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FUZZ’S UNDER THE RADAR FAVOURITES

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FORGOTTEN HEROES THIS WEEK p2-8 OUT & ABOUT p14-15 LIVING WITH CLASSICS p22-23 BUYING & SELLING p26-40 CLASSIFIEDS p42-61

FUZZ’S UNDER THE

RADAR FAVOURITES

Fuzz Townshend is keen on

looking after the elderly and

would like you to consider

the joys of 1930s to mid-

1950s car ownership

HILLMAN HUSKY

1953-1956

WHAT TO PAY £4000-£12,000 FOR

A VERY LUCKY USABLE FIND IN NEED

OF TYRES AND A SERVICE, TO A SHOW

PONY DODGING THE ‘SLAMMING’ CREW

Hillman’s early Husky is now a rare sight on

British roads. It’s almost van-like dimensions

reveal that it is just that – a van-derived

(almost) estate car. Largely unloved and

ignored for decades, they are beginning to

appeal to a new generation of owners who

can see the retromodding potential of these

rather cute little cars. However they rot

faster than they drive so look for an honest

example. Anything restored in the 1970s can

be expected to be covered in nasty cellulose

paint and full of chicken wire, filler and period

rolled newspaper. If you can find one, expect

to have to take on some restoration work.

FUZZ’S TOP TIP Broaden your search

and consider a 1950s Hillman Minx, for

which you’ll struggle to pay more than £5k.

CITROËN 2CV 1948-1959 & BEYOND

WHAT TO PAY £5000-£25,000 FOR DELIGHTFUL USABLE BUT ROPEY EARLY

EXAMPLES TO GLEAMING, RESTORED CARS

ROVER P4 1949-64

WHAT TO PAY £5000-£12,000 FOR

SAGGING BUT SERVICEABLE TO ‘HOW THE

MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN’ SHOW PONY

It seems such a travesty that the Rover P4 has been

kicked out of the classic car world’s bed. After

all it’s a sexy beast, in a wearing-flannel pyjamaswith-the-lights-off

kind of way. This potted history

of well-respected 1950s middle England may

have fallen from collective memory but it packs a

specification punch, most having six-cylinder power

and easy dual carriageway cruising capabilities.

Rarely fitted with seatbelts, it might be this one

drawback that has caused this relatively high-speed

car to fall so far from favour into the has-been skip.

That and its complex construction and propensity

to rust. But with good examples struggling to crest

double figures, it would be rude not to have one.

FUZZ’S TOP TIP Make sure that you get a

good look underneath before you buy. Neatlooking

cars can hide horrors.

T

here is still a forgotten underclass

of fabulous cars, even now. Cars

driven by heroes and heroines of

conflicts international, with back

seats populated by supposedly well-behaved

and beautifully turned-out children who

minded their Ps and Qs, and never used Bs,

or Fs for that matter. Cars that came in

muted, often two-tone hues, nothing too

brash (what would the neighbours think?),

with sumptuous leather or perhaps Rexine

upholstery stuffed with horsehair or

Dunlopillo. Cars that blended the aromas of

oil, wood, petrol and natural fibres with the

mellifluous tunes of singing gears and

slow-revving engines chuffing their spent

fumes through peashooter exhaust pipes.

They are the largely aerodynamically- and

velocity-challenged cars of the 1930s to

mid 1950s, now sadly losing their owners to

old age, but offering nothing less than time

travel to those adventurous enough to fully

embrace some of the motoring past’s most

beautiful moments.

AUSTIN 10 CHAMPIONED P20

Should you feel the need to transport trays of eggs,

a pig and your family across a dry, ploughed field

then the Deux Cheveaux has been designed to meet

your needs. It will also provide parsimonious passage

through towns and cities. Thin doors almost flap to

a close and a thoughtful someone always seems to

have set up some deckchairs inside. Early corrugated

panelled cars offer the greatest delight, with ‘look

again’ French supermodel appeal and a slightly

wheezy 425cc twin cylinder engine struggling with

the load, like a flyweight boxer carrying a donkey up

a steep hill. Drive one, bring one home and be ‘that’

family that everyone wants to be in.

FUZZ’S TOP TIP Try before you buy. Hire a 2CV

for a weekend and get to know what to expect

from a ‘Tin Snail’.

MG TD 1949-53

WHAT TO PAY £15,000-£25,000 FOR AN

IMPROVABLE RUNNER TO A SHINY, ALL

WORK DONE EXAMPLE

Here is a snapshot of the later versions of MG’s

two-seater ‘T’ range, which found a perhaps

surprising following in the USA in post-war years,

with earlier types having turned the heads of many

American service people during WW2. Again,

today’s prospective purchasers can benefit from

time and money invested by 1980s-1990s owners,

alas now in their 80s and 90s and standing down

from driving and caring for these machines. If you

buy direct from these owners, do please sit down

with them and take time to record their notes

on and memories of the car, as you will acquire a

bonus bounty of around 50 years of history.

FUZZ’S TOP TIP You might like to try before

you buy if you’re over 5ft 9in because these cars

weren’t intended for today’s well-fed giants.

CITROËN TRACTION AVANT 1934-1957

WHAT TO PAY £10,000 TO £18,000 FOR CAREWORN BUT STURDY, TO UNCOMFORTABLY SHINY

Almost too technically advanced for much of its time

in production, what was the epitome of classic cool

in the 1970s is now to be found slipping from beneath

hopelessly optimistic price tags into a land devoid of

‘Disque Bleu’ smoking, Trilby- and gaberdine-wearing

Francophiles. Low slung, with a rolling gate like that of

a dachshund on roller skates, they conquer cobbles

with independently sprung majesty, their human

content suspended almost hammock-like between

the grimy workings of each axle. If you drive your

newly acquired Traction Avant to France, you may

find yourself making friends. Take a Slough-built RHD

version and you will blow minds.

FUZZ’S TOP TIP Top money would buy only

around 300 hours of cheap restoration time, so

bag a belter and avoid the welder.

WOLSELEY 6/80

1948-54

WHAT TO PAY £4000 -£11,000 FOR A

DRIVABLE 1970S RESTORATION TO A

SPLENDIDLY PRESERVED SURVIVOR

The Wolseley 6/80 is often portrayed as a police car

in 1950s films and TV series but please forget these

black-liveried brutes and look for examples in green,

or red because such colours soften the repressed

British splendour of these upmarket machines. They

are often gifted with matching interiors that then

present as optimistic early post-war living rooms on

wheels. The six-pot engines are smooth but gas flow is

appalling so don’t expect to hurry them along. Finding

parts might be interesting so if you see it, buy it.

FUZZ’S TOP TIP Unless you are a panel beating

and welding saviour, buy a brilliant example, use it

and let people see your wonderful machine.

RILEY 9 KESTREL

1933-36

WHAT TO PAY £15,000-£25,000

FOR GOOD USABLE TO EXCELLENT

EXAMPLES

To own a Riley 9 ‘Kestrel’ is to own an Art Deco

masterpiece. Developing surprising power from its

twin cam (yes) hemi (yes again) 1087cc four-cylinder

engine, the lightweight, fastback, four light (side

windows) Kestrel is a treat. With surprisingly efficient

cable brakes and gearboxes ranging from earlier ‘silent

third’ and later ‘all helical’ manuals to the sublime

semi-automatic ‘pre-select’ types, these cars are

fun-sized mechanical magnificence and a tinkerer’s

paradise. Watch out for ill fitting doors, which could

be a sign that all is not well with the structure. All

come with great club support… if you join.

FUZZ’S TOP TIP Try to buy a car with an original

interior for the true splendour of a 1930s Riley.

FORD MODEL A

1927-31

WHAT TO PAY £12,000-£25,000 FOR

ECCENTRICALLY MOTH-EATEN BUT USABLE

TO SHINY, SLIGHTLY SPIVISH EXAMPLES

At the tail end of the vintage era we encounter the

brutish Model A. Available with many body styles,

from pick-up truck to doctor’s coupé and six-light

‘Tudor’ saloon, the A represents an interesting niche in

British motoring history, in that a production line was

set up at Trafford Park, Manchester. RHD examples

are available but less numerous than LHD overseasbuilt

models and often fitted with a two-litre engine,

rather than the grunty 3.3-litre. They’re robust but you

can detect Ford’s parsimony creeping in.

FUZZ’S TOP TIP

Don’t be afraid to sample LHD examples.

Accommodation at the front is so narrow that the

driving position feels quite central.

BENTLEY STANDARD STEEL

SALOON 1946-1952

WHAT TO PAY £20,000-£25,000 FOR DOWN-AT-HEEL BUT WITH EVIDENCE OF

RECENT PRO SERVICING, TO PRESENTABLE, NON-CONCOURS EXAMPLES

If you enjoy throwing caution to the wind and aren’t

fazed by – indeed positively relishes –the challenges

brought to bear by the purchase of a wrong ‘un, then

you might just be about to step into the world of

faded luxury. Imagine yourself the inheritor of such a

vehicle from a dear departed aunt, stick a towbar on

it and attach a classic caravan. Suddenly you and your

family are fully equipped to make some tremendous

memories. The photos will be amazing.

FUZZ’S TOP TIP Look for a car with good

service history, but with compromised, faded or

over buffed paintwork for best value.

MORRIS 8 1934-39

WHAT TO PAY £1500-£6000 FOR ONE

NEEDING A BASIC SERVICE AND NEW TYRES,

TO A SHINY AND MUCH LOVED EXAMPLE

SADLY NOW LOOKING FOR A NEW OWNER

Morris’s response to Austin’s all-conquering ‘Seven’

was the – ahem – ‘Eight.’ Bigger than the A7 (Austin

responded with the ‘Big 7’), the M8 was always seen

as a small family car. With little in the way of sporting

pretensions, mollycoddled survivors tend to have

been owned by enthusiasts re-connecting with their

younger days, as privileged passengers or as student

owners. Thus these cars are crying out for new

caretakers. Simple to live with, they’re neither quick

nor commodious but they should still sport little

‘budgie’ mirrors at the top corners of the windscreen

as telltale devices for the semaphore indicators.

FUZZ’S TOP TIP Values are low, so buy the

best you can. They’re easy to live with, simple, and

would be a hoot in 20mph and ULEZ areas.

18 | CLASSIC CAR WEEKLY Wednesday 28 February 2024 Wednesday 28 February 2024 CLASSIC CAR WEEKLY | 19

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