The Aesthete rummages around

The Aesthete's Fleet
I took some artist friends into Dunedin to see the band Marineville play at the Crown Hotel. "It has a nice growl to it" said Andrea about the Alfetta so perhaps I will delay the exhaust replacement and accept this as a compliment from a girl with taste. Or maybe she was being polite...

1955 Singer Hunter. Andrea's partner said it reminded him of his old Singer Hunter, an admission that I could hardly dignify with a response. Perhaps he meant that the GTV made noises, which apparently no modern car does now unless produced by a digital noise generator. He may know about tempera painting during the Renaissance but cars? I offer this one owner Singer Hunter as proof.

For: Nothing that I can see.
Against: Almost everything.
Investment potential: Bwahahaha.

1970 Fiat 850 Coupe. It looks a bit of a shocker but the vendor avers there is a restorable 850 Coupe obscured underneath the terrible brush paint job. This does not explain why the wheels and chrome have been painted blue, however. Or why it has been painted grey over that. Inspect with care.

For: A good car lies beneath we are told.
Against: What is all that paint hiding?
Investment potential: 4/10 if all goes well.

1967 Volvo 1800S. The restyled S coupe lost some of the idiosyncratic details of the earlier Pelle Peterson cars but looked a little more mature in consequence. The Italianate rocket car looks first seen in 1957 were always belied by the road performance which leaned more towards long distance reliability than pyrotechnics.

For: Swedish Italian.What could not be right about that?
Against: A bit ordinary underneath.
Investment potential: 2/10. Not flying out the door at 30K so we must be conservative.

1975 Mercedes Benz 280C. A similar summary judgement could be issued over this Mercedes coupe, pleasant though it is. Buyers may question why they should be expected to pay the thick end of 40K when other similar cars can be had for a substantial discount. The cost of any sort of serious restoration work is the inevitable answer so it you want to avoid all that, just pay the man his money.

For: That's quality, that is.
Against: Nothing, you cheapskates.
Investment potential: 3/10 but you will probably come out ahead in the end.

1958 Microplas Mistral. Built by the old coach building concern Emslie and Flocton in Dunedin and based on a British prototype, the Mistral shell could be supplied with a complete tubular frame into which you could siphon the mechanical parts from a side valve Prefect. You might not get to the ton with that wheezing old unit but the potential was there. This example is presented in period club trim and looks like a lot of fun.

For: Genuine local history.
Against: How genuine? Answers please.
Investment potential: 8/10 if it is real.

On some faraway beach...

1947 Lincoln Club Coupe. From that fascinating hinterland between 1930s streamliners and 1950s bathtubs comes this V12 Lincoln, almost the last of its tribe. The interior is brilliant with hectares of wool cloth and a dash to put Wurlitzer to shame, all swept majestically along by 130 silent side valve horses. The asking price is a modest 21K which makes you wonder about the sense of paying for some rusted out muscle car from the next era.

For: I see Lauren Bacall leaning across with an as yet unlit cigarette.
Against: And Bogie preparing to punch you.
Investment potential: 3/10 but should do better than that.