When I advertised my Porsche 968CS for sale a month or so ago, I did it expecting that I’d still have another good 6 months or so with the car. Having watched 968’s and other Porsches online for so long, I knew that most of them hang around for a very long time. There’s a 968 on carsales right now that was advertised before I bought mine, more than a year ago!
I thought I’d have more time with the car, but it was not to be. This morning, I sold the 968 to a wonderful bloke from New South Wales who has 40 years racing experience in various classes. The 968 won’t have a hard life in Mike’s care, but I’m sure he’s going to enjoy it to the fullest.
This is my final photo, taken minutes before Mike began the long drive home.
Why sell the 968?
I got a few questions from friends about selling this car. Why would I do it? There are a few reasons.
First – and it’s one of life’s big ironies – is that we’re planning to build a big garage at the front of our house. Selling the 968 to add some funds to the kitty is my way of showing Mrs Swade (and myself) that I’m serious about the project. So yes, I sold the 968 in order to build a house for cars like the 968 that will come in the future!
Second, some of the funds will go towards of the restoration of the car that I brought home today….
My Lancia Fulvia.
It was pure serendipity that I managed to sell my ‘old’ car on the same day that I planned to bring the ‘new’ one home. It’s pure stupidity that my old one is much newer than my new one. And the old one runs. The old one has a boot lid that closes. The old one doesn’t have any rust. And the old one has keys (yes, I bought a Lancia that doesn’t have any keys).
Today was a busy day. I had a couple of hours with Mike, showing him the 968 and taking care of the paperwork this morning, before picking up a car trailer with my stepson Geoff and heading off to pick up our ‘new’ cars.
After a bit of messing about – and a big dollop of help from some friends who have done this sort of thing before – Geoff and I managed to get our new vehicles home.
The Fulvia has inched its way into my heart already. I absolutely love it, even if all I can do is sit in it. In fact, in the event it’s deemed to be a totally (maniacally) unviable proposition, it may well hang around as some sort of super-sculture in our garden. It really is that pretty.
I’ll start tooling around with it tomorrow afternoon. My first job is to try to get the boot lid closed as the hinges seem to be frozen with the lid raised around 5 inches.
Geoff’s Fiat X1/9
My Fulvia and Geoff’s Fiat were purchased from a deceased estate. They are, in essence, a pair of real-life barn finds, covered in dust and even some hay (seriously!). The deceased was a wealthy man who bought all sorts of fun cars that took his fancy. They were often left sitting when they fell out of favour. Given that he had so many interesting cars, the vast majority of them have very low mileage. You can only drive them one at a time, right?
Where my Lancia is quite derelict and in need of a complete restoration, the Fiat X1/9 that Geoff bought is in superb, original condition and shouldn’t need too much work to re-commission. It’s an early model with small bumpers and the 1300 engine and it’s done only 45,000kms – and yes, we have some records to support this 🙂
My apologies for the dark, garage shots, but have a look…..
Getting the car into our garage at home was quite a challenge. It hasn’t been run for around 10 years and we weren’t going to fire it up today, so we had to roll it down my drive using my Subaru Brumby as a top-side anchor to stop it crashing through the back of the garage. The car was hampered by stuck brakes, too, so while we had to stop it from rolling down the hill with the Brumby, we also had friends pushing it down the hill to actually get it to move. It was quite a production!
In fact, the Brumby turned out to be quite a star today. We didn’t use it to tow the car trailer but we did use it as an agile little tow vehicle once we got the cars home and it did a wonderful job. Again.
Conclusion
24 hours ago my automotive world was completely different to how it is today. It’s amazing what a difference a day can make.
I’m really sad to have sold the Porsche so early in its sale campaign. I really came to love that car and my respect for the Porsche brand and their pursuit of excellence is through the roof. I plan to add a 928 to the family in due course, sooner rather than later.
But…. to balance that sadness is a fair bit of excitement.
I’m really, really excited about Geoff’s Fiat. I think he got an absolute ripper of a car and it’s going to be fun messing around with him in the garage on that one.
I’m also really excited to have my very own Fulvia and some money to get the restoration underway. There’s SO much to be done with this car but as long as it proves to be a viable candidate for restoration, it’s going to be a barrel of fun. I can’t wait to get it started.
If your day was even half as good as mine was today then you must have a smile from ear to ear 🙂
Welcome to Club Resto!
Some days you will be in automotive heaven, and some days….not.
Some days you will make excellent progress, and some days…you won’t.
Some days you will just stand there and ogle, ‘in auto love’, and other days you just want to send it to the tip, asking the eternal question, “why?”
Such is life in The Club. You have been warned….
Put a photo up in the new workshop of an exemplar that you aim for. Look at it every week, and be confident in the knowledge that everything you do to the car is going to make it better and better. Some steps will take you backwards to see you go forwards, but you will still move forwards. Even if it sits for two years and nothing happens, the car will appreciate in value. You bought it, and others will want it too, in any condition.
And here’s the rub. How much do you do to it, how many hours do you spend, and how much money do you tip in to it….
In the end it doesn’t matter all that much. Because you are IN THE MAN CAVE, DOING UP A CAR! and it is ITALIAN!
Enjoy!
Yes, yes and yes 🙂
So true. But in the beginning, the sweet dreams are so nice.
Beautiful. Good luck and enjoy it. One day I’ll get round to doing my Viggen…..
Wish I lived there Swade…..I want that red AX GT in the background!!
The AX GT is a cracker! It went to a new home this afternoon, too 🙂
Swade, I see you are like a friend…….afflicted with the terminal disease of autoADD!
My friend would lust over a car brand……checking out just which model…..then go into buying mode……looking mostly in the Chicago area……but “nationwide”……almost doing a grey market Ferrari……and land his fish…..errrr “new” car. He’d lavish love over the car, continually detailing (never just washing)……drive it to car shows……..all the while looking for his next conquest. In about a year or so…..the process would repeat.
Cars he had included a black ’58 Chevy Impala, Super 90, 356C Coupe, ’67 912 soft window Targa, ’76 Lotus Esprit, Renault R5 Turbo!, ’68 912 soft window Targa, 924S with several others I can’t remember.
His daily driver was a ’82 Honda Accord sedan properly set-up as an autocrosser, with Porsche style spoked alloy wheels, hi-po tyres, Recaro seats in the front, and a Recaro seat cover over the stock rear seats. His wife’s DD was a M-B 300D wagon in light yellow. Her first DD after their daughters arrived was a Volvo 245 in the sweet blue color, that this Saaber liked. Unfortunately, the Volvo lasted a short time as it lacked automatic transmission, whereas the M-B had the same. Wife.com was very happy with the M-B and drove it until recently.
Is that a AX GT MkI, with the original stripes? Gourgeous.
Swade…….I am devastated! You sold the 968!! I just assumed that once you got the Porsche bug your next stop would be a real Porsche with the engine at the proper end and air cooled. You fooled me!
Did you even get some time to enjoy the suspension and brakes?
Now you are descending into Italian MONEY PIT HELL.
I think the Lancia is cool…….but I am not an Italian car fan unless it has a prancing horse on the side.
Good luck with your new project, I hope it turns into a wonderful car.
Good to see you at last have a Fulvia. Yours is the same colour as the 1973 version I had. I’m sure you will be delighted with it. A gem of a car. Glad the AX GT has gone to a good home. Very few left here in UK now, not helped byy the scrappage scheme in 2009.
Truly wonderful post!!
Wait until you hear about my weekend, completely different to yours of course, but definitely an experience!
Nice news there, can’t wait to see it in the flesh. our new addition should hopefully be at the next Classics By The Beach.
If you’re looking for new paint I can’t recommend Talon Bodyworks in Charles Street Moonah more highly. They painted the Pantera and the comments are very satisfying. There were a few of the usual Italian corrosion issues when I picked her up and nothing was a problem.
I love doing some mechanical work myself as I believe by doing this it gives you sound knowledge of your pride and joy but anything a little bit out of the ordinary and it’s off to Matt Porter at SO Tas Automotive in Blackmans Bay. I had a little brake issue and he was all over it thankfully (I don’t think it’s too much to ask that you can stop when you want? :-/)
Again congratulations and enjoy the journey.
I had one of those X1/9s in the early 80’s, and it was in Hobart too. Mine was green. I can hear the carpet from your friend’s car … I wonder where the original carpet has gone? The car does look a treat. I really liked mine for the four weeks I had it.
Did you know JZ Delorean used and X1/9 as a test mule for his V6 drive train?
KJ
Exciting! Look at the condition of the X1/9! Those wheels are in fantastic shape for a car that age. That will be a great car with the right rubber.
I, too, am surprised at the quick sale of the Porsche. Use the funds wisely.
Best of luck mate. It’s a process for sure. I’ve had our ’67 MGB-GT for five years now and it’s been apart longer than it’s been together. Although far from finished it is back on the road and looking / running far better than when I bought it. She will never be more than a nice 20′ car but I didn’t want, nor could I afford a trailer princess. I’ve had so much satisfaction in bringing something back from near death. I wish you the same.
Congrats on the Lancia, Swade. I’d have gone the exxie, myself, but I’m biased as a proud owner (burgundy 1980 one that’s sometimes at Classics by the Beach). However, both cars are great finds; classics like that don’t come up that often and the ‘barn find’ lends a certain appeal. Good luck with the resto!
Alastair
Zagato bodied Fulvia featured on Jay Leno’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFKxEcQ3r7k
No doubt there will be many photos taken as things progress. Hoping to see a regular update of work done, with even the smallest ‘win’ the subject of a regular post.
Quite motivating for lots of us who aren’t all that far along the journey too.
I’m demoralised that I don’t have one, personally! 😉
So, you swapped a perfectly working precision engineered driving machine from Germany for some Italian metal that had to be towed home on a trailer and that will probably spend the next two years dismantled in the garage…? 😉 BTW, will the slightly awkward entrance to your driveway be fixed with the new garage project?
That’s a pretty accurate summary of things, ctm 🙂
And yes, the plan includes making sure the driveway problem never occurs again. We will shift and lower the access.
I endorse this sort of behaviour!
Can you list all the key specs? Weight, power, torque, that sort of geeky stuff.
You just picked up the last real Lancia sieris 1 fulvia .
I don’t think you realise how fantastic this car it.
You wait till you drive this classic, it will give as much pleasure as looking at it.