Looking back through the Unique Cars classifieds
Holden Torana LX V8 hatch – Advertised March 2005
If your Torana came with an A9X option code and was for sale during 2005, the price tag might well have begun with 14, but that included an extra zero. Back then, hardly anyone noticed or wanted cars like this very tidy SL V8 and, as years passed, a lot were either turned into replicas of more desirable versions or wrecked to keep more valuable ones running. Today, in a market that is paying more attention to authenticity, cars like this LX are less common than any of those SS and A9X replicas, very appealing to collectors of rare Holdens and absolutely worth a six-digit sum.
Then: $14,000. Now: $110,000-125,000
MG TC – Advertised July 1988
As the 1960s put more Australians on wheels, the car to own if you were young and broke was an MG TC. You couldn’t find them in car yards, but peer into a neighbour’s shed or under their house and those familiar ‘slab’ tanks were everywhere. Plus, they cost just a few hundred dollars. Provided you could replace the rotting timber frame yourself, they were also an easy car to restore and a lot have survived. But they are no longer cheap. North American demand drives the world market and quality cars sell there at above US$50,000. Average ones here are in the $45-55,000 price bracket.
Then: $18,000. Now: $45,000-50,000
Ford T Model Roadster 1912 – Advertised December 1993
Was familial tolerance stronger during the early 20th Century? Or were the staff (invariably male) of Ford’s Marketing Department very brave indeed? Either way, we suspect that not too many family matriarchs would have rushed to buy one of these tall Fords with Puritan headgear had they been aware of the nickname. ‘Brass Era’ cars are now 110 years old, yet Ford Days usually have some on show, including the occasional Mother-in-Law version. T Fords like this were for quite some time trapped below $25,000, however, US demand set a record some years back of US$208,000.
Then: $23,500. Now: $45,000-55,000
Isuzu Bellett – Advertised June 1996
What happened to all the Bellets? Back when Japanese cars were seen as more of a curiosity than serious challengers to Ford and BMC, the Isuzu Bellet built a reputation for being reliable and more fun than a Toyota Corona. Finding a Bellet now, especially a later version as pictured, has become almost impossible, yet prices haven’t climbed in the same way as some Datsuns and Mazdas. A car said to be in ‘great condition for its age’ was offered locally at $17,500, while one that didn’t look any worse was sold at auction during 2021 for just $3009. Somewhere between the two will be realistic.
Then: $2500. Now: $7500-9000
From Unique Cars #476, March 2023