PLACES TO GO
Octane visits the Malta Classic Car Museum
There are personal elements to pretty much every car museum, but few are quite so individual as the Malta Classic Car Collection. Situated in the town of Qawra about 20km north-west of the Maltese capital Valletta, this collection might at first sight look rather rag-tag and, dare we say it, unexceptional to the cynics, but it is living, breathing proof that the story behind a car is just as important as the car itself. And there is a story behind every exhibit here. You just have to hope that its founder is on site to share them with you.
The owner is Carol Galea, a former racer and race-car builder who gave up motorsport when he married and had children – son Mark is now a famous drift exponent with Team Maximum Lock, who travels the world demonstrating his art with compatriots Christian Bezzina and Clint Abela. Carol started collecting in earnest 40 years ago. He kicked off buying cars such as Ford Prefects from servicemen for £10 or £15: ‘My friends thought I was crazy because no-one wanted old cars. W hen they were going out and having fun, I was restoring my cars.’
As the collection grew, Carol’s cars spread far and wide. Eventually he used his profession as a construction engineer and property developer to bring them all together in a 3000-squaremetre basement garage under a former hotel he was developing into 100 apartments. Then, 14 years ago, his wife and daughter persuaded him to open his museum to the public.
There is nothing outrageously expensive here. On Octane’s visit the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale, the Mercedes-Benz 190SL or the Jaguar C-type replica would have been top of the bill value-wise, but the museum has become about much more than the cars. There is a 100-seat film theatre and a smaller area, seating around ten, showing a Mille Miglia retrospective. There’s a café, too, while the areas between the cars are packed to the gills with cultural artefacts, from mannequins in period dress to jukeboxes, televisions, gramophones, vending and pinball machines, cut-outs of figures such as Elvis and James Dean and even a representation of the Graceland gates. All, plus 9000 models, are displayed with Carol’s unique sense of mischief and fun.
The full-sized motoring hardware currently on view comprises 90 cars and 20 scooters, bicycles and motorcycles, with more stored in the workshop ready for display. In there we spy a Lancia Appia, an MGC, an MGC GT and that 190SL. Maintenance and renovation happen on-site, and a dozen exhibits have been completely restored by the museum off-site. Every vehicle is roadworthy, and unexpected exhibits include a Lynx Eventer and a lovely and rare manual Jaguar Mk10. Nearby are a Ford Thunderbird used by Dick van Dyke when filming locally and never registered, a multiple concours-winning Corvette that’s completely silver including seats and steering wheel, and even the Albatross speedboat in which alleged wife-killer John Gaul made his escape.
The best cars are the ones Carol can wax lyrical about, such as the Austin A40 Somerset with which he has a photo of himself aged four. ‘This was our first family car, my father having bought it in 1950. As children we would always pester him to open the roof. It was sold in 1958 and went to England, but I managed to track it down to Yorkshire in 2004 and bought it back.’
He also has his wife’s first car, a white Fiat 850 Special, and his own, a 1962 Fiat 1200 Cabriolet. ‘There were a lot of dodgy imports and I bought it from these bad guys. When my father closed his bar, I salvaged the jukebox and gave it in part-exchange for this car. I was also supposed to give them £100 at £5 a week, but I never gave them a penny so I was really scared when I bumped into them two years later. But instead of attacking me they wrote off the debt. They had put the jukebox in their bar in the redlight district and it had made them a fortune.’
This collection is unlike any other we have visited. Quirky? Yes. Fascinating? Undoubtedly. Just phone ahead and make sure Mr Galea is going to be there to show you around.
Malta Classic Car Museum, Tourists Street, Qawra, SPB1020, Malta; +356 (0) 2157 8885; info@ classiccarsmalta.com; classiccarsmalta.com. Open Monday-Friday 9am-6pm, 9am-1.30pm Saturdays and public holidays. Adults €10, children €4.50.