Which 'classic' car to buy ?

[RogerS]

Toying with the idea of buying a 'classic' car to replace the rust-bucket.

Which car would you guys get? Something that is free of electronic gizmos, reliable, not a rust-bucket, good solid engineering, cheap to maintain. And that will appreciate.

 

[RogerS]

Just checked out Brightwells' forthcoming classic car auctions.

This one appeals...



Especially when you read the blurb...

Ex-Foreign & Commonwealth office car; believed to be Jack Straw's car; 47,000 miles only; LWB fully armour plated by MacNeillie SVC; PA system; hidden police light & digital board in rear window; Home Office scanner in boot; multiple phones; CB radio

Just the job for zipping down the hard shoulder the next time the motorway gets clogged up !!

 

[Malc2098]

But will your drive be able to take the static load of a vehicle that heavy?!

 

[RogerS]

But will your drive be able to take the static load of a vehicle that heavy?!

 

[Mike G]

A Morgan, obviously.

 

[RogerS]

A Morgan, obviously.

Funnily enough, they do absolutely nothing for me.

 

[Rod]

Land Rover Defender
Or the latest limited edition McLaren, buy it, keep it pristine and resell at a massive profit!

Rod

 

[Wizard9999]

Aston Martin

 

[Rod]

Which one - some already command stupid prices?

Rod

 

[Pinch]

Now this is a very cool thread indeed - nice one Roger!

We'll get you sorted Sir, we'll get you sorted. I'm sounding a bit like Guy Martin now :lol:

I shall come back in later today, but the X300 (especially with that provenance) will always be a good buy/investment. I did see John Prescot's old government Jag up for sale a while back and he's a Jag man through and through.

:text-bravo:

 

[StevieB]

I did see John Prescot's old government Jag up for sale a while back and he's a Jag man through and through.

:text-bravo:

Check that for suspension wear

Always fancied an AC cobra to be honest, although the kit version might be more affordable and if done well can carry a hefty price tag post build.

Steve

 

[RogerS]

I did see John Prescot's old government Jag up for sale a while back and he's a Jag man through and through.

:text-bravo:

Check that for suspension wear

.....

Steve

But only on his side :lol:

 

[Wizard9999]

Which one - some already command stupid prices?

Rod

I was thinking DB7, but just had a look and even they have jumped since I last thought about one.

Terry.

 

[Mike G]

Aston Martin

Yep. AM Ulster, thanks. In British Racing Green.

 

[Rod]

A friend owned John Wolfe's racing AC Cobra for awhile.
It's now in the Beaulieu Motor Museum

Rod

 

[Pinch]

It all depends on whether you want a daily driver or the occasional drive/in storage, and of course, how much you would like to spend. A good rust free low mileage Jaguar XJ (XJ40 or X300) are still very cheap at the moment but they are slowly going up in price. They're a good daily drive and the straight 6 (3.2 or 4) engines are very reliable with plenty of pull. Fuel consuption is anything between 18-28 MPG. My X300 for example is the Sovereign and back in 1994, she was a very cool £43k new. :shock: The XJ's are full of luxury and they're an absolute pleasure to drive.

One of my collection in the ideal world is the Alvis...

Oh yeah... just beautiful.

bscene-drinkingcheers:

 

[Malc2098]

Interested in a classic bike?

 

[meccarroll]

This is definitely you!

 

[chataigner]

Toyota Supra 3L turbo from the early 1990s. Simple, very comfortable, built like a tank, utterly reliable, 0-60 in around 5s. Mine did over 120,000 miles with no work on it all apart from oil changes, tyres etc etc. Wish I still had it !

 

[RogerS]

Mmmm.that Supra quite appeals. There's one for sale on AutoTrader 108k miles 1988 £2750

 

[chataigner]

More info on the Supra : the automatic, which I had, is brilliant. It's a 3 speed auto, but with overdrive in 2 and 3 giving effectively a 5 speed box. It has normal and sport mode, sport giving later changes with higher revs. Very potent. It is very high geared, 60mph in 1st, and imagine my surprise the first time I accelerated to overtake at close to a ton and it changed down.

Probably the best car I ever had. Sold it in '96 for a Lexus GS300 (which had much the same 3L straight 6 engine) and is much more luxurious, but actually regretted it later.

It is technically a 4 seater, but the back seats are pretty cramped. OK for runs of up to say an hour, but not a car for 4 people on holiday. If you are tall like me, the long doors are wonderful for swinging the legs in and out.

 

[RogerS]

What's your take on the later Supra's like the Mk IV ?

 

[chataigner]

Probably excellent, but i have no first hand experience. The MK4, if I remember rightly, is a twin turbo : the big turbo on the Mk3 was very potent, but a bit slow in responding. The twin turbo was meant to add a small, quick responding turbo to cut in fast while waiting for the big turbo to spin up. Sounds good, but I never tried one.

More generally on Toyota/Lexus, at the time i was buying new ones, they were offering 6yr, 100k mile warranties. Both the Supra and the Lexus worked pretty hard when i had them and both did more than 100k miles in under 3 yrs each without ever any remedial work. All I ever did to them was respect the service intervals and put petrol (rather a lot) in them. As a matter of interest, I got more than half the new price for each of them when I sold them.

 

[RogerS]

Wow.....30,000 miles a year of driving... :text-bravo:

 

[Pinch]

An old pal of mine had a Supra and it was stunning and pretty quick!

Well.... not bad anyway.

Hey Roger, if you can find an old BMW 850, you're in for a darn good ride Sir and a marvellous investment.

 

[TrimTheKing]

The 850 was a ridiculous motor!! My uncle's mate had one and poop off a shovel is the only deception.

Sat at some lights in Glasgow, 3 grown men in the car and a scrote in a Scooby was angling for a race. Uncles mate floored it without looking at him and hit 80 in first gear and only got into second by the next set of lights.

Scrote appeared next to us about 5 seconds later. Didn't look at us and no more revving. [emoji23]

A beast of an automobile!

Cheers
Mark

 

[chataigner]

Wow.....30,000 miles a year of driving... :text-bravo:

Yes, visiting clients all over the UK and most of Europe. Quite a lot of flying too for clients in the US.
Paid for retirement at 52 though !! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Pinch]

I've had a wee browse and there are a few 850's and 840's around, although not many 850CSi's. There's quite a price range too.

Here is a superb example of a 1998 840Ci on 33k miles and in gorgeous Boston Green Pearl.

Although this beauty isn't the awesome monster 850CSi 5.6 litre V12, she will certainly throw you back in your seat and give you a wobbly pair of cheeks.

When your car has 4 exhaust pipes poking out from under her rear, you know she means business!

Yours at £24,990.

Shall I make the phone call and reserve an appointment??

:text-bravo:

bscene-drinkingcheers:

 

[Pinch]

The 850 was a ridiculous motor!! My uncle's mate had one and poop off a shovel is the only deception.

Sat at some lights in Glasgow, 3 grown men in the car and a scrote in a Scooby was angling for a race. Uncles mate floored it without looking at him and hit 80 in first gear and only got into second by the next set of lights.

Scrote appeared next to us about 5 seconds later. Didn't look at us and no more revving. [emoji23]

A beast of an automobile!

Cheers
Mark

That's the way to do it!

'Scrote in a Scooby' :lol: :lol:

 

[Tusses]

so is it for a daily runaround ? or do you need to do "work" stuff with it ?

I have a couple of 924's that are great as dailies .. deceptively big boot space with the rear seat down.

for carrying/towing an old landy with a "heavy oil" engine. (I don't have one any more .. turning circle not good for my drive)

My 1st choice will always be aircooled VW though .. I have beetles, pickup (great for work) , camper,

failing that , I have a few water cooled T4's , good for carrying and towing

or just for fun, I have a couple of Ferrari Dino replicas
1964 Volvo P1800s .. is nice

72 Mini 850 .. is nice and econimical ..

I've had plenty of BIG yank tanks too .. thirsty, but as simple mechanics as you could wish for.

It's depends on what you are into, and what you decide to drive on that particular day ! lol

 

[Pinch]

Crikey Rich! You have quite a collection there matey! Very cool

I once owned a 944 and it was a great little car, good drive, good fun and yep, a huge boot.

I had the 944 when I was up and down the M5 & M6 to see Mrs P when I could. The old devil (the 944, not Mrs P) drove the motorways like a train and I once managed close to 140 out of her - the 944! Not too bad down the country roads either.

In fact, here she is... the 944 and Mrs P - asleep in the passenger seat :|

Great little cars and certainly an investment.

The cills are their weakness.

 

[Tusses]

Nice .. we have a 924s .. same as the 944 but 924 body.
They get nice MPG too !

the "s" at a show somewhere

and the beige 924 with pascha seats/trim .. I love it, but not to everyones taste ! lol

and the thirstiest I ever had at 4MPG

oh .. nearly forgot this one .. lots of fun ! lol

I'll do some more in a bit ...

 

[Tusses]

one of the dino rep's .. just got it home
(and the slowest one in the background at a steady 4MPH lol)

Definitely the comfiest .. and a good 28MPG cruising 5.2L I think that one was .. and there is Mrs Me

ok for a couple of days away wild camping too

 

[Tusses]

I used this one to get fetch the sand and gravel for my workshop floor ..
Just digger dump it on the pickup bed, and shovel it off when I get back

the 78 transam was the biggest head turner. twin exhaust straight through, just one cherry bomb on each side

that's enough for now .. I have work to do ! lol

 

[Pinch]

Blinkin heck!!!! :shock:

I thought I was bad enough with all the motors I've had over the years, but Rich, I think you take the whole packet of biscuits chap! :lol: Good on ya!

I do like the American cars a lot - early Dodge Charger, early Mustang Fastback, early Pontiac GTO and more...

An uncle of mine had a Buick estate years ago when I was a wee lad and I remember him saying the fuel consumption was around 5 - brilliant. Like Henry Ford said, "There's no substitute for cc."

One of the best classics I've had was a 911 Targa and here she is...

I regretted selling this one. :|

 

[Tusses]

Very nice

I have a few regrets .. but can't keep em all ! and there will be more to come ..

I'd have expected Fuchs , not Cup1's for it's wellies though ?

 

[Pinch]

Yes, I would imagine Fuchs were on the car originally. I bought her 95% restored and the Cup 1's were already on her - front was 235's and the rear was 265's. The same was also on the 944 only powder coated black. Oh dam, I so wish I never sold the 911 :| dam dam dam! A nice token was a German chap came over from Germany and bought her for his collection back in Germany.

I've actually been thinking about selling my Jag, but I can't quite get myself round to doing it, so I probably won't. I think I need to keep hold of her for a few more years yet. It's just storing them and keeping on top of them. One car is okay, but keeping on top of 4 vehicles (including Mrs P's) has its challenges, as I expect you most certainly know.

:text-bravo:

 

[Tusses]

yep .. I had 11 at once MOT'd Taxed and Insured a few years ago ..it was silly really .. the economy crash put things in perspective , so now most of them wait in the garden for brighter days .. My retirement maybe ! lol

as for the Cup1's .. just the rims .. they can now go for a couple of G's without rubber !

 

[Pinch]

yep .. I had 11 at once MOT'd Taxed and Insured a few years ago ..it was silly really .. the economy crash put things in perspective , so now most of them wait in the garden for brighter days .. My retirement maybe ! lol

as for the Cup1's .. just the rims .. they can now go for a couple of G's without rubber !

Yep, if only I still had the 944 :|

Sounds about right. :lol:

 

[Pinch]

I've just found this on ebay at a wee shade under £33k.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Mustang- ... Sw8gVX87XV

Stunning.