Tags: Games and Hobbies
By KC Santos
PASAY CITY, METRO MANILA – For vintage car aficionado Ben Silvestre, it is not the collector who finds the car but the other way around.
Ben is one of the oldest “MG Boys” in the country. The moniker is earned (not given, he says) by car collectors like him who do not only own post-war Morris Garages (or more popularly coined by its initials) sports cars but know how to assemble and preserve them.
He is a proud owner of an MG TC. It might have come later than the rest of the MG T-series (built in the 1930s) but the MG TC, he says, ushered in a new love of sports cars that would bloom in the 1950s.
Of the only 10,000 MG TC units sold in the world, five are in the Philippines. Ben proudly says he was instrumental to the restoration and preservation of all five.
Apart from his favorite, Ben has five more vintage cars under his care. He made it apparent that not being able finish college doesn’t always equate to not having your wants.
“I had all these cars for one reason - I never took advantage of people,” says Ben, adding it was fate that got him his dream car. “Being good to others has its rewards, I’m just lucky I was given something I never thought I would have and that I had a supportive wife.”
Ben says his MG TC was offered to him more than 30 years ago when he gave up his career as a self-taught furniture maker to become a car mechanic. He had a different MG unit then (which he later sold to a fellow collector).
“It was easy for me to sell that car because I didn’t feel connected to it,” he recalls.
“It may be ridiculous but collectors, they see car appreciation as similar to watching a good flick that just by staring at it, collectors can already talk about it for hours,” he adds.
He’s been taking excellent care of his MG TC for more than two decades since he bought it 1984 for P600,000. A fellow MG Boy taught Ben, one of the earliest members of the Manila Sports Car Club, all he needed to know about car preservation. As a self-proclaimed perfectionist, Ben made it a hobby to rectify any form of mistake others make with their cars.
“That worked for me because fellow car collectors felt a sense of security and trust that I only want for their cars to be in good authentic condition,” he says.
Time came when Ben’s wife had to undergo an operation for an illness. They considered selling his MG TC but both felt an odd intuition that it was begging not to.
“It might have something to do with me aging but when I looked at the car, it was as if I was pleading for me not to do it. Even my wife didn’t want me to do it,” he says.
While others consider pets their best friend, Ben explains his MG TC was the “friendliest”.
“This car saved my life from road accidents several times. Now I’m still recovering from a mild stroke and the car, even with less maintenance and checks, doesn’t break on me, as if it feels having a grumpy car wouldn’t help a man with a heart condition,” said Ben , adding that fellow collectors would agree that the MG TC is the “most friendly: surviving sports car in the world.
Compared to newer sports cars, Ben said one can depend on the durability and engineering of vintage cars. His MG TC, despite minor imperfections due to old age, can still be driven to highlands like Tagaytay and Antipolo where Ben likes to take his weekly breather.
Ben knows that if sold, his car would make him a couple of million pesos richer. His children, now all professionals, don’t seem to take interest in keeping his cars which makes him consider what he describes as a “hurtful” idea.
“If only I could be as strong as this car, I would never give it away. If I do, he has to be as committed and deserving of it. It’s the least I can do for the good this car has made me,” he says.
Until now, Ben will still be seen tinkering with his “best friend” in his small hobby shop in Manila. He says he’s willing to help other collectors in preserving their treasured cars.
“We see these cars as extensions of our lives. That’s why we care less about the costs.”
Related Stories:
Pangasinan car club promotes Pinoy passion for collecting vintage cars
Restoring glory to vintage cars
Car restoration requires patience, says QC-based entrepreneur
Filipino collector designs Paul Smith-inspired Mini Cooper
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