The Aesthete ponders life

Well, the automotive side of life anyway. The metaphysical parts are probably too much to take on in a blog about old cars. I am still stuck in that bedizened vale on the Waitamata where every day offers a new insult to the senses. I am driving like a native now, eyes fixed murderously ahead, not using the mirrors or indicators and behaving like a character in the old movie Tron where to move out of your lane results in instantaneous fiery death.
I have been using my 'spare time', largely obtained by failing to sleep,  to plan some improvements to the Lancia. I spotted this one for sale in the UK and thought it looked spiffing on its new Minilites. Gordon-Keeble-esque said Wonderboy, thereby moving even further up in my estimation.  I found these to be a very reasonable $400 per wheel from NZ distributor Neil Allport, and cast to order with the correct offset and weird Lancia stud pattern. The Triumph has arrived in Dunedin so I will report on that when I get back home next week.

1975 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000. Could this be the best unrestored 105 series GTV in New Zealand? Possibly if the vendor's scant description holds true. Should we then be shocked at the price? No, if you consider that a rebuilt car never really feels like an original factory built one and an old Alfa is about feel more than anything else. If you want one, swallow hard and pay the man his money.

For: Has qualities that 30K at Alfaholics could not buy you.
Against: Dull colour but it is original so change it at your peril.
Investment potential: 2/10 if you use it and why would you not use it?

1979 Porsche 928. The qualities of the basic original 928 are impressive enough not to worry about it being an early model. The silken V8 and smooth automatic was matched to a brilliant interior layout and the chequerboard seat fabrics are better than any party drug the Aesthete has ever experienced. It probably still has a tape player so I recommend Iggy Pop's Lust For Life album and a late night drive in the rain. You will feel like you never left Berlin.

For: Arrgghhah! It's 10K!
Against: Absolutely nothing that I can see.
Investment potential: 8/10 if you see it as a car to run until the end of gasoline.

1967 Jaguar Mk.II 3.8. Has the shine somewhat peeled away from these old warhorses in the age of cheap import XKs? Otherwise what is this most attractively specified car doing sitting on Trademe at 20K, even if it does need an interior refurbishment? The usual strong caveats apply here as a twenty year old 'bare metal respray' could mean the typical array of fearsome bodges that these fast and powerful cars were often subjected to.

For: Inspect carefully but there could be a good car here for someone brave.
Against: Well I remember the terrifying wandering red  3.8 owned by my co-Triumph owning friend.
Investment potential. 3/10. I am surprised there are any left.

1973 Ford LTD Country Squire. Ah, what bucolic fantasies are triggered by the words 'Country Squire'. The plastic wood, the door trims panelled in the manner of Grinling Gibbons, the banquet seating in the rear and fabrics the delicate shade of a murdered ox. Who could not be satisfied by the sensory overload guaranteed by a 429 cubic inch nine seater station wagon? Not you? Are you some sort of communist?

For: Dismay your liberal friends with this.
Against: Look, it is what it is. You will need some nerve.
Investment potential: 0/10, possibly less.

1954 Lanchester Leda. The Aesthetette learnt to drive in one of these Wilson preselect gearbox Lanchesters, a strange fact that endeared her to me in the early phase of our courtship in various disreputable Auckland nightclubs. The fact that she could hot wire a car also impressed me. Should I buy her this as a token of my enduring love? Possibly not. It is a lesson in what to avoid in classic car ownership: an expensive professional restoration on a car that was terrible to begin with.

For: ......  (indicates the Aesthete is thinking)
Against: Where do I start?
Investment potential: 10K for a full leather retrim in good quality hide takes us to -14/10


Away in a foreign land... Canada actually

1947 Lancia Ardea Series 2. Would the Aesthete like this? Yes, very much. Lancia's jewell-like small car was built with a level of engineering finesse that drove the business into ruin but you have to love that about the Italians.  Built at the tiny rate of 500 per year, it is like a piece of Gio Ponti modernist furniture that you could drive in Italy to rousing cheers of approbation.

For: Oh come on. It has no engine or gearbox but those are mere trifles.
Against: It has no engine. Or gearbox. Where is the Lancia Ardea Superstore again?
Investment potential: 1/10 but fortune favours the bold.