For the Maltese lads in the migrant hostel in Melbourne in the late 50s, cars, cars and more cars were what made their hearts sing.
Many of them worked at the Holden plant, smuggling paint home in their Thermos flasks until the boss cracked down – don’t use the paint colour on your old cars until the new model Holden flaunting that shade is on the market. A simple request and one that was respected, even by those who were not Holden people.
“My uncle taught me how to drive in a 1948 Ford Mercury, and I became a Ford dude – and I still am,” says Joe, who is now 83. “So, of course, when I wanted to buy a car to build as a race car, it had…