There's hope yet!

I have long felt that the young enthusiast who wants to start motoring with one of the older cars is in many cases condemned to disappointment due to the excessive prices charged these days for even the sort of 1950s vehicles that were rubbish when they were in the new-car showrooms. However, study of recent one-make magazines shows a ray of hope. For instance, I recently saw advertised a 1955 Wolseley 4/44, with MoT, for £100 o.n.o., and a 1954 Wolseley 6/80, said to be in beautiful condition with no rust, original, and with eight months’ MoT after running 63,000 miles, for £300 o.n.o. Then in Sidevalve, journal of the Ford 100E OC, there have been many of those early perpendicular Pops, Prefects and Anglias advertised for unquoted sums, which I suspect are so modest as to be in the “make an offer” category. Also, the 750 MC’s Bulletin recently carried an ad. for an 1172 trials car, reported to have a good engine and excellent tyres and to comply with the NTF formula, priced at £150. So, although these cars may not be the Stanley Sedgwicks, they might well get impecunious youth on the road (or over the hill) quite satisfactorily. It seems to be a case of just shopping around.

W.B.