TOP BUYS UP TO $10K
HAVEN’T GOT 30 GRAND TO THROW AROUND? NEVER FEAR. OUR RESIDENT SHED-DWELLER AND VALUE CLASSIC HUNTER GLENN TORRENS HAS SOME ANSWERS.
VOLKSWAGEN SUPER BEETLE (1971-75)
Regular readers will k now I’m a nut for t he silly litt le rounded rear-engined German-designed air-cooled dak-daks: Sure, my yellow Bugs are motorsport weekend warriors but a good standard-ish Bug can be a delightfully more modest and mellow Cars & Coffee cruiser, too. With a pleasant persona lit y a ll its own and more than 22 million made and sold in ever y countr y on t he planet, t he Beet le is a world rek nowned classic car with formidable k nowledge/info and spare parts backup. If you ask me, it’s t he easiest classic car in t he world to own…. I own a couple of less-molested road versions too: ignoring t he wailings of t he fashionistas, my choice is t he 1971-75 Super Beet le models – t he later, t he better - for t heir better driveabilit y and performance than the pre-1968 lay-back-headlight models.
HOLDEN VN COMMODORE (1988-91)
Most Unique Cars magazine readers will have memories – good or bad – of Holden’s ground-brea k ing ‘Big New V6 Commodore’ of 1988. For the older car nuts, this was probably a company/ f leet car when you were a Junior Account Manager or a probationar y constable. If you’re 30-something, you may have had one as a cheap P-plate projectile. The 5.0-lit re f uel injected V8s – optiona l on a ll models, and exclusive power in t he born-again SS – arrived in mid-1989. As with any ot her popular Aussie, sheer weight of numbers means t here’s plent y of lessthan-pristine examples to weigh down people’s opinions but f ind a good one and it’s a keeper. I have - I will enjoy my V8 Calais forever.
VB-VK COMMODORE WAGON (1979-1985)
It’s too late to shut t he gate on the premium (SL/E and Calais) and performance model first-gen Commodores – but how many of us have happy holiday memories of a Commodore wagon? My dad never had one - he bought a 1981 V H SL sedan in 1984 – but I a lways cast an env ious glance toward the Commodore SL/X and Vacationer wagons in the beach carparks when I was a young teen. Few could dismiss the a llure of a V8 wagon! Rock up to a Cars & Coffee in an extremely tidy wagon – si x or V8, on original wheels - and you’ll pull just as much respect and have just as much f un (in fact probably more) as t he bloke wit h t he Brock-a-dore. And yes, I’ve a lready got mine…