[attach id=338439 size="medium"]Joseph Muscat with his 1975 MGB. Photo: Tony Vassallo[/attach]
Unlike the majority of old motors enthusiasts, Joseph Muscat started out hell-bent not on the acquisition and restoration of classic cars, but actually on their destruction. Very early on, he became a member of the Association of Motor Sports (Assocjazjoni Sport Muturi, ASM), whose vehicle section includes three categories: bangers, demolition and autocross, all featuring old cars that instead of being taken to the knacker’s yard and broken down, are given a last lease of life for an unusual purpose before being forever laid to rest.
Muscat explains that at its Ta’ Qali track, the ASM holds a well-attended fortnightly programme. Banger cars run eight laps, bumping into each other and obstructing further progress as much as possible.
Demolition vehicles go out together in groups of 30, hitting each other from every angle until a sole surviving car wins the day. In the autocross groups, five cars do six laps, which they have to manoeuvre without touching each other.
“I was fascinated with this kind of sport from an early age, and was determined that once I grew up, I would start participating in these activities,” Muscat said.
True to his word, he eventually got a couple of Hillman Hunters, a saloon and a station wagon, for this purpose about 20 years ago. They were on their way to the scrap yard, but he extended their life a little further, which meant a lot of work for him, welding and installing new and more powerful engines, to be able to compete in the bangers section.
The hard work undertaken gave Muscat a great deal of satisfaction, as he harnessed all his free time away from his demanding construction job involving himself and his vehicles.This period lasted for about 10 years.
He is also quick to point out that while at weekends he was unceremoniously crashing his two souped-up Hillman Hunters, he was carefully driving on a daily basis his first car, a 1975 Hillman Hunter station wagon.
“It was the first car I had bought soon after getting my driving licence. It was, and still is, in very good condition, despite being used to frequently carry construction and other heavy material. The only thing I did on it during this lengthy period, besides the routine maintenance, was changing its original zircon blue colour to brown.”
One day, in 2007, Muscat was busy with some maintenance work on his two Hunter bangers in his Rabat garage, when a stranger stopped by the open door.
“He started to talk about these vehicles and their sport, and after a while he asked me whether I would be interested in buying another Hunter for the same aim. I replied that two were sufficient, but he was persuasive enough to convince me to go to his house in Mosta and see his vehicle. I liked what I saw, and did not take long to buy it, with the thought of eventually converting it into another banger being uppermost in my mind,” he admitted.
However, come the day, Muscat realised on closer inspection that this 1973 Hillman Hunter was still in a very good condition, and that it would be a real shame if he were to convert it for the Ta’ Qali races.
“All of a sudden I felt that this vehicle should instead be restored to its former glory – maybe the distinctive Maltese Cross badges on its sides, testifying to its origins in the Marsa Car Assembly, pulled at my heart’s strings,” a nostalgic Muscat said.
It was the beginning of a three-and-a-half-year-long restoration project, which saw him working hard on the body, where rust was developing.
He also decided to go hunting for the original 1,500cc engine of the Hunter Mark III, which had been replaced by a Morris one, eventually succeeding through some detective work in tracing it to the home of the first owner in Birkirkara.
All required parts were procured in Malta; only the crossply tyres were imported from England. When it came to respraying, he stuck with the original metallic tangerine colour, applied in the original thinner version.
The Hillman Hunter was launched by the British Rootes Group in 1966, as a replacement to the Hillman Super Minx. It sold well, and was assembled in a number of countries, including locally, prior to the end of production in 1974, by which time the company had passed into the hands of the American Chrysler firm.
Proud of the gleaming vehicle, Muscat underwent something akin to a Damascene conversion. “All my life I had been involved in the destruction of old cars, and now I found myself deeply enjoying the pleasure and satisfaction of restoring an old motor and bringing it back to life. I felt a conflict of interest, which I resolved by giving up my activities at Ta’ Qali.
“The recognition and appreciation by friends and family, as well as the public, to a well-restored old car back on the road, fills me with courage and reinforces my opinion that I chose the right track,” added Muscat, who is a regular participant in the Old Motors Club activities.
He now expresses deep regret at the many old cars that he had destroyed in the past. Among others, he mentions an Opel Rekord, a Hillman Minx and a Humber Hawk.
A year ago, planning to celebrate his 50th birthday, and in line with his new-found hobby, Muscat thought of buying himself another classic car. Unwilling to bind himself to another lengthy restoration process, he looked around for an old vehicle in a good condition, and finally found a red 1975 MGB at a local dealer. He soon took it through its paces as last June, he went with his wife Marisa on the Old Motors Club trip around Sicily.
He waxes lyrical on the positive experience, saying the 1,800cc car took to the 1,000 km route like a duck to water.
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