Step away from normalcy with one of these cars

By Tim Suddard
Dec 27, 2023 | Alfa Romeo, BMW, Daimler, Honda, Kit Car & Replica, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Sunbeam, Triumph, TVR | Posted in Buyer's Guides , Features | From the March 2018 issue | Never miss an article

[Editor's Note: This article originally ran in the March 2018 issue of Classic Motorsports.]

There are certain cars that everybody wants: Shelby Cobras, Jaguar E-Types and Porsche 356 Speedsters are on every list of blue-chip collectibles. And since the law of supply and demand rules the collector-car market the same as any other, those same cars fetch strong prices in our world.

But what if you thought outside the box and cast your eyes toward some less popular choices that still offer a terrific ownership experience? Even better, what if those cars still turned heads, but did so for less than the price of an SL Benz?

Welcome to the world of oddballs. It’s a place we enjoy visiting. Over the years we have owned and restored plenty, from the TVR Griffith and Sunbeam Tiger to the Innocenti Mini and our extremely rare Tornado Typhoon, a ‘50s special based on common English Ford mechanicals.

Here’s what we have learned: With an oddball, you’ll never pass yourself on the open road, and at car shows you are less likely to be pinned down by some self-professed expert. Instead, you get to take center stage, often with an inexpensive purchase.

Rarity: A Double-Edged Sword

An oddball will attract attention, whether it’s at a local cruise-in or a national meet. It can also provide something new and different to tinker with, a fresh subject to research. There are old magazines to sift through, new friends to make, and newly discovered message boards to visit.

On the downside, an oddball can be a logistical nightmare. Who supplies parts today? Has the recognized guru shuffled off this mortal coil? And will it be worth it after you pour your heart, soul and bank account into it? (Don’t forget, painting an oddball can cost just as much as painting a more common, and more desirable, machine.)

Just figuring out what you have can be maddening. Case in point: Only after reupholstering our Tornado’s buckets with custom covers did we discover that we were working with garden-variety Sprite seats. Likewise, we never figured out the proper supplier for that car’s door handles, so we simply used something similar-looking that was intended for a Cobra.

The prices for these cars and parts can be attractive—a rare part for a Shelby Mustang can fetch big dollars while a coveted item for an oddball can languish on eBay with little to no interest—but just remember: when it’s time to part with said oddball, the sale will most likely close at a lower number as well.

Ready to Find One of Your Own?

If you’ve decided that the odd life is for you, we have a few recommendations to make. These are listed in no particular order, along with the salient pros and cons for each option and their more common equivalents. Once you start looking you may find, as we have, that the fun is not only in taking the road less traveled, but in doing so in a car that is less popular.

KITS AND SPECIALS

NUMBER BUILT: Who knows?

WHAT IS IT? Back in the ‘50s, fiberglass was a new and wonderful building material. Good or bad, it allowed almost anyone to become a car manufacturer, with a cadre of companies offering their own bodies–some pretty, some that were less than refined. Several of these companies offered frames as well.

Either way, the idea was to take a damaged, rusty or simply boring car and repurpose it with a sleek body. Common manufacturers included Devin, LaDawri and Kellison, while driveline donors came from all ends of the spectrum, from V8-powered Corvettes and Triumph sports cars to Volkswagen and English Ford sedans.

The Austin-Healey Sprite’s late-’50s arrival put a damper on the marketplace for kits and specials, since it meant an inexpensive sports car could be easily purchased. While kit cars are still being produced, their original heyday lasted until the ‘70s.

PLUSES: Many of these vehicles had cool, jet-age Speedracer styling, yet today they’re still inexpensive to build, own and repair–assuming you’re handy with fiberglass and fabrication. Interest is beginning to grow, as even The Amelia has started to welcome them.

MINUSES: Some of these cars’ poor sales were due to marketing or financial blunders, but a lot were due to the fact that they were badly made, looked ugly, or just didn’t perform well. Parts can be difficult to find today, especially for anything based on an English Ford.

COMMON EQUIVALENT: Sprite and Spitfire for British-sourced cars; Corvettes for the American ones.

FINAL WORDS: If you took the money that you’d spend on a Corvette, MGB or Triumph TR6 and instead put it into a special, you could find yourself rubbing shoulders with some seriously rare machines.

BMW 318is

NUMBER BUILT: 41,234

WHAT IS IT?

Just before BMW’s much-loved E30 chassis went away, it received a shot in the arm thanks to a new twin-cam, four-cylinder engine. No, we’re not talking about the much-heralded M3, which now fetches a pretty penny. We’re talking about the 1991-only 318is, BMW’s addition of a lower-cost option to the model range. Today’s market is just starting to realize that this rare BMW sedan is a gem in its own right.

PLUSES: The 318is is light, nimble, sturdy, simple and efficient. It also features effective a/c and is served by a huge after-market. Even today it makes a fine, practical daily driver.

MINUSES: It’s not the fastest E30 variant offered, and not everyone considers it to be a true classic–yet. Although it was only available for the 1991 model year, BMW built a lot of them.

COMMON EQUIVALENT: Volkswagen GTI or other E30-chassis BMWs.

FINAL WORDS: If you are looking for an economical, usable near-classic that is appreciating in value, this might be the one.

TVR 2500 M

NUMBER BUILT: 947

WHAT IS IT? TVR has, often against all odds, soldiered on since 1947. They’re the little sports car company that won’t die, and at Goodwood this past September we saw the first signs of life the firm has shown in nearly five years.

The Triumph TR6-powered 2500 M, built from 1972 through 1977, is the one that we really like. These cars look cool, feature easily serviceable Triumph mechanicals and, despite their rarity, don’t command a premium.

PLUSES: Robust driveline, rust-proof fiberglass bodies, stylish design and simple construction. Good club support, too, for an oddball.

MINUSES: The tubular steel chassis will rust. Some parts are getting hard to find, and there was no top-down option until later models.

COMMON EQUIVALENT: Triumph GT6 or even a Datsun Z-car.