The Aesthete 's weekly reverie

 The Aesthete's Fleet.

Still no pictures of the GTV as you would need something a proctologist uses to capture what I am doing now. Wonderboy alerted me to some holes in the firewall under the base of the screen. You need a mirror and a strong light to see but it is not extensive and will be patched. I had to remove the wiper mechanism which appeared to be the first item fitted to the car on the assembly line at Arese, before the engine, brakes and steering went in.  If anyone saw the poor fellow on Embarrassing Bodies Down Under getting his butt sutured up, it will look a bit like that when finished.

1949 Lanchester LD10. 'What is the ugly bug?' I hear you asking. It would probably make no difference if I explained that it was the most expensive small car you could buy in England after the war and much coveted by retired gentlefolk. It was available in two bodies, a rather clumsy six-light steel one and this happier looking aluminium and ash framed  'sports saloon' by coach builder Barker. Superb quality, refined ride but 68 MPH flat out. Fast enough to get to evening vespers on time and that is all that really mattered.

For: The Aesthetette was the only girl I ever met who could drive a car with a Wilson preselect gearbox. Great happiness ensued.
Against: A bit dull but not in a bad way.
Investment potential. 3/10. It looks complete and comes with loads of documentation.

1938 Citroen Light 15. While we are in that distant epoch we might consider a Citroen Light 15, a car the Aesthete has been known to be sniffy about. This is because while they were a great 1930s car, unlike a Beetle they were not a great 1950s car. Their weaknesses were more acceptable then when most cars were motorised drays with cart springs and solid axles. This early Slough built car has the lovely Michelin wheels and a sunroof.

For: Tin Tin fans line up here.
Against: Best start doing weights as the first low speed turn might pop something.
Investment potential: 2/10. An aging band of loyal followers but do people really want these still?

1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan. The wonderful 1930s General Motors streamliners pioneered on Buick and Cadillac frames continued after the war as glamorous but low cost Chevrolet models. Dripping with chrome, they looked a million dollars and sold remarkably well, 211, 861 in 1948 alone.  Unusually this one has not been rodded and comes intact with its grey painted 'stovebolt' six, cloth interior and manual transmission.

For: A bodgie wagon non pareil.
Against: You are not and never have been a bodgie. Oh well. Not for you then.
Investment potential: 1/10. Probably at the top end now.

1959 Borgward Hansa. This is the greatly improved front wheel drive small car produced by Borgward in direct competition with DKW who still had a smelly two stroke to offer the public. These cars found a keen market in Australia and were also sold here to customers who made their own muesli, spun wool from dog hair and did yoga naked on the back lawn.

For: The Aesthete finds it hard enough to resist a single Borgward Hansa but two? It's too much!
Against: You might meet another Borgward owner.
Investment potential: 0/10. None of them have any money. Have you noticed?

1989 Land Rover Perentie. Desperate to impress your employer by turning up to work on the next snow day? You clearly need this 6WD Land Rover, knocked up by imaginative defense contractors in Australia and used by the military to rush around in the desert making lots of noise. One imagines they were serviced from time to time and that all the funnel webs have been gassed.

For: Six wheels. Can't beat that.
Against. A four wheeled Landie is bad enough...
Investment potential: 0/10 as the West Island is selling the whole fleet off.


Little red not-Corvette...

1971 Opel GT. The Opel GT languishes at a surprising level of affordability due to its lack of pedigree and ordinary saloon mechanicals. At least this one has the larger 1900cc engine that gave respectable performance if not at the Italian level that the looks suggested. Two seats and no boot opening also suppressed demand although a surprising number were sold. Why would you want one today?  Then as now, it looked like something that was five times the price.

For: Oh, the looks definitely.
Against: Nothing that could not be solved with an Alfa engine swap. Note that scruffy Guilia Sprint Speciales are now 100K+
Investment potential: 2/10 given that it would be 30K landed here.