Five for the New Year

It takes a while for Trade Me to replenish over the break. Clearly vendors have more important things to do at this time of year than get the digital camera out and remove the dust covers from that superfluous vehicle taking up space in the garage. Some do have things to sell, however. The star of this week's selection is obvious and I really wish someone would buy it.

Back to cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs.

Like many great cocktails, the Daiquiri was a favorite of Ernesto Hemingway who drank them liberally. Rum, fresh limes and sugar are all you need to transport yourself back to Batista's Cuba. This week's car may indeed have been seen on the island as I imagine it was a favorite of rich sugar plantation owners wastrel offspring. The world is divided between admirers of Ferrari and Maserati. I lean towards the latter where fine engineering with refined dynamics were combined, seen in this Allemano bodied A6G. Allemano is almost forgotten as a coach builder. They were makers rather than stylists and used Giovanni Micholetti for this example. So with daiquiri in hand, Carmella in the passenger seat and the Modern Lovers on the Autovox...

The first list for 2012

1951 Bristol 401 If you want the best engineered car of its time combined with dazzling looks by Italian coach-builder Touring, you need to go to post-war England and the Bristol Car Company. It began building cars in the 1940s using pre-war BMW technology and fitted their clever six cylinder motors into slippery aluminium bodies behoving an aircraft manufacturer. This 401 uses a form developed by the Italians for use on the big post-war Alfas and the shape was further refined in the Bristol wind tunnel with flush fitted push button door handles and other friction cheating devices. For: Like a Citroen but with a proper motor. Against: At 35K, nothing at all.

1951 Jaguar XK120 OTS OTS stands for open top sports and that is what you get with Jaguar's game changing post-war XK series. Designed more for sunny Californian than rain-swept Blighty, owners were compelled to fiddle with the flimsy hood but the weight saving made the OTS the sporting driver's choice. This one has been in New Zealand from new and carries a few reminders of past track glories including a brace of 2" SUs and disc brakes. For: Improved spec makes for a vivid ride. Against: 120K is okay but originality is staring to matter with these.

1969 Jaguar E Type 2+2 FHC  The search for an 'affordable' E Type has led many rash purchasers to come to grief so my view is that you should buy the best example of any respective model unless restoration is your definite aim. This automatic coupe is not everyone's ideal specification but the elderly vendor's account of his time with it and the sensible price give confidence. For: Tidy and handsome. Against: Most that have not yet had the treatment are needing expensive body repairs now.

1974 Citroen CX 2000 This early CX is a rare thing in its own right and there are probably more DSs on the road than this Robert Opron designed space ship that was that wonderful car's replacement. Citroen could never seem to learn from its past mistakes and the CX was launched with an uninspiring engine but the packaging, ride and styling were superb. The vendor's shots are terrible but the white paint with red cloth interior looks great. For: Could have been used in 2001 A Space Odyssey. Against: It better be good for 12K.

1981 Ferrari 400i You should use buyers' well known antipathy to these cars to your advantage if you want to joint the jet set without paying an absolute fortune. It seems that those in the market for a classic Ferrari want something other than the more relaxed long legged dynamics of the big 400 series. For a substantial discount over an average E Type, I think the decision would be easy. For: A grand tourer in the true sense. Against: All the outgoings but without the resale.

Grigio Flemington

The subject of this week's post is colour, a troubling issue for restorers of Italian cars who have been known to lose their minds over exactly what shade of red their treasure should be painted when the actual issue is what hue.
The first time I saw my Lancia Flavia in Auckland in the mid-1980s it was painted a sort of generic 'Italian red'. Judging by the traces left on the car it was far too bright and this impression gels with my memory of inspecting it at the Newmarket Car Fair and passing it over. There were too many other things wrong with it and the colour was just one issue. I did not know at the time but the car was originally a mid-grey the Italians called Grigio Tor di Valle. A similar colour was a rare offering on British cars including Mk II Jaguars and MGBs and made both cars look distinctive, if simply that the colour was so unassuming on a sporting vehicle.
One of the key things about choosing colour for a car is understanding the semantics of its design. The reason Lancia Flavias look wrong in red is the reason that 3.8 litre Mk II Jaguars look right. One is a road burner and the other is not. Red draws attention to features both good and bad. It plays well with chrome which the Jaguar has a lot of, particularly if on wire wheels The Lancia is a front wheel drive car and slightly awkward in its proportions although glorious in its details. The Jaguar is undeniably 'right' and the Lancia not so. I wanted it to look both striking and dignified as I imagine its profile was in the early 1960s. This took me down the path of Italian greys and much deep thought.
If you were in the market for a Flavia Coupe in 1964 you could have bianco Saratoga (white), three greys including grigio York, Tor di valle and Doncaster, rosso Chester (red but not the ubiquitous rosso Corsa), bleu Mendoza (a strange blue-green), bleu Lancia and nero (black). There were no metallic colours offered. The coupes were built at the Pininfarina plant in Turin and they used different formulations than those applied to the saloons built by Lancia in their own factory. Although designed by Pininfarina, the four door car was no beauty but tended to look less awful in dark metallic colours. There was a very dark grey offered on the early saloon called Grigio Flemington. It made the dumpy lines almost attractive and I began to wonder what it would do for the coupe. 
Web searches for Grigio Flemington - Italians liked the posh sound of English racecourse names - produced the above picture of a Maserati Ghibli painted in this very dark grey. The effect was what I thought the Coupe needed, more definition on its length and less emphasis on the unhappy parts of the design, mainly the short wheelbase and heavy nose. So, not original but a colour applied to the best looking Italian car of the period. Pictures of the freshly painted Lancia to follow so you can judge whether this is a good decision or not.

A brief peroration

I am waiting for the primer coat to dry on the Lancia so I thought I might compose a short note on what it is about Italian cars that I admire. I always seem to own more than one – at this moment the tally is three – and they consume money and spare time to the exclusion of other things in life like second houses and overseas holidays that seem to come more easily to my Japanese car driving friends. I would not describe myself as obsessed but rather deeply engaged.
It is the aesthetics for me. This includes the beauty of form but also engineering and dynamics. I prefer cars from a sensualist culture where you can tell that someone has laboured over a detail that other manufacturers would consider unnecessary. Alternatively, positive aspects can be found in things that would be a compromise in lesser hands. Old Italian cars are part of a craft tradition. You can see the thought and the hand work that went into them.
One of the pleasures of looking at Italian cars is the DNA that links different models through both the studio and the individual designers. With the 105 series Alfa GTV it begins at the front wing where a fold rises up to a peak that runs the length of the car. It softens as it goes until it reaches the rear where the tail panel turns inwards. These are hand modeled lines, derived from freehand drawings that were turned into wooden bucks and then into steel. You forget that the side glass is flat, so skillfully are the various curves pulled this way and that in the sweep from front to rear. The shape dates back to 1960 and the 21 year old prodigy Georgetto Guigiaro who was just starting at Bertone.  

My current project is a 1963 Lancia Flavia Pininfarina Coupe. I bought it because I wanted something from the Pininfarina stable at the time it was producing its key designs for Ferarri. The contrast between the two is profound. If the GTV is about form, the Flavia is about detail. Pininfarina cars were almost generic and their styling was interchangeable between any other client it had at the time. If BMC had asked for a coupe Austin Cambridge it would have looked just like my Flavia. I still don't know who designed my car. The studio was overseen by Aldo Brovarone but there were half a dozen stylists under him and he answered to Giovanni Battista (Pinin) Farina.  
There is a cool, technocratic side to Pininfarina that complements minimalist architecture. They worked out how to make a roof look cantilevered (minimise the front pillar, turn the rear pillar into a slab, run the line straight through at the top of the front screen, recess the rear screen) and how to make fins work with boot lids (run the inside edge of the fin into the shut line, drop the boot lid into the hole. Look at the tail end of a P6 Rover to see how influential this was). While Bertone eschewed brightwork, the Flavia has lots of it including Baroque details like little chrome plinths for the wipers where the GTV's simply poke through the valance panel.

These differences communicate the essence of both cars. The GTV is about the heart and the Lancia about the mind. You get a sense of this when you open the bonnet. The Alfa motor is all polished alloy and carburettors while the Lancia's flat four sits in front of the wheel centre and is almost invisible in the undersealed engine bay. It was only when I had the whole thing apart that I saw wonderful castings that the factory painted black so that they were rendered invisible. I also noted that all the bolts were copper plated. No wonder they went broke.

Five more to be going on with

Cars, girls names, cocktails and songs

Trade Me is like a living thing. With over 60,000 vehicles for sale at any one moment it inhales and exhales while you search it. There are so many changes being made to the listings that the order changes while you have a page up on screen. Flip to the next page and you are looking at the same listings again, meaning that a further twenty vehicles have been added in the last few minutes. Not all of them are worth noting, however, and what I consider to be the interesting side of Trade Me has been rather quiet recently. Not so the Reverend Horton Heat with his sacred hymn to the Galaxie 500.

This weeks addition to my fantasy garage is actually for sale, here and now. It is a Packard Clipper, the best looking American car of the day which was introduced into the teeth of WW2 in 1941. The timing was awful but the car looked so right that Packard resumed post-war production with it. So, mix a Manhattan, put your arm around Gloria and motor away to that little weekender in the Adirondacks.

1941 Packard Clipper.  This must surely have been one of the finest cars in the world in 1941 and would be equally wonderful to own today. This is one of the rare 1941 eight cylinder models made before production ceased for the war effort and was imported into New Zealand in 1950. It looks completely original but has had much expensive work carried out to make it road worthy again. A modest amount of body work and attention to some worn trim and you would be in excellent company indeed. For: Look at it. Against: Nothing this size is a cheap fix.

1964 MG 1100 BMC certainly got the maximum value from its small front wheel drive platform, issuing  them variously as Austin, Morris, Wolseley, Riley, Vanden Plas and MG as well as making them in Italy through Innocenti. The sporting models got twin SUs which lifted the rather soporific performance a notch or two and the MG grill looked smart on the Pininfarina hull. The two door models are very rare but this looks like a good example and ready to use at 5K. For: A nice variation on a clever car. Against: I would rather have that Stilleto from last week.

1967 Rolls Royce MPW 2 Door Saloon  This is not your average Corniche but one of the early Mulliner Park Ward coupes that differ in many details from the later factory models. The lighter embellishments and '60s interior suit the restrained and tasteful coach work which later became fatally pimped for US and Middle Eastern tastes. A lot of money has been spent after a lengthy period of storage but low milage does not rule out further problems. Disuse is the killer of these complex cars but you would be far better off putting 60K here than in a more mundane model. For: Elegant. Against: Cannot be run on a shoe string budget.

Lotus Elan 26R replica. Feeling frisky? This race prepped Elan should do the trick then. A regular on the Targa circuit, this early Elan is modeled on the Lotus factory racers which means even more added lightness than normal. The vendor says 55KG for the fibreglass body so avoid hitting things. For: Huge fun. Against: Like a paper lantern with a motor.

1967 Mercedes Benz 230S The last of the fin tail Mercedes (we will not call them Mercs here) benefitted from an enlarged twin carburetor six but did without the fearsome complexity of the 300 models with fuel injection and air bag suspension. They are the pick of the line up in terms of usability and this should garner some interest at a reasonable 8K. For: Construction quality. Against: Don't break one of those headlights.

Five for the Christmas stocking

Cars, girl's names, cocktails and songs

Joe Strummer nails an old Vince Taylor rockabilly classic about being cuckolded by a motorcar. With strawberries in season get the blender out and make some dacquaries for Finella while contemplating this week's object of desire...

I know what you are thinking. Why does every car that Michael puts on his blog look like an Alfa Romeo GTV? There is a common link of course and it is Giorgetto Guigiaro during his brief but fruitful time at Bertone in the early 1960s. His hand is all over the Gordon Keeble, an ambitious English effort at a grand tourer. Only 100 built so exclusivity guaranteed. 

1963 Lincoln Continental I featured a somewhat average four door Continental convertible some weeks ago but this is a different order of car altogether and for not too much more money either. I wholly concur with the vendor's rather lurid pitch that this is a high point in American design and there is very little to approach it for style and quality. 55K is not the sort of figure to toss away on a whim but this looks the business. For: You could spend more and get far less. Against: Not for popping down to the shops in.

1964 Rover 95 I have a very basic three point list when I am appraising an old car. It goes body, interior, mechanicals. A full score suggests that purchase will not be the entry point to expensive sessions at the hands of professionals and the new owner can simply enjoy the drive. This Rover 95 fits the criteria well and would give much pleasure for 12K. For: Nothing to do. Against: Not a 110 which is actually a bit of a rocket ship.

1967 Oldsmobile Toronado  I believe this is the same car that was photographed in front of a milking shed a few months ago but this NZ new Oldsmobile is now in the hands of a dealer for a modest 25.5K. As you might imagine,  I very much like these things. Built on the brave General Motors front wheel drive platform, the first series Toronado was a blast of progressive thinking from a hide-bound industry not given to risk taking. Not exactly nimble but very entertaining to drive. For: History. Against: 7 litres, FWD, wet road, hmmm.

1965 Riley Elf The list is suffering from testosterone overproduction this week so get in touch with your feminine side with this Riley Elf. Alec Issigonis despised Elves and their Wolseley Hornet kin but he took offense easily when his designs were altered by the marketing team. It looks very neat and tidy but the vendor is not making much of an effort with the description or the photos. For: Charming. Against: Quaint.

1969 Sunbeam Stiletto  Now for something small but just right for the sporting gentleman. Despite all the cruel things said about Imps at the time, they are fabulous little cars and make for great fun on road or track. The Stiletto was the penultimate Imp built around the fastback coupe body with high level trim and the Imp Sport motor.  Look past the rather dismal photographs and this could be the pick of the month. For: High enjoyment to budget ratio. Against: Not much in my view.

Five heavy hitters

This is an interim list so no cocktail, girls' name and song until I have some more time to research. Feedback from last weeks list suggests that some of you have urges that are not easily sated by bargain classics so this week we are following the money. The 100K+ market appears quite healthy and with property prices lifting, it is likely that classics will not take another hit until the end of oil looms in sight. So what do you get for your 100K and how do prices here relate to other countries?

1969 Jaguar E Type Series 2 Roadster To steal an idea from George Orwell, some Jaguars are more equal than others. The earliest coupes tend to attract the highest prices even though the Series 2 cars are more pleasant to drive with a roomier cockpit, better seats and synchro gearboxes. This is a concours winning example and should be faultless for the asking price of 145K so you will not need to spend more on it. You could easily blow that on a full restoration so the price is realistic. For: No point in buying an average one and then trying to get it this good. Against: You may well not use it which would be a shame.

1953 Buick Super 8 Estate Station Wagon For the same price as the E Type you could enjoy the aromatic pleasures of a factory bodied Buick estate wagon. Woodies have a strong collector following based both on period charm and relatively low build numbers. They cost the earth to restore correctly as they were hand built with exotic timbers and were often fitted with more lavish interiors than their humble saloon relatives. There are similar cars for sale in the US for around 80K so this one is on the pricey side but values will continue to climb. For: Just the thing for taking up to the Hamptons or Wanaka, as the case may be. Against: It may have once been a working vehicle but not now.

1958 Chevrolet Corvette Unlike E Types earlier is not always better with Corvettes. The first six cylinder models have rarity value but the money follows the line of development until the introduction of the Sting Ray in 1963. This 1958 car has a high output V8 and four speed manual so is a desirable specification without being in the top rank with the fuel injected models. Similar cars have produced surprising results at auctions, fetching up to 170K US so 148K NZ appears below par. For: Starting to become the performance car it was meant to be. Against: Still compromised compared to later models.

1964 Volkswagen Double Cab Pickup I use this as an example of the price trends for early Kombis, some of which have hit 170K US at auction. Only a select few command this sort of money, the most prized being the Samba which has clerestory windows and a fully trimmed cabin with seats. These dizzy prices are hauling up the values of 'splitties' as their devotees call them. This pickup is a California import that has lost a few original features but is still listed at 31.5K needing restoration. For: Catch a rising trend. Against: Or get caught in a bubble.

1954 Porsche 356 The so called 'pre-A' title again indicates limited numbers where rarity drives the values rather than performance or usability. The 356 series was developed constantly throughout its long life producing a bewildering variety of specifications. The very early models are now pushing 1M but total originality is key to releasing the value of these cars and this one has had a busy life and is missing key items. 160K may seem a lot for a resto project but you are really paying for the paperwork with these. For: The ultimate trophy car. Against: Should be appreciated more for what it is.

Five to drive away (one not so much)

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs

Iso Rivolta is not the most attractive name I grant you but Italian industrialist Pierro Rivolta was baptised that way so what can you do? He thrived building the Isetta bubble car in the 1950s but wanted to give Ferrari a fright so commissioned Bertone to clothe a Corvette V8 in a frame designed by Gioto Bizzarrini. The result was like a grown up Alfa GTV and they appear from time to time on my favorite car site Bring a Trailer, like this example here... To be driven with someone called Monica while sipping a dry Martini on ice.

Superannuitant Elton John played in Dunedin recently but I did not find it hard to stay away. If David Bowie got the band that played on Low together and performed that album I would happily go to the other side of the world just to hear this... 

This week's five

1952 Jaguar XK120 FHC  I make the rules on the list and I can include wrecks if just to gloat. There are multifarious ways towards XK ownership. The safest is to look for a car with a continuous history and documentation and pay the asking price of 100K+. The other is to proceed with an absolute dog as this owner has done and is now trying to quit now for 25K. Bear in mind the ready availability of parts, now keenly priced due to the strong NZ$. Could it be finished for another 75K? Probably, but only with you contributing some sweat equity. For: A bona fide classic. Against: Well, look at it.

1972 BMW CSL The vendor helpfully suggests that you build your own Chris Amon-style Batmobile with this CSi. Restored CS coupes fetch a tidy sum these days and you have a choice here between a practical road car or a track day terror. They rotted spectacularly and need careful inspection with a pointed instrument and a strong light. The reasonable asking price of 16.5K would have me asking a few questions but this is an impressive car. For: Potential. Against: Potential cost.

1974 Citroen GS 1220  The GS was a stroke of genius achieved when Citroen was still capable of free will as a manufacturer. Hence an elegant aerodynamic small saloon that only needed 1220cc to propel it at a good canter, accompanied by a limousine ride courtesy of the high pressure hydraulics. Rust and neglect have carved through the numbers leaving about forty roadworthy examples in the UK and this one, resplendent in red, in Dunedin for a bit over 3K. The same vendor has a nice Peugeot 205 on Trade Me. Clearly one of us then. For: A very clever car. Against: Needs a clever mechanic.

1970 Ford Escort RSS  If you had asked me what I wanted  at 18 before I got carried away by Alfa Romeos it would have been something like this Escort with a mild tuning kit furnished by the Auckland Ford agency John W. Andrew. Sparking performance may be anticipated from the cross flow 1600 motor and the whole ensemble is very tasteful from the pale blue paint to the GT dash and steel wheels. I imagine it to be almost unique and predict a stonking reserve as rust free MK1s are pushing hard towards 10K. For: Charming and locally significant. Against: Watch the price.

1985 Lancia Beta Coupe Volumex. Supercharging afforded a way around the perennial turbo problem of uneven torque delivery which was quite hair raising in a small front wheel drive car. My Thema Turbo's ability to spin its wheels in the intermediate gears certainly kept your focus on the road ahead but the Volumex gives smoother power and refinement. The final Betas were better protected against rust and have consequently lasted into the present day. For: A quick and refined small coupe in the proud Lancia manner. Against: Keep on top of the maintenance.

Five for the start of summer

Hail the start of summer, or perhaps that is the wrong phrase as it has been know to in Dunedin. Trade Me has been a bit lean recently. Who knows whether sellers are holding back waiting for signs of economic recovery but the lack of cars from my favoured era drove me towards the naughties as they are whimsically known. Here we find swingeing depreciation and lots of distressed vendors so make someone else's misery your gain.

Cocktails, girls' names and songs about cars.

This weeks cocktail is the Mojito. The last time I consumed this intoxicating blend of rum, limes and mint I found myself underneath someone called Marianne on my sofa with Alice looking on knowing I was incapable of doing anything I would be ashamed of. The song is from Iggy Pop's transcendent album Lust for Life recorded in Berlin with David Bowie in 1977. Scottish guitarist Rick Gardiner strums the most ordinary sounding chords you have ever heard, a brief tinkle on the cowbell and then... 

1960 Holden FB Utility.  I have not featured a commercial on the list yet but if we are going to start straying into the territory of other tribes, this Holden has many charms. Black suits the simple lines and it would be hard to hide any serious faults under this glossy exterior. The price is entirely reasonable at 13K and it is actually attracting bids, unlike so much of the dead stock on Trade Me. For: Handsome and practical. Against: You might not want to throw the concrete mixer on it.

1967 Buick Riviera. Alright. I know it is another Riviera and I made you look at one last week and told you how I suffered uncontrollable urges but this is the next model. I could do without the two tone paint but look at the wraparound on those front wings. The rear slowly morphed into a boat tail but then the car quickly became hideous so this is officially the last really beautiful Riviera. 38K and reportedly 38K miles as well. For: This marks a high point in American styling before the horrors of the 1970s. Against: Find some original wheels.

1961 Chevrolet Greenbrier. The fact that it belonged to someone from the wretched band Green Day would not induce me to buy it but  there are other more compelling reasons. It is like a Kombi-and-a-half with a rear mounted air cooled flat six derived from the Corvair, GM's brave effort at building a progressive mid-sized car. It has doors everywhere and with sellers asking a fortune for the German equivalent, makes an entertaining alternative. For: The only one in the country. apparently. Against: Unwanted celebrity premium added.

2003 Peugeot 406 Coupe. Forgive me the jump straight to the moderns this week but my trawling through the 80s and 90s for something remotely respectable led me all the way to this fine Pininfarina shaped 406 Coupe. Forget the four cylinder autos and go for straight for the 3-lite V6. Double it in your mind and you could be driving a Ferrari. For: A classic Pininfarina shape on a well made platform. Against: Still some way to drop yet.

2005 Maserati Quattroporte Sport. Does anything in the strange world of exotic cars depreciate faster than a Maserati? Someone business minded would have to do the calculations but they seem to halve in value every two years and show no signs of slowing down so jump on and hold tight. This Quattroporte is sans WOF and Reg which suggests that its owner is bankrupt or has lost the will to live. Go on, make an insulting offer. For: Decadent. Against: People will think the worse of you.