The Aesthete returns to his old ways

The Aesthete's Fleet
The damp cooling weather is affecting the Alfa's ability to start in the morning and my idle tendency to drive it 500 metres to the shops is not doing it any good either. We missed the recent Alfa club outing to Ohou which is exactly what it needed. The subject of vibration has flared again on the Alfa Bulletin Board where I have posted lengthy analysis of this problem. The exhaust system is now being pointed out as the culprit but I suspect that if you dismantled one of these cars to the last nut there would still be a vibration left hanging in the air.

The song this week is a psychedelic oddity from Scottish band Marmalade, a favourite of Jimi Hendrix and no indication of the bland pop fate that befell them. They had two bass players and there is a great comment on Youtube about a gig at the Prickwillow Village Hall.  Oh, nostalgia...

1976 Ford Granada Ghia Coupe. Seeing this took the Aesthete back to two channel TV and The Professionals where if there was a conman deserving of a good thrashing from Bodie, he would be introduced in the episode driving one of these. It is a better car than that image perhaps suggests and time has been kind to the fastback lines. Even the beige cloth interior looks attractive compared to the putrid decor combinations that followed. Compare it to a Ford Probe and I think you will see what I mean.

For: Cor guvnor! Is that a new motor?
Against: Not much really. I would buy it.
Investment potential: 6/10 if it is as good at it looks.

1959 Rover 105S. The sleeper of the P4 range, the 105S featured every option that the conservative Rover company could justify so individual bucket seats, a cigar lighter, twin Lucas fog lights, special wheel trims and an HMV radio sweetened the usual mix. Larger SU carburettors pushed the stately barge up to 100 mph and while it was no Jaguar it had class in spades. Turn up to a Rover club day and the old codgers will be all over it.

For: That's class, that is.
Against: If you like old Rovers, nothing much at all.
Investment potential: 6/10 again but with the same proviso.

1952 Sunbeam Talbot 90 Mk II. Those that know the Aesthete's weakness for cars from the 1940s will roll their eyes to see this but a good Sunbeam Talbot 90 for 8K is a bit of a steal really.  The era produced some terrible cars but the ST90 was not to be numbered amongst them. The Monte Carlo and Alpine rallies sorted the sheep from the goats, Stirling Moss drove them enthusiastically and history of that calibre should not be available as cheaply as this.

For: I saw this car on the Vero Rally last year and it is indeed as described.
Against: Surprisingly intimate cabin. The portly will need the seat rails moved.
Investment potential: 5/10

1968 Volvo 122S. The subfusc pictures do the car no favours but this two door Volvo is an original and handsome thing also with an illustrious rallying past. Like the older Sunbeam, mechanical toughness was selected over incendiary performance but the Volvo was nimble in the snow and great to watch on old rally films, somewhat like seeing your aunty jumping hurdles.

For: An extraordinary 1960s rally classic for quite ordinary money.
Against: Like saunas and fondues, you have to open your mind to it.
Investment potential: 6/10 if you do as the vendor suggests.

Bean. The vendor cannot tell us much about this 1920s chassis so the Aesthete will attempt to fill the knowledge gap around this interesting vehicle. The six spark plugs sprouting on its side valve head mean it is a 14HP model similar to the car that Australian adventurer Frank Birtles drove across Australia from Darwin to Melbourne in 1926. Beans were justifiably popular here as well and were raced in stripped down form on the early beach circuit. Fabricate a torpedo body on top of this and you will be pleased at the result.

For: Its 2K for heaven's sake. What do you want?
Against: Oh yes, I know. Its a dreadful wreck.
Investment potential: It depends on your resourcefulness.

On some faraway beach...

1963 Ghia L6.4. Odd that one of the most successful Corgi die cast models of the 1960s depicted  a car hardly anyone had seen. The Ghia L6.4 was hand built in Turin around Chrysler mechanicals and the price tag deterred all but 24 customers who famously included Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. You could slip into that sink of vice for a relatively modest 397K, a snip for one of the most glamorous vehicles ever to take to the road.

For: You could probably drive it.
Against: No one will though.
Investment potential: 3/10. Surely some 'museum' will want it.