Which classic car upto £15K
Discussion
tog said:
I've just come back from driving round France in my Bristol, and can safely say that if you get a decent one it's perfectly usable every day. We did 1,900 miles in 10 days, almost entirely on back roads, and the car ran faultlessly, used no oil or water, and averaged just under 19mpg. Not bad for 5 litres of 37-year-old V8. However, since my late 410 was over £6000 in 1969, and the 411 at launch in 1969 was almost £7000, by 1972 it would have been a lot more than £4000 I'm afraid.
The BOC shows that the Bristol 411 s1 was £7K new, rising to just below £9K for the s4 in 1973.
www.boc.net/type_411.php#s4
Firstly, purchase a cigarette holder, then perfect the phrases below:
I say!
Ding Dong!
Hellooooooo!
Then purchase an Alvis TF (also known as a series III).
Silky 3 litre straight 6, Getrag 5-speed box, Disc brakes all 'round.
15K may even get you one with a Graber drop head body..... very nice indeed.
Earlier TE's and TD's can be had for as little as £2500 in MoT-able nick.
You could always go for a proper Gentleman's car with a Mullinder bodied TC-100 "Grey Lady".
I say!
Ding Dong!
Hellooooooo!
Then purchase an Alvis TF (also known as a series III).
Silky 3 litre straight 6, Getrag 5-speed box, Disc brakes all 'round.
15K may even get you one with a Graber drop head body..... very nice indeed.
Earlier TE's and TD's can be had for as little as £2500 in MoT-able nick.
You could always go for a proper Gentleman's car with a Mullinder bodied TC-100 "Grey Lady".
Mmmm.... up to 15K, 2+2 with a bit of grunt.
I would avoid anything old and exotic, parts (you will need them) and garage time (it will need it) will be eye wateringly expensive. Even mundate transport like at 1960s Merc 250 saloon will set up back a fortune in spares.
You want something mechanically unchallenging, good parts available and excellent owner's club support. The golden rule with a classic car is to buy the very best you can afford. Buy something needing 'work' or a little 'TLC' and you can sometimes double the asking price to get it up to scratch.
The most common problems with a classic is not engine and drivetrain but mainly electricals and cosmetics like interiors and chrome and *RUST*. Rust will kill any classic car as it is notoriously difficult to cure without very substantial work.
If I had £15K on a 2+2, going for absolute minters would be.
Rover P5B Coupe, getting very sought after, £12K will buy you a completely mint prize winner, I have seen a pristine '72 16K miler for £17K. Rover V8 and Borg Warner 35 gearboxes are bombproof, loads of bits available and an excellent owners club. Plenty of garages will undertake the work and there are quite a few specialists. Has the cache of being the Queen personal transport, countless Prime Ministers and endless East-End gangsters. These cars are becoming surprising very cool to own.
Jenson Interceptor. Again, Engine and Drivetrain are very strong, electrical gremlins can be sorted out. Interiors are getting difficult to source but not impossible to get straight. £15K will buy you a very, very good one.
Alvis TE21 Drophead. Sublime looks, excellent owners club, largely unstressed straight 6, head turner. Relatively speaking, spares are harder to source but not impossible. £15k will buy you an excellent example.
Rover SD1 Vitesse Twin Plenum - the real deals (homologation cars only) command £9-11,00 now for a perfect one. Spares are easy to source, main trouble is the interior which is fragile and electrical... both easy to sort out. Good owners club, any garage can do the work.
Triumph Stag - £15K will get you a very straight one and definitely a very, very good Rover V8 conversion (which puts off the purists but will give you less heartache). Triumph V8s are fragile though. Spares are good, the owners club are great guys and its rapidly becoming on the best 70s classics you can get.
'65-'67 Ford Mustang 289 - A mint Californian or Mexican import with no rust at all will set you back £10K. Probably the classic cars for spares, Ford V8s are legendary, easy to maintain and plenty of tuning possibilites for very little money. It's Bullitt's car, uber cool if you can put up with LHD.
For a lot less, £6k will buy you a concours Rover P6 3500s. Fast, stylish, can be run for peanuts, good owners club, easy to source spares, 2+2 at a squeeze but a surprisingly competent sports saloon car.
I would avoid anything old and exotic, parts (you will need them) and garage time (it will need it) will be eye wateringly expensive. Even mundate transport like at 1960s Merc 250 saloon will set up back a fortune in spares.
You want something mechanically unchallenging, good parts available and excellent owner's club support. The golden rule with a classic car is to buy the very best you can afford. Buy something needing 'work' or a little 'TLC' and you can sometimes double the asking price to get it up to scratch.
The most common problems with a classic is not engine and drivetrain but mainly electricals and cosmetics like interiors and chrome and *RUST*. Rust will kill any classic car as it is notoriously difficult to cure without very substantial work.
If I had £15K on a 2+2, going for absolute minters would be.
Rover P5B Coupe, getting very sought after, £12K will buy you a completely mint prize winner, I have seen a pristine '72 16K miler for £17K. Rover V8 and Borg Warner 35 gearboxes are bombproof, loads of bits available and an excellent owners club. Plenty of garages will undertake the work and there are quite a few specialists. Has the cache of being the Queen personal transport, countless Prime Ministers and endless East-End gangsters. These cars are becoming surprising very cool to own.
Jenson Interceptor. Again, Engine and Drivetrain are very strong, electrical gremlins can be sorted out. Interiors are getting difficult to source but not impossible to get straight. £15K will buy you a very, very good one.
Alvis TE21 Drophead. Sublime looks, excellent owners club, largely unstressed straight 6, head turner. Relatively speaking, spares are harder to source but not impossible. £15k will buy you an excellent example.
Rover SD1 Vitesse Twin Plenum - the real deals (homologation cars only) command £9-11,00 now for a perfect one. Spares are easy to source, main trouble is the interior which is fragile and electrical... both easy to sort out. Good owners club, any garage can do the work.
Triumph Stag - £15K will get you a very straight one and definitely a very, very good Rover V8 conversion (which puts off the purists but will give you less heartache). Triumph V8s are fragile though. Spares are good, the owners club are great guys and its rapidly becoming on the best 70s classics you can get.
'65-'67 Ford Mustang 289 - A mint Californian or Mexican import with no rust at all will set you back £10K. Probably the classic cars for spares, Ford V8s are legendary, easy to maintain and plenty of tuning possibilites for very little money. It's Bullitt's car, uber cool if you can put up with LHD.
For a lot less, £6k will buy you a concours Rover P6 3500s. Fast, stylish, can be run for peanuts, good owners club, easy to source spares, 2+2 at a squeeze but a surprisingly competent sports saloon car.
Lets see
1. Really minted Jag XJS
2. Jensen Interceptor
3. X300 XJR or is that too new?
4. BMW 840/850
5. 80's Aston V8 if you feel lucky
6. Maserati Merak if you feel even luckier.
7. Early Jag XK8 with the cylinder liners sorted
8. BMW 740/750il
9. Mint original Jaguar S-Type 3.4/3.8
10.BMW 330Ci Clubsport
11.Porsche 911, 80's era
12.Fiat 124 Sport Coupe around 79/80 if you can find one.
I think that covers it.
1. Really minted Jag XJS
2. Jensen Interceptor
3. X300 XJR or is that too new?
4. BMW 840/850
5. 80's Aston V8 if you feel lucky
6. Maserati Merak if you feel even luckier.
7. Early Jag XK8 with the cylinder liners sorted
8. BMW 740/750il
9. Mint original Jaguar S-Type 3.4/3.8
10.BMW 330Ci Clubsport
11.Porsche 911, 80's era
12.Fiat 124 Sport Coupe around 79/80 if you can find one.
I think that covers it.
cardigankid said:
Well, how does it help, except if the government put Road Tax up to £2,000,000.00 per annum? It just means you have to have a car that is early seventies or was really cheap. You cut out a huge amount of good stuff.
If you read the first post and the link you will find out.
Edited by greenie on Wednesday 8th November 20:58
The P6B was launched in 1968, I suspect at the London Motor Show in October. The Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 was also launched in 1968, probably at Frankfurt in September. So the Merc probably pre-dates it slightly.
It's academic anyway. Daimler introduced the 4.5-litre, 120mph Majestic Major in 1959.
It's academic anyway. Daimler introduced the 4.5-litre, 120mph Majestic Major in 1959.
215cu said:
Ahem,
Nice that a Lotus Carlton or M5 is.... but the idea of shoe-horning a big engine into a saloon car to get an 'eager' drive started with this car.....
Nice that a Lotus Carlton or M5 is.... but the idea of shoe-horning a big engine into a saloon car to get an 'eager' drive started with this car.....
Ah thanks for the heads up. I now stand corrected.
EDrF : Yes mate that would be the one, unless like my M3 they have the limmiter removed then it may well give the hard hitting Lotus a bit of a fright
Edited by M3John on Wednesday 22 November 19:20
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff