By Cheryl Tay

HE GETS all excited when he sees a classic car or motorbike on the road.

Lim Tiam Hai, 34, a classic vehicle restorer and collector, would follow the vehicle home and then ask the owner to sell it to him.

Once, Lim had to wait 10 years before the Indian owner of a 1961 Lambretta Series 1 sold the scooter to him.

He has been hooked on collecting and reselling vintage cars, motorbikes, bicycles and even buses - such as the Volkswagen Kombi - since he bought and restored his first Vespa in 1996.

Lim realised the demand for refurbished classics after he received offers for his restored Vespa.

Unfortunately, there was little support from his family for his hobby then.

"No one else in the family is interested in classic cars," said the Singaporean who runs a Thai-Chinese restaurant at Yio Chu Kang Road.

"When I brought home that first Vespa, my family actually told me to scrap it and buy a new one instead of wasting money."

It's no surprise that the decor theme of his restaurant is vintage, with all sorts of antiquated collectibles which are for sale.

Lim, who I rented the classic Beetle from, has lost count of the number of vehicles he has restored.

"I love the originality of a classic and the feeling of taking something that others deem worthless and convert it into something of value," he explained.

"Think of a vintage car as fine wine - it gains more value as it ages."

His latest work is a 1967 Porsche, apparently the oldest Porsche in Singapore now.

Lim intends to bring his Johor Bahru-based workshop to Singapore, combine it with his eatery and add massage services for a one-stop service centre.

This article was first published in The New Paper.