Victor Caruana, a Luqa local council member since 1994, breathes old motors fire and brimstone. Although he had no immediate family members with any enthusiasm for old cars, he somehow developed a fascination for them.
Helping other people who had problems with their cars always gave me satisfaction
“As a child, there was no better treat for me than to purchase a vintage or veteran Dinky model, which I would then crash, dismantle and repair,” he recalls.
This early interest was further nurtured when Caruana spent five years living with his relative Fr Anton Ebejer.
Caruana was very close to Fr Ebejer. The priest was ending his studies at the Floriana seminary at the same time Caruana was just starting.
Fr Ebejer’sfather had bought him his first car, a 1957 Hillman Minx, which Caruana had crashed while driving it out of the garage, damaging its mudguard and breaking a headlight. Needless to say, Fr Ebejer was not amused – Caruana was only 10 at the time. But being a priest, he soon forgave Caruana. Fr Ebejer went on to eventually set up the Lija Motoring Group.
Finishing his studies in 1964, Caruana found a job as a production clerk with the Phoenix textile industry in Mosta. Working overtime at every possible opportunity, he saved enough money in the first three years to put a down payment on a brand new 1967 Hillman Hunter.
Besides the Hillman Minx belonging to Fr Ebejer, his brother Jonas had another Minx 1600cc with floor shift gear, Caruana explains.
Moreover, in those days, the air was rife with the high performance and class coming out of the British Rootes stable, which besides the Minx and Hunter, also had pure thorough breeds like the Humber, the up market Singer Vogue and Singer Gazelle, the single carburetor Sunbeam Alpine, and the twin carburetor Sunbeam Rapier.
“Forty four years later, the cherry red, 1500cc, four-door saloon Hillman Hunter is still in impeccable condition,” Caruana states.
The Hunter, produced between 1966 and 1979 as the successor of the long running Hillman Minx, was the most prolific model of the Arrow range which the Rootes Group produced for the medium family car market.
In 1969 Caruana attended a six-month motor mechanic course at the Marsa Training Centre.
He took to the course like a duck to water. Wanting to learn more, he bought a broken-down, 1946 Austin Utility and paid the training centre the equivalent of €1 for having its engine re-bored and refitted. Caruana had it back on the road within a few weeks.
Caruana went on to open a motor mechanic garage on a part-time basis. When the Phoenix textile industry eventually closed down in 1981, he had something to turn to on a full-time basis.
He worked at the garage for eight years. Although clients brought in vehicles of all ages for repairs, his heart skipped a beat when an old timer approached the door.
A 1961 Hillman Minx 1494cc Series IIIC, which used to be serviced at the garage, was bought by Ebejer in 1984.
The four-door saloon needed an overhaul, including cylinder head gaskets and a radiator, a re- spray of its original colours of lake blue body with a foam white roof and luggage booth. The restoration went so well he used it as his daily car for a number of years.
Caruana reverted to working part time in his garage when he eventually joined the civil service.
“Helping other people who had problems with their cars always gave me satisfaction, besides an opportunity to meet many interesting personalities,” he says.
One of them was the late Fra Andrew Bertie, Grandmaster of the Knights of St John, who lived in Malta. The Grandmaster had a 1966 Nuova Fiat 500 which Caruana used to service regularly for him. When in 1997 Fra Bertie decided to part company with the Fiat, Caruana lost no time in homing in on it.
“The vehicle was in a good condition, but when in 1999 the local Fiat agent wanted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Italian car company, I decided to give it a complete overhaul. Five preliminary heats were held at the Fiat showrooms: I took part in the last one, and topped the list for the best engine, interior, exterior, and all rounder. The finals followed at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. My Fiat placed second overall,” Caruana says, somewhat disappointingly.
Caruana had long been sensing a surging interest in British classic cars enthusiasts who were coming to Malta to buy the so-called ‘Maltese Morris’.
This Morris pick-up was imported as a cab and chassis without a rear body, and the local coach builders had a field day in imprinting their unique creativity by devising all sorts of iron, wood and canvas contraptions for the back.
“Aware of this trend, I had the foresight to acquire two pick-ups. I found the first one in 2000 at a Siġġiewi farmer, in a very bad condition.”
With original engine and steering lock, this last 1977 model needed a major overhaul, as well as the removal of invasive rust all around. Caruana has been working on this project for the last eight years, the engine and all the mechanics are all ready; there is still the setting of the mudguards and bonnets, and the spray. Caruana promises it will be back on the road by the end of this year, in its original green colour.
With his all-round interest in old vehicles, it comes as no surprise to find that Caruana also has a collection of five old motor cycles, which he himself has revamped.
Caruana was one of the original members of the Vehicles Collectors Club, the forerunner of the Old Motors Club. He recalls with pride when the CVC started organising static shows to collect money for charity. One of the first events was a three-day show at the Farsons yard in Mrieħel – with Caruana and some other members providing a voluntary security services by sleeping in their cars during the night.
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