Five to farewell July

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs

The late and greatly missed Lowell George exhorts us to visit the fine city of Atlanta. Girls are mentioned but peripherally and Atlanta was a British sports car from the 1930s, about to be relaunched apparently. The drink would have to involve Bourbon.

1954 Nash Statesman Super Alright, I know its a wreck and it would cost a fortune but a Nash was a stylish alternative to the banal offerings of the big three and were looked at closely in Italy by the great styling houses including Pininfarina. The rear three quarter view with the wrap-around glass is striking and the dash is early space age. For: Worth saving? Against: Just buy a nice one from the US.

1963 Humber Scepter. Not that I am suggesting for one instant that you would buy a car just for the dash but I suggest that it is a great part of this Humber's charms. The top Rootes mid-sized saloons wore a coupe style roof as well which differentiated them from the lesser Hillman and Singer stock. For: It will surprise you pleasantly. Against: Plump old Aunty Minx in a party frock if you are the cynical type.

1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia  Milan raised the standard for saloons in the 1960s with the long lived 105 series Giulias. Belying their upright shape, they were slippery though the air and outperformed cars with twice the engine capacity.  The original Italian Job movie was a shocking fraud. A 1600 Giulia had no trouble holding off Mini Coopers. For: The best thing I have had on the list for many months. Against: Nothing whatsoever. An all time great.

 
1973 Fiat 124 Sports It is difficult to find a decent 124 Sports with rust and neglect having catered for most of them. This model has the attractive nose lost on the final restyle and is the pick of the range. They feel surprisingly quick and modern with the famous Lampredi-designed belt driven twin-cam providing typical Italian zing. For: Just about the best thing you could buy for this sort of money. Against: What do you want me to say?

1982 Lancia Beta Coupe 1600 The Beta Coupes were the inheritors of the 124's place in the range. Developed completely under Fiat control, the Beta was a sophisticated package built around the old twin cam motor placed cross wise in the engine bay and driving the front wheels. No Lancia DNA remained but it drove brilliantly, even in small engined form as here. For: A well looked after survivor. Against: Check the body carefully.

Five ways to scratch your motoring itch

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs

The redoubtable Professor Jim Flynn from Otago University recently published research to prove what King Radio already knew in 1936. Delilah is mentioned here and I am sure rum is being consumed somewhere.

A huge meteor has crashed into Trade Me turning almost all interesting cars into a heaving yellow froth. I hope something good will float to the surface next week so for now this motley assortment will have to do.

1946 Wolseley 18-85 Originality cannot be put back in to an old car and this is a great way of experiencing post-war middle class motoring for a modest outlay. Effectively a one-owner car – if not the most exciting product of the British motor industry – this Wolseley 18-85 has the venerable overhead camshaft six cylinder motor under its rather prominent nose and is therefore quite handy on the road. For: A time machine. Against: 1946 perhaps not the best of times.

Sunbeam Alpine Series 2 The high fins give the early Alpines a deer startled in the forest look but they are a pleasurable way into classic British sports car ownership. Wind up windows, a decent heater and well designed seats make up for a slight deficit in power that you will probably not even notice. For: Good colour. Against: A bit efette for a sports car.

1982 Alfa Romeo AlfaSud 1500Ti If it were not for rust cutting through the ranks I suspect the market for small high performance cars would have been permanently satisfied by the Sud. A modern equivalent needs twice the power to keep up and you can adjust these with a screwdriver. For: Buy this and the Sprint from last week. Against: You know the answer to that.

1989 Lancia Prisma GTie A good Prisma is much better than you might think with its mini-Maserati looks and elegantly fitted out cabin. It was never going to persuade anyone away from a 3-series BMW but that misses the point. And look, you can have a nice one for $425. For: Put one away for the future. Against: Hoarding old Lancias is a serious form of personality disorder.

Acorn Special According the questions and answers, twelve Acorns were built for road and track by Peter Parkinson in Souhtland. This example amply demonstrates his engineering cleverness married to lack of aesthetic judgement.  Currently Subaru powered, you could have huge fun with this on track day. For: No-one else will have one. Against: You decide.

Five for a wet weekend

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs

Sheryl Crow dispenses useful advice from the rear of a Kombi. No drinks in sight though so we will have to imagine that part.

1938 Morris 8 Sports. The word 'sports' may be taken with some scepticism but all variants of the venerable Morris are sweet little cars and particularly so this open tourer with cutaway doors. You would not find a '30s MG for 3K, even if it was dismantled like this one. For: A project for someone with a modest toolbox. Against: Best be a bit handy with it.

1949 Jaguar 3.5 Litre Saloon.  I would have loved to have listened in on a product planning meeting at Jaguar after the war. The market they chose to target had probably done well out of black market sausage casings and was ready to step up into a proper car. It was all of that with a powerful Standard-derived six cylinder motor but not yet with the twin cams. The whole ensemble would rumble up to 95 mph which was plenty. For: The interior. Against: Pre-war cars on wires are better looking.

1956 Humber 80. 3K does not seem a lot for a completely original first series Humber 80 with 50 thousand miles on the clock so I expect it will find a home quickly. The early cars have a charm about them that was lost in later restyles but they were also a bit ponderous. Never fear. Someone will have a bigger engine in the shed and then you can have some fun. For: Into the workshop and onto the track. Against: It would be a shame to spoil it.

1986 Alfa Romeo Sprint QV. 15K is pushing hard for a Sud however this one appears to be brand new and therefore something to be coveted. The four valve carb-fed engine was rapturous and powered a body shell with the mass of a KFC carton. A rust free, unworn example is almost unknown so I would say 15K well spent. For: Try and find better. Against: Nulla!

1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4. I have been a non-believer in the rear ended German sports car but since taking a ride on a greasy road earlier in the week, I cannot but be astounded at the grip and power of the things. This is the 4WD 964 model with manual gears, still air-cooled and recognisable next to an older car. For: Even more grippy than the one I have just been in. Against: The colour largely.

Five for the long ascent

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs

Unusually, I am stuck for a song this week so I will deliver a progress report on the Lancia Flavia instead. It has been a busy few weeks what with rewiring the engine bay and having a new rear exhaust section fitted. The car is now on the hoist having some dodgy welds finished off and the engine repositioned on its mounts so it does not rub big holes in things. Brakes next and by then I will be paupered but the car will be drivable for the first time in twenty years.

1970 Triumph 1300. The pretty Micholetti styled 1300 was almost a Lancia clone with FWD and a high quality interior but it was stuck with the old Standard 10 derived cast iron motor sitting on top of the gearbox. It sold poorly and was re-engineered as the cut-price Toledo. Survivors of either model are rarely seen today. For: Chic Italian looks. Against: If that's what you want, buy an Alfa.

1972 Lotus Elan +2S 130. The numbers and letters are significant here as this is the last and most highly developed of these excellent cars. Always in the shadow of the smaller Elans, the +2 was blessed with the same dynamics and greater creature comforts but is now roughly half the price. This is a New Zealand-new example and may well be on its original chassis, most UK sourced cars having rusted through years ago. For: Dreamy looks. Against: Always work to do with one of these.

1974 Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia. This was the last iteration of the long lived Volkswagen coupe and is marred by heavy bumpers and oversized indicator lights. It does have the wheel on the correct side and the 1600 motor which delivers reasonable performance. Unlike the earlier models that could not pull a sailor off your sister, as my father might have said. For: Ghia looks are intact under the bling. Against: Uncertain provenance.

1975 Triumph Dolomite Sprint. By the early '70s the demure little 1300 turned into a serious BMW botherer using a clever four valve head operated by a single cam. Why? The R&D costs probably greatly exceeded the savings on the extra camshaft and you can't alter the valve overlap, thus removing the thing that amateur tuners most like to fiddle with. For: Unexpected capability. Against: The Micholetti styling was getting past its best.

1985 Excalibur Phaeton. NOT A KIT CAR the vendor bellows over and over in his pitch, as if that could possibly counter the other egregious qualities of this vile conveyance. The well known aesthete flew off to Blighty last week where he is probably occupying an apartment just off the Mall. This should make him sit up in the four poster. For: Absolutely nothing. Against: Almost everything.

Downhill all the way

Cars, girls' names, cocktails and songs

People forget that Nico had a career before the Velvet Underground and here she is like a German Judy Durham accompanied by the happy strumming of a young and impressionable Jimmy Page. No cars or drinking here but a jolly old romp regardless.

1951 Renault 4CV. Alright, I know some may consider 20K overpriced but where would you go to get a better example? Moreover, this is an English assembled car so you get leather seats on beautiful chromed steel frames and a nice set of round instruments instead of the Gallic poverty pack that came with the LHD versions. For: French mid-century modernism. Against: Zut alors! Rien!

1973 Citroen SM. From the same vendor as the sweet 4CV comes this magnificent SM. Black can keep no guilty secrets and the single image suggests all is well with the body. The fragile Maserati V6 is what you need to worry about as any old school Citroen mechanic can sort out the hydraulics for you. For: A driving experience that will make you wonder if the past forty years were necessary. Against: If it all goes wrong, look upon it as an education.

1956 Vauxhall Velox Stationette. The desire for comfortable workaday vehicles is nothing new and I imagine this Australian coach-built Velox would induce fits in UK buyers if it was advertised there. There are still enough nice saloons in New Zealand for me not to get too excited when they appear on Trade Me but I must say this is something out of the ordinary. For: Like the mullet haircut, business at the front, party at the back. Against: I can't see a lot.  

1962 Dodge Polara. From producing some of the most beautiful shapes of the 1950s, the Chrysler stylists became carried away by a passing romance with the Italian Ghia studio. Where there had been simple lines and grace there was now Baroque curlicues and mad postures. I love it of course and they did not get much uglier or madder than this Dodge. For: What can one say? Against: Hideous.

1989 TVR Tasmin. Oliver Winterbottom's wedge TVRs will have their day once again when us jaded aesthetic types can look upon them and not experience an involuntary tightening of the fundamental orifice. Until then they are merely cheap entertainment and a bit mad. For: Blue velour! Walnut! Stick on graphics! Against: Unghhhrr.