Four out of 10 boys

The Spiteri family of Ħamrun had 13 children – 10 boys and three girls. All the boys grew up nourishing an interest in old cars. Four of them, Paul, Deo, Claudio and Omar, developed a much keener enthusiasm and between them out together a significant collection of classic cars.

This vehicle had been my companion through some important developments in my final adolescent years- Joseph Busuttil

Paul, the eldest, remembered that model cars and construction kit vehicles were a very important part of his upbringing. “The fact that our father Francis regularly drove a 1950s light blue Vauxhall Victor station wagon reinforced both my continuing interest in old cars, as well as the type of vehicle I would first lay my hands on.”

True to form, his first vehicle in 1968 was a 1955 Vauxhall Victor, dark blue with a silver grey roof, which saw him through his first year at university. His second car – a 1962 Vauxhall Victor FB model – gave him sterling service for another 12 years. The three-speed white classic was in a good condition, and the only thing Paul changed was the colour, from white to beige.

When the Vauxhall left, another three classics followed in quick succession: a 1978 red Fiat 127, a 1979 white Mini, and a 1982 Mazda 323. Paul’s collection was completed in 2002, when he bought a 1975, grey, petrol-operated 2L Mercedes 115.

Looking up to his older brother, Deo too ventured into the classic car field in 1996, buying a 1961 blue Simca Arianne from a relative. It needed very little attention to get back on the road, and Deo was really enjoying it, until one day the engine caught fire while it was parked in his drive. Unfortunately, the vehicle was beyond repair.

Undeterred, Deo bought another classic, a Morris Marina 1300 which had come off the production line of the Malta Car Assembly in Marsa in 1974. It was still in a very good condition, and the only work carried out on it was a colour change from brown to beige. “I came across this car in quite an unexpected way,” he said.

“The first time I saw it was in Ħamrun, when its old owner had a puncture, and I helped him to change the tyre. I asked him whether he wanted to sell it, but I got a firm refusal. However, some time later, the old owner had a complete change of heart.”

Similar to Paul, Deo also has a 1975 Mercedes 115 2L, diesel operated. “I got to know that it belonged to a man from Żabbar who was obsessed with British sports cars. He wanted to sell it to have some money to buy what he really wanted.

“I lost no time in buying it, for the car was in a very good condition – it had for many years been in the possession of a former foreign ambassador to Malta.” However, Deo decided to change its original all-blue colour into a blue body, white roof combination.

Claudio’s introduction to classic cars came in 1989, when on a limited budget, he bought a 1965 Ford Anglia from a friend of the family. “It really needed a thorough overhaul,” he explained. “However, after all the necessary restoration was carried out, it regained a new lease of life, and I eventually used it on a regular basis for the next five years.” Finally he sold it to a policeman, who some time later lost his life, after he crashed the Anglia into a wall as he was filming a plane.

A static classic car show fired Claudio with a burning desire to own a Morris 1000. His first port of call was a showroom in Buġibba, where he was on the verge of buying one when a relative told him that it was not an original, and he stopped right in his tracks.

Seeing his disappointment, the relative indicated a reliable Morris source, and Claudio was soon the proud owner of a brown 1961 Morris 1,000, which had been restored to an original showroom condition. He continued to enhance it by installing new red upholstery, spotlights, and mirrors.

Claudio had always cherished a dream of owning a sports car, and when a few years ago he came across a black 1965 Triumph Herald 1,200, he immediately bought it. Initially he thought that the vehicle needed little attention but on closer inspection, he found that it required a rebore, a job that took six months to complete.

In 1986, at the age of 18, the fourth brother Omar bought a light blue 1970 Toyota from Deo. It was in excellent condition, so much so that he used it regularly for 11 years.

“This vehicle had been my constant companion through some important developments in my final adolescent years, as well as in the significant period of early adulthood, including my going away, and I was really fond of it,” he recalls. Eventually, its time also came up, and Omar sold the car.

In 2008, out of the blue, he developed an obsessive urge to get the Toyota back. It was not easy to trace its whereabouts, for in the interval it had changed many hands. Omar donned his diplomatic hat, and made discreet enquiries at the Licensing Department.

He eventually gleaned the required information, which finally led him to a garage in Qrendi, where the Toyota had been gathering dust for three years. Despite its bad condition, Omar bought back the Toyota, and presently it is undergoing a nut and bolt restoration project.

In the Toyota gap years, Omar did not stay idle, and purchased two classic cars. One was a metallic bronze 1971 Isuzu Gemini 1,900.

“It belonged to an old lady, who actually did not really know how to drive it properly. Despite her mishandling of the vehicle over a long period of time, the Isuzu was still in a very good condition.”

The same cannot be said of his second purchase, a Fiat 600, which was falling apart. Omar bought it with the aim of restoring it, but eventually it transpired that the vehicle was beyond therapy.

Determined to have a Fiat 600, he finally found another one in Kalkara, which was in a much better shape. The white-coloured vehicle, with suicide doors, needed very little repairs to return on the road.

The four Spiteri brothers stand in awe at the great number of classic cars on the island. They point out a friend of theirs, who has 22 old cars stored away!

They agree that the authorities have been helpful towards old motors in recent years, but more work on specific schemes, such as the licensing, should be carried out.

Paul also paid tribute to the other six Spiteri brothers, saying that some of them have some very unusual and valid old vehicles, including an early 1960s Hillman Minx with tail fins, an Austin Crawley, a Mayfair and a Mazda.

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