Considering buying a classic? Check out Turners Cars’ massive line-up!

15 November, 2016

The National Classic Car Online Auction at Turners Cars is gathering steam with some truly amazing cars up for sale.  The online auction will run from Friday, November 25 and will close on Monday, December 5. No matter what level of collector or enthusiast you are, there’s sure to be something that’ll tickle your fancy — and cars will be on show at the 11 Turners Cars branches throughout New Zealand, so you can get along to your nearest branch, or organize a road trip to check them all out, and have a  look and see if you find the car of your dreams.  

If Fords are your thing, then there are plenty here, from the 1929 Ford Pickup Model A Roadster to the 1974 Ford Capri, with a couple of great Mustangs and a 1964 Ford Thunderbird in-between. There’s also three rare Fords that will turn anyone’s head; a 1970 Ford Shelby Cobra Mustang GT500, a 1974 Ford XB GT Falcon, and the extremely rare 1970 Ford Falcon XW GT-HO Phase II that was one of only 14 that raced at Bathurst in 1970, driven by the legendary Bob Holden.

If you daydream about the era of drive-in movies, then perhaps the 1959 Cadillac De Ville, the 1956 Dodge Royal Lancer, or the 1956 Chevrolet Belair will pique your interest. Going back even further towards the birth of the modern motor car, we have a Dodge Senior 6 from 1929 and fully restored 1928 Willys-Knight.

For the project-minded the 1965 Mk2 Jaguar could be the car for you, or for those after the thrill of the chase perhaps the Oldsmobile 88 Delta CK with Sheriff’s livery will do the trick. Or for the Japanese-minded there’s a 1980 Suzuki CXG Coupe that’s only done 142kms, as well as a potentially one-of-a-kind 1974 Toyota Crown Coupe  in incredible condition, giving a window into the luxury sports models of the early ’70s.  

There’s plenty more; BMWs and Mercs from the ’80s, three beautiful MGs … the list goes on! All the cars are on Turners Cars’ website, with lots of information and plenty of pictures.  If you have any enquiries, the consultant for each vehicle is specific in each listing.

And remember,  if you’re thinking about selling your car, then this is the time and place to do it. Entries will be accepted until November 18, 2016. 

Lunch with … Cary Taylor

Many years ago — in June 1995 to be more precise — I was being wowed with yet another terrific tale from Geoff Manning who had worked spanners on all types of racing cars. We were chatting at Bruce McLaren Intermediate school on the 25th anniversary of the death of the extraordinary Kiwi for whom the school was named. Geoff, who had been part of Ford’s Le Mans programme in the ’60s, and also Graham Hill’s chief mechanic — clearly realising that he had me in the palm of his hand — offered a piece of advice that I’ve never forgotten: “If you want the really good stories, talk to the mechanics.”
Without doubt the top mechanics, those involved in the highest echelons of motor racing, have stories galore — after all, they had relationships with their drivers so intimate that, to quote Geoff all those years ago, “Mechanics know what really happened.”

ROTARY CHIC

Kerry Bowman readily describes himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Citroën fan and a keen Citroën Car Club member. His Auckland home holds some of the chic French cars and many parts. He has also owned a number of examples of the marque as daily drivers, but he now drives a Birotor GS. They are rare, even in France, and this is a car which was not supposed to see the light of day outside France’s borders, yet somehow this one escaped the buyback to be one of the few survivors out in the world.
It’s a special car Kerry first saw while overseas in the ’70s, indulging an interest sparked early on by his father’s keenness for Citroëns back home in Tauranga. He was keen to see one ‘in the flesh’.
“I got interested in this Birotor when I bought a GS in Paris in 1972. I got in contact with Citroën Cars in Slough, and they got me an invitation to the Earls Court Motor Show where they had the first Birotor prototype on display. I said to a guy on the stand, ‘I’d like one of these,’ and he said I wouldn’t be allowed to get one. Citroën were building them for their own market to test them, and they were only left-hand drive.”