Avid classic car collector and the founder of the Malta Classic Car Museum Carol Galea has passed away, the museum announced on Tuesday.

The Museum, situated in St. Paul’s Bay, was Galea’s brainchild and is described as “his personal tribute to the automobile industry – or as he puts it – it’s a ‘living and growing collection that spans more than 50 years of motor manufacturing’”

Galea first began customising and building his own cars for local hill climbing races and prospered parts products but his hobby evolved into a full-blown passion for classic cars.

The Malta Classic Car Museum contains gems ranging from Jaguars to Alfa Romeos – the brand which had a soft spot in his heart – to Ferraris and many other cars in between, with some 90 cars in total.

His son Mark bid farewell to, as he described him, the ‘most loving and caring dad’ and a ‘gentleman with a heart of gold.’

The museum meanwhile will be closed for the coming days as it mourns the sad loss of its founder.