Five for the end of summer

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs

The wonderful Tom Petty used up pretty much all he had in one song, consequently it is a good one. Join the nameless one up on the balcony with a pina colada and hear the cars go rolling by.

I am sorry for those of you in the upper South Island who have not had a summer to speak of but even our freakish season in Dunedin is drawing to a close. A man's mind turns away from flapping side screens and canvas hoods at this time but it is also when unwanted convertibles are monetised so we will start this week with...

1961 Morgan Plus Four. Now that people are getting big prices for those effete MG TFs, you might consider the alternatives. The Morgan gives you real performance from the 2 litre Triumph motor and you get an extra pair of seats for emergencies or room for an overnight bag, depending on your needs. The narrow bodied shape on steel wheels looks great and no-one will doubt your commitment to masochistic motoring in one of these. For: Simple, fast and fun. Against: Your spine is a structural part of the chassis.

1964 Ford Thunderbird. Now, something for the sybarite. Not so vast as to be a hazard to other road users and well able to get out of its own way with a 390 cubic inch motor, the mid-60s Thunderbirds offer great luxury with lots of lazy thrust. Electric blue is my favorite trim colour and I can only look upon the back seat with a frisson of guilty pleasure.  For: Like Frank Sinatra but a car. Against: Think of all those oily sea birds.

1964 MGB. It was one of the stated rules of the Petrolhead Aesthete that I would not write about MGBs, there being nothing new or interesting to say about them. The recent articles marking the car's fiftieth anniversary proved this again as I learnt nothing that I did not know. Even so, this looks like a nice car and has the early flip type door handle which is apparently like a flat foot well in an E-Type. This is why normal individuals get a glazed look when people start talking cars. For: The best example of an average car... is what exactly? Against: What I just said.

1969 Mercedes 280 seb Coupe. Not a convertible I know but they are quickly leaving the realm where we mortals dwell and are being restored at huge expense as concours queens. This example was ordered new in New Zealand and must have been owned by some plutocrat as they were pushing Rolls Royce money when new. For: Unique colour scheme, better than the the usual silver. Against: Don't knock it against anything. The front bumper alone would buy you a nice Mercedes.

1972 Chevrolet Corvette.  I sidled past all the other Corvettes with the letters and numbers attached to get to this example. They are a bit like Harleys really. People buy them thinking the bigger the engine the better and then the slightly mad dynamics are revealed on the first damp road. Much better a small block manual without all the bulges, flares and outside exhausts which are all signs of desperation to impress. For: White and red, the best of all colour combinations. Against: Some will always say they are gross.

Five scrapings from a shallow barrel

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs.

A splash of dazzling electro-pop from a wholly unexpected source this week. What would you drink in the back of a cab with Mary anyway? You choose.


It has been a dry as dust old February on Trade Me, so much so that I was going to review past posts and see if any of my picks are still languishing. Two in particular stand out so I have returned for another look. Crude economic reasoning would say they are just too expensive but does the market know everything?

1961 Oldsmobile Holiday 98 Coupe As you probably know by now, I am a bit of a fool for these early '60s space-age models with their centrally placed glassy cabins and long tails. They came in numerous variations and before Oldsmobile went completed mad with the front wheel drive Toronado, the Holiday was one of the prettier coupes in the range. For: The shape. Those tail lights. That dash. Against: The vendor says it needs freshening up. What can he mean?

1967 Reliant Scimitar SE4 Am I the only person that reads the UK classic car press? There has been a slew of stories on these excellent cars recently and still this rather good example sits unwanted. The original styling was provided by David Ogle for a rebodied Daimler SP 250. Reliant saw great possibilities for it and it became the basis for the later estate coupe. This is the booted example and a 200kph car in 3-litre form. For: Give a 911 owner a fright. Against: Why has it not sold?

1970 Rover 3500 Move smartly on this one as it is heading straight down the path of no return. The introductory 3500 had wonderful modernist details including a strip speedometer carried in a little rectangular box on the curved dash. Straight out of the hey-day of the British Design Council and possibly the last really clever car to be designed in that doomed industry. For: A design icon. Against: Needs a repaint now.

1972 BMW 2002 Not a fuel injected Tii but the carb version of BMW's class defining sports saloon. BMW was close to winding up in the early '60s until they saved themselves with the 'neue klasse' range. These provided sophisticated new mechanicals and svelte Italianate styling inherited by the smaller model represented here. The BMW block was used as the base for a Formula 1 engine in the 1980s which produced 1,300 hp in qualifying trim so they can take whatever you can hand out. For: Sober colours suit them well. Against. Keep on top of the bodywork (see below).

1974 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 Along with whiskers on kittens, another of my favorite things. Getting a bit long in the tooth by 1974 and about to be replaced by Guigario's hatchback model, the Bertone GTV was loaded up with extras to shift the final cars. This one has a proper sunroof which. depending on your views about rusty floors, may be a blessing or a curse. Something gruesome has happened under the paint so budget for a full respray with the glass out at the very least. For: It has a WOF so how rusty can it be? Against: Very scary.

Five for mid-February

Cars, girls' names. cocktails and songs.

Nothing about cars or cocktails in the song but Tina Weymouth's bass may prove adequate compensation on the first Talking Heads single from 1977.

1956 Mercedes Benz 220S The vendor informs us that over 50K has been spent to make this 220S look as good it does and he hopes to recoup 30K of that. We shall see. As we who suffer the restoration compulsion know, budgets have little meaning and once you are in that far you just have to keep going until the thing is finished. You are unlikely to ever see a better example so make his day. For: The best example of a decent car. Against: I am sure Adam Smith has something to say about the economics of this.

1969 Fiat 500 Bambina Much the same could be said of this lovely 500 except that the price is entirely reasonable and it is attracting bids already, showing how popular the baby Fiat is. If you have a short commute and you want strangers to smile and give you the eyebrow flick, this is the car for you. For: Dark blue and red trim is a great combination. Against: Nothing at all.

1974 Daimler Vanden Plas  The 18K asking price would get you nowhere close to the cost of a thorough restoration on one of these. There are plenty of horrors out there and they should really only be offered as parts cars due to the cost and complexity of repair. Long periods of sitting around also do them no good so choose one that has been used regularly and serviced, For: One for the well known aesthete who recently accused me of ignoring his particular needs. Against: What are you doing with that spanner in your hand? Step away now.

1960 Buick Le Sabre No-one tortured sheet metal like the Americans did during this period. I can picture house lights all over Flint going dim as the mighty presses groaned to turn out this Buick Le Sabre which is in four door pillarless form with just 64K miles on the clock. I will just show you the back end in the hope you will take in the other equally spectacular aspects. For: Irregular, just how I like them.  Against: Good thing we don't have too many Republicans here as this is what they drive.

Five with a bit of class

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs


A dose of Mike Nesmith's Texan gentleman's tenor off his great Magnetic South album, followed by a warming bourbon under the rug with Joanne.

1937 Austin 14/6 I am always happy to point out an alternative to the greatly overrated Citroen Light 15 and something about the rational lines of this big Austin appeals to me. It was one of Ricardo Burzi's better jobs, having been poached from Lancia in 1929.  A side valve six pulled the Austin along at decent highway speeds but it was no rocket sled in period or today. For: Nicely fitted out with a sunroof for gentle touring. Against: One for the gerontocrats.

1957 Lincoln Premier Coupe This has been listed on Trade Me before but no one has yet succumbed to its very considerable charms. It is the best looking of all the Ford products in the second half of the 1950s, an attitude shared by the American Industrial Designers Institute who recognised it as the peak of a pretty compelling decade. A better, cheaper alternative to a 1957 Bel Air would be hard to find. For: A good big American. Against: Unorthodox but all the better for it.

1958 Jaguar 3.4 Litre Saloon A sensibly modified 3.4 would mark you out as a person of real taste. This example has the wider Mk II axle in favour of the compromised original setup which allowed the fitting of full wheel spats to the detriment of high speed stability. The intimate interior with its central instruments has great charm and it will remind you of how extraordinary 120 mph performance was in the 1950s. For: One of the great cars. Against: With no power assist I would get rid of the sporty wheel.

1964 Peugeot 404 Familiale There are still hundreds of these banging across rutted stream beds in North Africa and they are amongst the hardiest vehicles ever made. This early model Familiale has a clever row of extra seats in the load area and these were popular in smart Catholic households in the 1960s. For: Good Pininfarina looks on an unbreakable platform. Against: What's not to like?

1965 Jaguar S Type 3.8 I normally avoid the Mk II variants, more due to the awkward looks than any deficiency in the dynamics but this must be close to the ideal spec for an S Type and therefore well worth considering. The independent rear suspension greatly improved the Mk II's marginal handling and the manual gearbox makes the most of the 3.8 engine's considerable thrust. White and red suits these cars and it could only be improved with wire wheels. For: A considerable discount on an average Mk II. Against: Make sure the rear brakes have been seen to. It's an awful job.

Five for the Anglophile

Cars, songs, girls' names and cocktails. It's all here folks.

Too many bloated Americans on the list I hear you saying. New Zealand was always a diverse market and took a bit from everywhere even if many of the Yanks were Canadians in thin disguise. So while a mauve Pontiac Laurentian might have been everything a successful dairy farmer could want in the 1960s, his barrister might have wanted something from the following list...

1954 Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire Upper crust car purchasers had numerous choices in post-war England and her colonies, even if many of these manufacturers struggled to see out the decade. So it was with Armstrong Siddeley who branched out into aero engine manufacture just as Rolls Royce had done. Their cars were excellently engineered but not as modernist as a Rover or as gauche as a Jaguar. The 3.45 litre Sapphire was a sprightly performer although the late 1940s looks were becoming dated as the decade progressed. For: Deceptively quick and well made. Against: Pipe and slippers aesthetics.

1954 MG TF The T series was the last of the small MG sports car programme that dated from the 1930s. Americans were passionate about them as the light weight bodywork and open cockpit made for a lively drive even if the maximum speed was minimal. The TF tided the marque over prior to the barchetta-style MGA but it was a fairly thorough upgrade of the rather sorry TD. This three owner car is unrestored but original which counts for something these days. For: Get it and use it. Against: Antiquated.

1961 Daimler SP250 The homely looks of the Daimler sports car meant that many of its good points were overlooked, particularly when an E-type cost the same sort of money. History has corrected this and they now look characteristic of their period. The chassis was very similar to the period Triumph TR and consequently flexed and bounced around a bit. These deficiencies were fixed by Jaguar when they acquired the ailing Daimler business, mainly for the manufacturing capacity and Edward Turner's exquisite V8 engines. For: 28K is around half a big Healey so has to be good value. Against: She went to the ball but no-one asked her to dance.

1961 MG Magnette This is a real test for those who like their MGs to look like SPAD biplanes. The Farina designed Magnette was a poorer car than the one it replaced by many measures. The soft springing and inaccurate steering were a step back from the older car and the traditional instruments seemed anachronistic in the up to date styling. Still, a rare sight today and more fun than a Wolesley, if such a thing can be imagined. For: Quaint. Against: Wait for a Riley.

MG 6R4 Group B After they finished the dead parrot sketch they went on to write the engineering brief for the MG rally car. The absurd reality of something resembling a Putney pensioners shopping wagon capable of Formula 1 speeds was one of the great spectacles of the day and for 145K you too could frighten yourself to death. For: Hilarious. Against: Not for nervous drivers.