CRAZY ABOUT CUSTOM CARS

Tariq has come a long way from tinkering with vehicles in his backyard. Now he's taking on the world

- MELON RADEBE

WHEN he was a boy he’d vroom-vroom his Matchbox cars around his parents ’ house, dreaming of the day he’d own a car of his own.

That day did eventually come – but it took long hours of working as a waiter, packing supermarket shelves and saving every spare cent before he got there.

His first car was a beat up, barely roadworthy Mini, but Tariq Moosa has never shied away from a project, especially when that project involved wheels and an engine.

And now this passion has become his bread and butter and his ticket to international competition too.

Tariq (38) was recently named in the top five at the Gravity Show, one of the biggest car shows in Europe, for the work he and his team did restoring and customising a 1970 BMW E9.

“I have achieved a goal in my life: to have my work on an international platform,” he says. “It was so emotional for me,” the father of two says.

Tariq is the owner of Chicano’s Customs, which customises and revamps new and old vehicles in Sandton. He’s a long-time fan of the Gravity Show and watched videos of the vehicle extravaganza on YouTube.

“I reached out to them,” he says. “I was like, ‘Wow! Amazing show – I would love to attend’.”

Tariq regularly posts videos and pics of his customisation work and after the organisers checked them out they contacted him.

“We got chatting and they said, ‘Come through!’”