Around 1980 or so, Mrs. K and I were on a weekend break in Cape Town when we parked up outside a used car showroom on Adderley St. Parked at the side was a 365 GTB/4.
The blue paintwork was faded and the black leather interior had some sun damage. The salesman explained that it had just arrived and it would be resprayed and re-trimmed before sale. It had one previous owner, had done just under 20k kms and had been serviced a few months earlier. When I explained that we lived over 800km away he offered to sell it unsorted to drive away. His asking price was R12,000 (about £7K).
Reasoning that a V12 Ferrari, even as a toy, in the Namib Desert was an invitation for a whole lot of grief and expense I managed to talk myself out of it.
Fast forward to 1990 and we're living near Basingstoke, a very easy cultural transition.
We're looking for another weekend toy and a guy near Guildford had a Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV for sale. It was a complete beast that flexed the bodywork when you touched the throttle despite all the channel-iron strutbraces. Pretty good dark red paintwork but the white vinyl interior needed work. I thought it was overpriced at £10k but the seller wouldn't budge so I walked away.
Each of them would be well over £100K today.
Are there any bigger fools out there?
Kevin...
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How much would either of them cost you in the intervening years to be worth a six figure sum today?
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When I was based in the city in the late 60s there was an MG garage under the railway arches.
I came very close to buying a red MG TF with a boot rack IIRC, about £250.
Didn't go ahead 'cos of only two seats and bought something sensible instead.
Might still have had the MG today !
Ted
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Heh heh heh.
Heh heh heh heh heh.
Damn damn damn damn damn damn.
(I mean, tell me about it).
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For many years an interesting wooden boat hull was in effect dumped in the corner of the yard of a garage ( motoring link) in Staines Road Hounslow.
It was there for many years and always looked interesting as it had very fast looking lines and was obviously not a runabout.
I often wondered about it . I did know friends who could have bought it but I did nowt about it.
Some years later it was "discovered " and was found to be an important bit of speed history.
I do not recall the name but it was something like Miss England or some such grand name.
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"Miss England"
This one, perhaps?
www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=1032...1
A friend of mine had a car with the registration BMW 1 in the late fifties, but did not consider it worth keeping...
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If I listed all the worthwhile 'didn't buys' I have walked away from over the years this site would run out of bandwidth.
Well, it started in 1967 with a mint 1930s Jowett that had been on blocks in a garage since World War Two, then there was the beautiful blue 1948 Alvis TA14 'woodie' for £25 - blah, blah, blah.
And I was still only 17...
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Back in the 70s, a colleague 'found' a MK1 Elva Courier in a poor state.
It cost him a fortune!
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I used to attend meetings near the docks in Sharpness on the Severn. Out of the window I could see the rusting shell of an E-type surrounded by long grass and in idle moments would ponder what it might be worth if rescuable.
Probably still threre......
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About 8 years ago, our old milkman stopped by for payment while I was tinkering with my Suzi GT triple. "I've got a Kettle," he said, and we chatted a bit about 70s 2-strokes.
He mentioned he also had an early Kawasaki H2 750 triple in very original condition that he was thinking of selling. No price was mentioned, but I said I'd call him and arrange a viewing. I never got round to it.
2 years later I screeched to a halt outside a near-neighbours house because in his drive was a gorgeous, powder-blue 1972 Kawa H2 triple. He'd bought it off my milkie for just £1,200.
It was the ultra-rare original H2 model with painted front mudguard and big ports, in very nice unrestored condition. Only a 1000 or so of these were made before the pistons and transfer ports were modified to tame surging under acceleration.
I kicked myself to sleep for WEEKS afterwards.
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A beautiful 6 yr old, factory standard, one owner, black Sierra RS Cosworth 3dr with 105,000 miles and a service history as thick as good novel for £2500 back in 1993 (the height of the insurance / theft silliness).
I couldn't even get an insurance quote on it, and had nowhere remotely safe to put it until I could. Had to let it go.
An easy £12k worth today, and only going up in value.
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About 1980 I saw a GT40 adverised in Autosport for £3500. Past their raceing career and no demand yet as collectors items. Sadly at the time it might as well been £3.5M.
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Sometime in the late seventies I passed up on the chance of a Jensen Interceptor going for £1400. I was young and single at the time with money to burn and could easily have lived with the costs. I always regret having not owned a class car just once in my life.
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In 1967, A rolls Royce Silver Ghost for £500 - engine was seized.
next year a 1934 Bentley 3.5 litre saloon. for £50, Needed a new clutch
Then a 1936 Bentley 4 1/4 litre saloon. Blown head gasket
A 1946 MG TC for £125.. needed £ss
In all cases they required probably £1000 spent on them to pass an MOT or just to get them going. Think £25k now.
I was a student. I stuck with my 1946 Rover 16 - one owner , rebuilt engine immaculate £80...
Edited by madf on 05/01/2010 at 16:08
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In 1996 saw a beautiful black low mileage 1987 Porsche 911 Turbo at a Porsche dealership in Southern Germany. It was collecting dust as it was a non-catalysed model and the dealer was willing to negotiate to get shot of it. Sadly I dithered a week too long and by the time I reached for the phone and spoke to the dealer, someone else had already taken it off his hands.
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Even in 1980 that seems very cheap for a GT40. ISTR Noel Edmonds paid 10s of thousands for an original Mk 3 at around that time.
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Could have been just before 1980 as early as late 1977 but about then.
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Edited to add:
As far as I remember a GT40 listed at somewhere in the £7,000 to £8,000 region in the days when you could buy one. I'm pretty certain though that that price was without whatever sales taxes applied to road cars at the time as most were sold as racers.
I still lust after them. Someday maybe a GT40 Continuation www.gt40continuation.co.uk/
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"I kicked myself to sleep for WEEKS afterwards."
But at least you're still alive.. :-)
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Yes, but what a way to go :-D
I have ridden one and the handling isn't THAT bad ... certainly not as bad as the legend.
You just have to remember to do only one thing at a time. Brake - Turn - Accelerate, in that order. If you try and combine any of these actions, THAT's when it bites you ...
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1974 or thereabouts and £250 gave me a choice between a motheaten blue Rover P5 with the straight-6 engine blowing blue smoke, new Dunlops and leather interior; and a smartish Fiat 1500 in gunmetal grey with column change, a chirpy exhaust and street cred by virtue of being like those in "The Italian Job".
I went for the Fiat but I've always wondered what the Rover would have been like.
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>>always wondered what the Rover would have been like..
A bit ponderous H. We owned several P6 V8s and during that period I test drove a P5 V8 with a view to trading in one of the P6s... it was just too much of an old school bus.
However my first girlfriend's Dad owned a 6cyl P5 and I spent may a happy hour being ferried about in it before I could drive.
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I had a Rover 110 with front bench seat. It was great for "courting" :-)
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I remember reading an letter in a car mag in the middle '60s saying that the writer had tried to buy a 1275 Cooper S but was quoted a delivery date months away. He bought the Fiat 1500, similar performance and available immediatly.
I wonder did the '60s Fiats rust as well as the '70s versions?
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I wonder did the '60s Fiats rust as well as the '70s versions?
Mine was a '65 FWY 999C and been Waxoyled so was OK underneath.
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A nice Ferrari Dino- used but well maintained sitting in a back streat garage in Aberdeen-- dam dam damm.
Maserati Indy again used but well maintained sitting in a country garage. dam dam dam.
Lotus Europa nice drive but too small
Jag 420 G great car but not good in the wet.
Ford RS2000 GREAT CAR
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A stock of Mk 1 Escort 2 doors. They are literally worth their weight in gold now.
Edited by Fullchat on 05/01/2010 at 21:48
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308GT4 in around 1984, so nearly did, wish I had.
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Years ago I walked away from an LG45 Lagonda saloon because it had a centre gear change, which did not seem quite quality. Later I found that meant it had a G10 box, which is better and stronger than the earlier, right hand box, and has synchro-mesh. Bother it!
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In about 1976 I saw an original Mercedes SLR Gullwing. This was one of the times when the UK economy was in the deep merde and the guy selling it wanted the equivqlent of £10,000 in any currency but sterling. My boss at the time was sort on interested in unusual cars, and ver importantly I got to drive his cars. but was horrified at the idea of £10k for a car which was as old as me. I bet he regrets it if he ever remembers it these days.
Another time, a couple of years earlier I tried to persuade him to buy an ex Group 1 Z28. They had just been outlawad from Group 1 raceing as they kept winning. A Group1 Z28 with a sort of road legal exhaust duely turned up at the office but again too much money for an old car. At the time a ne XJ6 was abouy £3500 and that was the asking price for the Camero.
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