He has been collecting and restoring bikes and cars in Bermuda for decades and his collection is remarkable.But for Paul Martins it is not about money or fame he simply wants the history of bikes and cars of Bermuda to not fade away.Right now Mr Martins’ collection is in a warehouse/museum but what he really wants to see is the collection go into an proper museum where locals and visitors can wander around and look at the vintage vehicles which span back to when cars and bikes were first allowed in Bermuda after the Second World War.Mr Martins, the owner of Martins Precision Automotive, said: “I do it all for love that’s it.“It’s a passion. I got my first Mobylette when I was 13 years old. Bikes and cars are something I have always loved. Ever since I was young I have been getting bikes and fixing them up.”The 44-year-old collector not only has the bikes and cars from years ago but also, in most cases, the complete history of those actual bikes since they first landed in Bermuda.As for his warehouse/ museum near Belco, he said: “It is not open to the general public although I am paying rent (for the space). I have had the odd donation and I also had a fellow who was going to help me do the museum in St George’s but unfortunately he passed away. Something like this takes time.“I have had a couple people who have been very positive about the museum over the years. In fact (former Premier) Sir John Swan was one of them. He was very positive he liked what I was doing. He would call me ‘the guy with the hot rods’ and has told me not to give up.”Mr Martins said he looks around and sees a number of derelict buildings which could make the perfect museum with some fixing up.“I have told (the buildings’ owners) I will fix it up and if they want to put their own name on the museum that’s OK as well. Call it the ‘so and so museum’. I just want a proper place to house my collection and show it.“All of us in Bermuda grew up with bikes getting to 16 and having your first bike was always a big deal. It is part of our history.”A museum in historic St George’s would be great he said. “It could be a place for locals and visitors could come and see the history of the bike and car in Bermuda. Older people could show their kids what they used to ride. In fact I wouldn’t even charge for admission but rather have a box at the front and if the people thought the tour was worth it then they could put however much they wanted into the collection box. I am not in this to make money. It would be great if the museum could just break even.”Mr Martins has everything from the first bike in Bermuda the Excelsior on up.He said that when the first motorcycle came to Bermuda a mechanic had to fit pedals to it because the law stated that pedals were a must. “Then the law moved with the times and changed,” he said.Some of the bikes he has restored while some others he has left alone.“I want people to see what they looked like some bikes I will not restore. I have bikes that have not been touched since the 1960s.”For instance he has about 18 different models of the Mobylette as well as the Zundapp, Cyrus, Triumph and even the VeloSolex. “I have about five of them,” he said of the funny looking VeloSolex.He also has a number of old cars like the Morris Minor and the Morris Woodie, the VW Bug and the VW Karmann Ghia as well as the Austin 10, Austin 55, the Hillman Huskie, the Ford Capri and the TR-7 owned by former powerboat race Ken Dear who was killed in a race many years ago.“The TR-7 is a good shape,” he said.And he has parts tons of parts!“I bought about 80 percent of the parts from JB Astwood (Bermuda’s large Mobylette shop) and have been storing them for years and years. A lot of guys come to me and want to buy the parts and while I have sold a few I tell them that if I sold all my parts where would I get them from when I needed them. You can buy all these parts on the internet but I won’t do that everything I use has to come from Bermuda.”All the restoration work on the bikes and cars from engine work, body work and painting, Mr Martins does himself.“I do it all although a couple of guys here (at his business Martins Precision Automotive) have helped out,” he said.And it is not just the bikes and cars that he owns.“I have all the antique crash helmets and antique licence plates you can see the evolution of the licence plate from 1946 until now. I also have a lot of the old tools they used work with as well as things like the old wicker baskets they put on Mobylettes. Some, like the real small ones, were just for fashion as opposed to the bigger ones which used to carry things in.”Mr Martins can only spend so much time on his passion after all he has a business to run and has a family with three children.“I would love to be retired and just work on them (the classic bikes and cars),” he said.Meanwhile Bermuda should get behind Mr Martins and get a proper museum for the vehicles.It’s our history.