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.