Sod the fecking rain I'm thinking of buying a convertible....any advice?

Caddyman

I've been waiting for the so called summer to buy a convertible or a T-Bar or Targa type classic but as the summer still hasn't arrived yet I may as well buy something now to keep me sane and take my mind off the rainnnnnn.......I am open for suggestions........I was looking at an MG roadster but theres not a lot of power in them and I would like to hear a nice engine note as I'm driving with the top down...so as to drown out the splashing noise as I drive through the floods!!!
I am looking to spend up to £25k and it must be 77/78 year for the classic import duty etc.... any help will be greatly appreciated!

Caddyman

mike65

Buy something well rot-proofed! Good budget - does that include extras like maintainance?
http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=665648 (saw this one earlier in the year when it was hot and sunny!)

http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=701830
http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=655605
http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=686526

Mike.

eamon234

If power is an issue with the MG there is a V8 version available would be well within your budget and is a great drive just make sure you get one in pristine condition

Caddyman

mike65 wrote:

Buy something well rot-proofed! Good budget - does that include extras like maintainance?
http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=665648 (saw this one earlier in the year when it was hot and sunny!)

Thanks for the info on the TR6, I never thought of them but the rest are all hardtops and I have one of the last ones.
Any more convertibles or T-tops you can think of will be a great help as i think its a case of I'll know it when i see it!
To answer your question the budget doesn't include maintainance, I am not very mechanically minded and will have to get a car in the best condition as I can for my money!
caddymanconfused:

corktina

advice? learn to swim....

Blue850

Click on these

Porsche 911 Targa
Triumph Stag
BMW 2002
Pagoda Mercedes SL
Mercedes 350 SL

Caddyman

eamon234 wrote:

If power is an issue with the MG there is a V8 version available would be well within your budget and is a great drive just make sure you get one in pristine condition

Thanks but I know the only V8 convertible MGs are not factory built and there are I believe some issues with them.

Caddyman

Blue850 wrote:

Click on these

Porsche 911 Targa
Triumph Stag
BMW 2002
Pagoda Mercedes SL
Mercedes 350 SL

Thanks for taking the time on this. I had a targa years ago and it leaked like hell and I currently have turbo in the garage so its out, the Stag is an option as its got a V8!, the BMW I don't like but the Merc is a real nice option, do you happen to know if there are small seats in the back so I could fit two children 8 and 9?

kikel

Perfect time to buy a convertible. At least you'll know if the roof leaks or not. good luck with your hunt.

8~)

Some SLs have rear seats but they really are small. You'd have to have a look yourself to assess them but I wouldn't say you'd comfortably fit two children in them for a long journey.

ds20prefecture

Any Peugeot convertible before 1980. The 304 is pretty, the 404 gorgeous and the 504 stunning.

Alfa 2600 or Duetto/Spider are beautiful cars but expensive to buy right.



At the top end of the market, the BMW 507 or the Citroen DS Décapotable

Caddyman

ds20prefecture wrote:

Any Peugeot convertible before 1980. The 304 is pretty, the 404 gorgeous and the 504 stunning.

Wow DS, you've given me a lot to think about, I think the Alfa which is a thing of beauty would need a lot of looking after and parts would be hard to get!.......do you know what sort of money the BMW is? (probably outside my budget anyway) and the Citroen looks really nice, any ideas on the money here as well and if it has seats in the back!!!
They were certainly not on my list, Thanks for the info.

I think the Merc still is in Pole Position but these are worth considering!!!

Caddyman

MercMad

Merc is a real nice option, do you happen to know if there are small seats in the back so I could fit two children 8 and 9?

.............the Pagoda's generally do not have anything but a hard shelf in the rear. Some were fitted with ONE sideways facing seat but no seatbelt. The only other model is what is called the "California Coupe" which does have a bench rear seat, its very tight but the big problem is it has no soft top at all !

Youlift off the heavy hardtop and if it rains you phucked !! Hardly practical over here !

That one in the post would be very desirable, Irish reg, but the price is right at the low end meaning I reckon it needs a lot of work !

Couls you really get a DC Decap on that budget ??

Dades

If I had that wedge to buy a convertible I would buy a Fiat Dino Spider - immediately.

Dwilly

The missus is now a proud owner of a silver '70 280 SL auto, we're both praying for the Irish Summer to arrive soon. Or was that April?
Still makes you smile even in the rain though :rolleyes:

macplaxton

How about a yellow Citroen 2CV? Open top motoring and a fraction of the price. Spend the rest on a driving holiday to the south of France and enjoy the Riviera sunshine for a couple of weeks whilst driving around raising one eye brow a lot (like Roger Moore)

ds20prefecture

Sorry Caddyman, I only speed read your post and didn't spot your budget. A solid DS Decap will set you back in excess of 70,000 euro. A concours early one will cost you over 150,000. AFAIK, the 507 is in that ballpark too.

For 25k, the Alfas would be my choice. I love the SL, particularly the 190 from the 50s. I know a couple of owners who also own much more exotic machinery that swear that the SL is all the car they'd ever need, and the only one they'd never sell. But they're just a little bit... common.

The Peugeot 504 is a very beautiful cabriolet.

ds20prefecture

PS - I don't agree that the Alfa would need a lot of care, especially. There's a guy with a beautiful 2600 in the Blessington club and he says it's rock solid. They are simple cars mechanically, and in these days of the interweb there's no part more than 3 or 4 days away.

ds20prefecture

Would you consider going american? A 60s thunderbird should be available for that sort of money.

2cv

Caddyman wrote:

ds20prefecture wrote:

Wow DS, you've given me a lot to think about,

You'd be lucky to find a scrap DS convertible at €25k, let alone one that's driving. I was at Citromobile in Holland last May, and there was one for sale for the modest sum of €129,000.00 !!!!

Caddyman

ds20prefecture wrote:

Would you consider going american? A 60s thunderbird should be available for that sort of money.

I would consider a yank as I had a 69' Lincoln Continental some years go and indeed drove a 2001 Cadillac Seville STS as my everyday car up to one year ago and indeed thats how I got my Nickname.

I am slowly coming to the conclusion that I will need a 4 seater or at least something that will accommodate my two children who are 8 and 9 years old.

I have a 911 turbo that has two small seats in the rear that no adult could suffer except for a 5 minute drive but which my children can sit in and have no problems with as the seats are just the right size for them so you can see that my dilema is that at the end of the day I don't want to be a sad looking middle aged baldy ba***rd driving around in an open top sports car as I think that would be pathetic but I still want one!!!
Therefore the bigger yanks might be worth a look at except that my garage is a bit crowded and an SL might be the biggest car I could fit!
Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming as they are shaping my thoughts and bringing me closer to a decision!!
Caddyman:)

Dades

I've carried adults in the back of the SL (107) on a few shorts trips without complaint. I don't reckon your younglings would have a problem.

Hifive

The Atheist wrote:

I've carried adults in the back of the SL (107) on a few shorts trips without complaint. I don't reckon your younglings would have a problem.

So, your 4 foot 6 then

MercMad

The Atheist wrote:

I've carried adults in the back of the SL (107) on a few shorts trips without complaint. I don't reckon your younglings would have a problem.

......107's have more space in the back, if you could call it that, and there were some with proper fitted rear children seats, not that common !

There really werent a huge amount of 4 seater convertibles in Europe in the 70's, save for what has been mentioned, and the Yanks !

Dades

Hifive wrote:

So, your 4 foot 6 then

Heh, as MercMad says - there are "proper" seats in the back of some (not many though it seems).

When I have carried people on short trips I'm driving and the womenfolk go in the back!

Actually drove to Clifden and back in it this weekend just gone - over 350 miles.