zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
For $20,000, how you gonna keep ‘em down on the farm?
For $20,000, how you gonna keep ‘em down on the farm?-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:12

Aston Martin made so few of the outrageously styled Lagonda sedans it's hard to believe there still some unaccounted for. Today's Series II is claimed to have been found hiding in, of all places, a barn, but does that make its price farm fresh?

A fresh Chevy Caprice cop car is also a rare discovery, however the availability of used Pontiac G8s and the likewise arresting Dodge Charger seemed to make yesterday's a tough beat to walk. Still, it did eke out a narrow 51% Nice Price win, even with its seller's demand that the buyer be someone that by-law is required to help those in need. Commie pinkos.

It's not the Bluesmobile, nor does it possess the bloated orca-like visage of Caprice cop cars of…

There's a whole lot of debate going on these days about the 99% who need help, and the 1% who need help carrying all their money. That 1% obviously get to have a lot of cool stuff, and today's is a reminder of why the rest of us can't have nice things.

The series I Lagonda was little more than a stretched version of Aston's V8 coupe, with an additional pair of doors appended and looking freakishly like a Mustang sedan. The series II, however, looked like no Lagonda - much less Aston Martin - that had gone before, appearing more like a ride for one of Thunderbirds are Go's wealthier puppets. Actually, it was the work not of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, but of the talented Brit, William Towns, seeking to out-ostentate Rolls Royce.

Introduced at the 1976 London Motor Show, with customer deliveries beginning a full two years later, the Series II Lagonda featured missile-like proportions, nearly a foot greater in width than in height. Power for the more than two-ton four seater comes from Aston Martin's hand-built 5.3-litre, 285-bhp 4-cam V8, topped with a quartet of Weber 42DCNF carbs. Transmission choices were limited to a single 3-speed automatic, but even with that anachronism, the car was scarily futuristic. That was a future you might wish Marty McFly might be able to alter as the under developed production car-first digital dashboard, and computer controls exemplified Aston Martin's budget constraints, and the Brits' inability to do anything involving moving electrons with any sort of reliability.

Still, the damn thing is to this day about the sexiest 4-door on the planet.

And this one is said to be a barn-find. I take issue with that as who in their right mind leaves a Lagonda in a barn? Tiffany's valet sure, but a barn? Think about it, who have barns? Farmers, right? And farmers don't give a chicken's ass about Lagondas. Alice Chalmers, yeah, Aston Martins, no way. Farmers also have farmers' daughters, that lust-inducing species of femininity found only in bawdy humor and not in real life, so there's that as well.

Also, the car is offered up in Marina California, a city that hugs the eastern-most edge of the Monterey Bay, and the only farms there are Bristol. Maybe it came from Salinas, a few miles inland and very heavily agricultural - and meaning the trunk may be full of artichokes - otherwise I call monkey spunk to the whole barn-find claim.

Also stretching credulity is the fact that while barns are typically pretty dark, creepy places, this Lagonda's dash and wood obviously shows the deleterious effects of significant time spent in the sun - including cracking clear coat and splits in the leather dash cap. On the other hand, backing up the barn life claim, the paint does look like, on more than one occasion, a cow has popped a squat on it. But the wheels - those over-sized, over-spoked wire wheels - don't look like they've been spending time in any barn, unless it's one owned by Coolio. The seller does say that the factory wheels are included in the deal.

The rest of the car looks to be in pretty good shape, considering. Remarkably for a luxo-barge the early Lagondas had fixed rear window glass. This one is late enough that the rears go down - at least in theory if my exerience with those Lucas rocker switches in anything to go on. Older cars also had touch-sensitive switches that were about as reliable as Italian train service. This one has row upon row of tiny rockers in their place, a running change that was likely well warranted. An aftermarket change on this car has been the replacement of the notoriously flaky CRT gauges with Dakota Digital units. It still looks like a ‘70s Radio Shack in there, but at least the Dakota gauges will make it look like they've paid their electric bill.

The seller says that the car runs strong and with only 56,000 miles on it doesn't show egregious rust or damage from use. Sure the paint's craptacular, and the seats are so dry sitting on them may cause them to crunch like a day-old used Kleenex, but there's nothing here to really dissuade an ardent admirer. As one of only 645 ever produced, it remains about as limited an edition as you are likely to find outside of a late night HSN Franklin Mint segment.

Of course there's the price, which is a non-barn burning $20,000. That gets you a pretty solid Lagonda that needs a good ten grand in paint and it rubs the lotion on its skin to make it presentable. Alternatively, you could just drive it as it molders, perhaps even adding to its patina of age and abuse to make it the world's most mind blow rat rod show attendee - possible now that Amy Winehouse is no longer with us - R.I.P..

So what's your take on this Barn find- if that's really what it is - Lagonda for $20,000? Is that a price that makes your hay loft? Or, is spending that much for this car like closing the barn door after the 285 horses have been let loose?

You decide!

or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Foxtrotzed, who saw AsianMartin's Twitter post, and provided the hookup.

Help me out with NPOCP. Click to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
Someone Willingly Paid $16,000 For A Maserati Ghibli On Cars & Bids. Don’t Make The Same Mistake
Someone Willingly Paid $16,000 For A Maserati Ghibli On Cars & Bids. Don’t Make The Same Mistake
Let’s cut right to the chase: buying a is not a good idea unless you have deep enough pockets for the upkeep. For those not in the know, they’re sirens. They draw you in with their premium Italian image and sweet songs of and then go in for the...
Oct 26, 2024
At $5,900, Is This 1984 Nissan 720 4X4 A Solid Deal?
At $5,900, Is This 1984 Nissan 720 4X4 A Solid Deal?
According to its seller, today’s Nissan 4X4 shows “pride of ownership.” Let’s see if it would take swallowing one’s pride to pay its asking price. Opinions were split on how well the design of yesterday’s has held up over the years. Some of you commented that the design still...
Oct 26, 2024
At $950, Would You Go All-In On This 1984 Plymouth Colt GTS Turbo Project?
At $950, Would You Go All-In On This 1984 Plymouth Colt GTS Turbo Project?
One of the calling cards of today’s Plymouth Colt is its “Twin Stick” overdrive gear change, which gives the car eight speeds going forward and two in reverse. Let’s see if this project car has anything else to offer. Just as Goldilocks discovered when appropriating Papa Bear’s lifestyle and...
Oct 26, 2024
At $18,500, Would You Lean Toward Buying This 2022 Ford Mustang?
At $18,500, Would You Lean Toward Buying This 2022 Ford Mustang?
Today’s Mustang is being sold by a towing yard, which means it’s probably a lien sale. Let’s see if this clean title convertible is priced to put a new buyer on the hook. The general consensus on last Friday’s was that it would be the perfect car for someone...
Oct 26, 2024
At $8,600, Would You Go Topless In This 1994 Cadillac Eldorado?
At $8,600, Would You Go Topless In This 1994 Cadillac Eldorado?
The seller of today’s Caddy claims they should be selling it at auction but says who’s got time for that? Let’s see if we have the time for this custom convertible at its non-auction price. Many of you agreed that the $950 asked for yesterday’s was “chump change.” Even...
Oct 26, 2024
Which One Of You Suckers Is Going To Pay Over $32,000 For A 25-Year-Old Toyota 4Runner
Which One Of You Suckers Is Going To Pay Over $32,000 For A 25-Year-Old Toyota 4Runner
The (and Tacoma) have a death grip on used values. It’s been this way for years. Go ahead, go try and buy any TRD trim that’s a couple of years old; it’ll cost you as much as a new one — not that you could buy a new one...
Oct 26, 2024
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved