HE meant to drive up the hill gracefully in his svelte classic car - a 1969 Lancia Fulvia 1.3 Rally Sport.

But Mr Eli Soloman, 44, was panting and exhausted when he met his fellow vintage car enthusiasts from the Malaysian Singapore Vintage Car Register (MSVCR).

On his bicycle, the rare-book dealer pedalled from his home and up the hill at Upper Seletar Reservoir to join the club's monthly "Sunday at the Park" gathering.

The reason - he rather put in a bit of leg power than to use up a day of the 28-day limit that classic car owners have to follow.

"The current process is inflexible to the detriment of the very cars it was designed to preserve," Mr Soloman said.

Introduced in July 2000, the Classic Car Scheme covers vehicles which have to be at least 35 years old.

But owners say the 28-day restriction might just cause these cars to break down more often.

"Old cars are like people," said Mr Soloman.

"If they don't get out then they don't work very well."

He noted that owners also had to use at least four days to drive the cars for servicing.

"Four days is if you're lucky. It is not simply a matter of taking the car to the workshop and back. You have to drive to diagnose a problem and then test it after it's back."

"Then, you most likely will have to waste more coupons servicing again upon finding another problem because it is like a monumental rebuild by the time the car is finally serviced for an event," he lamented.

Without proper testing, the cars, which are usually displayed at awareness or charity events, or raced in Malaysia, may never reach their destination.

Just this January, one of six classic Singapore cars invited to be displayed at the Malaysia Grand Prix did not even make it to the Causeway.

However, Mr Soloman stressed that classic cars would usually not contribute to congestion by breaking down.

"Most of us classic-car lovers tend to maintain our cars fastidiously," he said.

Mr Soloman explained that the limitation was imposed in response to concerns that people would take advantage of the cheaper cars, which would break down regularly, clog or pollute the roads.

"But these no longer hold water because we do not intend to use our cars for day-to-day transport," he explained.

Mr Soloman said that the government has certainly met that objective and the proportion of old cars on the road is comparable to first-world countries.

From Singapore's OneMotoring website, the population of cars over 20 years old (as of end of 2007) was at a record low, at about 3,000 units.

Of this, only about 200 - or 6.7 per cent - are under the Classic Car Scheme.

Mr Soloman feels there is a need to preserve Singapore's motoring heritage.

"Some of these cars, like the Mini, were common on Singapore's roads in the 1950s," Mr Soloman said.

He hopes to convince the authorities to work out a compromise for the classic car community.

"I intend to build a logical argument up softly, until there is a possibility that the LTA will accommodate us with a higher number," the current president of MSVCR said.

"Little tweaks in our favour will be better than having our entire argument thrown out."

A suggestion for compromise was to exclude weekends and public holidays from the 28-day-count because these are days meant for relaxation and hobbies.

"Right now, if you collect stamps in Singapore, no problem. But if you love cars, then too bad."

He added: "They are not just mere transportation instruments, there is value in sheer enjoyment of something aesthetically pleasing.

"They are design icons, like a piece of art."

Even if he had absolute freedom, he would not put his car through the grind of daily usage, but 28 days is just punishment for any old car user, according to Mr Soloman.

"You might as well give it a death certificate and say bury the car."

- Swan Tan, newsroom intern

This article was first published in The New Paper on Apr 7, 2008.