Classic options

socram, Oct 8, 7:15am
A Reliant Scimitar with legal Rover V8 transplant would probably be a cool car. Not a great van of the Ford V6 lump, but the original concept of the car was way ahead of its time and prices are indeed low. They may not be an investment, but a very usable car.

The plus of fibreglass is of course that there is no body rust to worry about and repairing body damage generally isn't beyond any decent DiYer - or there are plenty of professionals around.

Another active club with heaps of advice available and when I bought my fibreglass car, (he was also a Reliant owner), he was storing the body moulds for the club, so presumably, they are still around somewhere.

As to the Bond Equipe, it never appealed to me, but a Vitesse 2 litre certainly did. My own car along with many Lotus 7 copy kit cars, runs on Triumph Herald/Vitesse front suspension. Mark 1 Triumph GT6 had a better body shape than the Mark 2, but that infamous swing axle and rear suspension of Triumphs was a very weak spot.
budgel, Oct 8, 7:31am
If you are not too worried about the classic label there are some later cars that are inexpensive to buy and a joy to drive. My E38 BMW still gives me pleasure every time I drive it. Parts are surprisingly inexpensive out of the USA. There are some Mercedes Benz models that look pretty good too.

I think of them as 'Future Classics.' I am not into clubs etc. so the fact that it doesnt qualify as a bona fide classic doesnt bother me.
tamarillo, Oct 8, 7:51am
Sunbeam alpine convertible? Later 1725 engine get along ok. Very cool. Not many around here though. Not as modern to drive as a fiat 124 coupe or roadster.
pfemstn, Oct 8, 2:52pm
The Scimitar would be a good choice I purchased one a few years back and repowered it with an XR8 engine and 5 speed,! still one of my favourite drives, and I have a few to choose from! however in saying that the V6 is lightly stressed and generally has proved reliable, a lot are manual o/d which is a bonus too!
geedubu, Oct 8, 4:18pm
I have driven a Capri V6 engined Scimitar and thought it was quite civilized and well-designed (no wonder Princess Anne owned several). The one I currently own is a beast with 300hp full race Commodore under the lid, Jaguar LSD back end and every other trick bit you can imagine. Not for our enquiring enthusiast I should think as it is basically a track/targa car capable of being road-registered but currently under cover as my doctor says I should limit my excitement.

All in all, I wouldn't go past an MGBGT for value, but seems his budget is above that level. World's your oyster Mr Bond, toys are hard to sell and a fun/bargain to buy these days.
rovercitroen, Oct 8, 6:27pm
How about a Rover P5B or P6B? Waimak Classics have a nice P6B for sale but pricey (as are most of their cars) at $13.5k. The P6Bs drive very nicely too.
sr2, Oct 8, 6:29pm
It's not the V6 Holden powered car that was raced (somewhat unsuccessfully) in the Targa a few years back?
socram, Oct 8, 6:33pm
Is that the lime green one, previously owned by a guy whose name escapes me at the moment, but he also had a red one?
pfemstn, Oct 8, 6:46pm
mine is red, has 4 wheel disc,s minilites on 15in wheels 300hp v8 5 speed c/r box lsd etc etc and it is a road car, not a targa or race car, but one of those cars that shoot past and are gone! and to top it all off its economical as well ! get a Scimitar!
sr2, Oct 8, 7:15pm
Sounds like a beast!
geedubu, Oct 9, 6:42am
Yes, can't be too many lime green ones!
pfemstn, Oct 9, 6:57am
getting back to classic cars generally, there has been a few Studebakers for sale on TM, I recently purchased a 63 cruiser for very reasonable money, great car too!
pebbles61, Oct 12, 4:59pm
Put me down for a Rover SD1, must try one at some point.
lookoutas, Oct 12, 6:45pm
Jeez - I'm still getting a shudder on at some of the suggestions.
tamarillo, Oct 12, 6:47pm
Late vitesse a fine motor.
rovercitroen, Oct 13, 7:02pm
Yip. My 1984 3500SE was great too. Nice car and I still love the shape.
rovercitroen, Oct 13, 7:06pm
Yeah, I liked my Scimitar SE5. Sold it as it needed repainting and I didn't like the car enough to spend the money on a re-paint.

pfmstn, Do you still have that gorgeous BMW Coupe I saw a few years ago?
elect70, Oct 14, 1:49pm
Resale values arent what they were 10years ago . I bought BMW635 CSI manual in 05 8G$ rebuilt the motor , full respray but sold it in 2010 for 3G$ lots of tyre kickers but took 6 months for cash buyer . So dont buy "classic " if it needs lot of work .
pfemstn, Oct 15, 6:17pm
rovercitroen BMW sold earlier this year and is now in whangamata been replaced with 102 yr old Overland
franc123, Oct 15, 6:39pm
You're not wrong about that, BMW 6's sell for chump change if they sell at all. Its difficult to fathom why given their looks and racing heritage.
richardmayes, Oct 16, 11:22am
My father (comments on here occasionally) had a 1985 SD1 V8 in the mid 1990s when it was 12-15 years old. I drove it a few times as a learner, and it was the best and fastest car I'd yet driven by a mile.
However in this day and age 155hp in a large-ish car with an olde-worlde 3 speed auto is probably not an especially exciting car any more, and any 1990s-onwards Jap V6 would blow it away for performance, and far more reliably!
The Rover Vitesse with 190hp EFI motor would probably perform about the same as a c cyl. Ford Falcon.

It's a shame as they were wide, low, fairly spectacular looking cars, especially in their post facelift (1980s) form with spoilers and metallic paint.
pebbles61, Oct 16, 9:05pm
Well of course when one compares it to the cars of today, the performance is rarely going to stack up, but that's not why people buy classic cars. Will keep my eye out for one I think, or an XJ6.
rovercitroen, Oct 17, 6:30am
Been looking at these again lately. Considering how few I see on the roads there is a few for sale on TM at the moment.
elect70, Feb 2, 3:22am
^^^^^ be aware tho BMW NZ dont stock parts for these old girls anymore . Most parts need to be sourced from USA , quite cheap , they have a 635 owners club ,. They even wanted to buy mine but at the time the price offered was too low but better than what i actually sold it for months later . They buy them up for parts mainly for the panels .