Buckley’s deals on wheels
For a mid-october change of scene, I took a flight to Turin to visit my friend Andrea, the plan being to see some sights and kick some tyres. First on the list was a beautiful 1968 Jensen FF, way out of my league but, well, you never know, do you? The Jensen belonged to a low-key body shop that used the shell of an LMX Sirex as a three-dimensional advertising hoarding. Having restored the FF during lockdown, it was struggling to find a home for it at £110,000. According to Andrea, nobody knows what it is in Italy, and even if they did they likely wouldn’t want it anyway, due to its fuel-slurping motive power and right-hand drive.
I wanted it, though, and briefly flirted with the idea of cashing-in some cars to capture it, but soon talked myself out of that.
We took a trip into the hills to visit the only Fiat 130 Andrea owns at the moment, a manual Coupé with a poorly engine. It lives next to quite a straight little
Series 1 Lancia Appia saloon that is about to spend its second winter outside. Funnily enough, the only classic I saw being driven all week was an S2 Appia.
Yes, there are still plenty of early Fiat 124 Coupés to be bought when funds allow, but Andrea has said he will disown me if I buy a Flavia saloon: “Why do you want this ugly car?”
Warming to the right-handdrive theme, we went to look at a still Uk-registered Alfetta 2000 saloon that really deserves to be rescued at the £2000 being asked for it, given that the interior is excellent and the bodywork essentially sound.
It was certainly better value than the €11k Daimler V8-250 we viewed the following day. Also a right-hooker on UK papers, it had pickled paint, a Jaguar leaper on the bonnet and Ambla seats, which I’m not sure the Daimlers ever came with. I was expecting to find a ‘six’ under the bonnet but it was a V8, complete with an auto gearbox that featured a hit-and-miss reverse gear, just to add to its charms, and up to seven working cylinders. Andrea, suffering from Empty Garage Syndrome, was chomping at the bit to give £5000 for it, but I felt £2000 was more appropriate in the hope that the vendor might turf us off the premises.
Turin’s Museo Nazionale dell’automobile had a party night on the Friday, which was fun – where else are you going to see a presidential Flaminia limousine? – and I had my now-traditional swim in Andrea’s very unheated swimming pool, which certainly got the blood flowing.