CHANGING TASTES
Ever since I was a teenager, my passion for cars has centred around those from across the ditch and from further afield — the US of A. My taste for American cars was further influenced when I started my apprenticeship in 1973, where I found myself surrounded by workmates who thought that Tri-5 Chevys were the holy grail. It wasn’t long before my trusty old Morrie was turned in for a 1969 Holden Monaro GTS that my colleagues begrudgingly approved of, because at least it was a Gm-manufactured car. However, my preference was for one of two XY Falcon GTHO Phase 3s sitting in a car dealership in Papatoetoe, neither of which I could afford at the time.
As time went on I eventually traded the Monaro for a yellow XA Falcon GT hardtop, which looked very nice parked next to my 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air that I was semi-restoring at the time.
Since then I’ve always leant towards American classics and, as such, have owned several Corvette Stingrays and Mustangs over the years. I’ve even owned a Pontiac Trans Am.
Long story short — while driving north of Los Angeles back in 1979, we passed through the small town of Oxnard where I spotted a very large Pontiac dealership. I had never in my life seen so many Trans Ams. Every colour that you could imagine, but as the 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field was still fresh in everyone’s mind, the black Pontiac Trans Ams took pride of place, and were the ones that everyone wanted to own, including me — one day. I immediately parked the rental Ford Pinto and couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a closer look. The salesman wasted no time trying to offer me the deal of a lifetime, but when I explained where I was from and that I wasn’t about to hand over any of my hard-earned
cash, he offered to take me for a ride in one anyway. Many years later that box was ticked, albeit in white.
As I’ve aged, I now find my taste in classic cars broadening. Working for this magazine has certainly exposed me to many great classics manufactured from just about every corner of the globe, and I get to share the wonderful experience of ownership with the owners of those classics.
In recent years I have been lucky enough to tick another box when I bought a Porsche 911SC. It was a completely new experience for me, one which I enjoyed immensely, and subsequently went on buy a 993 (the last of the air-cooled 911s) and a very low-mileage, ex– Sultan of Brunei, 964. And when the opportunity presented itself to buy a genuine 1970 Mustang Boss 302, I just couldn’t resist.
That car is now gone, and after the completion of an 18-month full house renovation that cost much, much more than originally budgeted, and not currently owning a classic car, I find myself starting to take note of what’s available on the market. The good news is that there are plenty of options that can be bought locally to suit my now very depleted budget, as well as my changing tastes in classic cars. I’m also well aware of the plethora of modern-day classics that are currently sitting at the bottom of the depreciation curve — and in my view, ready to escalate in value. So, I’m pretty much spoilt for choice.
The journey has just begun and I’m excited at the prospect of having another classic car in the garage, despite the fact that it may not be American.