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£10k?.
Hmm, well over the last few years i have been getting much more into 'properly old' cars. A look on Ebay and i found this delightful little Citroen, note the 'boat tail' body and 3 seat configuration. Imagine the joy of trundling around, top down, on a lovely summer day?
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1924-Citroen-5cv-cloverleaf-T3-...N
Sticking with a smaller car, this Fiat 500 has been uprated with a 650cc motor and syncro box from a 126,
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-500L-with-650cc-engine-syn...J
Another Italian small car, a bit younger, but an oddity. When was the last time anyone saw a Lancia Y10?
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1985-B-LANCIA-Y10-FIRE-4-SPEED-...9
As much as i do like the 205GTI, i'd prefer something a little more low key yet still fast enough, and more importantly, a joy on a twisty back road. So how about a 205XS?,
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1989-Peugeot-205-XS/32413103309...x
Another Peugeot, but a rather different type. One which i have fond memories of as a child. This 504 pickup is in Italy, and the asking price is a wee bit more than £10k, but it does look like new. I'd rather the 2.3d, but hey ho!
www.classic-trader.com/fr/voitures/annonce/peugeot...1
My Dad used to have a Daf car. This pretty little 66 coupe was made during the final year of Daf's being badged Daf's (1975). After this, they were badged Volvo 66 and lasted up to 1980 when the car was replaced by the (Volvo) 343/345.
www.marktplaats.nl/a/auto-s/oldtimers/m1541056991-...l
I love the current Morgan 3 wheeler but it is a little out of the price range. So, i know it needs a little work, but maybe this 2CV based kit car could work as a budget substitute?
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/kit-car-classic-car-BRA3CV-rare...W
Another small vehicle. Very small in this case, not very sociable being a single seater. Brilliant fun though!
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Unique-Daihatsu-Midget-II-type-...o
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Ooh, do like that 205 XS. These were by a country mile the best mild hatch you could buy. I was always amazed by the low sales they attracted, mostly I assume because no one seemed to know about them. The Nova SR, MG Metro, Fiesta 1.4S and AX GT all outsold it hugely but the 205 was the better car by far.
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Ooh, do like that 205 XS. These were by a country mile the best mild hatch you could buy. I was always amazed by the low sales they attracted, mostly I assume because no one seemed to know about them. The Nova SR, MG Metro, Fiesta 1.4S and AX GT all outsold it hugely but the 205 was the better car by far.
You also got a 5 door with the same engine, badged 205 GT. I remember going into a Peugeot dealer in Aberdeen with my Dad in the late 80's and us both being impressed by a red one in the showroom. Sadly, we were pretty poor at the time, so there was no danger of actually getting one!.
Going back to my list, there was something else i forgot to add, yet another of my oddball fancies. Not sure what it is about the Russian UAZ 452, but i just really like them!. It also amuses me greatly that you can still buy one of these new in various places, including (obviously) Russia. No idea what sort of import tarrifs you'd have to pay to get it into this country, but this is appears to be a brand new minibus version for the equivalent of just over £8.5k, which seems something of a bargain. These things are nicknamed 'Bukhanka' in Russia, which roughly translates as 'loaf of bread', because that is what it looks like!. Very simple mechanically (2.7 4 cyl petrol) so should be reliable, and the fact they are still in production means getting parts wouldn't be difficult as long as you factor in delivery times.
auto.youla.ru/advert/new/x/x/x--7e35114684938e70/
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In a way the XS and GT were all the power you really needed but the GTI was of course the car everyone wanted.
Yeah, absolutely. They had 85bhp, which isn't much at all these days, but as they weighed around 820kg, this gave a pretty decent power to weight ratio. Meaning 0-60 in around 10 seconds and 110mph top whack.
Of course the Citroen AX GT had the same engine and weighed around 100kg less..........!
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In a way the XS and GT were all the power you really needed but the GTI was of course the car everyone wanted.
Yeah, absolutely. They had 85bhp, which isn't much at all these days, but as they weighed around 820kg, this gave a pretty decent power to weight ratio. Meaning 0-60 in around 10 seconds and 110mph top whack.
Of course the Citroen AX GT had the same engine and weighed around 100kg less..........!
It was a spot on combination of just enough power, just firm enough but still quite supple suspension, great steering and lovely seats combined with good looks. An example of a manufacturer getting it just right.
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The diesel 205s weren't far behind. SWMBO had a 1988E 205 GRD and a 1994L 205 Sceptre (same 1769cc engine as the first one but turbocharged).
Both were brilliant for all types of driving - lots of torque and very relaxed at motorway speeds. The 206 which she had later was a big disappointment - the 2.0 diesel engine was excellent but the rest of the car wasn't.
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205 diesels were very long lived things if looked after. Big lazy low revving diesel motor and lightweight body which resisted rust extremely well. The did like to eat CV joints though.
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Can you get much more toy car for your money than this? Grab it while you can - they are almost as rare as hen's teeth. (Incidentally, it's not mine!!)
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20200223763...1
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Can you get much more toy car for your money than this? Grab it while you can - they are almost as rare as hen's teeth. (Incidentally, it's not mine!!)
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20200223763...1
I honestly thought i'd click on the link and find an ad for a TR7!
As impressive as the A8 W12 is, i'm not sure it could be described as a toy. Yes it is fast, so (especially debadged) you could have some fun picking off boy racers in it. But it is too big and compent to enjoy by itself on UK roads at sane speeds.
Quite fancy this though,
www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1196389
Not sure how accurate the description is, surely if it was a USA spec car it would be rhd?. Could be fun all the same though!
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One of the worst cars I’ve ever driven was a crusty TR8 (a conversion) that someone wanted to trade in against a Nissan Primera ZX. The thing just wasn’t set up well at all, bouncing down the road and the steering was way to heavy. Strong engine though. But this one was rotten and in need of thousands spending yet amazingly my gaffer was willing to give a bag of sand for it and from the look on the guys face when I told him you’d think I’d gut punched him, he genuinely thought his disaster on wheels was worth £5k. Needless to say it ended up rotting away on his driveway. He would’ve been better off keeping it standard and spending the money on the bodywork.
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But it is too big and compent to enjoy by itself on UK roads at sane speeds.
The SWB doesn't feel big and is most enjoyable at insane speeds ;-)
Quite fancy this though,
www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1196389
Not sure how accurate the description is, surely if it was a USA spec car it would be rhd?. Could be fun all the same though!
A 30+ yr old steel tank-top TR8 (almost certainly not one of the rare originals) or an aluminium A8 W12 less than half its age for the same money? I think I can guess which is more likely to be a money pit in the near future.
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Lovely big car and beautifully made but too complex, too expensive for parts and he won’t get £8k for it. It could run for another decade assuming there’s a good local specialist that understands them or it could expire tomorrow. It’s in that zone where it’s too risky but not cheap enough to write-off if it has any moderate to major failure.,
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I think I can guess which is more likely to be a money pit in the near future.
Me too John, though what we think we know probably differs!.
An old car which has spent its entire life in a dry climate, which has the mechanical complexity of a knife and fork, and is sporting an engine that pretty much any mechanic in the UK will be able to deal with. Or an incredibly complex German uber wagon which is now 15 years old and requires specialist knowledge to look after properly. I shudder to think the price of a repair/replacement should anything on that A8 fail!.
Get it properly 'sealed' when it arrives in the UK, keep it in a garage, and i doubt that Triumph would cause much issues at all other than tinkering (and anything that does crop up is unlikely to require you to remortgage your house).
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I think I can guess which is more likely to be a money pit in the near future.
Me too John, though what we think we know probably differs!.
an incredibly complex German uberwagon which is now 15 years old and requires specialist knowledge to look after properly. I shudder to think the price of a repair/replacement should anything on that A8 fail!.
It's not incredibly complex, just very. Audi produce lots of SSPs (self study programs) which explain everything. E.g. google SSP 267 if you want to know how the engine works. But it requires no specialist knowledge to maintain. Oil change is as simple as any other car with an undertray. I renewed the front brake pads myself on Sunday without difficulty. The biggest bill I have had in my six years of ownership and self-servicing was for new front antiroll bar drop links, £115-18 plus vat. The most likely big bill in the future is air suspension failure, but that should not be prohibitive. I can live with the odd electrical failure but so far, apart from a weak boot lid motor, everything still seems to work OK. The powertrain is robust, unstressed (no turbos), proven over many years of development and unlikely to fail at under 120,000 miles. (mine has done 70,000 and I only do about 3,000 miles a year).
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205 diesels were very long lived things if looked after. Big lazy low revving diesel motor and lightweight body which resisted rust extremely well. The did like to eat CV joints though.
Had a 1992 205 1.1 Style back in 2001. Bought my favourite way, one owner from new, with just 28,000 miles and FSH, serviced and purchased from the dealer in the same town she lived in. Although I wasn't especially looking for one it was advertised in Autotrader, the days you could get a paper copy. I'd buy it the very morning it went on sale in the newsagents so was the first person to view the immaculate Peugeot. I took it to 102,000 before parting with it. A revelation compared with the 1.0 Micra it replaced, but just 4 gears, and the change wasn't as delightful as the Micra's.
The Micra wasn't what I was looking for either. I just required a cheap economical supermini. A surprise package I grew very fond of. One day I did 600 miles in it, no other car has surpassed that figure.
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