The Aesthete rattles the Trademe box

The Trademe box feels suspiciously light, as well it might at this time of year when everyone has other thoughts in mind than buying or selling old cars. I was discussing this trend with my Alfa owning friend Terry who has put his Duetto restoration aside while he generates a four door Monaro out of sundry HQ bits that have accumulated in his garage, seemingly brought there by a whirlwind. He sagely points out that many of the cars we both peruse have been on Trademe for years and we agreed that the next list shall be called 'Hello Old Friend' and be filled with nice cars that simply will not sell.
Until then...

1967 BMC Freeway. Extra points would be gained in my juvenile car spotting days if it was a model not listed in any of the otherwise comprehensive guides I had at my disposal. Australian oddballs were always good for this, particularly if the equivalent model simply did not exist in the UK. As with the one they drove in the old country Pininfarina got to fool around with the extremities while the mid section was left as Alec Issigonis intended. The outcome was like a Lancia that had done the wild thing with a garden shed.

For: No one else will have one.
Against: There are probably manifold good reasons for that.
Investment potential: 1/10. Buy it and use it.

1955 Morris Isis. Likewise the exotic six cylinder variants of humdrum cars that British product planners seemed to specialise in during the era. It took sharp eyes to determine the extra length in the front wings necessary to smuggle a Westminster motor into the unsuspecting Oxford shell and most buyers preferred the handy smaller engined version. If you desire both foul handling and a 90 MPH top speed on drum brakes, here is your chance to rewrite history.

For: See above.
Against: I know the list should only have good cars on it but I can only work with what I am given.
Investment potential: 1/10 and I am feeling generous.

1977 Fiat 850T Amigo. Looking like a pre-shrunk Kombi, this factory built Fiat camper sits on an 850 van frame so you will not be going over the Haast Pass in top gear, be assured. Even so I would be prepared to crawl behind in first, cheering you upwards as I would know only a true aesthete would see the advantages of buying and restoring this wonderful vehicle. The vendor has clearly seen the mad prices asked for the Volkswagen Type 2 campers and thinks he is selling a gold mine. There was one for sale in a dealer's yard in Dunedin ten or so years ago for a desultory figure and I still kick myself for not acquiring it then.

 For: Just you and a lightly built friend, venturing into unknown wild places but very slowly.
Against: I know. Everything.
Investment potential: -12/10. The rust looks a bit terrifying. Count on some expenses there.

1971 Fiat 850 Sport. There are two 850 Sports on Trademe this week but it always pays to stump up the extra funds and buy the best one if pleasure of use is your main criteria. It should be as these are as close as most of us will get to la dolce vita for a modest outlay and you can be assured of admiring looks and eyebrow lifts from even the snootiest of car snobs.

For: Girls love them. You are a girl? Perfect!
Against: Nothing. A good one is a treasure.
Investment potential: 9/10 and rising.

1983 Lancia Gamma Berline. The price has been dropped to the point that it is almost being given away so why, oh why will someone not buy this superb Lancia? Do not be needlessly afraid. Embrace its essential oddness. Would you rather have a baggy old Mercedes or BMW? Again, why? They were bought by people with no imagination then and we should learn something from that. Toss down a handful of your partner's sedatives and float into Bains with a chequebook before the dead hand of common sense spoils everything.

For: Mmmmmmmmmm. Rare, beautiful Italian oddball saloon.
Against: You can't do anything with him when he is like this.
Investment potential: 0/10. That will snap him out of it.


Away in a foreign land...

1960 Lancia Flaminia Coupe. Much the same could be said for this early Flaminia coupe, one of the finest cars in the world in 1960 and now languishing unsold for under 10K in Swindon. Of course the problem is 10K would not even buy you a valve grind in the UK so I say export all your careworn Lancias to New Zealand where native ingenuity will achieve what English marque specialists fail to deliver. First into the container will be this beauty. It only has 60 thousand miles on it.... Oh, and vale Gianni Lancia whose vision this was and who died only last year.

For: Patrician individuality of a kind beyond crude cash.
Against: You will need plenty of that, sadly.
Investment potential: There is none. Sorry.