One to buy €7490
Year of manufacture 1964 Recorded mileage 64,120km Vendor Jo Szumny, near Périgueux, France; tel: 0033 5 53 46 60 72/0033 6 84 54 55 85 (mob) For Drives well Against Shabby; price
This 1108cc R8 Major looks scruffy but drives respectably. Performance is peppy, and you’re soon hitting an easy 50mph. The four-speed ’box has synchro that can’t be beaten, and the lever slots in sweetly every time, while the clutch bites sharply. The car brakes well, too, albeit pulling to one side, something the vendor attributes to incorrect pressures on the adequately treaded Nankang tyres. The steering is well weighted and smooth, and the ride buoyantly comfortable – aided, no doubt, by the recent new dampers.
That’s where the good news stops. The car sports a well-matured and somewhat approximate respray in dulled metallic bronze, and the way a magnet skitters across the body’s nether regions suggests a good skim of filler. The odd bubble indicates corrosion under the paint. The only hole that we could find was in one inner A-post; the floorpan, otherwise apparently sound, looks dodgy at the same spot.
Inside, the vinyl seats are intact but the original floor covering is missing, as are certain trim panels. The dashboard crash-rails are cracked and gaffer-taped and the headlining is holed.
Szumny, selling on behalf of his son, knows nothing of the car’s history, and it was not possible to see the pass certificate for the contrôle technique, the French MOT; this would highlight faults needing attention. The verdict? Better can be found for the price, so haggle. Jon Pressnell