Trade Me does the business again.

Variety being the spice of life...

1973 Lincoln Continental Town Sedan. Something awful happened in the US car industry following the oil crisis of the mid-1970s but this Lincoln just slipped out before the great lapse into cheap and nasty materials that followed. The interior looks like it is made from Florence Knoll leather sofas and if the air conditioning worked, I suggest it would be more comfortable than your house. It was owned by a Roman Catholic priest, affording some sordid Dan Brown-style fantasies if that is your want.

For: Decadent

Against: You have to drive it.

Investment potential: 2/10. Remember, this is what caused peak oil.

1959 Mercury Monterey. Sensitive types should turn away now because this Mercury is frankly hideous. Perhaps high on the aesthetic triumph that was the Edsel. the Ford styling studio excelled itself here. Panoramic front screen, wild wheel arch cutaways, cantilevered rear roof line, violent side swaging and bifurcated tail lights are just the start of it but it is heroic in its awfulness and therefore much better than a Chevrolet. 

For:  Thrillingly bad.

Against: I would have to drive it with a bucket between my knees.

Investment potential: 2/10. You would have to look at it and therein lies the problem.

1971 Fiat 124 Sport. Although not a factory offering, the deep maroon metallic paint rather suits the Fiat Coupe and sets off this BC model with its elegant stainless steel trim. Worthwhile examples of these excellent cars are either cherished originals or comprehensive rebuilds, which this one seems to be. I could think of few better ways of getting to work on a summer day that in this.

For: Molto bella!

Against: Let us hope it is as good as it looks.

Investment potential. 6/10. Diminishing numbers of good ones and still desirable after 40 years. 

1971 Fiat 125. The potential for 1970s Fiats to corrode away needs no further elaboration so join me in weighing up the many good reasons for buying this virtually one-owner 125. You could easily spend the asking price on the body before looking at a scruffy interior and worn out mechanicals so why bother when this is possibly the best example in the country? If you have not driven one it will surprise you as the 125 was one of the finest touring saloons of the era. It was equally good on the track with its sparkly twin-cam Lampredi-designed motor more than adequate for either purpose. 

For: Unrepeatable and great value.

Against: Nothing stands out

Investment potential: 8/10. What are you going to spend money on here? A nice set of period alloys maybe.    

1966 Broadspeed GT Coupe. Ralph Broad's fastback Mini was one of the numerous professionally built custom Minis on the British market in the 1960s but the twenty-six examples built were carefully thought out and well constructed. Lowering the roof and adding a Kamm tail helped the shed-like aerodynamics of the original Cooper, enabling a higher top speed to compensate for the extra weight. This race-prepped example looks like it means business and the asking price is probably nowhere near what it cost to build.
For: Looks like loads of fun.
Against: Not a lot left of the original car.
Investment potential: 2/10 but all the hard work is done.

One from the international bureau...

1963 Intermeccanica Apollo 5000 GT. You may have guessed by now I am a bit dolally on Italian-American hybrids, having long nursed a wish to own an Iso Rivolta. Here is one from the American side of the game which hides various General Motors mechanicals under what appears to be the product of a hurried tryst between a GTO and an E Type. Then as now, it looked a million bucks but costs 10% of that.
For: Go on. Its a looker you must admit.
Against: Not much pedigree but quite good nonetheless.
Investment potential: 3/10. You can run it on the cheap as long as you don't hit anything.

Five from left field

Aesthete's Fleet.

Like athlete's foot, a painful condition involving Italian car ownership.

Only the modern side of the fleet is in running condition this week. I set myself to fixing a fuel problem that had made driving the Alfa 1750 GTV unpredictable for the past 29 years. It exhibited the same behavior in Auckland in 1984 and it has taken me this long to fix it. A previous owner had cleverly bypassed the mechanical fuel pump and installed an electric one. It all looked professional so I left it alone after its big rebuild in 2006 but it faded on long uphill runs and refitting the old pump worked wonders. Now I have blown the clutch up but here is a picture from today's AROC run to Macraes Mine as evidence that it has been running. Below that a shot of the Lancia on the Costa del Kingston next to a delightful Guilietta Ti.

 

That one developed a worrying gearbox noise that sounds like a slowly collapsing bearing near the differential. I pulled a scrap gearbox apart to educate myself and found it was jammed full of expensive and hard to find bearings, which is what one might have expected. Most of my off-shore Flavia friends seem happy to whang in another gearbox, of which they have half a dozen or so sitting ready to go on shelves in their heated workshops. With only four of these cars in the country, that was a possibility not availed to me and I have to actually fix it. More correctly, the mechanic I fondly call Wonder Boy will be fixing it so he can divert a significant proportion my income to his own projects.

The Trade Me Five

1986 MG Metro. The catch phrase this week is 'Well. Why on Earth not?' so why not a Metro? This little car carried the hopes of the massed British car industry on its narrow shoulders and they are actually better than you might think, being a product of the Rover side of the industry. Cheap and abundant performance parts leave you no excuse not to improve it.

For: Still with the venerable but fizzy A-series engine for that authentic tuned Mini rasp.
Against: Depends how you feel about flappy grey plastics.
Investment potential: 6/10. Must be getting down to the last few viable examples now.

1986 TVR 350i. There are two TVRs on Trade Me this week so the Aesthete shrugs insouciantly and says 'Give us the ugly one then'. Oliver Winterbottom's wedgy TVRs are the epitome of 1980s futures trader chic, more-so than a whale-tail Guardsman red 911 in my view. This one has been tastefully improved and will perform to your expectations, however optimistic they may be.

For: It is better without the awful decals that made the original car look like a radio controlled toy.
Against: "U G L Y. You ain't got no alibi, you're ugly" (Apologies to Daphne and Celeste)
Investment potential: 2/10. Have you noticed that some things never quite come back into fashion?

1964 Chevrolet Impala SS Coupe. The SS letters usually meant nothing on these cars but this is not your usual big dumb American but a rare manual big-block four-speed Impala with which to give those pesky white and blue Ford Galaxies a bit of a fright. It is a shame they and all their behemoth ilk have slipped off the classics circuit as nothing looks better being used in the heat of competition than one of these cornering on its door handles.

For: More capable than the run to the beach hop would demand.
Against: Will need some development for what I am thinking about.
Investment potential: 6/10. Rarity and specification may count for something here. Best not wreck it on the track then.

1987 Alfa Romeo Sprint Cloverleaf. Call up that panel-beater friend that owes you a favour so you can sort out this Sud Sprint. Rust is the bane of these cars but if you can halt it you will find little that will afford you as much driving pleasure for the money. The owner's terrifying drive way says it all really. Nowhere to work on it and nowhere to keep it dry.

For: Every day is an adventure with one of these.
Against: You have to be somewhere on the autism spectrum to put up with it. And does anyone really have a panel-beater friend?
Investment potential: 6/10. You might spend 10K on body and paint but a good one must be worth more than that now.

1989 Lancia Thema Turbo. The high milage made me flinch but these are tough cars that belie their Fiat heritage, being developed alongside sensible-Svenson Saab for the 9000 series. Despite the upright executive looks the one I owned consumed open road miles, had third gear performance to wake the dead as well as great surging waves of torque steer. Its broad shouldered looks have weathered the passing years well and you would not be ashamed to be seen in it.

For: All others have gone to the scrapper now. Here is your last chance.
Against: I will hear nothing said against these cars.
Investment potential: 1/10. Always a limited market even though it was the last Lancia that sold in any numbers anywhere outside Italy.

From the Foreign Desk...

1959 Rambler American. True ingenuity knows no boundaries and I guarantee if you left a dozen of our hot rod friends in a shed for forty years with a Rambler, they would not think to do this. The delicate looks of the Italian influenced Rambler compact remain intact and the power plant would not upset the balance, as so many poorly conceived re-powers would.

For: This has everything I would want in an amusing car and is 19K US.
Against: Lots I am sure but I refuse to consider it.
Investment potential: 2/10. Optimistically...

1966 BMW 2000 CS. These BMWs were almost bespoke in comparison to the saloons, being built an small numbers by Karmann. The interiors were beautifully fitted and the avant-garde nose with swooping light covers was rationalised away in the later big coupes. I would like one of these as a companion to the Flavia as that it where sensible comparison lies with the European competition at the time. There is one on Trade Me but the seller wants 9K. We will see...

For: Mid-60s chic.
Against: All that is against owning a Lancia Flavia in New Zealand and perhaps more.
Investment potential: 0/10. You would like to think there would be some but no...

Something special from Trade Me

The Aesthete confesses...

...that he did not read the gory details of the Dino Coupe's twin cam Fiat engine transplant before sticking it on the list last week. Sharp-eyed Nathan saw the full horror of the near empty engine bay and now the whole shabby plot is revealed. Best check that your US import has an engine in it before writing out the cheque is my advice.

The Trade Me Five

1975 Ferrari 308 GT4. Ferrari's unappreciated V8 four seater cannot remain in the doldrums forever and they look like a bargain while their Dino predecessors are heading into outer limits. The Bertone styling was controversial but today it looks every bit the 1970s Milan show beauty and it has a practical interior for those to whom that is important. Really the first modern Ferrari, if a bit of a mis-step.

For: Fabulous V8 and mid-engined dynamics

Against: Just as expensive to fix as a million dollar one.

Investment potential: 3/10. Be prepared to spend money if you intend to use it.

1966 Fiat Crusader. Fiat's 1500 saloon was the smart choice in the mid-60s. You would think the disc brakes, refined mechanicals and brisk styling would stop anyone wanting a Vauxhall Velox but it was not quite the case. Survivors in this state are rare but not unknown as an informed few recognise the Crusader as a bit of a catch.

For: Low milage and excellent provenance.

Against: What more could you want?

Investment potential: 8/10. Nothing to spend if it is as good as it looks.

1970 Alfa Romeo 1300 Junior. Alfa produced a bewildering variety of sporting coupes around the Bertone shell. This one is a mid-period Junior with the distinctive dropped nose panel and side indicators of the early cars with the twin pod dash of the 1750. It has been de-rusted and painted and comes with a 2-litre engine which needs a rebuild. I thrashed around and ground my teeth when reader Nathan pointed this out to me. It is, after all,  the Aesthete's ideal project. 

For: An unusual Alfa which would be huge fun.

Against: Nothing that I can see.

Investment potential: 8/10 or less, depending on how high the bidding goes.

1962 Ferris de Joux GT. These do not pop up on Trade Me every week so the Aesthete was thrilled to see one of Ferris de Joux's early efforts come on to the market. He was something of a renaissance man, working in industrial design as well as bespoke car manufacture. His Mini de Joux was one of the best looking transformations of that car ever wrought and this big coupe shows his approach to a potential Jensen rival. 

For:  An important piece of New Zealand design history that you can drive.

Against: A bit of work ahead yet.

Investment potential: 7/10. Basic mechanicals and construction means that the project could be completed without a mortgage. 

1974 Rolls Royce Corniche. I wonder which New Zealand plutocrat bought this new in 1974 when it was amongst the most expensive cars in the world? Diminishing value has brought it down to the price of a new Hyundai so why not waft about the town in something with real presence.
For: You could finally convince your parents you had made something of yourself.
Against: Possibly not as cheap to run as that Hyundai.
Investment potential: 3/10. Uneconomical to restore. Buy a good one and use it regularly.

And from elsewhere...

1969 Intermecannica Italia. A who–what I hear you ask? This is one for the Automobile Annual scholars who will recognise it as a short lived Italian American hybrid that paired Ferrari GTO styling with robust Corvette mechanicals. Some were better than others and this restored example would make an amusing alternative to a Corvette for similar outlay.
For: No one will know what it is.
Against: You will have to keep explaining it.
Investment potential: 4/10. Too esoteric to have a big following but relatively cheap to keep going.

1939 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe. The most elegant of the 1930s streamliners, the V12 Lincoln Zephyr looked like something from Norman Bel Gedde's Futurama. This original low milage car has never been restored and should not be, so authentic is the ambience of its wonderful decor with its central instrument pod and numerous other exquisite modernist details.
For: Apart from a Packhard Clipper Coupe, my favorite American.
Against: Made for long straight highways.
Investment potential: 5/10. Who knows where the price could go on this? Wait and see.

First list for 2013

The Aesthete unleashed!

I am expanding the Petrolhead Aesthete this year to include listings from some of my favorite international sites. Many enthusiasts buy what they want and ship it here so why should we be any different? Of course this adds to the challenge of purchasing but what is life without risk? I will also be offering my own market analysis based entirely on my cheerfully prejudiced opinions.

The Trade Me picks for this week

1969 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible. Most of the Karmann coupes have roofs so a convertible is a rare treat. This is a late example and marred somewhat by the oversized rear lights but it retains the elegant slim bumpers and steel dash of earlier cars. The steering wheel is on the correct side for those who care about such things. 

For: The owner has given up. Someone else needs to sort this out.
Against: Can a car this pretty be depressing? This one is.
Investment potential: 4/10. A good Karmann convertible should fetch 25K, leaving you some margin for body repairs, a new top, partial repaint and chrome. Parts are plentiful and cheap but it is out of registration and has no WOF.

1957 Jaguar 2.4 Litre Saloon. Retrospectively dubbed the Mk 1, Jaguar's small saloon was the company's first car without a bulky separate chassis. Its ride quality and performance set new standards although the handling was questioned due to the narrow rear axle. Hopefully, you will not be emulating Mike Hawthorne so sit back and enjoy the cabin ambience of this charming two-owner car. 

For: Rare in this condition.
Against: Can it be as good as it looks for the price?
Investment potential: 7/10. Based solely on the notion that restoration would ruin it. I can't see where you would have to spend a lot of money here. 

1955 Daimler One-0-Four. Daimler launched its mid-sized saloon into the market where it was competing with Jaguar and Armstrong Siddeley as well as the more sporting Riley and Alvis brands. The 3.5 liter six pushed it to the magic 100 MPH but I would not like to be on board when that was happening. The old Wilson pre-select gearbox is inclined to be a bit noisy and requires a certain knack for smooth progress but this is a most agreeable car for genteel day tripping. 

For: The price is right for once.
Against: Needs fettling and new carpets at the very least.
Investment potential: 5/10. While the Daimler Club is enthusiastic, the market for these cars is aging. Spend 10K on paint and interior and enjoy it.

1960 Austin Healey Sprite. These clever little sports cars are capable of extensive development and this example has intelligent modifications that do not spoil its character. I imagine it would be great fun on the open road and all the expensive work is done leaving the new owner to sort out the paint defects.
For: Don't buy that MX-5. Buy this.
Against: 30K is pushing it when it needs a repaint.
Investment potential: 2/10. Already testing the upper price limit for a modified car.

1989 Lotus Esprit Turbo. The chaos at Lotus in the 1980s did not prevent them from building great cars and the restyled Esprit Turbo carried them thought a dark period. The pricing of these high performance cars sits on a knife edge, however, and they may yet follow their Porsche 928 and Renault Alpine rivals into 250KPH banger territory.
For: Less complex and onerous than the V8 successor.
Against: The 1990s revival must surely come sooner or later.
Investment potential: 3/10. Provenance is crucial here. No point in buying a poor example when good ones are still reasonable money. 

International selection

1967 Fiat Dino Coupe. Hmm. A Dino for one tenth the price of the other Dino - the one that dare not speak its name. What could be the problem here? The big Fiat coupe was a conventionally laid out luxury tourer more in the Maserati mould than its famous mid-engined Ferrari sibling but the Bertone coupe looks are exquisite and you could drive the length of the country in it.
For: A golden age for GT coupes in my view.
Against: Scruffy details might arouse suspicion.
Investment potential: 5/10 At 82c to the $US you can shop there much as you might at home and I do not see many 22K Fiat Dinos for sale here. Proceed with caution when buying from the US, however. Cars are hardly ever inspected for road worthiness and many buyers have been caught by shiny paint.

1957 Lincoln Premier Coupe. Ford styling was a hit and miss affair in the mid-1950s with few large cars avoiding being hit with the ugly stick. This Lincoln escaped the studio unharmed however, and set a fashion for vertically stacked headlights. The two tone metallic grey is quite subtle and it could be yours for less than 10K.
For: One of the best looking designs from the Ford range.
Against: Original but needing some work.
Investment potential: 2/10 Very little is selling locally for anything near what sellers expect so be wary.