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What to buy, what to buy
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Anyone ever contemplating the purchase of a collector car has asked him/herself the question, "what would I buy if I had unlimited money and space?" This question has certainly crossed my mind many times over the years, in spite of having restored 17 different ones.
The cars I restored were chosen for pretty good reasons at the time. They had to be of interest (I lusted for one during my youth, owned one previously, etc.) and had to be affordable. That's basically why the projects included cars like a Sunbeam Tiger, Corvette, XKE and Falcon Sprint. Cars I might have restored, had I the funds, might have included a Gullwing Mercedes, Delahaye or Continental Mark II.
Since I don’t travel in moneyed circles those cars will never be in my garage. That leaves a long list of cars I find attractive for one reason or another, but the desire to own any one of them is tempered by the degree of attraction. A '59 Cadillac is very attractive but I wouldn't want to navigate one around or have to put gas into the tank. It's great to look at but I don't want to own one, and that goes for a bunch of other collectibles.
So what cars would I want? Well, I find Corvairs very alluring and wouldn't mind having one to zip around in. They are cute, simple and pretty reliable, notwithstanding rumors to the contrary. From the same time period comes the Buick Riviera and I've never actually been in one. They appeal to me because of their plush interiors, European styling and strong performance.
Late '50s DeSoto and Dodge cars appeal to me as well, with their radical styling, space-age dashboards and tail fins. Two-tone paint schemes worked very well on these cars and they ride quite smoothly and quietly. Another desirable late 50s car is the retractable hard top Ford lineup. These were very plain cars with tremendously innovative hardware. The '59s look the best of all of them because its lines weren't altered to accommodate the top mechanism.
There are few British cars I'd care to own because of their fragile electrical systems and/or spine-pounding ride characteristics. That said, I'd own that Sunbeam Tiger I restored a long time ago if I had the chance. The Sunbeam cars were way ahead of the other British offerings and the Tiger put out all the performance one would want.
Another car I'd like to have is an old Fiat 600. These tiny cars were underpowered and incredibly Spartan inside, but in terms of basic transportation and ease of parking you can't beat 'em. On top of that they were as cute as a car could be.
Last on my list, but something I'd grab right away if the opportunity arose, is the Baker or Detroit Electric from the first decade of the 20th Century. These cars were charming, simple and rather elegant. They were perfect for driving around small towns or in-city transportation. Their basic functionality was about 120 years ahead of where the auto industry is trying to go now, and when the battery technology gets ironed out we'll see lots of imitations.
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