Originally posted by monochrome Sunbeam Tiger is on my list, along with a big Healey and the Morgan Plus 4 above. Then again, I could just do it the easy way and buy a Corvette.
1LT + ZL1 Silver over red, full-length single stripe. Body color vents, 7-Speed manual. $65,000 delivered. That’s actually doable.
Back around 1969, I was driving my '69 VW Beetle 1500...which I drag raced a time or two...I still recall my best time...which was 19.4 seconds @ 68.5 mph..not exactly retina detaching acceleration over the 1/4 mile...but not bad for a liter and a half of 'Bug' .
But I digress, In '69 I was looking at a small used car, curb lot as we used to call them back then and there were two cars that had great appeal. One was a Sunbeam Tiger, the other an Austin Healey 3000. Both were well used and both were going for $ 1800 CAD each and both were out of my price range, as I was a young guy and making payments on my V-Dub.
If I only had a time machine...
I do think a modern performance car like a new Corvette makes a lot of sense. You get very well engineered performance, state of the art brakes, suspension, engine performance and...most importantly ..... you also get a bumper to bumper warranty.
I'm not a mechanic, but when I look at my vintage iron that I'm slowly working on...the '67 Matchless Scrambler...I find there has been poor repair on a variety of things that needed fixing... over it's 51 years and 26,000 miles. Broken off engine cooling fins, snapped bolts, bodged up electric wire repairs and I haven't even gone into the engine yet.
However, judging by the oily condition of the electrodes on one spark plug...I'm expecting at least one burnt valve and/or broken rings, etc...in at least one cylinder. My experience...and it's not extensive...but will be expensive...tells me that restoring old performance, sporting vehicles is not for the faint of heart.
But when I think of it, that isn't a surprise, considering that most of the guys that first get hi po vehicles want to run the...you know what...out of them and then there are the owners after....who likely will continue in that vein, but just don't do proper repairs/maintenance oft times.
But in the end, as with my Matchless and my other vintage motorcycle...a big single cylinder (SR 500) Yamaha...more often than not I've chosen the hard way. But as you say, the 'easy way'...buying a new performance car... has an awful lot of appeal.