Looking back through the Unique Cars classifieds
Holden Torana A9X four-door – advertised June 1992
If its provenance could be verified then this was for absolute certainty a very significant and collectable Torana. Two A9X sedans were entered for the 1977 Bathurst 1000; one for the Ron Hodgson team and Bob Morris, the other by HDT with Charlie O’Brien as lead driver. It finished fifth and is most likely to be the car advertised here. Where it is currently we couldn’t determine, but somebody will know and might confirm its survival. Value is tough to pinpoint, however a car this important to Holden’s history must have appreciated at least tenfold in the space of 30 years.
Then: $45,000. Now: $450,000-550,000
Ford Escort RS2000 – advertised April 1997
Back in the 1990s when money was tight, one of the cars offering character at minimal cost was the locally-grown Escort RS2000. Australia had since 1977 been dumping OHC Cortina engines into all kinds of Escorts, much to the astonishment of Brits who could only get the ‘Pinto’ motor in an RS. We also got the foam rubber nose and duck-tail, extra instruments, Volante alloys and up-spec seats but otherwise, it was a plain Escort GL. We also made the world’s only RS2000 four-door, which makes this one a bit special. Well done if you bought it for $6k. Smarter still if you kept it.
Then: $5900. Now: $40,000-45,000
Mercedes-Benz 220SE coupe – advertised October 1996
Mercedes-Benz built its Australian reputation on the back of the Ponton – aka ‘Roundie’ – series that were sold here from 1954 until 1960. Virtually all of the Australian deliveries had four doors, with hardly any of the fuel-injected 220SE Coupes coming our way. Even in the UK, RHD Ponton two-doors were and remain very scarce, with only 23 reportedly delivered. The only survivor seen for UK sale recently looked fairly priced at £105,000 (around $185,000) but that was nowhere near the record set by a Swiss-registered LHD car in 2018 of 171,000 Euros. Is this rare Benz still in Australia?
Then: $50,000. Now: $220,000-250,000
Toyota Landcruiser FJ40 – advertised November 2003
If you barred out an old Shorty to go shooting or filled one with water dragging your boat out of the Bay, then those tears of regret will taste as salty. The Americans are to blame, spending decades treating the Landcruiser as a fun car, not a serious 4WD. Then when numbers started to dwindle, they were paying crazy money for survivors or spending even more restoring rusty ones. The ’78 model being sold almost 20 years ago looks like it came fresh from a showroom but that price would still have raised eyebrows. So would the later diesel version which sold recently at auction for $63,000.
Then: $8000. Now: $65,000-70,000
From Unique Cars #474, Jan 2023