Zadkiel's Garage (Jaguar, Mercedes, Porsche & Ferrari)
Discussion
So I have been meaning to start this thread for a long long time but never got round to. Now with some cars on the move and the need to write about them while they were still fresh in my mind came the impetus to get onto it. Another reason being I thought the whole reader's car section was a bit "look at me" but seeing how much people genuinely seem to enjoy and get value out of Pete's thread I thought I'd give it a whirl.
A word of warning, I am terrible at taking photos so this thread is probably going to be light on pictures for most people's taste. I'll start with the ones heading out the door leading up to the one people will probably say "why the hell did you sell that!".
Let us begin!
A word of warning, I am terrible at taking photos so this thread is probably going to be light on pictures for most people's taste. I'll start with the ones heading out the door leading up to the one people will probably say "why the hell did you sell that!".
Let us begin!
1973 BMW 3.0 CSI
This car was bought of a friend of a family friend and hence came to our attention through a round about means and not the usual path. It is probably a bit of anomaly for that reason, it isn't in the best of condition for starters. Secondly it has been heavily modified over its years. Instead of the standard 3.0l engine this car has an early 5 series 3.5l engine that was put in using a combination of parts from the new engine and the old one. This lead to many years of dealing with niggles in an effort to get it running properly which we have only just recently done. Just in time to sell it of course.
This is actually a very usable classic to drive and own. The engine has more than enough power and is very smooth (I'm sure the standard 3.0l is the same) and it handles and stops ok too. It's quite a nice place to sit in with a very retro interior and even has power windows which, when open give it a very airy feel. The wood trim inside, the vinyl roof, the orange colour, all scream 70's so I think this car encapsulates it's decade well (not that I was around then).
I certainly enjoy driving this car (you will see that is the case with all of them!) but it just doesn't fit the collection at all so that's why it's on its way out.
Plus an interior photo now
This car was bought of a friend of a family friend and hence came to our attention through a round about means and not the usual path. It is probably a bit of anomaly for that reason, it isn't in the best of condition for starters. Secondly it has been heavily modified over its years. Instead of the standard 3.0l engine this car has an early 5 series 3.5l engine that was put in using a combination of parts from the new engine and the old one. This lead to many years of dealing with niggles in an effort to get it running properly which we have only just recently done. Just in time to sell it of course.
This is actually a very usable classic to drive and own. The engine has more than enough power and is very smooth (I'm sure the standard 3.0l is the same) and it handles and stops ok too. It's quite a nice place to sit in with a very retro interior and even has power windows which, when open give it a very airy feel. The wood trim inside, the vinyl roof, the orange colour, all scream 70's so I think this car encapsulates it's decade well (not that I was around then).
I certainly enjoy driving this car (you will see that is the case with all of them!) but it just doesn't fit the collection at all so that's why it's on its way out.
Plus an interior photo now
Edited by Zadkiel on Sunday 9th February 05:04
Edited by Zadkiel on Monday 17th February 04:36
Ok on to the next one. I have practically no photo's of this car to hand sorry.
1959 MG MGA
This car was a bit of a spur of the moment thing so once again doesn't really fit much with the collection, which is one of the reasons it is being sold. I am always pleasantly surprised by how good looking this car is in flesh (and how small!) and it really is a classic British sports car. This is another one that has been modified a bit and has had a bit of engine work so I don't know what a standard one is like but ours is really sprightly. Engine pulls really well from down low yet isn't to afraid to rev. Being a light weight it's easy to steer as well, not too heavy, and the gearbox is very easy to use for its age. You sit nice and low and very exposed so you get that real open top motoring feeling. You can however tell that this was a less expensive car new than say a Jaguar XK120 (more on that later) but in comparison it is a bit of a David vs Goliath. Another car that I enjoy and wouldn't argue against anyone owning but they aren't worth a stack of money which means people don't spend much on maintaining/restoring them so they can be a bit rough around the edges.
Day time photo now:
1959 MG MGA
This car was a bit of a spur of the moment thing so once again doesn't really fit much with the collection, which is one of the reasons it is being sold. I am always pleasantly surprised by how good looking this car is in flesh (and how small!) and it really is a classic British sports car. This is another one that has been modified a bit and has had a bit of engine work so I don't know what a standard one is like but ours is really sprightly. Engine pulls really well from down low yet isn't to afraid to rev. Being a light weight it's easy to steer as well, not too heavy, and the gearbox is very easy to use for its age. You sit nice and low and very exposed so you get that real open top motoring feeling. You can however tell that this was a less expensive car new than say a Jaguar XK120 (more on that later) but in comparison it is a bit of a David vs Goliath. Another car that I enjoy and wouldn't argue against anyone owning but they aren't worth a stack of money which means people don't spend much on maintaining/restoring them so they can be a bit rough around the edges.
Day time photo now:
Edited by Zadkiel on Monday 17th February 04:38
Since is was in the background of the last photos I think I'll do this one next!
2000 Morgan Plus 8
Now this is a car that has been sold but I regretted it pretty much straight away. I had my arm twisted to sell this and I think it was bad idea! Such is life sometimes though. This cars story started when I flew down to the South Island of New Zealand to look at a Ferrari 308 Vetroresina (fibreglass bodied), in the end that car didn't work out but as it happened the vendors were the NZ importers of Morgan cars. They had used car there that was owner by the importer's uncle. As a 2000 Plus 8 this one has the lovely Rover/Buick V8 which in this case was the special option 4.6 performance model. This in one of the best sounding V8's I have ever come across and often leaves me casting an eye over P38's and Range Rover classics thinking about what I could do. One of my favourite things to do is give it a squirt up to 3 1/2 thou or so and then back off to half throttle and listen to it burble. My other favourite game is getting people to guess what age the car is, not many people pick post the 80s! Pretty much everyone who has heard of Morgan in NZ though thinks they have a wooden chassis, a slight over statement in their usage of wood.
Having been to the Morgan factory it is quite amazing to watch them work and enjoyable to drive a vehicle where you have such first hand knowledge of how they were built. This car has more than enough power for something so light and you sit even closer to the road than the MGA. It has sidescreens and a roof but I never once used them, they didn't look very waterproof that's for sure. It's such a great car to drive in the summer though, by being a 2000 car it is modern enough for all the little things to work well, indicators, headlights etc, yet it still has all of that classic feel. I've had a few people who have driven it say it must be scary to hussle quickly which is something I have never done to be honest, it's not really this cars forte I think. For everything else though it is great. It will be sadly missed.
2000 Morgan Plus 8
Now this is a car that has been sold but I regretted it pretty much straight away. I had my arm twisted to sell this and I think it was bad idea! Such is life sometimes though. This cars story started when I flew down to the South Island of New Zealand to look at a Ferrari 308 Vetroresina (fibreglass bodied), in the end that car didn't work out but as it happened the vendors were the NZ importers of Morgan cars. They had used car there that was owner by the importer's uncle. As a 2000 Plus 8 this one has the lovely Rover/Buick V8 which in this case was the special option 4.6 performance model. This in one of the best sounding V8's I have ever come across and often leaves me casting an eye over P38's and Range Rover classics thinking about what I could do. One of my favourite things to do is give it a squirt up to 3 1/2 thou or so and then back off to half throttle and listen to it burble. My other favourite game is getting people to guess what age the car is, not many people pick post the 80s! Pretty much everyone who has heard of Morgan in NZ though thinks they have a wooden chassis, a slight over statement in their usage of wood.
Having been to the Morgan factory it is quite amazing to watch them work and enjoyable to drive a vehicle where you have such first hand knowledge of how they were built. This car has more than enough power for something so light and you sit even closer to the road than the MGA. It has sidescreens and a roof but I never once used them, they didn't look very waterproof that's for sure. It's such a great car to drive in the summer though, by being a 2000 car it is modern enough for all the little things to work well, indicators, headlights etc, yet it still has all of that classic feel. I've had a few people who have driven it say it must be scary to hussle quickly which is something I have never done to be honest, it's not really this cars forte I think. For everything else though it is great. It will be sadly missed.
chilistrucker said:
I'm in 
After seeing the 'garage' pop up on the, 'who has the best garage thread' and now finding this thread I'm keen to see more.
Yeah, I'm going through a small posting spurt. I am quite enjoying writing about the cars though. I'd love to know if people want to hear more or less about them, I could probably ramble on forever. I know people would like more photos but that takes a lot of digging through the archives. I'll probably flesh them out in time. Anyway, more to come tomorrow NZ time.After seeing the 'garage' pop up on the, 'who has the best garage thread' and now finding this thread I'm keen to see more.
Ok one more for now!
1963 Jaguar MK2 3.8 with overdrive
This one was another random buy that didn't make too much sense although there was one thought in the process. I used all our own vehicles for my wedding so I wanted something with 4 doors for the bridesmaids (the groomsmen had to squeeze into the Interceptor). This was another car down country that we flew down to see and it was fair to say it wasn't and never has been mint. It had been restored somewhere along the line though and the interior still looked/looks pretty good. It's paint was worse for wear though. So we snapped it up for a bargain basement price and immediately had a full respray done. After that it served its wedding duties admirably. Otherwise it has been quite a joy to drive and I think they are a hugely underrated car. This is the same engine as an early E-Type and they still have enough grunt to keep up with modern day traffic, all while taking 5 adults with ease. Yet they are less than a quarter the price of E-Types, they aren't ugly either. All of that said this is another one out the door mainly because everything it does an E-Type does better (apart from carrying people and luggage).
1963 Jaguar MK2 3.8 with overdrive
This one was another random buy that didn't make too much sense although there was one thought in the process. I used all our own vehicles for my wedding so I wanted something with 4 doors for the bridesmaids (the groomsmen had to squeeze into the Interceptor). This was another car down country that we flew down to see and it was fair to say it wasn't and never has been mint. It had been restored somewhere along the line though and the interior still looked/looks pretty good. It's paint was worse for wear though. So we snapped it up for a bargain basement price and immediately had a full respray done. After that it served its wedding duties admirably. Otherwise it has been quite a joy to drive and I think they are a hugely underrated car. This is the same engine as an early E-Type and they still have enough grunt to keep up with modern day traffic, all while taking 5 adults with ease. Yet they are less than a quarter the price of E-Types, they aren't ugly either. All of that said this is another one out the door mainly because everything it does an E-Type does better (apart from carrying people and luggage).
Zadkiel said:
Yeah, I'm going through a small posting spurt. I am quite enjoying writing about the cars though. I'd love to know if people want to hear more or less about them, I could probably ramble on forever. I know people would like more photos but that takes a lot of digging through the archives. I'll probably flesh them out in time. Anyway, more to come tomorrow NZ time.
Keep the ramblings coming, I always find it interesting to read about peoples thought process and reasoning when it comes to their vehicle/vehicles of choice. Why that 1, why that colour, what's it all about.....
Ok on to the next one then.
1954 Jaguar XK120
On to one of the first fully intentional buys! The white XK120 here was a second XK120 and came about from spotting an ad in the Jaguar Drivers Club NZ magazine for the car which sounded pretty good. Went and had a look and it turned out to be even better than described. This car was one of the mintest in the collection by far. And it's not just "any" XK120 OTS. A genuine factory new SE, this vehicle was fitted with a high compression C-Type head and is a replica of the car that set the speed record in Jabbeke, Belgium. We happily purchased the car and away we went! This car was a lot of fun to drive and once again (there may be a theme here) has a very open feeling. I love being able to stick your arm out over the top of the door and rest it on the swooping line of the "hips".
For a 1954 these cars feel years ahead of their time. Especially this particular vehicle has plenty of power, ok brakes (for drums) and decent handling. The gigantic steering wheel with especially sensitive horn right in the middle did make things a bit tricky and the cockpit is certainly very cramped. Quite an experience though. This is an absolutely stunning car in the flesh and one I will miss greatly. Sadly however it is one I did not drive on a hugely regular basis and with a lot of buyer interest I have sadly seen the last of it.
1954 Jaguar XK120
On to one of the first fully intentional buys! The white XK120 here was a second XK120 and came about from spotting an ad in the Jaguar Drivers Club NZ magazine for the car which sounded pretty good. Went and had a look and it turned out to be even better than described. This car was one of the mintest in the collection by far. And it's not just "any" XK120 OTS. A genuine factory new SE, this vehicle was fitted with a high compression C-Type head and is a replica of the car that set the speed record in Jabbeke, Belgium. We happily purchased the car and away we went! This car was a lot of fun to drive and once again (there may be a theme here) has a very open feeling. I love being able to stick your arm out over the top of the door and rest it on the swooping line of the "hips".
For a 1954 these cars feel years ahead of their time. Especially this particular vehicle has plenty of power, ok brakes (for drums) and decent handling. The gigantic steering wheel with especially sensitive horn right in the middle did make things a bit tricky and the cockpit is certainly very cramped. Quite an experience though. This is an absolutely stunning car in the flesh and one I will miss greatly. Sadly however it is one I did not drive on a hugely regular basis and with a lot of buyer interest I have sadly seen the last of it.
And the next car spotted in the photos before
1953 Jaguar XK120 FHC
This was the second or third car in the collection (it was a few years back now!) and came about when Jaguar was the theme. When comparing this car to an E-Type one can really feel how far cars had come by the time the E-Type was born. While once again the XK120s have plenty of power and ok brakes, E-Types have even more power and actually decent brakes. Also the addition of synchro's on the E-Type gearbox is a godsend for those of us who didn't grow up double de-clutching. The hardtop XK120 is an experience from the moment you try and get in (there is a trick to it for those of us over 5'5"). Giant bus steering wheel, no power assistance, drum brakes and cross-ply tyres mean you really need to be paying attention when driving this at speed. Anyone going over 100mph in one would have been a brave soul! This car is currently still with us but it is for sale so will probably be gone soon. It's a beautiful car still, having one of these next to an E-Type seems to split opinions, but its just a bit too cramped for me to drive.
1953 Jaguar XK120 FHC
This was the second or third car in the collection (it was a few years back now!) and came about when Jaguar was the theme. When comparing this car to an E-Type one can really feel how far cars had come by the time the E-Type was born. While once again the XK120s have plenty of power and ok brakes, E-Types have even more power and actually decent brakes. Also the addition of synchro's on the E-Type gearbox is a godsend for those of us who didn't grow up double de-clutching. The hardtop XK120 is an experience from the moment you try and get in (there is a trick to it for those of us over 5'5"). Giant bus steering wheel, no power assistance, drum brakes and cross-ply tyres mean you really need to be paying attention when driving this at speed. Anyone going over 100mph in one would have been a brave soul! This car is currently still with us but it is for sale so will probably be gone soon. It's a beautiful car still, having one of these next to an E-Type seems to split opinions, but its just a bit too cramped for me to drive.
Brilliant to see behind the curtain and thanks for posting, (Auckland based here). Do you ever take these out to events like Leadfoot or Caffine & Classics?
One of the things I've noticed since I moved to NZ is there seems to be alot of car collectors with serious collections that for the most part are hidden away, so thanks for sharing!
NZ is certainly a fantastic place to drive your amazing collection! The roads here are unlike anywhere else I've been!
One of the things I've noticed since I moved to NZ is there seems to be alot of car collectors with serious collections that for the most part are hidden away, so thanks for sharing!
NZ is certainly a fantastic place to drive your amazing collection! The roads here are unlike anywhere else I've been!
Captain Obvious said:
Brilliant to see behind the curtain and thanks for posting, (Auckland based here). Do you ever take these out to events like Leadfoot or Caffine & Classics?
One of the things I've noticed since I moved to NZ is there seems to be alot of car collectors with serious collections that for the most part are hidden away, so thanks for sharing!
NZ is certainly a fantastic place to drive your amazing collection! The roads here are unlike anywhere else I've been!
Yes NZ is definitely rife with hidden collections that's for sure. I endeavour to partake in as many car events as I can attend with these vehicles, however I do have limited time so can't do everything, I missed Leadfoot sadly One of the things I've noticed since I moved to NZ is there seems to be alot of car collectors with serious collections that for the most part are hidden away, so thanks for sharing!
NZ is certainly a fantastic place to drive your amazing collection! The roads here are unlike anywhere else I've been!
The next event I will be at is the Bread Charity Queen Street supercar drive though if you will be heading to that I will be there. I do try and do Caffiene and Classics too but I often don't make it to those.
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