HAVE YOUR SAY
Did you spend more on your classic in 2011 than the previous year?
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| £3000 Classics |
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Want a classic for sensible money that’s ready to use this summer? We do the thinking for you Words: Paul Wager As most readers will know, in many ways buying classic cars gets harder the more knowledge you have and even harder the more practical skills you think you have. Whereas Joe Punter walks into a classic car dealer with something like an MGB in mind, hands over the cash and drives away into the sunshine, those of us with more expertise and bigger toolkits tend to hunt out the bargains, the cars which just need ‘a spot of tidying’ before they can be pressed into regular service. The trouble is, that quick bit of tinkering always grows into a much bigger job and by the time you’ve put the welder away again, the summer has gone and it’s time to hide your freshly-rebuilt classic away from the winter salt. When we decided to run through usable classics for a budget of £3000 that was exactly the problem we faced, with half the office claiming an MGB was well within reach and the other half – the ones with the clean hands and fewer welding burns – reckoning that was just a pipe dream. And they’re right of course: if you’re disciplined enough to stick with the rule that your £3000 classic must be on the button and ready to go then your list becomes surprisingly short. Here then are our three choices with some intriguing alternatives thrown in as food for thought. There’s the practicality of the fibreglass mini-estate Scimitar, the eco-appeal of the basic 2CV and the modern classic in the shape of the MkI MX5, itself now over 20 years old. Not featured? That ropey old XJ-S, tired BMW 635CSi, MGB GT ‘project’, somebody else’s part-finished GT6... you get the idea. Mazda MX-5
I can already hear the purists eating their octagon-badged hats at the mention of Mazda’s modern classic but the pragmatic truth is that if you want to swap your three grand for something which really is ready to jump in and go the more modern the better. Being a product of the ’90s, the MX-5 comes with the bonus of fuel injection and Japanese reliability without the rust worries and oil leaks of genuine classics. Leave it in the garage for six months and as long as there’s juice in the battery then it will fire up on the key even after a whole winter of inactivity... (read more in the full article)
Reliant Scimitar SE6
At first glance the Scimitar must be one of the most practical classics going: its fibreglass body can’t rust, the coupe/estate style makes it a handy load lugger and the gutsy but simple Ford engine is as DIY-friendly as they come. The GTE estate was the result of an Ogle concept commissioned by glass maker Triplex. Reliant was looking to boost the appeal of the Scimitar by making it a full four-seater and it was an ideal solution. Packing 3-litre Ford Essex power as found in the Capri, Granada and Transit, the car boasted some notable firsts: it was the first production car to feature split-folding rear seats and rear wiper. (read more in the full article)
Citroën 2CV
A topical choice, this. Car makers can bang on all they like about the super-low emissions of their latest models but we all know the greenest car around is an old one... and in terms of old cars they don’t come greener than the Deux Chevaux. A masterpiece of minimalist engineering, the 2CV really hasn’t been bettered and part of the delight in driving one is that it does so much with just so little. (read more in the full article)
To read the rest of this buyers' guide see the June 2011 issue of Classic Car Mart - back issues available to buy here. Check out our Mazda MX-5 Buyer's Checklist here and road test here. |
Evolution
Evolution
Evolution
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