My Itchy Fingers

Old and Beautiful

Not many people are lucky to be able to grow old gracefully. It is the same for cars. Some models are able to survive the test of time and become classic design. Of course, that will also depend on how much care and maintenance are given to them.

Last week, Itchyfingers were thrilled to be able to see many beautiful and old classic as well as vintage cars. We are not die-hard motor fans, but we just like to see anything beautiful…haha…There are different definition for car classification among countries but as a general guide, vintage cars are those that were produced between 1919 and World War II (1939), or in short, pre-war. Whereas classic cars must be between 30 to 49 years old. So, what better place to show off these beauties? None other than the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

A pity it was a one-day event, so I supposed a lot of people missed it. This was
the second year the cars were on show at the old station. We missed it the
first year too 

It has been more than a year since we last took our train ride there. Almost everything had been cleared….

Ahhh….An old signage…I think I missed this during our last visits before closure

As it started raining rather heavily around lunch time, we only managed to visit slightly after 3pm. So we had to rush to see the cars first before anything else, skipping the activities and talks as the exhibition ended at 5pm.

The first classic car on exhibit…This is the 1953 Jaguar 120 OTS. This was Jaguar’s
first post-war sports car and the world’s fastest production car at the time of
its launch in 1948, capable of a top speed of 120mph. This was one of the
Malaysia-registered cars on show

Such a cute little car! This is the 1972 Morris Mini 1000, an extremely
popular time at the time

The 1973 Volkswagen Beetle 1303S Cabriolet. This is one of my all time
favourite! Cute!

It’s a convertible! 😀

1973 Alfa Romeo Spider is widely regarded as a design classic. Very sleek huh!

The owner even added a fake spider here! Hahah…

A total of only 17 of this 1960 Mercedes-Benz 2202SE were built, and less
than 11 are believed to still be in existence, making this extremely rare
car possibly the only one of its kind in Asia

This was on the front…German for “My hobby, the historic motor vehicle”

The 1958 Mercedes-Benz 190SL remains one of the most desirable
Mercedes-Benz classic cars ever made. Er, how come this older model looks
much more modern than the 1960 model? Hahah…Itchyfingers are real
amateurs…!

The 1965 Triumph Spitfire is powered by a four-cylinder engine. The early
models are very much sought after…

Very classic for, especially the side…

Yeah! Finally saw some vintage cars!!!! 

The 1936 Austin Seven Willet Special. Sir Hubert Austin first “hatched”
the idea for the baby Austin in 1922 as a means to provide affordable
“Motoring for the Millions.”

Gosh! This “affordable” car would have cost millions now! 

The 1955 MG-TF is considered the most desirable of the T-series of MGs
as it remained in production for just two years. Quite sleek-looking 
despite the “puffy cheek”. Wahahaha

Real beauty turns head!

An even bigger puffy cheek! Wahahah…The 1939 BMW 327 Cabriolet. It has a radio,
a rather rare feature for cars at that time I think….

Another head turner! The 1938 MG-TA Midget is capable of 130km/hr!

The 1939 MG-TB was a much improved version of the MG-TA. The outbreak
of war meant that the TB was produced for only a few months, making them
a very rare and much sought after model!

Multiple international awards winner in concours, the 1937 MG-VA Tickford
DHC, is a rare version built by Tickford, the custom coach builder

A total of 696 of these 1937 MG SA DHC Tickford were produced between
1935 and 1939. This is one of the 90 still in existence. It was called “Capacious”
cos of its size!

Back in 1933, 51,569 units of this 1933 Ford Tudor were sold at $500! A big
sum of money back then, but how nice if you can still bring it home for 
the same price tag! Wahahah….This was the only car with a matt finish…not
sure what is the correct technical term for it and if it was the original look…

This was on the front of the car

The 1939 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe has a top speed of 140kph. The body is
an aircraft inspired design with a monocoque construction, meaning 
“an aircraft or vehicle structure in which the chassis is integral with the body.”

On the back…That looks like the old Mobil horse logo…?

This “5.2 litre straight 8 powered” 1938 McLaughlin-Buick Ltd (90L) limousine
was once owned by the Dutch embassy in Melbourne and is believed to have
been part of the Dutch Royal garage until WWII. Haha….looks like a mafia
ride to me…looks so fierce and unfriendly… 😀

No one will be unable to recognise this, huh?

This 1968 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow was first owned by the late legendary
Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat. We now have a public hospital named after him

Another vintage car, the 1934 Austin Seven Ulster Special. Being a motor
amateurs, Itchyfingers do not really understand how the organiser arranged
the cars….They seemed not to go by year nor manufacturers leh….a bit
confusing lor…hahah….unless we missed out something? 

Looks like a racing car… :p

Of all the classic and vintage beauties, this one stood out for being unique and a bit clownish…wahahah….

This is the 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk. 1. Does it look like a pair of 
froggy’s eyes to you?


Too cute lah! 😀 The raindrops only made the car look more comical, as if it
was perspiring… wahahah…

It has no external boot lid or external door handles…how cool… 😀

Another cute cute car! The 1961 Fiat 500 is an exceptionally popular 
little car, with almost 3.5 million units sold between 1957 and 1997

Wow…The open-topped design would be ideal for bird photographers
who need to camouflage themselves while photographing birds…hahah

The backside… cute lah! 😀

The four-door version of this 1972 Morris Minor 1000 was first introduced
in 1950 and remained in production till the early 1970s. It was particularly
popular among learner drivers

This cutie is the 1964 Fiat 600 Abarth

This 1970 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia reminded me of the chinese
comic character, 老夫子 with its “mustache”….hahah

1.3 million of this 1951 Morris Minor Series 2 Convertible were produced
since its launch in 1948, making it Britain’s first millionth seller! Cool!

It was fun to be able to see some many old and beautiful cars at one go, but the cars were arranged so close to one another that some times it was near impossible to get a clean shot of the side…Wish they had exhibited them with more space in between so we could go around them….They could consider putting some cars at the train platform since the stretch was left empty…But I guess shouldn’t complain much since the event was free and it was very kind for the owners to share their passion with others, especially the majority of us who can never afford the luxury of maintaining old cars, more so in the case of Singapore where almost all the cars you see on the road are new!