Obsessive? It seemed like a top idea
You must know the experience, where you meet a fellow car nut who, even by your low benchmark, is a bit of a fruitcake. That’s defined as someone who’s crazier than you. And it doesn’t have to be by much.
It’s the person who started off with a bit of a varied fleet, and at some stage took a hard turn down a rabbit hole, amassing every model of something. For some people it’s Hudsons, others it might be every ’34 Ford variant, and I’ve even heard of a Land Crab (Austin 1800) assemblage. You hear of or meet these people, stand back, and wonder what the hell tipped them over this particular edge. Their determination can’t be faulted. But their sanity?
Now I’m starting to understand how it happens. This morning I was ogling a recent listing on our website at tradeuniquecars.com.au – a Datsun 260C coupe. This was the company’s luxo two-door for the day and I’ve always had this tragic affinity for slightly oddball vehicles, particularly if they were a bit of an orphan. Now 260Cs, if I recall right, were very rare here when they were new. One like this, claiming to be a one-owner, and looking like it was in perfectly functional condition, would be like the proverbial hen’s teeth.
To me the $25k ask seemed like it was up there, but then I was hit with two thoughts: where would you find another as good; and really, in these days of loopy prices for local cars, it didn’t seem too bad. Probably cheaper than a resto.
However there was one problem. Other than the fact it appealed, how would it fit in with the rest of the fleet? There are already four cars and an embarrassing number of motorcycles cluttering up the joint. I know! It could sit beside my BMW 633 coupe of the same year and I could begin collecting 1976 coupes. Fantastic plan! No-one else is doing it – It could be a world-first.
And then, as the harsh realities of paying for it and finding somewhere to park it started to come home to roost, there was the realisation that, actually, collecting 1976 coupes is a bloody silly idea. I’ve had worse, mind, but where do you stop?
Perhaps you could just settle on one from each continent. America is no problem – there’s probably a wealth of interesting choices for not too much money. Heck, UK (okay a big collection of islands rather than a continent) should be easy too – this could be the excuse to finally scratch up the money for an early Jaguar XJS.
Europe? Probably spoiled for choice here. Something a little out there, like a Peugeot 504 coupe, would fit the bill nicely. China – err, no. India, probably easier, though in the 70s it’ll more than likely be some legacy Brit design matched to nothing we’d understand as quality control.
You know the biggest challenge? Australia. Really! The way prices are going for locally-made coupes from the seventies, I’d have to sell the house and live in the car. Much, much too hard.
Bugger, I was looking forward to driving ‘my’ Datsun, but it’s a cog in a much larger plot that will probably end in tears. What a shame…