bought a 1980 MGB GT, which sported the same glazier white finish as the one he had 20 years earlier.

Mr McInnes joined MG Northumbria, a regional umbrella organisation for MGs. Once his post office was closed down, he could devote more time to the pursuit of his favourite interest, and in 2004, he set his eye on a 1978 damask red MGB Roadster.

In July 2005, he decided to drive it to Malta. Taking the ferry from Newcastle home, he crossed to Amsterdam, from where he drove through Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and into Italy. The MGB took the strenuous trip in its stride, until it reached Genoa, where it gave up its ghost. The breakdown recovery service took the car to a garage, but it was not equipped to deal with this type of vehicle.

The 'couple' had to travel to Milan. "On being towed there, I entered Aladdin's cave," he reminisces. "It was fairy tale stuff: an old motors restoration centre set up in the 1930s by an enthusiastic, enterprising Italian, who had eventually passed on the reins to his son and daughter. The place was packed to the rafters with old cars, including a 1912 Model T Ford, various MGBs, Mini Coopers, an Austin Healey 3000, and a 1966 Cobra which really caught my eye. I stood there with my mouth open, and the owners said they wished they had a camera to capture my childlike, astonished reaction on film".

A mechanic detected a fault in the distributor. A new condenser and coil were fitted, and the carburetor adjusted to the high altitude and hotter Italian climate. The mechanic also offered to guide him though the maze of Milanese roads to reach the motorway. The rest of the journey to Malta was uneventful, and both owner and vehicle thoroughly enjoyed their first stay on the island.

Car and owner made a similar trip from the UK to Malta in 2006. On his return to Newcastle last January, Mr McInnes decided to strip the MGB to a rolling shell. Initially the aim was to convert the plastic bumpers to chrome ones, and to have the car resprayed from damask red to tartan red.

The simple plan turned into a major enterprise. The front wings and the sills were overhauled, the engine removed, stripped and rebored, with new pistons, camshaft, and timing chains and gears fitted. "I did much of the work myself, working six days a week," states the proud owner. His friend Dave Bush, from Classic Coachcraft of Newcastle, was also instrumental to the project, especially in his field, welding. The MGB's rehabilitation took six months, and within a few weeks, it was back on the now familiar road to Malta.

While the MGB was being rebuilt, Mr McInnes heard through the grapevine that a 1967 mineral blue MGB GT, similar to the one he had many moons earlier, was on the market. He lost no time in making it his. "It had not been on the road for 15 years; the previous owner had restored it and garaged it immediately," Mr McInnes recounts. "However, once the battery was installed, it went off like a bang, and soon after passed the MOT test without any problems".

Ever since he set foot on Malta in 2000, Mr McInnes started to link up with the Old Motors Club, and began to take part in local motoring events. "I once even followed a rally in a hired car," he laughs. "This gave me the idea of bringing the MGB over to the island for a holiday". He is also very actively involved with the Royal Malta Yacht Club, and helps out regularly in the annual Middle Sea Race.

"I've worked hard all my life, I now intend to continue to enjoy myself, my three MGBs, and the Mazda MX coupe - which I got myself as a 60th birthday present," Mr McInnes says. He now spends a significant proportion of his time harnessing his classic cars to raise money for charity. "One of my favourite organisations is a helicopter ambulance service. I like helping people."

The last time I met him was a few weeks ago, under the big tent at Ta' Qali, where, having made its fourth trip to Malta, the tartan red MBG Roadster was among the attractions in the fund-raising Paqpaqli għall-Istrina car and motorcycle show.

• Mr Busuttil is public relations officer of the Old Motors Club. Visit www.oldmotorsclub.com or e-mail info@oldmotorsclub.com .

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