Unique Cars’ resident car lover Phil Walker took a look through the classifieds to offer his pick of the crop for Issue 511, including a VW Beetle which he notes is still a crowd favourite.
1956 Volkswagen Beetle
$60,000
A motoring icon and a car seen on nearly every Aussie driveway at some stage. Simple, reliable and spacious. I remember piling into a mate’s on several occasions and finding many other bods inside. Beetles are still attracting good money and older oval-window examples are highly sought. This one was subject to a recent body off, bare metal respray and looks flash in its new Modern Metal paint. It runs upgraded mechanicals with an enlarged and more powerful 1776cc donk with a synchro gearbox, sitting behind the rear seat. Inside is the original style tiller and retrimmed red-vinyl pews with white piping. It now has carpet (it didn’t when new) and a new roof lining, and the dash and trims have been repainted. Over 70 grand has been spent on it and now it’s ready for a new owner to jump in and go.
2003 Holden Monaro CV-8
$85,000
Here’s a modern Aussie classic destined for future greatness. The Monaro captured public applause like few other cars and Australia’s last coupe still has mass appeal and is a great drive. This Phantom metallic black CV8 with red trim has travelled a tad over 35,000 kilometres and sports HSV rims. Under the fluted bonnet sits Chev’s 5.7 LS1 and it’s bolted to a six-speed manual, the perfect combo. It’s claimed only 34 have been made this way, giving it an element of rarity as well. It has other HSV upgrades and comes with its original logbook and dealer folder.
1986 Citroen 2CV
$26,500
No, Uncle Phil hasn’t gone off his rocker. But the Citroen 2CV has a charm few cars can match and it is guaranteed to turn heads. As Citroen has been making them since 1948, by 1986 they’d got them well sorted and this Charleston runs the ‘big-block’ 602cc engine. It has 71,000 klicks on the clock and has been well cared for and garage kept. It recently received a new clutch, tyres, full-length van style side exhaust and heater hoses, and has been maintained and serviced by a 2CV expert. Roll back the roof, let the sun in and enjoy cute Frenchie motoring.
Get it checked out
Before handing over your hard-earned $$$ please ensure you have any potential purchase inspected, as a tight travel budget and a lack of psychic powers mean we cannot vouch for the cars we highlight.