A passion that started at 50

As a child growing up in Hamrun, Temi Scicluna was always playing with miniature classic cars with John and Joseph Magri, whose father ran the ABC Garage. Scicluna’s father John worked as a driver with the British Services, and he has happy memories of being taken on lengthy drives with him in either a heavy truck or an ambulance. Scicluna’s father also had an old Ford Prefect – bought from Tumas Fenech when the well-known entrepreneur was a policeman – which was the boy’s pride and joy.

A chance conversation finally opened the floodgates- Joseph Busuttil

Scicluna’s father had a part-time job with a car hire company in Hamrun. “On Sundays, my father and the rest of the garage staff would be engaged on outside work for long periods, such as weddings, and I used to be left alone to man the premises. I was only 10 years old at the time. The garage was full of Triumphs, Prefects and Vauxhalls, an irresistible attraction to the many young people who at that time could not afford to own a car, and so the next best thing was to hire one.

“Before they left with the self-drive car, I would note the speedometer’s last three digits, then read it again when they returned. I would then subtract the figures, and multiply the resultant number by three old pence”.

His ability with figures and statistics saw him embark on a lifetime career working in various government departments, while still working part-time with a couple of garages.

“These garages were always brimming over with old and classic cars, yet for various reasons, I had always refrained from realising my dream of owning one. It had to be a chance conversation many years later in a government department that finally opened the floodgates – and I was fast approaching 50 at the time,” Scicluna said.

One of the staff remarked that her father had an old car in a garage, and on further enquiry, Scicluna found out that it was a 1957 Austin A35 estate, also known as the Baby Austin. It had been garaged in Żabbar for 12 years, and he persuaded the owner to sell it.

“I had it towed to my garage in Mosta. The car needed an overhaul, though when I turned the engine key, it spurted into life. I immediately started a nut and bolt restoration by scraping the body down.” The A35 was a small compact car sold by the British Motor Corporation under the Austin marque between 1956 and 1959, offered, among other versions, as a two-door ‘Countryman’ estate.

While working on it, Scicluna got to know from his friend John Magri that a 1970 white Morris 1000 Traveller was on the market.

“I went to see it, and amazingly, it was in the garage of the house in Hamrun where I had been brought up, and which I had left 15 years ago. The Morris belonged to an Englishman married to a Maltese, and it had also been garaged for many years. However, it was still roadworthy and functional – so much so that John and I drove it up to Mosta to my garage”.

Some time later, the 1970 Morris was joined by an earlier model, a 1959 Morris, also a Traveller. “I got to know about it from my brother-in-law. I went to see it, and found it already dismantled, for its owner was in the process of having it rehabilitated, prior to giving up. I bought it too, with the aim of restoring it eventually”. The Traveller, designed by a team led by Alec Issigonis, came off the production line in 1952 as a wood framed version of the Morris Minor, the ash wood structure being varnished rather than painted.

Scicluna says that one day in 2005, while inspecting his three classic cars in the garage, the thought crossed his mind that all of them were estate vehicles, and all of a sudden a yearning for a saloon became uppermost in his mind. He sold the Baby Austin, still under restoration, to a tile layer who was working at his home, and who had been pestering him, as he had another similar vehicle.

His friend Joseph Magri had a 1957 Standard Super 10 for sale, and after some negotiations, a deal was struck. The beige saloon needed restoration, although the engine was not in a bad condition. Scicluna started work on the Standard 10, but some time later, while touring the Beaulieu stalls with Joseph Pace of Standard Garage, he saw a picture of another Standard 10, also produced in 1957.

He talked to the owner, and a couple of days later, the Maltese duo were in Swanage to inspect it. “Its impeccable condition left me breathless,” Scicluna said. “The engine, the body, its attractive red and white upholstery – I decided to buy it on the spot.” The classic car was soon on its way to Malta.

The Standard 10 was a small car produced by the British Standard Company, on and off, for more than 50 years. The name was first used in 1906 as the 10 hp, with a 631cc two-cylinder side valve engine. It was reused from 1934 to 1936, and produced until the end of the Second World War. In 1953, the 10 was introduced with a larger engine version of the Standard 8, though sharing a similar framed transmission. In 1957 an overdrive or a semi-automatic were available as options. The 10 was replaced in 1961 by the Triumph Herald.

Having satisfied his saloon dream, his thoughts now turned to another theme: that of having an old vehicle with wire wheels as well as with prominent outside headlamps.

“Last April, while surfing the net, I caught sight of a 1934 black Morris 10/4, belonging to an Englishman in Hertfordshire. I asked him for more information as well as pictures. I did not hear from him for quite a while, and had lost hope, when he contacted me, and sent me the required details. From what I could see, it was in a very good condition”.

Scicluna paid a deposit for the vehicle, on condition that the deal would go through only after a personal onsite inspection. A month later, he was on his way to England with his friend Pace to inspect the goods at closer quarters. Seeing its original and excellent condition, and testing the old car, only made Scicluna more determined to buy it, and the car was soon dispatched to Mosta.

The Morris company introduced the 10/4 in 1933, and it was a significant move, because it moved the firm, which previously produced smaller cars for the masses, up the saloon scale. The 10 was originally available with fixed or sliding head, while later a sloping radiator and a single bar chrome plated bumper were added.

Scicluna now admits that his thirst for old cars has now been quenched, and the two old cars give him so much pleasure that he is in two minds whether to continue working on the restoration of the other classic vehicles which he has in his garage, or sell them.

Scicluna joined the Old Motors Club way back in 1998, when he bought the Austin A35. He is a frequent participant in various events, although he prefers the runs, as they involve more movement and activity over longer distances and places, rather than the static shows.

He laments the fact that in his opinion, the authorities are not fully appreciative of the historical and heritage value of old motors. He points out that while in Malta, steps have been taken to cut the classic car license by half, in the UK they do not pay anything.

www.oldmotorsclub.com