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.