Silvio Demicoli and his wife Sharon next to the 1974 MGB GT.Silvio Demicoli and his wife Sharon next to the 1974 MGB GT.

Ever since his childhood, Silvio Demicoli displayed a keen interest in four-wheelers, especially those belonging to bygone days, and he was always asking his father about their type, brand and history.

For a while, while still a teenager, he worked full-time with a car sprayer. There he handled an MGB for the first time. “My heart skipped more than a beat when its owner brought this red, sleek sports car to us for a body restoration. To say I was overwhelmed when I was involved in this job would be an understatement.

To further fire up my wandering imagination, I was also assigned the task of driving the vehicle in and out of the workshop, and this overall memorable experience sowed the seed of acquiring an MGB at some stage in the future,” he said.

Demicoli moved on to work in the real estate sector, and while the thought of buying an MGB surfaced at intermittent intervals, it was always sidelined for more urgent priorities. “Admittedly, there was a time in my early adult years when financially I could not afford such a car. But then when eventually money was no longer an issue, I was always procrastinating and dilly-dallying when it came to making a decision – that is, until May 2004.”

The sudden onset of severe abdominal pain meant a two-week stay for investigations at the then St Luke’s general hospital for the hitherto very healthy Silvio.

“I had to undergo all kinds of investigations, had various pipes and tubes going in and out of my body, and when the final diagnosis was arrived at, I had to have an operation at some time in the near future.” Lying still on the hospital bed, he started to evaluate his priorities in life, and pondered upon his wish list of unfulfilled plans.

The first thing he did was place an advert in a leading local advertising publication. A couple of days later, he got a phone call from the owner of an MGB GT, who became upset and worried when he found out that Demicoli was conducting this business from a hospital bed! They agreed to talk when he was better.

The day he left the hospital, Demicoli made a phone call. His wife Sharon thought he was going to contact his mother to inform her he was leaving hospital. “She could not believe that, in fact, I was calling Charles Sammut, the owner of the MGB GT, to go and see the classic car immediately. Being near lunchtime, Sammut suggested an appointment for later that afternoon.”

Demicoli soon became the new owner of the 1974 MGB GT. The 1,800cc orange-coloured car was in good condition, but in need of an eventual restoration.

The fixed-roof model was first introduced in 1965, and production continued until 1990. Designed by Pinninfarina, it launch­ed the sporty hatchback style, which by combining the sloping rear window with the rear deck lid, offered the facility of a station wagon while keeping the shape and contours of a coupe.

It was always on the cards that Demicoli’s MGB GT would undergo a lengthy nut-and-bolt restoration, and so in order to continue enjoying classic car driving, he went on the lookout for another old vehicle that would serve his needs while the project was ongoing. By coincidence, in 2008, he landed a 1976 Triumph 2,500 TC Mark II as part of the settlement of a property deal. The vehicle was in good condition despite the fact that it had been lying idle in a garage for eight years.

The Triumph has a long story, as it was assembled in Australia, bought by Maltese settlers, and eventually brought to Malta when they returned. The 2,500 model, a rare car in Malta, was an evolvement of the successful Triumph 2,000, and came off the production line from 1968 to 1977. This mid-sized , two-litre, straight-six vehicle shows the flair of Michelotti in one of his best designs.

Prior to taking the Triumph on the road, Demicoli wanted to change the brake system to ensure safety. One thing led to another, and he continued to restore the underbody. Some friends complained about the orange colour, and since there were some scratches around the body, he decided to go for a total restoration, with the final choice of colour being sapphire blue.

The project is now near completion, and then it will be the turn of the MGB to undergo an operation. Despite time constraints, he tries to do all the work himself.

His love of classic cars, especially the MGB, has led Demicoli to a number of visits abroad. Uppermost in memory lane is a static show and a concourse d’elegance held in the spacious park of Windsor Castle in 2009 to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the setting up of the MG company. Over 4,000 MG vehicles participated in this event.

Two years later he was at the NEC Classic Motor Show held at the NEC in Birmingham, England.

Back in Birkirkara, he has a large collection of models of British old cars dating from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as well as postcards, manual books, calendars and key chains, all with a classic vehicle theme.

While he feels encouraged by the local surge in interest in old motors, Demicoli criticises the subsidy scheme launched by the authorities for the scrapping of old cars, as he feels this is leading to the disappearance of many classics. “I recently saw a yellow Mini in a scrapyard, and I pleaded with the yard owner to buy it. He told me I could have some parts, but not its body,” he complained.

www.oldmotorsclub.com

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