ON board his eye-catching 1973 Minica, a decades-old classic car, Alfred Perez starts another busy day driving from his house on Scout Rallos Street to his shop on Kamuning Road in Quezon City.
Perez, 38, is the owner of Alfred’s Motor Works, known for revving back to life vintage vehicles.
His collection of classic rides—from pre-war pickups to a 1960 Chevy—has turned his shop at the corner of Kamuning Road and 11th Jamboree Street into a virtual tourist attraction in Quezon City.
“We’re quite used to passersby-turned-potential clients who are delighted by our old cars,” said Perez who started the business in 1993.
Wheel rims line the walls of the shop like Christmas lanterns, along with pedal toy cars from the 1930s and other “automemorabilia.”
The shop’s most popular displays, however, are Perez’s vintage Beetles and pre-martial law Ford Mustangs and Chevrolets, including a 1918 Chevrolet pickup with a wooden frame.
Perez buys old cars, tweaks them his way and sells them to car lovers. He also accepts restoration jobs from owners of vintage vehicles. A 1917 White Truck is the oldest vehicle he has worked on.
The cost depends on the car’s condition and the work that needs be done; rates range from half-a-million pesos or more for a full-blown fix.
His clients are quite meticulous, if not sentimental, and include show biz celebrities like Ricky Davao, Jackie Lou Blanco, Mon Confiado, Romnick Sarmenta and Maverick Relova.
Even the government has commissioned him to restore some historical cars, including vehicles used by former presidents like Manuel Quezon’s 1937 Giesler, Jose Laurel’s 1947 Packard, Elpidio Quirino’s 1953 Chrysler Imperial, and Cadillacs owned by Manuel Roxas and American general Douglas MacArthur.
While many cars come and go from his shop, Perez, himself an avid car classicist, also owns several, his favorite being a 1948 Buick convertible.
“Personally, I’m much happier and inclined to drive the older ones than the new models,” he said.
When it comes to his work, Perez gets down to the bone, not just overhauling the body but also tweaking the engines and electrical wiring.
But getting parts can get tricky. If he cannot find one, he and his workers make one from the basics—a tribute to Filipino ingenuity.
Perez began working with automobiles as a child at his father Domingo’s automobile shop. Although now 75 years old, his father still visits his son’s shop.
“Every time I see my cars, I see his legacy,” said Perez.
The younger Perez finished a course in commerce at the University of Santo Tomas, but felt more inclined to setting up an auto shop. A father of five, he says he sees in his kids the same interest in cars.
Several of his workers were even employees of his father, and some of their sons now also work for Perez.
Eighteen years of tinkering with old cars has given his establishment a reputation even though there are similar businesses in the neighborhood. At first, theirs was just one among the many auto shops in the Kamuning area, although most specialize in modern vehicles.
There may be other vintage car shops in the country but skill, style and the ability to deliver on the client’s request is their advantage over their competitors, he told the Inquirer.
“Cars come here a total wreck; I can deliver it like new. All you’ll need is the turn key,” he said.
It is this confidence that has brought him to the arena of car shows and competitions, joining it for the first time in 2000. The next years saw his entries among the top three in the Manila Auto Salon and Trans Sport Show.
Hoping to add to these accolades, Perez will join this year’s 4th Concours d’Elegance at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City later this month. It is one of the most prestigious in the Philippines as participation is by invitation only.
Still, Perez said it’s not the competition or the money that drives him but his passion for old cars.
“It’s the number one rule here,” he said. With each vintage car they restore, Alfred’s Motor Works brings new life to the term classic.