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.