William Farrugia is part of a large family. "It was a little crowded at our Qormi home, for we were 14 children", Mr Farrugia said with a smile. "My childhood cupboard of memories is full of happy times, with old cars prominently displayed on every shelf. Cars were all around me, both in full size as well as in miniature form. I could not help but be influenced by such a strong motoring atmosphere from an early age".
Mr Farrugia was the youngest of six boys, and his admiration for classic cars was heightened as his brothers started putting their hands on their first cars. He lists a Ford Anglia, a Ford Cortina MK 11, a Ford Escort Mk 1, a Spitfire GT 6, a Fiat 128 Rally, and a Mini Cooper in the family classic car collection - enough to hold a small static show.
But one vehicle stood uppermost in his mind. It was a 1958 green Opel Rekord Olympia caravan belonging to his father, Joseph, who was a hawker at the Valletta market. "It was the apple of his eye", Mr Farrugia said. "I used to accompany my father on errands in it, getting to know more about its feel, its sound, the intricacies of the engine, and finally, learning to drive it. My father was hooked on this German brand - in fact, some years later, he bought a blue one - and I soon followed suit".
Mr Farrugia waxes lyrical about this marque. The firm was set up in Rüsselheim, Germany, in 1863, at first producing sewing machines and then bicycles. Car production started in 1899. Fourteen years later, Opel had become the largest car maker in Germany, and in 1924, it installed Germany's first car production line. The American firm General Motors was greatly impressed by Opel's track record, and eventually bought the German company in 1931.
It did not take long for Mr Farrugia, who now runs a supermarket, to follow in his father's entrepreneurial footsteps yet it took some time for him to emulate his father by owning an Opel car.
In 2003 his friend, Josef Casha, bought an Opel Olympia. "I wanted to buy it off him and after much persistence I did". This 1960 caravan was a replica of the car which his father had driven all those years before, and still proudly brandished all its original parts, including the engine, the upholstery, and even the wireless system.
"It was in a very good condition, there was no need for any restoration work, and the only two tasks required, and which I carried out immediately, were a re-spray in the original orange colour, and an upgrading of the upholstery", Mr Farrugia explained.
The Olympia was a two-door stationwagon, based on the previous Rekord model, with a significant load carrying capacity, and room for four to five passengers. It had a four cylinder inline front engine with rear wheel drive, and a three-speed manual transmission. Production started in 1958 and continued until 1964, when it was replaced by the Kadett.
Once his childhood dream was fulfilled, Mr Farrugia lost no time in seeking new pastures. In 2005, he bought a 1968 Ford Anglia 105 E de Luxe. The Anglia was a British car from Ford in the UK, with four models of the car being produced between 1939 and 1968. The 105 E model was influenced by American styling, including a sweeping nose line, as well as, in Mr Farrugia's de Luxe version, a full width slanted front grille in between prominent ocular headlamps.
It also had a new engine, a 997cc overhead valve straight four with an over square cylinder bore. "The engine, like the rest of the vehicle, did not require any repair or restoration, for the previous owners had taken very good care of it. Even the body spray - the car sports a white colour with a dark green roof, and similar side stripes - did not have any scratching, and rust was nowhere to be seen", Mr Farrugia said.
Buoyed on by this benevolent luck he bought a yellow 1975 Toyota Corolla E30also from Mr Casha. The sales of the Corolla have been phenomenal - over the past 40 years, one such car has been sold on average every 40 seconds! The Corolla's chassis and engine designation E gave rise to the first generation of models, the E 10. Mr Farrugia's model belongs to the third generation. Now in its tenth edition, the brand is still being produced in many countries. The only thing that Mr Farrugia rues is that there are so few classic Japanese cars on the island.
Last year Mr Farrugia bought a Ford Escort Mark 11 1.3 GL. "Unlike the other vehicles, this car is in for a restoration project which will take me between 12 and 18 months", Mr Farrugia said. The Escort Mark 11 was manufactured for five years between 1975 and 1980, and unlike the Mark 1, which was a wholly British product, the next generation had German input in its development. The 1.3 GL was a performance model, with a tuned Kent overhead valve engine, sporting a Weber carburetor and upgraded suspension. The car was also very successful in rallying.
The Opel remains Mr Farrugia's favourite. Although there are Opels in Malta, they are certainly in a minority when compared to other major marques. Two years ago, an old motoring event caused an indelible positive mark in Mr Farrugia's memory. In order to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the brand's representation on the island, the local Opel agent, in collaboration with the Old Motors Club, organised a national run with various old models.
"There were 1950s Kapitans and 1960s Kadetts, besides the Olympia. We were also joined by several models from Vauxhall, Opel's stablemate, like the 1930s Vauxhall DX and BXL, the 1940s Vauxhall 12 and 14, and the 1950s Wyvern and Cresta".
While being an active OMC member, Mr Farrugia feels that the club organises too many events, with the inherent danger that vehicles will eventually become over exposed. Harking back to his beloved Opel, he points out the size of the vehicle and the significant amount of garage space it takes, and comes up with an innovative idea. How about someone taking the initiative and providing low rent garaging facilities for vintage and classic car owners? Although bubbling with evident enthusiasm about all aspects of old motoring, unfortunately none of it has rubbed off on his wife and their three sons, whose heads are more turned around by modern motors - a fact which baffles him.
On a more general note, Mr Farrugia is also disappointed by Opel's present uncertainty. Early last year, the future of the marquee was thrown to the wind as the worldwide economic recession forced General Motors - the present owners of Opel - towards the brink of bankruptcy. As yet no final decision as to its future direction and ownership has been taken.
motoring@timesofmalta.com