Welcome to another edition of Hooniverse Fastback Friday, and in this edition I thought I would share with the Hooniverse Faithful the Fastbacks of local Connecticut Classic Car Dealer, Automotive Restorations Inc. This Company was founded in 1978 and offer a range of services for the Classic and Vintage Car Connoisseur. There are forty highly skilled and enthusiastic craftsmen that can perform metal-crafting, mechanical maintenance and restoration, wood and metal finishing, interior upholstery work, and offer other collector services on and off site. So, let’s see what their current fastback collection that is offered for sale.
This is a 1954 Siata Balbo 208 BS Coupe, and is reported as being one of only eight left in existence. This has undergone such an extensive and correct restoration, that the car is eligible to compete in the famous Mille Miglia, the Colorado Grand, or can be invited to attend any of the major Concours competitions such as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. ARI actually restored this car with the intent of competing in a major historic rally, and it is astonishing. Asking price for this rolling piece of art is a jaw dropping $790,000! See the detailed PDF file here.
Here is a 1996 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe Collector Edition, and is the final year of the C4 Vette Family. This particular example has only traveled less that 20,000 miles and has a full service history to go along with the vehicle. This car also comes equipped with all the options offered except for the tire pressure monitoring system, and F45 Selective Real Time Damping Suspension system. This is one of only 5,412 Collector Edition Corvettes produced for the 1996 model year. Asking price for what is essentially a new 1996 Corvette is $27,500! See the detailed PDF File here.
Here is a 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage, the successor to the famous car that James Bond drove in several film versions of the Ian Fleming 007 Thrillers. The biggest difference between the DB6 and the DB5 variants was the Kammback design of the rear end which was then in vogue. This was suppose to increase stability at high speed. This particular car is the high performance Vantage, and is equipped with three Weber carburetors and a higher compression cylinder head which was capable of producing 325HP. Asking price for this example is $150,000, which is really a lot of change for a car showing over 92,000 miles. See the detailed PDF file here.
Last but not least is this 1973 Datsun 240Z that has been extensively restored by ARI. The car has been enhanced with a blueprinted 2.6L engine, and a 5-speed manual transmission. The original 2.4L and 4-speed is offered with the car as well. The car came to Connecticut from California, and underwent a bare-metal restoration. The 2.6L engine has been made to look like the original 2.4L unit, and the other upgrades installed include suspension and brake updates, and a modern audio system. Period looking American Racing slotted rims complete the look. Asking price for this essentially new 240Z is $27,500. See the detailed PDF file here.
[poll id=”77″]
Hooniverse Fastback Friday – The Fastbacks of Automotive Restorations Inc.
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Aston – This is the one that makes me tingle. Sleek DB styling topped off with that nice fastback roof – could be the best-looking classic Aston. The price seems reasonable for a true thoroughbred.
Corvette – Looks to be in great shape but it's still a C4 with all its limitations, ugly dash, and flexibility. I can buy a certified 2007-2008 Corvette coupe for not much more than this price.
Datsun – Nice but no mention of A/C. That's a potential deal-killer in South Florida. Attractive car but I'd look elsewhere first.
Fiat – Museum piece and not all that pretty. Ugly stripe. Silly money. A modern Civic will probably outrun it. If I wanted an Italian headache, I could buy a nice Fiat Dino coupe for about 1/25th of the cost.-
Generally agreed up and down the list. The Corvette and Datsun are fine cars in their way, but no competition for the others and it would be child's play to beat these prices, even by half. I'm certain on this, I shopped Z cars and C4s for months before buying a Z last week.
The Siata is great as an object, and personally I think it is beautiful, but you're right that it's departed the world of Real Car and become a Historical Artifact. I'm not an art collector, I'm a car guy. The Aston is at the top end of what you can still drive for enjoyment before tipping past that value point. So by simple process of elimination, the Aston. I'd take a Bristol or an Alvis or even an older Jensen over an Aston any day, but without those options on the table, the choice is easy.
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You had me at Aston
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That Vette sucks the big one. My F-150 is a "Collector Edition" for being green. I would rather have an abused C5 or C6 Z06 for that money.
That Aston is damn pretty, and the price is probably the best for what you get outta this group.
Z needs T-Tops
The stripes on the Fiat does it for me, however. That would be the one I would take if money was not a question. Just for the stripes. Hey, I said money was not a question. -
I'd rock the Vette as a daily, the Aston on friday and the Fiat on sunay. The Z would be for when the vette gets new tires and is in the service dept.
– We are talking about lottery money here right? If I had to buy only one it would be the Aston. -
I like the Z, and it would be the one I'd buy and enjoy if my finances were less meager.
The Siata is art with wheels and a singing V8; it could get one into any Concours D'Elegance you like. Bellissimo!
I don't really care about the Corvette, and I prefer the series 1 Aston Martin DBS to the DB6. -
I cannot see spending this much money when a fraction of the cost will make me just as happy. That being said, here's my ranking:
1) Aston — Just looks too cool
2) Fiat
3) Z
4) Vette-
Exactly. I don't like to let the cost factor when I would likely never allow myself to spend that amount on a car. Hell, I don't even want to spend as much as some of my friends who make payments on their boring daily drivers.
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Siata is so gorgeous, but the Aston is the value leader. So conflicted…
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That Aston is just gorgeous. Yeah, it's spendy, but not ridiculous like that Siata. I could see someone driving the Aston on a fairly regular basis, actually enjoying it. The Siata is a museum piece, that's about it. Crazy expensive. I like that Z car, but not for that much. I had no idea these were going for that kind of money, even in that condition.
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This was a hard vote because it is difficult to compare them with eachother, being such fundamentally different fastbacks. Thankfully there was an "all of the above" option.
Still, I can see why the Aston is first, it was probably my second choice. -
Z……Z…….Z……Z……Z……Z……….ZZZZZZZZZZZZ all the way!
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1. Completely rebuilt classic 240Zs were going for nearly $30K in 2008/09, but not now. The market has crashed all around the car industry and today is the day to pick up a really nice classic 240Z for $6-10K. Their value will slowly build back up (I hope) but most of us are 'buried' in our Z cars today ~ we have invested FAR more into their restoration than they're worth today. (I own two).
2. I'm a die-hard Aston Martin fan, but I know how many problems there can be with them as they approach 100,000 miles. No mention of service history on this one (which is normally a bragging-right for every AM owner), so I walk around that one for now.
3. Corvettes stopped impressing me in 1963, so no further comment about that.
4. I would take that OUTSTANDING Siata coupe in a heartbeat. It's priced that way for a reason! Got my vote, hands-down.
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